"It's Aunt Zhang." Chunni stood up and said softly.
Why is she here? Qingguan winked at the two of them and said, "Invite people in."
Aunt Zhang was wearing a purple-red brocade embroidered seawater Ruyi Sanbao pattern and sat down for a while.
"This is the first time that Miss Six comes back to Kuishui. I can't help you much. At least she is someone who has been here before and knows some good and bad things. I came here to give you a few words of advice."
Qingguan wanted to test Aunt Zhang's skills and said, "Auntie is here now, so she won't be afraid that the princess will find out about it and she will be in trouble."
Aunt Zhang smiled and said: "I've never been in trouble, so there's nothing to be afraid of. If Miss Six can benefit from it, I can't help but complain a few times."
Qingguan listened to these profound words, and felt like a bright mirror in his heart.
Aunt Zhang has been here in the Gu Mansion for just a few months. The princess came forward to press her, and there was Liu below. The two aunts Xu looked at her eagerly, not to say a wrong word or take a wrong step. In addition, the man I married was a soft-tailed shrimp, so life was a bit difficult.
Youdao said that a single tree cannot make a forest. In the house, there were just the same people who pushed and pulled her around, but Qingwan was the only one. Therefore, Aunt Zhang surrendered to her.
Qingguan smiled slightly and said: "Thank you, aunt, for thinking about Qingguan. Qingguan's biological mother left early, and I am in chaos, and I need the guidance of my elders. Only then can I not let the princess dislike her."
The implication is that I am helpless. If you are not afraid of the princess, I will naturally be willing to form an alliance with you.
Aunt Zhang was born as a concubine and had a delicate heart. She smiled when she heard this and said, "Since the Sixth Miss doesn't mind, I will talk to the Sixth Miss."
After half a cup of tea, Aunt Zhang finished her instructions. Seeing Qingguan's face looking slightly tired, she took the opportunity to leave with a wink. Yueniang personally sent the person away.
There were no outsiders in the room, Chunni said hurriedly: "Miss, are you trying to... win her over?"
"It's not about winning over, the enemy of my enemy is a friend. She wants multiple alliances, I want multiple alliances, that's all."
Yueniang left and returned. After hearing Qingguan's words, she agreed: "Miss is right. I think she is soft-spoken and behaves very unusually."
Qingguan shook his head and sighed: "Ordinary people don't live long in the Gu family."
Yueniang was afraid that the young lady would think of old things again, so she hurriedly said, "When the young lady was asleep, the second young lady came to see her in person. She brought the cloak that the madam gave to the young lady, and also brought some food. She sat down for a while and then gone."
Qingguan smiled slightly: "She is the one worthy of my sincere treatment."
Aunt Zhang returned to her room and sat on the edge of the bed in silence.
Xiaogu, the personal maid, saw this and hurriedly fetched water to help her aunt wash up.
Ms. Zhang came back to her senses and said, "What do you think of Miss Six?"
Xiao Gu has been with Aunt Zhang for five or six years. The relationship between master and servant is very good. She thought for a moment and said, "He is a poor person."
Mrs. Zhang looked weird and said, "Why do I think this sixth lady is so unusual?"
"Auntie, what nonsense are you talking about? There is something wrong with Sixth Miss. How can she be different?" Xiaogu pointed at his head.
Mrs. Zhang shook her head.
She was born as a concubine, and she was best at observing people's emotions and guessing people's thoughts, but she couldn't see through the emotions in Miss Sixth's eyes.
She speaks very carefully and meticulously, without leaking any information. She seems confused but also smart.
Zhang was a little unsure whether her move was right or wrong.
Hengshui Prefecture Magistrate's Yamen.
Magistrate Deng knelt on the ground and carefully looked at the two living kings of hell who came forward, feeling a wave of fear in his heart.
King Shou visited Hengshui in person, but before the boat even docked, it was thrown into the river by water thieves. This was simply going to cost him his life. If the emperor blamed him, he would not be able to keep his beautiful appearance, and he might even end up dead.
Zhao Jingyan shook her fan and said nothing with a cold face.
Jiang Hongsheng behind him also looked like an Erlang Shen, his face was so gloomy that water could drip from his face.
Alas!
With heartache, Magistrate Deng took out the banknote from his sleeve, handed it to King Shou respectfully, and said in a tearful voice: "I will investigate this matter strictly, and please show me your noble hand."
Zhao Jingyan glanced at the bank note and snorted coldly, as if it was too little.
"This little money is for sending beggars. My lord, why don't we report back to the emperor truthfully?"
Magistrate Deng was so frightened that his legs weakened and he begged: "No, absolutely not."
After saying that, he took out a few more from his sleeves, and then knelt down with a plop: "Your Majesty, I have an old official and a young official. This is all my property. Please give me a way to live." ”
Zhao Jingyan coughed slightly, stood up slowly, and said condescendingly: "Come on, get up. Don't say that I don't care about you. This case needs to be investigated carefully. If it is really a water thief, that's it. If it's something else, that's it. ... You also know that this king was assassinated in Jiangnan, and the officialdom in Jiangnan... Humph!"
After that, he waved his fan and left without looking back.
Jiang Hongwen put away the banknotes and followed him out in a swaggering manner.
Magistrate Deng got up from the ground in despair, changed his timid appearance, and said sternly: "Here comes someone!"
"What are your orders, sir?"
"Send someone to Prince Xian's Mansion quickly and tell the truth about the assassination of Prince Shou. Wait... tell us about the 50,000 taels of silver notes as well."
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Jingyan got 50,000 taels of silver just by talking, but there was no trace of joy on his face.
Jiang Hongwen knew his heart well and said seriously: "Fifty thousand taels of silver, although it is a drop in the bucket, it can be used for a while. It's just that I'm worried..."
Zhao Jingyan stopped laughing and said coldly: "I am a dandy prince, what else is there to be afraid of? Deng Qing is the third brother's dog. The dog has no other tricks to do except wagging its tail and barking twice at its owner."
"Be careful that they might bite you."
"This kind of watchdog doesn't have the courage, unless he is not afraid of death. For fifty thousand taels of silver, I want to be honest. Come on, put it away."
Jiang Hongwen didn't even think about taking out the money. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Let's go to the inn to see Miss Six. Don't let anything happen to you if you are really sick."
"Go back, gentlemen, the Gu family's ship left the dock an hour ago."
The faces of the two people in the carriage changed.
The Gu family's boat set off via Hengshui and traveled quickly. Five days later in the evening, it arrived at the capital dock.
Mr. and Mrs. Dafang came to the pier to greet them in person. Dozens of carriages drove away from the pier together, and the scene was quite grand.
Qingguan had recovered from her illness in the past few days, but her face still looked a little pale. She sat in the car and lifted the curtain to look outside, and happened to see Chen Ping, who was looking at her from behind in the crowd.
The two nodded imperceptibly, and Chen Ping quickly turned around and left when he saw that the young lady was fine.
Qingguan felt warm in her heart and was about to lower the curtain when she suddenly saw Qian Fu and Yin Deng squeeze out from the crowd. Her eyes showed surprise and she slightly poked her head out.
Qian Fu and Yin Deng looked excited when they saw the young lady.
Qingguan nodded and quickly lowered the curtain. I slowly closed my eyes and started thinking in my head.
After driving for more than an hour, everyone arrived at the Gu family's house in Beijing.
The house is located in the archway in the center of the capital. It is a property purchased by Mr. Gu in his early years. The prominent people in Beijing live evenly around the archway.
Facing south, there are three houses with five entrances and three roads, occupying one third of Rouge Hutong, which is very grand. It is divided into an east garden and a west garden. It is built like a garden in the south of the Yangtze River, with pavilions, pavilions, waterside pavilions, winding paths and green tiles and white walls. It is an elegant place to live.
Qingguan smiled, the Gu family would never treat her badly when it comes to food, clothing, housing and transportation. Even if their money is exhausted, they still have to have the proper pomp and circumstance.
Everyone was tired from traveling and their wives were sick, so they were led by the maids in the mansion to rest in their respective rooms.
Qingguan looked at his courtyard.
There are three main rooms, and two wing rooms on the left and right. The courtyard is paved with stones, and there are several osmanthus trees and plantains planted in front of the courtyard. The courtyard walls are covered with withered grass and yellow vines, and the leaves are falling in the wind, giving it a somewhat bleak atmosphere.
Chunni came closer and said: "Everyone in the first house has been moved to the east garden, and the second house is in the west garden. There are two best yards in the west garden. The second master and the princess occupy one, and Miss Ling occupies one."
"Which garden does the master and his wife live in?"
"My wife lives in Shouan Hall on Zhong Road. The second young lady lives with my wife and has not returned to Dongyuan."
Qingguan nodded and smiled, walked into the main hall, looked around, then turned and entered the bedroom. The curtains and brocade quilts are still clean.
She said calmly: "Every corner is lightly scented with medicinal fragrance. I'll take a rest first."
After the general took off his clothes and hairpins, a maid came in with a food box. After Yueniang thanked him, she stuffed a couple of pieces of silver in her hand and pulled the person aside to inquire carefully.
Chunni placed the food in the lunch box on the small table one by one.
After Qingguan cleaned her hands and took a few bites, Yueniang came in.
Chunni hurriedly asked: "What can you find out?"
Yueniang shook her head and said: "That maid is also a new one. She has been there for almost two months and she doesn't know anything about her."
Qingguan's heart moved and she said with a smile: "Where are the people in our courtyard?"
"They are also newbies, and some of them haven't even learned the rules yet."
Qingguan smiled and said: "This is the first room guarding our second room. Come on, let me have a good rest and save some energy before fighting them."
Qingguan put down her chopsticks, took some tea and rinsed her mouth, then she went to the window and leaned against it, thinking about how Chen Ping and the others were doing now.
Outside the high wall, a dark figure jumped off the wall. It was Chen Ping who was missed by Qingguan.
He quickly got into the carriage and smiled at Qian Fu in the carriage: "Uncle Fu, the lady has settled down and has explored the yard. Let's go back."
Qian Fu stroked his thin beard and said, "Go back first and let the lady rest for two days. I saw from a distance that she doesn't look well."
"Where is our house in Beijing?" Chen Ping asked casually.
Qian Fu smiled and pointed to a large house nearby and said, "It's right under your nose."
"So close?"
"Miss bought it three years ago. Let's go in and have a look." Qian Fu smiled knowingly.
"Three years ago? My mother, three years ago, I was not in front of the lady."
While talking, the two of them entered the house together. A moment later, the heavy wooden door creaked and was slammed shut.
The alley was deserted. At this time, a dark shadow jumped down from the wall lightly. He walked to the door of the house and read two words "Jinfu".