When the pears are green

Jiang Qingzhou asked Song Li and Ruyi to wait in the distance while he went to look for Chen Yuan.

Song Li and Ruyi stared at Jiang Qingzhou's back, watching him slowly approach the yamen that faced north and south. Two stone lions with hydrangeas under their right feet stood on both sides of the yamen's gate, and the walls on both sides stretched out in an "eight" shape along the gate.

"So this is what people mean: the government office faces south." Song Li said silently in his heart.

The gatekeeper standing at the gate of the government office shouted loudly when he saw Jiang Qingzhou approaching: "Stop, what are you doing here?"

Jiang Qingzhou quickly replied with a smile: "Sir, I'm here to look for Constable Chen."

As the saying goes, you should not hit someone who smiles at you. Seeing Jiang Qingzhou's humble attitude, the gatekeeper pointed to the big drum behind the stone lion on the right and said to him, "If something goes wrong, it's no use looking for Constable Chen. Go beat the drum!"

"Sir, I'm a relative of Constable Chen. I'm here to talk to Constable Chen about something personal. Is he in the yamen now?" Jiang Qingzhou explained to the gatekeeper with a smile.

When the gatekeeper heard that Jiang Qingzhou said he was Chen Yuan's relative, his attitude became friendly. He told Jiang Qingzhou that Chen Yuan and another constable named Li Sheng had gone to Dalizhuang, not far from Heihe Town, to handle some matters. He asked Jiang Qingzhou's name and asked Jiang Qingzhou to wait aside.

Jiang Qingzhou thanked the gatekeeper and turned to walk towards where Song Li and Ruyi were.

Ruyi looked expectantly at Jiang Qingzhou who was getting closer and closer.

"Xiao Li, Ruyi, Detective Chen is not here. He went to Dalizhuang." After Jiang Qingzhou finished speaking, he and Song Li looked at Ruyi together.

Ruyi was like a deflated ball. She looked up at the sun that was already high in the sky, and then said to Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou, "Cousin, cousin, you guys go back first. I can wait here by myself. Don't delay Qingye and Xiaoxing's time."

Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou looked at Ruyi, who was always considerate. They naturally would not let Ruyi guard here alone. Although it was close to the government office, they were also afraid of encountering scoundrels.

Jiang Qingzhou originally wanted to stay here with Ruyi, but Ruyi was not his biological sister after all, so he had to avoid suspicion. If he met acquaintances, gossip would spread. Although it would not affect him, it would bring countless rumors to Ruyi who was not married yet. It would be better to let Song Li accompany her.

"I'll go to the bookstore to pick up Qingye and Xiaoxing first. You two should be careful here. I'll leave some copper coins for you, so don't starve yourself. If you really can't wait, go home quickly, do you understand?" Jiang Qingzhou said as he took out a purse from his sleeve and put it in Song Li's hand.

Song Li smiled and put the purse into her sleeve. She handed the basket in her hand to Jiang Qingzhou and urged Jiang Qingzhou to go to the study quickly.

Song Li and Ruyi waited and waited. Song Li felt her stomach was a little hungry, so she asked Ruyi if she wanted to eat some buns.

Ruyi refused to let Song Li buy the buns, so she ran to the bun shop and bought two buns. Then she handed the meat bun to Song Li and ate the vegetarian bun herself.

Song Li looked at the two buns with different fillings. She broke off the one she had eaten and said to Ruyi, "Ruyi, let's switch. I like the vegetable one."

Ruyi glanced at Song Li, and hurriedly stuffed the bun in her hand into her mouth. After swallowing it, she told Song Li: "Cousin, I don't like it either. You should eat it quickly."

Song Li was helpless. She said softly, "Silly girl." Then she slowly ate the bun in her hand.

The two waited for a while, but still didn't see Chen Yuan coming back, so they decided to go home first and look for Chen Yuan again when they had the chance.

Ruyi walked listlessly on the road. Song Li comforted her and told her that she could always find a solution.

In order not to make Song Li worry, Ruyi smiled and told Song Li that she was fine. The worst that could happen was that she just had to accept the reality. It was also possible that Zhao Xuan had changed.

Song Li looked at Ruyi, not knowing what to say. In this era, men who went to brothels would not be punished or fined, and it could even be a way of showing off. Even if they asked Chen Yuan for help, they could only ask him to find out if Zhao Xuan had done anything wrong.

The two of them walked on the road, each with their own thoughts.

Here, Chen Yuan and Li Sheng had just returned to the yamen when the doorman hurriedly told them that a relative was looking for them.

Chen Yuan was stunned for a moment. Will that group of people come looking for him?

Then, the doorman described the visitor's general appearance to Chen Yuan and told him that his name was Jiang Qingzhou.

Chen Yuan didn't expect Jiang Qingzhou to come to find him. He thanked the gatekeeper and hurriedly went in the direction the gatekeeper pointed to find Jiang Qingzhou.

Li Sheng looked at Chen Yuan's back as he left. He scratched his head and muttered, "Didn't you say there was no one home?"

After hearing this, the gatekeeper smiled and said, "Captain Li, everyone has some relatives."

Li Sheng said nothing more and hurried inside to eat. He had spent most of the day without eating anything and was almost starving to death.

Chen Yuan walked to the place the gatekeeper mentioned, but did not see Jiang Qingzhou. He guessed that he could not wait and went home.

Chen Yuan asked the surrounding shops, and the vendor of the steamed bun shop told Chen Yuan: "Detective Chen, I have seen them. The man you mentioned left first, and he was accompanied by a girl and a young lady. They have been waiting here for a long time and just left. If you walk faster, you should be able to meet them."

Chen Yuan thanked the vendor and searched carefully along the street. Finally, he saw Song Li and Ruyi near the Heihe Town stone tablet. He hurried over.

Song Li and Ruyi heard hurried footsteps coming from behind them. They both stopped and looked back, and saw Chen Yuan running towards them in a hurry.

Chen Yuan stopped in front of Song Li and Ruyi and explained: "I just came back from Dali Village. I heard the doorman say that Brother Jiang came to look for me. I didn't find him, but I heard the vendor in the bun shop said he saw you. I was afraid you were in a hurry, so I came to find you."

Song Li glanced at Ruyi, and Ruyi looked up at Chen Yuan. She whispered to Chen Yuan to help her find someone.

"Who is it?" Chen Yuan stared at Ruyi and asked. He remembered what Jiang Qingzhou said yesterday that Ruyi's mother was arranging a marriage for Ruyi.

Ruyi felt a little inexplicably nervous. She answered, "His name is Zhao Xuan. He is from Zhanggou Village. I heard he is currently living in the town."

Chen Yuan nodded, and then asked, "I understand, but you have to tell me why you want to investigate him."

Ruyi lowered her head and told the story of how Jiang forced her to marry Zhao Xuan and how she had seen Zhao Xuan enter Huamian Tower.

Song Li then expressed her thoughts. She couldn't understand why Zhao Xuan, who had no connection with the Zhang family, would ask someone to propose marriage to Ruyi. The main reason was that the family backgrounds of the two families did not match.

Ruyi saw that Chen Yuan looked a little unhappy, so she quickly took out her purse from her sleeve. She blushed and told Chen Yuan that she only had 17 copper coins at the moment, and hoped that Chen Yuan would not despise it. If it was not enough, she would make up for it later.

Chen Yuan took the purse from Ruyi with an even more unhappy expression, and then told Song Li: "My dear, Ruyi and I need to talk to each other alone."

Song Li tactfully walked aside. Chen Yuan pulled Ruyi's sleeve and walked to the stone tablet. He said to Ruyi, "I can help you check this matter, but seventeen copper coins are certainly not enough. Considering that we are familiar with each other, I will give you one tael of silver."

Ruyi didn't expect it to be so much. She looked at Chen Yuan in surprise. She was still 683 copper coins short of one tael of silver.

Chen Yuan looked at Ruyi's tangled expression and wondered if he had said too much. It would be bad if Ruyi regretted it. He then said, "You can also use items as compensation."

Ruyi hurriedly took out six small sachets from her sleeves, and then took out a dozen handkerchiefs from her arms and put them all in Chen Yuan's hands.

Chen Yuan touched the handkerchiefs that still had Ruyi's body temperature with his right thumb. He picked up a handkerchief with his left hand, looked at it, and said with a smile, "Well embroidered, the patterns are very beautiful. I'll give you a hundred coins for these!"

"The pattern was drawn by Mr. Li." Ruyi explained to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan suddenly felt very angry. He said to Ruyi angrily, "Then it's fifty cents."

Ruyi didn't dare to speak anymore. She covered her mouth with her hands, fearing that she would make Chen Yuan angry again.

Chen Yuan looked at Ruyi's appearance, he thought of the scene when he first met Ruyi, and laughed again.

Ruyi watched Chen Yuan getting angry at times and laughing at times. She couldn't guess Chen Yuan's emotions and became worried.

Chen Yuan looked at Song Li who had been looking over here, and said with a smile: "I will help you check, I will give you news in a few days, you and your cousin should go home quickly!"

Ruyi thanked Chen Yuan gratefully, and she asked Chen Yuan whether he wanted copper coins or items in the future. Chen Yuan put the things in his hand into his arms, and smiled and told Ruyi that he only wanted copper coins in the future.

Chen Yuan watched Ruyi walk to Song Li, and then he left.

Song Li asked Ruyi, and Ruyi told Song Li: "Cousin, Constable Chen agreed, but I owe him 633 copper coins, and I don't know when I have to pay him back."

Song Li looked back at Chen Yuan who was walking away, and whispered to Ruyi that she could pay it back slowly, and Chen Yuan should not be in a hurry.