Spring Courtyard Forbidden Pet

As soon as Ye Zhen came back, she quickly changed her clothes. Yu Lu came in with hot rice porridge, and when she saw the gauze in Liu Xia's hand, she said, "The pattern is similar to the second master's clothes."

Liuxia didn't have time to stop her from talking. Seeing that Ye Zhen didn't react, she said, "Don't mention it. Because of this dress, Miss Second was embarrassed by Princess Pingyang today."

Although Yu Lu didn't know what had happened, she could tell from Liu Xia's expression that the situation was serious, so she didn't dare to say anything.

Ye Zhen drank a bowl of porridge and became angrier the more she thought about it. If Dong Zhang had not arrived in time today, she would have been stripped of her clothes.

Liuxia and Yulu were also worried when they saw her frowning and keeping silent, with her fingers almost crushing the bowl.

Liuxia was still a little scared, so she said, "I will just bury the clothes."

Ye Zhen raised her eyebrows, her eyes showing a hint of alertness and provocation, "The princess said it was tribute material, it would be a pity to bury it."

"I'll return it to you some other day."

Liuxia was stunned, "Also?"

Isn't this handing a knife to Princess Pingyang?

Rong Fei came back soon after. He settled Zhiyan's brother down first and told him the whole story. Ye Zhen guessed that Zhiyan's brother was also harmed by Aunt Zhao's usury and Zhiyan was taken advantage of by someone.

He said he only saw a masked man come to see Zhiyan, and after that he contacted them by leaving notes in front of the door.

Rong Fei also brought the note back, and Ye Zhen knew at a glance that it was written with his left hand.

These people are cautious.

*

On the fourth day of May, Ye Zhen asked Rong Fei to find out. The two merchants, Shangguan and Shen, had funded the dragon boat race this year. After the Cui family was defeated, these two people shared the dividends. Now they were aiming for the position of imperial merchants, so they naturally worked hard.

Many young men and women have already booked private rooms in Fuchun Tower to watch the fun. If a young man falls in love with a young lady, he will race the dragon boat hard to win the first prize and give it to the girl he likes.

The first prize in the previous life was won by Li Chengge and given to Qin Yu, which established their relationship from then on.

I don’t know who will win the prize this year.

Ye Zhen followed Zhi Yan but failed to find the mastermind behind the incident, so she had to be extra careful when traveling. However, she had no other choice but to give money to Rong Fei to hire more experts.

Liuxia looked at the increasingly thin banknotes in the box and said regretfully, "You should have kept the money Hongluo sent you that day."

Ye Zhen said, "Ye Xue's money is not clean."

"That's better than having no money at all. Our inventory is almost gone. The jade shop has been losing money for the past two months. The money from the winery has to be used for stocking up. We really don't have any extra money."

Ye Zhen was also troubled by this matter. "We must get the money that Li Chengge owes us, but it is a serious crime for Ye Xue to mortgage the jewelry she gave us as a reward. The truth will come out sooner or later. Once it is exposed and the money is traced back to us, we will be in big trouble."

Liuxia didn't say anything else.

When Rong Fei was called in to give him the silver, Rong Fei said, "Second Miss, there is no need to spend money. The Second Master has pointed several Jinyiwei over."

Liuxia held the banknote tightly, "Are you serious?"

"I might be listening to you guys on the roof right now. How could this be true?"

Liuxia raised her head and looked at the ceiling. This was not just about saving money. How could the gangsters hired with money be comparable to the Jinyiwei!

Ye Zhen tried hard to remain calm, but she thought to herself, wouldn't Li Xuan know everything she said or did?

This possibility kept Ye Zhen awake all night, and she fell into a drowsy sleep just before dawn.

Early in the morning on the fifth day of the first lunar month, Rong Fei saw Ye Xue's people coming in from the side door to look for Aunt Zhao, and they deliberately avoided Ye Yunsheng. He came back to report to Ye Zhen, but his master was still not awake.

When Ye Zhen came out of the shower, Rong Fei said regretfully, "The people have left, but I know where they are dividing the spoils."

Ye Zhen rubbed his temple and said slowly, "There's no rush. I'm waiting for Ye Xue to use the reward as collateral again."

Speaking of this, waiting is not a solution.

She thought of a way and whispered to Rong Fei, "Go ahead, but don't push him too hard or too fast. If you reveal your true colors, all your efforts will be wasted."

"Yes."

Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

Li Xuan looked at the letter sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and immediately understood what Ye Zhen was going to do.

"She wanted to lure the snake out of its hole and make Ye Xue feel that she had hooked a big customer. In a hurry, she could only mortgage new ones if she couldn't recover the previous costs."

"If you take the reward into the shop, you will be sentenced to death."

Li Xuan thought of Ye Zhen's cleverness and intelligence, and then thought of the fact that she liked someone else. The smile that had not yet spread on the corners of his lips suddenly disappeared, "Ask Shen Du to come in."

On the way here, Shen Du already knew what Li Xuan was going to do. As soon as he entered the door, he reported the personal information of Aunt Zhao and several people who had contact with the brothel.

"They will select people. Most of the gamblers have family backgrounds and reputations. When they are set up by them, they dare not let their families know, so they just hand over the money obediently."

"But there are only a few young masters in the circle. Word spreads from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Recently, there are no more lucrative fish to be caught. So they give some small amounts of money to ordinary people."

Shen Du thought for a moment and pointed to a name on the book. "This man is only seventeen years old. He got into trouble by accident and regretted it. The people in the brothel pestered him to pay the debt because his aunt is rich."

Li Xu'an knew that Shen Du was not just saying this casually, "Who is his aunt?"

"The most famous embroiderer in Jinxiufang, Yunrong."

Li Xuan'an frowned. Yun Rong and Ye Zhen had some friendship.

He gently closed his eyes and fiddled with the mahogany rosary beads, "Tell Yunrong the news and let her know that the debt collector is related to Ye Xue."

Shen Du was not surprised at all. He turned around and walked away. Suddenly he turned his head and said, "Yes, General Dong brought a message on behalf of Miss Dong yesterday. He asked Miss Ye Er to watch the dragon boat race."

Li Xuan'an froze while moving his rosary beads. Shen Du said, "Second Miss Ye also agreed."

Half an hour later.

When Li Xuan arrived near Qinghe, there were so many people that the carriage could not squeeze in. Yun Zhui showed his identity as a national teacher and the carriage had a smooth journey.

There are no empty seats in Fuchun Tower, but who can refuse the visit of the imperial master!

The shopkeeper gritted his teeth and ordered the waiter, "Even if you have to build a private room for me, you have to build one now!"

Xiao Er wanted to cry but had no tears. "It's really gone."

The shopkeeper was afraid that Li Xuan would hear him, so he shouted, "Put it away quickly if there is any! It's very hot outside. Didn't you see that the state master doesn't look well?"

Li Xuan put down the teacup and slowly raised his head, "Who looks unhappy?"

Sancho couldn't hold back and said to the shopkeeper, "You can have no room, but you can't say that our national teacher is in a bad mood."

The shopkeeper nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, yes, there is a room!"

He turned around and winked at the waiter, "Clean up my room, quickly!"

At this time, Yinxiang came down from the second floor and said respectfully, "Master Imperial Master, the princess has made some white tea. Please come to the private room for a chat."

Meng Qianru was there too.

When Sancho saw Yinxiang, he suddenly remembered that the Princess's Mansion had sent an invitation on the first day of the New Year, but Li Xuan refused it without even looking at it, but he came again today.

Yinxiang smiled, "The princess has booked a private room long ago. You can see Qinghe River from the window. Please move in, Master."

Li Xuan was calm and composed, "No need."

Yinxiang's smile froze. Seeing that there were many people around, she felt annoyed that the Imperial Master always disrespected the princess, but she had no idea what to do.

Li Xuan stood up and looked at the shopkeeper expressionlessly, "There is a loft upstairs."

The shopkeeper was stunned. "Yes, it is, but it is not cleaned."

"It doesn't matter."

After saying that, Li Xuan walked past Yinxiang and went up the stairs. Sangqiao and Yun Zhui smiled apologetically at Yinxiang and followed him away.

Meng Qianru flicked the teacup away, and the scalding hot water spilled all over the floor.

The waiter simply tidied up the attic and brought up tea and snacks. At this time, the dragon boat race had already begun between the North Camp and the Patrol Camp. The cheers from both sides of the river were deafening.

Li Xuan saw Ye Zhen and Dong Yuan on the east corridor at a glance. She was wearing a light purple satin shirt today, which made her look slender. She was talking and laughing with Dong Yuan, and her eyebrows and eyes were lively and beautiful. None of the women around her could steal her limelight.

Even though she tried her best to dress inconspicuously.

Sancho saw that he was staring at people without blinking, as if everyone except Ye Zhen was dead.

"Oh, what's the point of your looking at me like that! What's the point of looking like a wife-watching rock? You ran to my room when a decent person was watching over you."

"Last time I even sent you clothes but there was no progress. I'm not saying anything bad about you, but I've never seen you be so..." Sancho restrained himself and said tactfully, "It's a waste of effort."

Li Xuan acted as if he didn't hear anything until he saw Dong Zhang appear in front of Ye Zhen through the crowd holding two candied haws in his hands. Only then did the smile in his eyes turn into a deep coldness.

Because there were so many people, Dong Zhang pressed very close to them, and physical contact was inevitable, but with people coming and going, Ye Zhen didn't care.

The candied haws tasted sour and sweet. Dong Yuan ate them while pointing at the dragon boat to show Ye Zhen. Ye Zhen turned around and smiled at Dong Zhang, "Thank you, General."

Dong Zhang's forehead was a little sweaty, but his tall body left them some breathing space. At this moment, he was dazzled by her smile, and his Adam's apple moved a little, "Eat quickly, it will melt easily in the hot weather."

"There's also a place selling smoothies over there. I've asked Konoe to buy some."

When Ye Zhen heard the word "ice smoothie", most of the heat in her body disappeared. She also wanted to watch the dragon boat race, and her mood was written all over her face.

But she seemed to feel that Dawson's cold eyes were approaching. She looked up and saw nothing.

In view of the previous experience, Ye Zhen felt a little uneasy and subconsciously moved closer to Dong Yuan and Dong Zhang.