My stepmother is here, all the rebellious sons and evildoers should kneel down!

The person who appeared behind Wen Qiqi and Xinyi was none other than Yu Zhenzhu, who had lived with them in the Lu Mansion.

"Long time no see, Wen Qiqi."

Yu Zhenzhu was wearing a black dress, with her hair neatly tied up and only a simple and neat silver hairpin pinned on her head.

She called Wen Qiqi's name directly, and the next second she made a quiet gesture and put a finger to her lips.

Wen Qiqi and Xinyi looked at each other, then they both nodded slightly at Yu Zhenzhu.

Yu Zhenzhu looked over their shoulders and saw that the four people from the Lu family had already walked away. She then said, "Let's go to the teahouse over there and talk slowly."

After a while, the three of them were sitting in a secluded corner of the teahouse.

Yu Zhenzhu first asked the waiter for some tea, then gave him a piece of silver and told him, "There are not many guests today. If more come, please don't arrange them around us."

"Easy to say!"

The waiter took the silver and left.

Yu Zhenzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Wen Qiqi and Xinyi, "Since we parted ways in the palace after exposing Lu Zhanyao, it has been more than a year since we last met. I didn't expect to meet here today..."

"Miss Pearl, how are you?"

Wen Qiqi was not at all unhappy because Yu Zhenzhu called her by her name!

Yu Zhenzhu was touched by this respect...

"If you hadn't helped me, Wen Qiqi, I would have died in the Lu Mansion a long time ago. How could I have appeared in front of you alive? So... you, Wen Qiqi, can be considered my savior."

“Hehe…” Xinyi pursed her lips and smiled: “You can either call me Miss or Sister. It feels weird to call me by my name.”

"It doesn't matter."

Wen Qiqi picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Miss Pearl, you can call me whatever you want!"

"I call you sister...Aren't you afraid that your young lady will dislike you?"

Yu Zhenzhu looked at Xinyi and said, "Don't forget, I am a woman who came from Red Mansions."

"My young lady would never despise others. The family motto of the Wen family has always been to be humble and polite. My young lady just accepted Diejiu as her adopted sister. Diejiu and I are of humble origins, just a maid."

After Xinyi finished speaking, he looked at Wen Qiqi and said, "Miss, am I right?"

Wen Qiqi smiled slightly: "If Miss Zhenzhu wants to call me sister, I will naturally agree."

"elder sister."

Yu Zhenzhu paused, and finally called out in a low voice.

"Sister Pearl."

Wen Qiqi didn't mind Yu Zhenzhu's background and past at all. She reached out and held her hand: "Since we last saw each other in the palace, where have you been, sister Zhenzhu? Are you doing well?"

Yu Zhenzhu nodded: "It can be considered a change of life, and I am now free. After Lord Yu died, the Lu family was confiscated, and I used my savings over the years to buy a yard in the suburbs of Kyoto and opened a small inn. Although business has been slow over the past year, it is clean money I earned myself, and I feel at ease spending it."

After hearing what Yu Zhenzhu said, Wen Qiqi couldn't help but feel some respect for her.

You know, most girls who have lived in the red-light district are used to a lazy and leisurely life. Not many of them can open an inn and support themselves like Yu Zhenzhu!

"elder sister."

Yu Zhenzhu held Wen Qiqi's hand, looked around, and said in a low voice: "Lu Zhanyao is still alive... I have something to tell my sister."

"Before Lu Xingcheng entered the palace...he committed a murder!"

"really?"

Wen Qiqi was surprised!

"It's true."

Yu Zhenzhu said, "Before he entered the palace, he went to the red-light district... and killed a girl. The girl died miserably, but Lu Xingcheng escaped!"

Wen Qiqi frowned and asked hurriedly, "The madams in Yanhua Alley are not easy to mess with, why don't you report it to the police?"

Yu Zhenzhu said, "I heard from my sisters that at first the madam didn't know that this person was Lu Xingcheng, so she delayed the case. After some investigation, she had some clues, but just before she wanted to report to the police... the matter was suddenly suppressed by the madam."

Three of you, you look at me, I look at you...

Xinyi whispered, "Someone must have arranged this secretly, it must be Lu Zhanyao..."

Wen Qiqi shook her head: "It's not him, he doesn't dare to come forward. Besides, the Lu Mansion was confiscated, and he didn't have the money to suppress this matter... In addition, he is a serious criminal in the court, even his colleagues in the court don't dare to stand up for him."

Officials in the court have always protected themselves.

Lu Zhanyao was tried by the emperor himself and sent to the Heavenly Prison with great fanfare. Who in the court dared to remember their old friendship with him?

Lord Yu was already dead at that time, so...

"My sister and I thought the same thing, so I secretly asked someone to investigate and asked my sisters who were still in the red-light district to help me get the opinion of the madam."

Yu Zhenzhu continued, "Finally, my former sisters told me that the madam meant that someone had paid a large sum of money and asked her not to pursue the matter. The madam was unwilling at first. After all, she was in the fireworks business in Kyoto. If she couldn't stand up for the girl, who would be willing to make money for her!"

"Then why don't you report it to the authorities?"

Xinyi became more and more anxious as she listened: "Could it be that the madam is afraid of someone?"

Yu Zhenzhu nodded, poked her head out, stared at the two of them with wide eyes and said, "I've only told my sister about this matter, you should also consider it... It is said that the madam dare not offend the Prince's Mansion."

what?

County Prince's Mansion?

Wen Qiqi and Xinyi were both surprised.

When Lu Zhanyao was an official in the court, he only got a third-rank official position thanks to the merits of the Wen family.

After all, it has no connection with the Prince's Mansion.

Besides, the Prince's Mansion rarely interacts with officials in the court...

"The prince has a leg disease and has not attended court for many years. Lu Zhanyao and the prince really have nothing to do with each other! Besides, the prince's mansion is deeply favored by the emperor, and there is no need to disobey the emperor's wishes and stand up for Lu Zhanyao's son."

The more Wen Qiqi thought about it, the more puzzled she found it, and this was all Yu Zhenzhu knew.

"Sister, after I learned about this, I couldn't figure it out either, so I told you today. It's absolutely true, and I'm not lying at all."

Yu Zhenzhu said: "Although the lives of the sisters in Red Mansions Alley are not easy, they have true feelings for each other. They will not lie to me."

"I believe you."

Wen Qiqi looked sincere, paused and continued: "Thank you for telling me this."

Yu Zhenzhu smiled in relief: "I said that my life was saved by my sister. Now I can open an inn by myself and live like a human being. It's all thanks to my sister. When I was in the Lu Mansion, I knew my sister's difficulties, and I was disgusted with the people in the Lu Mansion... It's a pity that Lu Zhanyao didn't die!"

She looked out the window of the teahouse fiercely. The streets of Kyoto were bustling with people coming and going.

"Sister, they say that people's hearts are hard to predict! I think there must be some unknown affair between the Prince's Mansion and Lu Zhanyao! However, I only knew that Lord Yu had an affair with him, but I never heard Lord Yu mention the three words "Prince's Mansion"!"