Favoring the concubine and killing the wife? She divorced the concubine and lived with her concubine

As the dawn breaks in the east, the streets of the capital are already bustling with activity. The first rays of morning light filter through the eaves, casting a shimmer of sunlight onto the bluestone slabs. Stalls line the streets, offering a dazzling array of goods.

Smoke curled from the charcoal stove, and the aroma of barbecued meat blended with the steaming porridge. Peddlers, carrying their loads on their shoulders, weaved through the crowd, their calls echoing in the air, creating a lively and bustling scene.

After a night of rest, Xiao Lan felt better, but the pain in her body became more pronounced. However, she had no time to waste. She didn't know how to find Cui You in this unfamiliar capital.

She took Xiao Zongshan's seal and correspondence documents with her, and placed the small notes of payment she had sorted out in the brocade box. Xiaobai held the brocade box, and Fang Qingqing supported her as they prepared to go out.

Mother Xu warned from behind, "Madam, the capital is not like the south city. Be careful when you go out. If the negotiations fail, don't worry. We can discuss it when we get back and make plans."

Mother Xu was anxious and worried, fearing that Xiao Lan would be bullied again.

"I understand, Mother Xu." Xiao Lan stepped forward, took her hand and patted it, "Don't worry about me. Take the children around the capital today. It's a rare opportunity to be out, so don't stay stuck in the inn. Ask Elder Yu to come with you, and Li Si can rest in the room."

Li Si poked his head out from the side room and said, "It's okay, ma'am. You can still move with just the skin wound. I'll go around with them."

"Okay, then you guys be careful." Xiao Lan, in turn, reminded Mother Xu to hold the child's hand tightly, and then she turned around and went downstairs with Fang Qingqing.

Liu Hu was already waiting at the door. Seeing her come out, he offered his hand to help her. Xiao Lan waved her hand and took Fang Qingqing to the street. Liu Hu watched Xiao Lan from behind and felt that she was still angry because he had concealed the story of "hero saving the beauty". So he followed without saying anything.

Xiao Lan turned around and asked Fang Qingqing, "How do you tell the difference between east, west, north and south?"

Fang Qingqing was stunned by her question, "Huh?"

In amazement, the two of them actually looked up at the sky at the same time, then looked at each other and burst into laughter. Xiaobai heard their conversation from behind and also smiled secretly. Liu Hu could also hear it.

He took two steps forward and walked to their side, "Where are you going?" Liu Hu didn't sleep well last night because the scene of Xiao Lan coming out of Su Ze's room was the first thing he saw when he closed his eyes. His voice was hoarse now.

"Go east." Xiao Lan took out a piece of paper with a lot of words written on it and confirmed it again.

This was written to her by Mrs. Xiao Wu. She didn't need to ask for the bill from every shop, she could just go to this shop and find the head manager.

"Give it here, let me lead the way." Liu Hu reached out and took the paper from Xiao Lan's hand, took a look at it, put it in his arms, and was about to lead the way.

"Caught a cold?" Xiao Lan had just heard something strange in his voice. She glanced at Liu Hu's clothes and saw that they were indeed a bit thin. The others were already wrapped in layers of jackets and cloaks.

Liu Hu was stunned by Xiao Lan's question, and replied in a hoarse voice after a while, "No." In his heart, he was secretly happy about Xiao Lan's concern for him. The corners of his mouth were about to rise, and then he touched his face awkwardly and continued to lead the way.

Fang Qingqing held Xiao Lan's arm and leaned over to look at him. Seeing that he seemed to be grinning, she couldn't help but ask, "Oh, did you catch a cold?"

Liu Hu naturally knew that she was making fun of him, but he ignored her and continued to be happy.

Xiao Lan was worried and had no idea what she was about to face. She was wondering what kind of situation she would encounter and how to deal with it.

"Incense shop?" Fang Qingqing looked up at the shop fronts on the street. "There are two along this street."

Xiao Lan took a quick look and said, "I don't know what kind of incense they're selling. I'll take a look later."

However, it must be said that the Xiao family has many shops in the capital, and many of them have the word "Xiao" written on them.

"It's strange that the Xiao family has such a big business in the capital, but they didn't move their entire family here." Liu Hu looked at a cloth shop he passed by. There was a word "Xiao" on the side. Then he saw a porcelain shop, which also had the word "Xiao" on it.

"Yeah, I don't know what he was thinking. Just giving his name to others will cause trouble sooner or later." Xiao Lan said in a low voice, feeling more and more puzzled.

The Xiao family has so many stores in the capital. Who on earth can't use their own name to do business and yet make the business so big?

They finally arrived at the first shop. Xiao Lan explained her purpose and someone immediately took them into the backyard of the shop and asked them to wait.

Fang Qingqing felt a little guilty, "Madam, are you kidnapping us here?"

Liu Hu looked around and even outside the door. "There shouldn't be anyone there." Seeing Fang Qingqing's distrustful expression, he said with some dissatisfaction, "I said there's nothing, and then it's gone. How could I lie to you?"

Xiao Lan was a little annoyed and didn't want to listen to their jokes. "Stop talking. People are coming soon. Just be alert."

Seeing that Xiao Lan seemed to be in a bad mood, the two stopped talking and just sat aside waiting for someone to come.

In fact, it didn't take long before the head shopkeeper arrived. He looked like a shrewd old man. As soon as he entered the room, he quickly glanced at the four of them and bowed to Xiao Lan. A servant following behind him also bowed and saluted, holding a brocade box.

"We all know about Master Xiao's affairs, but due to the busy New Year, we are unable to go to pay our respects. I hope you will not blame me, and I also hope you will accept my condolences. In the future, the Xiao family's inheritance will fall into your hands, and you will have to work hard."

Xiao Lan returned the greeting and everyone stood up.

Fang Qingqing and Liu Hu looked at each other and thought that the old shopkeeper seemed easy to talk to. Was the debt so difficult to collect?

"My father passed away suddenly, and it was really hard to bear the heavy burden. Fortunately, you have taken care of everything here, so I don't have to rush around. I just need to collect the accounts and send them back to the workshop guys." Xiao Lan said directly, raised his hand and asked Xiaobai to open the brocade box, took out a bundle of documents from it and handed them to the old shopkeeper.

The old shopkeeper took the receipt and pulled out the slip of paper tucked inside. It recorded the number of receipts and the total amount of silver. Xiao Lan had written this down in advance. While she was writing, Fang Qingqing was verifying it by doing a vertical calculation next to her, complaining that she had no calculator and was almost unable to do addition and subtraction.

Of course, Xiao Zongshan kept a ledger, clearly recording every amount of silver. But for Xiao Lan, that record was too complicated, and transcribing it onto a single sheet of paper seemed more convenient. Date, amount, total—it was like a statistical table.

Looking at the note, the old shopkeeper couldn't help but praise Xiao Lan, "I didn't expect the boss to be so thoughtful. This really does seem to make things much more convenient. This item is the same as what I checked before, so I won't check it one by one." After that, the old shopkeeper asked the servant to hand over the brocade box, "This is the account. Please count it and stamp it with your seal. It's done."

"Miss Qing, please count the bills and let Ah Hu help her take a look." Xiao Lan raised her hand and asked Fang Qingqing to take the brocade box, while she and the old shopkeeper went to the side to stamp the receipt.

This document is just a receipt, in duplicate, stating the date and time, the amount of silver received, etc.

As Fang Qingqing counted the banknotes, she felt that the people around her were distracted. "Ah Hu, look, I can't order the wrong ones."

When Fang Qingqing called Liu Hu "Ah Hu", he was instantly displeased, "You are not allowed to call me that."

Fang Qingqing naturally knew why. With an auntie's smile on her face, she said lovingly, "Okay, okay, I won't scream. Please help me order it again."

Liu Hu was satisfied. He took the banknote and counted it carefully. He also looked at the seal on it carefully, and put it in the box after confirming that it was correct.

"That's right!"