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

Liu Hu hurried toward Cui You's residence. Along the way, he grumbled, feeling he might be in vain. Sure enough, as soon as he entered the courtyard, a dead silence overwhelmed him. Cobwebs clung to the ground, and the dust was incredibly thick. Every step he took swirled a cloud of choking gray mist.

Liu Hu frowned and walked around the yard, finding no signs of anyone living there. Despite his conclusion, he was still unsatisfied and went to ask his neighbor. The neighbor, an elderly woman, was sitting in the sun at her doorstep. Seeing him ask, she slowly began, "When we first rented this yard, people often came in and out, and it looked quite lively. But then, the number of people gradually decreased, and in the past few months, there was no one at all." Liu Hu thanked her and hurried back.

Back at his residence, Liu Hu grabbed the cold tea on the table and drank it, the cold tea flowing down his throat. He casually wiped the back of his hand across the corner of his mouth, wiping away the traces of water dripping down his chin, and then asked, "Where's Su Ze?"

Xiao Lan was sitting nearby, rubbing her head gently with her fingers, a look of fatigue on her face. Upon hearing Liu Hu's words, she sighed helplessly, "He went to find out where the incense shop's goods came from. He said that the cousin's family had done business with the Xiao family before, and they sold this magical incense. I'm thinking of following this line to see if I can find any clues."

Liu Hu just sat down to catch his breath. Seeing Xiao Lan rubbing her head non-stop, he asked with concern, "Headache?" Xiao Lan smiled bitterly and shook her head, "My scalp hurts. This bun is very heavy."

"Then it's solved!"

"I don't understand. I've asked Fang Qingqing to rent a car, and we'll be back to South City soon." Xiao Lan couldn't stay in Beijing for even a moment. He was unfamiliar with the place and couldn't move an inch.

I just analyzed it with Su Ze. Maybe the cargo ship that Xiao Lan left on was carrying the magic incense and the big knife. If it really docked at the Beijing pier, everyone would be caught red-handed.

Now we can only hurry back to stop them from moving the boat, hoping for a turnaround.

Fang Qingqing also came in from outside. "It's New Year's Eve, and it's really hard to rent a car. I went to several places and finally managed to buy this one." She was about to get the teapot, but when she lifted it, she found it was empty, so she had to put it down. She sat down across from Xiao Lan and took a deep breath. "When are we leaving? Cui You's not here?"

Two questions in a row, one for Xiao Lan and one for Liu Hu.

Liu Hu scratched his face. "No, there's no one living there. Those shopkeepers seem to be old people around Cui You, so they can't be completely ignorant."

"There are three places where debts are collected. Those three should be the people closest to Cui You." Xiao Lan recalled the scene of meeting those people yesterday. They all saluted him when they met, took the accounts and said there was no need to check, the amounts were the same.

What else? What else is suspicious?

"The person who told us yesterday where to meet Cui You must have met Cui You recently. The two shopkeepers were quite respectful when talking about Cui You, but he..." Xiao Lan seemed to have thought of something and looked at Liu Hu and Fang Qingqing.

"What he said was, 'There's nothing interesting to do in his courtyard. Just go to the private room of that restaurant in the capital tomorrow. He has already booked a table for you.'" Fang Qingqing wiped the sweat from her forehead and moved the stool away from the fireplace.

"It's indeed different. Should we keep an eye on it?" Liu Hu said this, but when he thought of Xiao Lan who was anxious to go back, he didn't know whether to keep an eye on it or go back.

"It doesn't matter if we wait half a day. You go and keep an eye on it. If there is no movement tonight, we will leave early tomorrow morning." Xiao Lan stood up, went straight to get his cloak, put it on and was about to go out.

"Where are you going?" Fang Qingqing and Liu Hu also hurried to follow.

"Let's go walk around the streets. Those incense shops are doing so well, so not every one of them has so much stock. You might see some being delivered. Now's a good time, they won't run out of stock!" Xiao Lan beckoned Fang Qingqing to follow, then turned to Liu Hu and said, "Go keep an eye on that old shopkeeper now."

The three of them split up into two groups. Fang Qingqing supported Xiao Lan as they walked down the street, scanning the shops along the street. Looking at the incense shops, customers were constantly coming and going, and the shopkeepers were greeting them warmly, but the more they looked, the gloomier their expressions became.

"You shouldn't see any delivery services on this street. If you see an incense shop, go to the back door and look around."

Fang Qingqing nodded and looked carefully at the various incense shops. Finally, she saw a sign at the door of one, "Dusk Butterfly will arrive tonight. Please place your order in advance. The deposit will be used as the basis."

Xiao Lan also saw it and walked into the shop holding Fang Qingqing's hand.

The waiter greeted her warmly, "Madam, which fragrance would you like to buy?"

"I heard that the scent of Mudie is the best?" Xiao Lan glanced around the shop casually, looking like just an ordinary customer.

"Oh, of course. This fragrance is now available for pre-order in our shop." The clerk introduced it and took out an opened porcelain box and handed it to Fang Qingqing. "You can try it first to see if you like it."

Fang Qingqing opened the porcelain box and handed it to Xiao Lan. Xiao Lan covered her handkerchief with her handkerchief and sniffed it. She felt that the smell was much stronger than the previous box she had smelled. Because she was already wary of it, she only sniffed it once and pushed it away.

"Yeah, it's really good. I'm from out of town and I want to buy two more boxes to take away. Can I pick them up tonight?"

When the clerk heard it was a big deal, he glanced at Xiao Lan's clothes and confirmed that she was a wealthy lady. He nodded and said, "Of course, there are only three boxes left to order. No more."

"Madam, is this your first time buying incense?" The shopkeeper came out from the back and handed over another porcelain box.

"This is my first time buying incense, so I recommend this one. The scent of Dusk Butterfly is a bit stronger."

Fang Qingqing reached out to take it, but Xiao Lan raised her hand to stop her. "Since you're buying incense and looking for Dusk Butterfly, this isn't your first time. How much is the deposit for three boxes?"

"You want all three? These Dusk Butterflies cost five taels of gold a box. If you want three boxes, pay one box as a deposit."

Fang Qingqing couldn't help but complain. It turned out that the incense she had spent a lot of money on was just a cheap one. Five taels of gold was fifty taels of silver!

As she spoke, she took out a banknote from her pocket and said, "This is a deposit. Please write a receipt."

Fang Qingqing folded the note carefully and put it in her arms, but when she went out she met Su Ze.

When Su Ze saw Xiao Lan coming out, he pretended not to recognize her and walked into the incense shop.

"Can you still place an order for Mudie?"

Seeing that he didn't look at her, Xiao Lan knew that it might not be convenient. So she pulled Fang Qingqing, who was about to speak, and went to the street.

I heard the shopkeeper behind me apologize, "I'm sorry, sir, the lady just now has ordered the last three boxes of Mu Die."

"Okay, then I'll go ask her if she can give me a box." After saying that, he came out of the incense shop and followed Xiao Lan.