Marry the villain and the whole court kneels down and calls her the queen

When Jiang Jiu came back from the gambling house, it was already getting late.

All the concubines were waiting at the door, feeling anxious and worried that they would be sold and that Lu Yunyang would never come back.

Sure enough, only Jiang Jiu and Mudan got out of the carriage.

All the concubines cried.

"Young Madam, the young master..." Did he have no money to redeem him, or was he handed over to the government by the young madam?

Mudan just winked at them, but Jiang Jiu ignored her. When he saw Xia Zhi coming back, he went straight back to his yard.

"Tell me, after a day of investigation, how are the two shops assigned to Lu Yunyang?"

Xia Zhi has a clear mind and is articulate.

"The Lu family gave you two shops. One is in the south of the city. It's a grain shop with a manager and two waiters. The business can only be considered stable."

Jiang Jiu took out the account book of the grain shop and found that it was indeed very stable. Only five taels of silver were paid every month, no more, and sometimes even a few hundred coins less.

Jiang Jiu handed the account book to Xia Zhi: "Lu Yunyang has only been allocated 50 mu of grain now. After distributing it to the tenants and paying taxes, there is not much left. This is probably the amount of money he can earn from the monthly business."

After looking at it, Xia Zhi continued, "The other store is in a great location. It sells a lot of things, and it's very diverse. It looks like it's been divided into several parts."

"The window on the east side sells wine, the window on the west side sells sesame cakes, and the window in the middle sells dried fruits. Girl, I suspect the owner has rented out the shop, but the money he pays every month doesn't seem right."

Jiang Jiu narrowed his eyes slightly: "You rented it yourself? Does Madam Lu know about it?"

She took out another shop account book. Her account book only had a general ledger, which recorded how much money was submitted each month, the expenses, and the remaining amount, and that was all.

Xia Zhi pursed her lips and said, "Mrs. Lu doesn't seem to know. The master, the mistress, and the young master don't care. From the shopkeeper's tone, it seems that as long as he can pay the money, the Lu family will almost ignore him."

Jiang Jiu had an idea in his mind: "Since the location is good and other people's business is doing it, we can do it too. Let's go and take a look tomorrow."

Xia Zhi suddenly said, "Miss, the shopkeeper seems to be related to Madam Lu. You'd better be careful when the time comes."

Jiang Jiu nodded and was about to let Xia Zhi go back to the house to rest. Xia Zhi took two steps forward and handed Jiang Jiu a letter.

"Miss, this is from Jiao Niang, please accept it."

Jiang Jiu was slightly startled. He opened the envelope and saw that it contained a silver note worth two hundred taels.

He smiled helplessly: "This young wife is quite unfamiliar."

She only kept one, stuffed the other one back in and handed it to Xia Zhi.

"Find some time to return the banknote to her and tell her that I appreciate the kindness. It's not easy for everyone to make money. It's too much, so just a token of appreciation will be enough."

Xia Zhi smiled: "The young lady is really considerate. You should know that this is only the commission of the young lady in the shop for three months, which is not much. However, she is thinking of adding to the young lady's dowry for her wedding. She is a person who knows how to be grateful."

Jiang Jiu smiled with relief: "We are just helping each other. Back then, she had just divorced and had nowhere to go with her son. Although we took her in, she put as much thought into the operation of the store as we did."

"She deserves the silver. One hundred taels is already a lot. Let her keep the rest for her children's schooling. Her little Shitou should also go to school."

That night, Lu Yunyang still did not come back.

Even Mr. Lu Liu and Mrs. Lu Chen said they were worshiping Buddha and would not be back until tomorrow.

Early in the morning, after Jiang Jiu got up, he went to Lu Yunyang's two shops.

Sure enough, one of them was a grain shop, quite standard. The owner was in his thirties and looked honest and decent.

The other shop was much busier. Although there was only one shopkeeper, business on both sides was very good. Just as Jiang Jiu was about to enter the shop to check the situation.

Suddenly, Xiaohong, the maidservant beside Jiaoniang, came over in a hurry.

"Sister Xia Zhi, Sister Xia Zhi, something bad has happened to Jiao Niang."

Jiang Jiu turned around abruptly: "What happened to Jiao Niang?"

When Xiaohong saw that it was Jiang Jiu, tears started to flow down her face.

"Early this morning, Jiao Niang went to deliver rouge to the girls at Hua Man Lou, but they detained her. They said, they said... a customer had taken a fancy to her and wanted to buy her for two hundred taels of silver."

Jiang Jiu gritted his teeth in anger. "How dare they force a decent woman into buying or selling? Are they breaking the law again? Have you reported it to the police?"

"We can't report this to the police. One of the guests is Jiaoniang's ex-husband, and he insists that Jiaoniang is a concubine." Xiaohong was so scared that she kept wiping away tears: "Girl, what should I do?"

Jiang Jiu frowned, "Although Jiao Niang eloped, they didn't have a contract to sell her. How could they assume that Jiao Niang was a concubine? Moreover, Jiao Niang was driven out by that man's wife..."

Xiaohong shook her head: "I don't know either. Go and take a look, girl."

Jiang Jiu didn't care about much: "Let's go and take a look."

At this moment, Xia Zhi grabbed Jiang Jiu and said, "Young Madam, are you going to Hua Man Lou like this? Otherwise, change into men's clothes."

Jiang Jiu looked down at her dressing gown. She was dressed as a young woman, but if she dressed as a man, what if she was recognized by the madam of Hua Manlou?

After thinking about it, Jiang Jiu suddenly had an idea.

"No need, isn't the young master still in Hua Man Lou? Let's go find someone..."

Huamanlou is the largest and best brothel in Xiang County.

Brothels in ancient times were not all dirty places, they were also divided into different levels.

There are girls in Hua Man Lou who sell their art but not their bodies. For example, the girl Nichang, the most beautiful girl in Hua Man Lou, is a good dancer and sells her art but not her body.

However, everyone also knows that she has been kept by Lu Yunyang for many years and is Lu Yunyang's confidante.

Jiang Jiu asked Xia Zhi to take Xiaohong back first, and she brought Mudan with her.

Mudan followed Jiang Jiu and stood at the door of Huamanlou, feeling a little expectant and a little scared.

"Young Madam, if we just rush in to look for the young master, won't we be laughed at? What if the young master refuses to come back with us?"

Jiang Jiu suddenly pulled out a sharp dagger from his sleeve.

"If I can't call the young master back today, either he will die or I will die..."

Mudan was so frightened that her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Young Madam..."

Why is this so?

But because of this, Mudan also saw Jiang Jiu's determination, and felt more at ease.

"Young Madam, Mudan will stand by you."

Jiang Jiu smiled slightly, put the sharp dagger back into her sleeve, held up her skirt, and walked up the stairs gracefully.

"Hey, Madam, you don't look like you're here for fun... You're probably here to look for someone."

Jiang Jiu stuffed some change into the money to the madam and revealed his identity directly.

"I'm Lu Yunyang's wife, I'm here to find him..."

"You are...Mrs. Lu..." The madam's eyes changed when she looked at Jiang Jiu, with a hint of contempt in her teasing.

If she remembered correctly, Lu Yunyang didn't go home on her wedding night, and she didn't go home last night either. Tomorrow, the newlywed lady will be returning home, and it would be embarrassing if she didn't go back.

"Mr. Lu is on the third floor..."

Jiang Jiu smiled slightly and walked up the stairs slowly.

"Is the shopkeeper of Fennujiao, Jiaoniang, here too? I'm out of makeup and can't find her. Have you seen her?"