Golden Branch

"This matter——"

The prince pondered, thinking about how to cover it up.

If your arm is broken, you have to hide it in your sleeve.

Princess Rong'an's mistakes must never be exposed, let alone announced to the world.

First, the royal majesty will be completely gone.

Second, the saint will be in trouble.

After all, to a saint, the lives of ordinary people are not as important as those of his beloved relatives.

A sage is a wise ruler, so he cannot openly do things that are corrupt and disregard the people.

As a minister and a son, what the prince has to do is to nip the threat in the bud.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I'm already working on it!"

Lou Yu bowed slightly and said softly, "Fortunately, the case doesn't involve too many people, and there are only nine victims."

"Oh no, to be exact, there are only two real victims, and because they had to wait for an 'auspicious day', they are both safe and sound."

There wasn't much ups and downs in Lou Yu's words, but the Crown Prince, who was familiar with him, could still hear a hint of relief in his voice.

Fortunately, when Princess Rong'an was causing trouble, she was smart and knew how to cover it up.

Of the nine people, only two are the target.

There are not that many victims, so if the situation really gets out of control and is exposed, the public outrage it can arouse will not be that great.

Crown Prince: ...Han Zhang is mocking me, isn't he? He's mocking Grandmother Rong An for having too many teeth, and for having little cleverness but no wisdom?!

But what Lou Yu said was not wrong.

As a close junior of Rong An, if the prince hadn't been concerned about Ye Ye, he would have wanted to scold him.

"Yes. I'll leave this matter to you."

Gathering his thoughts, the prince looked at Lou Yu, his seemingly calm eyes filled with trust and expectation.

……

After coming out of the East Palace, the palace began to be locked.

Bathed in the night, Lou Yu rode a horse, followed by a group of guards, and headed straight for Pingkangfang with the sound of horse hooves.

The gate was closed, and the guard took Lou Yu's token and knocked on the gate.

The group returned to the Duke of Qi's Mansion.

“…Alas, Ah Heng is not here!”

Looking at the empty dormitory, Lou Yu sighed softly.

Even though they had only been married for five days, the Duke's Mansion was filled with her shadow.

The familiar sweet scent of lychees, lingering and almost imperceptible, made Lou Yu feel uneasy.

After washing up in the bathroom and changing into clean pajamas, Lou Yu came to the bed with his hair loose.

On the bed, a bright red brocade quilt embroidered with gold thread had been spread out by the maids. Lou Yu picked up the quilt and smelled it carefully.

Mm, it tastes like Ah Heng.

Just a little bland.

Lou Yu thought for a moment, dropped the quilt, stood up and walked to the dressing table, picking up a purse that Wang Heng had casually placed on the table when she woke up in the morning.

This was something she wore close to her skin, but because the color didn't match her clothes today, she took it off.

Holding the purse in your hand, the sweet fragrance of litchi wafts in the air.

With Ah Heng away, he couldn't sleep alone, so he could only -

Quilts, purses, and even changed clothes could not completely relieve the pain.

After just a few days, Lou Yu had already gotten used to falling asleep in the arms of a sweet and soft person.

Lou Yu tossed and turned in bed, but still couldn't fall asleep, so he simply got up.

He came alone to the courtyard on the east side of the dormitory, which was his study.

Inside the inner study, there was an "inner room" that even Wang Heng didn't know about.

He turned the mechanism, entered the windowless inner room, turned on the light, and took out a box from the cabinet on the side of the desk.

Inside the box were several fist-sized pieces of mutton-fat white jade seeds, as well as some jade carving tools.

Lou Yu wiped his hands with a cotton towel, took out a seed material that had been partially carved, and began to carve it carefully.

Ah Heng’s birthday is coming soon. It is her eighteenth birthday. Wang Mian said that eighteen years old is very important.

Although Lou Yu didn't understand, Wang Mian had an exceptionally lively celebration when she was eighteen, which seemed even more grand than her coming-of-age ceremony.

Lou Yu plays a character who doesn't understand but indulges——

Whatever others have, his little girl must also have, and it must be even more grand.

It just so happens that this year is Wang Heng's first birthday after leaving the family and getting married, so it should be celebrated properly.

Eighteen years old or something is just another excuse.

Lou Yu secretly ordered people to prepare a lot of things, including a grand birthday banquet, many prominent guests, and carefully prepared birthday gifts.

Especially the birthday gift, Lou Yu prepared two.

One is given in front of people, it is exquisite and valuable.

The other one was given privately by the young couple, which showed their thoughtfulness.

The jade carving in my hand is the latter.

Well, since it is a small gadget given to each other privately, it is more of a romantic interest between husband and wife.

Lou Yu held the seed material in one hand and the carving knife in the other. When he thought about what he was going to carve, his eyes couldn't help but flash with excitement.

In the past few years, I have watched many live performances and read many related picture albums. In my mind and dreams, Lou Yu has sketched out many "unspeakable" beautiful scenes.

He painted it on paper just for his own enjoyment.

Now, he finally married Ah Heng, and the taste of peeled lychees was just as sweet as he had imagined. He was already deeply in love with her, and he became more and more addicted to her.

Unfortunately, it is still too early and he dares not use some of the positions he has fantasized about.

Tsk, what if I scare the little girl?

She is not a docile and obedient little rabbit, but a rebellious little fox.

In the first few days of their marriage, the young couple had several interactions.

Perhaps for Lou Yu, it is an ambiguous tug-of-war and the interest of a couple.

But for Wang Heng, it was "rebellion."

Lou Yu knew Wang Heng too well and understood the principle of "being cautious and tolerant".

We have been waiting for so many years, there is no need to rush.

He will take it step by step.

But he also needed to vent some emotions. He had already tasted the delicious food, and just painting seemed not enough.

After all, paintings are flat and on paper, and some plays cannot be shown from all angles.

Jade carving is different.

The seed material in Lou Yu's hand already has a prototype. If you look closely, you can see... ahem, I can't say it, I can't say it.

It's so entangled that it has to be blurred.

As the night deepens, the candlelight flickers on the tall candlesticks, and on the snow-white wall, the silhouette of a person "working" at a desk is reflected until very, very late.

……

In addition to being busy, Lou Yu can also make some small things for his newlywed wife with his own hands. Zhou Jiming does not have such leisure time.

After going to the Zhaixing Tower, I not only failed to achieve my goal, but was also humiliated.

Qian Rizui was very drunk. After Zhou Jiming left Zhaixing Tower, he immediately induced vomiting and vomited out most of the alcohol.

After returning to his villa in Mount Li, he hurriedly ordered someone to boil a decoction to sober him up. He pinched his nose and drank several bowls of it, but still couldn't completely sober him up.

I fell headfirst onto the bed, feeling groggy and half drunk and half awake for the entire afternoon and night.

It was not until the next day that Zhou Jiming got up with two big dark circles under his eyes, a haggard face, and a weak look.

My head still aches dully.

"...What a mighty and majestic Lord Wang!"

Although Zhou Jiming had a severe hangover and felt uncomfortable all over, he still gritted his teeth and persevered.

He shook his head vigorously to clear the chaos in his mind.

He thought of everything that happened yesterday and couldn't help feeling ashamed, angry and resentful.

"Bitch! A bitch who uses her power to bully others!"

"At such a young age, he already knows how to cling to others. He clings to Wang Jiu and Lou Dalang all day long..."

"Now that she has come to the capital, she has shamelessly climbed up to the Eastern Palace!"

"Isn't it just a business deal? I have some dirty money... The Crown Prince is wise, but he has no choice but to show favor to a woman just for the sake of food and money..."

The headache that felt like needles pricking and axes chiseling made Zhou Jiming, who was already mentally twisted, even more irritable.

He kept cursing, first at Wang Mian, then at Wang Heng, and then back to his "lifelong enemy" Lou Yu:

"Lou Yu, Lou Hanzhang, what's so great about you?"

"You are just lucky. You were born into the powerful Helou clan in the North."

"If I had a good background like you, I would never lose to you!"

"But it doesn't matter! I may not have your good luck, but I work hard and am patient enough. I will definitely be able to defeat you and surpass you with my abilities, and make you look up to me in return..."

As Zhou Jiming thought about this, he became more and more eager to solve the case and defeat Lou Yu.

He shook his head vigorously, but still felt a lot of discomfort, and it seemed as if he had not fully woken up yet.

Zhou Jiming was indeed cruel enough. Not only could he carry out torture without batting an eyelid, he could also be cruel to himself.

In the early morning of spring, it is still quite cold in the mountains.

Zhou Jiming plunged into the icy well water, and his confused brain was instantly awakened by the stimulation of the cold water.

Now that you're awake, it's time to get down to business.

Yesterday, although I failed to meet Lou Yu as I wished, I also failed to successfully "bet" with him.

However, in Zhou Jiming's heart, he silently made a bet -

I must solve the Jingzhao Prefecture missing persons case before Lou Yu does.

He solved the case beautifully and achieved real results. The saint is wise and the prince is virtuous. They will definitely know who is the most suitable Chief Justice of the Dali Temple!

"Somebody come!"

His hair still dripping with water, Zhou Jiming wiped his face vigorously and ordered, "Pack up! Return to Beijing! Continue investigating the case!"

He came to Mount Li just for Lou Yu.

If the plan fails, there is no need to stay in Mount Li.

The case originally happened in the capital. If you want to find more clues, you should go back.

Zhou Jiming hastily combed his hair into a bun, and regardless of the fact that his hair was not dry yet, he hurriedly led his men back to the capital.

Riding a horse and feeling the wind, my awakened brain became even clearer.

My scalp feels a little cold and my nose feels a little itchy.

However, none of this matters.

Now there are only two words in Zhou Jiming’s mind - investigate the case!

……

"My dear, Zhou Jiming has found Quchifang."

As soon as Zhou Jiming made some movement, Lou Yu received the news.

On one side of Quchifang is Qujiang. In order to make it easier for them to travel around Qujiang, many powerful families bought villas in the nearby square.

The manager of an outer courtyard of Princess Rong'an owns property in Quchifang.

Several victims of this disappearance were also hiding there.

Lou Yu gently stroked the red line on his thumb and said lightly, "You do have some talent. In just a few days, you've already achieved some results..."

It’s a pity that even if this case is to be disclosed, it cannot be related to Princess Rong’an!