Noble Lady

"master."

As soon as Situ Zhen came back, Fang Rui stopped him.

"What's the matter?"

"You've exposed your literary talent today. Will it cause any consequences?"

Situ Zhen paused: "Are you saying that Miss Xue is doing something bad to me?"

Fang Rui quickly lowered his head.

He naturally thought so in his heart, but he certainly couldn't say it.

Otherwise, the master will be the first one to not forgive him.

"I know what you're thinking," Situ Zhen said slowly. "You think that even though Xue Chenyu is Marquis Xue's eldest daughter and has countless wealth, she still can't compare to those noble ladies from wealthy families."

"But don't forget, Xue Chenyu is the only noble lady in the entire Great Sheng Dynasty. If his experience happened to anyone else, they would probably compromise."

"But even when she's in a desperate situation, she can turn back in time. This is the courage of a hero who cuts off his own arm. But those in the court who claim to read the books of sages can't compare to her."

Fang Rui: "Yes, but the prince and princess will definitely not agree to let Miss Xue marry into the palace again..."

Not to mention that Miss Xue had caused a lot of uproar in the city over her divorce.

"That's not your business. You've crossed the line."

Situ Zhen's voice was a little colder. The candlelight was dim, but Fang Rui could clearly see the coldness and murderous intent in his master's eyes.

"I admit my mistake!" Fang Rui knelt down on his knees, his legs weak.

Situ Zhen just glanced at him indifferently and went straight into the inner room.

……

Xue Chenyu had a good sleep and learned the good news the next morning.

"Yang Bo has confessed everything, including his own registration book, which has been handed over to Junior Master." Yumei said excitedly.

Xue Chenyu was sitting in front of the dressing table, letting Yuzhu comb her hair.

Since coming to Haicheng County, she has never properly dressed up.

Now, it's time to dress up a little.

Yuzhu inserted the jade hollow butterfly hairpin into her hair. Xue Chenyu looked at herself in the mirror. It was simple and elegant, yet exquisite. It was very good, just the way she liked it.

Since Prince Cheng had already received good news, she didn't even bother to eat breakfast. She tidied up her appearance and set out to meet Situ Zhen.

"Miss Xue, you've arrived just in time." Situ Zhen waved to her when he saw her coming.

Xue Chenyu paused at the door.

"I didn't know the prince was still having dinner. Sorry to bother you. I'll come back later."

"Wait a minute."

Situ Zhen called her over, "You're here just in time. These dim sum were just delivered this morning. They're all local specialties. Come and try some."

Although his tone was gentle and polite, he did not have the attitude to negotiate with her.

In terms of identity, he is the prince of Chengcheng King, and also an imperial envoy specially appointed by His Majesty. He is the boss here.

Xue Chenyu was just a woman, without any official title or nobility, so naturally she couldn't defeat him.

So, after hesitating for a moment, she sat down.

Fang Rui immediately brought the dishes and chopsticks.

Fortunately, Situ Zhen did not force her to pick up food.

Xue Chenyu felt that it was inappropriate for her to sit there and not eat anything, so she picked up her chopsticks and took a few bites.

But there was one thing she hadn't thought of beforehand, that was, all the snacks on the table were her favorites.

I didn’t feel hungry at first, but after eating the first bite, I became hungrier and hungrier, and couldn’t help but eat a few more bites.

By the end of the meal, she felt embarrassed: "...I'm sorry, Prince, I lost my composure."

"It's okay, as long as you like it." Situ Zhen nodded slowly with a smile on his face, "I'll ask them to prepare it tomorrow morning."

Xue Chenyu's smile froze on her lips.

She realized belatedly that Prince Cheng had changed his strategy.

Xue Chenyu felt annoyed at her late realization.

"Please clear it away." Seeing that she had put down her bowl and chopsticks and was indeed full, Situ Zhen asked Fang Rui to clear the food away.

"After two consecutive rains, the water in the rivers and wells has begun to recover. Aside from food, which still depends on the imperial court, everything else has slowly returned to its previous state."

Situ Zhen took the initiative to talk about business. Xue Chenyu paused and thought of something: "They have two rice crops a year here, but I remember the caravan people told me before that they will also plant a season of other vegetables at the end of the year."

"Is it still too late to sow seeds now?"

Situ Zhen lowered his head and calculated the time. "It's actually a bit late to plant now. But if the fertilizer can keep up, we might still be able to harvest."

Xue Chenyu took it to heart and also asked Yuzhu to record this matter.

Afterwards, Xue Chenyu took the initiative to ask about Yang Bo's booklet.

Situ Zhen immediately pulled out a small notebook from his pocket: "This is the booklet that Yang Bo mentioned. He didn't record every gathering at the theater, but he did record the gatherings at crucial moments."

He flipped through the pages one by one, then pointed to Xue Chenyu: "Look here, the one on June 18th. It's the three people in jail, the county magistrate who was supposedly driven away by the county magistrate, and Zheng Duoqi."

"It was them again on June 25th, and a few more times in early July. It was them again."

That was the time when famine broke out, but they still met frequently.

They often gathered in August and September, especially at the end of September, when they gathered together for three consecutive days. After that, the county magistrate Wu Fang was "driven away".

Later, famine made people's lives miserable.

On the first day of October, only the county lieutenant, Zheng Duoqi, and Wu Fang came.

After that, there were only three county lieutenants left, and Zheng Duoqi no longer came.

After Situ Zhen pointed it out to Xue Chenyu, he was afraid that she couldn't see it clearly enough, so he handed it to her again.

Xue Chenyu carefully flipped through the pages again and again, pointing to the page that read October 1st and saying, "Could it be that County Magistrate He Yuanju disappeared after this?"

Upon hearing this, Situ Zhen met her gaze.

Eyes facing each other.

Xue Chenyu felt as if she was looking into two deep pools, and turned her eyes away uncomfortably.

"What do you think, Prince?"

"We need to talk to Zheng Duoqi. Besides, the three county lieutenants have been refusing to reveal a single word so far. Perhaps they have something to rely on."

Rely on?

Is it the county magistrate whose whereabouts are still unknown?

"Why don't I go meet Mr. Zheng and leave the three county lieutenants to the prince?"

"can."

Situ Zhen agreed to Xue Chenyu's suggestion without hesitation.

Of course, from a public perspective, he believed that Xue Chenyu would give him a surprise.

Zheng Duoqi is a conceited person. As a scholar, he naturally looks down on others.

But last time his pride had been torn to pieces in public by Xue Chenyu, and he must have hated Xue Chenyu to the core.

In this situation, Miss Xue's presence would further stimulate his emotions.

When people's emotions are out of control, they may say things they shouldn't say.

It was a fluke, but he felt it was worth the gamble.

"Thank you for your trust, Prince."

"You're welcome, Miss Xue, this is a favor for me." Situ Zhen was also very polite, "Because Miss Chu is here and is waiting for you in the flower hall."

Xue Chenyu:? ?

"When did she come?"

Situ Zhen: "Early in the morning."

Why are you saying this now?

She was a little annoyed, but considering Situ Zhen's status, she couldn't say anything to express her annoyance to him, so she stood up and said goodbye.