In the Huachao Pavilion, a small cauldron is cooking on the long table, and the clear smoke from the spring is thin, and the feet approaching in the window cast long shadows.
The man on the couch lazily crossed his legs, using a red pen to mark the account book in his hand. He didn't sit still, but he couldn't be scolded for being rude. His nose is like a hanging bile, his eyes are like glass, he looks like an unruly banished immortal.
The tip of his pen suddenly came down, and what came in and out were tens of thousands of taels of business. When he heard the movement, he raised his eyes and looked at the person coming.
Chang Yan entered the door warily: "My boss."
Zhang Yue turned back to the guard beside her and raised her chin. Luo Ci immediately understood and went to guard the door.
"Xie Zhu is awake?"
"He was in severe physical condition. He woke up once in the middle of the journey, but he was not conscious yet and couldn't figure out what was going on. However, Xie Liu just came here."
"She comes frequently and is not afraid of being discovered."
"She sent a scroll and asked Xie Zhu to write some Buddhist scriptures for hundreds of people. My subordinates didn't see anything strange."
Chang Yan handed over the scroll.
Zhang Yuehui unfolded it and glanced back and forth a few times. The scroll is very long and has different handwriting.
The water on the small cauldron was boiling, and the water vapor made a gurgling sound against the lid. Zhang Yuehui ignored it, his brows darkening a bit: "This doesn't seem like an idea that Xie Liu could come up with."
Chang Yan was puzzled: "Master, what's the point here?"
"Obviously, this Buddhist scripture should be used to comfort the old lady of the Xie family, but if the person who did it is intentional, she can use this matter to collect the handwriting of everyone in Wangxuewu."
Chang Yan was horrified: "Then can't I take this Buddhist scripture back?"
"If you don't take it back, your identity will be revealed." Zhang Yuehui took the scroll back slowly and handed it to Chang Yan, "Just do as Xie Liu said and don't do anything. Follow the clues and see what they want to do. .”
"My subordinates also heard from Qi Bing, the guard in Xuewu, that this matter was handled by Xie Liu and the new widow from the Xie family."
Zhang Yuehui raised his eyebrows: "Qin family?"
"Exactly. However, we have checked before and the details of the Qin family are innocent. This Qin family is an illegitimate daughter. It is said that she was raised on the street and behaved a little irregularly. She is a dispensable person in the Xie family. Subordinates I also asked General Husha, and the woman seemed submissive, not very courageous, just an ordinary woman."
"You still have to watch carefully -" Zhang Yuehui picked up the kettle and poured water into the tea cup, "No one who can mix in the muddy water of the Xie family is simple. The more impossible the person, You have to be more careful."
"Here. Boss, there is one more thing," Chang Yan hesitated and said, "My subordinate accidentally saw an old friend of Bianjing who had escaped from Bianjing on the streets of Lidu Mansion..."
"Who?" Zhang Yuehui became curious.
"Song Muchuan. His subordinates thought that he was born in a family of craftsmen and had served in the Ministry of Industry. He was proficient in architecture and shipbuilding. He had participated in supervising the construction of the "Wenlu" keel boat. Maybe he could solve Lord Wanyan's current difficulties. Bureau."
Zhang Yue laughed back and shook her head: "He has been away from officialdom for six years and has long been a useless person. I heard that Shen Zhizhong once sent him several secret messages in a row, hoping that he would come back to serve the court, but they all fell into pieces. When a person’s heart is dead, no amount of talent can save him.”
"My boss means that I can't win him over?"
"This Song Qilang is the real immortal who came down to earth to experience calamity. He is so clean -" Zhang Yue replied with a smile on his lips, but his tone was not sarcastic, but vaguely admiring, "How can in this world? How can such a clean person be allowed to exist? I’m afraid his life will soon be over.”
There was silence in the room for a moment.
Seemingly recalling something from the past, Zhang Yue said nothing for a while. Finally, she raised her head and changed the subject.
"Is there any whereabouts of the person I asked you to check?"
"The person the boss is looking for..." Chang Yan showed a trace of hesitation on her face, "Some people said that they had seen such a girl at the Quling River ferry, but they heard that she met a group of Qi soldiers... and then she was never seen again. People have seen her.”
"Look again."
He ordered without any hesitation, and the calmness in his eyebrows disappeared.
Chang Yan did not dare to refute any more. In her speculation, how could a girl escape the ravages of Qi Ren? The person must be dead. But she rarely saw such an expression on her boss who didn't care about anything. If he said he would look for it, he would have to look for it until the body was found.
——
At this time, Nan Yi was wandering on the street.
She left the house with Xie Xiaoliu. Xie Xiaoliu took to the streets in the name of buying new year goods and went to Huachao Pavilion to deliver Buddhist scriptures and asked Xie Zhu to inscribe them. However, Nan Yi found an excuse and separated from Xie Sui'an and secretly went on her own. Go to a pawn shop.
She sorted out the jewelry and rewards she had accumulated during this period, and also took the Duan Inkstone given to her by Sister Qiu. She planned to exchange it all for gold and silver and escape as soon as she found the opportunity.
Other shops were deserted, and only the pawnshop was bustling with people. Every household plundered the last valuable things from their homes and sent them to the pawnshop in exchange for some food money to fill their stomachs.
Naturally, pawnshop prices are getting more and more outrageous.
The jewelry that Nan Yi brought was only exchanged for thirty taels of silver, but the Duan Inkstone was indeed in very good condition. Mr. Zhangyan at the pawnshop looked at it with admiration, but in the end he shook his head with regret.
"This Duan inkstone is a top-grade product from Meihua Pit. It should be supplied by the palace. It is very rare. If it were not for the words engraved on the inkstone, I would have paid fifty taels for it."
The pawnshop is now willing to give fifty taels, which means that the inkstone is worth at least two or three hundred taels.
Nan Yi was confused: "How come it's not worth anything if it's engraved?"
"Is this carved by the madam's sister-in-law? You see, the carving method of this handwriting is consistent with the carving method of the lotus pattern. It should be from the same hand." Mr. Zhangyan handed over the inkstone and pointed to the inkstone on the surface. Character.
There were two lines of characters "Qing Ling Juan Xiu" engraved on the inkstone. Nan Yi couldn't understand it, so he didn't take it seriously.
"What's written on it?"
"'May my sister-in-law be safe, happy, and live a long life.'" Mr. Palm Eyes sighed sadly again, "So, it's hard to sell it again. Who do you think is willing to buy something private at a high price and give it to others?" Where is the thing?"
Nan Yi was stunned.
In all her life, she has never received such a blessing. Peace, joy, and longevity, every word represents the best things in the world.
She saved Sister Qiu's father. Sister Qiu thanked her, but she didn't know what to give her and was too embarrassed to ask. He secretly observed her and saw that she seemed to be practicing calligraphy, so he spent several days carving a piece for her. Only the precious inkstone was engraved with her most sincere blessings.
"Madam, are you still cheating on your inkstone?" Seeing that the lady in front of him was lost in thought, Mr. Zhangyan asked again.
Nan Yi took the inkstone back and said, "I won't do it anymore."
Even though Nan Yi was determined to cut herself off from everything in the family, she was reluctant to sell the inkstone at a low price.
Just as he was about to leave the pawn shop, Nan Yi heard two guys chatting in front of another counter.
"Yes, that scholar lives in Jiangyuefang, and his surname seems to be Song..."
This person sounded familiar. Nan Yi stopped and looked around.
The guys were playing with a crystal clear azure Ru kiln porcelain cup.
"When he pawned this cup, he didn't say where it came from. We just thought it was the Imperial Ru Kiln Cup made in the palace. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be the top scholar in the imperial examination many years ago. At the Luming Banquet after high school, The officials admired him and gave him this porcelain cup to drink wine from - tsk, what a sight."
"He was going to say that this was the No. 1 pick, and the price could be doubled immediately, but he didn't say that?"
"Students are so thin-faced that they don't know how to bargain. To pawn such a precious thing, it must be that the number one scholar came from exile all the way. He is really short of money and can't even afford to eat."
"Then why don't you go to the Xie family? The Xie family is such a rich family, they will definitely help him."
"Maybe it's too shameful?"
"You think it's strange for this person to be so shameless, yet he stole a bag of rice and was caught on the spot... tsk tsk tsk tsk."
Nan Yi stood at the door and listened for a long time, and finally understood what was going on. The person they were talking about was Song Yushu, whom she met by chance.
Song Yushu was once an unparalleled number one scholar. Not long ago, he wandered to Lidu Mansion and was so miserable that he lived in a shabby thatched house with a few poor scholars.
The road ahead is vast, and I don’t know where to go. Although I am full of talent and learning, I have to be trapped in the current situation. He pawned everything he could pawn, leaving little money to pay for his expenses. He couldn't even afford a bite of food. He had no choice but to take a desperate risk and stole a bag of rice from a shop. He was caught on the spot.
At first, no one in the city cared about a poor scholar, but because he stole something, the news about him spread.
Most of the comments were accusations and insults—how could a scholar steal? Even if he starves to death, he will not eat the food that comes to him, let alone do anything like stealing. This top scholar has no character at all.
Nan Yi always felt a little sad when she thought about her relationship with Song Yushu, the scholar who would mind even if his clothes were dirty.
She returned to the street, hesitating whether to go to Jiangyuefang to see the scholar, but she heard exclamations coming from the river not far away.
"Someone jumped into the river!"
