Chapter 41: Blue Background and White Flowers (Part 2)

"Originally it was brought from Wu. I heard that many families in Wu have looms, and the women there can spin and weave."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, something flashed through her mind. Zhao Shiqing was confused for a moment. It was strange. She didn't even know what a loom looked like, but why did she have an inexplicable sense of familiarity?

She had never been to Wu. This was the first time she had left Liang since she was a child.

"Yes, the women in Wu are not only good at spinning and weaving, but they are also beautiful. Our former concubine Wang was from Wu," said Ling Bo.

When Zhao Shiqing heard Ling Bo talking about Concubine Wang, she thought of Concubine Liu who was harmed by Nie Qionghua. The sense of familiarity just now disappeared, and she didn't care.

The master and servant chatted and laughed, each carrying a bamboo basket, and went out shopping.

As they walked, they arrived at Wangfuqian Street.

In Liangdi, even before you get close to the palace, you can feel the difference here. It is very clean, very rich, and even the flowers are more beautiful than in other places.

However, Wangfuqian Street is no different from other streets in the capital. If there must be a difference, it is that compared to many places, it is older, more depressing, and quieter.

Like a gorgeous dress that has lost its luster and is eaten by moths.

Zhao Shiqing has checked and found that the Prince of Liang's Palace and the Prince of Beiyan's Palace are both located in the street in front of the palace.

The Palace of the Prince of Shu, the Palace of the Prince of Chu, and the Palace of the Prince of Fujian occupied the Central Street of the Palace.

The back streets of the palaces are home to the Prince of Jin's Palace, the Prince of Nangui's Palace, and the Prince of Wu's Palace.

The master and servant walked around the area and then headed towards the inn.

As he was walking, Zhao Shiqing suddenly stopped.

Someone is following her!

She looked around and saw a face that looked familiar.

She had seen this man outside Wisteria Villa that day.

This man was following Xiao Zhen at the time. He was tall and strong, but had an innocent look on his face. Zhao Shiqing was impressed by him.

This is Xiao Zhen’s man!

When the man saw that she had discovered him, he stopped hiding and turned around and walked into a grocery store.

After waiting for a while, Zhao Shiqing and Ling Bo followed. The man, holding a can of fermented tofu, asked the owner, "I heard that two years ago, there was a shop nearby where an adulterer poisoned and murdered nine members of a family. I think it was a grocery store, right?"

Voiceover: This must be your home.

The grocery store owner looked around, where was the broom? He was about to hit someone!

"That's a tea shop in Baishiqiao. We don't have one here. Do you want to buy something or not? If not, get out!"

Zhao Shiqing......

She narrowed her eyes and turned to leave with Ling Bo.

The boss looked up and saw two customers turning around and leaving. He became even angrier and yelled at Da Zhuang, "One more thing, that tea shop is in Baishiqiao, far from here!"

He snatched the fermented tofu from Dazhuang's hand and said, "I'm not doing business with you anymore. Get out of here quickly! Go, go, go!"

......

Zhao Shiqing and Ling Bo called two sedan chairs, saying they were going to Baishiqiao and then to a tea shop. The sedan chair bearers didn't even ask which tea shop they were going to, and just dropped them off in front of Su's Tea Shop.

Zhao Shiqing got off the sedan chair and looked up at the teahouse in front of him. It was a two-story building with a plaque with gold letters on a black background. The front of the door was cleaned neatly. It looked like a nice shop and did not look like a murder scene at all.

A middle-aged man was sitting at the door. Although his clothes were washed white, they were very clean and his hair was combed sleekly. He was holding a large palm-leaf fan in his hand and leaning on a recliner. A big yellow dog was lying next to him. The man and the dog were leisurely and contented.

Zhao Shiqing walked in. The big yellow dog looked up alertly. The uncle also saw Zhao Shiqing and stood up quickly. "Guests are here, guests are here. Welcome. Are you two girls going to buy some tea?"

Zhao Shiqing showed a sign: "I'm looking for Master Zhen."

This uncle is Su Datou, of course, his real name is Su Dahong.

Su Datou quickly took the sign, turned around and went upstairs. He came back soon, returned the sign to Zhao Shiqing, and respectfully welcomed her to the second floor.

This sign belongs to the Princess's Mansion. Xiao Zhen asked Prince Consort Xiao to give it to her, originally to make it easier for her to move around in the capital. However, the Princess's Mansion is now in the spotlight, and Zhao Shiqing is ready to return it.

She asked Ling Bo to stay. Ling Bo was very curious about this tea shop. Su Datou led Zhao Shiqing upstairs and did not return to the recliner. There were customers in the shop, and as the owner, he couldn't just leave the guests aside.

He picked up a feather duster and dusted the non-existent dust on the counter. Ling Bo asked, "Uncle, are you staying here tonight too?"

Su Datou nodded: "Yes, I'm here all day."

"I heard that someone was killed here. Uncle, can you tell me about the murder?" Ling Bo said with a smile.

Su Datou suddenly became alert. Although he was not a witness to the murder, he was a victim. No one had more say than him.

In the shop in the afternoon, an adult and a child chatted about gossip...

Upstairs, Zhao Shiqing finally saw Xiao Zhen whom she had not seen for a long time.

After not seeing each other for many days, Xiao Zhen looked a little better. If he looked 70% ghost and 30% human before, now it was half and half, looking like a half-human, half-ghost creature.

Zhao Shiqing said, "I've been in the capital for two days, and I haven't seen your brother yet. He doesn't seem to be living in the princess's mansion."

It’s not that she doesn’t keep her word, but Xiao Yue is like a mysterious dragon that can’t be found.

Xiao Zhen also had a headache. Before he went to Liangdi, he wrote a letter to Xiao Yue asking him to hide. Xiao Yue also assured him. Later, in order to save Jiang Ping and the other four, Xiao Yue set fire to the mansion and disappeared after that.

Although Xiao Zhen knew that Xiao Yue must be hiding somewhere, his parents had already returned to the capital, but this kid had not shown up yet, so he was a little worried.

Xiao Yue lived to be thirty-three years old in his previous life, but there are many variables in this life, not to mention that Xiao Yue is only a child of twelve or thirteen years old.

Xiao Zhen said in a deep voice: "Second Miss, please take care of your own business first. I will contact you when I find my brother."

"Okay, I'm currently living in Youxiyingmen, the one not far from the Imperial College. Oh, I think you already know that."

Xiao Zhen didn't say anything. He really didn't know where these people in Prince Liang's Mansion lived. Except for Zhao Shiqing and his servant, the other nine people had received special training, so it was not easy to find their whereabouts.

Therefore, Xiao Zhen could only let Da Zhuang try his luck near Prince Liang's Mansion, and Zhao Shiqing really came over.

Xiao Zhen recalled something and said, "Since he was little, Prince Liang has had five imperial physicians. The one who served the longest was named Han Baochang. He was Han Yuanshi's cousin. He was in and out of the Liang Palace for five years until he retired last year and was replaced by Imperial Physician Wu. Not long ago, Prince Liang fell ill again, and Imperial Physician Wu was relieved of his duties, so he was replaced by the current Imperial Physician Hu. After Han Baochang retired, he followed his son to Hui'an. As for Imperial Physician Wu, he is now on the bench at the Imperial Hospital. He lives in Derong Hutong."

Zhao Shiqing stood up and said goodbye: "Thank you, Master Zhen. I won't disturb you from recuperating."

After saying that, he left like a gust of wind.

Watching the blue and white flowers disappear at the door, Xiao Zhen said to himself: "Just leave when you say so, what's the harm in chatting for a few more words..."