Rong Ting lowered his eyes, his expression still looking gentle. He waved his hand gently, and the secret guard understood his gesture and continued to protect Jiang Rao.

Not long after the secret guard left, a figure came into Bei Shen's courtyard.

Huai Qing came back from outside in a hurry, his clothes fluttering in the night wind, smelling slightly of burnt charcoal.

When he knocked on the door and entered the study, Rong Ting was writing.

Huai Qing looked at his back as he sat on the armchair and reported in a low voice: "There are seven charred bodies in the Shen Mansion. The emperor is also afraid that they are faking their deaths to escape punishment, so he asked the coroner to check. Among them are three maids and two servants from the Shen Mansion. It must be Madam Shen and her daughter."

When Huai Qing thought of the scene of living people being engulfed by the fire, his legs began to tremble, and his eyes looked strange as he looked at the lights hanging outside.

Seeing a dead person always makes my heart shaken.

At the desk, Rong Ting's writing hand paused, he did not turn around, "Where are they?"

"they?"

"The seven dead bodies."

His voice was cold, and it happened to be windy and dark today. She put the shawl on his shoulders, but there was not the slightest fluctuation in his eyes. He was indifferent to the life and death of people.

"Those maids and servants were taken away by their families." Huai Qing paused, "Mrs. Shen and Miss Shen were convicted and alone, and no one was willing to spend the money to take them back. I heard that they were taken directly by the coroner's men to the Stone Forest west of the city for mass burial."

"Go to the farmer who is guarding the stone forest and ask him where the mother and daughter are."

When Rong Ting asked about the whereabouts of the corpses, Huai Qing vaguely sensed that something was wrong. When he heard Rong Ting's order, he finally shuddered uncontrollably.

Find out where the body is and what can be done about it.

He didn't dare to think about it too much or ask more questions. He just agreed to the matter and closed the door and went out. Before closing the door, he glanced inside.

Rong Ting was still writing at the desk, the ink droplets from the tip of his pen dripping onto the paper, slowly spreading across the rice paper, his pupils were so deep that they seemed to be melted by the ink.

Perhaps because he had seen Rong Ting holding a knife before, Huai Qing inexplicably felt a little apprehensive when he saw him writing with a pen.

Holding a knife is like holding a pen, the movements are exactly the same.

Too gentle.

…

After Jiang Rao returned home, she asked some old maids in the mansion and learned some things about Xie Xiang.

Xie Xiang was not only the legitimate daughter of Prince Xiang's mansion, but also the only child. She had no legitimate brothers or sisters, only a illegitimate brother.

Xie Xiang has had a weak constitution since birth. The older she gets, the more illnesses she suffers. A few years ago, a fortune teller said that the character "Xiang" in her name was too hard, and her fate was weak, so she could not bear it, so she changed it to "Xi" and never left the house. Xie Xi is now 28 years old, and it is time for her to be married.

Xie Xi was frail and never left the house. The only time she went out was to go to Guangliyuan to listen to opera with her mother, Xu Xie, the illegitimate sister of Empress Jiahe, Xu Lanying.

Guangliyuan opens once every two days and is located on the east side of the Qinhuai River, on the same side as Jiang Rao's shops.

Jiang Rao often stayed in the shop these days and sent informants to Guangliyuan to inquire. Once they saw the Xie family going to the Liyuan to watch opera, they would inform her so that she could go over.

She knew that she had no strategy or means, so she could only start from small things like this, hoping to get something useful from Xie Xi and Xu Lanying.

Even if you can't get it, just think of it as going to Guangliyuan to listen to a few operas to relieve your boredom.

It’s not a loss.

She was staying in the shop that day, and the spy arranged to be stationed at the Liyuan happened to come with Hu Tang, so Jiang Rao went to Guangliyuan with her.

On the stage, the sound of gongs and drums gradually rose.

Hu Tang is not the type of person who can sit still and listen to an opera.

The troupe had only performed halfway through the play when her eyelids began to droop. The sound of gongs and drums on the stage startled her, and she shuddered and perked up, drawing circles around the teacup with her fingers out of boredom.

She looked at Jiang Rao opposite her and saw that her eyes were not on the stage either. Following her gaze, she seemed to be looking at a table of mother and daughter on the west side of the second floor.

The Liyuan has three floors. A stage is set up in the hall on the first floor, and guests are sitting at the tables around the railings on the second and third floors. They are on the third floor, occupying the best viewing spot.

Hu Tang saw the mother and daughter sitting on the second floor.

"Isn't that Princess Xiang and Xie Xiang?"

"Xie Xi." Jiang Rao corrected.

Xu Lanying and her daughter watched the show alone and didn't talk to anyone else. Jiang Rao didn't see anything useful, so she turned back to talk to Hu Tang.

"I'm used to it." Hu Tang muttered, then listened to Jiang Rao and changed his voice, "Xie Xi."

Jiang Rao smiled, and Hu Tang held his cheek and looked at her, "Why didn't I see your brother following you today?"

"He was locked in the academy and went to study."

Jiang Rao was somewhat concerned about Jiang Jinxing.

Her father suddenly changed his leisurely and casual personality and became decisive and resolute.

After talking with her grandfather half a month ago, her grandfather wrote a letter of request to Emperor Zhaowu the next day, asking for the golden seal for conferring the title and passing the title to her father.

And her brother became

The prince in the Earl's Mansion.

Thousands of eyes were watching his every move, and he could no longer act foolishly as usual.

Even though her younger brother came to her room crying with a small bag on his back these days, Jiang Rao still hardened her heart and watched him die without helping.

Knowledge is acquired through hardship. If he cannot endure the hardship today, he will have to endure the hardship in the future.

If you are lucky enough to avoid the whip of today and feel relieved for a while, the whip of life tomorrow will only be harder and more merciless.

When Hu Tang heard that Jiang Jinxing was locked in the school, he straightened up in fear, "How pitiful."

Seeing her cowering appearance, and thinking about her reckless behavior of snatching Xie Xi's books, Jiang Rao could imagine what she was like when she was a child in the girls' private school. She couldn't help but curl her eyes and waved her small round fan to hide the smile on her face.

Hu Tang seemed to know what she was thinking, "Don't look at me like that. I also learned something in the academy before. I snatched Xie Xi's book only once. If it was her, she would be afraid of me and would give it to me on her own initiative."

Behind the small round fan, Jiang Rao smiled even more and replied softly, "Okay".

On the stage, the actors in heavy makeup were still singing.

A pair of resentful eyes stared at the colorful costumes of the actors, with a gloomy face.

The seventeenth prince was wearing a green brocade robe and a white velvet crown. He was sitting at the table on the second floor on the same side as Jiang Rao, which happened to be the blind spot of Jiang Rao and Hu Tang's vision.

The person sent by the Seventeenth Prince came back and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, you can't get close to her. Someone is protecting her in secret."

The seventeenth prince slammed his fist on the table, causing the tea in the cup to sway.

According to his mother's arrangement, Rong Ting was supposed to be engaged to Chen Congyun. From then on, he was under their control and could never cause any trouble.

Who would have known that in the end his father's imperial decree of marriage would marry Jiang Rao to Rong Ting.

The legitimate daughter of the Ning'an Marquis's mansion, the most beloved granddaughter of Concubine Yun... With such a background, it would be more than enough even if she was given to him. But why should she be given to that disabled person...?

I don’t know what his mother was afraid of, but she actually agreed to this matter without arguing at all!

The seventeenth prince had a gloomy face.

There was some noise on the first floor.

The play being performed on the stage was "Wu Gang Cutting Down the Cassia Tree". As the actress dressed as Chang'e came out, a dandy young man with a bad reputation grabbed her sleeve and told her not to dance or sing.

The eunuch beside the Seventeenth Prince looked down and saw the bully's behavior. His face changed and reminded the Seventeenth Prince: "There are many people here now. If Your Highness can draw his sword to help, the good reputation will be heard by the emperor and he will definitely be rewarded."

"Whose son is the man causing trouble?" The seventeenth prince tapped the teacup lightly and began to ponder.

It would not be worth it to offend his grandfather's people just for the sake of temporary fame.

During this moment of hesitation, someone had already swung a whip at the dandy bully, tearing his skin and flesh apart instantly.

The bully pulled the sleeve of the "Chang'e" on the stage, turned around and saw a young girl, looking down on her. "Little girl, stop meddling in other people's business. How can you behave like that?"

"I never know what propriety is." Hu Tang raised the whip in his hand again, "Are you going to let go? If you don't, I will send you to my father to feed the dogs in the northern part of the country!"

After the man knew Hu Tang's identity, he didn't dare to make trouble anymore and left in shame.

The Seventeenth Prince's eyes dimmed when he saw the storm calm down in a flash.

The eunuch beside him saw that his eyes were fixed on Hu Tang, but he did not move away, so he said, "Your Highness, don't be fooled by her appearance. This girl is too willful and has no manners. Even if her father is General Hu, I'm afraid she won't be able to get married."

The eunuch's tone was full of urging him to take it as a warning. The Seventeenth Prince withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes. His sight blocked by the shadows revealed full of envy and longing.

In the blink of an eye, Hu Tang disappeared from Jiang Rao's sight. She trotted down the stairs to the second floor, where Hu Tang had already dealt with the bully. Jiang Rao didn't know whether she should go downstairs or go back to the third floor and wait at the corner of the second floor. Hu Tang soon came to find her, looking unhappy. He lowered his head and looked at the whip in his hand, sighing, "Why is this guy so weak?"

Hu Tang's maid was so frightened that her face changed. She frowned and said, "Miss, be careful not to get into trouble."

Hu Tang didn't care. He flicked his whip and walked upstairs without looking back. "We should live to the fullest."

Jiang Rao took out some silver from the purse hanging on her body and asked Ming Shao to go down and find out who was causing trouble today, as if to clean up the mess for Hu Tang.

Then he returned to his original seat on the third floor.

When I returned, there was an indigo figure by the table.

Jiang Rao took a look and was quite surprised, "Miss Chen?"

Chen Congyun retracted his gaze, smiled faintly at her, and bowed.

Instead, Hu Tang is no longer here.

Chen Congyun saw Jiang Rao looking for Hu Tang and said, "Miss Hu has been looked for by the owner of the opera house."

Jiang Rao nodded and greeted, "Why is Miss Chen here?"

"I have always loved to come here to listen to operas, but this is the first time I have seen

Miss Jiang. ”

Jiang Rao nodded again and asked Chen Congyun to take a seat. Not long after Chen Congyun sat down, he pointed to the second floor and said to Jiang Rao, "That's where Princess Xiang and her daughter are."

Jiang Rao raised her eyes, her eyes slightly alert.

Chen Congyun said: "The Princess of Xiang has only this one daughter, but she has no son. When she first married into the Prince of Xiang's mansion, she and the Prince of Xiang were inseparable, but she had no son. Later, the concubines took the limelight. Xie Xi was sick and weak, so it was not easy for her to marry. Over the years, the Princess of Xiang has not had a good life."

Jiang Rao was a little surprised why Chen Congyun said this to her, but she just listened.

Chen Congyun's voice became lower and lower.

"Princess Xiang was very disgusted with the fact that Xu Guozhang married her to the Xiang Palace but let her sister enter the palace. In recent years, her relationship with Xu Guozhang has not been good. She was angry and her health was getting worse."

"Why did Miss Chen tell me this?" Jiang Rao couldn't help it.

"You helped me last time." Chen Congyun looked grateful.

Jiang Rao shook her head, and said earnestly and sincerely, "Although I am helping you, I have also benefited from it."

Chen Congyun laughed, "No wonder even someone like Hu Tang, who no one likes, can play with you."

She is so well-behaved that one would want to have a daughter like her in the future.

She smiled and said softly, "Tomorrow is a day off. My mother and I are going to Xiaobanpo for an outing. Do you want to join us? The winter jasmine flowers there bloom the earliest. Maybe we can see them."

Jiang Rao thought about it and was silent for a while.

Seeing Jiang Rao hesitate, Chen Congyun lowered his eyes and said, "I have been restricted by my family since I was a child, and I don't have many other friends."

Jiang Rao's expression became somewhat guilty, "But... I have made an appointment with Hu Tang to go to the Sanqing Temple to burn incense tomorrow."

Xiaobanpo and Sanqing Temple are not only two places, but they are located in the south and north of the city respectively, so it is impossible to travel the same way.

Hu Tang happened to come back here. She heard Jiang Rao's response to Chen Congyun's words. She was surprised for a moment and almost blurted out, "When did you agree on this?"

How come she doesn't know?

But when he received Jiang Rao's gaze, he shut his mouth, nodded towards Chen Congyun, and blocked between Jiang Rao and Chen Congyun in a somewhat overbearing manner, "That's right."

To thank her for rescuing him, the boss of the opera house gave her a peacock feather fan for singing. She put it on her body, and when she nodded, it was as if she had a male peacock with its feathers spread out on her head.

Chen Congyun felt a little regretful, "Then I won't bother you any more."

She walked a few steps away, looked back, and sighed softly.

Jiang Rao and Rong Ting were engaged, and if she could get close to her, it might be beneficial to the Third Prince, her future husband.

The last time she was in such a miserable state, Jiang Rao took her directly back to the warm room of Shuxiang Palace. Her eyes as clear as a stream, the sympathy and kindness from the bottom of her heart could not deceive anyone, making her think that she was harmless and easy to approach.

She thought she had seen through the man, and with some selfish motives, she approached him intentionally.

I didn't expect that I was wrong.

Chen Congyun lowered her head with some regret. She really liked Jiang Rao's character of not hurting others but also not giving others the chance to hurt herself.

After she left, Hu Tang asked Jiang Rao, "Why didn't you agree to her?"

"I just don't want to."

Jiang Rao said in a calm voice.

Her impression of Chen Congyun was not bad, she even felt a little pity for her, but their identities were indeed a bit awkward.

She was betrothed to Rong Ting, and Chen Congyun was later promised to the third prince. Whether Rong Ting had a close or distant relationship with the third prince, their relationship would also be close or distant.

When she was in the academy, she never felt that the relationship between the Third Prince and Rong Ting was very good.

Sometimes she even felt that Rong Ting’s relationship with him, the third brother, was not as good as his relationship with her. She saw that when he looked at his brothers, there was always a hint of fear in his eyes.

Jiang Rao knew that she didn't have enough experience and wasn't scheming enough.

Since Chen Congyun said that her father treated her as a chess piece since she was a child, she must have been instilled with a lot of strategies since she was a child.

Asking her to compete with a girl like this is like asking her to compete with Hu Tang in martial arts.

If Chen Congyun had any intention of deceiving her, she was afraid that she would not be able to see it.

It would be better to cut off Chen Congyun's chance of deceiving her.

Jiang Rao couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

It's really not easy for someone like her who is not that smart and timid.

Hu Tang became happy, "You are still unmarried, but you really put yourself in the position of the Ninth Prince's wife."

Jiang Rao was drinking tea and choked slightly.

Although she had never considered marriage a big deal, when Hu Tang mentioned it, she had a subtle feeling.

Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog?

It seems so.

She herself was amused, "That's how it should be."

Hu Tang pursed his lips and said, "Since you used me as an excuse to stop Chen Congyun, you can't go back on your word. Accompany me to the Sanqing Temple to burn incense tomorrow."

Jiang Rao couldn't resist her pestering and had to agree.

The two went to the Sanqing Temple to burn incense, and when they came out of the main hall, it was noon.

Hu Tang Huan

Holding the peacock feather fan she got yesterday, it looked particularly beautiful under the sunlight.

Jiang Rao noticed that the feathers on her fan were messed up by the wind, so she reached out to help her tidy them up.

Hu Tang laughed more and more happily, "Niannian, you like me so much."

Her eyes turned into waning crescents as she smiled. "Chen Congyun, my mother has been telling me her name so many times that she is good at everything and I am not as good as her. But you didn't go with her, but came with me instead."

Jiang Rao was infected by her smile and started smiling too. Just as she was about to say something more to her, she saw out of the corner of her eye a person waiting in a wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs and her gaze involuntarily moved in that direction.

The man who hadn't seen her for more than a month since the engagement was looking at her and Hu Tang with extremely sad eyes, and even a hint of longing and slight blame.