Coming out from the flower-selling old lady, Jiang Rao weighed the full basket of flowers in her hands. It didn't get in the way, but it made her look like she was just strolling around the street. She asked passers-by about something, and didn't seem serious, as she was afraid of being fooled. She distributed the bought plum blossoms to the maids, and when she saw that the small bamboo basket was almost empty, a slender hand reached out from behind her and took the basket away from her.

She turned her head, Rong Ting lowered her eyes, her sight fixed on the flower basket. The flower basket seemed big in her hand, but looked smaller when he held it.

He swept up all the fallen leaves in the yard outside grandma's yard and came out a step later than Jiang Rao.

Rong Ting lowered his head and looked around casually. There were only a few plum blossoms left in the basket. He looked at the maids who each had a few branches. He curled his lips and said, "I want one too."

Jiang Rao looked at his persistent and competitive eyes and realized that he wanted flowers.

She had never thought that he would be interested in flowers and plants, but from his expression at this moment, anyone could see that he really wanted them.

Jiang Rao smiled and put a few flowers in her hand into the basket in his hand.

Rong Ting followed behind her, his eyes showing both satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

He thought that the plum blossoms she gave to the maids were much more beautiful than the rest in the basket. He was like a person trapped in a desert, never able to quench his thirst. He followed Jiang Rao slowly. Her steps were small while his were big. He caught up with her easily and raised his hand to let down the gauze on Jiang Rao's cone hat.

Just now, when drinking water in the yard, Jiang Rao let down the veil on her cone hat. The old woman finally saw Jiang Rao's face and kept holding Jiang Rao's hand and praising her beauty. Rong Ting was left aside. No matter how pitiful and well-behaved he was, he could not even wait for his little girl to look at him.

He wanted to put the yarn down at that time.

Since she doesn't look at him, then don't look at anything else and don't let others see you.

After enduring until now, Rong Ting finally got what he wanted and breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Rao's vision was blocked by the cone hat. She had no idea what Rong Ting was thinking. Her vision dimmed for a moment, and her hand naturally rested on Rong Ting's arm, which was very close to her.

Her defenseless approach made Rong Ting more and more aware of his inherent evil nature, but Jiang Rao's soft leaning towards him did not allow him to reflect or repent in the slightest.

Jiang Rao was afraid that others might hear what she said, so she tried to get as close to Rong Ting's ear as possible. Rong Ting stopped talking when she saw that she had something to say and bent down. Jiang Rao covered his ears with her hands and whispered, "Just now, grandma told me that the owner of the inn that caught fire had a cousin who worked in the government office. He had a good relationship with several officials in the government office. If we follow them, we might be able to find the traitor in the government office."

She was afraid of being heard, so she spoke in a low voice, but her voice was full of excitement, as if she had found something good and her joy was evident in her words. Although her upbringing had prevented her from actively asking for compliments, anyone could hear the pride and satisfaction in her tone, and it was obvious that she wanted to be praised.

After hearing what she said, Rong Ting didn't say anything, but he laughed deeply.

He already knew all the details about the drowned innkeeper, and what she had found out was only part of it.

But he didn't say something like "I knew it a long time ago" to spoil the fun. After she finished speaking and stood on tiptoe, he raised his hand, put it behind her cone hat, and gently touched her head, saying in a low and doting voice, "I know."

He returned the favor, lowering his head even lower, and spoke close to Jiang Rao's ear, "I just came out of the government office, and the magistrate invited me to his house. It's almost time, why not go now."

When he stood up, Jiang Rao touched her earlobe. Although Rong Ting's breath had faded away, she seemed to be able to hear his deep voice, and the tip of her ear felt a little hot.

The county magistrate's residence was in the city. When Rong Ting and Jiang Rao went there together, the county magistrate was already waiting for them outside the gate.

The county magistrate's surname was Zuo. He looked to be in his late thirties, with a gentle appearance and temperament. When he saw Rong Ting and Jiang Rao coming, he was very respectful and polite.

He welcomed the two into the mansion, and went to the study with Rong Ting first, then asked the maid to take Jiang Rao to the guest room for tea and snacks.

Jiang Rao was staying in the guest room. The magistrate's wife was not there, and she was greeted by the maid from the mansion.

The maidservant kept apologizing and explaining to Jiang Rao. Jiang Rao knew that the magistrate's wife had gone out to buy jewelry, so she didn't care. But the maidservant here didn't know whether she was following the master's orders or not. This was the local custom, and she was warm and hospitable.

It's just that the hostess was away for some reason, so it can't be considered as poor hospitality.

But even though she said she didn't care, the maids still looked guilty and served her tea and snacks. Their attitude was too eager, making her feel like an old flower seller who wanted to spend money to buy flowers but couldn't give them away. She didn't know how to respond and hurriedly drank the tea and had a snack.

Adding rice flour to the tea not only doesn't make it bitter, but instead has a sweet taste.

Jiang Rao took a small sip, her eyes lit up, and she drank a few more sips. The maids who were surrounding her attentively dispersed after seeing that she really liked it.

Left

The maids in the mansion dispersed, and there was a sudden movement at the corner of the table. Jiang Rao lowered her head and saw a little boy in a dark blue jacket and a longevity lock around his neck coming out from under the table. She paused to drink her tea, and a maid ran over in a hurry, picked up the little boy, and kept apologizing to Jiang Rao, "Miss Jiang, this is my young master. He doesn't know etiquette. Please forgive me."

The little boy had small hands and feet, and they looked no bigger than half the size of the maid who was holding her. Although he was not fat, his little hands were chubby and looked like they were about to be taken away. Instead, he stretched his hands towards the table, and it was obvious that he wanted something on the wooden table.

Jiang Rao looked at what he was looking at, then glanced at the things on the square table, and moved the plate of snacks on the table towards him. The little boy immediately broke free from the maid's hand and climbed onto the armchair on the other side of the table. His actions clearly showed that he wanted to take the snacks.

But he paused in mid-air and asked Jiang Rao politely, "Sir, may I have this dessert?"

Jiang Rao laughed, "You can use it if you want."

Naturally, she would not stop him. Seeing this young, cute child, she couldn't help but want to hug him.

The child took a piece of dessert and started eating. Although his action of breaking into the guest room was a bit abrupt, his eating manner was elegant and graceful, which made people feel a bit of Jiang Rao.

Jiang Rao drank tea and watched him eat snacks.

The maid was a little embarrassed. "The master and the mistress didn't treat him badly on weekdays. They just worried that he would have a toothache, so they told him to eat less sugar. I didn't expect that he would be attracted by the smell and run all the way to the girl."

"It's okay." She waved her hand to ask the maid to come closer to her, and asked softly, "How many snacks do your master and mistress allow him to have on a daily basis?"

"Two or three bucks won't hurt."

Jiang Rao looked at the little boy who was holding a piece of dessert and biting it carefully, and said to the maid, "Since you are worried about his toothache, don't let him eat too much dessert. Now, take this dessert away."

The maid nodded and cleared the dessert plates off the table.

The child had just eaten a piece of hundred-flower cake when the plate of snacks disappeared. There was grievance in his eyes. Jiang Rao was used to dealing with Jiang Jinxing. The child in front of her was not half as willful as her brother when he was young. When the little boy pouted and wanted to cry, she reached out her hand.

In the palm of her hand was an unfolded clean handkerchief, on which lay a small piece of hundred-flower cake that she had put away earlier.

"For you."

The child took the hundred-flower cake and burst into laughter.

Jiang Rao

Seeing that the trick he used to deal with his brother worked, he smiled even sweeter and started a conversation with the magistrate's son: "How old are you?"

The child stretched out his little hand with five fingers spread out towards her.

The maid told Jiang Rao, "The young master is three years old."

With the precedent of Jiang Jinxing, who was only four years old and could provoke dogs on the street to chase and bite him, Jiang Rao was particularly fond of this child who could find a bench to sit on and eat Baihua Cake obediently.

After the child finished eating the cake, he looked at the cone hat Jiang Rao was wearing and asked childishly, "This is the guest room, do you want to take off your hat?"

When he came in just now, the county magistrate went directly to the study with Rong Ting, and did not greet Jiang Rao, so Jiang Rao did not take off her cone hat. In addition, she was used to wearing it, so she did not take it off. But seeing the child's eyes full of curiosity, she did not want to disappoint him, so she raised her hand and took off the hat. She asked him, "What's your name?"

She glanced outside and saw no sign of Rong Ting coming out of the study. She felt a little disappointed and continued talking to the magistrate's son.

The child looked at Jiang Rao's face, blinked, and suddenly jumped down from the armchair. He sat cross-legged at Jiang Rao's feet, very close to her, "Zuo Jixuan."

Zuo Jixuan.

He spoke in a childish voice, and each word was long and soft.

Jiang Rao looked down at him. From this angle, the child's cheeks were white and soft, as soft and sticky as freshly steamed glutinous rice cakes. Her heart softened and she asked him, "Can you write?"

The child nodded seriously, "Yes."

He looked up proudly and added, "I can write well."

Jiang Rao smiled knowingly and opened her palm towards him, "Do you want to write your name for me to see?"

The child still nodded, saying that he knew all the characters, but he didn't extend his hand. The maid beside him laughed and said, "Miss, please ignore our young master. He can only write some simple characters, and his name may not be complete. He likes to talk to pretty girls the most. Please don't pay attention to him anymore, otherwise when you leave, the young master will probably cry again."

Jiang Rao was stunned for a moment. She had never seen a child with such a temperament before, and she forgot to take her hand back for a moment.

The maid's words made Zuo Jixuan angry. He said in a dissatisfied and arrogant voice, "I can write", and raised his finger to put it towards Jiang Rao's palm.

But before he could put his finger on it, Jiang Rao's hand was grabbed by another person. She raised her eyes and saw Rong Ting.

Rong Ting had just come out of the study, followed by the local magistrate.

Know

The county magistrate picked up his son. Jiang Rao looked at the man holding her hand. Although he was warm and smiling, his eyes were dark and contained something she couldn't see clearly. He held her hand and helped her up from her seat. The county magistrate was anxious to discuss matters with Rong Ting, so Jiang Rao didn't have time to greet him properly. Rong Ting pulled Jiang Rao up, looked at the county magistrate, and introduced him to Jiang Rao, "Niannian, this is Lord Zuo."

Jiang Rao did not look directly at the magistrate, but his gaze lingered on Rong Ting's profile for a moment.

Although he had a smile on his lips, his eyes were a little cold when he glanced at the magistrate's son. His face was obviously very beautiful, but it was like a rose with thorns.