Chapter 15 Chapter 15 “Naturally, it’s with Da…

"Of course, we are from the same hometown as you. We had a few words when we first arrived, and you said some angry words. I am sorry to trouble you, Master Chen."

Xie Xunzhi curled the corners of his mouth into a smile, raised his teacup and nodded slightly.

Chen Jiuwen also raised his teacup, his eyes shifting between the two of them, and said carelessly, "I just heard that if anything happens, I should also do my best to be a good host!"

Xie Xunzhi took a sip and glanced at Hezhou through the gap, and his legs under the table also touched him slightly.

Hezhou also raised his glass, a bitter look on his face. "I'm sorry to have disturbed Lord Chen, but I do have something to deal with right now. Alas... It's a bit difficult!"

"Sir, please feel free to speak up. If you need me, just let me know!" Chen Wenjiu turned and looked at him.

"Then I'll tell you." Hezhou frowned and drawled, "The government office is short-staffed. There's no one to look after the historians and civil servants. Holding them accountable is a real headache! I wonder if Master Chen has any good ideas?"

Chen Wenjiu narrowed his eyes and did not answer.

The place fell silent for a while while the meal was being cooked, and Hezhou then realized that even though it was a banquet, the surroundings were eerily quiet.

He still maintained his previous posture and just looked at Chen Wenjiu with a sincere look as if he wanted to learn.

Chen Wenjiu grabbed the tablecloth and wiped it in front of himself. "Sir! I'm a businessman, so I might not understand this, but you can see how few people are on the street. It's better to tell the grocery store than to post a notice. News spreads quickly when they go door to door!"

"Oh, this is a great idea! It relieves the urgent problem at once!" Hezhou laughed suddenly, with a smile deep in his eyes.

He raised his teacup and drank it all in one gulp. After all, no matter how many methods he had, they couldn't stop someone from interfering.

This is a disguised form of reporting.

Chen Wenjiu waved his hand cheerfully and gave him a piece of meat. "What are your plans next, sir? I wonder if you will ever need me?"

Hezhou paused for a moment as he picked up his chopsticks, then jokingly said, "I don't have any plans. I might hire some staff in a few days to manage some government offices. I don't have much of a budget, and I'm planning on farming instead!"

"It takes a long time to earn money from working in the fields!" Chen Wenjiu lowered his head and thought for a moment. "How about this, I want to pay 200 coins to ask the master to help me find something."

"That's too polite! Protecting the people's property is my job." Hezhou refused. He didn't think this was a good thing.

This Mr. Chen is full of evil intentions. He takes money and orders from others. He was just finding fault with Xie Xunzhi. Who knows what he is up to?

He waved his hands and said, "Master Chen still doesn't consider us his own people!"

"How could that be? Your Excellency, listen to me! My son has loved investigating cases since he was little. When he heard that the government was recruiting, he wanted to take up a temporary position there. Coincidentally, a jade pendant was lost at home yesterday. I'd like to ask Your Excellency to take him with us to look for it. If he still wants to take up the position, I can also find a teacher for him, right?"

Hezhou looked at Chen Jianyuan, who was frowning like a child who was pulled out during the Chinese New Year.

"Looking for you..."

Now that things have come to this, and it's a legitimate reason, if I refuse, all the preparations I've made before will be in vain.

But if Xie Xunzhi were really in danger, just thinking about it made him feel sick as if a huge thorn was stuck in his heart.

He raised his eyes and looked at Xie Xunzhi.

Xie Xunzhi said in a gentle voice, "I will follow the arrangements of Master Chen and the adults..."

Hezhou smiled and continued, "Thank you very much, Master Chen, for your appreciation!"

Chen Wenjiu waved his hand as if it was a matter of course. "Eat first? I'll discuss the details with the adults later!"

Hezhou didn't eat much of this meal, and the piece of meat that Chen Wenjiu picked for him was still in his bowl until the end.

The sky was getting dark and the evening breeze was blowing. Chen Wenjiu said that he was old and sleepy, so he found an excuse and went back.

Chen Jianyuan stayed and accompanied them to the west yard.

The lanterns in the corridors along the way were all lit, the candlelight flickered and the fragrance of orchids could be smelled from afar.

"My third mother lost something. I guess it was stolen by some unscrupulous people in the yard." Chen Jianyuan stood in front of the door with a joy in his eyes that he had not seen before.

"Sanniang!"

The door to the yard was closed, and the faint floral fragrance coming from it was intoxicating, and a response came from the house.

Hezhou stood behind Chen Jianyuan and watched him, staring ahead.

The door slowly opened, and a woman in light pink stood in front of it, waving a small fan with her slender wrist.

The woman had a round face with some baby fat, and her bright eyes looked at them. "Yuan'er, how come you have time to come to me?"

Chen Jianyuan saluted impatiently, "This is the new county magistrate. I heard that something was lost in your house..."

The fan gently tapped Chen Jianyuan's head, and the woman's voice was filled with blame. "I already told you it was the servants who were dishonest. They had to make such a scene. Tsk! You must be tired of me now that she gave birth to a child!"

She leaned against the door frame, raised her arm to block the door, and her eyes fell on the person behind her. "He looks good. Wait until I clean up before coming in."

The door was slammed shut with a "bang", bringing with it a gust of wind filled with the fragrance of flowers.

Hezhou touched his chin and looked at Chen Jianyuan, who was staring at him. "Mr. Chen, what kind of jade pendant did the lady lose?"

"It's a butterfly-shaped jade pendant. She likes to wear it around her waist, but she changes it frequently. This time she couldn't find it and she got very angry." Chen Jianyuan turned his head to look at them, and seemed to realize that he was a little too anxious just now.

He smiled with the corners of his mouth curled up. "Sir, she is lively and simple-minded. She is from my mother's side, so we have been close since my mother passed away."

"She's a good girl." Hezhou didn't think much about it. Although Chen Wenjiu was in good health, he looked like an old man.

No matter how you look at it, this third wife is not as old as Chen Jianyuan. She is spoiled and lively. How could she be willing to stay in the Chen family?

Xie Xunzhi pulled him around the yard, from the west corner gate to the front yard. The lights in this yard were not as bright as the ones at the back.

They walked around the newly painted wall, and the trees in the yard were some distance away.

Hezhou touched the wall and said, "Look, it's newly painted, the wall is in good condition, and only the jade pendant is missing. Why do I feel like it was a thief?"

"I can't really say. Master Chen said that the jade pendant is very popular." Xie Xunzhi frowned. "Besides, if it was a thief in the family, Master Chen wouldn't have asked us to come..."

Hezhou sat on a stone bench, arms folded. "The jade pendant is missing from the exam. Who knows what Mr. Chen, the one who wrote the exam, is up to?"

"I don't understand either? Maybe he is paving the way for Chen Jianyuan and wants him to become an official?" Xie Xunzhi turned around and pulled him up.

He stood up lazily and looked back to see Chen Jianyuan still squatting in front of the window. The noise inside had become quieter.

When they walked back, the door was just opened. Bai Ling pushed it open and said, "Come in."

Chen Jianyuan was the first to enter. He sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of water. "It's so hard to get a drink!"

"Are you here for a drink?" Bai Ling tapped his head. "How's your homework going?"

"Don't mention it, this gentleman is not as good as the last one!" Chen Jianyuan waved his hand.

"How could this be! I'll go talk to the master about this another day. This is no small matter." Bai Ling looked at him disapprovingly and led them to the dressing table.

There were various rouges and skin powders on the table, and next to it was a jewelry rack with several necklaces hanging on it.

She lit the oil lamp on the dressing table, took out a key from the drawer, and fumbled to open the small cabinet on the table.

Hezhou couldn't help but gasp when he saw this.

Before, he had always been to small courtyards surrounded by low walls and fences. He thought that everyone in the county was of the same standard and was living a frugal life.

If he hadn't seen the box of gold and silver, he would have believed it.

The cabinet has three layers. The top layer is filled with hairpins, and the bottom layers are filled with bracelets, necklaces, and some jade bracelets.

Bai Ling took out a square box from the bottom and opened it. "Look, it's really strange. There are so many things on it and inside, but you chose to take that worthless butterfly pendant."

Xie Xunzhi took the box and looked at it. "Who knew that things were placed here?"

Bai Ling lazily replied, "That's a lot. I don't like to clean up. Anyone who serves me might know."

"Why is this placed alone in the box?"

"Nothing, I just like it and find it rare."

Hezhou looked everywhere except the bed. There was no other entrance except the door and window. "Did the cleaner check it?"

"Why haven't you checked? I've turned the whole house upside down, but I still can't find it." Bai Ling twirled his hair. "Okay, okay, I've looked everywhere. Go look for it quickly. It's getting late!"

Hezhou had just seen the scene in the yard and didn't want to stay any longer, so he simply exchanged a few polite words with Chen Jianyuan and went back.

The street was deserted when I came, and it was even deserted when I left. The lights hanging there were not even half as bright as those at Chen's house.

The two of them walked together slowly, having walked past each other too many times.

Hezhou can remember half of the shops on this street by heart.

He held his waist and put his hand on his neck and asked, "Xunzhi, do you want to go to the pawn shop tomorrow?"

"No need. At least ten out of ten pawnshops belong to the Chen family." Xie Xunzhi lowered his eyes. "We still have to go to the Chen family. The key to this matter is Master Chen or that Third Madam."

Hezhou looked at him and his thoughts gradually caught up. "Are you saying that the Third Madam didn't tell the truth?"

"You also saw that there was more than one jade pendant, but that one was lost. Why did Master Chen give us this task? Is it because he can't do it, or doesn't dare to do it?" Xie Xunzhi lowered his tone and slowed down his pace.

Hezhou noticed that the person next to him was lost in thought, his beautiful almond-shaped eyes staring blankly at the ground.

He raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, pulling Xie Xunzhi's clothes and slowing down his pace.

When Chunjuan saw them come back, he packed up and started to boil the medicine.

Xie Xunzhi sat on the bed with his hair loose, his brows furrowed with a frown that never relaxed.

"Don't think too much. What if it's just a quarrel in the backyard and Chen is embarrassed to speak up?" Hezhou held a comb in his hand and stroked Xie Xunzhi's hair with his palm.

He combed his hair so carefully that he could even smell the faint scent of soapberry at the tip of his nose.

Xie Xunzhi pulled out his hair and turned around. "Don't you think it's weird?"

"Of course I wouldn't blame you. The Third Madam is even more surprised that she is worried about losing something, but she doesn't tell the truth?" Hezhou smiled.

"She might feel that she is being bullied. I hope I am overthinking it." Xie Xunzhi sighed and drank the medicine that Chunjuan brought to him.

"Side room..." Xie Xunzhi just said two words and pursed his lips again.

Hezhou stepped on his shoes and got up, took a sweet date from the table and stuffed it into Xie Xunzhi's mouth. "By the way, Chunjuan came to me today and said that Hehua wanted to live in the side room, saying that they weren't married yet."

"I wanted to discuss this with you as well. Although we like each other, we haven't gotten married yet."

Hezhou's eyes flashed with a smile. "Let's give them the money next month and then let them consider getting married."

He also ate a sweet date and urged Xie Xunzhi to go to bed, as he had to go to the Chen family to inquire about the news tomorrow.