Dark Side

Yuejiang Pavilion's business is booming as usual.

The storyteller's narration today was about a tragic love story between a man and a woman. The gist of it was that a general followed the emperor's orders to go to the front line to resist foreign invasion, but unfortunately he lost contact with the general, and his wife died of illness due to excessive worry.

Jiang Nian still chose the box he had chosen before.

She had come to the teahouse today mainly to relax, so she didn't pay much attention to the conversation about the city's business. She casually ordered a few snacks from the tea menu that were rarely made in the Jiang Mansion, then propped up her head and listened to the storyteller continue his story.

However, Jiang Nian arrived at an unfortunate time. Not long after he sat down, the book, which had only half of its content, finished the remaining content.

Looking at the storyteller walking off the stage, she turned around and asked Guizhi who was standing beside him.

"Have you heard of this one?"

Guizhi thought for a moment and replied:

"Miss, you may not know this story, but it's been circulating for a while. I heard that it's based on a true story."

"But the storyteller hasn't told this story for a while, and I didn't expect him to bring it up again today."

Jiang Nian turned his head thoughtfully and glanced at the people below. Just as the storyteller was about to tell another story, the door of the box was opened by the waiter.

He brought in the pastries and cold drinks, and after closing the door of the box again, the room became quiet. A few words of the conversation next door reached Jiang Nian's ears clearly.

"Have you heard? This year's Princess Qingping's birthday banquet is much grander than in previous years!"

"Yes, I have a relative who does business in the capital and is very well-informed."

"He came back a few days ago, and I heard that Princess Qingping hosted a banquet for many people this time!"

The person who was listening seemed to have leaned forward a little, and the table made some noises as it rubbed against the floor due to the pressure of his arm.

"I'm curious about you. Which nobles are participating?"

"Almost all the dignitaries in the capital went... there were few who didn't. Princess Qingping seemed to enjoy this birthday banquet very much."

"I heard that even the dress she wore this time was a different color from usual."

When the gossipmonger reached this point, the listener began to think for a moment.

"So according to what you said, will that gentleman go?"

Afraid of being heard by others, he lowered his voice and asked in a low voice.

The person who was chatting seemed to have heard a taboo word, and was so surprised that he exclaimed "Oh", reached out and patted the arm of the person asking the question. The volume of normal conversation was reduced a little because of this gentleman.

"You want to kill yourself by mentioning him in public?"

Jiang Nian quietly shifted his gaze towards the source of the conversation, and his hand picking up the teacup paused slightly.

"He's not here, is he? I heard he's always in the capital, so he can't be in charge of this place."

"...There's no way to be sure about this kind of thing. No one can figure out his whereabouts."

The two people talking downstairs were silent for a while and then continued their conversation.

The person asking the question spoke first.

"But doesn't he dislike attending parties? I just heard it from others, so I can't guarantee its authenticity."

"Don't tell me, he really doesn't seem to like attending. I haven't heard him show up at several large banquets in previous years, and then..."

The person who was chatting lowered his voice, and Jiang Nian could only hear a few words.

"The court...is afraid. They're worried that his relationship with...is bad and there might be a coup."

The other side fell into a brief silence because of this sentence, and then said in surprise.

“Is there such a thing?!”

After sighing, the man realized it belatedly and lowered his voice.

"If he betrays us, then it's all over..."

Guizhi also noticed something and looked next door in confusion.

The voice next door was silent for a while, avoiding talking about the previous exchange and bringing the topic back to the original place.

"However, I haven't heard of any news about him participating in the Qingping County Princess's event."

"Rumor has it that he's vicious and cruel, with a penchant for killing countless people. Princess Qingping is so proud and calm, she probably has nothing to do with him, so she wouldn't host a banquet."

"But didn't you just say that the princess invited all the dignitaries?"

"That seems true, but I have a feeling they have no connection. It doesn't look like they'll be attending."

After finishing the conversation in the next room, it seemed as if he was still a little scared about what had just been mentioned, and was afraid that staying here any longer would cost him his life. After a while, he heard the sound of the room door being opened and someone hurried out.

Guizhi felt a little doubtful. Seeing that Jiang Nian's expression did not change, she leaned over and asked tentatively in Jiang Nian's ear:

"Miss, they are talking about..."

Jiang Nian raised his eyes from the reflection in the cup and smiled indifferently.

"You're right."

"He is the only person in this dynasty who has such a rumor."

Thinking about what Xiao Yingzhu had told him before leaving Pingzhou about "doing business", could it be that he was going to attend the birthday banquet of Princess Qingping?

The nonchalant expression on Xiao Yingzhu's face when she was talking to her at that time came to her mind again. Jiang Nian wanted to think about the reason why Xiao Yingzhu attended the birthday banquet of Princess Qingping, but suddenly felt that the sudden thought in her heart was absurd.

Xiao Yingzhu had nothing to do with her, so why did she suddenly care about his whereabouts?

Just keep your trust in him.

At present, nothing is more important than the mutual integrity of allies.

Jiang Nian gently placed the teacup in his hand back on the table, sighed softly, and turned around to see Guizhi hesitant.

She also heard what the two people said in low voices just now.

But fearing that she would be blamed for bringing it up, Guizhi just wondered and didn't ask directly.

Jiang Nian did not directly confess his understanding of Xiao Yingzhu. He stood up and pushed the plate of pastries forward.

"We've been in the teahouse for a long time this morning. Let's go back first."

Guizhi's attention was easily diverted by Jiang Nian. She looked downstairs and saw that the storyteller had just finished his break and was about to continue telling another book scheduled for today.

"Miss, the storyteller is on stage. Don't you want to listen?"

Jiang Nian opened the door of the box halfway. After listening to the conversation between the two people next door, she no longer had the interest to listen to the storytelling. She just lightly rejected Guizhi's suggestion.

"No need, let's go back first. We still need to watch over the pharmacy."

Having said that, there was no point in trying to persuade him any further. Guizhi had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​continuing to persuade him and followed Jiang Nian out of the box.

The driver who came to pick up Jiang Nian and take him back to the pharmacy was the same young man from last time.

Today, Xiao Yingzhu, who followed Jiang Nian last time, was not there, and the young man was visibly more relaxed.

But the shock he had suffered before seemed to have left a shadow in his heart. He smiled politely at Jiang Nian, his eyes fixed on a place that avoided looking directly at Jiang Nian, and his words were inevitably cautious.

"Miss, the car is ready and we can set off at any time."

Jiang Nian noticed his reserve and gently dispelled his doubts.

"Don't be nervous, we can leave now. Thank you for your help."

"Yes, miss."

After receiving the order, the boy became less restrained, holding the reins in his hands, looking ready to set off.

Seeing this, Jiang Nian's eyes showed a helpless smile, and he turned around and got into the car.

The journey back was the same as before. After staying in Liangdu City for a long time, Jiang Nian became familiar with the nearby scenery. He no longer had the interest to admire the pedestrians and buildings outside the window as before. He sat in his seat and thought carefully.

Apart from the question of whether Xiao Yingzhu attended Princess Qingping's birthday banquet, what she was most concerned about was that unclear sentence.

The imperial court was afraid and worried that because of the bad relationship with someone, there would be a palace coup.

Ignoring the unspoken words and just looking at it this way, it would be easy for her to think in one direction.

That direction was the question that I wanted to explore with my father before the pharmacy officially started selling.

Xiao Yingzhu's position in the court.

It had been a long time since he had thought about Xiao Yingzhu's dark affairs. Now that he had come out to relax, he unexpectedly received a piece of news. Jiang Nianben's happy heart suddenly sank.

Judging from what they said, the first thing that comes to mind is that the court officials are afraid of Xiao Yingzhu, which she saw with her own eyes.

Then it was said that Xiao Yingzhu had a bad relationship with someone, which was connected with the subsequent palace coup. The person most likely to have a bad relationship with him was Emperor Changde.

So the whole sentence means that the officials and ministers in the court were afraid of Xiao Yingzhu, and worried that Xiao Yingzhu had a bad relationship with Emperor Changde and would cause a palace coup.

“…”

I had never had a place to start and wanted to get the information from Xiao Yingzhu, but I got it just by having tea in a teahouse.

In this dynasty, is it so easy to know such things?

Something that even my father couldn't figure out.

My father also talked with businessmen who came from the capital every day. They were all in the business industry, but they didn't know.

Jiang Nian suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Moreover, according to what they said at the beginning, they just had relatives doing business in the capital, so how could they know so much about the affairs of the court?

Even if he knew, why didn't he keep silent about it but instead mentioned it to his relatives after returning home, and let his relatives go out and tell others?

Aren’t you afraid of being silenced?

But if it wasn't mentioned accidentally in the box, what was the purpose?

Thinking of his current cooperative relationship with Xiao Yingzhu, Jiang Nian gently clenched his fingertips on his legs.

Is there a possibility that those two people said that on purpose?

Thinking that they had chosen the same compartment this time as last time, the curtain by the car window was lifted by the wind and brushed against Jiang Nian's arm, which made Jiang Nian, who was deeply trapped in an ice cave due to his own thoughts, suddenly wake up. He raised his head and looked at Guizhi who was sitting beside him, bored and dazed.

"Cinnamon twig."

Hearing Jiang Nian's words, Guizhi immediately looked at Jiang Nian, but saw that Jiang Nian's expression was a little pale.

"What's wrong, miss?"

Guizhi was just about to find a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat off Jiang Nian's cheek, but Jiang Nian gently turned his face away to avoid her hand.

Jiang Nian frowned and looked at Guizhi with a cold and serious look.

"Do you remember when we first arrived, there was someone in the next box?"

If someone really came to monitor her, they wouldn't just send two people to talk to her and then leave.

This may just be the stage of testing her.

"next door?"

Guizhi tilted her head, frowned and thought for a moment.

"No, miss, we came just as the storyteller had finished his speech."

"At that time, I heard the waiter asking them what they wanted to order."

Yes.

After Guizhi said this, Jiang Nian's somewhat constrained thoughts began to work again.

When the storyteller finished the story, she also heard the waiter's question. Why could she not remember it because of her nervousness due to her own thoughts?

Jiang Nian calmed himself down and glanced towards the window.

The carriage is about to arrive at the pharmacy.

Once she got to the drugstore, there would be a lot of people and the environment would become noisy. She wanted to seize the last bit of atmosphere where she could think quietly and put some ideas she had just thought of into perspective.

If someone deliberately sent her this news about state affairs, then there were two intentions.

One is to test the relationship between her and Xiao Yingzhu.

Secondly, if the first one is true, then it will give her the impression that Xiao Yingzhu's position is unclear, in crisis and cannot be trusted.

After all, in this era, if you slightly disobeyed or stood against the royal family, or if you didn't handle it well, it was common for you to be reduced to ashes without knowing how or why you died.

Is the other party's purpose to destroy her cooperation with Xiao Yingzhu, or to test whether she has any cooperation with Xiao Yingzhu?

It should be both.

At present, the other party has not found any evidence of a cooperative relationship between her and Xiao Yingzhu, so they sent two people to find out the information at no cost and put them in front of her.

If she behaved abnormally because of these things, it would be possible to find out that she was indeed cooperating with Xiao Yingzhu.

But did the other party target her because it was too difficult to place a watch around Xiao Yingzhu, or was it because they were targeting her?

Thinking back, I initially thought that Xiao Yingzhu was just cooperating with me on a whim, but I didn't expect that he had planned it all along and came because of the insect repellent.

The reference objects around him were all blurry and he couldn't tell which one was real and which one was fake. Jiang Nian was a little undecided.

The moving carriage slowly stopped not far from the door of the drugstore, and the voice of the young man riding the horse outside came in.

"Miss, there's a crowd ahead, so we can only take you this far."

Today is the last day of the profit-sharing festival, so it is normal to have a lot of people.

Guizhi lifted the curtain next to her, got out of the car first, and supported Jiang Nian when she got out.

The thoughts in his mind were interrupted, and now was not the time to think about it. After getting out of the carriage, Jiang Nian's expression was as calm as usual, and the cold sweat and tension just now seemed to have never happened.

She nodded at the boy.

"Thank you. Please pick me up at 12:00 PM."

The boy responded seriously.

"Don't worry, miss. I'll remember it."