Chapter 38 Follow Him

Luo Xifeng's eyes swept across Chu Yangyang's slightly messy hair, and he squatted down to tidy up the overturned medicine box. "The Crown Princess has been in the palace for seven years without any children."

His voice was filled with indifference. "Although the Crown Prince repeatedly defended her, he could not resist the pressure of continuing the lineage. The Empress then forcibly gave Zhang Liangdi to the Crown Prince. This little grandson is Zhang Liangdi's child."

A spring breeze blew by, carrying the fragrance of withered lotus leaves. Chu Yangyang sighed softly, "In feudal times, being unable to have children was always difficult. It's rare that the Crown Princess has such a gentle personality and dotes on the little grandson."

Luo Xifeng stood up and said calmly, "The Crown Princess personally sews pajamas for the children on the seventh day of every month. The stitches are so dense that they can hold the moonlight. She treats the little grandson as her own."

"However, the little grandson of the emperor was still taught badly."

Chu Yangyang shook her head. The open and secret struggles within the house would inevitably drag the children into this.

"It has nothing to do with you or me."

Luo Xifeng said this coldly, then walked away with his medicine box slung over his shoulder.

Chu Yangyang admired the flowers in the imperial garden for a while out of boredom, and then found an excuse to go home.

After leaving the palace, Luo Xifeng did not return home, but went to the pharmacy on West Street to replenish the medicine store.

The icicles under the eaves had melted to a thin layer, and the spring sun made the bluestone bricks shine.

Luo Xifeng turned the corner of the street, stepping on the willow catkins all over the ground, and happened to run into a pawnshop clerk who was throwing a gilded stirrup onto the counter. The sunlight reflected on the coiled dragon pattern, creating tiny golden rays of light.

He stopped and stood in front of the carved lattice window of the pawnshop. The tiger head pattern on the inside of the stirrup looked very familiar.

That was clearly the unique knife-cutting technique of the craftsmen in Prince Jing's Palace.

Even if royal items were scrapped, they would only be taken to the property management office for destruction. How could they appear in a pawnshop in the city?

While pondering the question, Luo Xifeng saw an old man in front of the counter pleading desperately, "Boss, look at this stirrup! It's a top-quality item, a rare item that ordinary people can't use. Why are you only pawning it for two taels of silver? It should be at least ten taels!"

The shopkeeper flipped the stirrup over and, using the pawnbroker's usual tactics, said, "This stirrup is so old and worn out that it's only worth two taels from me. If I sell it to someone else, they won't even get one tael. Who wants to use this piece of junk?"

After a pause, he thrust the stirrup into the old man's hand and said, "If the two taels are not right, you can leave."

The old man hardened his heart and pushed the stirrup back to the shopkeeper. "Two taels is two taels. Give me the silver."

The old man put the silver in his arms, walked out of the pawnshop with his head lowered, and passed by Luo Xifeng who was standing at the door.

At the moment of passing by, Luo Xifeng caught a glimpse of the thick calluses on the other person's palms, and the collar of the clothes mixed with the smell of horse manure passed under his nose.

It seems that he is a stable boy in Prince Jing's mansion.

Luo Xifeng walked into the pawnshop and said to the shopkeeper, "I saw that man at the door holding an exquisite stirrup. Shopkeeper, would you mind showing it to me?"

Seeing that a sucker had come so quickly, the shopkeeper smiled like a date, "Sir, you have a good eye. The pattern on this stirrup clearly shows that it is a high-priced item."

The shopkeeper lowered his voice, "This kind of pattern, I'm afraid only the royal family can create it. I'm selling it very cheaply, only fifty taels!"

"Fifty taels?" Bai Shi said in silence, "But didn't you just..."

"It's okay." Luo Xifeng stopped Bai Shi from saying anything else with his hand, "Let's go."

Luo Xifeng had already seen the style of the stirrup and confirmed that it was undoubtedly an item from Prince Jing's Mansion.

He turned and walked away without looking back, while the shopkeeper was still calling from behind, "Sir, please stay. If you really like it, I can sell it to you at a discount!"

After leaving the pawnshop, Luo Xifeng whispered to Bai Shi, "Keep an eye on that old man."

"Yes." Bai Shi took the order and left.

However, they did not see a beautiful figure in the corner.

"Princess, what is our brother-in-law doing in the pawnshop? Is he really short of money?" Miao Yun asked doubtfully, hiding behind Chu Yangyang.

Chu Yangyang glanced in the direction where Bai Shi was going and said thoughtfully, "He's not short of money. He might have made a new discovery."

Miao Yun was puzzled.

Chu Yangyang ordered, "Let's go, let's follow Bai Shi."

Chu Yangyang and Miao Yun squatted among the branches of the locust tree. Through the gap in the window of the gambling house, they saw the old man followed by Bai Shi slap two taels of silver on the gambling table.

When the dice cup was opened, his hunched back hit the wall heavily.

"How dare someone from King Jing's manor steal from his master?" The gambling thug grabbed the old man by the collar and pressed the blade against the wrinkles of his neck. "You still haven't settled the debt for the jade ring you stole last month."

Gilded stirrups, gambling debts, Prince Jing's palace...

Why is Luo Xifeng investigating these things?

As dusk was falling, Chu Yangyang stopped the old man with a bruised face and nose in the woodshed.

Miao Yun threw the purse onto the haystack, and the silver ingot rolled to his knees.

"My young lady wants to know who you are? How did the items from Prince Jing's Mansion end up among the common people?" The old man stared at the silver light with his cloudy eyes. He had once taken a horse to the nobleman's horse farm for this young lady, and he knew her as the princess of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

He trembled and said, "My name is Zhao Yi, and I'm a horse slave in Prince Jing's palace. Every month, some saddles are 'lost' in the stables, but the prince never asks about these trivial matters. I don't want to waste them, so I'm selling them off."

"What else have you sold besides stirrups?" Miao Yun raised his voice.

Zhao Yi quickly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, "Please spare my life, my lord. I have only sold stirrups this time and have never sold anything else before!"

Chu Yangyang asked a few more questions, but seeing no special clues, he shouted, "Get lost."

Zhao Yi rolled and crawled to pick up the silver coins on the ground, and ran away in shame.

After returning to Bishuiyunju, Chu Yangyang thought from time to time about Luo Xifeng's purpose in investigating Zhao Yi.

In the original book, she could never remember the appearance of such a person, but Luo Xifeng never did useless things, and this Zhao Yi was related to Prince Jing's Mansion.

Just as I was thinking, Xiao Renyu walked in with a lunch box.

Xiao Renyu placed the gilded food box on the table, rubbed the carved lid with his fingertips for a few more times, and then forced a smile and said, "Princess, I brought you some snacks from Yuxianlou."

Seeing her hesitation, Chu Yangyang smiled with two dimples on her cheek, "Sister Renyu is so thoughtful. How did you know that I love eating the dim sum at Yuxianlou the most?"

The pearl on Xiao Renyu's neck swayed slightly as he poured tea, but the tea remained barely 70% full. "I've been reflecting a lot these past few days. I think my thoughts were a bit extreme, which caused the princess trouble. So, I thought of buying her some of her favorite snacks to make amends."

She pushed the Yue Kiln Secret Color Teacup towards her and asked, "Sister, can you forgive me?"

Chu Yangyang covered her lips with a handkerchief and sneered.

Why did Xiao Renyu suddenly change his mind and want to believe her?

There is something fishy going on.

The Mingqian tea buds floating in the cup were swirling, reflecting Xiao Renyu's deliberately lowered eyelashes. This posture made him look like a lady in a storybook who was secretly meeting a scholar.

Seeing Chu Yangyang remained silent, Xiao Renyu suddenly grasped her hand, which she hadn't had time to withdraw...