Chapter 48: Something unexpected happened while looking for trouble.

The next day, Song Baoyuan sat by the second-floor window at the teahouse, looking at the Qianqian Pavilion wine list. Her head was groggy. She squinted, unable to make out the words clearly.

Everything downstairs was normal, but Qingze's piano playing today was a bit hypnotic to her.

There was a very light knock on the door, and then the door was pushed open a crack, and Gao Luoshu looked inside with one eye open.

Song Baoyuan was lying on the table with the wine list as a cushion and had fallen asleep.

Her sleeping face was sweet and the light pouring in from the window seemed to cast a layer of soft light on her.

Gao Luoshu was slightly stunned. The person in front of him was as beautiful as a painting. It reminded him of the scene when they first met, the same glance that he could never forget.

"What are you doing?" Cen Zhou's cold question suddenly came from behind.

Gao Luoshu was startled, then realized he was like a peeping scoundrel. He turned around, looking uneasy. "I, I was just passing by!"

He left in a hurry, as if fleeing in panic.

Cen Zhou stared at him as he left, his face gloomy.

When Qingze finished singing downstairs, there was applause one after another.

Song Baoyuan was woken up, but she only opened her eyes dazedly and turned her head over.

I want to take a nap for a while.

But the applause from downstairs did not stop.

“Pah!”

A man with small eyes and a sharp face suddenly clapped his hands after the applause died down.

He was dressed like a scholar and walked slowly towards the center of the lobby, attracting attention from all around.

"At first glance, this piano music is truly marvelous," he praised, shaking his head. "But when you listen closely, it sounds like effeminate music."

Song Baoyuan heard the noise, hesitated for a moment, rubbed her eyes and stood up. She walked out of the room slowly and stood at the railing to look around.

The pointed-faced man suddenly pointed at the figure behind the screen and said, "This person playing the instrument is a little unworthy of such a high standard!"

Song Baoyuan frowned slightly and became much more sober.

Qingze's identity and past were not very important to those who frequented Yaofang, but to the self-righteous scholars and writers, it was hard to say.

"This guy is looking for trouble." Gao Luoshu came close to her without her noticing, "I'll go chase him away."

"Wait." Song Baoyuan stopped him, looking thoughtful.

The guests downstairs were talking about it.

The pointed-faced man raised his voice, clearly hoping everyone would look over. "Do you know what a despicable person that person sitting back there is?"

"As a man, I serve my master with my beauty. I don't know how many times..."

“Pah!”

The sudden applause interrupted the pointed-faced man's words and caught everyone's attention.

Song Baoyuan walked down the stairs with a harmless smile on her face, "Young Master is really amazing. He can hear so many things just from the sound of the piano."

She was elegant and beautiful, so she naturally attracted more attention than the pointed-faced man, and people couldn't even take their eyes off her.

"Why don't you listen carefully again, young master? What kind of person is this person playing the zither?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of the piano was heard again from behind the screen.

This piano is not that piano. The regular customers of the teahouse knew it as soon as they heard it, but they just smiled and didn't say much.

The sound of the piano is melodious, imitating the musical rhythm of the predecessors. At first glance, it does sound somewhat similar, but it cannot withstand careful exploration.

The pointed-faced man snorted coldly, "No matter how many times he plays it, it won't change the flattering tone in his bones!"

Song Baoyuan was neither angry nor annoyed, but just said: "It's not too late to make a judgment after listening to it, sir."

The person playing the piano was not affected by the discussions outside. He seemed to be immersed in his own world and played the whole song.

"I've heard it!"

The pointed-faced man's eyes were filled with provocation. "Do you dare to tell everyone how filthy this person playing the zither is?"

In full view of the crowd, Song Baoyuan walked past him and rolled up the calligraphy and painting that was blocking the view of the person playing the piano.

"I really don't know what you are talking about, sir. I hope you can explain it to me."

The moment the player showed his face, the sound of the piano rang out again. Gao Luoshu plucked the strings intently. Knowing that he would be revealed, he deliberately struck a serious pose, trying to amaze the audience.

But the effect is average.

The pointed-faced man took a half step back, "That wasn't him just now!"

"That was him just now." Song Baoyuan said patiently, "If you don't believe me, ask everyone else."

The pointed-faced man looked around and saw that the guests were all watching the show and were not aroused much emotion.

"The person playing the piano is clearly..."

"Does it matter who it is?" Song Baoyuan stepped onto the steps, towering over the pointed-faced man by half a head. Despite her frail frame, her voice was resounding and full of confidence. "We're all here to listen to the piano, so why bother with the person?"

She said calmly, "If I heard correctly, everyone was applauding the sound of the zither just now. The zither itself has its own story, but if the person playing the zither is really as the young master said, then doesn't that mean everyone loves obscene music?"

"I... am not!" The pointed-faced man glanced around at the people around him in panic.

Song Baoyuan smiled and asked, "Sir, you don't understand the zither at all, why are you so sure?"

She looked innocent and said, "Don't tell me, you are deliberately trying to embarrass us."

After she finished speaking, Cen Zhou and Zhang Lao walked to her sides, one on each side, both with indifferent expressions.

Their momentum was so terrifying that the man with the pointed face retreated again and again.

"Where did this scoundrel come from?" The guests at the table closest to the door complained, "Do you think others have no ears?"

The pointed-faced man felt hot on his face and ran out of the teahouse in a hurry.

He passed by a carriage and didn't notice that the people in the carriage were watching him leave.

Liu'an, who was driving, turned around and asked, "Sir, are we going to deal with this guy?"

Jiang Keyu's eyes passed through the corner of the curtain and peeked at the elegant person in the teahouse. "No need."

Ayuan was not nervous or flustered, and was even a little cunning, which was different from what he expected.

His worries were somewhat unnecessary.

"My dear, aren't we going in?"

When Liu'an asked this question, Jiang Keyu happened to see Gao Luoshu stretched out his hand, and Ayuan readily clapped hands with him, as if to celebrate their tacit cooperation just now.

He should be happy that Ayuan gets along better with others.

But for some reason, Jiang Keyu felt a little depressed.

"Forget it." He lowered the curtain and said in a deep voice, "Go back."

*

"I didn't expect Master Gao could play the piano," Song Baoyuan praised. "He's much better than I thought."

"It's just so-so." Gao Luoshu waved his hand and said modestly.

But his snickering expression was completely inconsistent with what he said.

Song Baoyuan didn't see it, so she walked back to the second floor and ran into Xu Pingsheng and Qing Ze.

"Madam Song just acted like a great general!"

Song Baoyuan laughed, "Xu Xiucai has such a good mouth for flattering people, it's a pity that he has to stay with me as an accountant."

"How could it be!" Xu Pingsheng sighed, "I am so lucky to have a shopkeeper as generous and considerate as Madam Song."

"Yes, yes."

Zhang Lao came over and agreed.

Song Baoyuan shook her head and said, "Alright, go and do your own thing."

She walked through the crowd, then turned back a few steps and said to the slightly dazed Qing Ze, "Don't worry about it. Be happy."

As a slave, if you cause trouble to your master, you will be punished. Qing Ze has been waiting for this for a long time.

But no, she left this sentence and left.

Didn't even look at him twice.

Qing Ze stared at Song Baoyuan's back and followed her silently, but Gao Luoshu, who was walking quickly, blocked his view with his body.

"Ahem." Gao Luoshu crossed his hands, "Keep your distance."

Qingze paused. The emotion in Mr. Gao's eyes was not concealed at all, as if he was warning him: Don't have any unreasonable expectations!

Seeing that he understood what was going on, Gao Luoshu stopped talking and turned to look for Song Baoyuan. Unexpectedly, he ran into Cen Zhou, who seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

Cen Zhou's expression was as cold as ever, and his words were very rude. "The shopkeeper said not to disturb her unless necessary. What's wrong with you?"

Perhaps because he had been caught "peeking", Gao Luoshu felt a little guilty when he asked this question, "I, I'll go and ask, is there anything I can do?"

Cen Zhou stared at him with a stern look on his face.

Gao Luoshu swallowed his saliva and said with a lack of confidence, "Forget it if there is no one."

He turned in another direction and left temporarily.

Cen Zhou snorted coldly and muttered slanderously, "You have evil intentions."

Zhang Lao, who was standing next to him, scratched his head and said, "You seem to hate Master Gao. What's wrong with him?"

"Birds of a feather."

Cen Zhou's explanation was unclear and Zhang Lao was bewildered.

Xu Pingsheng laughed when he heard this. "You don't think that Master Gao and Master Chang are good friends, so you beat him to death with a stick."

This made Zhang Lao suddenly realize, "Mr. Gao is fine, he has helped us a lot."

Cen Zhou disagreed, "They are not the most annoying ones."

"Who else?" Monk Zhang Lao Erzhang was confused, with bewilderment written all over his face.

"Jiang Shaoqing?"

Hearing this, Xu Pingsheng suddenly remembered that every time Jiang Shaoqing came over, he would always find Cen Zhou staring at him in the corner, with a bit of gloom in his eyes.

Zhang Lao was even more puzzled. "What's wrong with Jiang Shaoqing? He comes over occasionally, doesn't he just sit here?"

When Cen Zhou heard this person, he was filled with disgust.

Seeing his expression, Xu Pingsheng knew that he had guessed correctly, but he was also confused. "No matter what, Jiang Shaoqing is related to Madam Song. Why do you hate him so much?"

Cen Zhou didn't answer.

*

It's dusk again, time to close.

Cen Zhou lowered his head and looked at the ground, when suddenly a pair of expensive cloud-patterned boots came into his sight.

He looked up and saw that it was Chang Yunbai.

"What are you doing here again?" Cen Zhou blocked the door, not allowing him to take another step in.

Chang Yunbai glanced at him and said, "Go and call your shopkeeper and He Yue out now. Perhaps after today, I will never come here again."

Coincidentally, Song Baoyuan, who was packing up to go home, and Zhou Heyue, who had prepared dinner for everyone, came down from the second floor and out of the kitchen respectively.

"Master Chang." Song Baoyuan walked towards the door. "I heard that you got divorced?"

Zhou Heyue was stunned and suddenly didn't know where to put her hand holding the food.

Chang Yunbai sneered, "Who did you hear that from? Jiang Keyu or Gao Luoshu?"

"Did I hear it wrong?"

"No."

Chang Yunbai walked around her and walked towards the bewildered Zhou Heyue, "I'll fulfill my promise."

Song Baoyuan followed her gaze, not only her, but everyone else in the teahouse emerged from every corner.

Xu Pingsheng was counting the bills at the counter, Zhang Lao was moving tables and chairs, Gao Luoshu came down to prepare for dinner, Qing Ze was polishing the piano by the window, and Qiao Yue, Qiao Yin and Cen Zhou were standing next to Song Baoyuan.

Everyone looked at the two people.

"I forgot that I once promised to marry you." Chang Yunbai held out his hand. "I have divorced Lu Shuran. Now, are you willing to come with me?"

Zhou Heyue was in a complicated mood and did not react for a long time.

After some hesitation, she looked at Song Baoyuan as if asking for help.

Song Baoyuan immediately turned her face away and didn't want to get involved with them anymore.

The moment she turned her head, dark shadows appeared in front of her.

"ah!"

Song Baoyuan screamed in surprise.

Countless men in black rushed into the teahouse, pushed her away roughly, and closed the door of the teahouse as if trying to catch her in a jar.

"Miss!"

"Shopkeeper!"

“Bang!”

Something unexpected happened.

More than ten tall men in black appeared at the same time, two of them guarded the door, and the others were throwing and smashing things.

"Miss!"

Qiao Yue and Qiao Yin hugged Song Baoyuan tightly, trembling.

Having never seen such a scene before, Song Baoyuan opened her eyes wide in fear and shrank into the corner.

Cen Zhou squatted in front of them, his brows furrowed, and a cold light flashed in his sleeves.

"Don't be afraid, ma'am!"

Before Cen Zhou could make a move, another man holding two knives suddenly appeared and stood in front of them.

"Aqi?" Song Baoyuan's heart tightened. "Why are you here?"

Back then, because Jiang Keyu was determined to enter the Dali Temple, my father knew that it was an extremely dangerous path, so he hired a team of people to secretly protect him, and Aqi was the leader of this team.

Aqi was too busy confronting the man in black to answer her question.

Seeing that Song Baoyuan was temporarily safe, Cen Zhou silently put away the blade and squatted silently by the side.

Not only him, but also Zhang Lao, who was about to pick up a stick, saw that the shopkeeper was protected by someone, so he squatted down with his head in his hands and did not intend to resist.

After all, the men in black didn't seem to be targeting them.