Chapter 045 Chapter 45

"Don't go out casually these few days. This thief has the ability to climb walls and fly over rooftops. Yesterday, the daughter of the magistrate of Xiangfu County was murdered by this flower-picking thief." Magistrate Xie looked at his beautiful granddaughter with lingering fear.

Yao Niang was incredible: "Flower thief?"

Prefect Xie nodded and added, "It's not just the flower thieves, there are also thieves who break into other government offices because of the flood. In short, everyone is in danger now. If you want to buy anything, just tell the housekeeper."

Xie looked at her daughter with some worry. She was impulsive and wanted to take her daughter out with her. If something happened during the journey, she would not be able to survive.

"Yao Niang, how about I write a letter to your father and ask him to send someone to pick us up." Xie discussed with Yao Niang on the way back to her room.

Yao Niang waved her hands when she heard this: "Mom, if I were alone, I would definitely be restless, but now we are together, I am not afraid of anything. We are determined to leave, if we just go back like this, it will be nothing. We are not afraid of flower thieves, we have prepared knives and sticks, and set up traps, if he encounters us, it will be his bad luck."

After hearing his daughter's words, Xie suddenly felt stronger.

When Yao Niang has nothing to do at home, she plays on the swing, draws, or reads. Reading is the best thing to do when you have nothing to do.

When she felt like it, Yao Niang also drew a picture for the old aunt. The old aunt liked Yao Niang very much. The way she liked to please her was not to praise you or talk to you all the time, but to feed you delicious food.

The thousand-layer cake on the table had not been finished yet, and the old concubine made fish soup.

"Grandma, I'm not even hungry. Mom told me not to eat so much." Yao Niang complained quietly.

The old concubine said, "Your mother loves to be vain. She used to do this when she was little. She had a flat nose bridge when she was little, so she pinched it every day. Well, you know what, she really made her nose bridge high. You don't need to learn from her. As a young girl, having a good body is better than anything else."

Yao Niang smiled and said, "Actually my mother also wanted to change my bad habit of eating snacks. In the past, when I ate candies, I would eat as much as others gave me, and my teeth would always hurt."

If Yao Niang is still young and does not know the taste of sorrow, the Ye family and the Chen family are busy. Mrs. Chen is a steady and ruthless person. She can see that Ye Tinggao is definitely not an ordinary person. His marriage is in the hands of Mrs. Ye. Mrs. Chen heard that Mrs. Ye has always had a cough, so she often sends some inexpensive gifts that cannot be returned without anyone's instructions, such as medicine for treating cough.

Now, hearing that Madam Ye had eczema, she collected several prescriptions and came to the house.

But Ye Tinggao fell in love with someone else at first sight. He asked his sister Ye Jingwan, "Who was the girl in purple that I met at the door that day?"

Ye Jingwan is a person who may not praise others in front of others, but she will definitely praise her friends behind their backs. When she heard her brother mention the girl, she thought about it and couldn't help but say, "That girl is the granddaughter of Magistrate Jie, the sister of the Yan family. Not only does she play the piano beautifully, but she is also good at poetry and painting."

Although he only had one stunning side, Ye Tinggao had endless fantasies in his heart. Miss Yan was as beautiful as a goddess, and he was also at the age to get married, so of course he hoped to marry a woman with both talent and beauty.

He was also a man of action, and he privately told Madam Ye, who loved her very much. Madam Ye had also seen Yao Niang once, and it was hard for her to forget her appearance. But she also had her own considerations. Sun'er had only seen her once, and he was so mature and prudent that he wanted to marry someone else without caring about anything.

Would a woman like Daji Meixi bring disaster to the country and the people?

Furthermore, she had met Chen Shuyi several times. Mrs. Chen was a warm-hearted person. If her son married a girl from the Chen family, the girl would be gentle, shy and never cause trouble. Mrs. Chen would treat her grandson as her own child.

And there is Miss Yan, who looks dignified and behaves like someone from a wealthy family. I heard that her father and brother are both in government, so I'm afraid her grandson will suffer injustice?

Thinking of this, Old Madam Ye simply told Lord Ye.

Lord Ye had been in the officialdom for a long time. He had once inquired about the background of Prefect Xie. He heard that he was related to the Xie family in Jinling. Perhaps the Miss Yan mentioned by my wife might be from the Yan family in Jinling? That was a family of prominent officials.

But he had always been afraid of his own family, and Old Madam Ye was three years older than him and had always been harsh and severe, so the Governor had no choice but to obey.

When the news of Chen Shuyi and Ye Tinggao's engagement came out, some people who were jealous of Madam Chen came to Xie's house to gossip, "We heard that Master Ye likes Miss Yan more, and it was all because of Madam Chen's constant fighting for her."

Xie ignored it: "Even if that's the case, it's his ability."

Privately, Xie and Yao Niang reflected: "Mrs. Chen's attitude is what a mother should be like. Even the grandson of the governor tried to marry her daughter, but mother couldn't."

"Mom, everyone has their own destiny. It's not a matter of success or failure. Isn't it because our elder sister ran away from marriage that our girl was affected?" Yao Niang said with a smile.

Xie still admired Madam Chen very much, and Yao Niang analyzed the situation: "Mother, since ancient times, the daughters of low-class families have been married to the wives of high-class families. My grandfather was the governor of the river, and my father was the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel. It would be good if we could find someone of equal status. There is no need to do this at all. Don't worry too much about my affairs. As the saying goes, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."

In fact, Xie herself was still under a lot of pressure, so Yao Niang had to keep comforting her. Finally, Xie figured it out, and both mother and daughter returned to normal.

Because the Tongzhi Yamen and the Zhifu Yamen were very close, Yao Niang personally gave Chen Shuyi a pair of love knots and congratulated her in person, "Congratulations, Sister Chen, on finding your ideal husband."

Chen Shuyi blushed and pulled Yao Niang to sit down again: "It's over after they said it, and you followed suit."

"I sincerely wish you well, sister." Yao Niang actually hoped that Chen Shuyi could marry a good man. She was gentle and honest, and dared not speak loudly. The governor of the Ye family had a good reputation. If he retired and returned to his hometown, Chen Shuyi's father would have a higher official position in the future. I heard that Ye Tinggao was also a decent person. This was indeed a good match.

Chen Shuyi was touched by Yao Niang's sincerity and shook her hand, saying, "Thank you very much."

The two talked for a few more words, and Yao Niang saw that the Chen family was busy preparing for the wedding, so she said goodbye and went back. Mrs. Chen glanced at Yao Niang's back. She also found that Ye Tinggao must have noticed Yao Niang. When they went to Daxiangguo Temple that day, when Yao Niang got off the carriage, his eyes unconsciously looked over.

But Mrs. Chen didn't care about these things. For example, her husband used to have a lover from the same village, but after getting married, she had long forgotten about that person and sent him to Java.

But she couldn't let Yan Yaoniang come to her place again. It would be bad if the Ye family saw her. She said to the people around her calmly, "I remember that Teacher Lu's daughter came back from the capital."

"Yes, she is quite capable. She can make cakes and side dishes. She makes Mr. and Mrs. Lu happy every day."

Mrs. Chen nodded: "Then please ask her to come over. If my daughter keeps being friends with Miss Yan, she will be invisible to others. Anyway, Shuyi has become much more cheerful these days."

The daughter of Lu Jiaoyu was naturally Lu Shaner. With the help of a letter from Guan, she made Mrs. Guan feel guilty and rushed to Kaifeng, Henan before Guan's burial. Unexpectedly, after Lu Jiaoyu and his wife read Guan's letter and saw that she was well-behaved and sensible, they directly adopted her as their goddaughter.

Mrs. Lu was already old and was not tired of socializing. She was an old lady who liked quiet life. Lu Shaner had parents for the first time and enjoyed their love. But she could not forget Guan's death, which was a death of despair.

Because of her illness, her husband not only did not show any care for her, but also lived far away from her. For half a year, her husband never visited her. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law also bullied her, so Guan became so heartbroken that she jumped into a well and died.

Guan treated her well, so Lu Shaner would never give up on taking revenge on the Yan family.

But the Yan family was indeed very powerful. She had mentioned the Yan family inadvertently before, only to realize that she had no way of overthrowing the Yan family now, and it was even difficult for her to even touch the Yan family members.

When she was in the mountains, she only came into contact with the servants of the Guan family. After hearing from Sister Xi Que that after Guan's death, the servants would probably be sent back to the Guan family.

She found out that Yan Yingqi, the head of the Yan family, was the Minister of Personnel, Guan's husband Yan Jingzhao was a Hanlin in the Hanlin Academy, and even Yan Jingzhao's grandfather was the Governor of the River. Only such a government office could be so cold-hearted and force Guan to commit suicide.

Therefore, now she must strengthen herself first.

When Chen Shuyi got engaged, she did not send an invitation to Yao Niang. Mrs. Chen even sent a letter to her saying that there were flower thieves everywhere, so she kindly told Yao Niang not to go, and she didn't even invite anyone else.

When Yao Niang heard that Yu Qing'er and the others had not invited anyone, she did not go either, even though she lived quite close to Chen Shuyi.

"It's just a few steps? Madam Chen is still afraid of something happening. She is too cautious." Yao Niang smiled and shook her head.

Xie touched her daughter's head and said, "It's a good thing that you don't go out. Once we catch this flower thief, it will be convenient for us."

"My daughter thinks so too." Yao Niang breathed a sigh of relief.

She continued to do needlework at home with Mrs. Xie until after Chen Shuyi got engaged. The house of the local prefect Lu was broken into. Fortunately, Miss Lu was smart and the Lu family servants arrived in time to prevent the thief from succeeding. Miss Lu also had a face-to-face encounter with the man. Because of this flower thief, Prefect Xie was also upset.

He also had someone bring a portrait of the flower thief to show to Yao Niang and Xie Shi, so that they would be alert.

Yao Niang said, "Based on the picture, they all look the same. To be honest, Grandpa, I don't think anyone can recognize them."

Prefect Xie scratched his head and said, "But this is probably the only way."

Yao Niang thought to herself, you damned flower thief, you made me unable to go out, I have to punish you, so she said, "Grandpa, have you ever met this flower thief? I want to draw it according to what they said, so it will be more accurate."

"Is this okay?" asked Grandpa Jie.

Yao Niang nodded: "Of course it's possible. As long as we have an accurate portrait, if he is still in this mansion, can't we let the detectives take the portrait and ask him and find out?"

Prefect Xie also thought it was a good idea. He had seen Yao Niang's paintings. Apart from other things, the paintings were very good at capturing the characteristics of the characters, so one could tell at a glance who the painting was of.

Seeing that Grandpa agreed, Yao Niang made a request: "Grandpa, if a thief is caught because of my painting, will the court reward me?"

"Ah?" Prefect Xie hesitated for a moment before saying, "The main thing is to catch a flower thief. If your name is on it, I'm afraid people will wonder if there's any connection."

"Grandpa, but I am not afraid of what people say."

Seeing her insistence, Prefect Xie couldn't help but say, "My dear, why do you want these awards? In fact, they are just a few taels of silver, and you are not a government official."

Yao Niang glanced at Lie and said, "I want to gain more merits and win an imperial decree for my mother."

"So that's how it is." Magistrate Xie glanced at his daughter and knew that she had been worrying about her lack of fame for so many years.

But, Magistrate Xie asked, "What about your brother?"

Yao Niang said, "You know that my brother is only a scholar now, and I don't know what official position he will be granted in the future. Grandfather, I heard that you can get 20 taels of silver for every thief you catch, and you can get the official position of a hundred households if you catch five people. I think there must be many big cases in this government. If I help catch five people, I can be granted the official position of the sixth rank. I don't want this official position, I just want to confer it on my mother."

"But there is no precedent for this?" Prefect Xie was also quite hesitant.

Yao Niang said, "Grandpa, I won't make it difficult for you. If I can't do that, I can take the reward money myself. But if I can, please help me put in a good word in the province."

How do you know if you don’t even try?

So, Prefect Xie agreed.

Yao Niang prepared her brushes and paints. Fortunately, the paints her father bought her were enough, so she didn't need to buy more. These were not available in ordinary stores. But she couldn't show up in her usual outfit. Usually, Yao Niang would put on proper makeup when she went out, so as not to tarnish the reputation of the Yan family. But now she had to dress more neatly.

Originally Yao Niang wanted to dress like a man, but she was facing a woman, so this was not a good idea.

So she combed her hair into a bun and reluctantly chose a plain ivory-white blouse with minimal patterns. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.

Mrs. Xie was already deeply moved. She had never thought her daughter was so determined. She had only thought her daughter was young and was just joking before.

In fact, my daughter is very smart. She even said that if she did this, she would be targeted by the thieves' accomplices. But she was determined. Since there was an opportunity, she wanted to fight for it. No matter how much she was persuaded, she would not change her mind.

"Miss Yao, have you really made up your mind?"

"Mother, it's a coincidence. I'm not afraid. Don't worry about your daughter. Didn't you say that she was born with both blessings and wisdom? Don't worry. There is no creation without destruction. We didn't have this opportunity before, but now we have it." Yao Niang said.

Xie sighed, "You and your father are really similar in character. I thought you had forgotten what you said when you were a kid, but I remember it all the time. Whatever you want to do, you must accomplish it."

Yao Niang hugged Xie's arm and said coquettishly: "Mom~"

**

Lu Shan'er's adoptive father was the instructor of Kaifeng Prefecture and also lived in the government office, so she arrived in just a few steps. She was still frightened when she thought of what happened a few days ago. Now when she heard that the prefect wanted her to come over and describe the appearance of the flower thief, Lu Shan'er came.

Unexpectedly, when she came in, she saw a girl of about thirteen or fourteen. She thought that she was usually conceited about her appearance, but she never thought that this girl was not wearing any makeup and was as beautiful as a lotus emerging from clear water.

"Miss Lu, please take a seat. We won't exchange pleasantries. I'm a painter from the government. Please just describe this person's height, facial shape, the clothes he wears, and other features." Yao Niang said.

Lu Shaner was always smart. She saw the man's face clearly that day: "He was of medium height, about twenty years old. I can't describe his face shape, but his eyes were not big and his nose was hooked..."

While she was talking, Yao Niang never stopped working and asked Lu Shan'er to add to her painting, was it correct?

Lu Shan'er moved closer to Yao Niang and smelled a faint fragrance from her body. Her face turned slightly red. She saw that Yao Niang was very skilled. She painted almost silently or asked more details.

"Look, isn't it like this?" After Yao Niang finished her final revision, she directly drew a full-body picture of the character and showed it to Lu Shaner.

Lu Shaner took the painting and looked at it, then looked at Yao Niang in disbelief: "You are truly amazing, it is him."

Yao Niang had learned painting for more than five years, and it finally came in handy. She looked at Lu Shan'er and said, "I also want to thank you for your clear observation, Miss Lu. Don't worry, I will let them catch the criminal as soon as possible."

"Miss Jie, have you painted many prisoners before?" Lu Shaner was surprised.

Yao Niang shook her head: "This is my first time drawing!"

“It’s incredible that I can draw so well on my first try.”

It is indeed incredible. Ever since her brother and father talked about how to draw portraits, she has actually been practicing. For example, every day, no matter it was windy or rainy, she would still draw portraits of her family. Sometimes she would paint until she felt like vomiting, but she still insisted. Especially when it comes to capturing the spirit of the characters, she has worked very hard.

However, Yao Niang doesn't like to complain or talk about it all the time.

Prefect Xie was also a person who loved to pursue art. He had only known that Yao Niang was good at painting, but he had never expected that she could make figures come alive on paper in her paintings.

"Yao Niang, this person seems to be standing in front of me alive. Very good, very good." said Magistrate Xie.

Yao Niang smiled again: "Grandpa, I wish I could help you."

With such a clear and vivid portrait, the government almost mobilized all its forces and quickly caught the man. Everyone originally thought that the flower thief should be a playboy, but unexpectedly, the flower thief was actually a grocery store owner who looked the most honest on weekdays.

It was not until he was arrested that people around him started to cry out that there was something wrong with him. Everyone described him as being dull and honest, and not saying a word when being bullied.

Prefect Xie captured the big thief in our prefecture within three days, and was praised by his superiors. Even our prefecture commander Shen Xunfu praised him.

Thinking of his granddaughter's request, Prefect Xie couldn't help but ask, "Sir, I have something to ask you."

Shen Xunfu recalled that this prefect Jie also had a strong background. Although he had not been promoted to a prefect in places like Suzhou and Hangzhou, Kaifeng was also the capital of Henan. Looking at his resume, his qualifications were simply mediocre, except that he was said to be married to the Yan family of Nanjing.

Seeing that he had something to say, Shen Xun stroked his hand and looked at him: "Go ahead."

"It's like this. This time we were able to find the flower thief so quickly thanks to my granddaughter. She is a great painter and was able to draw the man just by hearing his appearance described. That's how we were able to find him. My granddaughter doesn't need money on a daily basis. She just wants to get a title for her mother with some merits. I hope you will allow her to do so." Having said this, Magistrate Xie knelt on the ground.

Shen Xunfu was very surprised. If a scholar passed the imperial examination, he did not have to kneel in the court. What's more, an old man like Prefect Jie who had been an official for twenty years actually knelt down to beg for help.

He hurriedly helped Prefect Xie up and said, "Prefect Xie, are you making this difficult for me?"

Although Magistrate Xie was not an old hand in the officialdom, he could tell that Shen Xunfu had left some room for maneuver, so he couldn't help but say, "Otherwise, let my granddaughter solve a few more cases. If she succeeds, please help me, Lord Xunfu."

Shen Xunfu also praised: "Since ancient times, women have been as good as men, but the court has its own laws, so I will give it a try."

The prefect Xie then showed a look of joy and said, "My granddaughter's life story is on this note. I'll trouble you, sir, to read it."

In fact, Prefect Xie also had a trick up his sleeve. He was afraid that Shen Xunfu would cause trouble, so he wrote a letter to the third old lady.

Shen Xunfu opened the note and it said, "Mrs. Yan San, mother Xie, grandfather Yan Mai." Yan Mai? This name is very familiar, it's the same name as our river governor.

This girl didn't write about her father, I'm afraid her father died early. Shen Xunfu has six sons. The eldest and second sons are married. The third son Linyun is still unmarried. He is exactly fifteen years old this year and is studying in the academy. He is dull. As the saying goes, a clever wife accompanies a clumsy husband. If I can marry a wonderful woman like Miss Yan San, I don't mind whether she is the demise of her father.

Yan Yingqi, who was said to have died young, was having dinner with Yan Jingzhao at this time. The father and son were eating the dishes from the small kitchen left by Xie.

"I don't know how your mother and her friends are doing in Henan."

"You should be living well at your grandparents' house."

"Jing Zhao, I've figured it out. As long as your mother can come back, forget about the Shen family's affairs. You should socialize more often and find a man of the right age for your sister."

Yan Jingzhao nodded: "Okay, don't worry, Dad. But there are very few people who are worthy of my sister. Either their family backgrounds are not suitable, or their looks are not suitable, or they are people who have been married for a long time. This is really difficult."

Yan Yingqi didn't know what to say. After finishing his meal and washing up casually, he lay down on Xie's bed. At one moment, he wondered if Yao Niang and Shen Linfeng had any fate, and at another moment, he was worried about the safety of Xie and Yao Niang.

Without Lan Youn by his side, he really couldn't eat or sleep well.

Thinking of this, he could not fall asleep, so he put on his clothes and walked into the garden. It was late at night and the dew was heavy. Most people had already gone to bed, but somehow he could hear the intermittent sound of a zither.

"Zhou Da, who is playing the zither?"

Zhou Da asked the maid guarding the garden gate, and she replied, "My Lord, it was the cousin of the Zhen family who was playing the zither."

Yan Yingqi said unhappily, "You're still awake so late, you're calling my soul!"

Zhou Da complained in his heart that last time you said the Second Madam couldn't sleep, and you were still blowing the whistle to get her to sleep.