Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Three bowls of rotten rice.
After leaving the prefectural government, Doctor Shao first returned to the clinic. It was not until the evening that he changed his clothes and went somewhere else.
Doctor Shao took many turns and soon walked into a small alley called Maiyu Lane.
This place is worthy of its name. It is where the people in the surrounding area sell fish. They sell and kill fish every day, so both sides of the street are filled with the smell of fish and flies are flying around.
Doctor Shao raised his hand to drive away the insects around him, and walked in carefully on the clean ground. At the same time, he complained in his heart about the dirtiness of the place. He didn't know how those nobles from Bian Jing could live there. Anyway, if it were him, he would definitely not be able to survive.
Doctor Shao walked while thinking, and soon arrived at his destination. He walked forward and knocked on the door with the copper ring. Soon the door opened a crack and opened to see Doctor Shao.
Doctor Shao entered the room and saw two young men standing there. The one on the left was handsome, elegant, and unrestrained, looking very capable in his formal attire. The one on the right, on the other hand, didn't have his hair combed neatly like other men, but let his slightly curly, fluffy hair cover most of his face.
He had broad shoulders and a tall, sturdy build. If Linzhi were present at the moment, she would definitely recognize that this was the idler in her original memory.
Doctor Shao bowed to the two people in the room: "Doctor Tao, Doctor Chen."
"Doctor Shao is here, please take a seat." The handsome man waved his hand and asked the woman to bring tea: "There is not much good tea in the room, Doctor Shao, please drink this."
"You're welcome, Mr. Tao." Doctor Shao was flattered and hurriedly took the tea from the woman.
He had just taken a sip when Tao Lang asked, "Have you seen that girl? How is she? How are her family?"
Doctor Shao quickly put the teacup aside and replied respectfully, "Reporting to Doctor Tao, the girl's condition...is not very good."
He reported everything he had seen and discussed today to the two gentlemen, then paused and said, "It seems that Manager Huang is going to report this to the prefect."
Tao Lang suppressed his smile, seemed to be thinking about something, and then questioned him in detail for a while. Finally, he asked someone to deliver the purse and then asked someone to send Doctor Shao out.
Then, he said to Shen Lang: "Brother Yan, it seems..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a commotion at the door. Then, a young man in a bright red silk robe flew in like a butterfly, excitedly saying, "Brother Yan, Brother Yan! I heard that someone helped you find a beautiful girl on the road? Where is she? Let me see her—Ah!"
Tao Lang, who had been so cool just now, had a blank expression on his face. He reached out and grabbed the man's ear, gritted his teeth and said, "Didn't I tell you? We're all escorts this time. Escorts, what's with your attire?"
"I am the owner of the goods being delivered... Aaaaaaa, I was wrong, brother, brother!" The young man looked up, and his face was 70% similar to Tao Lang.
"Yingce, please spare Heng'er."
"Hmph." Tao Yingce just let go of his hand, allowing Hengge'er to breathe a sigh of relief.
He quickly turned to Chen Yan, stuck out his tongue at his brother, and then asked: "Brother Yan, is this true or false? I rushed back as soon as I heard the news? Is the governor of Taiping Prefecture so powerful? He even saw through your disguise? You know, when I first saw you, I almost wanted to grab a handful of copper coins and give them to you￥#@&*..."
Once Heng Ge'er started talking, he never stopped, chattering endlessly without a break.
Before Chen Yan and Tao Yingce could stop him, Heng Ge'er's smile faded and he asked coldly, "Could it be that Xi Zhizhou... is also involved in this case?"
Chen Yan pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head: "I think this matter... should be just a coincidence."
“????”
"The third daughter of the Xi family who was given as a gift has already been engaged and will be getting married soon." Chen Yan frowned and slowly told the story: "And the gift she gave me..."
At this point, Chen Yan still felt awkward. He was silent for a moment before continuing, "We investigated and found that the maid was the dowry maid of the third lady of the Xi family."
"Giving away the maid that came with the dowry? Wouldn't that be even more bizarre? Could it be that you are not satisfied with the marriage and just want..." Heng Ge'er's eyes turned and he had a guess.
"That wouldn't happen." Chen Yan shook his head. "It is said that the maidservant who came with the dowry couldn't figure it out, so she hanged herself after returning home."
"Although he has been rescued, he has lost his mind and is like a child."
"..." Heng Ge'er opened his mouth and uttered a word after a while: "What an unlucky person...ah!"
Chen Yan withdrew his hand with a cold face.
Tao Yingce glanced at his grinning brother and sneered, "Serves you right. You're a bad mouth."
He retracted his gaze and looked at Chen Yan: "Since this matter has nothing to do with our case, then it's almost time for us to prepare to return to Bianjing."
Chen Yan frowned: "Stay for a few days."
Tao Yingce was stunned: "Huh?"
Chen Yan said in a deep voice: "The third lady of the Xi family must have a grudge against this personal maid, so she gave her away in public."
"If I leave immediately, I'm afraid that after the turmoil, if the Xi family can't find me, they will find someone else to marry this girl off."
"Doctor Shao said that this girl has a brain injury and is as smart as a child. If she is given to someone else, she may face a difficult fate."
After a pause, Chen Yan continued, "I want to find out about the girl's condition, pick her up, and send her to the manor to be cared for. If I can cure her, it will be a meritorious deed. If I can't, it will at least provide her with food."
Tao Yingce was speechless: "You... are just a servant, why do you have to do this?"
Chen Yan's eyes darkened slightly, and after a long silence he said softly, "Do what is right according to your conscience."
Seeing this, Tao Yingce suddenly remembered the past of Chen Yan's family. He stopped trying to persuade her, but instead lowered his eyes and estimated the time it would take to return to Bianjing: "We can stay for at most half a month."
Chen Yan nodded and took note of it.
Seeing this, Heng Ge'er asked curiously, "Why would it take so long? Why don't you just show up and ask for the person and leave?"
Tao Yingce rolled his eyes, gnashing his teeth as he carried the man out. Soon, Chen Yan, who was inside, heard his scolding: "We're investigating a case! How can you reveal your identity so easily... And you're still talking back? Yan Ge'er has his own ideas. Now, change your clothes quickly. If anything goes wrong..."
Chen Yan laughed in silence, thought for a moment, changed into the clothes he wore that day, casually ruffled his hair twice, and went out to the street to inquire about the situation.
Soon after he arrived on the street, he was recognized by someone: "Hey - isn't this Brother Shen? How does it feel to have a beautiful girl fall from the sky?"
"Oh, so you're the lucky guy that day?"
"That's the head maid in the prefectural government!"
"Not to mention her looks and figure, she can bring quite a bit of dowry, right?"
"That's for sure!"
"Think about the women who go out on weekdays. They dress better than the average wealthy family."
As the voices began to speak, several glances, some curious, some envious, were cast towards Chen Yan. Most of the people present had never seen the maid mentioned that day, but they had all seen the servants and maids in the prefectural government, all of whom looked rich and luxurious, dressed in finery.
As for the maidservant beside my sister, she is even more impressive than the wives of the wealthy families out there!
"Maybe there's thirty or fifty strings of cash!"
"More than... there should be around a hundred strings of cash!"
"What good luck... Why wasn't I there that day?"
"She wasn't very lucky... I heard that girl didn't want to hang herself. Even though she's been rescued, she's become a fool!"
"Is this true?"
"Of course it's true! My great-uncle's grandson's cousin's sister-in-law's brother-in-law's uncle is a handyman in the prefectural government."
Even though Xi Zhizhou sent people to suppress the matter, everyone in this world loves gossip, especially gossip about high-ranking officials, which the people enjoy talking about even more.
Not to mention suppressing it, the news, whether true or false, spread throughout the city with details.
Among the envious and curious eyes, there were a few more gloating ones.
Chen Yan's eyes were calm, and he acted as if nothing had happened, as if he was completely unaware of the gazes around him. He smiled innocently and raised his hand to scratch the back of his head. "I'm a single man, I can't even afford a betrothal gift, how can I ask a girl for a dowry?"
The implicit meaning of his words was that he would be satisfied with just a marriage.
The people around him looked at his clothes and body shape, as if they were thinking about something. The idle man in front of them was tall, and even though he was tightly wrapped in a shirt, the muscle lines on his body could still be seen.
Such men, even if they can't read or write, can earn a lot of money by working at the docks or in shops.
Some of them showed ambiguous smiles, while others secretly regretted that she seemed to have a good temper and did not ask for much in terms of dowry, so she might be a good match.
People from Xi Zhizhou's mansion were also among them. After making some inquiries, they went back to report.
Lin Sen also learned the news from his friends, felt a little relieved, and discussed it quietly with Song Jiaoniang.
After hearing this, Song Jiaoniang murmured, "If it's a good one... that's not bad either, but I'm afraid it's just pretentious."
Nowadays, dowries are becoming more and more important. Even the servants in the prefectural government ask for engagements for several times more money than Song Jiaoniang did when she was young.
Song Jiaoniang followed the old lady and listened to the gossip of the women who came and went. They said that a small official in some place wrote a generous dowry list for his daughter, but after the husband's family married her, they found out that the dowry did not match the list, and they actually wasted her life.
It was also said that a poor family somewhere gave birth to three daughters in a row, and when they gave birth to the fourth daughter, they drowned the baby.
It can be seen that not only ordinary people, but also officials and wealthy families were gradually dragged into the vortex of comparison and were suffocated by the huge dowries.
At this moment, a good man with no interest in dowry fell from the sky? And he happened to be recommended by the third lady to her own daughter?
Song Jiaoniang didn't believe that such a good thing could happen.
Lin Sen patted the back of Song Jiaoniang's hand and said, "What are you afraid of?" He lowered his voice and said, "It's just three bowls of moldy rice at most."
Song Jiaoniang's eyes flashed, but she didn't say anything, obviously agreeing with Lin Sen's plan.
But even though she was thinking this, the topic was a bit dull, so she turned and went out to look for her daughter: "Sister Zhi... eh?"
Lin Zhi, who had just been sitting at the door twisting willow branches, had disappeared.
The aunt next door saw her and said, "Mother Song, Sister Zhi just went to the kitchen."
Song Jiaoniang stamped her feet: "Why are you going there again?"
I have been to Linzhi several times in the past few days.
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