The guard said to Zhu Jiayu, "I saw that Young Master Liu changed his clothes and went to a study to buy writing materials. After that, he went to a house in Xingzhi Lane and has not come out for a long time."
Zhu Jiayu thought for a moment, then asked him as they walked, "What kind of clothes did you change into?"
As she said this, she thought of the Apricot Lane that the guard had mentioned.
Isn't that where Pan Luxiu lives? If Liu Heng really knows anyone in Xingzhi Lane, does Pan Luxiu also have connections to know them?
The guard lowered his head slightly, knowing that the young lady was definitely not asking about the details of his clothes. He remained silent for a moment, then said respectfully, "In my opinion, his clothes seem to be simpler than his previous ones."
He racked his brains for a long time and finally remembered an inconspicuous detail: "He used to have a jade pendant hanging from his waist, but after changing his clothes, he only had a sachet hanging from his waist."
Zhu Jiayu nodded, got into the carriage first, and followed the guard's instructions to go to the study and ask the shopkeeper to buy the same writing brush and ink as Liu Heng. Then he went to Xingzhi Lane.
However, when the guards led her to the gate of the mansion where Liu Heng had once been, she was stunned.
It turned out to be Pan Luxiu's house.
She asked the guard with some doubt, "Are you sure this is the place?"
Although Liu Heng did not come from a prominent family, he was now a sixth-rank official in the court, and his brother-in-law, who was a censor, was always supporting him. How could he have gotten involved with Pan Luxiu?
Or did he know Pan Luxiu's husband?
But that's unlikely. She had already ordered someone to investigate Liu Heng's associates yesterday and knew that those he associated with were either officials of higher rank or from far better backgrounds than him. They certainly weren't some unknown, poor, and destitute person.
The guard replied solemnly, "I saw him go in with my own eyes."
Zhu Jiayu then asked another guard who had been standing watch in the alley, "Has he left?"
The guard replied, "They just left."
Zhu Jiayu hummed in agreement, picked up the writing brush and ink she had bought from the study, and stepped down from the carriage. She instructed the two guards, "I'll go in and scout the situation. If Liu Heng turns back before I come out, find a way to stop him."
The two guards replied in unison, "Yes."
They were the assassins of a ruined family that Zhu Jiayu had bought in Suiping. The organization had been raising them with Gu poison. After Zhu Jiayu bought them, he cured them of the Gu poison. Later, they followed Zhu Jiayu from Suiping to Heling, then from Heling to Songjiang, and then to Yujing.
They could carry out any instructions Zhu Jiayu gave them without question, unlike Lü Zheng who was always asking questions and didn't talk much. In short, Zhu Jiayu trusted them completely.
She waved her hand, and the two of them hid in a secluded spot.
She carried her brush and ink up the steps, and when she reached the courtyard gate, she knocked on Pan Luxiu's door.
"Who is it?!" The sun was shining brightly today, so Pan Luxiu washed her clothes and hung them in the yard. She had only hung them halfway out when she heard someone knocking on the door. She wiped the water off her hands on the clothes and walked toward the door.
When she opened the door and saw Zhu Jiayu, a smile appeared on her face, like ripples on a calm lake, making her already beautiful face even more elegant.
"You haven't come for so many days, I thought you had forgotten about your older sister." She affectionately took Zhu Jiayu's arm.
Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "How could that be?"
She showed the writing brush and ink she was carrying to Pan Luxiu: "When I came to my sister's house last time, I saw Xiaobao. He looked like he was old enough to start his studies, so I thought I would prepare writing brush and ink for him, hoping that he could devote himself to learning and writing in the future."
Pan Luxiu was illiterate and unaware of the intricacies and nuances of calligraphy and painting. She simply assumed Zhu Jiayu's gift was ordinary and accepted it with a smile. However, after examining it closely, she was quite surprised and exclaimed:
"Isn't this a coincidence? Xiao Bao's father came back today and also bought writing brushes and ink for the child. I noticed that you bought exactly the same ones."
Xiao Bao's dad?
Zhu Jiayu suppressed her surprise and put on a polite smile: "Really? What a coincidence! I heard from my sister last time that he was very busy with official duties. Now that he has time to come back, I suppose he can finally relax?"
When Pan Luxiu heard her ask this, her beautiful face fell: "He was just taking a break from his busy schedule. He just got back and hadn't even warmed his seat before he left again. He said that official business at the yamen couldn't wait for anyone... It's funny, if I didn't know that his salary was meager and he definitely didn't have any spare money to support mistresses and keep actresses outside, I would have really been able to hold a grudge against him."
She laughed again as she spoke, revealing that although she was unhappy about her husband's frequent absences, she was also an open-minded person who knew how to console herself. In no time, she became lively again, pulling Zhu Jiayu inside, saying:
"I promised to take you fishing and shrimp catching last time, and that promise still stands. But I have other things to do, so you'll have to wait for me a bit."
Zhu Jiayu hadn't really intended to go fishing with her. After hearing her finish speaking, he said, "It's alright, I'll go with you, sister. Last time I heard you say that Xiaobao's father works at the Dali Temple. I just remembered that my sister's husband's cousin also works as a judge at the Dali Temple. I wonder what his father's name is. If I go back, I can let that cousin get to know Xiaobao's father at the yamen. If acquaintances are together, they can help each other if something happens. What do you think, sister?"
She spoke softly and earnestly, appearing truly sincere.
Pan Luxiu had no doubts about her at all. After all, the fact that she helped her clear her name on the street showed that she was kind-hearted. Moreover, after knowing each other for so long, even if she didn't realize it at first, she would understand later that this younger sister came from an extraordinary family. Yet, she showed no disdain when she saw her, and even when she drank cold water at her house, she didn't show any disgust...
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