Extra 3 I believe you.
Oh.
Shen Xu sneered from between his teeth.
Gu Zhizhuo waved his hand and said, "It's not important. Let's talk about it when we get back. It's windy today, and you might be afraid of the cold."
Xie Yingchen coughed a few times cooperatively.
I don't believe you! I just felt the wind was strong now? What were you doing just now?
He was too lazy to argue and followed them into the palace.
After Xie Yingchen ascended the throne, he did not use the deposed emperor's Hanzhang Palace, but instead reopened the Purple Palace. The Purple Palace had originally been the residence of the previous emperor. After the deposed emperor ascended the throne, perhaps out of guilt or for some other reason, he switched to using the Hanzhang Palace, leaving the Purple Palace closed for seven years.
Gu Zhizhuo also lived with him in the Zichen Palace.
The three of them went to the warm room in the east hall. Xie Yingchen raised his hand and said, "Sit down. Pour your own tea."
His attitude was quite casual.
Shen Xu looked straight at him.
Gu Zhizhuo moved a round stool, and she stood on it and happily hung the lantern she had just won from the street stall on the wall.
"Help me check if it's crooked."
Xie Yingchen stood behind her, holding the stool for her, and looked at it carefully: "It's not crooked, it's just right."
Gu Zhizhuo was satisfied. She clapped her hands, jumped down from the stool, and asked triumphantly, "Does it look good?"
"nice."
His eyes remained on her.
Shen Xu endured it again and again, until his eyes twitched. He stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "The East Factory had nothing to do with the fraud."
"I know."
Xie Yingchen did not use the term "self-proclaimed". They were sitting here not as monarch and subject, but as friends.
He sat back on the warm kang, handed him the piece of silk paper, and told him what had happened in general.
Xie Yingchen was not surprised that Chen Xu had discovered this. With their blatant selling of questions, how could they hide it from the eyes and ears of the Jinyiwei in the capital?
Xie Yingchen poured himself and Gu Zhizhuo a glass of water. Even at this hour, Gu Zhizhuo wouldn't let him drink tea, so they both drank lukewarm water.
"Since the Governor is here, let's leave this matter to the Governor." After he finished speaking, he smiled gently, "Is there anything else?"
No. Is that right? The East Factory is already involved, and he still gave this job to me. Xie Yingchen is not someone like the deposed emperor who can be fooled.
Shen Xu looked at him from a distance with a slight scrutiny.
Xie Yingchen looked calm.
After a pause, he smiled and said, "Given my relationship with the Governor, I wouldn't trust you, but would I trust a strange student?" He changed the subject, "Don't you want tea? I have the flower tea made by Yaoyao herself."
Chen Xu: “…”
His eyelashes were slightly draped, and he did not respond.
Gu Zhizhuo placed a pair of clay dolls on the coffee table, looked back at the two of them, and threw a tumbler over.
"This is for Shen Mao to play with."
This was also won by Xie Yingchen from guessing lantern riddles. The tumbler was decorated with beautiful pheasant feathers, shaped like a peacock. It was wobbling on the table, and Shen Mao would definitely like it.
Shen Xu raised his hand and took it.
The Jinyiwei had spies all over the capital, and he had received a report a day earlier that someone was openly selling questions.
The other party was so ostentatious, as if he was afraid that others would not notice him.
It's like they deliberately want to make the East Factory's "crimes" public.
In the two years since Xie Yingchen ascended the throne, the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were still in his hands.
However, there were always impeachment memorials against him, and he was aware of all this.
He has too much power.
It would be fine if it was like what happened to the deposed emperor, who needed the East Factory to do some shameful and secret things.
But Xie Yingchen simply used the East Factory as a tool, and didn't care at all that he continued to control the inner court—in fact, there was nothing to control, as there were only the two of them in the palace. The deposed emperor's family members were all exiled, leaving Xie Yingchen with not even an empress dowager or concubine.
When he first heard about this, he wondered if Xie Yingchen was finally going to take action.
This thought only lasted for a brief moment.
Xie Yingchen was not such a despicable person. Even when he was trying to seize the throne, he mostly used open strategies.
Open and aboveboard.
Only to check later...
Chen Xu was playing with the tumbler in his hand. The candlelight illuminated the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye, making it look especially bright red.
He suddenly opened his lips and said with a faint smile, "Your Majesty, I ask you to investigate this matter with me."
Gu Zhizhuo's eyes lit up: "Okay." After that, he looked at Xie Yingchen again.
Thinking of her sharpening the knife in the carriage, Xie Yingchen didn't dare to say "no" and nodded in agreement.
Xie Yingchen admitted that she has been a bit idle recently and she just does whatever she wants.
"I told you you have such a good temper. You keep on pestering me one by one. Just wait and see how I'll deal with them!"
Xie Yingchen's eyes seemed to be shining: "I feel relieved with you here."
Shen Xu interrupted them: "The Queen and I are going to the same place."
Okay!
Gu Zhizhuo didn't ask where they were going, and even Xie Yingchen didn't ask. She took off the mask and gave it to him, telling him to put it away and go to bed early. Then she followed Chen Xu out in a carefree manner, with only Qingmei by her side.
Shen Xu's black lacquered carriage was parked outside the palace gate.
Sheng Jiang, the Left Admiral of the Five Military Commandery, was still sitting on the carriage as usual. When he saw Gu Zhizhuo coming out with his master, he was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.
He quickly stood up and saluted.
Before the word "Queen" was even called out, Gu Zhizhuo had already said, "Just call her Miss Gu." He said it happily.
Sheng Jiang: "..."
Does the emperor know that you want others to call you "girl"?
Gu Zhizhuo lagged behind, letting Chen Xu get on the carriage first. She had climbed the mountain today, and her shoes were covered in mud; she hadn't changed them since returning. After he sat down, she hopped up briskly, her skirt in hand.
Qingmei also sat on the cart. Sheng Jiang looked at her and asked what was wrong, but Qingmei spread her hands.
"Walk."
Shen Xu's voice came from the carriage, and Sheng Jiang responded repeatedly.
The crowd in front of the Meridian Gate had dispersed, but the entire capital was still brightly lit, with red lanterns hanging all over the streets, making the capital look like daytime.
Sheng Jiang lowered his head and drove the carriage without speaking for a long time.
"Where are we going?"
Qingmei asked casually, the direction of the carriage seemed a little wrong, and the road ahead seemed to be Hua Street?
"Yanzhilou." Sheng Jiang's voice was lower than hers.
What, what!?
Qingmei's face turned pale with fright.
“You, you, you…”
The word "crazy" made Qingmei suppress her frown.
Yanzhi Tower was one of the strongholds set up by the Xiliang people in the capital. After the Liang people were arrested, they fell into the hands of the East Factory, but no one knew about it to the outside world.
After finding out that the prostitutes inside had nothing to do with Liangren, Gu Zhizhuo decided to return their indentures.
Some people have nowhere to go and are very anxious.
Yin Xiyan said that most prostitutes were sold by their families. They could not return home, and even if they did, they would be sold again. If they just found a man to marry or became a concubine, they would end up in a miserable state after their youth.
Prostitutes were of low status and were not allowed to set up their own household according to the law.
After the East Factory took over, Shen Xu kept the people. ——But they didn't know who the new owner was.
Nowadays, Yanzhilou is full of geishas who play the piano, sing songs, recite poems and compose couplets. They sell their art but not their bodies.
But after all, it’s still a red-light district! Qingmei was about to cry.
Sheng Jiang glared at him.
Is it any use telling him this? The master is in the carriage, so he can't be the one making the decision.
Qingmei was in tears as she watched the carriage slowly stop at the side door of Yanzhi Building.
Gu Zhizhuo opened the curtains.
Liangren has been running the Yanzhi Building for nearly ten years, occupying half of the street. In addition to the three-story building facing the street, the back is composed of three three-story courtyards connected and merged together.
The lights are on.
The red lanterns lit up the entire street as if it were daytime, and you could faintly hear the sound of singing.
When I got off the carriage, the servant was already waiting there.
Except for the entertainers and some odd jobs, just like the Xiangxi Opera House, everyone in the place is from the East Factory.
The servant respectfully led them to the small building in front. Instead of going through the lobby, they went up the stairs at the back and arrived at a private room on the third floor.
Gu Zhizhuo brushed her skirt and sat down. The servant respectfully served tea and said, "Master, the person arrived half an hour ago."
people?
Gu Zhizhuo raised his eyebrows.
Sheng Jiang opened a mechanism on the wall, and the melodious singing from next door came clearly through the microphone.
This is a one-way transmission. They can hear what is happening next door, but the next door cannot hear them.
Sheng Jiang stepped forward and poured tea for them.
"She just needs water."
Gu Zhizhuo:?
Sheng Jiang obediently changed a cup of warm water for her, then stepped aside and stood with Qingmei.
"good!"
There was a burst of cheers from next door.
"Although Yuelan's voice cannot be compared with Gui Niangzi's back then, it is still one of the best in Beijing."
“What a pity.”
"Our emperor is quite kind to women."
These ambiguous words were met with a burst of laughter, mixed with the graceful and melodious singing voice of a woman.
Gu Zhizhuo heard about three or four people, two of whom were quite familiar, one of whom was Jiang Xuezi. The other one sounded familiar, but Gu Zhizhuo couldn't place it for a while.
"Master, do you recognize him?"
Shen Xu poured himself a glass of wine and said nothing.
"...Master Rong, I was taken advantage of today and spent a full ten thousand taels!"
Allow?
Rong is not a common surname.
Coupled with this slightly familiar voice, Gu Zhizhuo suddenly remembered: "Marquis Qingyuan?"
After the prince ascended the throne, he posthumously conferred the titles of Emperor and Empress upon the former Crown Prince and his wife. The Rong family of the Qingyuan Marquisate was the maternal family of the former Empress, and also the prince's maternal uncle. Based solely on blood relationship, Rong Zhi, the Qingyuan Marquis, was the prince's full-fledged uncle.
But it’s just blood relationship!
Gu Zhizhuo and Qingyuan Hou had only met a few times in the previous dynasty and had hardly spoken, so she just felt that he sounded somewhat familiar.
"Is this person related to the fraud case?"
Shen Xu nodded lightly.
There was a sound of a door opening next door, and the prostitutes left one after another.
Qingyuan Hou put down his wine glass with a thud and said unhappily, a little drunkenly, "What's the use of silver?"
Someone flattered him, "Of course not. You're the uncle of the emperor, so it's not difficult for you to get money. Back then, Duke Cheng'en was the one who had the final say in the capital, so powerful and majestic."
"It's different. My nephew doesn't take me, his uncle, seriously. He must be dissatisfied with the fact that I didn't make any contributions when he ascended the throne." Qingyuan Hou said unwillingly, "How can he do such a thing to my whole family? He, hey, holds grudges. He even made my sister the queen posthumously, but he doesn't care about my uncle."
“I understand!”
He was quite drunk and his speech was slurred and unclear.
He slammed the table and said, "He just thinks I haven't done anything meritorious. Hey, wait and see. When I help him take down that Shen Xu from the East Factory, he'll know how good I am to him, his uncle."
"Of course." The people around him hurriedly responded with a smile, "As the saying goes, even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected."
I see. No wonder this gentleman was so sarcastic all the way.
What a weird personality.
Gu Zhizhuo held his chin with one hand, stared at him for a while, and chuckled, which made him confused.
"It wasn't done by the young master."
She put away her smile and spoke seriously.
Chen Xu rubbed the small jade token with his fingertips: "I believe you."
The credulity in youth resulted in the death of more than 100 members of the Yin family, and the knot in his heart remains.
It was not easy to hear the word "believe" from him. Gu Zhizhuo knew that when Chen Xu found out that it was the Marquis of Qingyuan who was behind this, he probably really thought that the young master would give him a crime and then get rid of him.
Chen Xu clasped his hands together, placed them on the Eight Immortals Table, and said with an ambiguous smile, "What are you going to do, Miss Gu?"
"Beat him to death."
Gu Zhizhuo lifted his sleeves and snorted.
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