Away from the bustling night market, we walked eastwards from the riverside road, passed through several alleys in the pitch-black night, and arrived at a dilapidated courtyard.
Changfeng and Shitou have been regretting not bringing their swords with them. Now they don’t know what to do if there is an ambush.
Song Jiaren looked around heartlessly and said to the woman with the miserable forehead, "Is this the home of the three scoundrels who bought you?"
The woman seemed to be terribly frightened when she mentioned those three people, and tears began to well up in her eyes again.
Song Jiaren quickly turned her head away. She was not a man, so why was he crying so pitifully and weakly in front of her?
At Gu Zhen's signal, Changfeng went forward and knocked on the door. "Knock, knock, knock." The door panel vibrated, the lantern above his head swayed, and hurried footsteps came from inside.
The wooden door opened from the inside, and three men with identical looks appeared in front of everyone.
Changfeng and Shitou gasped, Gu Zhen also frowned, only Song Jiaren was confused.
Aren’t these triplets? Why do they act like they are facing a great enemy?
Gu Zhen explained to Song Jiaren, "Twins are considered unlucky, and three is a curse."
As expected, in ancient times, feudal superstitions were extremely inexplicable.
Behind her veil, Song Jiaren scorned these superstitious ancients.
"Does the Lord think so too?"
Gu Zhen actually felt that this statement was unreasonable, but it was passed down from ancestors and could not be overturned by a few words or a few people.
"I... ahem, do I look so uneducated? This kind of thing has long been recorded in the Eastern Strange Stories. Twins in a family are because there was a precedent of twins in the ancestors, and future generations will also have twins."
The three men were all moved by Gu Zhen's words. Too few people understood this matter, and they had to accept the discrimination from the people.
Song Jiaren quickly took the opportunity to flatter him, not wanting to be preempted by the three men. "Your Excellency is indeed knowledgeable, well-informed, and has a broad vision. I admire you! I admire you!"
In front of outsiders, Gu Zhen had a new opinion about her shamelessness: there was no bottom line!
At first, the three men were attracted by Gu Zhen's outstanding appearance and the mysterious look of Song Jiaren wearing a veil. Now, when they saw the woman with a bleeding head standing next to them, they all cried out in surprise.
"Moon Slave."
"Moon Slave?"
"Moon Slave!"
Song Jiaren moved closer to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince so that the woman named Yue Nu would be exposed to the three men.
Looking at the attitudes of the three men, I feel quite nervous about this Yue Nu.
"What's going on?" Song Jiaren told them that Yue Nu stopped them and asked the adults for help, asking them to buy her to bury her father, and that she was unwilling to commit herself to the three of them.
The three men inside the door were all shocked, their faces flushing at the speed of a rocket, which made Song Jiaren marvel at it. She had never seen such an exaggerated expression on the face of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince usually just curled his lips slightly, and as long as there was a hint of smile in his eyes, she would be completely captivated by him.
"Please come in and have some tea, everyone. Things are a bit... complicated." One of the men said with a red face.
Another man said in a deep voice, "Yue Nu! Come and show us to the hall to rest!"
Song Jiaren saw Yue Nu walking to the front with graceful steps to lead the way. Ever since she met these three men, she had been trembling all over as if she was very afraid of them.
Gu Zhen originally thought it was just an ordinary citizen's simple home. After all, when he was outside, he could only see two dilapidated small doors. When he came in, he didn't see any exquisite scenery, only dead leaves on the ground and a dry pond.
After passing through a messy courtyard and entering the inner hall, the scene is completely different.
Under the dim candlelight, although there is no magnificent decoration, it reveals a low-key and restrained atmosphere everywhere. A rare famous painting from the previous dynasty hangs on the wall. The furniture is exquisitely made, and the patterns and designs on the corners are lifelike, which Gu Zhen has never seen in the palace.
Song Jiaren has seen too many gorgeous decorations and exquisite objects in modern times, and she cannot tell the good from the bad of these ancient things.
So he sat down with Gu Zhen very naturally. Changfeng and Shitou sat on the chairs opposite, feeling a little reserved.
"Common people Situ Ti, Situ Zhi and Situ Yin."
Situ family?
Gu Zhen had heard of this family. "Is it the family of Situ, the counselor of the previous dynasty?"
The three men sitting in the hall were filled with emotion. They looked at each other, and Situ Ti said, "Yes, I didn't expect anyone still remember. When the late emperor ascended the throne, the Situ family was at its peak. My father led the whole family to the capital to serve the emperor. Later, because of the twin rumors, my father committed suicide. The three brothers followed their father's wishes and returned to their hometown to hide their identities. Now they are just ordinary people running errands in this city."
Gu Zhen had only heard that the people of the Situ family, a family of counselors, were both brave and resourceful, and were all extraordinary talents who could help the country become strong.
"What's going on with this woman? Why did she stop someone from selling themselves to bury her father?" Song Jiaren had been drinking tea since she came in. The tea was sweet and fragrant. Only after she had enjoyed it did she remember the purpose of this visit.
Situ Zhi was impatient and couldn't help but glare at Yue Nu who was standing next to them with her head down and silent.
"A few days ago, Yue Nu was outside the door, shouting that she was selling herself to bury her father. We felt sorry for her, so we used our only money to buy her, set up a mourning hall for her, and even kept vigil. We planned to take her in after three days, but who knew she would run away!"
"Second brother, don't be rude." Situ Ti scolded Situ Zhi for shouting in front of the guests without caring about his image.
Song Jiaren waved her hand. "It's okay. It's normal to be angry. You spent money, but the person ran away. But she said that the three of you are scoundrels and wanted her to serve you three?"
A layer of heat covered the wheat-colored faces of Situ Sansan again, and shame was smoking on his head. He looked at the woman in the veil and wanted to explain but didn't know how to start.
Gu Zhen drank his tea calmly, and when the three of them couldn't help but blurt out something, he said, "Since you have something to hide, why not just tell me?"
Si Tu and the other two all breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly stood up and led Gu Zhen to the inner room behind the hall to explain in detail.
Song Jiaren had had enough tea, but she couldn't stop eating snacks. The sweet and greasy flower-shaped snacks with red bean paste were particularly delicious. Unfortunately, there were only three pieces in the plate, so she had to pick and eat them all. The fragrant tea could help her get rid of the greasiness.
Yue Nu originally thought that these people would come to pay back the money for her, bury her deceased father and take her away with them, but it seems that these three scoundrels have a powerful background, and she doesn't know if they can leave smoothly.
Changfeng and Shitou were getting a little restless, worried that something had happened to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so they stood up and went to the inner room behind the hall to check.
Song Jiaren stopped them and said, "My lord is very skilled and far superior to you. Please sit down and have some tea and snacks."
Changfeng was taciturn and unwilling to waste time arguing with His Highness's concubine. He just concentrated and held his breath as he went into the inner room.
Shitou couldn't keep his words to himself, so he said whatever he wanted to say. He snorted coldly, "No matter how powerful the lord is, those three people may not be as powerful as they appear. They may be people who are hiding their true abilities. What will happen if the lord is killed?"
Song Jiaren let out an exaggerated "Wow" and acted as if she had suddenly realized something. Even through the veil, one could guess what she looked like from her exaggerated posture.
"You..." Shitou felt that he was being ridiculed and looked embarrassed.
As soon as Gu Zhen came out, he saw Changfeng coming towards him nervously, as if facing a great enemy. Shi Tou in the hall was speaking rudely to his concubine.
"You bold Stone!" Gu Zhen only scolded him. After all, they were outside and he would deal with it when he got back.
Changfeng gave Shitou a look that said "as expected", signaling him not to argue with His Highness anymore, as he had seen all the disrespect shown to His Highness's concubine.
Shi Tou bowed and apologized to Song Jiaren in frustration, then returned to his seat and sat down obediently. His face was still pale and weak, as if he had suffered a blow.
Song Jiaren was just unhappy for a moment under the veil. She was misunderstood and looked down upon. Her eyes were as black as ink and contained unhappiness. She has always been vindictive and petty. If she had the chance, she would make Shitou cry and regret.
"What's the secret?" Song Jiaren asked curiously.
Gu Zhen glanced at her and said nothing.
Song Jiaren felt like a cat's claws were scratching her heart, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still didn't tell her. This master and servant pair was really infuriating!
Seeing that they didn't care about this matter anymore, Yue Nu rushed to Gu Zhen and knelt down, "Sir, sir! You can't just leave like this!"
Song Jiaren shrugged helplessly. She didn't know the hidden truth, so she couldn't care less about it. As long as she didn't follow them, it would be fine.
When Situ and the other two saw Yue Nu begging outsiders to save her, they were also puzzled.
Situ Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Yue Nu, why are you unwilling to commit yourself to three people? We just asked you to help wash and clean the room, and you don't want to do that?!"
Even this won't work. Am I going to sell myself for her to bury her father and then let her go?
Situ Ti and Situ Yin's eyes flickered slightly, and they looked at each other without saying a word.
Song Jiaren felt a little sleepy after eating and drinking. It was getting late, so she wanted to go back to the inn to sleep.
Yue Nu was left behind, and Gu Zhen, Song Jiaren and their group returned to the inn.
At first, Song Jiaren was unhappy that Yue Nu was disturbed while she was shopping at the night market, so she said a few words to her. Later, she just didn't want to waste her breath on a bunch of troublemakers. She didn't expect that there was some unspeakable hidden reason behind this.
Song Jiaren served Gu Zhen like a dog, taking off his clothes and rubbing his back. She was so tired that she was panting but she didn't complain at all.
Gu Zhen could see how adaptable she was. She would not complain endlessly when trying to please him.
"What do you want to know?"
Song Jiaren chuckled, "I want to know what the three of them said to His Highness? What is it that they can't say in public? Who is that Yue Nu?"
Gu Zhen looked at Song Jiaren in surprise. It turned out that she could see that Yue Nu was not an ordinary woman.
"These three people are the only remaining descendants of the Situ family. They are a family of counselors. Although they have retired, many people still keep an eye on them. Yue Nu is a pawn sent by another country to gather information. Selling herself to bury her father is also a cover."
Song Jiaren once again sighed that she was indeed beautiful and intelligent, and asked, "Then why are the three of them blushing?"
Seeing that she seemed determined to get the answer, Gu Zhen told her bluntly, "Because the three of them were born from the same womb, they have a sense of connection."
Feeling connected.
Feeling connected?!
Song Jiaren's face flushed immediately, her eyes darted around, she didn't dare look directly at the Crown Prince lying on the couch in white clothes and black hair.
This is so shameful!
No wonder Yue Nu ran away!
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