Li Lao Er frowned, fiddling with the small box, and asked again, "What do you think of that place? Since it's called Yaochi (Jade Pool), is it because it's convenient for playing in the water?"
Zheng Sanjiang shook his head, a hint of disdain in his expression. "No, Lord. The reason it's called Yaochi (Jade Pool) is because there are many 'fairies' there."
"The interior is decorated like a heavenly palace, with extremely luxurious food, drink and other necessities. In reality, it's a money pit!"
He thought for a moment and then added, "I secretly took a walk around inside and found that many of the guests were young masters from various families in Xindu, and some of them even held official positions."
"They were in a building, served by women, smoking a long pipe, and after they finished smoking, they went crazy."
Some people crawled on the ground, some cried and laughed, and some even engaged in sexual acts, as if they had fallen into some kind of illusion.
"I originally wanted to look around more, but the guards inside were changing shifts, so in order not to leave any traces, I could only take this opportunity to leave."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Li Lao Er's heart pounded as he listened, feeling that he had stumbled upon some incredible secret.
He took a deep breath and instructed, "This matter has been investigated to this point and is no small matter. Let me think about it before I speak, and don't tell anyone about it."
"Yes, Your Excellency." Zheng Sanjiang bowed and withdrew.
Li Lao Er walked back and forth in the house with his hands behind his back.
Xinduli is not without its own brothels and other places of pleasure.
Although the imperial court forbids officials from entering such places, how can one forbid men from being lustful?
Going there occasionally to drink and have fun is nothing unusual, and no one gets caught by the censor for it.
Perhaps the imperial censors will occasionally grace us with their presence...
But this Jade Pool is clearly different.
It is heavily guarded, expensive, and sells intoxicating substances.
The guests he served were almost all the younger generation of powerful and influential families, or even young officials.
Could this be a place of pleasure arranged by someone behind the scenes, intended to cultivate relationships with the younger generation of various families?
But why is it so mysterious, or rather, so shrouded in secrecy?
Zheng Sanjiang's skills are quite impressive; even he had a difficult time investigating.
Just then, Zheng He came in to serve fresh tea and asked, "Lord, are you going back to Suijintan tonight? We heard from home that it's Mr. Wen's birthday today, and they want to have a celebration."
Li Lao Er snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Prepare the car, we're going back now."
Zheng He quickly went out to make arrangements, and Li Lao Er gave Lao Cao a few instructions before getting into the car and going home.
He got stuck on a minor point and forgot that two heads are better than one.
With a renowned doctor like Zhang and a clever little niece in the family, they might just figure out what's so strange about the ointment in this jade box!
In the Li family courtyard at Suijintan, the kitchen is bustling with activity right now, with people frying, stir-frying, and cooking.
Today is Mr. Wen's birthday. When he went to the yamen early this morning, Madam Wen personally cooked longevity noodles for him and added two poached eggs.
Finally, they changed all his clothes, shoes, and socks from head to toe into new ones.
After lunch, Old Lady Li went for a stroll in the Wen family's courtyard and, upon hearing about this matter, naturally began to make arrangements.
The Li family has long regarded Mr. Wen as one of their own!
Although it's not Mr. Wen's birthday, nor does he look forward to it like a child, it's still appropriate to cook some good dishes and have the whole family get together to celebrate.
When Li Lao Er entered the room, he saw Mr. Wen, the village chief, Uncle Zhao, and others, as well as Doctor Zhang and Chief镖头 Liu, all sitting in the main room talking. He smiled and said, "Oh dear, I'm the last one to come back. Luckily, I bought two jars of good wine as an apology."
As they were talking, Zheng He stepped forward and placed two wine jars on the table.
What man doesn't like to drink, especially these old men?
Soon, they unsealed a jar, and their faces lit up with smiles as they smelled the rich aroma of the wine.
When it was completely dark, the Li family set up a table in the main room and the east room, with men and women sitting separately, to celebrate Mr. Wen's birthday together.
Mrs. Wen personally served food to Old Lady Li and Tao Hongying, thanking them for their thoughtfulness in arranging the meal.
“Auntie, Hongying, it should be our family who organizes the banquet and invites you to dinner. I didn’t expect that you would not only spend money but also get tired and worried.”
Grandma Li patted her hand and scolded her, "What nonsense are you talking about? We're only separated by a wall, but we're closer than family. It doesn't matter where the banquet is held."
"You should focus on taking good care of the baby in your belly; that's more important than anything else. Everything else is trivial!"
"Yes, we treat Mr. Wen like an elder brother. It's just a small matter like arranging a banquet. It's nothing. Besides, we have plenty of people in our family, so organizing a banquet is easy."
Tao Hongying picked up a piece of deep-fried ribbonfish, carefully removed the bones, and placed it in Madam Wen's bowl, saying, "Eat more fish, it will make your child smart!"
After saying that, she picked out a piece for Wenjuan as well.
Jiayin held the small bowl and waited for a long time but didn't receive any care from her mother. She couldn't help but sigh and pretended to ask herself.
"Oh, Fu Niu'er, you've really fallen out of favor! Your junior brother and nephew haven't even been born yet, and you're already unwanted."
"What should we do? Should we run away from home?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter and said one after another.
"This girl, she really doesn't suffer any loss!"
"Exactly, they never suffer losses, they just get jealous."
They don't even spare unborn babies!
Grandma Li hugged her granddaughter tightly, calling her "my precious darling," and said, "Grandma's chubby little girl, you are the apple of my eye, Grandma loves you the most!"
Perhaps to show that they hadn't forgotten this jealous, greedy girl, everyone put food into Jiayin's bowl, which was soon piled high.
Jiayin smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared, and she stopped making sarcastic remarks. She happily shook her head and ate with gusto, like a puppy wagging its tail.
At the dining table in the main room, the men, young and old, were in high spirits thanks to the good wine.
They talked about the big and small things happening in the village, the eccentric guests in the hot spring valley, their plans to plant melons on a large scale next year, and of course, the big scale to divide the gold on the Little New Year's Eve, with laughter ringing out from time to time.
Just then, Li Laosi returned on horseback, covered in the frost of the wind.
Everyone was surprised, but they didn't ask any questions. They urged him to sit down and drink some wine to warm himself up.
Tao Hongying also went to the kitchen and instructed Shuiyun and Dongmei to cook more braised noodles so that the guards could have a good meal.
After finishing their meal, the guards went to rest in the back room of the Ye family's front courtyard.
The young and old women also cleared away the table and chatted while doing needlework.
The village chief and the others guessed that Li Laosi's sudden return was because he had something to say. After eating and drinking their fill, they didn't linger and took their leave early, slightly drunk.
Jiayin found some sweet potatoes, dragged a charcoal brazier, and roasted them while listening to the commotion in the main room.
Li Laosi sat on a small stool, accompanying his daughter as she roasted sweet potatoes.
After drinking the hangover soup, Li Lao Er asked, "Fourth brother, did something happen at the military camp? Why did you suddenly travel back at night?"
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