Chen thought about it carefully and realized that what Yu Tang said was true. When she saw Mrs. Yang San the next day, she was even more enthusiastic than usual and asked Mrs. Yang San with a smile: "Did you sleep well last night? I heard from the lady that Miss Xu is a little attached to her bed. Is she feeling better now?"

Mrs. Yang San's expression was no different from usual. Her smile was still gentle and polite, and her voice was still soft and pleasant: "Fortunately, your daughter gave us half a bottle of perfume, otherwise it would be a bit uncomfortable."

The two of them started talking about perfume.

It was a happy time for a while.

Yu Tang breathed a sigh of relief.

She felt that her mother had finally made a friend, and she hoped that her mother would be happy during her stay at Zhaoming Temple.

Miss Xu was smiling at her from behind, and on her way to greet Mr. Pei, she whispered to her, "Now is not the time to talk. We'll talk later."

It seems something happened after they left yesterday!

Yu Tang was ready to make a move, and he was still thinking about this matter when he followed Pei Laoan and others to the main hall. It was not until they stood in the main hall and the monk in charge of reception brought a tray to collect the box with the birth date and eight characters written on it that Yu Tang concentrated his mind and dared not think about it anymore. He knelt down on the west side of the main hall with Miss Xu and others to listen to the monk perform the ritual.

A morning passed like this.

After the ritual was over, even people like Yu Tang had to be helped up by maids, not to mention Pei Laoan and others.

Wu Neng personally accompanied Pei Laoan to the meditation room in the back.

Miss Xu took the opportunity to walk together with Yu Tang and whispered, "Why don't you see other people?"

The only people attending today's ceremony were the women of the Pei family who were sitting in the flower hall yesterday, as well as the Chen mother and daughter, Miss Xu, and Mrs. Yang San.

Yu Tang nodded, and inexplicably felt closer to the Pei family, as if he had become a friend or relative of the Pei family.

Miss Xu said to her, "Come over to my place this afternoon and pick out a few bottles of perfume."

Reciprocity.

Yu Tang smiled at her.

The two stopped talking and had lunch in the meditation room. After sitting with the elders and the incompetent master for a while, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

Yu Tang didn't know what to say in the main hall just now, so when she returned to the room, she squatted down to help her mother check her knees.

Luckily I had tied a cotton pad on my knees before, so my legs were just a little stiff and nothing else happened.

Chen smiled and said, "I thought I could do it! I didn't expect that I'm already old and weak, and I have no choice but to admit defeat. I don't know how Mrs. Pei managed to survive. I wish I could still have this body when I reach her age."

Mrs. Chen was taking out some clothes for Chen from the box. She smiled and said, "Maybe Mrs. An is also in a hurry to massage her legs when she gets home, just like you!"

Yu Tang and Chen both laughed.

Chen asked Yu Tang to roll up his trouser legs for her to see.

Because of his own experience, Yu Tang was particularly pious, and his knees were red from kneeling.

Chen was extremely distressed, and hurriedly asked Mrs. Chen to take her to the west room to apply medicine, and said, "We will have dinner there tonight. You should rest well in bed and don't go anywhere in the afternoon."

Yu Tang wanted to go to Miss Xu's appointment. She shook her mother's arm and said, "I'll just sit there and come back."

Chen thought about it and asked Mrs. Chen to prepare some snacks for her. She also reminded her: "Don't run around. Take a nap before going. There will be a lecture tomorrow!"

Yu Tang agreed with a smile, went back to take a nap, got up to change clothes and wash up, asked Shuang Tao to bring some snacks, and went to Miss Xu's place.

Who knew that as soon as she stepped into the yard where Miss Xu lived, she saw Miss Xu and Ah Fu hurriedly walking out.

Yu Tang thought Miss Xu had heard the noise and came to greet her.

Miss Xu was stunned when she saw her. Yu Tang knew that she came at an inopportune time and that Miss Xu might have something to go out for. She saw Miss Xu chuckled twice in embarrassment, then rolled her eyes and dragged her to the straight ginkgo tree outside the door, whispering to her: "Do you know Zhou Zijin? That's Zhou Zijin who won the first place in the imperial examination and is good at painting beauties!"

Of course Yu Tang remembered him.

He had lived in Lin'an City for some time before, and was inseparable from Pei Yan all day long. When she had diarrhea in Hangzhou City, Zhou Zijin even sent someone to visit her.

She asked in confusion: "Why are you asking him?"

Miss Xu said with great joy: "He also came to Zhaoming Temple. I have to go and see what he looks like."

"This isn't a good idea!" Yu Tang said hesitantly.

Miss Xu didn't take it seriously and said, "I heard that he is more suave than Pei Xiaguang! Come with me to see him!"

Yu Tang frowned.

In her heart, although Pei Yan treated others coldly, he acted in a very methodical manner, unlike Zhou Zijin, who was always a bit frivolous in his words and deeds, which she did not like very much.

"How can Zhou Zijin compare to the third elder of the Pei family!" Yu Tang blurted out without thinking.

"You've actually met Zhou Zijin!" Miss Xu said in surprise, looking her up and down, "I was wondering why you weren't curious? It turns out that you've not only met Pei Xiaguang, but you've also met Zhou Zijin!"

Yu Tang panicked and said, "I am from Jiangnan, so I have more chances to see them than you. Besides, Zhou Zijin has been to Lin'an before, and I am not the only one in Lin'an who has seen them. What can I say?"

Miss Xu was so excited that she said, "Among the famous scholars of the dynasty, the only two I haven't met are Pei Xiaguang and Zhou Zijin. Pei Xiaguang has retired. If I don't meet him this time, I'm afraid I'll never see him again. Zhou Zijin is even harder to meet. Not only has he retired, but his whereabouts are also unknown. I'm just lucky to meet him this time. I must meet him no matter what!"

Yu Tang didn't understand this persistence.

Miss Xu said aggrievedly: "Yin Mingyuan and I are compiling a record of Jinshi scholars. We want to collect the papers of the top ten in these years, write a list of Jinshi scholars, and draw Jinshi portraits. Now we are missing Zhou Zijin."

Yu Tang was stunned, and then embarrassed.

She thought Miss Xu was just playing around because she was bored.

"Then I'll go with you!" Because the Zhaoming Temple's sutra lecture was approaching, the Pei family was afraid of accidents, so they sent guards to surround the Zhaoming Temple. In Yu Tang's heart, the Zhaoming Temple was as safe as the Pei family's backyard, so she immediately agreed.

Miss Xu was extremely happy. She pulled her out and said, "You must show it to me when the time comes."

Yu Tang stumbled as she dragged him along, and it took him a long time to catch up with her.

"Where is Zhou Zijin?" she asked Miss Xu, panting. "How can we go to see him? Is he here to attend the lecture at Zhaoming Temple?"

After several questions, Miss Xu didn't know what to answer, so she just said, "Just follow me."

The two of them trotted along and stopped in a small wood.

Miss Xu said: "We just need to wait here. This is the only way out of Pei Xiaguang's place. When Zhou Zijin comes to Zhaoming Temple, he will definitely come to visit Pei Xiaguang..."

Before she finished her words, Yu Tang saw Gu Chang, who was wearing a royal blue silk gown, had fair skin and an elegant temperament, walking towards her from the corridor, surrounded by four or five followers.

"Why is Gu Chaoyang here?" Yu Tang was stunned. "Shouldn't he be in the capital?"

Miss Xu was also startled, but she quickly calmed down, pondered for a moment, and murmured, "Could it be that the new historian sent to Jiangnan Road is Gu Chaoyang?"

"What do you mean?" Yu Tang asked.

Miss Xu took a deep breath and said, "Before I left Beijing, everyone was saying that there was a problem with the river in Gaoyou. The emperor asked the Censorate to send a censor to Gaoyou to investigate. It seems that this censor is Gu Chaoyang!"

Yu Tang said: "Then he should also be in Gaoyou? Why is he here at this time?"

"He walked a little far." Miss Xu said with a serious look.

Yu Tang asked, "Can the Yu Shi of Jiangnan Road move around freely?"

"If they want to investigate a case, they can move around freely." Miss Xu stared at the corridor and was silent for a while. She whispered, "I just don't know if this matter has anything to do with the two princes?"

How is it related to royal affairs?

Yu Tang took a breath of cool air.

Miss Xu laughed it off and said awkwardly, "I was just making a random guess - everyone said that the money that the Ministry of Industry allocated to Gaoyou for river construction was embezzled, so I said that. We have to check it out to find out whether it is true or not!"

The more she explained, the more uneasy Yu Tang felt.

"What does this have to do with the Pei family?" she asked anxiously.

Miss Xu pondered for a long while before whispering, "Although the aristocratic families in Jiangnan may be fighting fiercely, they are very united at critical moments. No one can predict when they will turn against each other or when they will become friends again. Zhou Zijin's appearance here may be related to this matter!"

Yu Tang didn't want to think of the worst, and said thoughtfully: "Maybe they are here for the marriage between Miss Gu and the eldest son of the Pei family!"

"I hope so!" Miss Xu stroked her chin, like a boy, and said, "The marriage between the Gu and Pei families was originally very sudden, and there must be some conditions that have not been negotiated. It is possible that he came here in person. First, it is to confirm the marriage between the two families, and second, it can also support his sister. The second branch of the Gu family is not good enough." After that, she asked Yu Tang: "Why haven't I seen Mrs. Pei these days? She should have come to the temple with everyone, right?"

"I don't know." Yu Tang said, "I didn't pay attention."

She really didn't notice.

Miss Xu said "Oh" and wanted to say something, but Yu Tang saw Gu Chaoyang getting closer and closer to them and said hurriedly, "Should we hide behind the tree? If we stand here like this, we will be easily discovered by Gu Chaoyang."

Miss Xu thought for a moment, then took Yu Tang's hand and walked out: "We should take the initiative, instead of standing here and being suspected. We will go forward, and if he stops us and asks, we will say that we are going to see Pei Xiaguang. If he gives way to us, we will pretend that we didn't see him, what do you think?"

Yu Tang has always been timid and cautious. If it were usual, she might think that this was not a good thing, but now, ignoring Gu Chang, facing Gu Chang's gaze, and confronting Gu Chang head-on made her feel excited just thinking about it.

She decided to listen to Miss Xu.