Yu Tang was shocked.

Pei Yan had been very stern in the past, but not like now. Not only was his gaze icy, but the way he looked at Miss Xu was like a hunter seeing his prey, with a hint of murderous intent.

I guess Miss Xu was also pretty scared.

Yu Tang noticed that she quietly took two steps back and grabbed the corner of her clothes.

She looked towards Miss Xu.

Miss Xu showed no sign of emotion at all, and she was still smiling as she talked to Pei Yan: "Which restaurant in Hangzhou makes the best sweet and sour fish and Dongpo pork? I haven't been to Hangzhou yet. Sister Yu, why don't we go and join in the fun, what do you think?"

Yu Tang didn't know how this matter got to her, but if Miss Xu was interested, she would be willing to be the host. But she felt that Pei Yan's mood was not right, so she glanced at Pei Yan before answering Miss Xu's question.

She found Pei Yan's eyes dark, just like the seemingly calm sea surface, which was not breaking through the sea surface because of the strong pressure from the waves on the bottom of the sea. But it was only being suppressed. If a little more force was used, the waves would probably sweep out, leaving people in the turbulent waves and not knowing whether they would live or die.

Yu Tang was shocked.

Only then did he realize that what Miss Xu had just said had a hidden meaning, and that the thing she was referring to had angered Pei Yan.

Naturally, she would stand on Pei Yan's side.

Although Miss Xu is nice, Pei Yan is indebted to her.

She could still tell the difference.

Yu Tang swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, smiled and changed the way of speaking: "Do you want to eat sweet and sour fish and Dongpo pork in Hangzhou or do you want to see the scenery of Hangzhou City? If it is the former, we also have good sweet and sour fish and Dongpo pork in Lin'an. I will treat you to sweet and sour fish and Dongpo pork. If what you want to see most is the scenery of Hangzhou City, you might as well discuss it with Mrs. Yang San and set a time. My mother and I will accompany you. My mother hasn't been out for a long time. It's a beautiful spring day. Go to Hangzhou City to have some fun and buy some new styles of clothes."

Her voice was clear, bright, gentle and polite, and somehow it diluted the tense confrontation. Miss Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Pei Yan and said to Yu Tang: "Then it's settled. I'll make an appointment with you after Mrs. Yang San and I have decided on the itinerary."

Yu Tang also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she didn't know why Pei Yan's expression suddenly relaxed after hearing her words, he was a man who knew how to seize opportunities. After hearing what Miss Xu said, she not only smiled and nodded "OK", but also bowed to Zhou Zijin and said, "When did you come to Lin'an? Last time in Hangzhou City, thank you and the third elder for your help. My father was still talking about it at home a few days ago. If he knew that you were here this time, he would definitely rush to Zhaoming Temple in advance. I will send someone to tell my father and ask him to treat you to a good taste of Lin'an's fine wine."

Zhou Zijin laughed loudly, looked at Yu Tang for a few times, and said to Pei Yan: "I haven't seen you for two years. The little girl has grown into a big girl. She is getting more and more beautiful." Then he urged her, "Why don't you paint a small portrait of you? It will be beautiful. You can hang it in the house in the future and leave it to your descendants."

Yu Tang couldn't help but feel moved after hearing this.

Pei Yan was unhappy and said, "You are painting a portrait for the deceased? You want to leave it to your descendants. Don't bother to argue here. Miss Yu doesn't want to paint a portrait, so you don't need to paint one."

Zhou Zijin was shocked and said, "What do you mean? My portrait is worth a fortune, and you dare to reject it."

Pei Yan said impatiently: "It is because your portraits are so valuable that I feel you are not suitable to paint for Miss Yu. What if someone knew that you painted Miss Yu's portrait and stole it for money? Wouldn't Miss Yu's portrait end up in someone else's hands? Wouldn't it be collected and fondled by someone else?"

Yu Tang shuddered when he heard this, and before Zhou Zijin could say anything, he said, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou. I have an ordinary appearance, so I dare not trouble Mr. Zhou to paint. If there is a chance in the future, I will ask Mr. Zhou to paint a small portrait for someone in my family."

She could ask him to draw a picture for her father.

Zhou Zijin felt very sorry but did not mention it again.

Miss Xu told Zhou Zijin about his own portraits: "When it comes to painting portraits, of course no one can compare with Zhou Zhuangyuan. Do you have a portrait of your own? It would be great if I could take this opportunity to bring it back to the capital. You are a free and easy person, so it's hard to find you."

Zhou Zijin smiled and said, "I was originally planning to go to the capital in a few days. Tell Mingyuan to stop bothering me. I will go find him then. Ask him to prepare some Lihuabai for me. I want to drink three cups with him."

Miss Xu nodded repeatedly and said, "It's a good opportunity for you to help us take a look at our book."

"Of course." Zhou Zijin agreed readily.

Miss Xu took Yu Tang away and said goodbye.

Pei Yan and Zhou Zijin said nothing.

Miss Xu dragged Yu Tang and ran back to her resting room as if there were bandits chasing her. She could not wait to pour herself a cup of tea and gulped down two mouthfuls. Then she pulled Yu Tang to sit down at the round table in the middle of the room with a frightened look on her face. She complained, "Why does Pei Xiaguang have such a personality? No wonder everyone only praises him for his courage and strategy and ignores other things. A man like him still wants to be an official? I think he retired because he couldn't stay in the six ministries anymore."

Yu Tang didn't like others attacking Pei Yan like this.

She said, "The Third Elder is a very kind person, and he has brought benefits to our hometown. We are all very grateful to him."

Miss Xu smiled embarrassedly and said, "I'm not targeting Pei Xiaoguang, he really scared me. I didn't expect him to be so difficult to talk to." At this point, she felt a little depressed and sighed, "No wonder people say seeing is believing. I've finally seen Pei Xiaoguang. Don't expect me to say a good word for him again. I'll avoid him if I see him again!"

A look of hatred.

Yu Tang wanted to defend Pei Yan and asked, "What did you mean just now? What do you mean by sweet and sour fish and Dongpo pork?"

Miss Xu hesitated to speak.

Yu Tang said, "Don't fool me. Sweet and sour fish and Dongpo pork are available in Hangzhou and Suzhou. You might be hinting at Suzhou. Besides, you mentioned Gaoyou's salted duck eggs. Gu Chaoyang came to Jiangnan as a historian and investigated the river in Gaoyou. Are you hinting that Gu Chaoyang is investigating Gaoyou on the surface, but someone actually committed a crime in Suzhou? But you put the blame on Prefect Yin. Does Prefect Yin know about this? Or is this matter related to Prefect Yin?"

Miss Xu was impressed by Yu Tang.

She thought about it and asked Ah Fu and Shuang Tao to guard outside the door: "Don't let anyone get close."

The two looked at each other, but obediently went out and carefully closed the door for them.

Miss Xu then said to Yu Tang, "Some people say that the Third Prince is collecting wealth in Jiangnan. How can there be any problem with the Gaoyou River? It was our second brother Yin's major when he was in the Ministry of Works. They actually want to investigate officials in Suzhou and Hangzhou. And this time, not only did the Censorate send Yu Shi, but the palace also sent eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department. Gu Chaoyang and his men are open, while the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department are covert." She frowned, "But I don't know who the Imperial Household Department sent? I calculated the date, Gu Chaoyang has already arrived in Lin'an, and the Imperial Household Department should have arrived in Hangzhou or Suzhou a long time ago."

Yu Tang was stunned and asked stupidly, "What does this have to do with the Pei family? Their eldest master, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Works, has passed away due to illness, and the second and third masters are also at home in mourning."

"Why are you so smart and confused at the same time?" Miss Xu glanced at her and lowered her voice, "The Pei family is very, very rich. It's not an exaggeration to say that they are the richest family in Jiangnan. However, the Pei family has always been low-key. If the third prince wants to make money in Jiangnan, the Pei family will definitely be the first to be hit. If not starting with the Pei family, where else can he start?"

As she spoke, her expression was startled, and she whispered to Yu Tang: "Tell me, could this lecture be a cover? Otherwise, why are several famous wealthy families in Jiangnan coming? Even the Peng family from Fujian and the Tao family from Guangzhou are here." At this point, she was scared by herself, her face turned pale, and her body became soft as if she had no bones. She covered her chest and said: "We won't be implicated, right? Since they are all involved, how can they still get together? Aren't they afraid of being caught in a jar? No, no, I have to send a message to Yin Ming."

Miss Xu was so anxious that she was spinning around: "No, the capital is too far away. I have to send a letter to the second brother of the Yin family first and let him take charge of the situation. But he can't come. If he comes, he will be involved in this matter."

Yu Tang is calmer than her.

Mainly because Yu Tang thought of his previous life, when the Pei family lived peacefully until the second prince ascended the throne as emperor.

The Pei family either has nothing to do with this matter or has a way to extricate themselves from it.

But in the previous life, there was no such thing as Pei Laoan hosting a lecture.

The time when Gu Xi donated the incense recipe to Zhaoming Temple was five years later. Li Duan's father Li Yi returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors, and the Li family hosted the Ullambana Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

Therefore, this life is very different from the previous one.

Although she was also unsure, she was not as panicked as Miss Xu.

"Listen to me." She held Miss Xu's hand tightly and said, "If you have such an idea, you might as well tell Master Pei San directly. It is not appropriate for Prefect Yin to come here. It is not good for us to keep it secret even though we know it is not good for the Pei family."

Since Miss Xu knows such a secret, she can definitely help the Pei family.

Besides, she had already moved into Zhaoming Temple, so it was too late for her to escape.

Why don't we work together to create a new situation?

Miss Xu obviously thought of this as well.

She paced the room, undecided.

Yu Tang knew that whoever was faster would have the initiative, so she simply gave Miss Xu some advice: "How about sending a letter to Prefect Yin as soon as possible and asking him to help make a decision, but don't come yet."

Miss Xu thought about it, stamped her feet, and agreed. While sitting down to write a letter to Prefect Yin, she regretted: "If I had known, I would not have followed the Third Madam of the Yang Family to Zhaoming Temple. This guy Yin Mingyuan is hesitant to speak. When I said I came to Jiangnan, he didn't object openly. He just casually asked the Third Madam of Yang to watch me and told me not to mind my own business. He clearly knows something. I hate him like this! How can I know what it is if he doesn't say it clearly!"

Yu Tang said, "Didn't you say that it was Master Yin who asked you to come to Jiangnan to play?"

Miss Xu hesitated: "I want to come over to play, and he didn't explicitly object!"

Yu Tang was speechless.