The man in blue probably sensed something was wrong with Manager Tong and turned around.

Yu Tang saw an extremely handsome and domineering face.

Her breath caught.

But she was soon hurt by the indifference in the eyes of the man in blue when he looked at her.

Yu Tang's face was burning, and he couldn't help but explain: "I'm not here to be a fake painting, it's my father who bought a painting from a friend..."

The man in blue didn't believe her at all and ignored her as if she was nothing. He raised his well-defined chin slightly and nodded towards the shopkeeper Tong, then passed by Yu Tang.

How could this happen?!

Yu Tang screamed in his heart, and was stunned for a while. He followed involuntarily and said angrily: "I'm really not here to scam people..."

The man in blue turned his head and glanced at her.

The dark eyes were clear and cool, like a deep pool in autumn, chilling to the bone.

Yu Tang felt a tingling sensation in his heart.

All the words of excuse were stuck in my throat.

She stood still.

The shopkeeper Tong hurriedly chased after him and politely escorted the man in blue out the door.

Only then did Yu Tang realize that a carriage with a green curtain had stopped outside the door at some point.

Tong, the shopkeeper, personally took a footstool and was about to help the man in blue get on the carriage, but a thin man in a dark brown shirt beside the carriage lifted the curtain first. Tong, the shopkeeper, was not annoyed. He bent down and stepped back a few steps, watching the carriage go away with a "click, click, click" sound. Then he stood up and turned back to the pawnshop, smiling and saying, "Young lady, why did you come back? Is there anything urgent?"

Yu Tang couldn't help but smile at the shopkeeper Tong and asked, "Who was that young man just now?"

Tong, the shopkeeper, smiled warmly and did not answer her question directly. Instead, he bent down and stretched out his hand to signal her to talk inside. He smiled and asked her, "Young lady, if you have anything to say, let's talk inside."

Yu Tang came back to his senses.

Although she had lived two lives, she had never seen anyone more handsome than the man in blue. But she was just a little girl, and she actually chased after others to ask who he was... Fortunately, the shopkeeper Tong was a kind person and did not ridicule her, otherwise she would have had to work in the groin.

Yu Tang was embarrassed, and hurriedly handed the painting to Tong, the shopkeeper, and asked sincerely, "Shopkeeper, you said this painting is fake, do you have any evidence?"

The shopkeeper Tong was stunned.

The shopkeeper Tong, perhaps thinking that she was looking for trouble, hurried forward a few steps and held the shopkeeper Tong behind him, saying, "Young lady, our pawnshop is a century-old brand in Lin'an Prefecture. You mentioned our surname Tong right away, so you must have asked about it. We never do things like stealing, if you don't believe it, you can check the painting carefully. We will return it to you the same way you brought it in. Although "Fishing in Songxi" is a famous painting, our pawnshop has seen good things before. We can't do anything to ruin our reputation because of a painting of yours."

Yu Tang's face flushed with shame, and he said quickly: "No, no. I don't suspect you of stealing. It's this painting, and it was sold to our family by someone else. I just want to know what's wrong with the painting, so that I can find that person when the time comes!"

Both the big and small Tong shopkeepers breathed a sigh of relief.

The shopkeeper, Xiao Tong, said quickly: "You shouldn't be so greedy. Our Pei family's pawnshop has been open for many years. We never force anyone to pawn anything. If he really needs money, why doesn't he pawn it here with us..."

"How can you talk to a customer like that?" Shopkeeper Tong Da scolded Shopkeeper Xiao Tong, interrupting him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's not entirely true to say that this painting is fake."

Yu Tang perked up and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Tong, the shopkeeper, said, "Young lady, you may not know that most of the ancient paintings that can be handed down from generation to generation are painted on rice paper. This rice paper has two characteristics. One is that it absorbs ink very well, that is, the ink can penetrate the back of the paper. The other characteristic is that it is made of several layers of paper pulp that are repeatedly exposed to the sun. A skilled mounting master can usually peel off the rice paper layer by layer. Why do you say that your ancient painting is a forgery rather than a fake? We just showed it to the gentleman in the shop who specializes in appreciating ancient paintings. Your painting was indeed made by Li Tang. But the top layer was peeled off, and yours is the layer below, so you see--"

As he spoke, he opened the scroll and pointed it to Yu Tang: "This, this, is obviously added later. It lacks some of the majestic and ethereal style..."

Isn’t it because of the seal?

Yu Tang was a little confused.

Tong, the shopkeeper, looked at Yu Tang's childish face and felt a little sorry for her. He said sympathetically, "If you are short of money and want to pawn this painting, it's not impossible. But you can't pawn it for much money."

Upon hearing this, Yu Tang pointed to the seal with the word "Meilin" on it and asked, "Is there anything wrong with this seal?"

Manager Tong listened and looked at her deeply.

Yu Tang thought to himself, "Oh no!"

She asked this question, which was clearly an attempt to cover up her mistake - since she suspected that there was something wrong with the seal and knew that the painting was not suitable, she still took it to the pawnshop to pawn it...

Yu Tang looked at the face of the shopkeeper Tong again, and sure enough, he no longer had the same cheerful and friendly look as before.

She said hastily, "No. I think since this painting is collected by Lord Zuo, it should be correct..."

But the shopkeeper Tong no longer believed her. With a businessman's politeness and aloofness on his face, he said with a smile, "Young lady, you are right. This painting did end up in the hands of Lord Zuo. But your painting is indeed a fake. Sorry, we cannot accept it. If you have anything else, please come back to us."

The shopkeeper Xiao Tong simply saw the guest off in person.

Yu Tang was so angry that he felt dizzy and didn't know how he walked back. After returning home, he drank two cups of large-leaf coarse tea and finally recovered.

You are so good, Lu Xin!

How can you take their money and run away?

Yu Tang called Ah Tiao over, gave him a dozen copper coins, and told him, "Go and find out the whereabouts of Mr. Lu, but don't let my father know."

Ah Tiao often bought snacks for Yu Tang without knowing it, and she smiled and agreed without caring about it, and went out to find out about Lu Xin.

In the afternoon, he came to Yu Tang with a worried look on his face: "Did Mr. Lu commit a crime? He pawned his house to someone else, saying he was going to the capital to live with his relatives. But even if he has relatives in the capital, can he live there for the rest of his life?"

In his previous life, Lu Xin never returned to Lin'an Prefecture.

Yu Tang sneered and asked, "Did he leave?"

"Everyone thought he was gone," Ah Tiao said cleverly, "but I found out that he had a lover in Huaer Lane. He stayed in Huaer Lane these days. I'm afraid he couldn't bear to leave his lover."

Yu Tang thought quickly for a while, sighed, clasped his hands together and bowed towards the west, called Ah Tiao over, and whispered something in his ear for a long time.

Huaer Lane is just behind Changxing Street. It is a winding lane that leads to Changxing Street in the east and Fuya Street in the west. Both sides are lined with camphor trees that are as thick as a man’s embrace. At night, it is brightly lit with red lights, and is bustling with people and sounds.

Because of a flood on Changxing Street, all the shops were burned down, leaving an unsightly sight of ruins. So someone used tarpaulins to cover the entrance to Changxing Street, leaving only the road leading to Fuya Street.

At 12 o'clock in the evening, when Huaer Lane was at its busiest, a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of Aunt Chu's yard. Seven or eight burly women got out, holding clubs in their hands and rushing into the yard.

Everyone was an old hand at the affairs of the red-light district. When they saw the scene, they knew that the wife had come to cause trouble. They excitedly gathered around in three layers inside and outside, watching and laughing at the joke.

There was a banging noise in Aunt Chu's yard, and a tall and strong woman came out of the yard, grabbing Lu Xin by the collar. As she walked, she shouted, "You can drink wine in the yard, but why did you pawn your house for the girl in the yard? Where will we live in the future? What will we eat and drink?"

Lin'an City is not big, but it is not small either. Moreover, Lu Xin likes to meddle in other people's affairs. He always wants to get involved in everything. Many people know him. Seeing this, they all burst into laughter.

Someone said: "No wonder Mr. Lu runs to the yard every day. It turns out that the woman in his house is big and strong. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to stay there either."

Some people were also puzzled: "Didn't it say that Mr. Lu never remarried after his first wife died and had no children? Where did this woman come from?"

Some people speculated: "Maybe they are lovers, but one is in the yard and the other is kept outside."

Lu Xin was so angry that his mouth was twisted. He didn't know where the woman came from, but she came to him to make trouble. He wanted to say a few words in defense, but his collar was strangling his neck and he couldn't say a word. The woman dragged him into the carriage, stuffed a bunch of rags into his mouth, and drove out of Huaer Lane.

I'm afraid that this matter of his will be talked about by people in Lin'an Prefecture for the rest of his life.

Lu Xin gnashed his teeth with his eyes split open.

If he knew who was plotting against him, he would never let him off easily!

The carriage stopped at the intersection of Changxing Street.

Lu Xin was dragged off the carriage.

The moonlight shone on the broken beams and tiles of Changxing Street, which was desolate and shadowy. The occasional sounds of music and singing from the neighboring Huaer Lane had a weird quality that made his scalp tingle and his legs tremble.

"You, what are you doing?" Lu Xin said tremblingly.

Yu Tang wrapped his head and walked out from the shadow of the broken wall.

Lu Xin recognized her at first sight.

He jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on, and accused: "Why is it you? What do you want to do? I want to ask your father to judge!"

Yu Tang said with a half-smile: "Why do you need my dad to judge? Let's go to the government office to judge!"

Lu Xin was stunned.

Yu Tang threw the painting at Lu Xin's feet: "Didn't you say that this is the "Fishing in Songxi" by Li Tang of the previous dynasty? Tong, the shopkeeper of Pei's pawnshop, happens to be related to my family. I took it to Tong for his inspection, and he said it was a fake and worth only three or five taels of silver at most. Either I go to the government office with you, or you return the money you cheated my father out of!"

Lu Xin jumped up and down: "You are just a little girl, you are using the Pei family as a banner, and you want to use the Pei family to suppress me?! Don't I know what your family is like? You said it was a fake, so it is a fake. I also said that you stole the painting, took my painting but didn't want to pay for it, and falsely accused me of selling a fake painting to you."

The woman exerted force and pressed Lu Xin to the ground again.

Yu Tang said disdainfully: "I also know you won't admit it, and I don't expect you to. Let's go to the government office at dawn. I have asked Tong the shopkeeper to testify. What is true cannot be false, and what is false cannot be true. You can just wait to be ruined and sued!"