Chapter 101: Renewing the old relationship?
The next day, someone came from the palace to say that the emperor had summoned them, so Qi Wuhan took Ling Feng into the palace.
When I was almost at the imperial study, I ran into Ji Quan, who seemed to have just left the imperial study.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis." Ji Quan stepped forward and bowed, then deliberately revealed, "Your Majesty just asked me how the investigation into Lord Zhou and Lord Zhao's families is going."
"Then how did you get back?" Qi Wuhan waved the bone fan in his hand nonchalantly, as if he was not interested in the matter at all and was just asking casually.
"The person is not in my hands. Since His Majesty asked me, I can only tell the truth." Ji Quan's mouth curled up with a hint of sly sneer, "I believe the Marquis will not blame me, right?"
Qi Wuhan glanced at him indifferently and left with Ling Feng.
Ji Quan sneered coldly and left.
When Eunuch Liu led Qi Wuhan into the imperial study, the emperor was sitting behind the dragon desk reviewing memorials. Eunuch Liu reported, and the emperor looked up at Qi Wuhan, asked Eunuch Liu to leave first, and then asked him what he had found out.
Qi Wuhan reported the truth about Cui Jingshu bribing people from Ningzhi Pavilion to tamper with the rouge. The girls from the Zhou and Zhao families had their looks ruined by using this poisonous rouge, and they ended up committing suicide out of despair.
After hearing this, the emperor frowned and looked a little unhappy.
"In my humble opinion, Miss Cui is vicious. If she is released outside, who knows how many girls she will harm. She should be locked up in the Sky Prison and disciplined." Qi Wuhan made a very pertinent suggestion.
The emperor's expression turned unhappy, and his tone became impatient. "Alright, go back. There's no need to mention this matter again."
Seeing that the emperor was determined to protect the person, Qi Wuhan thought it was pointless to say more and took his leave.
On the way out of the palace, he met Hong Gu, the senior maidservant of Concubine Zhen.
"Your Majesty heard that the Marquis is in trouble in the military camp. Please take good care of yourself." Hong Gu handed the brocade box in her hand to Qi Wuhan, "This is a little gift from Your Majesty."
"Go back and tell your queen not to challenge my bottom line." Qi Wuhan said coldly and left.
"The Marquis's patience is limited." Ling Feng added to Hong Gu and left with Qi Wuhan.
When Hong Gu returned, the brocade box in her hand was gone.
"The Marquis has accepted the Queen's kindness." Hong Gu replied.
Concubine Zhen smiled beautifully and said, "I knew it all along. He has me in his heart. She is just a substitute."
"Your Majesty is right. How can she compare to Your Majesty? She can't even compare to one of Your Majesty's fingers." Hong Gu echoed.
......
When he came out of the palace gate, he met Ji Quan again.
"Is the Imperial City Administration so idle now?" When Ji Quan came over to salute him, Qi Wuhan said lightly, with a hint of nonchalant sarcasm in his tone.
Ji Quan replied with a smile, "The Marquis has already taken care of all the work for the Imperial City Department. How can I, as the Inspector, be free?" He then asked with a smile, "I wonder when the Marquis can send someone over so that I can report to His Majesty."
"You don't have to report anymore, the matter is settled." Qi Wuhan left this sentence, got on the carriage and left.
Ji Quan turned around and looked at the palace gate behind him, a sarcastic smile curled up at the corner of his mouth, "It's still good to have power and influence. Even His Majesty protects you~"
After the carriage arrived at the street, Qi Wuhan instructed Ling Feng about something, and Ling Feng left first with two black-armored guards.
After returning to the Marquis' Mansion, the first thing Qi Wuhan did was to ask Butler Shi what Jiang Lan was doing, and the second thing he did was to go find her.
"I just saw Madam admiring the plum blossoms in the garden. She should still be there now."
Qi Wuhan knew where the plum trees planted in the garden were, so he asked Butler Shi to go and take care of it, and he went there alone.
The plum trees in the garden have only begun to bloom in the past two days. The red plum blossoms on the trees are in full bloom. From a distance, they look as bright and dazzling as rubies, and the air is filled with a faint plum fragrance.
Jiang Lan held a few bright red plum blossoms in her arms and prepared to take them back home. Putting them in the house would not only look beautiful but also add a touch of plum fragrance, killing two birds with one stone.
As soon as she turned around, she ran into a "wall". The next moment, she found that it was not a wall but a person, with a face as seductive as a male vixen.
"Why are you walking so quietly?" Jiang Lan glared at him coquettishly. Her delicate face was made even more beautiful by the red plum blossom in her arms. Qi Wuhan wanted to tease her and flirt with her when he saw her so shy and beautiful. If he got her angry, he would carry her on his shoulders and take her back to the house to coax her.
This idea is a bit funny...
As soon as Jiang Lan saw his smiling peach blossom eyes, she knew what he was thinking about. He must be thinking about something indecent again. She blushed slightly and glared at him, then left him. Before she took two steps, he picked her up from behind and hugged her by the waist. His movements were gentle, skillful and very steady.
"The ground is slippery. I'll carry you." Qi Wuhan said gently. His peach blossom eyes were even more gentle, as if they were made of honey. Jiang Lan's face felt a little hot under his gaze. She covered her face with plum blossoms, looking even more shy and charming. Qi Wuhan quickened his pace a little, wanting to carry her back to the house quickly.
…..
During dinner, Qi Wuhan picked up some food for Jiang Lan while telling her about what happened in the palace that morning.
Jiang Lan was somewhat disappointed when she learned that His Majesty wanted to protect Cui Jingshu. Although she also expected that His Majesty would most likely not punish her severely, she still thought that a small punishment like making her reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors would be a warning to the other party, so that he would know to be more restrained in the future.
But she hadn't expected His Majesty to not want to pursue the matter at all. She had underestimated the importance His Majesty placed on the General's Mansion...
"It seems that His Majesty still wants Prince Fu to marry into the General's Mansion." As if sensing her disappointment, Qi Wuhan reached out and shook her hand, offering her silent comfort. A cold glint flashed across his eyes, and he said with a hint of a smile on his lips, "How about I send two people to put the person in a sack and quietly send her to the mountains to be a nun."
Jiang Lan pursed her lips and smiled, thinking he was joking and trying to make her happy, and followed his words and said, "Then you will have to compensate His Highness the Fifth Prince with another princess."
Qi Wuhan just smiled and changed the subject, "I'll take you to eat something delicious tomorrow~"
"What's delicious?" Jiang Lan asked with a smile, blinking.
Qi Wuhan said with a wicked smile: "Not as delicious as you~"
"Scoundrel..." Jiang Lan cursed with a red face.
......
After breakfast the next day, Qi Wuhan took Jiang Lan out.
The carriage stopped at the door of a restaurant with the words "Zhenxiulou" written on the plaque.
Jiang Lan pulled aside the car curtain and looked at the words on the plaque at the door. She felt that the name was comparable to Yipintang. She looked inside the building and saw that the business was indeed very good.
Qi Wuhan told her that this was the restaurant opened by the shopkeeper Hao, and he asked Ling Feng to find the location of the restaurant yesterday.
Jiang Lan was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected this restaurant to be so large, almost rivaling the Yipin Pavilion in scale. It must have cost a fortune to own such a large restaurant in the capital. It seemed like Manager Hao had quite a bit of money.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, the sharp-eyed manager Hao saw the two of them and hurried over to greet them. He thanked them for coming and took them to the VIP box on the second floor. He strongly recommended three signature dishes to them, which were the best-selling dishes in the restaurant. The guests praised them after eating them.
A dish of crispy duck, a dish of rouge goose breast, and a dish of belly-stuffed chicken.
Chickens, ducks and geese are all here, and they are all the best in the store.
Qi Wuhan asked if there were any braised pork elbows, because Jiang Lan liked the braised pork elbows from Yipintang. Manager Hao said that they not only had braised pork elbows but also braised pig's trotters. Qi Wuhan ordered two braised pork elbows and two more dishes. Jiang Lan pulled his sleeve to indicate that it was enough, so he ordered these first.
Shopkeeper Hao asked the two to wait a moment, the dishes would be here soon, and then went to the kitchen.
Jiang Lan stood up and walked around the room, then stopped in front of the screen. She stood there admiring the embroidery for a while, then walked around to the back and found that the other side had different embroidery. After admiring it for a while, she walked around to the front to take a look, then walked around to the back again, and looked at it twice. When Manager Hao and his waiter came to deliver the dishes, she happened to walk around behind the screen.
Seeing that only Qi Wuhan was sitting at the table, Manager Hao was a little surprised and thought that Jiang Lan had left first.
"Miss Jiang is gone?" Shopkeeper Hao thought the two had had a quarrel.
"She's my wife." Qi Wuhan corrected himself and pointed at the screen with his fan. "I'll buy this. Name your price."
Jiang Lan came out in a flash, looking a little confused. "Did you buy it?"
"I bought it." Qi Wuhan nodded with a smile.
Shopkeeper Hao said that the screen was not cheap and he was reluctant to part with it. Qi Wuhan said he would offer double the price. Shopkeeper Hao said that the screen was a set he had custom-made, with one for each box, and it would be incomplete if one was missing.
"He's just joking, don't take it seriously." Jiang Lan stared at Qi Wuhan again, to prevent him from getting carried away and saying he wanted to buy the whole set.
Shopkeeper Hao also went along with it. When he was about to leave with his waiter after serving the dishes, Qi Wuhan asked casually, "My wife told me that you used to run an inn. Why did you want to open a restaurant?" Shopkeeper Hao asked the waiter to go about his business first and told them a story from the past.
"Many years ago, I met a girl in the capital. She was really nice, but I was a poor boy at the time. How could I have the nerve to propose to her? By the time I became rich, she was already married..."
Having said that, Shopkeeper Hao sighed and looked sad.
Jiang Lan comforted her, "You also want her to live a good life. If she has no money to eat and wear, she will have nothing to eat."
Shopkeeper Hao sighed again and waved his hand, saying, "No more, no more..."
Talking too much is just a shed of bitter tears.
After Manager Hao left, Jiang Lan whispered to Qi Wuhan that the girl was probably divorced or widowed, and that Manager Hao came to the capital this time just to rekindle their old relationship.
When Qi Wuhan heard her say this, the expression on his face was a little interesting.
Divorce?
Widowed?
Rekindle the old relationship?
Just to make him angry...
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