Chapter 57: Northern Xi War Horses Appear in Jijing
Upon hearing the voice, Jiang Qibin immediately put away his sword obediently.
Lu Qiongshuang couldn't hold back his strength and could only twist the handle of the knife and hit Jiang Qibin's butt diagonally.
Jiang Qibin widened his eyes and said to Jiang Xue aggrievedly: "Your Highness..."
Jiang Xue put down the book unhappily and said to the two of them, "Come here!"
Lu Qiongshuang put away the knife angrily, walked towards Jiang Xue, sat down at the table and drank a cup of tea.
Jiang Qibin walked over and bowed to Jiang Xue.
Jiang Xue asked, "Did you find out anything?"
Jiang Qibin glanced at Lu Qiongshuang, then at Jiang Xue, and hesitated.
Jiang Xue said, "It doesn't matter, just treat her as a deaf person. Go on."
Lu Qiongshuang continued drinking tea as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Qibin said, "Your Highness, I have been following him for a day and have not seen Huang Fu interacting with anyone. He has only left the mansion once, when he went to the Ministry of Rites before dinner to deliver something to his husband."
Jiang Xue asked, "I heard from Xiaochun that you came to look for me earlier?"
Jiang Qibin nodded and said, "I paid some money, saying that the master wanted to make friends with the rich and powerful, and asked the shop assistants to tell me the approximate time and content of the monthly purchases of the Prince Consort's Mansion. Among them, Huang Fu went to Liangji Tea House the most frequently, and he went there about four or five times a month."
"If it's buying tea, the monthly expenses are only that much, why do you have to run so many times?" Jiang Xue asked puzzledly.
"That clerk said that the housekeeper of the Gu Mansion always wanted the freshest and most expensive tea, so he went there more often but bought a small amount. I sneaked into the store late at night and looked through the account book. That tea shop--" Jiang Qibin frowned and said, "only bought tea once a month."
"Since they only bought the goods once, there is no difference between fresh and unfresh." Jiang Xue pondered, "Where is Liangji Tea House?"
"Lin'an Street in the west of the city." Jiang Qibin said.
Jiang Xue frowned slightly, this place seemed familiar.
"I seem to have heard of this place before..." Jiang Xue asked doubtfully, "I can't remember it. Since there is something strange, you should keep an eye on it."
"Yes. There is another place," Jiang Qibin said, "Your Highness is suspicious of the grain store in the south of the city. I found time to go and take a look yesterday. I happened to see the caravan unloading goods. The horses were dressed up, and they didn't look like people from Ji."
Jiang Xue said calmly, "There are always people doing business all over the world. Since we are opening a shop, we have to look for merchants from all over to purchase goods."
Jiang Qibin hesitated for a moment and said, "But that horse is very strange. I have been in the army and have seen the war horses captured by the army. The horses of the Northern Xi are different from those of our dynasty. Their horseshoes are much wider than those of our local horses, and the shape of the horseshoes is also slightly different."
Jiang Xue suddenly raised her head and asked, "Bei Xi?"
Jiang Qibin nodded and said, "If the army had not been trained or had not fought against the Northern Xi, ordinary people might not be able to tell the difference. But I can be sure that the horses transporting grain in the caravan have diamond-shaped marks on their horseshoes, which means they are Northern Xi's war horses."
Jiang Xue was shocked and asked, "Are you sure? This is not a joke."
Jiang Qibin nodded affirmatively.
"In recent years, the relationship between Ji State and Beixi has been tense, and merchants from the two countries have basically not traded with each other. Even if there was occasional trade, why would they use war horses?"
Lu Qiongshuang suddenly interrupted and said, "Are you guys too nervous? I heard from Master that in Beixi, a remote place with no one around, everything is very valuable. Maybe this is the only kind of horse they have?"
Jiang Qibin shook his head and said, "The breed of horses can be the same, but the shape of horseshoes cannot be changed. War horses have war horses' shoes, which are different from ordinary horses."
Lu Qiongshuang also became serious.
Jiang Xue's face was gloomy. She said, "Find a way to make a copy of the grain store's purchase account book."
Jiang Qibin nodded and was about to leave when he glanced at Lu Qiongshuang a few more times.
Seeing him sizing her up, Lu Qiongshuang raised her eyebrows and said unhappily, "What are you looking at? What's your name? Why haven't I seen you in the palace before?"
Jiang Xue said, "How long have you been away? Do you remember who is in my palace? Jiang Qibin, this is the granddaughter of Prime Minister Lu. Please meet my cousin and then leave."
Jiang Qibin was stunned for a moment.
Lu Qiongshuang asked: "Why did this guy suddenly become stupid? But you are really good at fighting. You were able to dodge so many of my moves without any offensive moves."
She turned around and smiled at Jiang Xue, saying, "This skill doesn't quite match this fair-faced, red-lipped skin. I just thought it was a slick-tongued good-for-nothing playboy who dared to boss me around, so I tried to teach him a lesson."
Jiang Qibin's face instantly turned red, and he clasped his fists and said, "Greetings, cousin. Your Highness, take your leave!"
Then he disappeared in a flash.
Seeing him like this, Lu Qiongshuang was still laughing happily, but Jiang Xue's expression became more and more solemn.
Seeing Jiang Xue remained silent, Lu Qiongshuang asked, "Cousin, are you worried about the caravan?"
Jiang Xue nodded.
Lu Qiongshuang said, "It's just trade. Even if there is a conspiracy, it can't be that big. But cousin, why did you ask someone to investigate these shops?"
"Qiong Shuang, since your heart is in the martial arts world, I don't want you to get involved in these dirty things in the backyard of the mansion." Jiang Xue said, "These things are very boring anyway, don't ask about them."
Lu Qiongshuang had no choice but to nod obediently.
Xiaochun came over with two plates of snacks, and Jiang Xue asked, "Is Chen Jin back?"
Xiaochun shook her head and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen him yet. I'll go look for him now."
Jiang Xue said: "No need, Wu Anlang is well-trained, he will report back when he comes back. Xiaochun, I have something for you to do."
"You should sort out the account books of the past purchases in the mansion and find a reason to question the person who used to be in charge of the kitchen. If she is an honest person, you can check and verify everything with her according to the account books. If she is not honest, ask Xu Chong and Gan Ning to help you."
Xiaochun nodded and said, "I have only sorted out the accounts of the warehouse these days and redistributed the staff in the courtyard, but the person in charge of the kitchen has not changed. Her name is Miss Wu. I will go find her tomorrow."
Jiang Xue sighed. It seemed that her father's birthday celebration would not be peaceful.
"You go to bed first, I'll wait for Chen Jin for a while." Jiang Xue said to Lu Qiongshuang.
Lu Qiongshuang was eating the milk cake Xiaochun brought her, and said incoherently: "I'm not sleepy yet. I'll practice knife skills after I finish this."
Jiang Xue said: "If you are so energetic, why don't you tell me about your senior brother?"
The envoys from the Qian Kingdom will arrive in Beijing in two days. Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. It would be a waste not to find out more about this cheap junior sister of yours.
"Brother?" Lu Qiongshuang took a sip of tea and ate the cake. "I may not know as much as cousin Yu."
"Then tell me what you know." Jiang Xue took a sip of tea and asked, "How did your master accept this disciple?"
Lu Qiongshuang's eyes lit up immediately, and he said, "I actually know this! Master told me about it!"
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