Chapter 39 There's a Ghost
In less than three days, the news that Princess Jiayi was pregnant spread throughout the capital.
First, the palace, royal family, and dukes' and marquises received the news, and then the ladies in the gentry circle began to discuss the matter privately.
Princess Jiayi is of noble status, and since it has not been officially announced, it is just a rumor. Therefore, even if everyone agrees that it is true, they only talk about it in private.
But ordinary people don’t have so many taboos and just treat it as a topic of conversation after dinner.
Some people say that the retired emperor must have improved his cultivation. What do you think?
You can even talk to the Goddess of Childbirth, isn’t that progress?
Some people say that it really has nothing to do with the Goddess of Fertility. It was clearly the retired emperor who got guidance from the Jade Emperor and refined the elixir. The elixir is precious and of course it cannot be given to outsiders. The retired emperor felt sorry for his daughter, so he let the eldest princess eat the elixir. Unexpectedly, the elixir was so effective that it cured Princess Jiayi's infertility that had lasted for many years.
Most people scoff at these two statements. The stories about the goddess of fertility and the elixir of childbirth are all nonsense.
There is only one truth!
That means Young Master Xiao has been reincarnated!
Young Master Xiao died young. He could not bear to leave his biological parents, so he prayed to the King of Hell to let him reincarnate into the eldest princess's womb.
That’s right, the baby the eldest princess is pregnant with is Young Master Xiao!
Was it the Goddess of Childbirth who was giving face to the retired emperor, or was it the retired emperor's elixir that was effective, or was it Xiao Zhen's reincarnation? Everyone had their own side, and people were arguing about this everywhere, in taverns and teahouses, with people arguing endlessly and talking excitedly.
The instigator, Prince Consort Xiao, hid in the dark and smiled meaningfully. You would never have thought that my eldest son is alive and well, and I am about to have a second child.
The eldest princess and Prince Consort Xiao agreed on this child; they both hoped it would be a little girl.
The eldest princess and her husband, Prince Consort Xiao, have been longing for a chubby, soft and tender little girl for many years.
Even in this situation, the couple hid in bed and gave their little girl more than a dozen names, yes, more than a dozen, all of which are suitable names for girls.
Prince Consort Xiao's method worked incredibly quickly. Those who had been feeling sorry for the eldest princess losing her son a few days ago have now devoted all their heart and soul to the unborn baby in the eldest princess's belly in the past two days.
The transition is extremely smooth.
With Xiao Zhen's funeral, his death was over.
There was an inconspicuous tea shop in the capital. The owner's surname was Su, so the tea shop was called Su's Tea Shop.
Speaking of Boss Su, he also has a nickname called Big Head Su.
He got this nickname not because he had a big head, of course his head was indeed big, but the name came from the fact that he was a sucker.
After Boss Su's first wife died, she left no children. A few years ago, Boss Su met a beautiful widow. Boss Su fell in love with the widow at first sight, but the young widow refused to marry him. One reason was that people in her hometown were gossipy, and a widow would be gossiped about if she married again.
Later, the young widow suggested to Boss Su that they sell the shop in their hometown and move to the capital. In the capital, no one would know them, and no one would know that she was marrying for the second time.
Boss Su had no objection. He gave the young widow's in-laws a sum of money, allowing her to regain her freedom. He then sold the house and shop in his hometown, and the two of them came to the capital.
When she first arrived in the capital, she was completely in the dark. Fortunately, the young widow had a cousin who worked as a pawnbroker in the capital.
It's easier to get things done if you have acquaintances, so my cousin took them to see several shops and finally they chose this tea shop.
The cousin told Boss Su that the landlord of the teahouse was an official appointed by the imperial court and was not convenient to show up in public. Now he was being transferred out of Beijing. The cousin had helped the landlord buy and sell two properties before. The landlord trusted him very much and entrusted him with full authority to handle the teahouse.
As for why it is closed now, of course it is because the landlord has lost interest in running the business and has laid off all the shopkeepers and employees.
Boss Su did not suspect anything and bought the tea shop at a high price. However, a few days later, the young widow and her cousin disappeared. When Boss Su asked around, he was so scared that he almost went to see his grandmother.
It turned out that a murder had occurred in this tea shop. The proprietress's lover was unable to get her love, and because of love he turned to hatred, he put poison in the water, poisoning the proprietress's family of four, including five waiters, to death.
The tea shop was sealed off at that time. Later, when the case was solved, the tea shop was owned by the owner's brother.
The brothers didn't dare to go in, let alone run the business, so they simply sold it to You Baopi, a man in Beijing who specialized in haunted houses, at a very low price.
Boss Su reported the matter to the government, and the government found You Papi. You Papi admitted that someone was behind this deal. This tea shop was too aggressive, and You Papi was worried about losing money. So when someone wanted to buy it, he sold it at a low price. In other words, 60% of the money Boss Su used to buy the tea shop went into his cousin's pocket.
As a result, the tea shop where nine people died fell into the hands of Boss Su.
Later, Boss Su found out that the young widow had been having an affair with his cousin for a long time, but her in-laws refused to let her go, and his cousin couldn't afford so much money, so she turned to Boss Su to be the one who took advantage of her.
Boss Su lost both his money and his life, and now he is guarding a dilapidated building. He can't sell a pound of tea in a month, and he drowns his sorrows in alcohol every day.
But just a few days ago, Liu Erniang, who sells wine, suddenly found that Boss Su no longer came to buy wine.
"That Su Datou, could he have drunk himself to death? Didn't you hear that the King of Liang died from drinking? Maybe Su Datou died from drinking too much."
"If Su Datou also died, then ten people would have died in the tea shop."
"Don't you know how to count? The murderer has been executed. Not counting Su Datou, there are already ten people."
"The murderer died at the execution ground, so he can't be counted. Including Su Datou, that makes ten people."
Amidst everyone's arguments, Su Datou was already deader than dead.
Suddenly, Liu Erniang cried out in pain and pushed her husband. "You idiot, you still have the mind to talk nonsense here? That Su Datou still owes us two taels of silver for wine. Go and check it out and bring back some tea to pay it off. When the government officials come to collect the body and close the tea shop, our two taels of silver will be gone."
Liu Erniang had a loud voice, and when she yelled, half the street could hear her.
Zhang Xiaoer who sells peanuts, Aunt Sun who sells steamed buns, and Li Damazi who sells sesame cakes all put down their businesses and followed Liu Laoer to Su Ji to grab tea.
Su Datou also owes them money.
Seeing that everyone was going to collect debts, and hearing that Su Datou had died, a large group of people ran to the outside of Su's Tea Shop to watch the excitement.
"Look, it's already this hour and the door isn't open yet. He must be dead."
"You fool, you still don't believe it. Liu Erniang said that Su Datou died from drinking too much."
The door is not open. What should I do?
Kick the door?
Liu Laoer was full of strength and kicked without saying a word.
But as soon as he raised his leg, he stopped.
With a creak, the door of Su Ji Tea Shop opened.
A disheveled head popped out: "Good morning, neighbors!"
Liu Laoer's leg was still raised in the air. When he saw the head, he was stunned at first, and then he stepped back. He didn't have time to retract his hanging leg, and he sat down on the ground.
"Ghost, there's a ghost!"
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