Chapter 122 Nie Dalang Got Beaten (Two Chapters Combined into One)
Zhao Tinghan is finally going to marry the girl he has been dreaming of, but unfortunately he is in Wangling and cannot go to propose in person. Zhao Shiqing, who is far away in the capital, does not know about this yet, and Zhao Yunnuan's letter is still on the way.
At this time, she was at Master Bai's house, one to report that Shen Guanyue was safe, and the other to congratulate Master Bai.
In this year's autumn examination, the capital city selected forty-five candidates, and Mr. Bai was the forty-fifth one.
Passing the imperial examination is Mr. Bai's obsession. He has been thinking about it for many years, and now he has finally achieved it.
Seeing Zhao Shiqing, Master Bai's eyes filled with tears: "Little Fourth Miss, I am able to pass the imperial examination this time, and I would like to thank you for the two books you sent me."
That’s right, Mr. Bai hit the jackpot. The two books that Zhao Shiqing gave him were indeed a great help.
Zhao Shiqing laughed heartily: "Master Bai, it's just business, no need to be polite."
After hearing this, Mr. Bai breathed a sigh of relief.
These days, the hardest thing to repay is favors.
How could one repay a favor owed to a scholar? Could one even afford it? The person who could give the capital a roof over their heads owed her a favor, and if she didn't do it right, she might lose her life.
Zhao Shiqing laughed it off. This wasn't a favor, but a business transaction. Once the deal was done, no one owed anyone anything.
There was a hint of sincerity in Master Bai's eyes. "Fourth Miss, from now on in this part of the capital, if you need my help, just let me know. I'll be there whenever you need me."
Zhao Shiqing cupped his hands: "Master Bai is very open-minded."
She continued, "There's something I need to ask Master Bai for a favor. I need your help finding a family."
Mr. Bai: "Which family?"
Zhao Shiqing: "The Zhu family of Baoqing Marquis Mansion."
Mr. Bai thought to himself: As expected, if this person doesn’t show up, it’s fine, but once he shows up, it’s a big deal.
"I wonder what the fourth young lady wants to know about the Zhu family?"
Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "Anything is fine, even if it's Zhu family's relatives, concubines, or children born in the family, even if it's Zhu family's enemies. As long as it's related to the Zhu family, Master Bai, you can talk about whatever comes to your mind. We are friends after all, so let's just have a small gathering and chat."
Master Bai thought for a moment and called Ah Ye: "Go and ask your master to come over."
Soon, Zhao Shiqing met the famous actress Xiao Huangying.
The reason why she knew Xiao Huangying was because Xiao Huangying was Xiao Yue's master.
But she never expected that the little yellow warbler was actually a man.
However, Zhao Shiqing soon felt relieved. These days, there are very few female singers, and those who become famous are even rarer. Most of the famous ones are men.
The little yellow warbler is no longer young, but her every move is elegant and gentle, even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes reveal elegance. Beauty is beauty, regardless of age and gender.
Seeing the little yellow warbler, Mr. Bai used his sleeve to wipe the already shiny chair, and then let the little yellow warbler sit down.
Master Bai introduced the two of them. Little Yellow Oriole sat down and looked at Zhao Shiqing: "Fourth Miss, Yueyue's mischief didn't cause you any trouble, did it?"
Zhao Shiqing said hurriedly: "No, I just missed you guys and wanted to go back to the capital. I didn't let him come, so he was unhappy."
Little Yellow Warbler smiled: "He is like this, he likes to join in the fun."
Master Bai said, "Junior Brother, the Fourth Young Lady wants to know something about the Zhu family of the Baoqing Marquisate. I remember a child from our opera troupe once went to their house. Do you still remember? The Fourth Young Lady is not an outsider, so just tell me what you think."
Little Yellow Oriole snorted coldly, "Marquis Baoqing, of course I remember. Old Sun in the opera troupe has a daughter. The little girl is pretty and has a good voice. She grew up in the opera troupe since she was a child. No one taught her, but she forced herself to sing like a real singer.
I liked her, so I asked her to play a maid without any lyrics in my play.
But this time she took on the role, she stunned everyone in the room, so she was later given some roles with a few lines of singing. After a few appearances, she was noticed by Zhu Yu, the prince of Baoqing Marquisate.
The child was ambitious to begin with. Even though she knew Zhu Yu had a bad reputation, she still plunged into the relationship, hoping to become a concubine in the mansion, give birth to a boy or girl, and pull the Sun family out of the mud of the lowest class.
I tried to persuade her kindly, but her parents were so happy that it was useless for me to persuade them.
The child was carried into the Baoqing Marquis' Mansion in a sedan chair. Not long after, Old Sun stopped performing opera, saying that he did not want to embarrass his daughter. The family opened a shop and did some small business.
At that time, we all thought that the child was made a concubine of Zhu Yu. It was not until a year later that we found out that the child was indeed with Zhu Yu when she first entered the mansion, but not long after, Zhu Yu gave her to her biological father, Marquis Baoqing. Alas, what a story this is.
Zhao Shiqing's eyes lit up and she asked, "Is her last name Sun? And is she still the concubine of Marquis Baoqing?"
Little Yellow Oriole nodded. "Yes, her maiden name is Sun Lingzhi. She had a miscarriage the month before last. Her mother came to me and asked me to help find some herbs to nourish her body. How could the Baoqing Marquisate not even have these herbs? It must be that she couldn't get them. Alas, it shows that her life in the Marquisate is not easy."
At this time, Master Bai also interrupted and said, "It is said that the old lady of the Baoqing Marquis's Mansion is the sister of Concubine Li. However, as far as I know, Concubine Li's family is only a branch of the family. Back then, the old lady looked down on her. It was only after Concubine Li entered the palace that the sisterhood between them began."
Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "Master Bai also knows about this?"
Mr. Bai said, "I was still young at that time. There was a family living next door to my house. They were midwives and were quite famous in the area. But they were gossipy women after all, so the children in the neighborhood were told by their parents not to play with their children.
It just so happened that I had no one to play with, so I became friends with her child and spent the whole day together.
There was a silly old woman in her house who was locked in her room and not allowed to come out. No one else knew about it. I only found out about it when I visited her house.
That silly woman was her aunt, who used to be a midwife. Later, she had an accident and hit her head, and became a fool.
That silly woman likes to talk to herself and often says incomprehensible things. It was she who said that the old lady of the Baoqing Marquisate looked down on Concubine Li, but at that time she was referring to Madam Wei and Concubine Li.
Zhao Shiqing was stunned for a moment and asked anxiously, "Is that silly woman still here?"
Mr. Bai said, "This happened over thirty years ago. I remember it was only a few months later. A man in the alley where we lived owed gambling debts and set his house on fire. He died, but he also implicated other families in the alley. The midwife's family was next door to his. There were five of them, including that silly woman. None of them escaped. They all burned to death."
Zhao Shiqing's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "Master Bai, you..."
Mr. Bai smiled bitterly: "My mother and I were no longer living there when the accident happened."
Little Yellow Oriole said, "Brother Bai, I haven't heard you mention this before."
Mr. Bai: "I didn't understand things when I was young, but I still can't figure it out now that I'm older. Why did that gambler set fire to his own house when he couldn't just die anywhere else? Everyone in the alley escaped, but the midwife's family was the only one left. No one was left. They all died. So, I've kept this matter to myself. If the fourth girl hadn't asked, I wouldn't have mentioned it."
Zhao Shiqing asked, "Master Bai, does the midwife have any other relatives? If I'm not mistaken, Master Bai is a chivalrous man, and he must have secretly investigated this matter over the years."
Mr. Bai was helpless. "The Fourth Miss is very smart. I have always felt guilty and even suspected that this incident was caused by me teasing that silly woman. Of course, when I think about it carefully, it is definitely not that simple. Later, I had some connections under my command, so I went to look for the midwife's relatives and friends. I found out that the silly woman's son went to a family surnamed Xu in Wanquan County and became a live-in son-in-law."
Zhao Shiqing hurriedly asked, "What's the surname of the midwife and the silly woman's son?"
Mr. Bai: "The midwife's surname is Shi, and the silly woman is her aunt, also surnamed Shi. Her son's surname is Li, and his nickname is Tiger. His full name is unknown."
Zhao Shiqing thanked Mr. Bai and Xiao Huangying and returned excitedly to her house in the capital.
That’s right, her house. Her extremely wealthy grandfather had the new house renovated long before she came to the capital, just waiting for his precious granddaughter to come.
This house is similar to Mr. Bai's, a quiet place amidst the hustle and bustle, low-key and unassuming. From the outside, it looks ordinary, but when you open the door, you will see small bridges, flowing water, and pavilions.
Zhao Shiqing likes this place very much. A big reason for this is that there are trees here and there are no bird nests on the trees. Xiao Yao and Dapang will not rob the bird nests, and Zhao Shiqing does not have to apologize to the bird father and mother on their behalf.
When she returned home, she told Zhen Wuduo about this matter. Zhen Wuduo said, "It's not difficult. Send someone to Wanquan County to look for that Li Dahu."
Zhao Shiqing corrected him: "It's Li Lao Hu, but that's his nickname. I don't know his real name."
Zhen Wuduo: "It's all the same. Let someone find it."
Wanquan County is more than 500 miles away from the capital, and the people sent there cannot be used for a while. Zhao Shiqing certainly would not sit at home and wait. She asked Xiuxiu to disguise her and Lingbo, and the two went to the Prince Liang's Mansion in the capital.
Zhao Shiqing hasn't seen his second brother for a long time and misses him very much.
Although the second brother has various shortcomings, for Zhao Shiqing, he is still her second brother.
Zhao Tingxuan's house arrest finally ended and he was able to go to the Imperial College to study.
Although his two study companions were still in the capital, they had finally restrained themselves after experiencing the last incident. After all, they were young and had never seen the dangers of the world. The death of Master Nie II scared them greatly. This capital was too scary. Living people could die at any time, and even the Prince Liang's Mansion could not redress the grievances for Master Nie II. Master Nie II died in vain, and the Prince Liang's Mansion had to pay compensation to Zhu Yu.
Today was another ordinary day. Zhao Tingxuan came back from the Imperial College and passed by Huibaozhai, a place he often visited. He got off the carriage and walked in.
Although he had not been in the capital for long, he was already a regular at Huibaozhai. After not coming for a while, everyone in Huibaozhai missed him very much.
After all, there are not many people in the capital who are both knowledgeable and generous like Zhao Tingxuan.
Either they are knowledgeable but short of money, or they are rich but don't know how to pretend to be knowledgeable.
Although Zhao Tingxuan was not well educated, he was extremely talented in identifying antiques, calligraphy and paintings. In addition, he had seen and played with so many fine things since he was a child that he learned some things by himself.
As soon as Zhao Tingxuan stood in front of the door of Huibaozhai, the waiter of Huibaozhai ran to invite the shopkeeper. Two other waiters invited him in with smiles on their faces. Nie Erlang, one of his study companions, said he had a headache and went back to the palace. Only Nie Dalang followed him in.
No one noticed that two teenagers followed in.
There were servants who saw them, but they thought they were Zhao Tingxuan's followers.
Huibaozhai had just received two nice new items, and Zhao Tingxuan was personally accompanied by the shopkeeper to the second floor. The two young boys also followed him upstairs. It was only then that Nie Dalang noticed them.
"Who are you? How dare you follow me upstairs? Do you know who just went upstairs?"
Young boy A (Zhao Shiqing) secretly curled his lips: He just spews shit as soon as he opens his mouth. It seems that he has not suffered any hardship. If he continues like this, he will continue to cause trouble for his second brother.
With a fawning look on her face, she cupped her fists towards Nie Dalang and said, "Young Master Nie, right? I'm from the Wanquan Marquis's residence. My young master has a few words for you, and I want to pass them on to you."
Nie Dalang was stunned. This person actually came to see him.
He didn't remember meeting the Prince of Wanquan, and didn't know what this person wanted to see him about.
Nie Dalang never thought that there was no Wanquan Marquis' Mansion in the capital. Zhao Shiqing just made it up because he heard that there was a Wanquan County.
Zhao Shiqing thought that Nie Dalang would at least have some doubts. She even thought about how to explain the origin of the Wanquan Earl's Mansion, but she didn't expect Nie Dalang to actually believe it!
Zhao Shiqing felt that when her second brother was sold, Nie Dalang would probably count the money with her second brother.
"What's the matter that I want you to tell me?" Nie Dalang asked.
Zhao Shiqing pointed outside the door and said, "It's not convenient to talk here. Master Nie, please come with me outside to talk."
She thought Nie Dalang would at least ask a few more questions, but Nie Dalang didn't ask anything and followed her out happily. She then dragged him into the alley behind, blocked his mouth and beat him up, knocking him unconscious. She then stole his purse, and Zhao Shiqing returned to Huibaozhai again.
Ling Bo pointed towards a room on the second floor and Zhao Shiqing walked straight in.
The shopkeeper saw someone suddenly come in and was about to speak when Zhao Shiqing said, "Second Brother Zhao, long time no see."
A long-lost voice came into his ears, and a familiar feeling came over him. Zhao Tingxuan looked at the strange boy in front of him in surprise: "Little..."
Without waiting for him to say "little sister", Zhao Shiqing smiled and said to the shopkeeper, "Please come back later. I want to catch up with Brother Zhao Er."
Zhao Tingxuan finally woke up from his dream and said hurriedly, "Shopkeeper, I'm sorry, I met a friend."
This person is the second son of Prince Liang’s Mansion, and his friends are not ordinary people either. The shopkeeper did not dare to neglect him and quickly retreated.
Ling Bo pushed open the door, nodded at Zhao Shiqing, indicating that there was no one else outside, and closed the door again from the outside.
Zhao Tingxuan hurriedly asked, "Is that Ling Bo?"
Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "Second brother, are you surprised? Are you surprised?"
Zhao Tingxuan smiled and shook his head: "Why are you here? Is everything okay at home? Oh, you didn't run away secretly, did your big brother and big sister know? And what's wrong with your face?"
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