Zhao Qingyan and Huang Shi were making a big show of themselves in the county town, especially Zhao Qingyan's extravagant purchase of jewelry at the Jade Pavilion. Not only the manager, but even the shop assistants remembered it.
When asked if they had seen the person in the painting, the men all shook their heads.
After all, they were big clients, and they even said the person in the painting was a maid, a runaway slave.
That's nonsense. That girl has such an air about her; she's always accompanied by family members when she goes out. What runaway slave would act so recklessly?
These people are simply up to no good.
However, some people who saw Zhao Qingyan's portrait had wicked ideas.
This young girl is quite pretty, and she's carrying a large sum of money.
If the person is a runaway slave from a wealthy family, they would certainly be worried about their identity being exposed. If they could capture the person, they could get both money and the person.
Some customers, by chance, bumped into Zhao's snack shop. They could only say that the face looked familiar, but they couldn't be sure. So, the guards of the Tu family went to Zhao's snack shop.
That day, Tu Jiu came to Zhao's snack shop to inquire. The waiter outside glanced at the portrait, frowned, and said,
"Sir, what is your relationship with the girl up here?"
Since you've come to inquire, of course I need to find out the details.
"What if you're here for revenge? If I've seen that girl and tell you, wouldn't that be doing more harm than good?"
Tu Jiu felt that this family must have seen Zhao Qingyan before, so he patiently repeated the words he had used to deceive the common people.
Upon hearing this, the young waiter formed a plan in his mind.
"Sir, as you know, our family runs a food business, and we're always packed with customers."
It's impossible to notice everyone, and I'm just a handyman. I'll go and ask my boss to come out and see if he recognizes the person in the painting.
After saying that, the young waiter went to the backyard and called Liu Qing out.
"Shopkeeper, there are people outside. They look like thugs. They're carrying a portrait of our third young lady and searching the streets for her."
They say our third young lady is a runaway slave who stole her master's money and ran away. Now her master is trying to bring her to justice.
What should we do?
Liu Qing's expression hardened. "You saw it clearly. The person in that picture doesn't just resemble the Third Miss; it's her!"
The young man nodded.
"I'm sure that when the Third Miss came with the Old Madam a few days ago, she was wearing that same outfit, and even the jewelry on her head was painted exactly the same."
That day, I even received an apple as a reward from the young lady.
Liu Qing nodded, "Good, you did well. You'll be rewarded later. I'll go to the front hall to check now."
"Oh, my surname is Liu, and I am the manager of this little shop. May I ask what business you have with me, sir?"
Liu Qing spoke very politely, but his eyes were full of confusion.
Tu Jiu unfolded Zhao Qingyan's portrait. "May I ask, shopkeeper, have you ever seen this girl in the painting?"
Liu Qing stroked his chin, sometimes frowning, sometimes nodding, sometimes shaking his head, making Tu Jiu want to punch him.
"Sir, may I ask what your relationship is with this young lady? Are you perhaps an enemy?"
Tu Jiu was furious.
"How dare you! Just tell me if you've seen her or not. No, you asked that guy what your relationship was with her. You must know this girl."
Tell me, what is this girl's name, and where does she live?
Liu Qing unconsciously took a step back.
"Sir, you've misunderstood. We run a shop and do business; we've seen countless people every day."
Seeing this portrait just reminded me that this girl had a meal here not long ago.
Seeing that the guest bears no resemblance to this young lady whatsoever, isn't it reasonable to make a conjecture?
Tu Jiu was very angry, but he didn't dare to hit anyone casually. After all, there were quite a few diners, and who knew what kind of power each diner possessed.
Patiently, he explained again that Zhao Qingyan was a runaway slave. Liu Qing smiled.
"Sir, are you sure this girl is the runaway slave you mentioned?"
I remember that girl had an air of grandeur that day, and she was accompanied by her family, yet she showed no sign of being a servant.
Sir, are you perhaps slandering a respectable young lady? Wait, are you kidnappers?
"That's for sure. It'll cause a huge uproar; one day they'll kidnap that girl, and no one will stand up for him."
Liu Qing shouted "Cut!" loudly, and all the diners looked at Tu Jiu, as if to say, "If you admit it, I'll beat you up."
Tu Jiu was furious. "Stop talking nonsense, just tell me if you know him or not?"
Liu Qing shook his head, "Of course I know them. Look at all the customers who come to our house every day. I can roughly remember when they come, when they leave, and what they eat."
"How could I possibly ask about a guest's news so casually, right?"
Tu Jiu almost lost his temper, but immediately lowered his raised fist. "Fine, you wait."
Liu Qing smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Sir, I don't know who your employer is. If I see that girl again, I'll let you know the truth."
Tu Jiu was furious and stormed out of Zhao's Snack Shop.
However, he did not go far. After walking for a while, he came out again from the alley next to him.
Liu Qing naturally couldn't send a letter out now, so he called Chunru, told her what had happened, and wrote another letter for Chunru to take home to Wang Wen that evening.
Wang Wen was instructed to deliver the letter to Zhao Family Village the following day.
In Zhao Family Village, Zhao Qingyan had already received news that the Tu family was looking for her.
After Madam Tu sent the portrait to the county government, Magistrate Qiu wrote a letter to the Zhao family.
It's just that no one knew the Tu family had any more shady dealings to do.
After receiving Liu Qing's letter, he gave him a reward and sent him a delicious snack.
After opening the letter, Huang was furious, and Zhao Qingyan's face was gloomy.
They sent someone to the clan school to summon Yunyou back.
"Mr. Yun, do you know what kind of identity the Tu family has?"
Is he really just a Vice Minister of Revenue? His arrogance is no less than that of royalty.
Zhao Qingyan asked,
Yunyou stroked his beard and said,
"The Tu family doesn't have much of a background, but his in-laws are quite something."
Tu Gu was the Vice Minister of Revenue. His wife, Pang Huifang, was an illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Anping. Because the Marquis of Anping had no legitimate daughters, this eldest illegitimate daughter was given special favor.
She often acted arrogantly and domineeringly in her husband's family because of her prominent family background.
He had three sons. The two older ones were raised by the old master of the Tu family when he was alive, so they were very well-mannered.
Not long after the birth of his youngest son, Old Master Tu passed away, so the youngest son was taken in by Madam Tu.
There was also an old lady named Tu in the family. These two women had nothing to do all day long, so they just played with the children.
As a result, the young master of the Tu family was spoiled and became completely unruly.
He would get into trouble and his grandmother and mother would clean up the mess, eventually becoming a notorious playboy in the capital.
As for why I came to Lingnan Prefecture, I'm not entirely sure.
If you've seen him at the White Horse Temple, you could ask my junior brother; he'll surely know some inside information.
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