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Is Yu'er a fake?
In this prefecture and county, there are true and false people. First there was the young official who was wandering outside, then there was the governor's son whose background was mysterious. Now, even this perfectly fine woman who has never left Jingzhou has been replaced without anyone noticing.
It was as if I were in a county government office shrouded in mystery, where the face of the upright judge was covered with several bull-head masks.
Seeing that Tao Li was about to faint again after his initial shock, Xie Lingxi quickly pinched a pressure point on his palm, causing the wealthy young man to roll his eyes, exhale a breath of turbid air, and regain his senses.
"Young master, may I tell you the details?"
Tao Li's soul returned to his body, and he finally saw the people surrounding his bed. Startled, and aggravating his abdominal wound, he gasped and stammered, "What...what are you doing?!"
He slowly sat up, leaning against the bamboo pillow, and accused in a stern voice: "I have paid off all the money I owed at the gambling den, so why are you still haunting me and chasing after me to kill me!"
Tan Yun knew that Tao Li was a gambler, but he was unlucky. Fortunately, his father had saved him a fortune, so he didn't end up eating coarse food day and night.
After thinking for a moment, Tan Yun briefly recounted the whole story, then asked sternly, "Do you know who stabbed you just now?"
“…Cui Yu,” he paused, “why is Cui Yu a fake?”
Xie Lingxi could see that Tan Yun still harbored some affection for Cui Niangzi, whom he had grown up with in childhood. However, Cui was a prominent family, and the man she was betrothed to could not be an ordinary good-for-nothing.
Although Tao Li in front of him seemed naive and ignorant of worldly affairs, he spoke with refined manners.
At this moment, he lowered his gaze and spoke cautiously, "Who are you? Do I have something I must tell you?"
Tao Li glanced at everyone, finally fixing her gaze on Liu Xu. "I recognize you."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the clinic looked at Liu Xu, each harboring their own thoughts.
Liu Xuben had been keeping to himself as an outsider, but when the topic suddenly turned to him, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Young master has a good memory. We just met at the gambling den at noon today."
"No, not today."
Tao Li said with certainty, "I went to Chang'an a few days ago. The city was full of flowers, and the streets were filled with carts of fruit. I saw that scholar who wore flowers in his hair, and he looked exactly like you."
"The top scholar in this year's imperial examination, whose ancestral home is Jingzhou, whose surname is Liu and given name is Chengzhi, is that you?"
The room was filled with the scent of medicine. Liu Xu noticed the prying eyes around him and laughed, "So what if it's me? What we're talking about now concerns your head."
Tao Li smiled: "Young Master Liu is holding a high position in the capital, why would he suddenly return to Jingzhou?"
Taking advantage of Liu Xu bowing to pour tea, he suddenly leaned close to Liu Xu's ear and asked, "Are you here to investigate the case of the governor?"
These words struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, causing everyone's pupils to shrink sharply. How could a dissolute man who spent his days in gambling dens and taverns care about official matters?
Moreover, Tao Li's words suggest that he knows a great deal.
Tan Yun was stunned by the information for a moment. After recovering, she strode forward, grabbed Tao Li by the collar, and demanded, "What do you know?!"
On his sickbed, Tao Li slowly covered his wound, saying, "Brother Tan, please calm down—"
"You've been following me for days. If I didn't notice, I'd seem incredibly stupid."
...
Tao Li and the others were the Liu couple.
As the saying goes, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." With this series of provocations, it's unclear who the mantis is and who the oriole is.
Tao Li's encounter with Cui Yu was unexpected. His ancestors made their fortune in pottery. Although they did not hold official positions, they were still a wealthy family that could not be underestimated even in Chang'an.
Even so, he was still taken aback when the Cui family came to his door with the birth date invitation to discuss marriage.
The Cui family is a prestigious family, and even if this branch lives in seclusion in Jingzhou, it's not his turn to be a husband.
He spent several days with the Cui family's daughter as their engaged couple, but discovered a secret—this woman would disappear every few days, sneaking out over the wall at night and returning to the house the next day covered in injuries.
Tao Li investigated for several days, but all his attempts were in vain because Cui Yu was hiding his whereabouts.
It's not uncommon for young women to have their own secrets, and he didn't intend to pry into other people's wolves and tigers. But that day, he woke up in the middle of the night to get up and passed by the woodshed, where he smelled a faint scent of blood.
— Cui Yu committed murder.
The moonlight was sparse. Tao Li hid behind the firewood and watched through the small holes eaten by insects as Cui Yu slowly and methodically slashed at the mangled mass of flesh on the ground with a kitchen knife.
——
"impossible!"
Tan Yun gripped the sword hilt tightly. "Ayu has been well-read since childhood, and she wouldn't even step on an ant. How could she do such a thing?!"
“There are plenty of people who go crazy or change their personality because of something. You’re not by Cui Yu’s side all the time, so how do you know she won’t do it?”
Tao Li, her face pale, added, "Also, no matter what, Cui Yu is still my betrothed. Please watch your words."
He put it rather subtly; if it were Xie Lingxi, she would have said "Stop calling me Ayu, Ayu" a long time ago.
After listening to Tao Li's account, Xie Lingxi frowned and said, "You suspect that this matter is related to the tragic incident at Lord Tan's family many years ago?"
Tao Li clapped his hands: "Madam Liu's prediction is correct."
He glanced at Liu Xu, who was quietly pouring tea behind him, and said, “My family has some connections with nobles living in Chang’an. I heard that His Majesty will send someone to Jingzhou, so I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”
Xie Lingxi: "The people sent by the Emperor are still in the governor's mansion."
Tao Li reached out and covered the guest with the blankets, seemingly wanting to usher him out. "I know."
"Brother Chengzhi is simply taking his wife home to visit relatives."
...
Tao Mansion, the moon rises above the layers of clouds.
Xie Lingxi and Liu Xu were drinking together in the backyard, their cups reflecting the starry night sky. A yellow rooster crowed a few times, prompting Xie Lingxi to hit it on the head with a stick, saying, "So noisy."
Unlike Chang'an, Jingzhou is surrounded by mountains and has a beautiful long river, which naturally attracts wild animals.
Liu Xu gently patted Xie Lingxi's back and said with a smile, "The moon must have disturbed you too."
“No matter how noisy the moon is, it’s only one moon,” Xie Lingxi said, shaking the cup smeared with pine resin. “Today I almost fell for that Tan Langjun’s trick. It turns out that no matter how composed he pretends to be, he’s just a naive young man.”
It is true that Tan Yun has been wandering around, and his food, clothing and daily necessities are not very refined, but judging from his conversation with the friend next to him today, it seems that he has not had any hard times during these years of wandering.
But Tao Li... he seems like a playboy, but he's actually quite shrewd.
Liu Xu pondered, "I have been in Jingzhou for several days now. I wonder how things are on the Prince of Jin's side."
Xie Lingxi: "To control the flood, we need to find the root cause. Although it has rained occasionally recently, Ling Shuang and the others brought a lot of relief food, so we should be safe for the time being."
Liu Xu nodded, recalling that when he met Tan Yun's friend earlier that day, both of them denied the existence of the prefect's son.
If he didn't actually have a photographic memory, he would almost have thought he had misremembered.
"The Tan family does indeed have a child who can only babble and speak. Tan Yun may not know, but how could his friend not know?"
When the governor walks down the street, he is admired and worshipped. It is not a secret that Lord Tan has raised a mentally challenged son in Jingzhou.
The two went to a restaurant for dinner in the evening, and the waiter recounted the story in the same way.
Under the moonlight, Xie Lingxi's eyes were clear and bright as snow: "Masks can't be worn for long. We'll know who's real and who's fake when the magistrate invites us tomorrow."
——
That's true.
Magistrate Hua had recently profited and quickly sold several cartloads of grain. Upon hearing that the imperial envoy sent by the court had exposed corrupt officials and colleagues in several neighboring counties, he reluctantly closed his calligraphy and painting shop and hastily hosted a banquet for the wealthy Liu Si.
This grand banquet was held in the best restaurant in the city.
Before leaving, Xie and Liu listened to Tao Li's instructions and spent some time finding the tassels and satin to match their clothes. They decided to arrive late and show off their haughty attitude.
Magistrate Hua waited and waited, nearly grinding his teeth in frustration, until finally the couple entered hand in hand. He immediately greeted them with a smile, "Mr. Liu, I've long admired your name; seeing you in person is truly a wonderful experience!"
Liu Xu deliberately omitted the gold-threaded ribbon, "What?"
"What do you want with me?"
He nonchalantly downed the wine in his glass, then frowned and tossed the glass behind him. "Where did this inferior wine come from? It's even worse than the wine my servants drink!"
Ouch!
Magistrate Hua winked and his heart ached – that was the glass cup he had treasured for many years, a cup he himself had never been willing to use for drinking!
And just like that, Liu Si threw him down cleanly!
And that wine! It's a divine delicacy from Jingzhou City!
His face trembled as he forced a smile, barely containing his anger. "Yes, it's my fault... I invited Mr. Liu here today to discuss the payment for that shipment."
He spoke cryptically, but both men understood the business, though Liu Xu pretended not to understand: "What payment?"
Seeing that Magistrate Hua shuddered again, he seemed to suddenly realize something. "Oh—those cartloads of grain, what? Are you going to back out?"
Ignoring Xie Lingxi's tugging at his sleeve, Liu Xu, with her delicate head adorned with jeweled hairpins and ornaments, angrily flung her sleeve aside—
"We agreed in black and white that I would sell the grain to you, you would have the channels to sell it, and I would get 60% of the profits. What? Now that the situation is not good, you want my perfectly good business to go down the drain?!"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Hua hurriedly tried to appease him, pleading, "I have no choice. The people from Chang'an are already investigating my home—Mr. Liu, please have pity on me. Once we get through this critical period, I'll give you a little more profit!"
After much hesitation, Liu Xu finally snorted and gave in.
With the important matter settled and after a few more pleasantries, Magistrate Hua, seeing the handsome wealthy man accompanied by his beautiful wife, tentatively asked, "Mr. Liu, why are you the one making the contact this time? It's usually the accountant..."
Although the accountant loved to haggle, he was never as unpredictable and difficult to please as this man!
Liu Xu sneered: "What? You don't believe me? Could it be that Brother Zhao's seal is fake?"
After saying that, he looked down at the magistrate with an expression that said, "You've said so much just to take this opportunity to gain more profit, haven't you? Since that's the case, I'll find someone else to cooperate with next time. If you're not sincere, I don't want to owe you this favor or suffer this burden."
Magistrate Hua had just wiped away his sweat when his back was suddenly covered in cold sweat again. With a mournful face, he cried out, "Oh, Mr. Liu!"
"I was just saying it casually, how could you take it seriously!"
He took out the jade seal and gritted his teeth: "Seven percent interest, not a penny less, will be delivered to your residence at the appointed time."
Liu Xu stood up and nodded: "Deal."
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