Chapter 71 The Moon Gate makes it seem as if it's trying too hard to be jealous.
Prince Xiao resides at the Bai residence, but since the reconciliation, the residence has never truly welcomed its master.
Bai Yan's servant, A Zhao, has transformed into the steward of the Prince's mansion, managing the various properties bestowed upon Bai Yan when he was enfeoffed as a prince, and incidentally handling the trivial matters of the Prince's mansion.
Today, the Prince's Mansion has finally welcomed its master.
Bai Yan was generally satisfied with the Lantern Festival trip. On the way back to the mansion with Jiang Yuzhi, they ran into Sun Chengjian, whom they had just met during the day.
After all, they are students this year, so it's normal for them to come and participate in the lantern festival.
But Bai Yan was all too familiar with the way Sun Chengjian looked at Jiang Yuzhi.
He didn't want his parents to know, nor did he want to pry too much into his wife's affairs, lest he appear to be overly jealous.
Bai Yan paid no attention to the meticulously maintained mansion, and led A Zhao straight to the study.
His expression was solemn, his lips were tightly pressed together, and he didn't say a word the whole way.
Ah Zhao thought there was something important to tell him, so he stood aside with a serious expression, waiting for his master to speak.
Bai Yan pondered for a long time, then parted his thin lips slightly before closing them again. Finally, he spoke, “Go and investigate Sun Chengjian. He is a candidate in this year’s exam. Make sure to find out everything you can about his family background and who he has been in contact with.”
This year's test takers? They need to dig into someone's background? Could it be that this person leaked the exam questions?
Ah Zhao suddenly felt entrusted with an important task by her master! She bowed deeply to Bai Yan and replied in a loud voice, "Yes! I will not fail in my mission!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Bai Yan looked bewildered. What was going on? Why were they shouting so loudly?
Ah Zhao had just gone out when she came back in.
"Master, Manager Huang said he delivered the dancer's file to the Bai residence. Seeing that you were not here, he sent someone to deliver the message."
"I understand, I'll go back right away."
Ah Zhao scratched his head, hesitated, and lingered on his way back, as if he had something to say.
"What's the point of keeping it? Just say what you have to say."
"Excuse my bluntness, but is this dancer to be brought into the manor? Does Manager Jiang know about her? If she is to be brought in, I should prepare her accommodations in advance."
Bai Yan: "...Is that how you see me? If you don't want your brain anymore, then take it and feed it to someone else. There will only be one mistress in my mansion, and no one but Yu Zhi."
"That's good, that's good," Ah Zhao patted his chest in relief. "I've only taught the servants in the manor how to serve the mistress, and I haven't taught them how to treat concubines. If the master really has such intentions, I must inform the madam first. The madam has repeatedly instructed me not to allow you to mess around outside."
Bai Yan's face darkened. What was his mother thinking?
Speaking of which, Tamaki's attitude yesterday was a bit strange. Could it be that she listened to someone?
Thinking of this, Bai Yan added, "Go check if there are any rumors about me in Kyoto lately."
Ah Zhao slapped her thigh, "Oh my master, there's no need to investigate at all! I've already heard everything! Rumors are going around that you're getting married, and many families are wondering who it will be. There are even quite a few who want to give you concubines or maids. Even the servants who go out to buy things have been asked about it. Since you've been in the palace, I haven't been able to make any decisions on my own and haven't given you a definite answer."
No wonder, no wonder. "Why didn't you just refuse?" Bai Yan's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water. So it was this kid who made the rumors spread so widely.
Ah Zhao scratched the back of his head blankly. "I can't get in touch with you. Madam has gone to the estate to check on the land, and Master is with her. I sent someone to ask, but they only said not to let you do anything reckless. I can only wait for you to come back before I report."
"Next time, firmly refuse them and tell them that the Xiao Prince's Mansion already has a mistress, and they are not worthy of their attention. Get out."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
...
Lately, most of the ghosts in the Jiang residence have been busy with their respective duties, leaving the house without anyone to manage it. Jiang Yuzhi originally wanted to find a reliable broker and buy a few servants.
When Madam Yu heard about this, she strongly recommended the children from the orphanage.
Teenage girls are naturally capable of doing chores like sweeping and cleaning. Madam Yu's primary goal is to give the children a chance to learn and grow, and it would be even better if they could help the master's family and support themselves after leaving the orphanage.
Jiang Yuzhi hesitated for a long time about this. Her house had all sorts of strange beasts, gods, and ghosts, but no one.
Would it be inappropriate to actually invite young ladies over?
Yang Jian in the backyard didn't care at all, stating that he would hide his identity well. As payment for living here, he would help hide anyone living in the backyard, as long as mortals didn't dare to intrude.
Jiang Yuzhi was still worrying about this and that, but Di Ting always managed to wake her up from her dream with a single sentence: whether they were servants bought or young ladies hired, weren't they all living people? There was no difference.
Children might be more obedient, but you never really know the quality of products bought from outside.
Jiang Yuzhi suddenly realized what was happening and accepted the first batch of children brought by Madam Yu. Zhong Ci'an and Zhong Ciyu, who had previously played with Di Ting, were among them.
The six or seven reserved young women's eyes lit up the moment they saw Di Ting, and their faces gradually filled with excitement.
Jiang Yuzhi coughed lightly twice, trying to get the children's attention.
As if it had heard something, Di Ting turned and slipped away.
The young ladies remembered Madam Yu's instructions and were to listen to Sister Jiang! They all turned their gaze to Jiang Yuzhi's face.
"There isn't much work to do in our manor. Everyone is responsible for everything except the backyard. You don't need to clean all the time. Just make sure the rooms aren't dusty. Water the plants every seven days. We'll bring you the water later."
"As for food, everyone can use any of the ingredients in the kitchen. I'll tell you more details later." Jiang Yuzhi paused. She saw Di Ting wagging its tail at her from the doorway leading out of the hall, clearly wanting to say something. "Alright, everyone, let's follow Zhisan to our lodgings now."
The young women said in unison, "Thank you, Sister Jiang!"
After sending them away, Jiang Yuzhi hurriedly walked over to Di Ting and squatted down. "What's wrong?"
"The manager of Fanlou is here. A servant from the Bai family said that his young master sent someone to ask if you are free."
"Perhaps there was a result last night."
Di Ting nodded seriously and let out a soft burp.
It wandered around Fanlou all night without finding anything. If Manager Huang hadn't recognized that the dog resting at the back door was Zhizhi's dog and prepared some food to feed it, it probably would have been throwing a tantrum on the ground and fighting with Jiang Yuzhi right now.
That wretched Zhizhi! She brought back a whole table of food, but it wasn't for it! And now we haven't even seen a trace of it! Is it no longer Zhizhi's favorite dog?
Di Ting couldn't understand who had taken its place. It didn't sense anything amiss with either Chi Chi or Xiao Tian Quan.
After eating and drinking her fill, Jin Xiaohua felt a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason, and the gold thread on her wrist trembled almost imperceptibly.
...
Inside the Bai residence, Manager Huang had been waiting for a long time.
First, Bai Yan rushed over from Xiao Wang's residence, and then Jiang Yuzhi came over from next door with her dog and sheep.
The sun was quite strong, and Jiang Yuzhi's figure seemed to become skeletal under its rays.
Bai Yan rushed over anxiously, "How are you feeling, Yu Zhi? Come inside quickly. I've ordered some ice to be prepared; it should cool you down a lot."
Next to a large basin of ice in the room was a running water fan.
The cool air flowed gently towards Jiang Yuzhi, following the direction of the fan blades.
It's cool now, but... "Won't it be too cold? Can you keep up?"
Bai Yan smiled gently, "Yu Zhi, don't underestimate me. Since I've been with you, I've seen myself getting better. Now, not only do I no longer feel cold all over, but I also often feel... hot."
Jiang Yuzhi paused strangely, thinking that Bai Yan was lying.
"real?"
“Shin, when it’s just us left, Tamaki can come and check.”
"good."
Manager Huang, who was listening silently from behind, felt both gratified and a little envious.
Di Ting was already used to it. With its paws on the leash of Chi Chi, it opened its mouth to face the ice block and inhaled all the cold air.
Last night, those two went out to play, leaving Chichi in the care of Diting. Diting can briefly suppress Chichi's natural instincts with its own aura.
Besides, Chichi hasn't gone hungry lately, and her temperament has become much calmer.
Later, Di Ting was summoned away, and Chi Chi was thrown to Sui Gu. Sui Gu was unable to control Chi Chi, so she asked Yang Jian to watch over it together.
The Celestial Dog also loves to eat and play with Chichi. They always eat together with Diting, enjoying good meat and vegetables three times a day. The Celestial Dog has come to regard Chichi as a serious drinking buddy.
It's just not good to leave Chichi with other people all the time, so Jiang Yuzhi should bring it along whenever she can.
Seeing that his two masters had nothing more to say, Manager Huang spoke up, “I noticed that Miss Jiang and the young master live next to each other, and it’s inconvenient for them to always come and go through the main gate. Why not build a moon gate through the adjacent wall? It would be both beautiful and convenient.”
The Jiang residence was originally under Bai Yan's name, so Jiang Yuzhi felt it was not appropriate to make the changes on her own and looked at Bai Yan hesitantly.
Bai Yan's face betrayed her anticipation.
"Then...okay?"
"I'll give the order in a bit, and it should be fixed in about two or three days." Bai Yan quickly made the arrangements. He had already chosen the location for the Moon Gate, near the recliner that Jiang Yuzhi often used.
Jiang Yuzhi nodded blankly.
"Young Master and Miss Jiang have discussed it themselves. I have already done some research on the dancer from last night."
Bai Yanxin gestured to Manager Huang to continue, completely satisfied.
Sangjiawazi is also unlucky. Sang Yulin's brother was executed by slow slicing, and now the pillar of his family is in trouble again.
The dancer's name was Huayue. Besides performing on stage, she also taught the other women to dance.
Fanlou and Sangjia Wazi had a long-term partnership, with one providing cooks and meals, and the other sending singers, dancers, and storytellers.
When Manager Huang sent Huayue back to Sangjiawazi, he really didn't know how to explain it. He left her enough money to live a comfortable life for the rest of her life as compensation, and also found a doctor to treat her.
Hua Yue's hands and feet are broken. Even if they recover, she cannot dance, as she risks fracturing them again if she exerts herself even slightly.
The people of Sangyulin were stunned. Huayue was someone their family had raised since childhood, and now she was gone just like that.
However, Manager Huang remained tight-lipped, saying only that the less he knew, the better.
Sang Yulin naturally knew that Manager Huang was a member of the royal family, so there was no need to say more; this matter must be related to the royal family. His family had just committed the taboos of Baishisan and human trafficking, so for now they could only suppress the matter and not pursue it further. He then gave a detailed account of who Huayue had been in contact with and whether there had been any unusual activity in the past few days.
Manager Huang was efficient and worked through the night, sending several groups of people to the homes of those who had private contact with Huayue to investigate.
There really is something wrong with that.
The person had been dead in the house for at least a day, and with the hot weather, the body had started to decompose.
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