Chapter 45 Leaving the House "Stop it, everyone!"...
Zhou Tinglan returned to the banquet in a daze, and the banquet was almost over.
Minister Shen had just lost an argument with other court officials. When he saw Zhou Tinglan coming back, he was not very satisfied with her performance at the banquet. He no longer admired Zhou Tinglan as he did in the Minister's Mansion.
His face was flushed with alcohol, and he looked at Zhou Tinglan who was walking back with dissatisfaction, frowning: "Where have you been? Is it taking so long to deal with clothes?"
Zhou Tinglan suppressed the discomfort in his heart. Minister Shen himself was not good at speaking outside, and he was very angry. How could he take it out on the servants in the mansion?
However, now was not the time to expose himself. Zhou Tinglan lowered his brows and pretended to have done something wrong. He whispered, "I'm sorry, sir. I've been delayed. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Unexpectedly, Minister Shen waved his hands impatiently: "Why did I ask you to come to the banquet with me? You can't even pour a glass of wine properly. Go away - get out of the way. If Qingzhu was here, he wouldn't have made such a mistake!"
"I know, sir. I am certainly not as good as my cousin Qingzhu. I believe that my cousin Qingzhu will recover from his illness and will be able to return to serve you again soon."
Zhou Tinglan complained in her heart, "Whoever wants to flatter you can do it! Since I already have the evidence, I don't want to serve you, a hypocrite!"
Minister Shen originally thought that after he scolded Zhou Tinglan, she would rush over to appease him, the breadwinner. However, he saw Zhou Tinglan say some words of apology and then stand still in the distance.
He became even more angry: "Get out of the way and don't get in my way."
Zhou Tinglan turned around without hesitation and stood far away from Minister Shen.
Minister Shen snorted coldly, picked up the wine glass on the table and took two gulps, but he choked and started coughing continuously.
He slammed the wine glass on the table. Zhou Tinglan read his lips with sharp eyes. Minister Shen was cursing why he was bullied even with wine.
Zhou Tinglan sneered, Minister Shen, ah Minister Shen, when you conspired with Yao Ningde and many treacherous ministers to murder loyal officials, have you ever thought that you were also deceiving people!
Fu Chang's figure suddenly caught Zhou Tinglan's sight. He was walking across the banquet table and approaching Yao Ningde's side. He held a wine glass in his hand and stepped forward to block the wine for Yao Ningde.
The court officials wanted to establish a relationship with Yao Ningde, so they raised their glasses and invited him to drink with them. However, Yao Ningde was honest in public and did not like to refuse people.
The attendants around him had to take turns to block the wine for him. Fu Chang was Yao Ningde's capable attendant, and many court officials knew him.
Zhou Tinglan looked at Fu Chang standing in front of Yao Ningde, drinking one glass of wine after another. The light shone on his face, as if covered with layers of mist.
She can't see through him!
Why didn't Fuchang catch her at the door of Yao Ningde's study just now?
Recalling the thrilling scene in front of the study, when Fuchang walked slowly towards her, there was only one thought in her mind.
Run! Don't let him catch you!
However, behind Zhou Tinglan was the study door, and in front of her was Fu Chang who wanted to reach out and grab her. There was no way to retreat!
"Master Fu, please watch your behavior. You have overstepped the line!" Zhou Tinglan shouted angrily.
Fu Chang did not stop. When he reached out his hand, Zhou Tinglan subconsciously closed his eyes, but the expected feeling did not appear.
He chuckled, and Zhou Tinglan opened his eyes carefully. Fu Chang had already turned and left, leaving Zhou Tinglan standing in a daze at the study door.
Zhou Tinglan connected all of Fu Chang's current actions together. On the one hand, he was loyal to Yao Ningde, but on the other hand, he protected her, his enemy.
Zhou Tinglan had doubted such contrasting behavior many times, but now that he thought about it carefully, he couldn't help but feel shocked.
Could it be...
Zhou Tinglan was frightened by what he thought in his mind, but there was no other reasonable reason to explain the contradiction in Fuchang.
Fu Chang seemed to notice Zhou Tinglan's gaze at the banquet. He looked back, and under the light, he seemed like a contradiction.
The banquet ended soon, and Minister Shen ordered Zhou Tinglan to say goodbye to other court officials with a stern look on his face.
Zhou Tinglan did it one by one, silently memorizing their faces. A smile appeared on the corner of her lips. She wondered how many of these court officials would be implicated when Yao Ningde was imprisoned.
**
Back at the Minister's residence, Minister Shen clamored to take a bath. Zhou Tinglan prepared his bathing supplies and sent them to his room.
"My lord, what you want is ready."
He glanced at her and didn't give Zhou Tinglan any good look, but Zhou Tinglan still didn't care.
"Get out of here, and get someone else to serve you! I just said a few words to you, why are you giving me such a deadpan face?"
Minister Shen pointed at Zhou Tinglan and yelled, probably because he had been drinking, his temper was a little bad.
Zhou Tinglan responded and picked up a basin of water and left the room. He was just a middle-aged man with a big belly. It was really a great honor for him!
Going out was exactly what Zhou Tinglan wanted, and she planned to go find Qingzhu.
Zhou Tinglan called another servant from the Minister's Mansion to serve Minister Shen, and then came to the corner of the courtyard of the Minister's Mansion.
After obtaining the evidence, Zhou Tinglan secretly contacted the spies and asked them to call Qingzhu to the Minister's Mansion, telling them that he could come back.
Qingzhu was originally a servant in the Minister's Mansion and could come and go freely in the mansion. When Zhou Tinglan arrived at the yard, he was already there waiting for her.
"Brother Tinglan, you're here!"
Zhou Tinglan stopped Qingzhu's voice to prevent someone nearby from eavesdropping.
"Cousin Qingzhu, are you so sick that you've forgotten who you are? I'm your cousin!"
Qingzhu was a smart person and immediately understood what Zhou Tinglan meant.
"Cousin Tinglan, I'm much better now and can go back home. Thank you for taking care of me these days."
"We are brothers, so why should we talk about unfamiliar things? Lord Shen is very kind. He even took me to attend the banquet hosted by the Minister today. There were many distinguished guests at the table."
Zhou Tinglan pretended to be close to Qingzhu, but his eyes were glancing at a dark corner in the yard.
It seems that Minister Shen is suspicious of her behavior in the Minister of War's residence!
The person in the dark observed Zhou Tinglan and Qingzhu for a long time. Seeing that they were just talking about family matters, he seemed helpless and left quietly.
The moment he saw him leaving, Zhou Tinglan's expression suddenly changed.
"Qingzhu, my business is over. The bag is my reward for you. You have to be more careful in the future. I am only here to replace your cousin."
Zhou Tinglan stared at Qingzhu seriously and handed a small cloth bag to him.
Qingzhu weighed the small cloth bag in his hand. Zhou Tinglan heard him murmur "Don't be too gentle" in a low voice while he weighed the bag. Then he raised his eyes and looked at her.
He readily agreed, "Don't worry, I only know that I was sick and bedridden at home, so I asked my cousin to go and take over for me for a few days. I don't know anything else."
Qingzhu is a man who knows the current affairs, and to Minister Shen, Qingzhu is just an insignificant servant, and it doesn't matter who comes.
Before leaving, she reminded Qingzhu that Minister Chen might blame him for what happened at the banquet, and Qingzhu was very grateful.
He said he was used to it: "Master often has bad tempers, but he has never hit the servants. He is just a little fierce. Listen to my cousin Lan, you can relax."
"Okay, I have things to do at home, so I'll leave first."
The guards of the Minister's Mansion did not stop Zhou Tinglan. She had already established a good relationship with them on the first day she came to the Minister's Mansion, so Zhou Tinglan left the Minister's Mansion smoothly.
Looking at the gate of Minister Shen's mansion, Zhou Tinglan murmured softly: "Goodbye, I hope they will be well when we meet again."
**
After obtaining the evidence, Zhou Tinglan planned carefully how to pass the evidence past the numerous court officials and present it directly to the emperor.
"Yao Ningde will probably soon discover that the evidence in the darkroom has been tampered with. He'll be the first to suspect me, so I have to speed up."
Zhou Tinglan thought that Yao Ningde had been drinking tonight and should not have noticed it so quickly.
She walked straight to the door of a shop selling fabrics and ready-made clothes, and just as the spy had said, Su Mingzhuo was waiting for her there.
Su Mingzhuo was standing in the shop choosing fabrics. He was holding a piece of tender pink fabric in his hand when he saw Zhou Tinglan coming.
"Miss Zhou, take a look at this piece of cloth. I think it suits you very well."
The color of the fabric was printed and dyed very evenly. On ordinary days, Zhou Tinglan would definitely take a few more glances at it, or even buy it and give it to a tailor to make a set of clothes.
The waiter agreed: "Yes, girl, why don't you buy it and try it? It suits you very well!"
However, now is not the time to appreciate it. It is almost afternoon and there are many people on the street.
Zhou Tinglan's eyes trembled slightly, and he replied, "Master Su, the fabric is indeed top-quality, but I don't have the heart to make clothes right now. I hope Master Su will forgive me."
Su Mingzhuo waved the waiter away and asked him to greet other customers in the shop.
Seeing Zhou Tinglan like this, he knew that Zhou Tinglan was worried about Xie Zechuan, so he stopped saying comforting words. Su Mingzhuo looked at the people passing by on the street and said, "Let's go in and talk."
"Business is good. Is this shop also your family's business?" Zhou Tinglan looked at the customers in the shop. He didn't expect that Su Mingzhuo's family had many businesses in Shangjing City.
"Yes, it's owned by my cousin. He happened to be away today, so I came to look after the shop for him."
The two men walked into the back hall of the clothing shop, brought stools and sat down.
"Miss Zhou, the conditions in the shop are limited and we don't have any tea. I boiled a pot of hot water for you earlier. Let's drink it and chat."
Su Mingzhuo took a cup, poured hot water in it and handed it to Zhou Tinglan.
"Thank you very much."
Zhou Tinglan was busy most of the day and had hardly had a chance to drink water. He drank a few sips of hot water to warm his stomach.
Taking out the evidence in his arms, Zhou Tinglan gave Su Mingzhuo the letter with Prince Duan's address on it.
"Master Su, do you know who the Prince Duan mentioned in this letter is?"
Su Mingzhuo read the contents of the letter at a glance, and when he finished reading it, he was also very angry.
He explained to Zhou Tinglan, "Prince Duan is the younger brother of the current emperor, born to the late emperor's concubine. He enjoys a fiefdom in the Great Zhao Kingdom and has a close relationship with Your Majesty. Because he suffered from poor health in his childhood, Your Majesty granted him special permission to stay in Shangjing to recuperate."
Zhou Tinglan secretly thought, born in the royal family, how can there be true family affection? I am afraid that this poisonous snake has been dormant for many years. I don’t know if Emperor Yongzhao has noticed it.
If we had been prepared earlier, the capital city would have been in great trouble.
"Let's not talk about Prince Duan for now. What we are most anxious to think about now is how to submit the evidence."
He was halfway through his words when he heard the waiter outside the shop shouting loudly: "Boss! Something happened!"
"Here they come!" Su Mingzhuo stood up and shouted outside, "Why are you in such a hurry? Tell me, what could possibly happen in broad daylight?"
He pointed outside and said to Zhou Tinglan apologetically, "Wait a moment, I'll go take care of the guests first."
"good."
However, Su Mingzhuo did not come back for a long time, so Zhou Tinglan got up and planned to go and check the situation.
As soon as she opened the door curtain, she saw Su Mingzhuo standing there with a sword in his hand, staring at the opposite side with sharp eyes.
The shop was empty, the customers had already fled. Several big men in black holding long swords stood opposite, and the person surrounded by them was Fu Chang.
"Miss Zhou, long time no see." Fu Chang greeted her with a smile.
The moment Zhou Tinglan saw him, her heart was in turmoil. Could Yao Ningde's spies be so widespread in Shangjing City? They had found him so quickly!
"I wonder what brings you to our shop?"
Yao Ningde sent out so many people, I'm afraid he has discovered that the secret room has been tampered with and wants to kill them.
Fu Chang raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Miss Zhou is pretending to be confused with me, but I don't know if she can keep pretending later!"
Su Mingzhuo gripped the long sword tighter in his hand and moved to block Zhou Tinglan.
"Miss Zhou, be careful!"
Just as the other party was about to raise the knife and rush forward, a clear female voice came from behind the clothes rack in a corner of the shop.
"Stop it, Princess!"
Everyone stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.
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