The weather is getting cooler day by day, the scent of chrysanthemums in the air is getting stronger, and winter is almost here.

Jiang seemed to remember that the winter of the eighteenth year of Jingming was particularly cold.

She was not a person with a good memory, but this year she became a widow and then lost her brother and sister. This series of misfortunes made her memory filled with freezing cold and heavy snow every time she recalled this year.

Misfortune seemed to be universal, and many elderly people from poor families did not survive this winter.

The atmosphere in the Dongping Marquis's mansion has always been not very good. There is always an indescribable sense of depression in the dullness. Even when it is time to cut out winter clothes, there is no movement in the mansion.

This year, a series of troubles caused the already weak Dongping Marquis's Mansion to inevitably show signs of decline.

The leaves of the crabapple tree in the yard of Haitangju had almost all fallen off, leaving only bare branches swaying in the wind, with scattered yellow leaves fluttering down like fluttering butterflies.

Jiang Si reached out to catch a fallen leaf and counted the days silently.

"Girl——" Ah Man pushed open the gate and ran over quickly.

Jiang's heart beat rapidly.

Such a boring and dull day could make Ah Man react like this, so there must be new news.

As expected, Ah Man brought good news: "The people from Master Yu's side said that Aunt Zhu——"

Facing Jiang Si's cold gaze, Ah Man suddenly remembered and stuck out his tongue, "Zhu Ziyu's servant suddenly sneaked to a remote house, and there was actually a girl living in that house!"

Jiang Si's heart started pounding when he heard this.

Zhu Ziyu's servant sneaked into a private house, which must have been Zhu Ziyu's intention. Could it be that Zhu Ziyu's lover lived there?

She wants to meet this beautiful woman!

Jiang Si made up his mind quickly.

As usual, Qiao disguised herself as a maid and sneaked out of the house, leaving Ah Man full of resentment.

The person who was in charge of keeping an eye on Zhu Ziyu's servant was one of Yu Jin's guards. When Jiang Si arrived, Yu Jin ordered him to come forward and say, "Tell Miss Jiang what you saw."

The guard did not dare to look up, and said politely: "We have two brothers who take turns to watch the servant. He usually goes out only at two times, one is to send Master Zhu to the Hanlin Academy in the morning, and the other is to take Master Zhu back to the mansion in the evening. This morning, after sending Master Zhu to the yamen, he did not return the same way, but instead went around to a remote residence. I climbed over the wall and saw a woman inside, about fifteen or sixteen years old..."

When Jiang Si asked about the woman's appearance, the guard shook his head and said, "She is quite pretty." Then he looked at his master with an embarrassed expression.

Yu Jin smiled and said, "Asi, you are asking this question, but it is difficult for him. In the eyes of these guys, sows are all pretty."

The guard's face turned red in an instant, and he was angry but could not say a word.

"Take me to see that woman."

With the Hanlin Academy as the center, the residential houses are located in the opposite direction of the Zhu Mansion. Although it is remote, it is bustling with all kinds of people.

The guard led Yu Jin and Jiang Si to stop in front of an inconspicuous house and whispered, "It's here."

Jiang Si looked at it carefully and raised his eyebrows slightly.

The door was made of wood, the green paint had long since fallen off, and there was a padlock hanging on it.

Looking around, there is an alley connected by houses, and this house is right in the corner, lonely and seems to have been abandoned for a long time.

If the guards had not led him here, Jiang Si would not have thought that anyone lived here even if he passed by.

Staring at the wooden door with mottled green paint, Jiang Si felt a little strange: locking the door in the daytime meant that he was not prepared to interact with the neighbors. But if the woman was Zhu Ziyu's beloved, wouldn't it be too painful to live like this?

Jiang Si had heard of those men who kept mistresses before, but they just found a convenient house to settle her down. Every time they went there, it wasn't a big deal, so it was considered aboveboard.

It is a generally accepted rule that men work outside the home and women work inside the home. The wife lives in the inner house most of the time and it is impossible for her to send someone to keep an eye on her husband's whereabouts. In this way, unless the mistress comes to the house pregnant, most wives will not know about the existence of the mistress until they are old.

Jiang Si's mind flashed with the image of Zhu Ziyu's graceful demeanor, and his heart sank inexplicably.

For a man to be so cautious, what he wants is definitely not as simple as hiding a beautiful woman in a luxurious house.

Could it be that he killed his elder sister in his previous life and planned to let his concubine take the throne?

But in his previous life, Zhu Ziyu got married three years after his elder sister passed away, and his wife was the daughter of an ordinary official, so it was impossible for her to be this concubine.

Or did he say that after his elder sister passed away, Zhu Ziyu secretly took his mistress into his house?

This makes even less sense.

The eldest sister is recognized as weak and virtuous. As long as Zhu Ziyu shows this intention, I am afraid that he doesn't even need to bring it up, the eldest sister will take the initiative to carry the person into the house, and Zhu Ziyu has no need to take action against the eldest sister.

These thoughts were swirling in Jiang Si's mind, and a sad voice came to his ears: "What are you going to do?"

Jiang Si came back to his senses, looked at the height of the wall, and said softly, "Don't alarm the people inside for now. Let me take a look first."

"Okay then." Yu Jin finished speaking, and with one hand around her slim waist, she jumped onto the wall and then jumped onto the roof.

The roof was a slope, but it did not affect Yu Jin's movements at all. By the time Jiang Si reacted, they had already laid down.

The small courtyard was deserted.

Jiang Si moved his body, and the young man's low voice came: "Don't move, I will lead the person out."

After a moment of silence, Jiang Si gritted his teeth and said, "Take your claws away."

This bastard actually pressed on her butt!

Yu Jin's eyes rolled down and his face suddenly felt hot.

It turned out that I had not noticed that my hands were in the wrong place...

The girl has a slender waist, and because she is lying like this, her clothes stick to her body, outlining her small and perky buttocks.

This is obviously not the time to be distracted.

Yu Jin quickly retracted his gaze and said seriously, "Sorry."

But in my heart I was already cheering for joy.

Well, you can’t show your joy, otherwise you will get slapped.

He suppressed the curled corners of his mouth, picked up the broken tiles from the roof and threw them into the yard.

The small broken tiles hit the window, making quite a noise.

After a while, the door was pushed open, and a young girl in a pinned cloth skirt walked out and stood in the yard, looking around in a daze.

"No one?" the girl murmured, and hurried to the gate of the courtyard and pushed the door open.

The gate to the courtyard was locked, so it couldn't be opened.

The girl turned around and walked back, looking a little depressed and lost compared to the joy she couldn't help showing when she came out earlier.

Soon the girl walked into the room and the door closed again.

Seeing that Jiang Si didn't blink, Yu Jin asked softly, "Did you see it clearly?"

Jiang Si nodded slowly, but then she grabbed his hand tightly and said in a trembling voice: "Look again!"

Yu Jian was surprised and used the same trick to lure the girl out again.

Jiang Si stared at the girl with a pale face, as if he was trapped in a mist, and felt cold from his heart to his fingertips.

This girl turned out to be Qing'er!

So...who did the eldest sister take away?