A gentle spring breeze blew through Jiangnan. Yinzhen and Qingyan sat together in a small boat. Qingyan sat beside Yinzhen. The boatman rowed the boat, and in the dock sat a fisherwoman, singing a soft, gentle Jiangnan tune. (Please search on Baidu for the most complete version!)
Qingyan listened and found it very pleasant to hear, her bright eyes looking at Yinzhen.
"My dear, do you think it sounds nice?" Yinzhen asked Qingyan.
"Of course, Sisi, don't you think it sounds great?" Qingyan smiled.
"Hmm!" Yinzhen had no interest in these things.
Qingyan sat down next to him, watching the girl singing. She sat sideways at the bow of the boat, her eyes fixed on the distance, not glancing at Yinzhen at all.
"Fourth Prince, what are you looking at?" Yinzhen took a closer look at the singing fisherwoman. Qingyan happened to see his gaze and mistakenly thought that Yinzhen was interested in this person.
“Someone has arranged everything, so there’s no need to give too much reward money!” Yinzhen whispered in her ear.
Qingyan was slightly taken aback. How did Yinzhen find out? She looked at the fisherwoman; this person didn't seem to have any intention of flattering Yinzhen at all.
"Fourth Prince, are you sure you're not mistaken?!" Qingyan didn't dare to say anything more and leaned close to him, offering Yinzhen a piece of fruit with her fork.
Yinzhen smiled and thought that Qingyan was too naive. No wonder she didn't react at all when she met these people.
"No!" Yinzhen shook his head. "How do fisherwomen usually make a living?"
Yinzhen and his companion were some distance from the bow of the boat. Unless the fisherwoman had undergone special training, she shouldn't have been able to hear their conversation. He glanced at Bayan and instructed him to keep a close eye on them.
Qingyan thought for a moment and realized that since she was a fisherwoman, she must make a living by fishing.
"Master, it should be fishing!" Qingyan said directly.
Yinzhen nodded: "Look at the fisherwoman's hands, they don't look like they've been working hard!"
Following Yinzhen's words, Qingyan examined the fisherwoman's hands, which were fair, tender, and smooth.
No wonder the meeting between Yinzhen and the fisherwoman was specially arranged; it seems we can't judge things by appearances alone.
"Sisi, should we leave?" Qingyan felt that this was an unsafe place. This trip by boat was an unintentional decision. What were those people thinking?
"Hold your positions and do nothing!" Yinzhen said directly.
Qingyan leaned on his shoulder, her hand tightly gripping his sleeve.
"Sisi, are we almost at the dock?" Qingyan looked outside; they should be at Slender West Lake soon.
"That should be true!" Yinzhen nodded.
Surrounding the Slender West Lake are imperial villas. Qingyan felt a surge of anticipation, eager to be among the first to see the ancient Slender West Lake and Dongguan Street.
Two days ago, Yinzhen took Qingyan to the commercial street near Dongguan Street. She discovered that the real Dongguan Street was a place where wealthy merchants gathered. The good locations were basically all fenced off by powerful and influential people who had built courtyards there.
"Sir, we've arrived!" Bayan said, seeing that the dock was already there, and quickly came out.
When Yinzhen and Qingyan arrived at the dock, Su Peisheng, at Yinzhen's prompting, gave the fisherman a silver note of one hundred taels and the fisherwoman five taels of silver.
The fisherwoman was originally squatting there shyly, hoping that Yinzhen would take her back to the manor. Who would have thought that Su Peisheng would look her up and down directly.
Only after the two men left did the fisherwoman get up.
Qingyan walked behind Yinzhen, a smile plastered on her face.
"Si Si, didn't you see how ugly that fisherwoman's face was? She looked so aggrieved, as if you had done something wrong!" Qingyan was really surprised, thinking that the fisherwoman was quite cunning.
Yinzhen was speechless. Qingyan dared to say anything. If outsiders heard this, Qingyan would definitely be punished.
"Shut up. Next time you do this, consider the surroundings!" Yinzhen pinched her cheek.
Qingyan stuck out her tongue: "Fourth Brother, I think you're the only one here!"
In fact, she understood the stakes for Yinzhen and would certainly be even more cautious.
After hearing Qingyan's explanation, Yinzhen glared at her angrily, and the matter was considered resolved.
Su Peisheng followed behind Er Rao, feeling quite surprised. If it were any other woman, Yinzhen would certainly not have let it go so easily, but with Qingyan, everything could be dealt with so lightly.
"My dear, where do you think this fisherwoman came from?" Yinzhen noticed that the fisherwoman's hands weren't for working or starving.
"Master, I can't guess. They look like they're from the south." Qingyan shook his head.
The women prepared for Yinzhen and others were all specially trained, and the old farmer dared not look at the fisherwoman.
“That fisherman and the fisherwoman are probably not father and daughter, and his status is even lower than the fisherwoman’s!” Yinzhen specifically ordered someone to keep an eye on the fisherman and the fisherwoman’s actions.
After they received the reward, the fisherwoman didn't even look at the hundred taels of silver, which proved that she deserved a much better reward.
"Sir, what are your thoughts?" Qing Yanhao asked.
"Let's see which official prepared this. So, let's just watch the show. Besides, we need to investigate who owns the surrounding courtyards!" Yinzhen glanced at Su Peisheng.
"Master, we have investigated thoroughly. All the surrounding villas were once Li Xu's properties," Su Peisheng said directly.
Qingyan's face showed a hint of relief; Li Xu was able to buy so many courtyards and keep them.
"Moreover, these were all distributed to many officials in Jiangnan. Since Li Xu was arrested, no one has gone there anymore!" Su Peisheng gave a brief overview of the situation.
Yinzhen's face instantly darkened. Sure enough, these people all had powerful backers.
"Have someone investigate!" Yinzhen gave the order.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
