Two days later, late at night.
Huo Wuyou brought a piece of news: "We guessed correctly, Dingfeng Grain Store's grain does have another source."
In Xue Zhiyi's bedroom, she had long been accustomed to Huo Wuyou's intrusion.
It was late at night, her hair was loose and her face was bare. Only the candlelight separated her and her eyes met with Huo Wuyou, who was wearing a nightgown and returning from a journey.
Huo Wuyou said, "I've had people keeping an eye on the Dingfeng Grain Store. They've discovered that over the past two days, every night, several carriages have been leaving for the western suburbs at different times. In the latter part of the night, they return to the store fully loaded with goods."
As he spoke, he sighed slowly, "Later, I personally investigated and discovered that there was an ancient road from the previous dynasty in the western suburbs that hadn't been affected by the flood. It had long been deserted, but it led to the outside world. They secretly brought in not only expensive grains, but also vegetables and medicinal herbs, all of which could be sold at a high price during the flood."
Xue Zhiyi was delighted when he heard this: "So, the urgent problem of food shortage in Jiangzhou can be solved?"
Suddenly, she seemed to think of something else: "No, even if the ancient road has been abandoned for many years, it is impossible that the Fu family is the only one in the entire Jiangzhou who knows about it, unless someone helped to conceal it, for example... in the official records, the location of the ancient road was also designated as a disaster area."
With a slight smile, Huo Wuyou said, "So, someone in the government is colluding with the Fu family, intending to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune."
Xue Zhiyi chuckled: "So, if we want to resolve this matter, I'm afraid it will take some time."
Her slender fingers gently tapped the lines on the table, and she looked up at Huo Wuyou: "But, you still doubt the Tang family, right? After all, the Tang family and the Fu family are both Gu Shichong's people."
Huo Wuyou spread his hands and said, "Indeed, but there is no evidence yet."
There was indeed no evidence, so the next day, while Huo Wuyou continued to investigate the ancient road, Xue Zhiyi thought of testing the waters in the Tang Mansion first.
So the next afternoon, after some struggle, she decided to go visit Xue Ruoyu.
If it were in the past, she would not need to inform Xue Ruoyu when entering her yard, and Su Xin would just follow her and ask her to run slower and be careful with her steps.
However, times have changed, things have changed, and Xue Ruoyu no longer likes her. As soon as she arrived outside Xue Ruoyu's courtyard, she saw Su Xin standing in front of her with a cold face.
When she heard that Xue Zhiyi intended to visit her, she went in to inform him, but this notification took a full hour, leaving Xue Zhiyi hanging there until a drizzle started to fall from the sky again.
Xue Zhiyi was only thinking that if the rain got heavier, the water level that had finally dropped today would rise again.
She looked around and saw that no one was staring at her. She wanted to find a place to hide from the rain, but she saw Su Xin coming out. She bowed reluctantly and said, "Miss Xue, our young lady wants to see you."
Under Su Xin's guidance, Xue Zhiyi was brought to a hall.
In the hall, one could only hear the laughter of a few women and the sounds of babies playing. It was very warm and lively.
Xue Zhiyi rubbed her hands together under her sleeves. It had just rained, and the weather was getting cold and damp as evening approached. The thin clothes she wore in late summer could not hide the moisture, making her hands feel a little cold. Only when she walked into the hall did she feel a little better.
In the room, the Chai family's mother and daughter were also there, playing with Xue Ruoyu and the child.
Seeing her come in, the expressions of the Chai family mother and daughter were a little subtle.
She was also curious. These two seemed to have been malicious towards her from the very beginning. Were they born bitches, or was there some other reason?
Xue Ruoyu still looked unhappy. She just glanced at her lightly, pretending she saw nothing, and continued to tease Tang Zhining.
Seeing this, Madam Chai pretended to be surprised and asked, "Miss Xue, what's the matter again?"
Xue Zhiyi only bowed to Xue Ruoyu and said, "Zhiyi is staying at your house temporarily. I am sorry for disturbing you. I feel uneasy. I should personally thank you. I am sorry for bothering you. Please..."
Xue Zhiyi paused as the words reached his lips: "I beg you to forgive me, Madam."
"I know it's disturbing, so why add to the trouble?"
Miss Chai's malice was even more undisguised than her mother's. She simply regarded Xue Zhiyi with disdain: "Perhaps someone has done something sinful, repaying kindness with enmity, and that's why they feel uneasy?"
Hearing this, Xue Ruoyu, who had been silent all this time, tightened her fingers slightly.
Madam Chai feigned anger and scolded, "Why are you saying this in front of your cousin? She's already sad enough, and you're bringing up this sad story for no reason. If there's anything wrong with your cousin, you'll be the one to blame!"
Miss Chai showed no fear at all. Instead, she said unhappily, "Mother, am I the one who made my cousin's wife angry? It was clearly Xue Zhiyi. Coming here like this is simply a provocation, or he must have some evil intentions. In my opinion, my cousin's wife shouldn't have let her in. She should have been kicked out!"
Seeing her trying so hard to provoke Xue Ruoyu, Xue Zhiyi smiled instead of getting angry: "This is the Tang Mansion. The young lady has her own way of making decisions. She doesn't need anyone to teach her."
After saying that, she just smiled slightly and looked into Miss Chai's eyes: "Right, Chai Yue."
Hearing this address, Miss Chai's eyes suddenly trembled: "You..."
That day, after hearing the name of this Miss Chai, Xue Zhiyi asked about her maiden name, Chai Yue.
How could two sisters from the same family be given such indistinguishable names for no reason? From that moment on, a suspicion began to grow in her mind.
Madam Chai reacted faster. She scolded, "Xue Zhiyi, how dare you call Yue'er by her first name?"
Xue Zhiyi said calmly, "Zhiyi originally thought that neither Miss Chai nor I had any imperial decrees, and there was no distinction between host and guest. It shouldn't be considered offensive to simply call her by her name."
But then she seemed to remember something and said, "Speaking of which, Madam and Miss, it would be inappropriate to address Zhiyi by his full name. It would give rise to gossip. It's better to address him by his title. You two should be aware of this title, right?"
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