The expression on Xia Zhaoyi's face was so calm that there was no wave at all, and she said, "What are you curious about?"
"General Shen is such a good match."
Xia Zhaoyi said "Oh" and said, "Isn't he not?"
"Yes, then are you curious why he doesn't have one?"
Xia Zhaoyi didn't want to continue this topic, but still remained patient: "Why should I be curious about why he didn't?"
After saying that, she looked at Ye Zheng: "Did Shen Lie tell you when he will be back?"
Ye Zheng shook his head.
Xia Zhaoyi closed his eyebrows lightly and said, "Okay, since he's not here, I'll go back first."
"Let's go." She said to Zhan Ning, turned and left.
Zhan Ning looked at Ye Zheng and suddenly felt a little annoyed. He vaguely felt that he seemed to have made the second lady unhappy.
Ye Zheng patted his shoulder sympathetically.
She said she was going back, but after she came back, Xia Zhaoyi didn't stay any longer. She put on a plain cloth men's clothes, carried a bamboo hat, and went out again.
There are almost only two colors left on the street, one black and one white.
The sky was dark and it looked like it was going to rain at any moment, but there were still many people gathering together in twos and threes.
When passing by an alley, there were several old barbers and their apprentices trimming people's hair. Their voices came out, and it only cost one penny to trim people's hair.
Lefang, Bufang, etc. have all been closed, not to mention those brothels with fragrant powder.
Not long after, the rain started to fall, and Xia Zhaoyi put on the bamboo hat on her back. She didn't stop until a quarter of an hour later, she entered a rice noodle shop.
The rice noodle shop is doing very well, with five or six neighbors buying goods.
After today, it will be closed tomorrow. The custom of Daqian is that after the official start of fasting, it must remain closed for seven days.
The waiters and shopkeepers were all busy. When they saw a new customer, they said hello casually.
The shopkeeper paused and looked back again.
This newcomer's temperament and figure are eye-catching.
After looking carefully and seeing the visitor's face under the bamboo hat, the shopkeeper was startled and hurriedly called another waiter to come over and take over his work. The shopkeeper immediately walked towards Xia Zhaoyi.
When he got closer and saw her facial features clearly, the shopkeeper was surprised and happy: "It's really the head of the house... you, boss! Why are you here in Hejing?"
"I've been here for a few days," Xia Zhaoyi said, "I just read the letter from Manager Wang. He said that your accent is good and he transferred you here from Xucheng at the beginning of the month."
The shopkeeper of this rice noodle shop was the former housekeeper of Qianxue Mansion on Wanjin Chang Street in Xucheng, Mingtai County.
Butler Zeng smiled helplessly and said: "Yes, we make a lot of money here. Manager Wang gave me a huge bonus, but I am so busy that I don't have the leisure time here in Qianxue Mansion."
He would really rather earn less and raise flowers and grass in the huge Qianxue Mansion.
Xia Zhaoyi smiled and said: "General Manager Wang mentioned Shu Yuezhen."
Butler Zeng lowered his voice very low: "Well, the rouge shop next door belongs to her, but she only appeared once."
"Have you checked all her shops in Hejing?"
"I dare not say that we have completely investigated, but we have confirmed at least twenty. This woman has strong financial resources and especially likes to buy shops. Moreover, she has a way to communicate with the government on the street. So far, we have found that she shares the names of fifteen people. .”
"It should be recorded."
"There are some. Come and sit down first, my boss. I'll go get them right away."
Butler Zeng's style likes to be bright and simple, like the warm sunshine on the frosty snow in winter, so the decoration style of the back hall is completely different from the rice noodle shop in the front yard that is full of human fireworks.
He asked the waiter to serve tea first, and then he went to the study and returned with six or seven books.
In addition to recording Shu Yuezhen's shop in Hejing, he also found out a lot of Shu Yuezhen's personal network.
Xia Zhaoyi was flipping through the pages, stopped, and looked at one of the names used by Shu Yuezhen.
"Yang Guanxian." Xia Zhaoyi said slowly.
It is a restaurant under the name of Yang Guanxian.
Xia Zhaoyi raised his eyebrows: "Zui Xian Tower."
"It's some distance away from here, and the store is quite large, but this restaurant seems to be targeted by people in the palace." Guan Zeng said.
Xia Zhaoyi suddenly smiled: "I don't know if she is too lazy to name it and just picks it up, or if she wants to use it as a fishing bait."
"Bait?" Butler Zeng said.
Xia Zhaoyi smiled and continued to look through the booklet.
After reading them all, the name "Yang Guanxian" was familiar to her, but the rest were unfamiliar.
But her shop is really dazzling, with items from all walks of life.
At this time, a man hurried in from the backyard with a very anxious expression. He looked up and saw Butler Zeng. He immediately shouted and looked at Xia Zhaoyi next to him. He looked hesitant and pointed to the side to signal Butler Zeng.
Go with him.
Butler Zeng said directly: "This is our big boss. If you have anything to say, just tell me."
The man was stunned, looked at Xia Zhaoyi, raised his hand and said, "I've seen the big boss before!"
"You seem to be in a hurry, tell me quickly!" Butler Zeng urged.
The man walked over quickly and lowered his voice: "Someone was killed! Someone was killed in Laidu Tavern. At least five corpses were taken out from the backyard of the tavern!"
The words "Laidu Tavern" were familiar to Xia Zhaoyi, having only seen them in a brochure.
"Do you know who died?" Butler Zeng asked.
"We don't know yet, but they carried the body out of the city, tied it with rocks, and threw it into the water!"
"Is he from Shu Yuezhen?" Butler Zeng asked.
"That's not the case. Rather, it seems that he is looking for trouble with Shu Yuezhen."
Xia Zhaoyi suddenly said: "Shu Yuezhen, are you in Hejing?"
"Ah! That's right," the man said hurriedly, "I was confused and forgot to mention this first! I saw Shu Yuezhen this morning and I don't know when she returned to Hejing."
"It's strange," Butler Zeng frowned, "Shu Yuezhen is exquisite, good at dancing, and a good person. She will never make grudges with others easily. How come there are so many dead bodies now?"
After thinking about it, Butler Zeng added, "Which river was the body thrown into? If the river is not deep, find a few with good water resistance, go down with scissors, and cut the rope."
The man said: "Okay! I will leave the city and go along the river to inquire about it!"
The man excused himself to Xia Zhaoyi and walked away quickly.
Xia Zhaoyi looked away and opened the page of "Laidu Tavern" in the booklet.
The name above is Li Xuexiang.
Two hours later, the bodies were recovered. The man came back and reported that there were six bodies in total, one of them was a woman, and there was a palace sign.
Xia Zhaoyi thought for a while and decided to go out of the city to take a look.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. When she got off the carriage, Butler Zeng immediately tilted the umbrella over her head.
The five corpses were temporarily placed in an uninhabited shabby house near the river. There was dripping rain in the shabby house. Xia Zhaoyi looked down at the female corpse and frowned slightly.
She actually recognized it.
The eldest palace maid who has been with Concubine Mu for more than 20 years, others call her Aunt Yujing.
