"The shops in this area are complaining that after the new law is established, it is impossible for girls to come to Chunhua Street to be geishas, but I feel very envious... Of course, if I had not come here, I would not have understood the joy of dancing at all. I am envious.
It’s also a bit strange…”
"No……"
Shui Xinyuan shook his head.
"Although I was once a court actress, my background was very low. It was still very hard after becoming a palace actress."
"Yeah?"
"There are many kinds of palace concubines. Some of them are noble daughters. In their eyes, I am no different from a servant girl..."
"Is there a distinction between classes in a place like that?"
Yun Shang held her chin and asked with a pouted mouth.
"I hate people who think they are great because of their high status...but the new emperor is really great."
"Well……"
"Although I can't decide where I want to go, after the new law is established, my sister will not be sold to such a place. It is really happy."
"..."
Shui Xinyuan smiled silently... She wanted to tell Lu Fusu about this.
However, when she heard Yun Shang's next words, her smile froze.
"The emperor married a queen who was originally from a peasant family, so he understands the sufferings of the people better."
"this……"
"Don't you know? You should know, right? The current queen used to be a poor peasant."
"Oh...oh..."
Crap……
Just now he blurted out that he had been a court concubine before. If Yun Shang knew that he had become a court concubine from a peasant and then became a queen, how would he explain it?
Fortunately, Yun Shang didn't seem to know that the queen had been a palace concubine. She still held her chin and muttered: "It's really amazing. From a farmer's daughter to a queen, she is even more powerful than the Qiangxian of Xia Kingdom."
"……Who is that?"
"Oh, during the Xia Dynasty, there was a geisha named Qiang Xian in a certain flower street. She was originally a noble, but her family fell into decline and became a geisha, and later became the queen."
Yun Shang told Shui Xinyuan that the emperor at that time planned to marry Qiangxian as his queen one day, but Qiangxian was framed by political opponents on trumped-up charges and lived in the Flower Street. The emperor finally found her and married her as his queen.
"… Later, under the influence of the Rose Fairy, everyone regarded the Rose Fairy as the god of love. Every flower street has a temple dedicated to the Rose Fairy."
"Is there one on Chunhua Street too?"
"Yes! There are some around here too."
Shui Xinyuan is also a descendant of the Xia Kingdom. Although it is not known which generation of queen the Rose Fairy is, she may be related by blood.
I didn't expect to find out here that my ancestor had transformed from a geisha to a queen. It was really unbelievable.
"Even if she is a geisha...will the emperor still marry her as his queen?"
"You should love her very much!"
Yun Shang's straightforward words hit Shui Xinyuan's heart hard.
... Qiang Xian, who became a geisha, knew that the emperor would come to marry her?
Qiangxian was forced to stay away from the happiness promised by the emperor and was alone.
"..."
I... am not alone.
I'm here.
Even if I am ostracized, even if I am hated, I am still here.
Compared with Qiangxian's despair, my own troubles are insignificant.
Shui Xinyuan clasped his hands in a prayerful mood, closed his eyes...and then slowly raised his head.
"Yunshang, I want to ask you to do me a favor."
"What's up?"
"Do you have a bell?"
"Bell? There should be..."
"It's best to have three. If there aren't that many, one will do, along with red paint."
...I'm not alone.
I firmly believe that the emperor will definitely come to pick me up.
Therefore, the emperor must be notified.
"...I want to make a mark to let my husband know that I am here..."
I believe you must know...
…
"Bai Chun Tower, Lilac Tower..."
"I've been to the Rose Building too."
"good."
Under the weak candlelight, Chunxiang found the name of the restaurant on the map that the censor kept coming back to report, and marked it.
"Chunxiang, do you want to take a rest first?"
Li Yuezhen, who had just returned, stretched out his hand, but Chunxiang shook her head and was unwilling to hand over the pen to him.
"It doesn't matter to me, where did you go just now?"
"...Peach Blossom Tower, Ginkgo Tower and Ju Shui Tower."
Chunxiang searched for the dense text on the map with her eyes and fingertips, and used a red pen to put red dots on the restaurants in Li Yuezhen's newspaper.
Just by looking at the map, you can tell that the alleys on Chunhua Street are very complicated.
Although major roads and blocks are planned here, as long as there is a small piece of open space in the block, someone will build a house and open a shop on that land, so there are many slender or barely added houses.
"We've searched all around Hongyuan Tower..."
Li Yuezhen looked at the wound medicine applied on Chunxiang's face and frowned slightly.
Chunxiang looked at the map with concentration, which made people reluctant to leave.
"The Queen should be able to run far away, let's expand the search area."
"good."
After dark, the supervisory censor and officials from Zhongshu Province were busy coming in and out of Hongyuan Tower.
Chunxiang has been busy sorting out everyone's reports. It's already midnight and she hasn't rested at all. Everyone can see that her physical strength has reached its limit, but in the current situation, asking her to rest may not be a good idea for her.
It's a cruel thing.
Li Yuezhen silently placed the two candles she bought during the search on the candlestick and lit the fire.
The room suddenly became brighter, and Chunxiang raised her head suddenly.
"Lord Li Yuezhen..."
Chunxiang's eyes were fixed on the map. Until the last moment, she didn't realize that it was Li Yuezhen who came in.
Chunxiang blinked in fear of light, and Li Yuezhen nodded to her with his usual expressionless face.
"The Emperor and Minister Zhuge will be arriving soon. I will accompany the Emperor...be careful not to tire yourself out."
"good……"
Chunxiang rubbed her eyes and sighed.
There was a commotion in the corridor, and a censor rushed in.
"The Emperor has arrived. Mr. Li, you report the current situation to the Emperor, and I will get a chair..."
"No need to move the chair."
Lu Fusu quickly walked into the house, glanced at Chunxiang, and looked at the map in her hand.
"...Is the marked restaurant a restaurant that has been searched?"
"right."
"Chunxiang, I want to use this table. You can sit there and wait while I listen to the report."
"Oh, good."
Chunxiang staggered to the bench in the corner of the room where Lu Fusu pointed, but she still held the pen tightly in her hand.
Li Yuezhen glanced at Lu Fusu, who winked at him... He used this method to force Chunxiang to rest.
"The search on the north side has been completed... I think the Queen will run further."
Zhuge Qing, who was looking at the map next to Lu Fusu, tilted his head and said.
"Have you got any information about the man chasing Shui Xinyuan?"
"I have a rough understanding...the man who found the gardener in the palace is the same man who stood behind the gardener at the Hongyuan Tower."
One of the censors placed the suspect's portrait on the table.
The man had a square face, fierce eyes, thick lips, and a line drawn on the left side of his lips.
"……What's this?"
"A knife wound. The gardener said there was a knife scar at the corner of his mouth. That was the only obvious feature."
"Are they Ma Shilang's family soldiers?" Zhuge Qing asked.
The censor replied: "No, they are not from the Ma family. Just in case, we asked the neighbors near the Ma family and they said that we have never seen such a person in the Ma family."
"I heard from the gardener that that man looks very vicious. It is impossible for a respectable family to have such a soldier. He should be hired...
When the officials of Zhongshu Province were adding explanations, a young censor rushed in.
"The true identity of the man in the portrait has been found."
"who is he?"
"It's a foreigner named Xuan Dao. He recently came to Chunhua Street and hooked up with a geisha from Furong House. He lives there. I heard that he likes gambling and owes a lot of money..."
"Well..." Zhuge Qing crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling and said, "Nine times out of ten, he is hired with money."
"Did you find out who hired him?"
"Several officials are frequent visitors to Furong Tower and are currently investigating in this direction."
Lu Fusu frowned hard and looked around at the censor and officials.
"Where is the man named Xuan Dao?"
"It seems that we were looking for someone in the restaurant area on the south side. Xuandao saw the Queen Concubine escaping from here, so the Queen Concubine obviously escaped to the south."
"We must catch him. We cannot let him find Shui Xinyuan first."
"According to the decree."
"You continue to search, and I will come in person."
After discussing and allocating the area for the next search, the supervisory censor bowed to the emperor and walked out.
Zhuge Qing signaled to the young officials with his eyes.
"I will go with them, the Emperor and Li Yuezhen together."
"good."
"Then I'll take the first step."
The geishas in this shop complained in the corridor to the officials who were leaving with heavy steps, but no one paid any attention to them.
Lu Fusu looked back at Li Yuezhen.
“…where do we begin our search?”
"Start from this area on the west side."
Li Yuezhen pointed to a certain point on the map and said in a calm tone.
"Almost all the guests staying in the restaurant have left, and most of the guests will leave before dawn."
"...Do you think Shui Xinyuan is somewhere in this area?"
Li Yuezhen just rolled her eyes and looked at the emperor. From the corner of her vision, she saw Chunxiang looking at them.
"It must be here. The alleys on Chunhua Street are very complicated. People who don't come here often will definitely get lost."
What's more, this is Shui Xinyuan's first time coming to Chunhua Street.
"On the contrary, the Queen escaped by escaping into a back alley and getting lost, throwing away her pursuers."
"Yeah?"
"When Her Majesty the Queen got lost in a back alley and didn't know where she was, she wouldn't run around. Instead, she would hide somewhere and wait for rescuers... So, she must be somewhere in this area."
Li Yuezhen said calmly, while Lu Fusu looked at the map intently.
"...is it Southwest?"
"right."
"Chunxiang, you continue to wait here for news."
"...obey the decree."
Chunxiang jumped up and returned to the table again.
"Be careful on the road..."
Lu Fusu and Li Yuezhen ran towards Chunhua Street before dawn, and Chunxiang's warning came from behind.