No matter how domineering the governor is, he will not force other people's wives to be his second wives.
"I think so too...but the problem is that the man can't make up his mind."
"Are you worried about the prefect?"
"So you know."
The old man waved to him, and Li Yuezhen placed the wooden box next to the stall and sat on it.
"That prefect is not a problem at all... Jueyang's parents died early. He was raised by his grandmother. When he grew up, he became a fisherman. Unfortunately, he injured his leg and could no longer go fishing. Moreover, his grandmother was not in good health. I'm afraid
He won’t live long. Jueyang can’t make a living normally and has to take care of his grandmother, so Cuihua goes to help take care of her every day, and Jueyang can use this time to sell fish.”
As the old man spoke, he carefully placed the hairpins, hairpins and ribbons on the red cloth in front of the stall.
"The best way is for Cuihua to marry into his family, but Uncle Shun's family only has Cuihua as a daughter. Before Mu Wan gave up her last hope, she planned to keep Huayuelou's business, so Cuihua could only marry her.
inherit."
"...What can't the boss lady give up?"
"Haven't you heard?"
The old man frowned, as if he thought he had slipped up.
"Don't mention this matter again when you return to the hotel... Cuihua had an older brother who fell into a nearby swamp and died. He was only three or four years old at that time."
"..."
"Only the child's shoes were floating in the swamp, but no body was found... because the swamp was so deep that if he fell, he would die. However, Mu Wan still did not believe that his son was dead."
"That's... no wonder."
Because I didn’t see the body, as a mother, I definitely don’t want to believe that my son is dead.
"She believed that her son would come back one day, so she wanted to leave Huayue Tower to her son. Cuihua also knew her mother's thoughts, so she did not dare to ask to marry into the Jueyang family."
"Then...Can't Jueyang enter the Huayue Tower?"
"Yes! Everyone said so, and Uncle Shun agreed, but Jueyang thinks that his legs are inconvenient, so he is unwilling to marry."
He is so stupid... The old man gritted his teeth and straightened his body.
"You are a passing businessman, but I am talking nonsense to you."
"When I do business in various places, I often hear a lot of things, but I just listen...I quickly forget things that have nothing to do with me."
"Yes...which one do you want to buy?"
As he spoke, the old man took out the last product from the box in his hand and placed it on the stall.
When you admire it from different angles, you will find that the handicrafts made of shells shine with white, blue and red light in the sun.
Li Yuezhen looked at the hair accessory at hand. There were five petals on it... It should be a hairpin, right? The shiny light red shell is very beautiful. There are two identical hair accessories. Could it be a pair?
"It's pretty good, isn't it? This is my proud work."
The old man noticed Li Yuezhen's gaze, opened his toothless mouth and smiled.
"...Can I pick it up and take a look?"
"Can."
This shape should be a peach blossom, right? It is indeed very delicate...it must look beautiful on her hair.
"This is a pair. I don't sell them for retail. Don't you want to buy hairpins? Buy more and I'll give you an advantage."
"Oh, good……"
It must look beautiful on her hair... Even if I thought so, I couldn't give it to her.
To pretend to be a businessman, to avoid arousing suspicion, just buy some hairpins.
Li Yuezhen changed her mind and selected five hairpins recommended by the old man. As a result, the old man planned to wrap up Peach Blossom's hairpins as well.
"Uh, those two..."
"Um?"
"Please help me pack another one..."
...No, I should refuse.
The old man looked at Li Yuezhen's face and laughed loudly.
"Want to take it as a gift?"
"..."
"Okay, okay, let's make it cheaper for you. Your wife will be very happy."
After Li Yuezhen said goodbye to the old man, she put the hairpin she just bought into the wooden box, put the hairpin in her arms, and left the stall.
There are many people buying and selling fish and vegetables in the market, as well as businessmen like Li Yuezhen who come to wholesale small handicrafts. The place is crowded with real businessmen.
This kind of place... No matter which city it is in, there will be local censors patrolling this kind of place.
"..."
Li Yuezhen walked slowly in the market, looking around casually.
After a while, a familiar dark green top came into view...it was the censor's clothes, which came just in time.
The censor seemed to have just finished patrolling the market and was walking toward the street. He might be planning to return to the censor's prison.
Li Yuezhen deliberately followed behind the censor, who was carrying a huge body.
I wonder if he noticed it...
The censor walked from the main street into the narrow alley next to it, walked along the temple wall, and then turned a corner.
Li Yuezhen followed him, keeping a certain distance from him, and also turned around.
"..."
The censor was leaning against the wall, waiting for him with his arms folded.
The other person is about thirty or forty years old, and his facial features are also very rough.
"What do you want from me?"
Their eyes met, but Li Yuezhen looked up at the censor calmly.
"What can I do for you...?"
"Don't pretend to be confused. You followed me all the way from the market to here."
Before he left the market, he noticed that he was being followed, and two brushes were visible.
Li Yuezhen's intuition told him that this person should be fine.
"I've never seen you before. You look like a businessman. Who hired you?"
"...can you guess it?"
"Nine times out of ten, it's that stupid prefect, right? Does he want to follow me and cause trouble for me? I won't wag my tail at that kind of person."
"So that's it, so you have no intention of cooperating with the prefect?"
"Of course, you go tell your master and weigh yourself first."
"My master has always been very tolerant of his courtiers' jokes, but even if you are joking, I can't convey it."
After Li Yuezhen confirmed that no one was around, he took out a piece of jade slightly smaller than the palm of his hand and showed it in front of the censor.
"This is……"
"Have you seen it before?"
The censor also has a jade with the same pattern hanging on his belt, but the censor's jade is white jade, while Li Yuezhen's jade is jade.
"This belongs to the Imperial Censor of the Capital... I'm sorry for my rudeness just now."
The imperial censors in various places are under the jurisdiction of the governors of each state, but the imperial censors in the capital are the yamen directly under the emperor.
The censor immediately stood up neatly and bowed respectfully.
"Both and each other, please forgive me for testing you just now... because I am making a secret visit and now call myself Wei Qiude, a businessman who sells hairpins."
"I am Guo Abei, the censor of Lenan Censorship... What are you here to investigate?"
"Do you know that Wang Hetong illegally levied temporary taxes on the pretext of rectifying river projects in Shenzhou and Wuzhou?"
Guo Abei's eyes widened, as if he was being threatened.
"I don't know at all, the Yushijian doesn't care about taxation..."
"But, you are also a resident of Lenan, so you should also be levied a temporary tax, right?"
"I have never heard my family or colleagues mention this matter. Is Wang Hetong collecting taxes without authorization?"
"The Ministry of Household Affairs did not impose temporary taxes, so of course he collected taxes without authorization... It seems that among the same residents of Lenan, some were taxed and some were not taxed."
"He is indeed not a good person..."
Guo Abei snorted disdainfully.
"Fifteen years ago, I assisted the Yushijian people in investigating the prefect at that time. If you need help this time, please feel free to ask me."
"Thank you very much, then..."
Li Yuezhen whispered to him.
After Li Yuezhen asked A Bei to investigate places that he could not go to because of his disguise as a businessman, he pretended to be a hawker near the prefect's official residence and the prefect's mansion. After a careful observation, he returned to Huayue Tower in the evening.
Pushing open the door, a young man just walked out. As he passed by, he nodded to Li Yuezhen.
Although he looks gentle, his expression is serious.
He was using a cane and limping on his left foot.
"Ah, guest officer, you are back!"
Cuihua greeted Li Yuezhen with a bright smile, but she seemed to be forcing her smile.
"I'm back. Thank you very much for this morning."
"You're welcome, do you want to have dinner? I'll prepare it for you right away..."
Cuihua walked in, Mu Wan looked at her and sighed, sitting feebly on the chair.
"... Boss lady, could that person just now be Jueyang?"
"Who did you hear this from? Ah, is it Uncle Ben? He loves to talk right and wrong."
Li Yuezhen placed the wooden box on the table next to Mu Wan and sat down as well.
"I only heard that everyone wanted him to get married, but he couldn't make up his mind."
"Because running a hotel is very hard, he feels that he is not qualified. In fact, we can help now, or we can hire another person to take care of his grandmother... Otherwise, if this continues, the prefect will come to force the marriage next time..."
Mu Wan frowned, pressed her forehead, and after a while, she finally raised her head.
"Ah...I'm sorry, I actually talked about these things with the guests..."
"No……"
Li Yuezhen felt that she could understand Jueyang's mood.
"It's because of fear..."
"What?"
Li Yuezhen looked at the door Jueyang just walked out of, and took out the hairpin he bought this morning from his arms... It was impossible for him to give the hairpin to her as if nothing had happened.
"Because he doesn't want to cause trouble to the person he loves most..."
Uncle Fu's identity, Jueyang's leg injury, his... past.
The more you feel that you are not worthy of the other person, the less you dare to reach out.
"...Are you saying that he is worried about causing trouble to us, so he is unwilling to get married?"
"If you don't have the confidence to bring happiness to the person you love the most, you won't be able to make a decision... I can understand this feeling."
Li Yuezhen lowered her eyes quietly and took a breath.
He thought of Chunxiang's friendly smile, who was always the first to greet him and always watched him leave.
Li Yuezhen has never been dissatisfied with his current job. He doesn't know when he started, but he has been looking forward to finishing his work and returning to the capital... As long as he returns to the capital, he can see her.
But now he is afraid of returning to the capital.
"...are you the same?"
Mu Wan opened her eyes and looked at him with gentle eyes.
"You also want a girl to be happy, but you can't make up your mind?"
"..."
Li Yuezhen silently opened the hairpin in her hand, and the light red shell gave off a moving light.
"Ah, so beautiful...I see, is this for that girl?"
"...but I may not be able to hand it over to her."
"Why?"
Every time I take a breath, it's like a warm current pouring into my body.
This is an ordinary hotel that can be found everywhere, but it feels like it is in Chunying Palace.
"The other party is the daughter of a good family, and she is currently serving a noble person... I am now... doing business, but she is... the son of a sinner."
"Well……"
"I... I once went astray with my parents before."
Li Yuezhen's lips revealed a self-deprecating smile.
"The bad things I have done cannot be erased...so I cannot forgive my hands for touching her."
When they first met, Li Yuezhen once carried Chunxiang, who was exhausted.
Because I didn't have any special feelings for her at that time, I was able to do it. I'm afraid I won't be able to have such close contact with her again in the future.
"...Really...you are doing it because of your parents..."
Mu Wan looked away slightly, but there was no disgust on her face, and then she immediately looked at Li Yuezhen.
"Is it because you can't ask her to marry you because it's hard to talk about your parents' affairs?"
"Ah?...Oh, no, she has already been told this matter. And before I told her, she had already heard it from others..."
Li Yuezhen wondered why she was talking to Mu Wan about this, but she still answered all questions.
"Is that because she cares about it?"
"…She…seems…not…to care…"
Although he didn't know when Chunxiang heard Zhuge Qing talk about this incident, he never felt a big change in Chunxiang's attitude.
Didn't she feel scared when she learned that she was the son of a sinner?
"The other girl doesn't care, but you are still worried about it?"
"Of course I care..."
"Don't you like her? What about her? Does she like you too?"
"I think... you should not hate me..."
At least before that morning, Chunxiang didn't hate herself.
Mu Wan straightened her body and opened her mouth in surprise.
"Oh, so you are the same as Jueyang? You make women wait hard, but you don't have the courage."
Cuihua, who was forced to smile, and Chunxiang, who was weeping and forced to smile, seemed to overlap.
"But, it's over..."
"it's over?"
"I'm running around outside... We never see each other, and she will forget me soon."
That's right.
As long as you actively strive for field work and don't go to Chunying Palace...
"impossible."
Mu Wan said categorically, interrupting Li Yuezhen's thinking.
Li Yuezhen raised her head, and Mu Wan looked at him with an expression that seemed to be scolding her son.
"Listen carefully, this world does not exist for you, and she does not hate you. Do you think that if you want her to forget you and avoid meeting you all the time, she will forget you? Then you might as well just tell her,
You hate her."
"...even if you don't hate her, do you still want to say you hate her?"
"You don't want her to forget you in your heart, but you lie that you want her to forget you, which will make her suffer forever. Instead of doing this, it is better to lie to her and say that you hate her. In this way, you like