She was determined to make Pei Zhaolin fall in love with her again, then play with and torture him mercilessly for a good revenge!
The Ministry of Revenue had been crying about its financial difficulties in the court every day. But now it had the guts to offer a generous 10,000 taels of silver?
Suddenly, Huang Zuoshi seemed to remember something. He said hesitantly, "My lord, I've heard that Tianxiang Tower is Miss Luo's dowry."
"At first, when the Luo Mansion was raided, properties like Tianxiang Tower happened to be transferred to a servant of the Luo Mansion by Lady Luo, so they were spared."
"And this servant is now Concubine Rong."
Even Huang Zuoshi himself didn't believe what he had just said.
There couldn't be so many coincidences in the world. It must have been deliberately arranged.
Since this matter was obviously related to Luo Xiang, Huang Zuoshi asked carefully, "My lord, shall we still investigate?"
"Investigate," Pei Zhaolin said firmly. "No one can escape, no matter who they are."
"The Yan family must be involved in this. The top priority is how to cooperate with Yan Liangwen..."
Outside the door, Cui Jintang had returned. She had wanted to ask Pei Zhaolin about Huang Zuoshi's disappearance. Now she heard their whole conversation clearly.
Cui Jintang was never stupid. When she heard Pei Zhaolin say "the account books of the Ministry of Revenue sent by Yan Liangwen", she immediately understood the purpose of Pei Zhaolin's appearance at Jinyu Fang that night.
Even if he had lost his memory, the essence of Pei Zhaolin remained the same.
Cui Jintang suddenly stopped.
If the essence remained the same...
It meant that even though Pei Zhaolin had lost his memory, his preferences remained unchanged.
She had made Pei Zhaolin fall in love with her before. Now that he had lost his memory, she just needed to do it all over again!
Thinking of the grievances she had suffered from Pei Zhaolin these days...
Cui Jintang gritted her teeth. She was determined to make Pei Zhaolin fall in love with her again, then play with and torture him mercilessly for a good revenge!
Yinglan, who was standing beside her, saw her mistress's expression suddenly change from calm to excited. She swallowed silently and asked, "Miss, aren't we going in?"
The voices of the discussion inside suddenly stopped. Before Cui Jintang could react, the door suddenly opened from the inside.
Before Pei Zhaolin appeared, a cold long sword came first.
The blade was only a hair's breadth away from her skin.
When Pei Zhaolin saw that it was Cui Jintang, the killing intent on him suddenly dissipated by a third.
He tilted the sword slightly. There was a look of surprise between his eyebrows. "Why is it you again?"
"The Lantern Festival is in three days. Is Lord Pei free?"
Her tone was light, as if she were just saying that the weather was nice today. "It's okay if you don't come. I can go alone."
Pei Zhaolin lowered his eyes. When he saw her expectant look, he felt as if a big hand had suddenly tightened his heart.
—This feeling of helplessness made him very uncomfortable.
After a moment, looking into her almond-shaped eyes full of hope, he said coldly and rudely, "What new tricks are you playing, Miss Cui?"
Even so, he put away his long sword and avoided her eyes.
Cui Jintang noticed all his small movements.
Got you.
Cui Jintang tilted her head and smiled. She didn't care about his cold face at all. "It is said that on the Lantern Festival, the first couple to win a lantern on the Star - watching Platform will receive the blessing of the Matchmaker God and will stay together for a lifetime."
She took a step closer to Pei Zhaolin. Seeing him take a step back, she laughed.
"I want to win a lantern with Lord Pei."
Pei Zhaolin was forced back until he had nowhere to go. In a hurry, he had to use the hilt of his sword to block her shoulder. His eyes flickered and he said sharply, "Miss Cui, men and women should avoid physical contact. Don't make fun of me anymore!"
Cui Jintang let out a surprised sound.
"What is Lord Pei thinking?"
"Lord Pei is very talented. If I could invite Lord Pei to go with me, maybe he could help me solve the riddles at the Lantern Festival."
As she said this, she seemed to remember something. A sly look flashed in her eyes and she pretended to suddenly understand.
"Does Lord Pei think that I'm inviting him because I want to stay with him for a lifetime?"
After saying that, Cui Jintang looked Pei Zhaolin up and down at his ugly expression. She hesitated for a moment and then said considerately, "If Lord Pei is in a difficult situation, I can ask Yan Liangwen to accompany me. It's the same."
Huang Zuoshi, who was hiding beside them, couldn't help laughing.
He stood beside the door and said mischievously, "Miss Cui, if you really don't want to stay with Lord Pei for a lifetime, you might scare Lord Pei to death."
After saying that, he winked at Pei Zhaolin.
Cui Jintang blinked and shook her head helplessly.
"How could I? Lord Pei is very brave. He's not afraid of such a small thing."
But Pei Zhaolin's face became even darker.
His eyes followed Cui Jintang.
She didn't know that her current smug and sly look was exactly the same as the one when she flirted with the young lutanist at Jinyu Fang that day...
Realizing what he was comparing, Pei Zhaolin's aura became even colder.
Pei Zhaolin turned around coldly. After a moment of silence, he said sullenly, "Miss Cui, you'd better go with Young Master Yan."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and walked away quickly. But his back clearly showed his annoyance.
Seeing this, Huang Zuoshi laughed loudly and gave Cui Jintang a thumbs - up. "Miss, did you see that? Lord Pei's face was so sour that you could squeeze vinegar out of it!"
Cui Jintang smiled slightly and looked Huang Zuoshi up and down. He was in a complete mess.
She said considerately, "Madam Huang is still in the Pei Mansion at the moment. Lord Huang, you'd better go and wash up quickly and think of an excuse before you go back to see Madam Huang."
As soon as she finished speaking, the smile on Huang Zuoshi's face disappeared completely.
He was doomed!!
—
As the twilight gradually deepened, Cui Jintang gently waved her round fan. In a great mood, she reached out to touch the trembling lotus petals.
In the pond, the frightened dragonflies immediately flew away.
Yinglan beside her smiled and handed her a plate of sweet cakes.
It was a peaceful and beautiful scene.
Suddenly, there came a distant bird call.
Cui Jintang found an excuse to send Yinglan away. Then Zhu Er, who had been hiding in the tree branches, jumped down.
After listening to Zhu Er's intention...
"Sister Rou needs 30,000 taels?"
After hearing the amount, Cui Jintang frowned tightly.
She waved her hand to signal Zhu Er to get up. She turned the round fan in her hand restlessly. After thinking for a moment, she sneered.
"Where does our emperor need money again? Is he asking Sister Rou to help fill the gap?"
Zhu Er didn't dare to provoke her. He quickly replied, "The evidence of the court officials' corruption can't be found. And there has been a severe drought on the border these days..."
"Miss, the empress said that the emperor is doing all this for the common people."
Cui Jintang lifted her eyelids.
She didn't say a word, but it made Zhu Er not dare to make a sound.
She sneered, "He, this emperor, really knows how to play his cards. All the good reputations will go to him in the end!"
When he wanted to be the emperor, Sister Rou helped him plan.
When he was short of silver, Sister Rou helped him raise it.
It would be better to just change the emperor!
Zhu Er sighed, "The empress's life in the palace is not easy now. If even Miss doesn't help, her life will be even more difficult."
In the palace, people were laughing at Noble Consort Xie in Fengyi Palace. They said that before she entered the palace, her love with the current emperor was unbreakable, but in the end, she still became a concubine.