The person who came out didn't even have time to make a sound before Cui Jintang, quick - eyed and quick - handed, covered their mouth with her hand.
After seeing clearly who it was, Yunniang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She smelled the alcohol on Cui Jintang and mumbled with her mouth covered, “Miss, do you want to go to the private room next to rest first?”
Yunniang kept signaling to her with her eyes.
Cui Jintang slowly let go of her hand.
As soon as the beaded curtain was lowered, the faint sounds that could be heard were suddenly cut off.
Yunniang explained with a smile, “When Jinyu Fang was first built, the owner had anticipated that there might be eavesdroppers one day, so countermeasures were prepared long ago.”
“Miss, don't waste your effort.”
Cui Jintang thought for a while, took off the purse around her waist, and handed it to Yunniang.
“Even if I'm buying a piece of information from your Jinyu Fang tonight. If a fourth person finds out about tonight's matter...”
Yunniang smiled slightly. “I understand the rules. Miss, please rest assured.”
Yunniang gave a look to the woman.
The woman quickly said, “I will never tell anyone.”
Cui Jintang averted her gaze.
Under Yunniang's puzzled gaze, Cui Jintang rubbed her temples with a pained look on her face. “I've drunk too much. I'll take a rest here.”
Yunniang stopped the woman who was about to serve Cui Jintang and said with a smile, “Then Miss, make yourself comfortable.”
After the person left, Cui Jintang slowly walked to the beaded curtain.
After confirming that she couldn't hear the voices inside, Cui Jintang looked around.
Suddenly, she took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve.
Cui Jintang sprinkled the potion in the porcelain bottle on the beaded curtain.
The potion was colorless and odorless.
After doing all this, Cui Jintang turned around and left.
When she returned to the wing - room, Qi Xutao was still arguing with Yan Liangwen.
“Someone without a father, mother, or clan relatives, from a humble background without a complex family background. This should do, right?”
Qi Xutao slapped the table and roared.
“This is okay,” Yan Liangwen rarely nodded.
Qi Xutao's eyes lit up, and she was about to rush out with the man's portrait to find someone when she heard Yan Liangwen say leisurely with a look of pity, “It's just that this person died a few days ago.”
The smile on Qi Xutao's face immediately froze. “?”
Cui Jintang walked closer and glanced at the name of the man on the scroll. “Zheng Ting?”
“...”
Qi Xutao slumped into her seat, staring blankly out of the window at the night sky, muttering, “Is there really no man in this vast world who can meet my requirements?”
“It's a pity,” Yan Liangwen also sighed. “He had entered the Imperial College. Even if he didn't pass the imperial examination, he could still get an official position. Alas, it's a pity...”
Cui Jintang casually asked, “Then whose hands did Zheng Ting's opportunity fall into?”
“The first - place finisher in the autumn study, Chen Mingyuan,” Yan Liangwen clicked his tongue twice. “It's reasonable that it's his turn as the first - place finisher. But this person always gives me a gloomy feeling. He's not easy to get along with.”
“Aren't you usually not concerned about these things?”
Yan Liangwen suddenly asked, “Do you know this person too?”
The other two looked at each other and keenly noticed the loophole in Yan Liangwen's words.
“Which official's门下 has Chen Mingyuan joined?” Qi Xutao flipped through the scroll.
She looked at the biography of Chen Mingyuan written on it.
His mother died of illness when he was fifteen. Later, he was selected by Dehua Academy because of an article.
It was obvious that he was very talented.
It was reasonable for him to be selected as a student by a certain official.
But Yan Liangwen's silence seemed a bit guilty.
He kept fanning his folding fan and took the new scroll on his own initiative. “Let me see if this one is okay...”
“Snap!”
Qi Xutao pressed the scroll on the table. Behind her, Cui Jintang stared at Yan Liangwen with an air of leisure.
It was as if she wouldn't let him go if he didn't speak.
Yan Liangwen spread out his hands and pleaded urgently, “Ladies! I'm just an ordinary merchant. Please have mercy on me, okay?”
Saying that, he was about to get up and run out.
Qi Xutao was anxious. She picked up her red - tasseled spear and was about to stop him.
Cui Jintang beside her calmly pressed her down, patted her on the shoulder, signaling her to calm down.
Then she turned around leisurely, spread out her hand, and Zhu Er put a stack of silver notes in her hand.
“Yan Liangwen.”
Yan Liangwen had one foot already out of the door.
With a smooth turn, holding a folding fan, he sat down again with a smile opposite the two of them.
While talking, he busily stuffed the stack of silver notes into his bosom.
“It's just that my subordinates saw Chen Mingyuan going in and out with the County Mistress Zhiheng twice. Their attitudes and manners were also very intimate.”
“Is that all?”
Cui Jintang stretched out her hand to him. “Give my money back.”
“The money has already been traded. There's no way to take it back!”
Yan Liangwen quickly said, and then was intimidated by Qi Xutao's red - tasseled spear for a few times.
He obediently said, “Once when I was close, I vaguely heard Chen Mingyuan call the County Mistress ‘Sister’.”
Qi Xutao raised her eyebrows, obviously a bit surprised.
“I've never heard that Prime Minister Luo has a son.”
Before Prime Minister Luo's family was raided, he had four daughters. Except for Luo Xiang, all the others were sold as slaves or became prostitutes.
“Please, ladies. Forget about this after you leave the door. Don't bring trouble to my Jinyu Fang!”
Yan Liangwen waved his hands at them pleadingly.
He looked so pitiful.
“We'll see,” Cui Jintang pulled the curious Qi Xutao out.
When they passed by the private room just now, it was empty.
“Why are you walking so fast? I haven't asked clearly yet,” Qi Xutao said.
Cui Jintang reached out and pressed her lips, signaling her to be quiet. “If you're not noisy, I'll take you to do something big tomorrow.”
Qi Xutao's eyes lit up.
——
Doctor Wu was applying medicine to Pei Zhaolin while feeling distressed.
The wound was so deep that the bone was visible. Every time he saw it, his heart skipped a beat.
He didn't know how Pei Zhaolin endured it without making a sound!
Wiping the sweat off his forehead with a clean cloth, Doctor Wu looked at Pei Zhaolin.
Since he started applying the medicine, Pei Zhaolin had been looking at a document just delivered by Fu Li.
Pei Zhaolin frowned tightly all the time, as if he had encountered something extremely confusing.
Doctor Wu couldn't help but persuade him, “The documents can never be finished reading. My lord, the most important thing for you now is to rest.”
Pei Zhaolin pinched the bridge of his nose.
He handed the document in his hand to Doctor Wu. “You can take a look too.”
Doctor Wu took it puzzledly. “Haven't they found out Jiang Wu's identity again... The Cui in Cui Zhu is actually from the Qinghe Cui Clan?!”
“This time, I've not only investigated Jiang Wu but also the woman named Cui Zhu,” Pei Zhaolin said with an unclear expression.
He squinted his eyes. “Jiang Wu has gone to great lengths to hide her true identity. She probably won't even notice that woman.”
Hearing this, Doctor Wu quickly flipped to the next page and continued reading.
In the past decade or so, the Qinghe Cui Clan had gradually withdrawn from the court. He almost thought that the Cui Clan was finished!
Looking at the blank column, Doctor Wu was stunned on the spot. “Why is the identity of the main branch of the Cui Clan also unknown?”