Liu Yuan followed Lin Fei out of the prison.

“Does Lin Shaoqing think Zhou Dagui is lying this time?” Liu Yuan asked, following Lin Fei, “But lying about something like this… is really too disgraceful. For most people, they would rather die and let it rot in their stomach.”

If everything Zhou Dagui said was fabricated, then who could possibly make him go to such lengths to protect them, even if it meant tarnishing his own reputation?

Lin Fei didn’t speak, so Liu Yuan continued.

“What he’s saying now all makes sense, but unfortunately, there’s no one else besides him who can corroborate it,” Liu Yuan said, then couldn’t help but slap his forehead. “This is tricky!”

It was indeed difficult to handle. tight!

Lin Fei stopped, turned his head and said to Liu Yuan: “If what he said is true, no one can prove it, so we can only look for physical evidence. If what he said is false, find out who is the talent he wants to protect. It’s the key.”

Liu Yuan also believed in this: But… where should they start?

“Let’s ask the mountain people again and see what Zhou Dagui is doing during the day.” Lin Fei said.

Liu Yuan responded with an “Oh,” acknowledging the statement, but he didn’t immediately move. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, “I asked those mountain villagers earlier. After learning about his wife’s affair with Mrs. Zhuang’s husband, I specifically inquired about Zhou Dagui’s relationships with any other women. They all said there weren’t any…”

Before he finished speaking, Liu Yuan suddenly let out an “ah”, slapped his head again, and said, “That’s right. ! If what Zhou Dagui just testified is half-truth and half-false, and if he changed his preferences due to being stimulated and likes men instead, I will have to ask Zhou Dagui what kind of men he is usually close to!”

Lin Fei looked at Liu Yuan who was patting his head and was silent for a moment, then said: “Ask the mountain people where he normally goes and what his daily movements are like. Everything should be done in detail, and don’t leave anything behind.”

Liu Yuan said, “Oh.” He agreed and was about to turn around and leave, but Lin Fei stopped him again and said: “When you go out for questioning, take a few servants with you, just in case.”

Liu Yuan was greatly moved after hearing this sentence: Did his Shaoqing take care of him like this? Just as he was about to say a few words to express his gratitude, Lin Fei turned around and left.

…

The matters involving Lin Fei and Liu Yuan had little to do with Wen Mingtang and others.

After cooking breakfast and leaving the kitchen to Master Sun, Wen Mingtang left Dali Temple with Ah Bing and Tangyuan.

Just two days after the Dragon Boat Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival atmosphere in Chang’an City had not yet completely subsided. There were still dragon boats that had not been collected during the Dragon Boat Festival parked on the Weishui River. There were even one or two dragon boat races every day to celebrate the end of the festival.

Wen Mingtang and others were the tailgaters of the festival who ran over at this time!

There was a bamboo tube filled with drinks hanging on one person’s body, and some snacks were carried in the cloth bag beside them. Since it was not the Dragon Boat Festival, not many people came to celebrate the end of the festival. It also costs a lot of money to climb up to the observation tower by the Weishui River. Tickets were much cheaper than those during the Dragon Boat Festival.

You could go up and see it for twenty copper coins.

The three of them happily boarded the viewing platform and looked at the dragon boats parked side by side on the shore in the distance and the dragon boat racers chatting and waiting for the start of the race.

“The red one in the middle is beautiful!” Tangyuan looked around and pointed at the big red dragon boat in the middle.

Wen Mingtang looked at the middle-aged man not far away who was smiling and coming towards them with a chip sign hanging on his body. She opened her wallet and said, “Then bet on red…”

Before the words were fully spoken, a familiar voice sounded from behind.

“Stinky girl with the surname Wen!”

The voice was so recognizable that Wen Mingtan didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. She turned to see Li Yuan, the Prince of Pingxi, approaching from behind.

Li Yuan was always surrounded by Shuangxi, whom he carried everywhere he went, and several wealthy young men who were dressed in rich clothes and were about the same age as him.

Seeing Li Yuan’s excitement, a wealthy young man on the side asked subconsciously, “Who is she? When did you know such a person?”

Birds of a feather flock together, and people form groups. Wen Mingtang, Tangyuan and Ah Bing were obviously not dressed like them.

Li Yuan ignored the questions from the people around him, walked directly to Wen Mingtang and others, glared at Wen Mingtang and said: “Master, I haven’t been to Dali Temple for a few days to have evening food, how come you don’t know how to find someone to ask about me?”

Wen Mingtang: “…”

She wanted to ask him, why should she, a cook in the public kitchen of Dali Temple, go and enquire about what the Píngxī jùnwáng wanted to eat?

But even though she was thinking this, Wen Mingtang said: “I was busy making rice dumplings or something, and I forgot about it.”

Turns out she was busy! Thinking about how she was managing the meals for the entire Dali Temple, with two not-so-bright helpers, she was indeed busy. Li Yuan’s expression softened slightly, apparently accepting Wen Mingtan’s explanation. However, he said, “Isn’t this self-inflicted? I’ve told you before to come to my mansion and take care of just my meals, isn’t that enough for you?”

Wen Mingtang laughed and “borrowed” Lin Fei without any courtesy.

No matter how arrogant this man was, he still had no way to deal with Lin Fei.

Sure enough, as soon as the name “Lin Fei” came out, Li Yuan stopped asking any more, and turned to look at the middle-aged man waiting for Wen Mingtang and others to place their bets, and said, “What’s the point? Why pick the red dragon boat in the middle? You have to pick the yellow one on the far left! That one is the most powerful!”

Seeing Li Yuan’s proud expression, Wen Mingtan remained silent for a moment. Then, with a hesitant look on her face, she placed an additional two silver coins on the table, betting on the yellow dragon boat in the struggle between Tangyuan and hesitation.

Although Li Yuan looked down on the small amount of money wagered, he was still quite satisfied with Wen Mingtan and the others’ “corrected” attitude. Before leaving, he couldn’t help but praise, “Rest assured! I won’t let you lose that money!”

This reaction clearly confirmed one thing: the yellow dragon boat must be the dragon boat of Píngxī jùnwáng’s Palace.

After Li Yuan and others left, Wen Mingtang called over the middle-aged man who was responsible for placing the bets, pointed at the red dragon boat that Tangyuan picked at the beginning, and said: “Place this bet on the red one!”

With that said, she pulled out two taels of silver and placed them as a bet.

This action made Tangyuan both happy and nervous. After the middle-aged man left, she hurriedly said to Wen Mingtan, “Master Wen, I just thought it looked good. If I bet on it and lose…”

“If you lose, then you lose.” Wen Mingtan didn’t mind this. However, her gaze fell on the group of rowers on the red dragon boat in the centre. She paused and whispered, “The rowers on the red dragon boat seem to be skilled.”

Of course, that wasn’t the main point. The most important thing was…

“The rowers just nodded to him in greeting,” Wen Mingtan said, pointing to a group of people walking along the Wei River bank, “The one in the middle is Prince Yu. He may not have achieved much in major matters, but when it comes to such leisure activities, he’s always eager to take the lead.”

Looking at the group of people walking around, Wen Mingtang narrowed her eyes slightly: “This person’s methods are not so upright. I’m afraid the little Píngxī jùnwáng and others can’t compete with him.”

Compared with Prince Yu, Li Yuan was really just a half-grown child.

(End of chapter)

---