The carriage stopped at the entrance of the alley. The men and women who got off the carriage were all dressed elegantly and were surrounded by maids in front and behind as they walked deeper into the alley.

Many outsiders in Chang’an City lamented that “it’s not easy to live in Chang’an”, but there was also no shortage of nobles who had houses everywhere.

Cháoān Gōngzhǔ’s mansion was very good both in terms of its mansion and location. Once the Gōngzhǔ was imprisoned, the mansion was put up for sale and soon attracted a new buyer.

In the alley, one could see nobles, maids, and servants following one another everywhere. Outside the alley, neighbors were sitting on the street and gossiping about the gossip of the neighboring families.

Whether there was one more or one less person, the city of Chang’an remained prosperous as always.

Lin Fei and others happened to see this scene when they came to visit the family of Jin ZhǔshìPrincipal from the Ministry of Revenue. Looking at the hustle and bustle coming and going in front of him, Liu Yuan couldn’t help shaking his head, but didn’t say anything, and was led in by the steward.

“The Master is entertaining guests at home today!” After the steward led them into the main hall, he said, “Please wait a moment, sir. The Master is taking people to visit the garden.”

This was not an excuse. The used teacups in the hall had not yet been cleared away. After the steward left, Liu Yuan pointed at the red lipstick mark on the side of the teacup and asked curiously, “It was a female guest?”

What kind of female guest would want Jin Zhǔshì to personally take her to visit the garden?

“There’s more than one female guest, all of them are female guests!” Wei Fu pointed at the teacups with lipstick marks on them, and seemed to have thought of something, with a subtle expression, “I’m afraid it’s…”

In the garden, Jin Zhǔshì, who was leading a few female guests, pointed to the peonies in full bloom and introduced them, “I am usually busy with the Ministry of Revenue, but I also like to plant some flowers in my spare time!”

The peonies were in full bloom. Among the female guests gathered at the back, a veiled one was looking at the peonies all over the garden with a look of satisfaction on her face.

When Jin Zhǔshì took two steps forward and moved a little further away from the crowd, the elderly man next to the female guest whispered to her, “He is a caring and romantic man. It just so happens that you also like peonies. I’m sure you two will be able to chat with each other in the future…”

Before he could finish his words, the steward came hurriedly over, walked up to Jin Zhǔshì who was not far ahead, and whispered a few words.

Everyone saw that Jin Zhǔshì, who had been so warm and elegant just now, had a slightly changed expression. After hearing what the steward said, he turned around, greeted everyone, and hurried away.

Several female guests looked at each other in confusion. After Jin Zhǔshì left, the woman at the front said, “Don’t worry, Miss Li. I’ll go take a look!”

This woman was the most famous matchmaker in Chang’an City. Mr. Jin was middle-aged and still had a decent appearance. His wife passed away some time ago, so he asked someone to find her to arrange for him to remarry.

Although matchmakers also worked to make money, even if it was a low-class profession, those who had achieved this level were not short of money. When she heard that Jin Zhǔshì was going to remarry not long after the death of his wife, she immediately frowned and felt that this person was not a good person. However, the wet nurse of Jin Zhǔshì pulled her aside and whispered the whole story. After she understood that the wife of Jin Zhǔshì committed suicide because of her own misconduct and felt sorry for Jin Zhǔshì, her expression eased and she helped to arrange the match.

At this moment, seeing the expression on Jin Zhǔshì’s face, the matchmaker had a hunch that something was wrong, and fearing that he was hiding something, she immediately followed him.

Several officers were standing outside the main courtyard, wearing official robes of the Dali Temple. The matchmaker was hesitant at first and didn’t dare to go forward, but the officers didn’t stop her and said it was nothing important. Then she simply ran to the corner to eavesdrop. When she heard everything, the matchmaker’s face changed drastically.

Of course, Jin Zhǔshì himself did not commit any crime, otherwise he would have been arrested long ago. The one who violated the law was the wet nurse who helped explain. After hearing from the adults in the Dali Temple that the original Madam Jin was framed by someone who threw dirty water on her, the wet nurse felt that this matter embarrassed Jin Zhǔshì, so she forced him to commit suicide.

Although Madam Jin committed suicide, she died under the coercion of her wet nurse. The wet nurse was naturally to blame, and the evidence was conclusive. Of course, the Dali Temple had to take the wet nurse away.

When they were taking the person out of the yard, they ran into the matchmaker, whose face turned pale after hearing the whole story. Dali Temple would not give the wet nurse a chance to speak and took her away directly. When Jin Zhǔshì, who looked embarrassed, came out and ran into the matchmaker, he opened his mouth and was about to explain, but the matchmaker spit at him fiercely and turned away.

Wen Mingtang heard what happened next from Liu Yuan.

“The matchmaker is the most powerful person in Chang’an City, so she is naturally very good at talking! After she came out, she quickly let the whole city know about Jin Zhǔshì’s affairs.” Liu Yuan said, “He explained that he didn’t know anything about it, but even if he didn’t do it, looking at what he did afterward, we can tell that he is a heartless person. This is not something he can explain away with just a few words. Nobody is a fool. Besides, he didn’t know what the wet nurse did. As an old servant for so many years, he can guess it. If he really wanted to protect Madam Jin, couldn’t he write a letter saying that he would talk to her when he came back? The wet nurse sent him so many letters and didn’t reply to any of them. It’s not surprising that the old servant guessed the Master’s thoughts and took action.”

“It will be difficult for Jin Zhǔshì to remarry in the future. Everyone says that he pretends to be affectionate, but in fact, he is the most cruel!”

“He deserves it!” Tangyuan handed the bowl of xiǎo guō mǐxiàn to Liu Yuan and snorted, “None of you men are good!”

Liu Yuan, who was scolded for no reason, touched his nose and said aggrievedly: “It has nothing to do with me. I also can’t stand that Jin Zhǔshì. If Madam Jin recovers her status… she is a real golden branch and jade leaf. I’m afraid Jin Zhǔshì is not even worthy of carrying her shoes!”

But… there was no but! Although the murderer in this case was caught, someone still died innocently.

“In the end, it’s all about that fake princess and the Moro religion…” Tangyuan counted on her fingers. Not far away, Yu Jijiu, who was about to start eating mǐxiàn with chopsticks, shook his head: If he really wanted to blame someone, he was afraid he should blame the foolish late Emperor! If the late Emperor wasn’t foolish, how could so many things happen?

There were many people who “sought immortality” in the harem of the previous Emperor. The Li Fei and others who raised the fake princess were actually pawns planted by a foreign sect. Even a sect could successfully plant pawns in the Darong Imperial City. If it weren’t for the wise Emperor who released most of the palace maids after ascending the throne, he wondered how many spies could be found in the entire imperial city!

However, if it weren’t for this coincidence, Master Wen would not have been able to leave the palace smoothly.

Looking down at the bowl of “xiǎoguō mǐxiàn” in front of him, Yu Jijiu’s throat moved: the white rice noodles were soaked in the soup, on top of which was a spoonful of pickled cabbage and pork stew, with chopped leeks floating on the soup beside, and an orange-yellow fried egg lying on the edge of the bowl. The whole pot of mǐxiàn was simple in ingredients and in full view, yet it made people’s appetites grow.

(End of this chapter)

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