Seeing Liu Yuan finish his breakfast and leave quickly, Yu Jijiu’s bowl of Re Gan Mian was also empty. Licking the sesame sauce at the corner of his mouth with a sense of satisfaction, Yu Jijiu stood up, walked to the front of the table, and asked Wen Mingtang for some more diced radish and sour beans.

The sour beans were sour and delicious, and the diced radish was spicy and refreshing and tasted crispy. Although it was just a side dish, Yu Jijiu liked it very much. He thought it would taste very good with porridge or as a side dish for drinking.

After seeing Yu Jijiu off, the breakfast time was almost over. Wen Mingtang walked outside the public kitchen, looked at the sun, and returned to the kitchen.

Ji Caimai looked at the sun’s movements and thought momentarily before asking Wen Mingtang, “Master Wen, are you wondering why Zhao You didn’t come to help Lin Shaoqing get breakfast today?”

Wen Mingtang nodded and said frankly: “It is a bit strange. It seems that Lin Shaoqing has never failed to come to the public kitchen for breakfast.”

As soon as Ji Caimai said this and before he could say anything, Tangyuan corrected Wen Mingtang’s words: “Master Wen is wrong! Before you came to the public kitchen, Lin Shaoqing rarely came to the public kitchen. It was only because Master Wen’s cooking skills suited his taste that he came every day!”

But having said that, it was indeed a bit strange that Lin Shaoqing and Zhao You did not come today. Even Liu Sicheng did not say much and ran away after quickly finishing his breakfast.

“Maybe he went to catch the murderer!” Ji Caimai shook his head indifferently and continued to calculate with his abacus. “When I left yesterday, I saw Lin Shaoqing telling Liu Sicheng and the others to go there earlier. Besides…”

Besides, this case had indeed been dragged on for a long time for Lin Shaoqing, and it was time to settle it.

……

……

The madam sat in a rocking chair with her legs crossed, looking up at the prostitute dancing on the stage not far ahead and nodding repeatedly.

“That’s right, practice according to this!” The madam said with a smile on her face. She turned to the receptionist who was fanning her and handing her grapes, and said, “The nobles’ eyes have been spoiled for a long time. If there is nothing new and outstanding, how can we catch their eyes? Once our flying dance is performed, it will definitely set off a new trend in the capital. By then…”

Before she could finish her words, a crisp voice rang out.

“Madam!”

This voice was extremely fluent and standard Mandarin, which even many local people in Chang’an could not speak so fluently. When the madam heard this voice, the smile on her face quickly faded, and she turned her head to look at the woman who was walking towards her. She had a high ponytail like a man but was wearing female Hu clothing.

The mismatched outfit made the old madam frown even more tightly. When she spoke, her tone was not polite at all: “What are you doing? Why aren’t you practicing dance and playing music early in the morning, and instead, want to go out wandering around?”

Jin Yanxiu smiled and was about to speak when she heard the Madam snort again, “I don’t keep idle people here! Your only distinguished guest, Prince Yu, can’t even protect himself, and look at you, you haven’t made any money in half a month! If this continues, pack up and leave!”

Jin Yanxiu didn’t take the Madam’s scolding seriously. She said “Oh” and “Got it”, and then said, “I found a distinguished guest among the Goguryeo envoys in the inn recently. He is very generous. When I get the money, I can pay the debt I owe to my Madam.”

When she heard that she was out to get money, the Madam’s expression eased a little. She glanced at Jin Yanxiu in front of her and rolled her eyes: “Then I’ll wait here, go quickly, and come back quickly!”

Jin Yanxiu said “Hmm” and left happily.

After Jin Yanxiu left, the Madam glanced at the receptionist who was fanning her, and said, “Pah,” “Wait until Jin Yanxiu pays me the money she owed me, then kick her out!”

The receptionist at the side responded without any strange expression on his face: This prostitute named Jin Yanxiu was a free person. She came to the building on her own and did not owe the building any money for redemption. Now she only owed some rent for staying here!

The prostitutes who were practicing dancing while hanging on wires above the stage looked at Jin Yanxiu who was coming and going freely with envy: they were not free, and if they were like Jin Yanxiu, they would have been tortured to death by the brothel owner long ago.

Leaving everything in the brothel behind, Jin Yanxiu walked towards the inn with brisk steps.

These days, because the people in the Dali Temple were busy with the affairs of Prince Yu and Cháoān Gōngzhǔ, there were no visitors to the inn where the Goguryeo envoys were staying every day.

Jin Yanxiu arrived at the inn and knocked on the door, and soon there was a response from behind the door.

“Who is it?”

Jin Yanxiu said: “It’s me, Jin Yanxiu.”

There was a sound of “Oh” from behind the door, and a middle-aged man came to open the door. Seeing that Jin Yanxiu was the only one in front of the door, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and led her in while saying, “The people from the Dali Temple have been waiting here for several days in a row, which makes everyone very uncomfortable! The temple officials in charge of the case asked about all the trivial matters, and several times they almost asked the right questions. We were really afraid that we would accidentally let the cat out of the bag…”

Jin Yanxiu nodded continuously as she listened, and responded, “Those temple officials are indeed powerful, and I heard that Lin Shaoqing is even more powerful! If they hear anything, it will be bad!”

The envoy who led her in said “Hmm”, paused, looked around, and seeing that there was no one around, he turned around and whispered to Jin Yanxiu: “The playboy surnamed An, the jùnzhǔ, and his fiancée has already knocked unconscious. After you go in and kill those people, throw the murder weapon into Lord Zhao’s room.”

When Jin Yanshu heard this, she responded with an “Hmm” to show her understanding: “Minister Zhao is the Crown Prince’s man, and although Junior Minister An isn’t of much use, Senior Minister An and his group are formidable. This scheme to frame and blame could indeed make Senior Minister An and his group oppose Minister Zhao, thereby facilitating the prince’s smooth ascension to the throne.”

The envoy who was about to speak was stunned for a moment, and couldn’t help but glance at Jin Yanxiu and said: “You speak Chinese so fluently, even the Chinese idioms are used so well!”

Jin Yanxiu smiled immediately after hearing this. She stretched out her hand and grabbed a handful of hair, playing with it in her hand: “I came to Dayong when I was five years old, so naturally I learned all the good things from Dayong!” Without waiting for the envoy to speak, she raised her eyebrows and said, “Your Highness, this trick of diverting the trouble is very effective! But in the future…”

Jin Yanxiu did not finish the rest of the words. She just glanced at the envoy who was speaking and waited for him to continue.

The envoy looked at her and said, “I understand! The Moro religion has helped us a lot. If the prince ascends the throne, he will definitely restore the Moro religion to its orthodoxy. By then, it can become the state religion of Goguryeo.”

Jin Yanxiu did not move forward a step but continued to look at the envoy without saying a word.

The envoy saw Jin Yanxiu’s expression and immediately understood, saying: “Your father was the leader of the Moro religion. After it becomes the state religion, you can naturally become the saint of the state religion.”

Jin Yanxiu nodded when she heard this, then looked at the envoy again and reminded him, “There is another person.”

The envoy understood: “Are you talking about Lord Quan? The murder of your father must be avenged. When everything is settled, I will hand him over to you. You can kill him or chop him up, whatever you want!”

(End of this chapter)

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