My Lord, your wife is spreading rumors about you again.

Chapter 49 Bamboo Dragonfly

Just like last night, the door of the middle box was wide open, but the sound of a piano could be heard flowing out from inside, like heavenly music entering the ears, giving people a clear mind and peace.

"Young lady, the host is in the house. I am waiting outside. Please come in."

"Thank you."

The moment Mingli stepped into the room, Bao Changfu closed the double doors from the outside.

At the same time, Xi Mo stopped playing the zither and slowly raised his head: "Second Miss Ming, we are very lucky to meet each other. In less than two days, we have already met three times. Do you and Young Master Zhang also meet so frequently?"

Mingli frowned and asked coldly, "Master Xi's words will lead me to misunderstand."

"Oh?" Xi Mo stood up and asked, "What misunderstanding?"

"I would have mistakenly thought that Master Xi was in love with Young Master Zhang. Otherwise, why would he mention him all the time? Isn't it because he loves him deeply?"

Mingli's mouth is really vicious and cruel. It would be fine if he didn't speak, but whenever he opens his mouth, it would be a sensation.

Xi Mo has been shuttling around casinos for many years, but this is the first time he has been insulted to the point of being speechless: "Miss, you must have misunderstood. I am not a homosexual."

Seeing this, Mingli smiled and said, "Master Xi, can we talk business now?"

"Okay." Xi Mo shrugged and raised his hand, saying, "Second Miss Ming, please."

The two of them sat on opposite sides of the gambling table from yesterday. Xi Mo spoke first, "I would like to make a bold guess that Miss Ming has come to her senses and feels that Zhang Zhi is unreliable. Is she planning to join forces with me?"

"Congratulations," Mingli reached out to take the 18-sided gold-inlaid copper dice and played with it in his hand, "You guessed wrong. I still say that I will not abandon Zhang Zhi. I came here today because I have something to do and I want to cooperate with Master Xi once."

Xi Mo's face darkened.

He restrained his smile and nodded: "Continue."

"I personally think that Master Xi is not very interested in the post of the Imperial Censor of the Lianghuai Salt Inspection. What you want is to wipe out the entire Mo family and avenge the years of blood feud. It just so happens that I need someone to lure Mo Zhao out at a specific time. As for how to make the Mo family fall into the mud, this is what I need to consider. I can promise Master Xi that after the matter is accomplished, Mo Zhao and his son will be handed over to you, regardless of life or death."

Mo Zhao is now like a frightened bird.

I heard that he simply pretended to be sick these days and didn't even attend the court. According to Mingli's original plan, he wanted to use Zhu's mother and daughter to get in touch with Zhang Yang, and then use Zhang Yang and the Zang family to meet Mo Zhao.

Although Meng's sudden return home allowed her to send Zhu and Mingyun away cleanly and neatly ahead of time, it also disrupted her subsequent plans.

"What did the girl say? You promised me?"

Xi Mo chuckled: "Forgive me for being blunt, but do you think your status is a bit too high? You are just a chess piece in the hands of Zhang Zhi and the prince. If you make the right move, you will get a piece of meat. If you make the wrong move, it doesn't matter if you are abandoned."

Mingli showed no displeasure on his face, and only said, "Master Xi, do you not believe me?"

"There doesn't seem to be anything in the girl's hand that's worthy of my trust."

Xi Mo took a broken jade fan and shook it gently: "Second Miss Ming, I hope you understand that it's not that I don't believe your promise, but you have no say in front of Zhang Zhi and the prince. If they want to crush you to death, it's just like crushing an ant, so the promise you made is not worth trusting."

Xi Mo raised his hand and poured two cups of tea: "Zhang Zhi is a well-known playboy. He has already played with all the girls in the brothels in Kyoto. He has been hanging around brothels for half his life. Suddenly he met someone like you. I'm afraid he was just curious. But have you ever thought about what you would do if he gets tired of you?"

"Second Miss Ming, you can either stand on the same side as me, or go and beg Zhang Zhi. After all, he is a royal relative and the prince's cousin. If he said this, I might really be moved." Ming Li pushed the tea towards Xi Mo. Her eyes were cold and she was very dissatisfied with Xi Mo's contempt.

She said, "Master Xi, you don't have to use this long speech to provoke me. I said that I will not abandon Zhang Zhi. Of course, I will not beg him. I will use my own means to make you willingly beg me to cooperate with you. Master Xi, remember to apologize for what you said today when you came to beg me that day."

"Farewell."

Mingli lifted his robe and stood up, and Bao Changfu opened the door at the right time. He received Xi Mo's signal and personally escorted Mingli out of Jucai Building.

"Go slowly, young lady. If you come again in the future, you can just ask my servant to look for me. I will always be here." Bao Changfu said with a bow.

Mingli smiled when he heard this: "Next time, it should be Manager Bao who comes to look for me."

"Ah?" Bao Changfu didn't understand.

Mingli didn't plan to explain to him. She took the veil in her hand and walked towards Ming Mansion. Today was the once-a-month market.

The sky was gradually getting dark, but Xuanwu Avenue was still bustling with people.

Colorful novelties filled the small stalls on both sides, and the hot aroma wafted from the restaurants and bars. In the distance, the embankment was crowded with people, merchants came and went, and there were endless cruise ships on the lake. Singers played the piano and music on the pleasure boats, and dignitaries toasted each other.

Mingli walked along the street, looking around with a faint smile on his face. On one side, there was a tray of big meat buns just out of the oven, and on the other side, there were a few young men performing sword swallowing and fire spitting, and stilt juggling. Children holding sugar paintings shuttled through the crowd and played around, and the atmosphere of life was in full swing.

"Girl, do you want to buy a bamboo dragonfly?"

Mingli paused and looked back. She saw a white-haired grandma holding a basket of bamboo dragonflies in her hand.

She walked over, squatted in front of grandma, and picked up a bamboo dragonfly: "Is this for fun?"

"Yes, girl, haven't you played with it before? Didn't your parents buy it for you when you were a child?" Grandma asked as she picked up a bamboo dragonfly and twisted it. The dragonfly flew up gently. "Look, the bamboo dragonfly is flying!"

Mingli looked up and saw that it was flying higher and higher, flying towards the embankment, but on the other side of the embankment was the moat, and it would fall into the river.

"I'll pick it up."

Mingli stood up and tried to chase after it, but was stopped by her grandmother: "Don't go, girl. The bamboo dragonfly may have left now, but it will come back one day."

"But."

Mingli bit her lip, looking at the bamboo dragonfly that had disappeared long ago, feeling quite unwilling. It just fell into the river like that, unable to fly again, and unable to see the blue sky?

"Do you like this?"

Behind him, Zhang Zhi's voice came over, and then a silver ingot weighing five taels was thrown into Grandma's basket. He walked over and said, "Grandma, we have bought this basket. Let's go home quickly."

Mingli turned back blankly: "Why are you here?"

Grandma nodded repeatedly. She took out the silver and stuffed the whole basket of bamboo dragonflies into Mingli's hands with a smile. "Girl, what I said just now was right, wasn't it? A bamboo dragonfly flies away, and people who care about you will send you a basket. I wish you a smooth road ahead, and that you can get what you want and live a peaceful and happy life."

(End of this chapter)