Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 825 Goodness, this is completely unexpected.

The drunken woman wasn't very old, only about fifteen or sixteen, but she was very beautiful. She was the product of genetic optimization, unlike those oddballs who were just randomly combined and looked quite ordinary.

Moreover, it's clear that this younger sister has a certain status. Although Xia Lin has been committed to reform, the time has been relatively short, and some deeply ingrained ideas have not yet been completely eradicated. Therefore, the fact that a girl can appear in public drunk already speaks volumes about her status.

"I said, 150,000 taels. I'll take it!"

The younger sister, with a thick lisp, pointed at the broken bowl on the table in front of her and said, "Didn't you hear me?"

Upon hearing this, the steward knew something was wrong and rushed downstairs with a cry of "Oh dear!" He approached the younger sister and said in a low voice, "Princess Baozhu, please don't cause trouble today. I'm begging you."

"What nonsense!" The younger sister waved her hand, "You guys are too bold, daring to openly sell my husband's things!"

Who? Wait a minute! Who was it again?

Xia Lin didn't hear the manager's words, but he did hear his drunken sister shouting. He almost had a stroke at that moment, and he really couldn't react for a second to who this person was.

The bowl belonged to him and Lao Zhang, so the "husband" she was referring to must be someone between Lao Zhang and himself, but he had no recollection of her.

Yes, Xia Lin admitted that he was indeed a little unable to control his desires when he was young, and he did not try to cover up his absurdity, but he really had no memory of this younger sister.

With my photographic memory, if I don't recognize her, it means I've never seen her before. So, this girl must be Old Zhang...

But that doesn't make sense either. Wu Ning is a first-rank imperial consort. Even if she wanted to take a concubine for Old Zhang, she would need to go through the Ministry of Revenue to carry out the betrothal ceremony. But the problem is that Xia Lin has never heard of Wu Ning taking a concubine for Old Zhang. Moreover, Old Zhang is in very poor health. He has been so busy with court affairs in recent years that he has almost worked three shifts. Where would he find the time to raise a concubine?

Where did this younger sister come from? Xia Lin didn't believe that anyone in this small area would dare to impersonate his or Old Zhang's wife. The princess's residence was less than 300 meters away. Although Her Highness the Princess was a sweet and gentle little bread in his eyes, if someone spread such rumors, he could drag them over and beat them to death without it being illegal.

Xia Lin kept turning around and staring at the little girl, unable to process what was happening. She couldn't recall ever seeing such a tall, sharp-faced girl with squinty, fox-like eyes.

What are you looking at!

The younger sister noticed Xia Lin staring at her intently. Emboldened by the alcohol, she broke free from the manager's restraint and rushed up to Xia Lin: "What are you looking at!?"

"Hey!..." The manager's face turned ashen; he tripped and fell flat on his face twice while rushing over the short distance.

But at this moment, Xia Lin had already grabbed the younger sister's hand, lifted her arm to take a look, and saw the amber bracelet on it. With his super memory, Xia Lin immediately began to search his memory and quickly found the matching item.

But in his memory, this string of precious beads should have been worn by the gentle, kitten-like princess Baozhu. Xia Lin remembered that she was small, with a round face and the unique flush of a grassland girl, and was definitely developing in the direction of cuteness.

But the girl in front of him didn't seem to match the little girl in his memory at all.

However, Xia Lin quickly realized that Baozhu had grown up... It had been quite a few years, and children grow up very quickly. Once they start growing, they can indeed undergo many changes.

"You dare touch me!?" Baozhu drew her whip without a word and lashed out, her face full of anger: "My husband has never touched me!"

The whip whistled through the air, and the steward beside him nearly fainted, collapsing to the ground with a cry of pain. Xia Lin, however, grabbed the whip, then tilted his head and looked his younger sister over again: "Baozhu?"

"Who are you?! I don't recognize you!"

Xia Lin nodded, twisted his wrist, and then, as if lifting a chick, grabbed Baozhu by the back of her neck and lifted the struggling Baozhu out in full view of everyone...

"Let me go! Let me go!!! Or I'll kill you!"

Princess Baozhu struggled and screamed all the way, which disturbed the people on the road, so someone reported it to the patrolling officials.

"slow."

Just as the officials were about to step forward to stop them, someone would emerge from behind them. This person might be dressed as an ordinary citizen, but would subtly reveal their personal token; or they might be dressed as an official, but would have a completely different identification tag hanging from their waist.

With these people interfering, Xia Lin carried the drunken Baozhu back to the princess's residence without any hindrance.

The stewards in the manor were naturally startled when they saw a rather unfamiliar person treating Princess Baozhu in this way, but when they heard the newcomer speak, they were terrified.

Xia Lin dragged the drunken girl to the backyard, removed his hat and the beard from his face, and sat down in a chair with a blank expression.

Of course, he was still carrying this mischievous little princess in his hand.

"Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!" The steward rushed to the Princess's door and knocked lightly, saying, "Princess Baozhu has been captured by the Lord."

The eldest princess, who was resting inside, opened her eyes and knew something was wrong. She quickly changed her clothes and, with Qiuhe's help, hurried to the back hall. What she saw there made her heart sink. She saw Princess Baozhu waving her arms and legs, shouting things like, "When my husband comes back, I'll chop you up with a knife!"

There's no need to ask what happened; it's pretty much certain that this girl got drunk and caused trouble again, and this time Xia Lin caught her red-handed.

"You're back." The eldest princess stepped forward to Xia Lin's side and said with a smile, "Why did you bring her back too?"

Xia Lin glanced at the Princess, but after all, the first wife is the first wife, and he couldn't be serious. In the end, he laughed out loud: "Look at the people you brought, they're causing a ruckus all over the place."

The eldest princess looked at the drunken girl who was writhing and muttering curses, and sighed helplessly. She ordered the steward to take her to rest, while she herself sat there and sighed, "Alas, she is a pitiful child. She left her parents at such a young age, and by the time she came to us, she was old enough to be our daughter. I have indeed spoiled her too much, but the child is not bad at heart."

"She's not a bad person by nature, but she's prone to meeting shady characters outside," Xia Lin sighed. "Guess where I caught her today."

The eldest princess naturally couldn't have guessed, so Xia Lin told her everything she had seen and heard that day. After listening, the princess was quite shocked and covered her mouth: "How dare you be so presumptuous?"

"This is more than just outrageous," Xia Lin sighed. "There must be something going on here. Have someone from the manor investigate that merchant's background."

"I see."

The princess responded and instructed Qiuhe to handle the matter, while Xialin waited for news and had dinner.

He rarely visited the princess's residence, not because of any romantic relationship, but because he simply disliked living in such a magnificent place, finding it oppressive. Furthermore, his current status was not suitable for living in the princess's residence. It wasn't that he disliked it, but rather that his current position was very awkward. He could either live in the Yangxin Hall of the Imperial Palace or in a small courtyard in an alley, and either residence would generate public pressure for him.

But this is his home after all, so it's not a big problem for him to come over for a meal or stay for a few days occasionally.

Around dusk, Xia Lin was reading in the courtyard while waiting for dinner when Qiu He brought news.

"That family moved from Suzhou. The head of the household was named Lu Dunxin. They belonged to the Dantu branch of the Lu family in Wu County, Suzhou, and were a prominent family of the Wu County Lu clan in Jiangnan. Later, his father, Lu Deming, left the family to do business independently. After his death, his only son, Lu Dunxin, inherited the family business and moved here after his father destroyed the powerful family."

“Lu Dunxin…”

"Yes, he's said to be a wild and talented young man. Around twenty years old, he's on good terms with many of the county's most promising young men. Princess Baozhu is one of his regular visitors. He and his group of young men and women always get together to drink, compose poetry, and live a dissolute life."

Qiuhe's report was very detailed; she even found out what the young master of the Lu family liked to do on a daily basis.

"Debauched?" Xia Lin frowned. "How debauched?"

"Actually, it's not too bad. Most of the time he writes poems and lyrics, and occasionally he gambles. But Lu Sheng is generous. If anyone loses money, he will let them owe him money and never press them for repayment."

Xia Lin laughed: "So how much money did we lose with this precious pearl?"

"There are... nearly two hundred thousand taels."

"Nonsense!" Xia Lin slammed his hand on the chair and stood up, shouting, "Two hundred thousand taels? Who gave her that ability? How much does she still owe?"

“She doesn’t owe any money, but she…” Qiuhe glanced back at the Princess, feeling somewhat worried, but ultimately couldn’t resist Xia Lin’s aura and said, “She gambled away all the dowry she brought from the grasslands.”

Hearing this, Xia Lin clapped his hands: "Good, good, good, let Baozhu roll over here!"

Baozhu was still half asleep. Because she had drunk quite a bit of wine, she felt dizzy and thirsty. Just as she sat up to look for water, she saw Qiuhe quickly walk into the room.

"Sister Qiuhe, I'm thirsty..."

Qiuhe gave her an annoyed look: "Drink, drink, drink! You've gotten yourself into big trouble today."

Princess Baozhu was taken aback: "What's wrong? I drink it like this every day."

"You! You!" Qiuhe poked Princess Baozhu's head with her finger: "Do you remember how you came back?"

Princess Baozhu tilted her head and thought carefully for a moment: "Eh... it seems like someone pulled and dragged me back."

"It's you, sir! You're in big trouble!"

Upon hearing the word "Master," Princess Baozhu's face turned deathly pale. Without a word, she lay back down on the bed: "Go tell my husband that I've drunk myself to death..."

(End of this chapter)