Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 177 Bait
Su Qingwan was never someone who was willing to be imprisoned, let alone bound. Being trapped in this courtyard, isolated from the outside world, unable to receive any news, and only passively waiting to get married was tantamount to torture for her.

Lu Jing guarded the villa like an iron barrel. People inside could not go out, and people outside could not come in. Chen Feng tried to contact her several times, but returned in vain. Even when Lu Jing went out of the house to buy things, he would only bring his trusted people with him and never give others a chance to take advantage of him.

Su Qingwan finally couldn't help but speak, with a tentative tone in her voice: "If you don't go home for the New Year, won't your family urge you? You should visit relatives, right? What's the point of staying in the courtyard all day? I can't escape."

Lu Jing looked calm, his eyes fixed on the snow outside the window, and he answered softly, "I am the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. I often stand guard in the palace during the New Year in previous years, and my family has long been accustomed to it. Besides, my uncle and aunt are here, so they won't bother me." After he finished speaking, he turned his head to look at her, his eyebrows slightly raised, "You want to go out, right?"

Su Qingwan remained silent, but a hint of anticipation flashed in her eyes.

Lu Jing smiled slightly and said gently: "I can go out with you."

She was a little unconvinced, with doubt in her eyes. But Lu Jing continued, "I am guarding you in the other courtyard. I am following orders, but I am happy to do it. I don't want you to be trapped in this inner house and feel depressed all day. If you want to go out, I can accompany you."

Su Qingwan was moved when she heard this, but she deliberately provoked: "I want to go to Nanfeng Tower. The chef in your villa is too poor, and the food is hard to swallow."

In fact, she had a poor appetite. Lu Jing had changed many chefs and their tastes were varied, but she was always picky, just to make things difficult for him.

Lu Jing was not angry, but asked seriously: "What dishes do you like?"

"I like all southwestern food," she said lightly.

"Okay, I'll find some cooks who can cook southwestern home-style meals." He agreed straightforwardly, without a trace of impatience in his tone.

Su Qingwan was surprised by his willingness to comply with her request, but she remained indifferent. Lu Jing was not disappointed either. Since she wanted to go to Nanfeng Tower, he agreed to her wish.

Zhou Jingming was a little worried and advised Lu Jing, "The emperor asked you to guard the princess. If you take her out and she passes on the news, the emperor will definitely be furious. There is no news from the southwest yet, so don't cause trouble."

He was only thinking about Lu Jing, and Lu Jing knew it.

Zhou Jingming is his childhood friend and also his brother, and now he is the one who is most concerned about him.

"Don't worry, I'm measured."

The weather gets colder after New Year's Eve. Outdoor water tanks freeze in just one hour. The treetops are covered with crystal icicles, which are beautiful and charming. The snow in Kyoto is completely different from that in the southwest. The snow in the southwest is soft and dense, covering the ground layer by layer. Children always love to play in the snow, and some even jump from the roof into the thick snow. After the lake freezes, the ice and snow melt the next year, and the fish in the lake are particularly delicious. But the snow in Kyoto is freezing cold, and the cold wind is like a knife, which hurts your face. The icicles on the treetops seem to fall and hurt people at any time.

Lu Jing kept his promise and took Su Qingwan to Nanfeng Tower that night. The Nanfeng Tower should have been the busiest when it first came up. Even though there had been frequent palace coups and the situation was tense, and several generals had been demoted or seriously injured, it did not affect the atmosphere of the New Year in Beijing at all. Just as the saying goes, "Everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own door", the streets were still bustling, and the sound of gongs and drums from the lion dance team could be heard from afar.

However, when the carriage stopped in front of Nanfeng Tower, Su Qingwan frowned. This busiest restaurant in the capital was now empty.

"I have booked the entire Nanfeng Tower." Lu Jing said calmly, "Tonight, we will only host the princess as our guest."

Su Qingwan sneered, her tone full of sarcasm: "Lord Lu is really generous. It is surprising that he can still squander so much even though he owes foreign debts. Could it be that he is relying on the power of the deputy commander to not compensate the restaurant for the loss of one night?"

Lu Jing heard the sarcasm in her words, but he was not angry. He just smiled and said, "My princess, you are worrying too much. This is your restaurant, so I will not owe you any debt."

Su Qingwan frowned and was shocked when she heard this. He actually knew that Nanfeng Tower was her property? The nominal owner of this restaurant was a stranger to her and had no connection with her on the surface. When did he find out?

"When...did you know that?" She suppressed her uneasiness and asked coldly.

Lu Jing had taken her upstairs. The private room on the third floor, at the easternmost end, was where she often came. When she appeared as Xie Zhaolan, she would always deliberately avoid suspicion, but when she was the Princess of Southwest, she never concealed it.

"This restaurant is too suspicious." Lu Jing sat down and spoke slowly, "It would be impossible for it to rise in the capital in just a few years without someone supporting it behind the scenes. Princess, Kyoto is different from the southwest. You can't be impatient when doing business."

The waiter brought tea, which was the tea that Su Qingwan was used to drinking. Lu Jing poured her a cup and continued, "You are the Princess of Southwest. The entire Southwest fiefdom belongs to you. You are born with the power and connections of the King of Southwest. Naturally, your business will go smoothly. But you have never experienced the hardships of ordinary people doing business step by step. When my family was down and out, my grandmother also did business to supplement the family income. I followed her for several years and I know that money is hard to earn. In Kyoto, any business that can make money has the support of the powerful behind it. For example, the land rent of Huadeng Street belongs to the royal family, and the share must be handed over; the operating rights In the hands of the Lu family, they will be exploited by another 10%. North and South Streets are the territory of Ningyuan Hou and General Chen. They take the lion's share, and only their people can make business. You go to every business in Kyoto, and behind it are the rich and powerful. Money and power are inseparable. Nanfeng Tower has risen too fast, and has long aroused suspicion from all parties. Although it seems to be backed by Ningyuan Hou, as long as you investigate carefully, you will find that Ningyuan Hou's wife and the girls rarely come here. Jinyiwei only needs to find out where the silver goes to know who the owner of this restaurant is. "

Su Qingwan understood after hearing this. Lu Jing was right, but the Jinyiwei were busy with their work, so why would they go to investigate a restaurant that seemed to be backed by Ningyuan Hou and had no doubts for no reason? Unless...

She suddenly understood. It was during the arrest of Chen Feng that Lu Jing became suspicious of Nanfeng Tower. That strange fire happened to save Chen Feng and also ruined his plan.

"I came to Nanfeng Tower to pass on the message." Su Qingwan looked directly at Lu Jing and said calmly, "Since you already knew it, why did you bring me out? Why go to so much trouble?"

Lu Jing put down the teacup and looked at her deeply. Su Qingwan's heart was pounding, and she suddenly came to her senses, "Are you deliberately using me as bait to capture the spy from the southwest?"