good season

Chapter 109 Reward (Two chapters in one)

Old Lady Lou has a very bad reputation on this street. She is a well-known shrew, arrogant, unreasonable, and dishonest.

Mr. Lou's reputation was not very good either. It was said that although he was a scholar, he liked to take advantage of small opportunities before he got married. For example, after eating half a bowl of vegetarian noodles which cost two cents, he began to complain that the noodles were too little. The more customers there were, the more he complained, and he didn't shut up until the noodle stall owner gave him a few more noodles.

However, all this changed after he got married. Although Old Lady Lou was still a shrew, she never stole anything again.

The biggest change was among Mr. Lou. Not only did he no longer haggle over a few noodles, but he also became generous and gained a good reputation among scholars.

The neighbors' conclusion was that he was lucky to have married a rich and obedient wife.

Xiuxiu grabbed the old lady who said she had talked to Zhang before, and after asking her in detail, it turned out that the old lady had never seen Zhang's true face. Although they had talked, Zhang hid her face in the veil the whole time.

However, the neighbors have always said that Zhang is beautiful, and Xiuxiu was puzzled. How do you know she is beautiful when you have never seen her face?
But the answer to this question soon came out. The matchmaker who lived in Erdao Street had seen Zhang's face. When Zhang and Mr. Lou got married, the matchmaker was present. The news that Zhang was beautiful was also spread by the matchmaker.

Zhao Shiqing was overjoyed when he heard that someone had seen Zhang. Zhen Wuduo did not waste any time and spent a large sum of money to hire a scholar who was good at painting portraits to draw a portrait of Zhang based on the description of the matchmaker.

Unfortunately, the matchmaker had only met Zhang once, and it had been many years. Although the matchmaker insisted that the portrait looked exactly like Zhang, Zhao Shiqing felt that she would be thankful if it was even 50% similar.

The portrait soon appeared in front of Wushiliu. He was startled at first, then he looked at it carefully and suddenly said, "Is this Cui Niang? She doesn't look like her."

Before this, Zhao Shiqing had not told him that this portrait was related to Cui Niang. What Wushiliu said confirmed Zhao Shiqing's guess to a certain extent.

Then, the same scholar who charged a high fee for his work painted a portrait of Cui Niang based on Wushiliu's description. When the two portraits were put together, they were indeed only 40% to 50% similar.

Zhen Wuduo did not send the portrait to the government office. Wushiliu and others were hiding in Shilipu, and the people in Shilipu had benefited from it.

Cui Niang has lived in Luzhou City for ten years. Who can guarantee that the officials of all ranks in Luzhou City have not accepted bribes?

Zhen Wuduo has his own people. Besides, he is rich and can use money to pave the way, so this matter will be easy to handle.

Before long, Cui Niang's portrait was posted all over Wu. It was only because time did not permit, otherwise Zhen Wuduo would have had people post this portrait all over Dayong.

In Zhaoting Town, a little boy was walking laboriously through the alley carrying a basket full of vegetables on his back. Suddenly, he saw a notice posted at the entrance of the alley. When he saw the portrait on the notice, he was stunned, looked around, quickly tore it off, rolled it up, and put it in his arms.

When he got home and entered the yard, the little boy turned around and closed the gate. Without even putting down the backpack, he ran into the inner room and said, "Dad, look!"

Chef Zhang was marinating meat. Hearing this, he didn't even raise his head and said unhappily, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Dad, look, is this Mom?"

Chef Zhang was stunned for a moment, wiped his hands on his apron, took the notice from the little boy, and when he saw the portrait on the notice, his eyes widened.

"Where did this come from?"

The little boy said, "It's at the entrance of the alley over there. Look, the glue on it hasn't dried yet. It looks like it was just put on."

Chef Zhang took off his apron and said to the little boy as he walked away, "Lock the door. We won't do business today. Let's go and see where else this is posted and tear it off."

The little boy followed behind Chef Zhang and asked persistently, "Dad, is this Mom?"

Chef Zhang was annoyed by the question. He stopped and looked down at the little boy who had just reached his waist: "How many times have I told you that your mother died a long time ago? You don't have a mother!"

The little boy pursed his lips, tears welled up in his eyes, but he tried hard not to cry.

My father is lying. He has a mother. His mother looks just like the one in this portrait, but she is prettier than the one in the portrait.

Zhao Shiqing, who was far away in Luzhou City, had no idea what happened in Zhaoting Town.

The bodies of Mr. Lou and his family were still warm, but there was new gossip in Luzhou city.

It was Mr. Cui, the young master who was nearly sold to a brothel by Mr. Lou, who suddenly disappeared.

The Cui family searched everywhere and posted a reward outside the government office. Anyone who found Young Master Cui would be rewarded 50,000 taels of silver. Anyone who provided clues and led to the person would also be rewarded 50,000 taels of silver.

When there is a huge reward, there will always be brave men. Almost all the men, women, young and old in Luzhou City were looking for Young Master Cui. They almost dug the city three feet deep, but no one was found, alive or dead.

Loach was rubbing his hands, eager to give it a try, glancing at Zhao Shiqing from time to time. He didn't want to drag Zhao Shiqing to find someone together, but wanted to borrow Xiaoguai for a job.

Zhen Wuduo snorted coldly: "Are you looking for a living person or a dead person?"

Loach was startled: "What do you mean?"

Zhao Shiqing interrupted, "My grandfather meant to tell you that the Third Young Master Cui is already dead. The reward notice posted by the Cui Mansion didn't say whether you were looking for a dead person or alive. What if you find a dead person and they say that the fifty thousand taels is the price for a living person? If you don't pay, then your search will be in vain."

Loach was puzzled: "Dead? How is that possible? Oh, even if he was dead, how did the old man know?"

Zhen Wuduo snorted again, then put on a smiling face: "My dear granddaughter, teach this silly boy a lesson for me."

Zhao Shiqing cleared his throat, shook his head, and stroked his nonexistent beard with his hand: "As far as you know, can the Cui family easily come up with 50,000 taels?"

Loach knew that fifty thousand taels was a lot of money, but he was born into a poor family and had no idea what these fifty thousand taels meant to a wealthy family like the Cui family.

He asked Shen Guanyue for help, but Shen Guanyue shook her head and said, "Although the Cui family is a wealthy family, it depends on who you compare them with. Compared with small families, the Cui family is of course a wealthy family, but compared with those real aristocratic families, it is nothing.

As far as I know, the young masters of the Cui family only have three taels of silver per month, which also includes the expenses of writing. The women have even less, only one tael of money for cosmetics. The Cui family also has two officials, both of whom are minor officials of the sixth or seventh rank. Their ranks are not high, but they need money to manage their affairs. Cui Xuanshi in the Prince's Mansion probably also needs help from her family.

In addition, the Cui family did not split up. The family of dozens of people were all supported by the public treasury. Although the third young master Cui was the legitimate son, he still had uncles.

Even if the head of the Cui family agrees to spend 50,000 taels of silver on him alone, his uncles and aunts will not agree."

Loach understood, but was confused. Since he couldn't come up with so much silver, why did he offer a reward of 50,000 taels?
It's not that he looks down on anyone. Even if the Cui family offered a reward of 5,000 taels, or even 500 taels, there would be plenty of people to help them find the person. At least he, Xiao Niu, would run around for 500 taels.

Seeing his confused look, Zhao Shiqing said, "Guess what would you do if someone really found Young Master Cui and the Cui family couldn't come up with 50,000 taels of silver?"

Without thinking, Niu Qiu said, "Of course I will make a big fuss. I will report it to the police and make it a big deal. Let the whole city scold him. The Cui family is a family of scholars. They want to save face." Zhao Shiqing nodded, "Yes, if you can think of something, can the Cui family not think of it?"

Loach scratched his head and suddenly an idea came to him: "Since the Cui family dared to offer a reward of 50,000 taels, it is because they are sure that no one can find the Third Young Master Cui!"

Zhao Shiqing gave a thumbs up: "Smart, keep going."

Loach is very smart. Now that he is inspired, once the door in his mind is opened, inspiration will flow out like a spring.

"The Cui family would not hide Third Master Cui and deliberately let people look for him. That would be looking for trouble. But the Cui family is sure that no one can find Third Master Cui. There is only one possibility: Third Master Cui is dead. Even if he is found, it will only be a corpse.

Just as the second young lady said, the reward did not specify whether the person was found alive or dead. If the person was found dead, the Cui family would say that the 50,000 taels were for finding the person alive. Moreover, normal rewards would specify how much silver would be given for providing clues. However, the Cui family said that if a clue was provided and the Third Young Master Cui was found based on this clue, 50,000 taels would also be given. This seems to be a lot, but if you think about it carefully, it is not a penny.

The Cui family wrote this because they were sure that there was no clue to find Young Master Cui. "

Zhao Shiqing praised him generously: "You are a smart loach."

Loach sighed: "I used to envy those who have parents who love them and are rich, but now, I don't envy them at all."

Yes, what is there to be envious of? Are you envious that Young Master Cui is dead, but his family is still pretending to offer a reward to find him?
However, the affairs of the Cui Mansion have nothing to do with them, and it is better to have less trouble than more. What's more, they are the prince's men, and at most they will not follow the trend to look for the Third Young Master Cui.

Ten days passed in a blink of an eye. The sun finally came out from the gloomy sky and the temperature rose. Zhao Shiqing had been cooped up at home for many days and now he could finally go out for some fresh air.

But it's time to return to Liangdi.

Not long ago, Zhao Shiqing received a letter from her sister, asking her whether she would come back for the New Year, and the words between the lines expressed the hope that she would go back.

This was also the first time Zhao Shiqing had left Liangdi since she was a child. After thinking about it, she decided to go back.

Liangdi has her brothers and sisters, her master, and the children she picked up. Every New Year, she would give those children lucky money.

She wanted to go back to Liangdi, and Zhen Wuduo wanted to go with her without saying a word.

Of course Zhao Shiqing welcomed it with open arms, so today, while the weather was fine, she went out to pick out a gift.

Ha, now it’s time for her to bring gifts to her brothers and sisters. In the past, they were the ones who gave her gifts.

Zhao Shiqing and her team of five walked from the beginning to the end of the street. Not only did she want to buy gifts, but Niu Qiu also wanted to buy some for his younger brother Xiaobao, and for Murong Linlang who helped him take care of Xiaobao.

Shen Guanyue also picked out a few gifts. He planned to give them to the escort company and have them secretly take them to the capital. The gifts were bought for Mr. Bai and his master Xiao Huangying.

Xiuxiu also wanted to buy a gift, and she would send the gift to the escort company and ask them to deliver it to her uncle.

Even Lingbo bought gifts. She bought them for some good friends in Baihe Village.

The five people bought a lot of things. Spending money makes people happy, so they were all very happy.

After buying the gifts, of course, we have to go to a restaurant for a big meal.

Shen Guanyue led the way and Zhao Shiqing treated the guests. The five of them walked into a not very wide street, where there was an old-fashioned restaurant with delicious food.

Once they got there, the five people were stunned. There were a row of small benches at the door of the old shop and there were no seats inside, so they had to sit outside and queue.

Zhao Shiqing waved his hand and stuffed a piece of silver into Shen Guanyue's hand. Shen Guanyue hooked the waiter's neck and the two whispered for a while. When Shen Guanyue came back, the waiter went into the shop, came out after a while, waved to them, and there was a seat inside.

Zhao Shiqing was in a good mood. It was another day that she was educated by her grandfather. Her grandfather said that most of the problems in this world can be solved with money. If they are not solved, it must be because the money has not been spent enough.

When five people went in, the waiter had already cleared the table, which was by the window, a good spot.

Five people ordered ten dishes, not because they were extravagant, but because they were in the growing stage and ate like cows!

When the dishes were served, the five of them stopped talking and wolfed down the food, as they were hungry from shopping.

Shen Guanyue was a well-educated child. He would go to the toilet only after he had eaten and drunk his fill. Niu Qiu went with him.

Zhao Shiqing, Xiuxiu and Lingbo were chatting while waiting for them.

After waiting for a long time, the two came back, both looking as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

Zhao Shiqing didn't ask any more questions until they left the old brand store. Then she asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Guanyue said, "I was going to the toilet just now and passed by a private room. The door of the private room was half open and Mr. Cui was sitting inside with a girl named Hua in his arms. There were also a few people beside him, and each of them was accompanied by a girl named Hua."

Loach said: "You see, they have no affection for Mr. Cui, and they are still in the mood to look for Hua Niang at this time."

Zhao Shiqing advised: "Let's go, this matter has nothing to do with us."

After living here for two months, Zhao Shiqing developed feelings for this courtyard. However, Zhao Shiqing believed that she would come back because her parents and grandmother were buried in Zhuxitang.

That day, after packing their luggage, Zhen Wuduo left two people to look after the house, and the others followed them to Liangdi.

Before going to Liangdi, the grandfather and grandson decided to take a detour back to Zhuxitang to pay homage.

Everyone rode horses, and even Xiuxiu had become an expert rider. However, Zhao Shiqing insisted on buying a carriage. The old man was old and the weather was cold, so she couldn't bear to do it. Besides, the gifts they brought could also be placed in the carriage.

The old man refused to admit his age, but his granddaughter's words were like an imperial decree, so he had no choice but to agree.

The carriage was piled with things, and the old man was sitting among the gifts, looking very happy.

On the way, we passed a big inn and everyone stopped. Some went to the toilet, some went to buy food, and after a short rest, we continued on our way.

Zhao Shiqing was riding on the horse when he suddenly heard the old man's voice coming from the carriage: "Stop, stop now!"

Zhao Shiqing was startled. She jumped up before the carriage stopped. She saw an old man grabbing a young man's hair with one hand and holding a dagger against the young man's throat with the other hand!