good season

Chapter 128: Pulling Baoqing Houfu into the Game (Two Chapters in One)

Zhao Shiqing felt emotional.

The Supreme Emperor was Xiao Zhen’s grandfather, and Emperor Yongjia was Xiao Zhen’s uncle.

Xiao Zhen grew up in the capital, but he can't even remember what his grandfather looks like.

No wonder people say there is no family affection among the royal family.

"What about the emperor? What does he look like? Does he look like the eldest princess?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

Princess Jiayi is middle-aged, but she is still a radiant beauty. The emperor is her brother, or maybe he is a handsome man?
Unexpectedly, Xiao Zhen shook his head and said, "No. The emperor doesn't look like my mother."

Zhao Shiqing became more alert and asked hurriedly, "Don't they look alike? Really not?"

Xiao Zhen nodded: "The emperor has a handsome appearance, especially his hooked nose, which makes him look more fierce."

At this point, Xiao Zhen paused and continued, "It's interesting to say that all of the emperor's children, both boys and girls, have inherited his hooked nose. Not only that, it is said that the little princess born to Concubine Cui for the crown prince, although she is just one year old, can also be seen to have a hooked nose."

Zhao Shiqing opened her mouth in surprise. Was the emperor's genetics so strong? Even so many stunning beauties couldn't change this hooked nose?

The reason why Xiao Zhen emphasized the hooked nose was because from childhood to adulthood, he had heard the eldest princess say countless times that the eldest princess liked the fourth princess. Every time she met the fourth princess, she would regret that the fourth princess was born with a hooked nose, which made the lovely little princess a little more mean.

Zhao Shiqing became more and more curious. Among all the relatives of the Prince of Liang's Mansion in Liangdi, none of them had a hooked nose.

The Liang Palace has a distant blood relationship with the family in the palace, but that's not the case. Take the capital for example, people say that a nephew resembles his uncle. Xiao Zhen doesn't have a hooked nose, and neither does Princess Jiayi.

"Do you have other uncles and aunts with hooked noses?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

Xiao Zhen denied it without even thinking: "No, the entire royal family doesn't have it, including Concubine Li and her family, the Wei family."

Xiao Zhen didn't need to check. Princess Jiayi had already said it countless times. He was just repeating it.

Zhao Shiqing suppressed the urge to jump up. The emperor actually possessed the royal family's unique hooked nose, and he not only developed it but also gave birth to a powerful hooked nose family.

If she had not met Li Lao Hu and did not know about Dai Chunniang's past, she would have found it baffling and unbelievable like Xiao Zhen did, or she would not have taken it to heart, as there are many children who do not look like their father or mother.

She blinked her eyes with an innocent look on her face: "Yeah, really, the emperor actually looks like this, my god, it's amazing, the emperor is indeed the emperor, different from mortals like us!"

Xiao Zhen: Don’t you think you are being too hypocritical?
He suddenly realized that Zhao Shiqing came to him today just for this matter.

That's right, he had known that Zhao Shiqing had come to the capital a long time ago, and he had been waiting, waiting for the grandparents to remember him, but after waiting for ten days, it seemed that the grandparents had long forgotten his existence. After a lot of effort, Zhao Shiqing finally showed up. He thought Zhao Shiqing had come to visit him specially, but he didn't expect that he was overthinking.

"Tell me, what have you heard?" Xiao Zhen asked.

Zhao Shiqing had a smile on her face, but she was thinking in her heart whether she should tell Xiao Zhen.

She and her grandfather are in the same camp, they have common relatives, so they can share the same secret.

Xiao Zhen is my grandfather's godson, and logically they should be in the same camp, but my grandfather has more than a hundred sons, so having too many sons means he is less valuable.

However, she and Xiao Zhen had a very pleasant cooperation in the past, and their cooperation has not yet ended. They are still partners and of course in the same camp.

Zhao Shiqing decided to tell Xiao Zhen about this.

She put away her smile, her face showing a seriousness that didn't match her age: "Now I want to tell you something, please stay calm and don't get excited."

Xiao Zhen's heart suddenly hung in his throat, but he also felt a little secretly happy. The little girl treated him as her own and came all the way to tell him even when she had a secret.

In her heart, he should be more than just a cheap uncle.
"I'm all ears."

Zhao Shiqing cleared his throat: "This story starts from the second day I returned to the capital."

Half an hour later, the room fell silent again. Xiao Zhen stared blankly at the empty snow-white wall opposite him. His eyes became darker and darker, like the bottomless sea in the night.

Zhao Shiqing stood up. It would be better to let Xiao Zhen digest such a big secret alone.

Besides, although the Ruyi Boat is big enough, beautiful enough and luxurious enough, it is deserted. There is no delicious food, no singing and dancing, and not even a storyteller. It is very boring. It is not as good as Su's Tea Shop. Su Datou and Sister Aping are both very interesting people.

She would rather chat with them in Su's Tea Shop than sit in this lifeless Ruyi Boat.

More importantly, she could see that Xiao Zhen obviously didn't want to keep the meal for her!

They came in a carriage and left in a carriage. Da Zhuang asked them where they were going. Zhao Shiqing asked Niu Qiu: "Where do you want to go for dinner? I'll treat you."

Loach: "Let's go to the old Huihui shop to drink mutton soup."

"Okay, let's have some mutton soup!"

Da Zhuang didn't return to Ruyi Boat until very late. Xiao Zhen asked, "Did you send the second young lady home?"

Da Zhuang shook his head: "No, the second young lady said she wanted to go to the night market, so she asked me to drop them off at the night market street."

Just when Xiao Zhen was about to ask again, he heard a "burp", and the sound came from Da Zhuang's mouth.

"Have you eaten?" Xiao Zhen asked.

Da Zhuang was a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and said, "The Second Miss treated us. We went to the shop run by the old Huihui."

Xiao Zhen suddenly felt very hungry. What was that old Huihui's shop? He grew up in the capital and didn't remember such a shop.

He picked up an account book on the table and flipped through it. His eyes fell on one of the entries. He said to Da Zhuang, "Please ask the manager to come over tomorrow."

The next day, the chief manager came to Ruyi Boat. He was a fat man wearing a golden robe and a huge ring on his hand. He walked breathlessly. As soon as he stopped, he wiped his greasy forehead with a handkerchief embroidered with gold thread.

"Boss, you're looking for me?"

Xiao Zhen looked him up and down. The head shopkeeper was named Si Tao, but only a few people knew his name. Everyone called him Fatty Si.

In his previous life, Xiao Zhen had a much more difficult start than this life. At that time, the Princess's Mansion and the Xiao family no longer existed, and he had not met Zhen Wuduo. He and Xiao Yue had nothing in their hands, except for their own lives and the knives in their hands.

Fortunately, he saved Fatty Si!
Fatty Si is a business genius, but unfortunately he was framed by his own uncle and all five members of his family died. Only he was saved by Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen avenged him, so he gave his life to Xiao Zhen.

Only because Fatty Si made money for him could he recruit people and build Fengyu Pavilion.

In this life, Xiao Zhen found the place where Fatty Si was imprisoned a few days earlier than in the previous life. Fatty Si's wife and children did not die in front of him, but were rescued by Xiao Zhen. Fatty Si's uncle was tied up by the people Xiao Zhen brought with him and handed over to Fatty Si to deal with him.

In this life, Fatty Si did not lose his family, but just like in his previous life, he still regarded Xiao Zhen as his master and was completely devoted to him.

Xiao Zhen opened one of the account books, turned to a page, and asked, "Why was the money Zhu Qing invested this time divided into two parts?"

Fatty Si explained, "Because the silver this time was delivered in two installments. The first installment was from Zhu Qing himself, and the second installment was from Zhu Xin, the fourth son of the Baoqing Marquis's Mansion."

Zhu Qing is the second son of the Baoqing Marquisate and Zhu Yu's cousin.

Zhu Xin is Zhu Qing's younger brother from the same mother.

Zhu Qing and Zhu Yu are of similar age and are cousins, but their personalities are very different and their status in the mansion is also very different.

Zhu Qing's father was the younger brother of Marquis Zhu. Although he was registered under the name of the old lady, he was actually a concubine's son. Although the old lady gave birth to four children, she only had Marquis Zhu as a son. Therefore, when Zhu Qing's father was still an infant, he was taken away by the old lady and raised in her own room.

Although he was given the status of the legitimate son, the old lady did not have much affection for Zhu's father and his children.

The Baoqing Marquisate has money and resources, but these are not equally distributed, but are all concentrated on Marquis Zhu and Zhu Yu.

As the eldest son of the second wife, Zhu Qing received ten taels of silver every month, while his younger brother Zhu Xin only received five taels.

They were among the children of nobles, and when others invited them to dinner, they had no money to return the invitation.

Later, Deng Zheng, the son of Duke Dingguo, followed Master Zheng Gui in doing business and made his first pot of gold. When Zhu Qing heard about it, he was very excited. Deng Zheng lent him the capital and brought him in. In less than half a year, Zhu Qing made 10,000 taels.

Fatty Si continued, "Mr. Wang took up most of the money for this deal, followed by Deng Zheng. Zhu Qing originally only invested 2,000 taels, but he sent another 1,000 taels the next day. He lent this 1,000 taels to his brother Zhu Xin."

To Xiao Zhen, both Zhu Qing and Zhu Xin were small fry. Even Zhu Yu, the prince, was not taken seriously by him. He was a second-generation rich man who had accomplished nothing. Only two years after Zhao Yunnuan's death in his previous life, he died under the sword of Yan Xia.

Even the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion almost couldn't protect Yan Xia. Fortunately, the emperor still left a little leeway for the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion. Yan Xia went to the border to be a flag officer. Later, the Tartars invaded, and Yan Xia died on the battlefield. He was never able to return to the capital until his death.

Xiao Zhen thought of Zhao Yunnuan's ending in his previous life, and also of the role played by the old lady of Baoqing Marquis' Mansion in the experience of midwife Dai Chunniang. He suddenly felt that it would be interesting to drag Baoqing Marquis' Mansion into the game.

Yes, there was no Baoqing Marquisate in Xiao Zhen’s original plan. Even Zhu Qing’s following him to do business was a coincidence. He originally wanted to bring in Deng Zheng, the son of Duke Dingguo, but he didn’t expect Deng Zheng to bring in Zhu Qing as well.

Now that Xiao Zhen changed his plan, he suddenly felt that things were looking up.

Perhaps, the variable lies in the Baoqing Marquis Mansion.

Zhao Shiqing didn't know about Xiao Zhen's change. As soon as she returned home, Xiaoguai flew back again.

But compared to this morning, Xiaoguai was a little different. It didn't dare to look Zhao Shiqing in the eye, looking as if it was guilty.

Xiaoguai told Zhao Shiqing that Zhu Yu had clearly returned home in the morning, but left again later. Xiaoguai was not paying attention and Zhu Yu left the house. Xiaoguai didn't know where he went.

Zhao Shiqing: "You weren't paying attention? Were you so focused on eating that you lost Zhu Yu?"

Xiaoguai quickly leaned its big head on Zhao Shiqing's shoulder. Xiaoguai knew its mistake and would definitely chase after him with food in its mouth next time.

Zhao Shiqing reached out and touched its head, and Xiaoguai suddenly became happy. Did he forgive it?
Xiaoguai flew away happily. This time, he was determined to find Zhu Yu.

The next day, Xiaoguai did not come back, but two crows flew into the yard and chirped at Zhao Shiqing's window, "Quack, quack, quack!"

Through the window, Zhao Shiqing heard the cry of crows, which were reporting news.

She opened the window, chatted with the two crows for a while, and then said to Ling Bo: "Quick, call Jiang Han, let's get out of the city!"

These two crows were helpers that Xiaoguai found. After Zhu Yu returned home, he didn't know what he said to Old Madam Wei. He returned to his own yard, but Old Madam Wei sent two maids and several guards out of the house.

Something big must be happening in the Baoqing Marquis Mansion, and it must be something that cannot be made public.

Zhao Shiqing didn't want to miss this good opportunity. The more evidence he had, the greater the chance of bringing down the Baoqing Marquisate.

Xiaoguai followed them and asked the two crows to report to Zhao Shiqing.

This is what Zhao Shiqing had repeatedly reminded it to do, to develop a few younger brothers who could deliver letters.

Jiang Han is the captain of Zhao Shiqing's guards. Since arriving in the capital, they have had nothing to do. Today, they finally have a job. He hurriedly took two people with him and followed Zhao Shiqing and Ling Bo out of the city.

Just as he walked out of the city gate, two crows flew in from the sky. Zhao Shiqing learned from them that they were sent by the Crow King to help.

The current Crow King became the Crow King after the last dark clouds covered the sky. In other words, if there was no Zhao Shiqing, he would still be the Sixth Crow, not the Crow King.

Xiaoguai asked it for help, and the Crow King sent out dozens of crows without saying a word.

So along the way, every once in a while they would encounter crows pointing the way, and after walking more than fifty miles, they saw the imperial farm in the distance.

This place is surrounded by mountains and water. The endless land at the foot of the mountain used to belong to the imperial palace. Later, part of it was given away. The given imperial farm was divided into two small farms, one was given to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and the other was given to the Marquis Baoqing's Mansion.

A crow pointed to the manor belonging to the Baoqing Marquis Mansion and told Zhao Shiqing that Xiaoguai had flown there.

Zhao Shiqing thanked it, took out a piece of dried meat and handed it to the crow. The crow picked up the dried meat and flew away happily.

In front is a private place. Xiaoguai can fly in, but Zhao Shiqing and others cannot.

Zhao Shiqing opened the cloth bag he was carrying and released the little demon: "Go and see if you can find the secret passage into the manor."

The little demon meowed and disappeared into the grass by the roadside.

Zhao Shiqing and others retreated to the woods not far away, thinking about how they could sneak into the manor.

It was her first time here and she was not familiar with the surroundings.

Jiang Han said, "Second Miss, please wait a moment. I will go and take a look as well."

Before Jiang Han could even lift his foot, the little demon came running back: [The cat has found the way. The cat is amazing. Give the cat some dried fish.]

"Okay, the jar of dried fish I made yesterday is all yours."

Zhao Shiqing smiled with her eyes curved. You raise a cat for a thousand days, but you only need it for a moment.

But the next moment, she couldn't laugh anymore.

Because the secret passage that her big cat found turned out to be a dog hole.