Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Chapter 664 I’m Not Afraid of You Asking!
After drinking a bowl of wine, I finally feel like I can relax a little.

The old woman looked at Shen Lian and said, "You can drink quite well."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Just average, third in the world."

"You are so immodest."

The old woman leaned back, looked at Shen Lian, and said, "I know you must have a lot of questions for me. I just called you because I am not afraid of your questions."

"So if you have any questions, I'll give you a chance to ask."

"Of course, you are the one asking the question, but I am the one answering it. Whether I answer you or not depends on my mood."

"If I'm in a bad mood and give a bad answer, don't be dissatisfied."

Shen Lian listened to the old woman's words, smiled, and didn't care.

He said, "Auntie, if you want to answer, then answer. If you don't want to answer, then don't answer. We in the Tang Dynasty all respect the old and love the young. You will never embarrass me."

Hearing this, the old woman nodded with satisfaction.

He picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and said, "Ask while I'm happy."

Shen Lian found that this old woman had a really interesting personality and was not at all shy.

Very generous and refreshing.

Give him a feeling of a lake heroine.

Shen Lian did not delay and asked, "Auntie came all the way from Nanzhao to Chang'an, was it for me?"

The old woman glanced at Shen Lian, and that look made people speechless as if to say, "Why are you being so narcissistic?"

Shen Lian touched his nose, a little embarrassed, and said, "Isn't it?"

The old woman raised her eyebrows, suddenly chuckled, and said, "I fooled you!"

"Yes, it does have a lot to do with you!"

The old woman said directly.

Shen Lian's eyes flashed: "Is it really related to me?"

The old woman nodded and said, "There's nothing shameful about this. It has something to do with you, so even if it does, I won't lie to a junior like you."

Shen Lian looked at the old woman, and a look of inquiry flashed in his dark eyes.

He said, “May I know why?”

"Logically speaking, you and I met for the first time in Beidou Temple that day, right?"

The old couple picked up a piece of fennel meat and stuffed it into his mouth. As he ate it, he said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Shen Lian was stunned.

Immediately smiled.

"Are you in a bad mood?"

The old woman said calmly: "I'm still in a good mood, but I don't want to tell you, why? No?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Of course."

"If my aunt doesn't want to answer, then there's naturally no problem."

The old woman said, "Ask other questions. I will answer your questions naturally if I want to."

Shen Lian said: "My aunt was at Beidou Temple at the time and approached me on purpose. Can I know the reason?"

The old woman smiled and said, "Did you find out?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "We met by chance three times in a row. The last time we met was in the Beidou Tower, which few people can go to. If you say it's a coincidence, I don't think it makes sense at all."

The old woman nodded with a smile: "You are right, you are really smart."

"But I still don't want to say it."

Shen Lian was not surprised. He continued to ask, "What did you do after you came to Chang'an City?"

"No comment."

"I saw you once before, and you must have disappeared quickly. Were you deliberately avoiding me at that time?"

"You think too much."

"There is an extra letter in my house, which talks about the thieves hiding in the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce. Is this what you gave me?"

The old lady blinked: "Guess?"

Shen Lian looked directly at the old woman and said, "For no reason, there is a purple robe in my house. It fits me perfectly and was obviously made for me. Is that a gift from you?"

The old woman picked up the wine glass and took a sip slowly.

She sighed with satisfaction and then said, "No comment."

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes and said, "Although Auntie can choose not to answer my questions, it's not good to not answer them, right?"

The old woman smiled and said, "Why? I don't want to answer, and you want to force me?"

Looking at the old lady's rogue appearance.

Even though Shen Lian was extremely smart, there was nothing he could do.

After all, he didn't know the old woman well enough.

There is no way to prescribe the right medicine.

He said helplessly: "Forget it, I won't ask."

The old woman looked at him and smiled, "Are you giving up now?"

Shen Lian said calmly: "I want to know, if you have nothing to say, or if you let me guess, this ambiguous answer, if I say I guessed wrong, it will affect many of my judgments."

"So, instead of doing this, it's better not to ask. At least I won't get myself into trouble."

Upon hearing this, the old woman suddenly burst into laughter.

“You’re so funny,” she said.

Shen Lian said helplessly: "What kind of fun is this?"

The old woman shook her head and said, "If you are not interesting, and you are so optimistic in the face of difficulties, then who else is qualified to be called interesting?"

He looked at Shen Lian and said, "But I also think you should stop asking. There are some answers that I can't tell you for now. There are some answers... I don't know the answers either. If I say something nonsense, I will mislead you."

"However, there is a question that I can actually answer for you, but I just said it casually."

Shen Lian's eyes flashed: "Which answer?"

The old woman looked at Shen Lian and said with a smile: "I was indeed the one who slipped the secret letter through the crack of your door. Your house is too shabby. It's really inappropriate for someone of your status to live in such a shabby house!"

Shen Lian listened to the old woman's words, smiled, and said, "There's nothing inappropriate."

“That’s where I grew up.”

"After my dad disappeared, it was the only place I could think of."

"When it rains, that old house can keep the rain out for me."

"When the wind blows, he can also shield me from the wind."

"There, I often thought that if my father came back, he would still find me there."

Shen Lian picked up the wine glass, took a sip of wine, and said, "To me, a house is just a place to sleep."

"Big or small, new or broken, it doesn't matter."

"A place where you have thoughts is home, and a place where you don't have thoughts is just a place to sleep. I don't really care whether I'm good or lazy."

The old woman listened to Shen Lian's words, was silent for a moment, suddenly picked up the wine glass, tilted her head back, and drank the wine.

She said, "I heard you're getting married soon, so you should move out, right?"

Shen Lian nodded: "I don't care about the size or age of the house, but it is indeed a bit shabby for the princess."

"The princess treats me very well, so I will give her the best environment."

"So, I am indeed moving." He looked at the old woman and said, "I will be moving to a new mansion soon. There will be a housekeeper and guards there. It will be difficult for you to send me letters again. After all, there will always be someone to look after my new home."

The old woman raised her eyebrows and said, "There is no place I cannot go if I want to."

"Even if you move to a new home, as long as I want, believe it or not, I can walk in openly, and no one will dare to stop me."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Yes, yes, no one dares to stop you. Just based on the favor you gave me, no one will stop you."

The old woman said, “I’m not one to rely on favors like this.”

Shen Lian nodded and said, "Yes, yes, you are not, but I insist on returning the favor."

The old woman smiled: "That's more like it."

Shen Lian looked at the old woman and said, "I'm curious, how do you know that these businessmen have problems? I think since they chose to disguise themselves, they won't reveal their flaws easily, right?"

The old woman said mysteriously, "The mountain man has his own ingenious plan."

Hearing that the old woman didn't want to talk, he didn't ask any more questions.

As long as I know that the old woman has helped me and is on my side, that's enough.

Everyone has their own secret.

Although Shen Lian is very smart, except when solving a case, he will ruthlessly tear open the heart of the criminal and expose his deepest secrets under the scorching sun. The rest of the time, he will avoid exploring other people's secrets.

Shen Lian said: "Aunt, I don't think I should waste my time. I don't even know what questions you can answer."

"So, I think you should just tell me everything you can."

"That way, you won't have to keep rejecting me and hurting my young heart, right?"

When the old woman heard Shen Lian's shameless words, she almost spit out her wine.

He looked at Shen Lian carefully and said, "Your young mind?"

Shen Lian said: "I am only twenty years old. Compared with you, am I not young?"

"If you're not ashamed."

"I'm just telling the truth."

The old woman looked at Shen Lian carefully, touched her chin, and said, "Not bad, quite shameless. I am very happy."

"happy?"

Shen Lian was stunned.

The old woman said, "You don't need to understand. Anyway, seeing you like this, I am actually very happy."

"Since I am so happy, I will say what I can."

She saw Shen Lian and said, "First, you are in a very dangerous situation now. There are both internal and external dangers. You have to be careful."

Internal and external dangers coexist?
Shen Lian knows about the external dangers, Beidou will!
What does internal danger mean?
Are there still people from the Beidou Society hiding in the court?

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes and thought in his heart.

"the second."

The old woman continued, "The Wanbang Chamber of Commerce is not too dangerous. Someone is secretly trying to use the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce to attract your attention. You have to be careful about other things."

Shen Lian's eyes flashed.

He suddenly looked at the old woman: "For example?"

The old woman said, "I don't know the details, but you just need to be careful. And I think that with your ability, you should be able to judge where there might be danger."

Shen Lian smiled.

He looked at the old woman and suddenly said, "I think I know what you have done in Chang'an."

"Aunt, you were the one who destroyed the two bases of the Beidou Society, right?"

When the old woman heard Shen Lian's words, a look of confusion appeared on her face.

She said, "What are the two bases of the Beidou Society?"

Shen Lian took a deep look at the old woman, then smiled and shook his head: "Nothing."

"There were some enemies of mine, and then they were destroyed by a certain female hero."

"But this heroine did good deeds without leaving her name, so I can't find anyone to thank."

"If I meet this heroine in the future, please help me thank her."

The old woman nodded and said seriously, "Don't worry, I think I am very enthusiastic about repaying kindness."

Shen Lian smiled and shook his head.

He picked up the wine glass, took a sip of wine, and said to the old woman, "Don't worry, auntie, I have already figured out the matter."

"And I also know that they used two pretexts to attract my attention."

"The Wanbang Chamber of Commerce is just the first one. There is also a second cover. After that, it will be their real purpose."

The old woman glanced at Shen Lian and immediately laughed: "I didn't expect you to be so smart. You figured this out."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "The people of the Tang Dynasty gave me face and called me the smartest person in the Tang Dynasty. I can't let them down, right?"

The old woman nodded with a smile.

She looked at Shen Lian and said, "To be honest, you are as smart as I was when I was young."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "I thought you were going to say that it was as shameless as when you were young."

The old woman immediately became unwilling.

"Who are you calling shameless?"

"I was a beauty back then. Everyone who saw me would praise me."

Shen Lian smiled and nodded: "Yes, yes, I was wrong."

"That's pretty much it."

The old woman withdrew her gaze, picked up the wine glass and shook it gently.

She looked at Shen Lian and said, "You are getting married soon. Is there anything you want? Since you call me aunt, I am your elder. As an elder, I must give something to a younger person who is getting married."

Shen Lian shook his head: "No need."

"I specifically told everyone I approached not to bring me anything, nor to give me any gifts."

"My wedding, as long as everyone can come."

"It's just a lively occasion and a meal, that's all."

"I don't want anything else."

The old woman was a little puzzled: "Why?"

"Isn't it human nature to give gifts at a wedding?"

"Besides, this kind of gift is not meant to flatter you, so why would you refuse it?"

Shen Lian shook his head and said, "From the time I became the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple until today, there have been many people who have trusted me and helped me, and among them, there are many ordinary people."

"I hope they can attend my wedding, but if I want to collect money as gift, then it will be a burden for them to attend my wedding."

"I don't want them to have such a burden appear out of thin air."

"Besides, once I get married, my status will be elevated again. For ordinary officials, they certainly don't want to leave a bad impression on me."

"And once they give me a gift, how much should they give me? If they give me a normal gift, they're afraid I won't be satisfied."

"It's too expensive, and they can't afford that price."

"And they also compare themselves with other officials, fearing they will be outdone."

"By then, the nature of my wedding will have changed. I don't want my wedding to become a stage for others to compete and pursue interests."

"By then, the nature of my wedding will have changed. I don't want my wedding to become a stage for others to compete and pursue interests."