Denghuaxiao

When Lu Tong returned to West Street from the noodle shop, he saw a candle in the shop of Renxin Medical Center from a distance.

Yin Zheng muttered: "It's already been a while, why hasn't Shopkeeper Du gone back yet? Normally the shop door should be closed at this time."

Du Changqing is lazy. When Lu Tong first came to the medical clinic, he pretended to be diligent for a few days. Later, he would come at dawn every day and go back early before the sun had rested. Some of the new customers who came to buy medicine were still there. He thought that Lu Tong was the owner of the medical clinic, and Du Changqing was a guy who would be betrayed sooner or later.

Lu Tong and Yin Zheng walked over, and when they got closer, they saw a few people standing at the door of Renxin Medical Center's shop, seemingly talking.

Lu Tong said "Shopkeeper Du". Du Changqing, who was talking sideways, turned around and saw him. His eyes lit up immediately and he came forward as if he saw a life-saving straw: "Doctor Lu, you are back!"

Before Lu Tong could speak, he heard a strange voice coming from Du Changqing's side: "Cousin, this is..."

Lu Tong looked up.

There were also two young women standing in the shop, one dressed as a maid, the other thin and delicate, wearing an apricot yellow double-breasted double-breasted dark flower gauze dress, hiding sideways behind Du Changqing, staring half timidly and half curiously. she.

Du Changqing coughed lightly: "This is the doctor in our medical clinic, Doctor Lu. Doctor Lu," he then said to Lu Tong: "This is my cousin, Xia Rongrong."

Lu Tong nodded lightly, and Xia Rongrong quickly returned the greeting.

Du Changqing signaled Lu Tong and Yin Zheng to take two steps inside until they were out of earshot of Xia Rongrong. Then he whispered to Lu Tong and Yin Zheng: "Um... Doctor Lu, during this period, Rongrong Er People may have to live with you.”

Lu Tong asked: "Why?"

"She has no relatives in Shengjing. She only knows me. I am a man. An unmarried man and an unmarried woman cannot live in my house. It will not sound good if word spreads."

Yin Zheng said: "Since we are shopkeeper Du's fiancée, it is natural for us to live together. Why should shopkeeper Du think too much about it?"

"Who said she was my fiancée!" Du Changqing almost jumped up. His voice was louder, which made Xia Rongrong look in this direction.

Du Changqing smiled reassuringly at her, turned around and lowered his voice and said to Lu Tong and Lu Tong: "...she is a girl from my cousin's family. I can't tell the difference between these twisted relatives. After my mother is gone, This is the only family of relatives still moving around."

"Her family is poor. She used to come to Shengjing every few years and I could give her some flowers. Now that the old man is gone, I don't have enough money to spend and can't give much. She estimates she will stay in Shengjing for a few days and then go back. , I thought that since you are both women, it would be convenient for you to live together."

If Yin Zheng realizes something: "A person who beats the autumn wind?"

"Why are you speaking so harshly?" Du Changqing was dissatisfied: "Whose family doesn't have many poor relatives? Besides, we only see each other every few years, so we won't miss a piece of meat when we support them."

Yin Zheng sighed: "Shopkeeper Du, it's a good thing that you are soft-hearted, but I think your cousin may be looking for more than just some relief."

"Look at what you said," Du Changqing disagreed, "If you don't care about money, how can you care about this young master's people? Don't think of people so dirty!"

Yin Zheng: "..."

Lu Tong interrupted the quarrel between the two: "It's okay for Miss Xia to live here. There are three empty rooms in the backyard. There is still one outermost one. Let's teach Miss Xia to clean it up and live in it."

Du Changqing suddenly smiled and said: "Doctor Lu, I know you know the big picture best."

He quickly ran to the front and gave detailed instructions to his cousin named Xia Rongrong. Yin Zheng had no choice but to shake her head, and first went to clear out the sundries in the outer room to make room for the master and servant.

After Du Changqing finished explaining, he left, as if he didn't want to stay here any longer. Xia Rongrong and her maid were busy laying out clean bedding. Lu Tong was not a warm-tempered person, so he would not take the initiative to talk to Xia Rongrong.

As usual, she divided the medicinal materials to be used tomorrow and returned to her room.

The night was getting darker outside the window, and a beautiful crescent moon hung on the branches, emitting some faint cold light.

Lu Tong walked to the desk and sat down, finding paper and pen from the wooden drawer.

Yin Zheng was boiling water in the kitchen, and Lu Tong walked to the table and sat down, uncovered a piece of rice paper, picked up a pen and dipped it in ink.

Today she has met Fan Zhenglian, Wang Chunzhi, Liu Zixian and Liu Zide. The only regret is that she could not meet her cousin Liu Kun.

However... I also got some unexpected news.

Liu Zide will participate in this year's Qiu Wei, which really makes people think a lot.

After all, the two Liu brothers were mediocre in talent and learning, careless and conceited. Liu Zixian had already burned a lot of incense for passing the exam, so why did Liu Zide dare to try his skills?

Lu Tong didn't think that his two cousins ​​would spend the next few years hanging on each other and studying hard.

She put pen to paper and wrote down the names Liu Kun and Fan Zhenglian.

Logically speaking, Liu Kun should have met Fan Zhenglian.

According to Ke Chengxing's servant Wan Fu, Lu Qian visited the Ke family after Lu Rou's death, had a big quarrel with the Ke family and then broke up.

Perhaps at that time, Lu Qian had noticed something strange about Lu Rou's death.

If Lu Qian found some evidence and went to sue the officials with this evidence, it would be logical for Lu Qian, who knew nothing about Shengjing, to seek help from Fan Zhenglian, who was known as "Qingtian".

But Fan Zhenglian was not as impartial as rumored. He even wanted to destroy the evidence because he was afraid of the power of the Taishi Mansion.

Lu Qian sensed something was wrong and took advantage of the chaos to escape. Then Fan Zhenglian secretly accused Lu Qian and the whole city arrested Lu Qian.

Lu Qian was desperate and could only hide in Liu Kun's home. After all, in the whole of Shengjing, only the Liu family could be considered old relatives of the Lu family.

Lu Qian thought that Liu Kunshang was a trustworthy cousin in Changwu County, but he never thought that when the benefits were sufficient, his relatives could turn their backs on him.

Liu Kun betrayed Lu Qian.

The tip of Lu Tong's pen trembled, and a large drop of ink seeped out from the hair, spreading thick traces on the paper.

She drew a line between Liu Kun and Fan Zhenglian.

Liu Kun presented Lu Qian to Fan Zhenglian as a certificate of surrender, and in return, Fan Zhenglian gave Liu Kun certain benefits.

Is it that noodle shop on Queer Street?

No, even though the noodle shop has a good location facing the street and is well repaired, Lu Qian's incident has implicated the Taishi Mansion. Is the Taishi Mansion worth a noodle shop?

Not to mention Liu Kun, his eyelids are not so shallow.

Liu Kun must have more plans. Besides, Lu Qian is hiding in the Liu family. Liu Kun may not know about Lu Rou. Why doesn't Fan Zhenglian eliminate the root cause? Instead, he leaves such a huge hidden danger like Liu Kun outside. Isn't he afraid that one day Liu Kun will betray him? After all, only the dead can keep secrets.

unless……

Liu Kun had a clue and fell into Fan Zhenglian's hands.

Moreover, this handle was big enough that Fan Zhenglian was sure that Liu Kun would never dare to use it to blackmail him.

What leverage could Liu Kun have into Fan Zhenglian's hands?

Such a noodle seller was insignificant in the eyes of official Sheng Duan, and his son who was a judge was almost the same.

Juren's son...

Lu Tong's eyes moved.

correct! Liu Zixian passed the autumn examination, Liu Zide was about to take part in the autumn examination, and Fan Zhenglian... was originally from the imperial examination, and then went to Yuan'an County to become the county magistrate, and thus began his official career.

Qiu Wei...

If what Liu Kun got in exchange for betraying Lu Qian was the chance for his son to win the exam, then in Liu Kun's eyes, it was all worth it. Fan Zhenglian doesn't have to worry about Liu Kun telling the inside story, unless Liu Kun is willing to ruin his son's future.

But...if her guess is true, Liang Chaoqiuwei's fraud was too unscrupulous.

Lu Tong's pen tip froze.

Or maybe Fan Zhenglian, who was a fellow Jinshi at that time, also had an unfair reputation. Otherwise, why would he be so familiar with Liu Zixian? It seems that Liu Zide will be doing the same thing in a few months.

We must first find out what Fan Zhenglian's knowledge was back then.

However, as a court official, Fan Zhenglian, on the other hand, may be afraid of causing trouble, so he is always stingy with information about officials. Moreover, he is afraid of arousing suspicion, so he cannot directly ask for it.

Lu Tong took up his pen and wrote "Yuan'an County" above Fan Zhenglian's name.

Fan Zhenglian's fortune began in Yuan'an County. It is said that when he was the magistrate of Yuan'an County, he performed so well that the emperor specially transferred him back to Shengjing.

We need to find out what "famous" cases Fan Zhenglian handled in Yuan'an County.

The door opened, and Yin Zheng came in with a basin of hot water.

Lu Tong put down his pen, picked up the paper he was writing on, and burned it in a candle.

Yin Zheng handed the water-wrapped handkerchief to her and pouted out the window: "The headlights are still on."

She was talking about Xia Rongrong's master and servant.

Lu Tong thought she wanted to go back to her house, so she wiped her face with a handkerchief and said, "They won't be able to stay here for long."

Yin Zheng said: "Girl, you are not like Shopkeeper Du, you really think Miss Xia is here to beat the autumn wind, right?"

"Isn't it?"

"Of course not." Yin Zheng got up and went to make the bed, "Those relatives who are fighting in the autumn wind want to wear as ragged as possible so that they can get more silver coins. Unlike Miss Xia, the material of the dress she is wearing is newer than what you are wearing. Yes. And the agate bracelet on her hand costs at least twenty taels of silver."

Yin Zheng turned her head and said, "How can any poor relative in the autumn wind be so well-dressed?"

Lu Tong disagreed: "So?"

"A woman likes her appearance," Yin Zheng turned around and continued to make the bed, "Probably because of Shopkeeper Du. From what I've seen, she must really be Shopkeeper Tu Du's person."

Lu Tong nodded: "She is shopkeeper Du's cousin. If we really want to talk about marriage, we will naturally be inseparable in the future." At this point, Lu Tong paused and looked at Yin Zheng in confusion: "You are unhappy because you like Du Shopkeeper?"

"Of course not!" Yin Zheng was startled, not even bothering to make the bed, and quickly denied: "How could I like Shopkeeper Du?"

Seeing Lu Tong nod, Yin Zheng sighed: "I'm not biased against Miss Xia, it's just that whatever the girl plans, it will come to light if you are not careful. We live here, and it's okay to have few people in the past, but now there are more Xia Young ladies, I'm always afraid...I'm always afraid that something will happen."

That's what I was worried about.

Lu Tong smiled: "It's okay, just be careful."

……

When Lu Tong and Lu Tong were talking about Xia Rongrong, the lights in Xia Rongrong's room next door were still on.

Xia Rongrong was sitting on the edge of the couch in her middle coat with her hair down, looking a little worried.

Her maid, Xiang Xiang, stood behind her, combing her long hair with a wooden comb, and asked, "Young lady has already met your young master, why are you still so worried?"

Xia Rongrong shook her head: "My parents asked me to come to Beijing this time because they wanted me to marry my cousin."

"My cousin said in his letter that Master Du passed away, but he didn't mention it in the letter. The property that Master Du left to him is now only this shabby medical clinic!" Xia Rongrong grabbed Vanilla's hand, "You are the first The first time I saw my cousin I didn't know, but I could tell that my cousin's food and clothing expenses are not as good as before. It can be seen that he has declined."

"I...my father is still waiting for me to enter the Du family and bring him to the capital. What should I do now?"

After saying this, Xia Rongrong couldn't help but sob softly.

Xia Rongrong's mother is related to Du Changqing's mother.

This relative's bloodline is really meager, but for Du Changqing, who lost his mother when he was young, this relative is the only relative in his mother's family. He liked to hear Xia Mu talk about his mother's past.

Xia Rongrong does not hate Du Changqing.

Du Changqing is the only son of the Du family. Mr. Du dotes on him and is willing to spend money on him. Whenever Xia Rongrong came to Shengjing with her parents when she was young, her cousin Du Changqing was very generous to them.

In addition, Du Changqing looks good. Although he is a bit dandy, his character is not bad, and he can be considered a good match. Therefore, when her parents hinted at her getting married to Du Changqing, Xia Rongrong didn't feel disgusted in her heart.

Her parents thought well. Du Changqing was Mr. Du's sweetheart. When Mr. Du passed away, he would definitely leave a lot of property to Du Changqing. Xia Rongrong and Du Changqing were childhood sweethearts. Du Changqing was a soft-spoken person, but after Xia Rongrong passed away, she was a serious rich lady.

That's why Xia Rongrong brought her only maid, Hua Hua, to Beijing, thinking that after the cousins ​​had been together for a long time, they would naturally fall in love. And Du Changqing has neither father nor mother, so as long as the two elders of the Xia family come forward to make the decision, the marriage will be done.

Who would have thought that she would receive such bad news just after she arrived in Beijing? Mr. Du's family property was destroyed by Du Changqing, and only a small medical clinic was left.

This is far from what she thought!

Du Changqing, who has no money, is no longer a hot potato no matter how you look at it.

Vanilla comforted her and said, "Miss, don't be sad. Although Mr. Biao is not as good as he used to be, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Being able to have a house and a shop in a place like Shengjing, where land is so expensive, is better than many people."

"Furthermore, no one knows how much money Mr. Du left for Young Master Biao. Maybe Young Master Du has hidden it. It's just..." Vanilla hesitated to speak.

"What is it?"

"That's Dr. Lu next door. You have to pay attention."

Xia Rongrong was stunned: "What should you pay attention to?"

"How can ordinary people have such a young doctor who is still a woman?" Vanilla reminded, "Miss, please don't blame me for being careless. My young master has always loved to flirt with women. If he has raised a woman before he married a wife, Outside...then you have to think carefully about this marriage."

"You said Doctor Lu and cousin..." Xia Rongrong hesitated, "No way?"

"Knowing people but not their hearts, I am also worried that you have been deceived. However, since we have to stay here for a while, we might as well keep an eye on them to see if there is anything suspicious."

Xia Rongrong thought carefully for a long time before making up her mind and nodding: "Okay, I'll do as you say."