White Fence Dream

Chapter 144 Tell the truth
In Yuqing Hall, Shopkeeper Cai looked surprised. He did not bother to follow Shangguan Yue in and grabbed Jixiang who was about to leave.

"What's going on? Why did you come back suddenly?" he asked, "Aren't you going to the princess's mansion?"

Jixiang scratched his head: "I don't know either. The young master met the son of the Marquis of Dongyang on the street, and then said that he was lucky, and then..."

Before he finished speaking, Shopkeeper Cai's voice suddenly rose, "Who did you meet?"

Jixiang was startled: "The son of the Marquis of Dongyang..."

Shopkeeper Cai hissed twice and muttered something.

Jixiang didn't hear clearly and couldn't help asking, "What happened to Shopkeeper Cai?"

Shopkeeper Cai waved his hand, hesitated for a moment and lowered his voice: "Where do you think the Prince of Dongyang is going? Is he going home or..."

Why are you concerned about the Prince of Dongyang? Jixiang was puzzled, but he thought about it. Fortunately, the Prince of Dongyang was quite conspicuous in the crowd and could be seen clearly. If it was the man who came out of the teahouse later, he would not care.

"The Prince of Dongyang turned east on the street, heading back to the Dongyang Marquis's Mansion."

Shopkeeper Cai breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to go home and be together with his wife.

But he frowned again. He had to be frank with the young master and ask him what he really wanted.

After seeing Jixiang off, I entered the storeroom and saw Shangguan Yue sitting on a chair. She seemed to be lost in thought, or she seemed to be worried about something. Her beautiful brows were knitted tightly...

It feels quite sad.

Even when they had just gotten together and things were difficult and confusing, the young master never showed any sign of worry.

Shopkeeper Cai inexplicably thought of the phrase "A great hero is tempted by beauty", but he quickly shook it off, took a deep breath and was about to speak.

A guard rushed in at this time.

"Sir, I heard from the teahouse that the Crown Prince Zhou came to attend the poetry appreciation tea party of Jingzhao Prefecture Tai Zhangbai. The Crown Prince Zhou listened to one poem and then left early."

Shopkeeper Cai hesitated.

Shangguan Yue sat up straight and asked, "Who is at the banquet?"

The escort work was done in great detail, and the personnel were reported one by one. There were not many people, and those who were invited by Zhang Futai were all famous people.

Shangguan Yue was very familiar with these people. He shook his head, took out the portrait from his sleeve, and looked at it again. None of them matched this man.

Shopkeeper Cai stood aside and looked over. Who was this person?

It turns out that he was not following the Prince of Dongyang Marquis because of the Young Lady of Dongyang Marquis.

Is this a new clue about the prince's case?
"Sir." Another attendant came in quickly, "We found out."

Shangguan Yue assigned two people, one to go into the teahouse to investigate, and the other to follow the man immediately.

"That person entered the Taichang Temple. He was a musician, very famous among the musicians. We found out the truth after asking around."

"Call Shen Qing."

He is indeed famous. Shopkeeper Cai beside him suddenly realized: "It's him!"

This musician was very famous during the reign of the previous emperor, but was later expelled by Empress Chiang and disappeared.

Although he has not appeared in the capital for more than ten years, people still remember him immediately when he is mentioned.

However, I can't remember what he looked like.

Shopkeeper Cai couldn't help but look at the portrait again. After all, no matter how praised by the late emperor, he was just an actor who had disappeared for so many years.

"Sir, what is the connection with this person?" He could no longer hold back and asked, "Back then, this person was obsessed with music and was somewhat arrogant, so he seldom interacted with people in the court."

Shangguan Yue didn't bother to answer him, thinking: "Musician, maybe he will be invited to the banquet of Zhang Futai, so..."

This person may appear in the same place as Prince Zhou.

If it was any other time it wouldn't matter, but Bai Li wanted to find this person, saying that this person was very dangerous, and the person Bai Li was possessed by was the Young Lady of the Marquis of Dongyang.

The most dangerous person appeared next to the closest person to Dongyang Marquis's wife...

Shangguan Yue turned to look at Shopkeeper Cai and asked, "How can you avoid the husband and meet his wife at someone's house?"

Shopkeeper Cai was stunned.

This, this, this, is he going to come and steal someone's house? !

……

……

When Zhou Jingyun stepped into the courtyard, Zhuang Li had just changed into casual clothes and was sitting at the desk thinking about how to place the crescent lamp.

"I thought the prince would be back very late." She said with some surprise.

"There were too many people and I felt it was noisy, so I came back first." Zhou Jingyun said, and then paused, "Go to Doctor Zhang and tell him that you just left."

Did he go to see her? Zhuang Li took the cloak he had taken off and said, "If I had known, I would have waited a little longer. But don't worry, my lord. There are many guards."

There are so many guards, what does it have to do with him picking her up? Zhou Jingyun was slightly startled, watching Zhuang Li take the cloak and turn around to put it on the hanger.

"Go wash up," she said, "because you are not at home, my mother asked me to go over to eat, you are back, come with me."

Zhou Jingyun nodded and went to wash up without saying anything else.

The maids prepared clothes, tea and snacks, and went in and out of the room.

Zhuang Li fiddled with the crescent lamp and chose to hang it by the window, looking at it with a satisfied smile.

"What are you laughing at, Madam?" Chunyue asked curiously.

Zhuang Li said "oh" and pointed outside the window: "A sparrow flew over. It's so fat."

Chunyue looked outside and vaguely saw a sparrow flying away from under the eaves.

What's so funny about sparrows growing fat?

It’s probably because the young lady is happy that the prince has returned so early.

Chunyue smiled and didn't ask any more questions. She prepared the cloak she was going to wear when going out.

Although it was not yet time for dinner, the room of Lady Dongyang was already full of people.

The New Year is meant to be lively, especially this year. Seeing Zhou Jingyun and Zhuang Li come in, the smile on Mrs. Dongyang's face became even more intense.

"You'd better come back early." She looked at Zhou Jingyun and said, "It's New Year's Day, don't go out so often."

Zhou Jingyun answered yes with a smile, Zhuang Li also smiled beside him, then turned around to watch Zhou Jiuniang unravel the chain.

Zhou Jingyun went outside to talk to his brothers.

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang followed the two of them with her eyes, frowned slightly, and seemed to be about to say something but stopped herself.

Mother Xu saw it and asked what was wrong while holding a cup of tea.

"Did the two of them have an argument?" asked the wife of the Marquis of Dongyang in a low voice.

This was not the first time that Dongyang Hou's wife had asked this question. Mother Xu looked at Zhuang Li, who was having fun with Zhou Jiuniang, and then at Zhou Jingyun, who was listening attentively to his brothers' conversation. "During the New Year, the two of them didn't even talk loudly." She whispered, "Now the prince doesn't even go to Aunt Mei's place, and they go out together and come back at the same time."

After saying this, he began to blame again.

"Ma'am, are you expecting a quarrel between the two?"

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang pouted at her and said, "I just disliked her before, but I didn't want my family to be in turmoil."

Mother Xu pursed her lips and smiled: "So now you like her."

Love will only worry.

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang snorted, picked up her tea and took a sip. Suddenly she thought of something and called Zhuang Li, "There will be a lantern viewing banquet in the palace on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. Come with me to the palace to pay respect to the queen."

Not everyone can go to the imperial city. Only women of high rank are eligible.

As the wife of the eldest son of Marquis Dongyang, it was reasonable for Zhuang Li to follow the wife of Marquis Dongyang into the palace.

This also means that the wife of Marquis Dongyang is going to take her to meet the powerful ladies in the capital.

Zhou Jiuniang exclaimed with envy, "The lanterns in the imperial city must be beautiful."

Enter the Imperial City. Before Zhuang Li could say anything, Zhou Jingyun from the outer room heard the voice and came over: "Mother, let's talk about this later."

Mrs. Dongyang was stunned for a moment and looked at Mother Xu.

And you said there was no quarrel!
Everyone else in the room was also stunned and there was silence for a moment.

"The prince is afraid that I will be scared." Zhuang Li stood up and said with a smile.

Mother Xu smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? Your wife is with you."

Zhou Jingyun looked at the wife of the Marquis of Dongyang: "I'm not worried as long as my mother is here, but Ah Li is not in good health, the weather is cold, there are many people, and there are many rules in the palace..."

Zhou Jiuniang's laughter rang out in the room, "Brother Prince really cares for his sister-in-law."

Mrs. Dongyang snorted. She was about to say something when a maid came in with a strange look on her face. "Madam, someone from the Zhang Family Clinic is here to see the young lady with a visiting card from Doctor Zhang."

Zhou Jiuniang blurted out: "Are you here to see my sister-in-law?"

Everyone in the room was a little nervous. Is he really sick? Yes, it seems that he has been asking for medical advice since he entered the room...

"No, they said they were here to deliver the incense to the young lady." The maid said, and added, "In addition, I would like to ask the young lady for help in the diagnosis."

inquiry?

Has anyone come to see the doctor?
"It's a young lady." The maid said, "It is said that Doctor Zhang asked the young lady to see if she can use that fragrance."

Well, the wife of Marquis Dongyang is not the kind of person who dislikes her daughter-in-law being a doctor and being in the spotlight.

"You go and have a look," she said.

Zhuang Li responded yes.

Because she was a female family member, Zhou Jingyun did not go with them. The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang sent a maid to go with them.

There was a lot of discussion in the room, "Sister-in-law is really amazing. People even come to her house to ask for medical treatment."

Madam Dongyang looked at Zhou Jingyun and said, "What do you say when people ask you? You can cure people's illnesses, but you are a sickly person yourself?"

"A doctor should not treat himself." Zhou Jingyun said, "Just think of her as a doctor who has become a doctor after suffering from a long illness."

This still insisted on not letting Zhuang Li enter the palace for the banquet. Lady Dongyang Hou felt a little annoyed: "Okay, your daughter-in-law will do whatever you say. If people talk about it and spread rumors, don't blame me as the mother-in-law."

Once she entered the palace, people would inevitably ask about her daughter-in-law. She had been married for a year. It would have been fine if she had hidden her at home before, but she was not brought to such an important occasion. No matter what excuses she made, people would think that her daughter-in-law was not valued and was not presentable.

Zhou Jingyun said: "Thank you, mother. We don't care about this. We just want to live a peaceful and stable life."

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang sneered: "I have become the one who ruined your peaceful life."

Seeing the mother and son arguing, the atmosphere in the room became a little tense and Zhou Jiuniang didn't dare to laugh.

Fortunately, the maid who had gone with Zhuang Li came back at this time, breaking the silence in the room.

"She is a young lady whose family runs an embroidery workshop. I don't know if it's because her eyes have been injured from embroidery. She can't see the light and always wants to sleep with her eyes closed. It really affects her livelihood. She heard about it from Madam Lin, who was treated by the young lady, so she came to see Doctor Zhang. Doctor Zhang couldn't find any problem, but she was just sleepy, so she wanted the young lady to see if she could use some incense to relieve the pain."

"Young Madam, please go to Xichun Hall in the outer courtyard and let this young lady take a look."

.....
.....
In Xichun Hall, Zhuang Li looked at the woman who was accompanied by Mi Li. She was wearing a plain white silk dress and had a delicate figure, as graceful as a willow in the wind.

"Young Madam, Doctor Zhang introduced me. I have long heard of your great name." The woman's voice was hoarse and weak. She coughed softly after saying a word. "Can you please take a look for me? I can't do anything."

The young lady's words were incoherent and sounded like she was talking nonsense. Zhuang Li wanted to laugh: "Madam Li..., you can take off the veil now."

Miss Li seemed a little hesitant, hunching her shoulders and shyly said, "Are you ready? Can you see me clearly..."

"I can see you clearly." Zhuang Li said with a smile, taking a step closer, "Young Master Shangguan."

When this name was uttered, Miss Li's hunched shoulders instantly relaxed, and she looked a head taller.

Because they said they wanted to do some examinations, the maids also retreated outside the door.

Through the diamond-shaped grid, one could see two maids standing back to back, chatting and laughing in low voices. They were unaware of the conversation going on inside, especially the word "young master".

This is ready.

Miss Li let out a breath, reached out to take off the veil, revealing her face.

The lights had already been turned on. Under the candlelight, the young lady's skin was as white as jade, with thin indigo eyebrows, cherry red lips, and a lotus crown in her hair. She looked graceful and elegant like a lotus flower emerging from the water.

Zhuang Li couldn't help but look at her and said with a smile, "Shangguan Yue, you look better dressed as a young lady than as a young man."

Also, that is to say, she thought the young man was also good-looking. Shangguan Yue raised her sleeves to cover her mouth and smiled: "I was afraid that I would not be able to see you, so I dressed up seriously to avoid being seen as fake at a glance."

Having said that, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're here."

This "coming" probably means that Bai Li's ghost has come to possess me. Zhuang Li did not explain, but only said, "Well, as long as you get close to her, I will appear."

Doesn't this mean that he also has a special physique for her? Shangguan Yue thought, and nodded again. This is beyond doubt. After all, only he can see this ghost.

But now is not the time to think about this.

"You're right. I'm really lucky." He took a step forward, looked at Zhuang Li, and whispered, "I just left the Zhang Family Clinic today, and I met the person you were looking for."

I saw him! So soon, that person is in the capital, Zhuang Li had a flash of thought.

"And the Prince of Dongyang should know him." Shangguan Yue looked at her, "They should meet today."

After saying this, Zhuang Li's expression froze.

He didn't expect that the person he was looking for was right next to him, Shangguan Yue sighed inwardly, that's why he was so anxious to come and see her even if he had to dress up as a woman.

There is no time to waste.

The person next to you is the closest and also the most dangerous.