The lucky girl in the village has a good way of making money.

Chapter 541 Clearly Suspicious (Two Chapters in One)

After buying the house, Shi Liu asked Zuo Cheng to buy a couple from the pawnbroker to look after the house. As for the places that needed repair, he also asked Uncle Gui to inquire and introduce craftsmen.

She would try to complete the repairs during her stay in Beijing, and then have the furniture sent in and arranged properly. If Fan Jin had the chance to come to Beijing after the provincial examination, he could move in directly.

Because she was worried about Liu Yue who was detained at home to learn the rules, and because she had promised to visit her more often, Shi Liu planned to go to Changji Bakery to buy some snacks to bring back.

I heard that Changji Pastry Shop has a secret recipe that has been passed down for a hundred years. The pea yellow cakes they make are extremely authentic and cannot be compared to anywhere else.

Before coming to Beijing, Liu Yue had been talking about what to eat, what to play and what to visit, but he had only visited Jinxiu Pavilion and eaten at Tianxiang Tower.

I went all the way into the inner city, turned onto Zhuque Street, and entered Chunlin Lane where Changji Pastry Shop was located. I bought some pastries and returned. Coincidentally, just as I returned to Yutaifang, it suddenly started to rain from the sky.

It's a chilly spring day, and it gets even colder when it rains.

There was no telling when the rain would stop, so Shi Liu had to go back to the house first and wait until the rain stopped before going to Liu's house.

This day is perfect for painting while sitting by the window with a hand warmer in hand, listening to the sound of the rain, and inspiration pouring out.

Shi Liu immediately took over and asked Fu Dong to prepare paper and pen, intending to draw more puppet drawings.

But just after drawing two pictures, Sui Lu came in and reported, "Miss, Guard Zuo is here."

"What is it? Let him in."

Soon, Zuo Cheng came in. He was so cold that he stopped as soon as he entered the door. He bowed to Shi Liu and said, "Miss, Wan Cheng is here."

Shi Liu's expression changed, and he quickly stood up. "Where is the person?"

As he spoke, he walked out.

When she reached the large study room in the front, Shi Liu saw a man wearing a straw raincoat in the room. He was not tall and had an unremarkable appearance. He restrained his aura and looked honest. He was the kind of person who would not attract any attention if he was lost in a crowd.

If Shi Liu didn't know him, he would have thought he was a craftsman at first glance.

Therefore, Shi Liu chose him and Wang Yan to go to Beijing between him and Ke Hu. After all, Ke Hu had a scar on his face and unique features, so he was not suitable for tracking and stalking.

"Miss Pomegranate." When he saw Pomegranate, Wan Cheng saluted with a fist.

Shi Liu nodded and asked him to sit down. "I was just thinking about whether I should ask Ke Hu to pass a secret signal and ask you to come over. But I thought that since you knew I had entered the capital, you would definitely come here on your own initiative if you had any gains."

Wan Cheng then talked about what had happened since he followed Wang Yan to Beijing last winter.

"Since Doctor Wang entered the Imperial Hospital, he has been summoned to see patients by the palace because of his reputation and good medical skills. He often goes in and out of the harem. He cured the concubine's back pain that had lasted for many years with acupuncture, and also relieved the Queen's headache. Now, every ten days, he goes to give acupuncture to the Queen."

"Last year, Prince Gong was traveling and was attacked by an assassin. The knife contained a strange poison. Although it was not fatal, it left him with a root of disease. His body was covered with horrible bumps. After he came back, he summoned all the doctors in the Imperial Hospital for consultation, but none of them could cure him. After Doctor Wang came to Beijing, Prince Gong summoned him for treatment. After the past two months, I heard that he was almost cured. Since then, Doctor Wang has become a frequent visitor to Prince Gong's mansion."

"There is also Prince Yu. He was injured too many times in the battlefield when he was young. Whenever it was windy or rainy, his whole body would hurt badly. I heard that Doctor Wang was an expert in acupuncture, so I asked him to give me acupuncture. After a few times, it was quite effective.

Because she often visited Prince Yu's mansion, Princess Zhao Zhao fell in love with Doctor Wang at first sight and insisted on marrying him. Prince Yu loved this granddaughter the most and had already agreed to ask the Emperor to grant her a marriage.

"Since arriving in Beijing, Doctor Wang has been living in the Imperial Hospital. Apart from going to the palace or traveling to various prefectures to see patients, he has never done anything suspicious."

In order to conceal his tracks and to facilitate his actions, he chopped firewood and did odd jobs in the backyard of a restaurant not far from the Wang family. There was no need to inquire about these things in detail, as one could hear diners who came to the restaurant talk about them every day.

It was raining today and the restaurant had no business, so he slipped over here on the pretext of getting some medicine, and he had to go back quickly.

Upon hearing this, Shi Liu asked Sui Lu to bring him some silver. "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Wan. I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on it, but remember, your own safety is the most important thing. If you encounter any danger, run away first."

Wan Cheng took the silver and said, "Don't worry, Miss Pomegranate. I know what I am doing."

He had done a lot of surveillance and gathering information for his employers in the past, so he had experience. Besides, if anything dangerous happened, he had great martial arts skills and could easily escape.

After Wancheng left, Shi Liu drank tea and pondered over the seemingly harmless pieces of information.

After entering the Imperial Medical Service, he often went in and out of the harem. He did achieve this. I guess he went to great lengths to enter the Imperial Medical Service just for this, right?
Prince Gong and Prince Yu. Shi Liu did not know these two people.

At that moment, she put on her cloak and went out, bringing the cakes to Liu's house.

The rain had become lighter as she walked into Liu's house. Liu Yue, who was leaning against the window listening to the sound of the rain, hurried out to greet her when he heard her coming.

"Sister Pomegranate, you are finally here! It is raining today. I wanted to go out to look for you, but my mother said that she was afraid that I would catch a cold, so she wouldn't let me go out!"

"Auntie is doing this for your own good. Look what I brought you." Shi Liu smiled and asked Fu Dong to bring up the snacks in his hand.

As soon as Liu Yue saw the words Changji Bakery, she smiled happily, "Oh, Sister Pomegranate, you went to Changji Bakery! You bought pea yellow, right? I knew that Sister Pomegranate loved me! I love you so much!"

Liang heard this as soon as she came in, and she was also in a headache, "I have taught you so many times that girls should be subtle when speaking, and never speak so loudly. You have learned for a few days, but you are still the same."

Liu Yue took the pea yellow and started eating. He winked at Shi Liu and said, "I'm not participating in any talent show, why should I learn all these rules?"

Shi Liu glanced at Liang and saw that she frowned slightly, and her heart skipped a beat.

Liang only said that she wanted to find a good marriage for her daughter in the capital. She had never thought about it in this direction. Could it be that -

I heard that the prince now has only one concubine, one good lady and several maids besides the Crown Princess.

As the crown prince, his backyard would naturally be filled with everything it should be.

But all the beauties selected in this year's beauty pageant have already entered the palace.

Probably not.

After thinking this way, Shi Liu felt relieved again. It was not that she was overthinking. It was mainly because Liu Yue's personality was not suitable for entering the Eastern Palace. She would be trapped in the harem for the rest of her life. She was a bird, she should be able to fly freely under the blue sky and white clouds. If she really entered the palace, it would be like breaking her wings. How could she still be happy?

"Shi Liu, how is the shop going? Is everything going well?" Liang asked Shi Liu.

Pomegranate came back to his senses, "Everything is fine, there will be no problem with the opening of Sixteen."

Liang nodded, "Do you have any puppets ready? Especially small puppets like the big goose and the rabbit? Have someone send some to me. Tomorrow my husband will take us to the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion to pay respect to my great-aunt. Then I will use these things to give gifts to everyone in the mansion."

Shi Liu knew that she was trying to help the shop gain fame, so she smiled and said, "I'll have someone deliver it this afternoon. Thank you for your concern, auntie."

After some chatting, it was time for lunch. Liang kept Shi Liu for dinner, and Liu Dongjia also came back from outside.

Several people were eating at the same table and talking about some things.

Shi Liu casually asked Prince Gong.

Liu Dongjia said, "Last year, after the emperor appointed the crown prince, he immediately gave several adult princes the title of prince and granted them princely palaces. This Prince Gong is the second prince."

"Why are you asking about him suddenly?" Liu Dongjia glanced at his wife and daughter, "The second prince's biological mother is Consort Shu, who has always been at odds with Consort Xian——"

Since the fifth prince was appointed crown prince, the emperor promoted Concubine Xian to a higher rank and named her a noble concubine.

Prince Gong and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have always been fighting openly and secretly. As they are on the Crown Prince's side, they must not have anything to do with Prince Gong and must be extra careful.

After hearing that Prince Gong was actually the second prince and that he had fought tooth and nail for the position of crown prince, could he be willing to accept this?

If it were any other prince, I'm afraid he wouldn't be willing to accept this. Even if he was willing, wouldn't he be worried that the crown prince would come back to settle accounts with him in the future?

So, Wang Yan treated Prince Gong and often went in and out of Prince Gong’s mansion. Was it really just for treatment?

"And Prince Joy?"

Liu Dongjia was even more puzzled. "Prince Yu is the emperor's uncle and the chief of the imperial clan. He is not much older than the emperor and grew up with the emperor. They have a very close relationship. The emperor also trusts Prince Yu very much. I heard that he often summons Prince Yu to the palace to accompany him."

Upon hearing this, Shi Liu's heart skipped a beat. Wang Yan wanted to marry Prince Yu's granddaughter and become Prince Yu's grandson-in-law. Did he really like her or did he have other intentions?
This reminded her of what she had heard before in Daming Prefecture, that Wang Yan had never married because he was obsessed with medicine.

She bent her fingers and tickled them on her legs from time to time. She looked up and saw Liu Dongjia's puzzled look. Then she made a decision. She should tell Liu Dongjia and the Crown Prince about her suspicions. Even if she was not 100% sure that Wang Yan was Li Yan, looking at the direction of the situation, she had to tell it.

"Uncle Liu, I have something very important to tell you."

Seeing Shi Liu's serious expression, Liu Dongjia also became serious and said, "Come with me to the study."

A quarter of an hour later, in the study.

"Pomegranate, what do you want to tell me?"

Shi Liu sat down opposite Liu Dongjia and said, "Prince Yu wants to ask the emperor to grant a marriage for his granddaughter Princess Zhao Zhao to marry the imperial physician Wang Yan. Uncle Liu, have you heard about this?"

Liu Dongjia nodded, "Before, you told me to let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince be more careful about Wang Yan. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also took this matter to heart and has always sent people to monitor Wang Yan's every move. As he went around to treat illnesses, especially after curing Prince Gong and going in and out of Prince Yu's mansion, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was already suspicious and felt that there was something wrong with Wang Yan.

Yesterday I met with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and heard about this matter. Prince Yu went to the palace a few days ago to ask the Emperor for permission to marry him, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince found an excuse to delay it for the time being. "

Shi Liu breathed a sigh of relief. Although she didn't know the Princess Zhao Zhao, she didn't want such a good girl to be used and ruin her life. It would be fine if Wang Yan was not Li Yan, but what if he was?

And the intuition in her heart became stronger and stronger.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Liu looked at Liu Dongjia and said, "Didn't Uncle Liu always wonder why I asked you to remind His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to beware of Doctor Wang who came to the Imperial Hospital?"

"Because I suspect that Wang Yan is the traitor Li Yan."

Upon hearing this, Liu Dongjia's pupils dilated greatly and he quickly looked outside to confirm that he was in his study room. There were trusted followers guarding outside and no one would approach.

"Why are you so suspicious? Do you have any evidence?"

If Wang Yan is Li Yan, then I dare not think about it - he often goes in and out of the palace now, and even the emperor gradually summons him to give him acupuncture. If he wants to do something.
The Queen's headaches depended on his acupuncture, and Prince Yu's old illness also needed his acupuncture to relieve it. The key point was that Princess Zhaozhao was determined to marry Wang Yan, and Prince Yu loved this granddaughter the most.

If there is not enough evidence to prove that Wang Yan is Li Yan, nothing can be done to him.

Shi Liu said slowly, "I started to suspect him a long time ago. I met him by chance on the way to Yunzhou, but I didn't suspect anything. But later I met him again in Luoshui City, and then I found out that he was from the Wang family of Xinglinfang, the owner of Xingsheng Pharmacy."

She told the story of how Fan Jin was framed for killing a girl from the Wang family. She rushed to the city to save Fan Jin, but an epidemic suddenly broke out in the city. After the epidemic was over, the city was unsealed, but Erli Village was massacred by bandits.

"The attempt to frame Fan Jin was supposed to be a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain, but they used the death of a concubine of the Wang family to frame him. This is too coincidental. And the epidemic in the city was caused by him, and he was the one who finally discovered the source of the disease and came up with a cure. It's not that I don't believe in his extraordinary medical skills, but it's all too coincidental. It's so coincidental that I suspect he was using this to pave the way for himself, and the result is indeed so. He became famous and was summoned to the Imperial Hospital by the emperor himself—"

"Also, the bandits who massacred Erli Village seemed to be robbing, but they must have come for the gold, silver and jewelry. Because of the kidnapping of Fatty, they were sure that the treasures were hidden in Erli Village, so they massacred the village, but they didn't find the treasures. In the end, they only took away all the grain in the granary on the village."

"Also, knowing that those people had escaped from Dafu Mountain, I had people search Dafu Mountain carefully afterwards. Nothing unusual was found, which could only mean that those people went west to Changzhou. Madam Xun's hometown happened to be in Changzhou, so I asked Madam Xun to go to Changzhou to investigate carefully under the pretext of returning home."

"Yesterday I received a letter from home. Madam Xun sent back a message saying that something unusual was discovered in Changzhou. She dared not act alone for fear of alerting the enemy, so she asked me to send someone to Changzhou as soon as possible."

"I am 100% sure that Wang Yan is Li Yan, but this matter is very serious. Without solid evidence, it is not advisable to alert the enemy. Now our first priority is to send someone to Changzhou to meet up with Madam Xun and find out what is wrong there."

"As for Wang Yan, I think I have a way to make him reveal his true colors!"

When Liu Dongjia heard this, especially when he heard that there was a problem in Changzhou, his expression became even more serious.

Changzhou, Cangzhou.

Perhaps it was Changzhou rather than Cangzhou that caused the traitors like Xie Li to be unable to withstand the confessions?
They made a mistake, so they returned empty-handed after suppressing the bandits?

"I will tell the Crown Prince about this news right now!"