coobybook Chapter 728 [Under the Brocade 24]
Chapter 728 [Under the Brocade 24]
In the old and quiet attic, the three of them unexpectedly found a love poem written in beautiful handwriting and full of affection by the weak candlelight. In addition, there were a variety of bottles and jars and various materials and tools for making rouge in the attic. From these items, it is not difficult to see that the powerful Mr. Zhou must have a lover who made him dream in the prosperous Yangzhou City.
The sharp-eyed and careful Jin Xia spoke first: "Look at this situation, this Lord Zhou treats his lover with great care! In my opinion, we just need to follow the clues and find this mysterious lover, and perhaps we can uncover a lot of secrets."
Youyou beside him nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, that's absolutely right. But it's getting late today, so let's go home first and look for Mr. Zhou's confidante tomorrow."
Lu Yi, who had been silent all this time, also agreed at this time: "Okay, then it's settled."
Time passed quickly, and the next morning came in a blink of an eye. After a careful investigation, Jin Xia finally locked the clue on a woman named Zhai Lanye. In order to further confirm her guess, she decided to go and ask Xie Xiao.
At this moment, Xie Xiao was inviting Shangguan Xi to drink wine together. After three rounds of drinking, Xie Xiao suddenly remembered the sachet that Shangguan Xi had carried with him before, and asked curiously: "Xi'er, your sachet is so unique, I wonder if it has any special origin?"
Shangguan Xi was slightly stunned, then chuckled and said, "This sachet was given to me by my close friend Zhai Lanye. Three years after you left, I accidentally met this person with a rough life. She had been lonely and helpless since childhood, which made me feel pity for her, so I regarded her as a close friend."
Hearing this, Xie Xiao's heart moved, and he quickly told Yuan Jinxia everything that had happened in recent days and his speculation that Zhai Lanye might be the person Lord Zhou liked.
It turned out that Zhai Lanye was actually a famous skinny horse in Yangzhou. The so-called skinny horse was a special kind of human flesh trade in Yangzhou. Those girls from poor families, once they grew up to seven or eight years old, would be adopted by some caring people.
After that, these poor children will start to learn many talents such as playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. Their ultimate goal is to be able to marry into a wealthy family one day, become their concubine, and change their own destiny.
Xie Xiao went on to say, "Just a few months ago, Zhai Lanye and Lord Zhou had just met. But who could have thought that not long after, Lord Zhou was fascinated by Zhai Lanye and fell in love with her! But if he wanted to marry Zhai Lanye as a concubine, he would have to take out a full 10,000 taels of silver to support her family. In this case, this must be the real reason why Lord Zhou dared to embezzle the 10,000 taels of official silver!"
After hearing what Xie Xiao said, Yuan Jinxia was extremely anxious and hurried to report to Lu Yi all the information she had found out. Because she was in such a hurry, she didn't even have time to knock on the door, and rushed into Lu Yi's room rashly. However, what she never expected was that when she entered the room, she saw Lu Yi holding a bunch of crystal clear grapes, feeding Youyou gently and carefully.
When Jin Xia saw this scene, she was stunned for a moment. She was completely stunned. It took her a long time to come back to her senses. She stammered, "You...you guys..." She was incoherent for a moment and didn't know how to express her surprise and confusion.
Lu Yi, on the other hand, was very calm and collected. He picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the grape juice from the corner of Youyou's mouth. Then he looked up at Jin Xia and said calmly, "Remember to knock before you come in next time."
When Jin Xia heard this, she nodded as if she had just woken up from a dream and replied, "Yes, I understand, but...you guys..." Although she said this, her heart was still full of confusion and curiosity.
At this time, Lu Yi stretched out his arms, gently embraced Youyou in his arms, smiled, and said slowly: "Youyou and I are in love with each other, and now she has become my fiancée."
Jin Xia heard this and stared at the two of them with eyes wide open in disbelief. Still unwilling to give up, she turned to You You and asked, "Sister You You, is what Lord Lu just said true? Is he really your fiancé?"
Youyou nodded slightly, a faint blush on her face, and replied softly: "It can't be completely counted like that, after all, my father and brothers haven't agreed to this yet."
Jin Xia pouted and muttered, "I told you, how could you like Lu Yi, that living King of Hell!" Although her voice was not loud, it was still clearly heard by everyone present.
"Yuan Jinxia, tell me clearly, what did you just say? Repeat it again if you dare!" Lu Yi raised his sword-like eyebrows and glared at Jinxia with anger on his face. His sharp eyes seemed to be able to penetrate people's souls directly.
Jin Xia's heart skipped a beat, and she secretly said something bad. She realized that she had spoken too quickly and called Lu Yi in public. She panicked and quickly waved her hands and shook her head, stammering to explain: "Sir, I...I really didn't say anything! You must have heard it wrong!"
At this moment, Youyou asked, "Jinxia, you came here in such a hurry, is there something important that you need to report to the adults?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Jin Xia nodded repeatedly as if she had grasped a life-saving straw. Then, she took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and began to describe in detail the things that happened between Zhai Lanye and Lord Zhou.
It turned out that after some secret investigation, Jin Xia not only learned that there seemed to be a hidden secret between Zhai Lanye and Lord Zhou, but also unexpectedly found out that Mr. Zhai often took Zhai Lanye to the West Lake for boating, with the purpose of helping Zhai Lanye find a rich and powerful son-in-law.
So, Lu Yi turned his head to look at Yuan Jinxia beside him, and whispered: "Jinxia, go and rent a boat and spread the news that I want to go boating on the lake. Remember, you have to say that I am a noble young man from the capital."
Yuan Jinxia was embarrassed when she heard this. She rubbed her hands and said, "My Lord, I am really short of money. Can you give me some advance money for renting a boat?"
However, Lu Yi remained unmoved and replied calmly: "We will settle the matter after it is done. With your ability and means, it is not difficult for you to get some money."
After hearing this, Jin Xia turned her gaze to You You who was standing beside her, blinked her big eyes, and pleaded pitifully: "Sister You You, can you please be kind and support me a little?"
Seeing this, Youyou looked helpless, sighed and said, "Go ask Qiuxia for it, and tell her that I promised to give it to you, and she will give it to you naturally."
"Thank you, Sister Youyou! Sister Youyou is always the best to me!" Jin Xia was overjoyed when she heard that, and ran away cheering.
After Jin Xia left, Lu Yi couldn't help but frown and said to You You: "You You, why do you dote on Jin Xia so much? Besides, with her own abilities, it should be no problem for her to get the money."
However, Youyou raised the corner of her mouth slightly, and deliberately teased: "Humph, Ayi rented a flower boat to look for a beauty. As your fiancée, how can I not show some support?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yi hurriedly explained: "Youyou, you know me well. I did this purely for the purpose of investigating the case. I have no other intentions."
"Of course I know, I just wanted to tease you!" As soon as he finished speaking, Youyou turned around and prepared to run away like a frightened deer.
However, how could Youyou avoid the agile Lu Yi? Lu Yi flashed and stretched out his hand as fast as lightning, easily holding Youyou in his arms. His arms tightly wrapped around Youyou's slender waist, as if he wanted to keep her in his warm embrace forever.
"Well, you little girl, you've actually learned bad things now, huh?" Lu Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, raised a smile at the corner of his mouth, and his tone was filled with a hint of blame and doting. Before he finished speaking, he leaned down without hesitation and kissed Youyou's tender lips directly.
The kiss was passionate and deep, as if time had stopped at this moment. After a long time, Lu Yi finally let go of Youyou reluctantly. At this time, Youyou's face was already flushed, she was panting, and her eyes became a little blurry.
Lu Yi gently pressed his hand against Youyou's forehead, staring at her face which became more charming due to her shyness, and said softly, "Hmph, let's see if you dare to be so naughty next time."
"I dare not...I really don't dare." Youyou looked at the lust in Lu Yi's eyes that had not yet dissipated, and her heart could not help but flustered. She quickly lowered her head, muttering softly like a child who had done something wrong.