Chapter 117: New Official Business (Pink Ticket 300 Additional Chapter)

  Two people were talking, when a woman suddenly said: "Mrs. Shen, your distant relative has come to visit you." Her voice was filled with joy.

  Deep and serene, yet inexplicably strange.

  What kind of relative is visiting the Li family? And this old lady is so happy to see them.

  She looked at Li in puzzlement.

  "Let him in," said Li with a smile, and then explained to Shen Muqing: "It's Xiao Qi. He has a clever mouth, and everyone likes him from top to bottom. Often people come to ask me, what kind of person is he in our family? I just say it's a distant relative."

  Aunt Chen and the others obviously also knew who this so-called "distant relative" was, and they all burst out laughing. Orange fragrance even directly threw down the work in her hand, saying: "Madam, I'll go make tea."

  Very enthusiastic!

  Shen Mu Qing couldn't help but smile slightly with pursed lips.

  This Xiao Xiao is really a chameleon, able to adapt to any environment... Now he's got these aunties wrapped around his finger, they smile whenever they see him!

  As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, Xiao Xiao had already lifted the curtain and entered.

  Seeing Shen Muqing, his eyes flashed with surprise.

  Li smiled and said: "Mu Qing has come to pick me up!"

  Xiao Xiao hastily lowered her eyelids and responded with a "yes", then properly and politely greeted Li Shi. Smiling, she said: "I haven't seen the horse carriage, I thought you hadn't arrived yet?"

  Li smiled and glanced at Shen Muqing, asking Xiao Sa to sit down.

  Tangerine fragrance came to tea, along with Chen Niang and Ying Fen. They withdrew to the bedroom, and Li Shi again sent away Wang Mama, smiling and asking him: "Why did you come today?"

  Xiao Xiao straightened her back and sat half on the spring bench, with a completely respectful attitude as if seeing an elder.

  "I knew you were moving back to Songshu Hutong today, I had planned to come earlier, but who would have thought that yesterday I received a letter from the Ministry of Rites, asking me to go to the Five Armies Commander's Mansion early this morning... so I'm late."

  Li said "oh" and smiled: "Last time I heard you say, there was no specific arrangement for the errand, just following the Langzhong of the Ministry of War to do chores. How come? Were you sent to the Five Armies Commander's Mansion?"

  Xiao Xiao respectfully said: "Yes. I was assigned to the Right Army Commander's Mansion and took charge of all matters."

  Li smiled and nodded: "The Youjun Dudufu is in charge of several Wei in the northwest, and the imperial court has been fighting in the northwest for many years. Although it's just a seventh-grade official, doing some receiving and sending documents, you can learn a lot from these documents."

  "Yes!" Xiao Xiao laughed and said, "From now on, I'll probably be busy practicing calligraphy."

  Li listened and burst out laughing.

  Shen Muqing saw her mother's happiness and was naturally overjoyed herself.

  "It's getting late too." Li looked at Shen Muqing, "You all still have things to attend to. I'll set off after changing my clothes!"

  Xiao Xiao listened and immediately stood up to give Li Shi a long bow, then retreated.

  Shen Mu Qing thought of Li Shi's medicine and said "I'll go take a look at the carriage preparations", without waiting for Li Shi's nod, he walked out.

  ******

  Xiao Xiao heard footsteps and turned around, only to see Shen Muqing following behind with a furrowed brow.

  He couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

  Shen Mu Qing asked in a low voice: "Xiao Xiao, what did you give to your wife?"

  Xiao Xiao knew she was concerned about Li Shi, so she quickly walked to the platform and then nodded slightly towards Shen Muqing, indicating that she should speak on the platform.

  Shen Mu Qing walked over and asked in a low voice: "What did you give your wife to eat?"

  Xiao Xiao stood on the lowest level of the three-tiered platform, while Shen Mu Qing stood on the highest level. The two locked eyes with each other.

  "It's Kwantung tobacco. It can give you a bit of spirit when you smoke it." His eyes gleamed.

  "Kwantung tobacco?" Shen Muqing said indignantly, "Does Kwantung tobacco make people spirited and excited? Does it make people's faces flush with excitement? I've never heard of such a thing! Tell me the truth, is it opium?"

  Xiao Xiao's eyes widened, and she said: "You're asking me? I haven't even asked you yet! How did Ren Xiang come back? He said it was you who told him to find me and ask for my help in finding your cousin Shen Yuerong. This is baseless, where am I supposed to go look?"

  "Don't change the subject, I asked you about your wife's medicine, what does Ren Xiang have to do with it?"

  "Can't you prioritize things? " Xiao Sa looked at Shen Muqing sideways, "Ren Xiang said that after Shen Yuesong had an accident, he asked the people on the dock, and they all said it was your second uncle's housekeeper who took him away. But that housekeeper was driven out of your second uncle's house as early as last autumn. Hey, Shen Yuesong has been living in your house for almost half a year, you must know some clues?"

  "Didn't you say it was baseless? How come you're so clear about it now?"

  Xiao Xiao looked at her impatiently: "Am I not helping you? If Ren Xiang hadn't waved his flag, would I have helped him ask around everywhere?"

  Shen Mu's thoughts became calm and serene.

  Bai Mu said that Dai Gui was retained in the capital after entering Beijing to see the emperor, and this spring he entered the Five Armies Commander's Mansion as a clerk, never leaving the capital...

  "Hey!" Xiao Sa saw her bowing her head in silence, took a step onto the stage, and gently kicked Shen Muqing with his foot. "You can't expect me to plow the fields without giving me any grass to eat, can you?"

  What's all this about?

  "Are you a cow? Do you still want to eat grass?"

  Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow: "I think I'm now like a cow in your family, the kind that's not fed enough!"

  Shen Mu Qing saw the coarse linen robe on his body and couldn't help but laugh: "Feel wronged? Then speak up, how many bundles of grass do you need to send to this cow for it to exert its strength?"

  She slightly tilted her face, her big eyes blinked, and her long eyelashes occasionally cast a faint shadow on her snow-white skin. Her dark pupils shone like stars, filled with joy, and couldn't help but look lovely and moving. Looking at this, Xiao Sa's heart skipped a beat, the corners of his mouth twitched, and for a long time, he couldn't say a word.

  Shen Mu Qing saw him silent, thought of Xiao Sa's eccentric personality, and hastily lowered his head to say: "Are you kidding me? You're not angry again, are you?"

  Xiao Xiao listened and her ears turned red as she muttered, "No, no. A real man would not be angry with women all the time, that's not someone who can get things done."

  It's rare to see Xiao Xiao so down in the dumps, and yet she can't sense that he's feeling a little heartbroken.

  Shen Mu Qing Zheng felt strange, Xiao Sa was already spirited and said solemnly: "I'm talking about serious matters. Shen Yue Rong lived in your house for so long, and when she left, your wife even sent her a maid with twenty or more trunks. Didn't you hear any rumors?"

  Anyway, I've already lost all image in front of Xiao Xiao.

  After a moment of contemplation, he decided to express his doubts clearly and in detail.

  Xiao Xiao frowned after hearing this: "Dai Gui, hasn't left the capital for a long time? Moreover, the dozen or so attendants he brought from Liaodong are always following him... I heard that people in the Ministry of War privately discussed that the Dai family has been guarding Liaodong for generations and is very cautious. In order not to arouse other people's suspicion, since entering the capital, Dai Gui rarely leaves his house easily. If he goes out, he will definitely be with a group of three or five people, never alone... It shouldn't be him, right?"

  In Shen Mu's clear mind, a handsome young man with elegant eyebrows and eyes appeared.

  How can it be two different things from what I imagined?

  "Who told you about Dai Gui's matter?"

  "He is now a new sharpness in the army, and since I want to take this path of military service, it's natural that I should get to know people like him clearly."

  This point Shěn Mù Qīng did not think of.

  However, Xiao Sa was so serious about her own affairs that Shen Muqing admired her.

  Heavenly way has always been rewarding diligence!

  She thought of another thing: "So many people, so many things, and they just disappeared. Do you think it's possible that Dai Gui colluded with the local commander..."

  "Impossible!" Xiao Sa cut off Shen Muqing's inference with a sharp tone, "How could someone as cautious as Dai Gui get involved with the local commander? Isn't he afraid of being impeached by the censors?"

  Me too.

  Shen Mu Qing couldn't help but feel a little annoyed about Shen Yue Rong's disappearance.

  "Why can't she just live a peaceful life?" She complained, "Who has the energy to deal with her now? I think Ren Xiang is also a stubborn person, if he pursues this further, it will be another headache!"

  "This is just a small matter, and you're making such a big fuss about it!" Xiao Sa sneered at her with a cold "hmm", "I think Ren Xiang is an intelligent person. The more clever someone is, the easier they are to deal with. If he were a brute, we would really be in trouble!"

  Shen Muqing agrees with his view.

  "Let him go find you, not to deal with him." She sighed helplessly, "I really want to find my cousin. As you said, Ren Xiang is such a smart person, and my cousin has run away from marriage three times. Can't he understand what's going on in his heart? A forced marriage is not sweet, and now it's like this. In the future, even if they get married, are they prepared to spend a peaceful day together? Life is short, can't waste it like this. Everyone should face each other and talk things through clearly. Some things don't necessarily have to be done through arranged marriage."

  "This is indeed!" Xiao Xiao nodded and said, "Since you suspect Dai Gui, I'll go to his place tomorrow and take a look. Who knows, maybe we can really find something! However, I think your cousin seems a bit confused..."

  "Yes!" Shen Muqing sighed with a bitter smile, "If she does this, it's equivalent to canceling the engagement with Ren Xiang. Later on, if she meets someone she likes and they find out about her runaway marriage... I'm afraid there will be another twist."

  "What I said wasn't that," Xiao Sa said. "Ren Xiang has been staying with me for the past two days, and he seems quite capable to me. Why doesn't your cousin like him?"

  "Shen Muqing then told about the relationship between Ren Xiang and Shen Yuerong, after finishing, she remembered Ren Xiang's identity and said: '... How did you let him stay at home? In Taicang, he is just a loafer who makes a living by helping people collect debts, rent, and sue. When he has two coins in his hand, he talks about loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and shame. But if one day he's not satisfied, he can do anything. You'd better find an excuse to let him move out soon! And, this kind of person usually doesn't distinguish between good and evil, you can't follow him around recklessly... Although Second Sister followed the mistress back to Lincheng, you still need to have some dignity, can't be reckless..."

  "You're really not ordinary nagging!" The smile in Xiao Sa's eyes overflowed to the corners of her mouth, "What does it have to do with Guan Erjie whether I'm messing around or not?"

  Shen Muqing's face turned cold and her eyes narrowed slightly.

  As expected, those who grew up under the influence of male chauvinism are all worthless!

  Xiao Xiao looked at Da Le and gently nudged Shen Muqing with her elbow, asking seriously: "Hey, what does 'hun su bu ji' mean?"

  Shen Muqing gazed at him with a hint of mockery in his eyes, and then viciously stepped on Xiao Sa's heel.

  []

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