The Secret Chamber of the Card Game

When Qu Wanyue came to this world, she was in the Princess Mansion.Her identity is a dancer, her parents died, and she makes a living by dancing and performing arts.A few years ago, Princess Nine passed by the capital, and Qu Wanyue happened to be bullied. Seeing how pitiful she was, the princess bought her and took her as a maid. She usually took care of the princess's daily life and taught her some dances.

That day the princess suddenly wanted to go to the street, and Qu Wanyue went with her, but when she went shopping for clothes, she happened to meet Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou.

At that time, Qu Wanyue just turned around to buy cookies for the princess, but she was not by her side. When she came back, she saw Princess Jiu with a dark face and said angrily, "I'm going to Jiangzhou too!"

Qu Wanyue didn't know why.But as a princess maid, she can only keep up with the princess.

On the way, she heard the nine princesses scold Master Yu for being blind and ignorant of good and evil, and then realized that Team Yu was also going to Jiangzhou.

It seems that this time the crime took place in Jiangzhou, Qu Wanyue followed the princess to Jiangzhou with peace of mind, she did not confirm her guess until she saw Long Sen at the gate of the palace.

***

After Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin entered the palace, they asked their servants to inform the Eighth Prince that Yu Hanjiang, the magistrate of Jiangzhou, was visiting.

The housekeeper who was in charge of the reception at the palace heard that he was the new magistrate, so he immediately took the three of them to the side hall to settle down respectfully, poured tea, and then turned around to report to the prince.

After a while, a middle-aged man strode into the side hall.

It was the first time for the three of them to see the legendary Eighth Prince—a tall, muscular middle-aged man in his 40s, dressed in brocade clothes and jade robes, making his features even more handsome.

The three of Yu Hanjiang immediately bowed and saluted: "I have seen the prince."

The prince smiled and said, "You don't need to be too polite." He looked at Yu Hanjiang with admiration in his eyes: "This is Mr. Yu, right? Your Majesty often mentions you in letters, and this king has also heard about you. A 19-year-old high school champion who was promoted to the prefect of Jiangzhou in less than a few years, Mr. Yu is really young and promising!"

"My lord is too famous." Yu Hanjiang brought Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin in front of him, and introduced to the lord: "This is Xiao Lou, my wife, and this is Mr. Mo, the magistrate. I brought them here together to congratulate the lord." birthday."

After he finished speaking, he gave the prepared congratulatory gift to the prince, which was a famous calligraphy and painting brought over from Kyoto.As an upright official, he is not good at buying too expensive things. He heard that the prince likes calligraphy and painting, so he brought a calligraphy from his family's collection.

The prince asked his entourage to accept the gift, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty Yu is so polite. You have been exhausted along the road, and I should have hosted a banquet to entertain you. Unfortunately, the palace is busy with internal affairs these days, and it is difficult for me to get away. In a few days, I must invite adults to come to the house again."

The Eighth Prince has no royal airs at all, he is very polite to Yu Hanjiang, and his smile looks very kind.

This smile reminded Yu Hanjiang of the emperor sitting on the dragon chair in Kyoto, who was also smiling, showing no signs of happiness or anger.Sure enough, those who survived the royal struggle were all human beings.

Yu Hanjiang lowered his voice and talked about the business: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty still has a few words to convey to my minister."

The Eighth Prince understood, and said: "Master Yu, please go to the study with me. As for your wife and master..." He turned to look at the maid beside him, and said, "Caiyue, take your wife and master to the garden Let’s go shopping and entertain the two distinguished guests well.”

Caiyue responded, turned around and left with Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin.

Yu Hanjiang followed the prince to the study room, took out the sealed letter from his arms, and handed it to him respectfully: "This secret letter was delivered to the prince by His Majesty."

"Oh? Secret letter?" The Eighth Prince immediately took the letter from Yu Hanjiang. After opening the secret letter, his brows were slightly frowned. He didn't know what was mentioned in the secret letter, and his expression became a little serious.

After quickly scanning the letter, he put away the secret letter, smiled slightly, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Yu. This king has not been back to Beijing for four full years, so it's time to go back to the capital to have a look."

Next, the prince politely questioned some of the emperor's situation, expressing his love as the emperor's uncle.I don't know if I really care about it, or if it's just for Yu Hanjiang to see.Regarding the government affairs of the court and some important decisions of the court, he didn't mention a word. They all said that he was an idle prince who didn't care about political affairs. It seemed that the rumors were true.

***

At the same time, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin were admiring flowers in the palace with the maid.

The area of ​​the Zhenjiang Prince's Mansion is astonishingly large. The environment of the entire Palace is quiet, with pavilions, pavilions, trees, and flower beds arranged in a well-proportioned manner. The gardens are planned very carefully. There are also some hidden Fengshui layouts, which are obviously specially designed. .

Mo Xuemin studied design, and when he saw this courtyard, he couldn't help but whisper in Xiao Lou's ear: "The planning and design of this courtyard is very reasonable, and it should have cost a huge amount of money to build. It is almost comparable to the People's Park in our city. .”

Xiao Lou also felt that walking in the yard was full of scenery, which made people feel refreshed.

There is a huge lotus pond in the middle of the yard. It is early autumn, and the pond is full of lotus flowers. Walking on the cobblestone path beside the pond, you can still smell the fragrance of lotus flowers.There happened to be stone tables and benches beside the lotus pond, paved with a breeze, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin simply sat down to enjoy the flowers, and the maid thoughtfully brought them several plates of washed fruits.

At this moment, a thin woman with a white gauze covering her face passed by the lotus pond, followed by Liu Qiao with a neat ponytail, and Liu Qiao was carrying a medicine basket in her hand.

Xiao Lou and Liu Qiao looked at each other, tacit understanding - it seems that the person next to Liu Qiao is Qi Yiwei, the Fourth Miss.

As the daughter of the palace, she was dressed in a very simple and elegant way. She was dressed in a white dress with simple silver dark patterns on it.There are no gorgeous pearl hairpins in the hair, only a wooden hairpin.

The white gauze covered most of her face, only her eyes and eyebrows were exposed.

She glanced in the direction of Xiao Lou, her eyes were clear and lively, matched with the curved willow-leaf eyebrows, she had a kind of elegant and beautiful temperament, she was obviously a little beauty, I don't know why she kept covering her face with a veil.

Liu Qiao quickly walked away with Miss Fourth.

Since Miss Fourth has Liu Qiao on her side, there is no need to worry about missing clues, Xiao Lou is very relieved of Liu Qiao.

The palace is too big, we need to find out the terrain first.

Xiao Lou came up with a plan, and suddenly said: "I want to go to the toilet, please ask Miss Caiyue to show me the way."

"Okay, Ma'am, please." The maid immediately brought Xiao Lou to the backyard.

The toilet in the Wangfu was built in a very hidden place. It was impossible for the maid to follow Xiao Lou in. After pointing the way, she waited outside. Xiao Lou used an invisibility cloak and accelerated shoes at the corner, and used this time to quickly move around in the Wangfu. turned around.

Zhenjiang Prince's Mansion is really too big, and he has limited time, so he only found out the backyard.

There are courtyards in the east, west, south, and north directions of the backyard, all with very literary names, which are the residences of wives and ladies.There is a small Buddhist hall in the most secluded corner, and Xiao Lou saw a dignified girl knocking on a wooden fish and chanting scriptures in the Buddhist hall—this is obviously Qi Yiyao, the eldest lady of the palace.

Long Sen once mentioned that the eldest lady is pure-hearted and ascetic, and loves to read Buddhist scriptures. She usually goes to the Buddhist hall to copy scriptures and read Buddhist scriptures alone when she is free.Xiao Lou found that the girl had her eyes closed, with an extremely calm expression on her face, as if everything in the world had nothing to do with her.

She has a marriage contract with the eldest young master of the Lin family. Young master Lin is promiscuous outside and hangs out in brothels every day. I don't know if she is raised in a deep boudoir and has never heard of it, or she doesn't care or care about that fiancé?

Xiao Lou was very puzzled.

This lady is only 20 years old.At a young age, it is so strange that she hides in the Buddhist hall and recites Buddhist scriptures every day.

At this moment, a gorgeously dressed beautiful woman suddenly came over and said, "Ayao, today is your father's birthday, why are you still here chanting scriptures? Go back and change your clothes and dress up properly."

Qi Yiyao paused slightly as she knocked Muyu's hand, and said flatly: "Father's birthday, there are so many guests every year, it's lively enough, it doesn't matter whether I participate or not."

The woman's complexion changed when she heard this: "What is this called? You are the eldest daughter of the palace, how can you not attend the prince's birthday banquet? Your three younger sisters will all attend tonight's banquet, and the young master of the Lin family will also attend the banquet." Come here, listen to your mother, go and change your clothes, don't let the younger sisters compare."

After she finished speaking, she grabbed her daughter's wrist and forcibly dragged her away.

Qi Yiyao followed her mother away expressionlessly.

Not far away, Fourth Miss and Liu Qiao passed by the Buddhist hall together and also witnessed this scene.

Liu Qiao asked suspiciously, "Don't Missy like to be lively?"

Miss Si's soft voice came over: "Well, my sister has been in poor health since she was a child. She suffered from a serious illness and almost died. At that time, my father went to a temple outside Jiangzhou City to ask for an amulet, and asked the teacher to raise her until She was brought home when she was ten years old. She grew up in a temple when she was a child, and when she returned to the palace, she also asked her father to build a Buddhist hall. She usually went to the Buddhist hall to copy scriptures when she was free, and she didn't talk much to us."

Liu Qiao was a little curious: "Then why did she make a marriage contract with the young master of the Lin family?"

The Fourth Miss shook her head and said: "We, as children, can only obey the orders of our parents."

Liu Qiao was trying to find out the news, and Xiao Lou was worried that he would be found missing, so he left the Buddhist hall quickly.

The servant girl waited for a long time, and when she saw Madam Yu coming out, she couldn't help but worry: "Why has Madam been gone for so long?"

Xiao Lou smiled slightly, and said, "Maybe it's because my stomach was spoiled by eating in the morning, and I'm not feeling well."

When he followed the servant girl back to the lotus pond, Lao Mo, who had gone to investigate in the front yard, had just returned, and the two exchanged a look.

The clues that could be obtained before the case happened were limited, and Xiao Lou only saw the Fourth Miss and the Eldest Miss in the backyard, the second Miss Shu'an Junjun, and the third Miss who was a boy and loved martial arts.

Old Mo said in a low voice: "I saw people from the Lin family also came, including that Young Master Lin."

Just at this time, Yu Hanjiang and the prince came out of the study, and Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin went up to greet them.

The prince is very busy today, there are a lot of distinguished guests, he took the initiative to say "I have something to leave" and asked his followers to take them to the side hall to settle down first.The three of them bid farewell tactfully, turned around and sat down in the side hall, waiting for the dinner to start.

Soon, Shao Qingge also came in and sent several boxes of congratulatory gifts.

As the richest family in Daqi, the Shao family's congratulatory gifts are of course the most important among all the guests.

Today's Shao Qingge is wearing a gorgeous silk gown, full of extravagance.After he walked into the side hall, he saw Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin, and immediately walked over to show off his acting skills: "Master Yu, what a coincidence, we meet again."

Yu Hanjiang had no choice but to play along with him: "Young Master Shao, it is indeed a coincidence."

Shao Qingge sat on the seat next to Yu Hanjiang with a smile, covered his face with a fan, pretended to catch up with Master Yu, but actually said in a low voice, "I saw someone at the door just now."

Yu Hanjiang asked, "Who?"

Shao Qingge said: "Qu Wanyue."

Yu Hanjiang was startled, and finally heaved a sigh of relief.Their team was short of Qu Wanyue who never showed up. Now that Teacher Qu has also come to the Zhenjiang Prince's Mansion, all the members are gathered together, and the main event should begin soon.

Yu Hanjiang lowered his voice and asked, "What is her identity?"

Shao Qingge gloated: "The woman disguised herself as a man and became a handsome young man. When Long Sen saw his wife dressed in men's clothes, her jaw almost dropped, her mouth was so big that she could swallow a duck's egg."

Yu Hanjiang: "..."

When will Mr. Shao's gloating behavior be corrected?

Yu Hanjiang asked seriously: "Did you pretend to be a man, or did you become a man?"

Shao Qingge said with a smile: "It should be a disguise. Her identity in this world is still a woman, so she disguised herself as a man to facilitate her actions. There was also a woman who came with her, who was also a woman disguised as a man, with thin skin and tender flesh. Don't know who it is."

Just as he was talking, he saw Qu Wanyue in men's clothing and a handsome "boy" walking into the side hall side by side.

The two found an empty seat and sat down, drinking tea by themselves.

Qu Wanyue met Shangyu Hanjiang's eyes and nodded slightly to him.

Xiao Lou also spotted Qu Wanyue, and then saw another person sitting next to her. That person looked very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before... Xiao Lou thought about it carefully, it wasn't him and Yu Hanjiang Was it the princess I saw when I was shopping in Kyoto?

Xiao Lou smiled lightly, leaned into Yu Hanjiang's ear and said, "Princess Ninth, shouldn't she come to look for you?"

Rumor has it that Yu Hanjiang declined the late emperor's offer of marriage at the beginning, and the nine princesses held a grudge against this.But Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou have been married for four years, she is a princess, and most of them are young talents who want to be consorts, so it's not that they can't let go of it now, right?

Her Royal Highness the Princess came all the way to Jiangzhou, is it just to find fault?If this is the case, then the princess is not just capricious, but has a brain problem.Xiao Lou felt that things would not be that simple.

Worried about Xiao Lou thinking too much, Yu Hanjiang immediately explained: "I really don't know her well, and I haven't spoken more than five sentences in total. Don't think too much, her coming here is probably related to the plot."

Xiao Lou smiled and said, "Of course I believe you. Besides, I also think that the princess's coming to Jiangzhou will not be just to find fault with us. The good show will be staged soon, let's wait and see."