547 Fragrant Teahouse
The temperature in the capital had already dropped in September, and the sky had darkened a little earlier.
The vendors by the roadside began to pack up their stalls and prepare to go home.
With a clang, a copper coin was thrown into the chipped bowl in front of him. It turned twice at the bottom of the bowl before calming down.
A fair hand reached out from the side and quickly put away the copper coin.
Rooster glanced at Shen Yijia, who was squatting at the side with a mask on. After hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice and said, “Young Madam, that’s my money.”
Shen Yijia shook her head. “I’m squatting here too. They didn’t specify that it was for you, so it might be mine.”
Rooster was speechless.
Was it easy for him to earn extra money?
Shen Yijia coughed lightly and looked at Mingxiang Residence opposite her. “Why are you dressed like this?”
Rooster said concisely, “Master suspects that there’s something fishy about this teahouse and asked Thirty Thousand and I to keep an eye on it.”
One of them was at the front door, and the other was at the back.
It was also a coincidence that he saw Shen Yijia following a woman over, so he went up.
Song Jingchen had actually arranged for more than just the two of them. There were also people from the Court of Judicial Review disguised as commoners or peddlers nearby. It was just that Rooster didn’t know them.
Shen Yijia rubbed her chin. Her beautiful husband suspected that there was something wrong with this teahouse. That woman had never come out after entering the teahouse. In summary, there was something wrong with Feng Manman.
“How long have you been guarding this place?” Shen Yijia asked again.
Rooster subconsciously pressed down on the money bag on his body and stammered, “Almost half a month.”
Shen Yijia did not notice his small movements. Her feet were a little numb after squatting for so long. She moved to the side and looked at the pedestrians coming and going in front of her. She asked softly, “Have you seen that woman before?”
At this moment, the mask on her face became useful. No one could see her speak.
They thought that she was squatting by the roadside to rest and wait for someone.
Rooster lowered his head and scratched the holes in his clothes. He replied softly, “I’ve seen her a few times. I heard someone mention that she’s the niece of the teahouse shopkeeper. The shopkeeper brought her to the capital to take care of his wife.”
It was said that there were many who wanted to marry her. That girl was good-looking. Many people came to propose marriage, but they were all rejected by the shopkeeper, so this news spread.
At this moment, a gust of wind blew past. Shen Yijia stood up and patted the nonexistent dust off her body. She generously took out a copper coin and threw it into the bowl in front of Rooster before turning to leave.
Rooster thought, “You clearly took a total of ten copper coins from me earlier!”
Since Song Jingchen had already noticed this teahouse, Shen Yijia didn’t enter rashly.
There was a dried fruit shop nearby. She went in and bought some snacks. After paying the bill, she came out and saw a carriage stop in front of the teahouse opposite. A fair-skinned little boy was carried down from the carriage by a maidservant.
The little boy pointed in her direction, and the maidservant led him over.
Shen Yijia was stunned. It took her a moment to realize that the child was referring to the shop behind her.
The little boy was quite good-looking. Shen Yijia took another look before leaving.
What she did not know was that just as she turned around, a woman alighted from the carriage and entered the teahouse.
The woman was slender. Rooster might not be able to recognize her, but if Shen Yijia saw her, she would definitely recognize her as the skinny Liu Piaopiao.
When Song Jingchen arrived home from work, he realized that Shen Yijia was not around. He decided to go out and look for her. Unexpectedly, as soon as he crossed the threshold, he saw Shen Yijia standing alone at the door. She had one hand on her waist and the other on the stone lion, retching.
Song Jingchen’s eyelids twitched. He could already remember when Madam Li was pregnant with Brother Hao and Sister Huan. He clearly remembered that Madam Li often did this back then. Then, someone told him that he was about to have a younger brother or sister.
As soon as this thought appeared, Song Jingchen was shocked by himself. They hadn’t consummated their marriage at all. How could it be the same?
Shen Yijia vomited for a long time, but she still felt uncomfortable in her stomach. When she turned around, she saw Song Jingchen standing there. She pouted. “Hubby.”
“What’s wrong?” Song Jingchen reached out to help her and asked with concern.
Shen Yijia gritted her teeth. “It’s all because of You Yi.”
Song Jingchen’s face darkened.
“He grabbed my collar and flew. I feel sick.” Shen Yijia grabbed the back of her collar and demonstrated.
Thinking about that scene, it was like carrying a chick. It was really not a good scene.
Actually, there was no problem when she went. Shen Yijia felt that it was too difficult for her to walk back, so she asked him to carry her.
In the end, in order to take a shortcut, that person made her dizzy.
After complaining, she thought of her discoveries today and immediately became energetic again. She picked up the food box at the side and pulled Song Jingchen into the residence. “I have something to tell you.”
Song Jingchen was helpless and let her pull him along. “Yes.”
You Yi, who was hiding in the dark, felt wronged. Miss clearly said that she had to go back quickly. Otherwise, Young Master would be anxious!
Madam Li was preparing dinner in the kitchen, while Sister Huan and the others were doing their homework in the courtyard.
“Sister-in-law, you’re back.”
“Yes.” Shen Yijia placed the food box on the table. “I bought preserved fruits. Take them and eat them.”
With that, she pulled Song Jingchen to the study.
“That person appeared?” Song Jingchen asked before Shen Yijia could speak.
“Hubby, you’re so smart.” Shen Yijia turned and gave him a thumbs up.
Song Jingchen was speechless.
Wasn’t it obvious? If not for this, You Yi would still be waiting outside the noodle shop.
Shen Yijia did not care so much. In any case, she would not let go of any opportunity to praise her beautiful husband.
She told him what had happened today and sighed. “I originally wanted You Yi to go in and investigate, but as soon as he approached, he realized that there were many experts hidden inside. He was worried that he would alert the enemy, so he retreated.”
...
“However, there must be something wrong with Feng Manman.”
Song Jingchen pursed his lips and told her about Mingxiang Residence.
There were so many female corpses in the Wutong River. Although Pinellia and the others only recognized a few of them, Song Jingchen was basically certain that those corpses were the girls who had been abducted.
The corpses couldn’t have appeared out of thin air. As long as there were traces, they could follow them. Unfortunately, those people had done it too cleanly. The people he sent to investigate didn’t find anything useful.
Unexpectedly, half a month ago, an old man who relied on the Wutong River to catch fish secretly found him.
It turned out that at night, the old man would dock the boat by the shore and go home to rest.
He recalled that it was a year ago. One night, it suddenly rained heavily. The old man was worried that the supplies for his family’s livelihood would be ruined by the heavy rain, so he went out in the rain to drag the boat ashore.
Unexpectedly, not long after he arrived, there was the sound of hurried hooves. The old man was worried that the bandits had gone down the mountain and hurriedly hid. The carriages stopped by the river, and then there was the sound of something falling into the water.
The commotion was so loud that even the sound of the heavy rain could not cover it.
The thuds continued for a long time before those people left. The old man even specially went to take a look. There was nothing in the river. He thought that those people had thrown stones, so he didn’t take it to heart.
It was not until the matter of the female corpses was exposed that he realized that something was wrong. He was afraid that he would be killed, so he did not dare to say anything.
...
Perhaps because of his conscience, after more than a month of silence, the old man finally secretly looked for Song Jingchen’s people.
