Guo Jiuniang glanced at her in surprise and said, "How could you have such an idea? Your grandfather died of diabetes. He had been suffering from this disease for ten years. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to adopt your uncle as a heavyweight. The legitimate son of the family. "

Did you really think too much?

Rong Shu raised his eyes and glanced at Guo Jiuniang, "Well, the person my mother liked before was my uncle, right?"

Guo Jiuniang slowly refilled her glass of wine and said, "Of course I do. Your mother has known since she was a child that Shen Zhi is going to Those who get married to her will not look at anyone else and wait wholeheartedly for her to get married. Don't worry, your mother is not someone who can't stop being in love. Shen Zhi came back from Shangjing and said that he fell in love with someone else and only wanted to be with your mother. We will be brothers and sisters for a lifetime. Your mother is sad, but she still broke the engagement. No, you girl is more clean than your mother. Just divorce her.

" He touched his nose.

Guo Jiuniang squinted at her: "I think that Gu Yushi is better than Shen Zhi. Are you going to have trouble with him?"

"How could that be?" Rong Shu said with a smile, "I just want to find out about my uncle." " I will take my mother to Datong to raise horses in the future."

"Isn't that right? You don't have to worry about your mother's lingering love for Shen Zhi. Both of you, mother and daughter, are willing to cut off your love." Said: "The Shen family was just a fat sheep at the beginning. Your mother married into the Hou Mansion to save the Shen family. If someone wants to ruin the Shen family's good reputation for a hundred years, your mother will not let that person go. Besides, if you really You have found evidence that Shen Zhi made a mistake. You have to persuade the ancestors of the Shen family to open an ancestral hall and remove Shen Zhi's surname. Your mother, as Mrs. Hou, is much more useful than you, the legitimate daughter of the Hou family."

Rong Shu . Thinking about Guo Jiuniang's words, her heart gradually became shaken.

Seeing her frowning and thinking, Guo Jiuniang couldn't help but poke Rong Shu's forehead and said, "Every little girl worries about this and that all day long, and wrinkles appear carefully."

Rong Shu touched his forehead and said with a smile, "Guo Jiuniang "Auntie is right!"

After all, she is the child she cares about. Guo Jiuniang doesn't want her to think too much, and said: "Even if the sky falls, you and I will still be there to support you. Xiaoxiao, don't worry about yourself like an old woman. Your birthday is coming soon, and your mother sent me a letter two days ago, asking me to prepare a boat for you to celebrate your birthday!"

As he was talking, outside ! Suddenly a burst of laughter like silver bells came from the corridor.

Guo Jiuniang listened for a moment, then shook her head and said: "Lu Yun and the others are all pure shepherds. They are not prostitutes, but they are a bit noisy. It must be because your guard is honest and is teasing her. Go out and help your guard out." Come on."

Rong Shu was afraid that Luo Yan would be thin-skinned, so he quickly got up and went out. As soon as he entered the wing next door, he saw Luo Yan being surrounded by several beautiful women, his face flushed red.

"Miss Luoyan, look at your hands, they are almost like old tree bark. Just bear with it, this wooden stick is very useful, I will polish it for you."

Luoyan never acted like this when he killed someone . She was embarrassed, but these girls were all so delicate. She was afraid that she would hurt the girl if she exerted force, so she didn't dare to withdraw her hand.

Seeing that Lu Yun's wooden stick was about to fall on Luo Yan's fingers, Rong Shu stepped forward and gently pinched the wooden stick, and said with a smile: "Sisters, please spare Sister Luo Yan."

Lu Yun had no choice but to give up. , looked at her angrily, and said with a pout, "Don't you feel sorry for Miss Luoyan that you've killed her enemies so hard?"

Luoyan breathed a sigh of relief quietly.

Rong Shu wanted to laugh when he saw this scene.

Who would have thought that the guard chief Luo Yan, who was highly skilled in martial arts, steady and taciturn, would be as honest as a quail when meeting Lu Yun and the others next to County Lord Danzhu.

"Thank you so much. Sister Luoyan is back to Yangzhou for the first time. I'll take Sister Luoyan to visit the nearby areas."

Luyun and the others were reluctant to leave, and stuffed two boxes of hand balm into Luoyan's arms . , then he was willing to let him go.

Luo Yan didn't feel like he could breathe again until he left Chunyue Tower.

Rong Shu glanced at her and said with a smile: "I'll take you to eat delicious pine nut candies to calm down the shock. The pine nut candies are best when they are freshly fried."

The two of them crossed the Wu's Brick Bridge and were about to get off the bridge . , an old Taoist priest with white hair and beard walked towards him.

The old Taoist priest's white eyebrows drooped on the side of his face, his eyes were stern, and he was shaking the cattail leaf fan in his hand.

The cattail leaf fan had three cracks, and it was obviously in great tatters, but when the old Taoist held it, it had some unexplainable traces of immortality.

Rong Shu didn't know why, but when he saw the cattail leaf fan, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyes were caught by the cattail leaf fan.

Probably noticing her gaze, the old Taoist priest looked over. The next moment, he saw his two long eyebrows twitching slightly, and said in surprise: "That's weird! You girl's face is clearly short-lived." ."

Rong Shu and Luo Yan naturally heard this.

Luo Yan had been acting like a cat in Chunyue Tower just now, but now he finally showed his strength. Hearing this

, he glared angrily: "What nonsense is this old man talking?" You are talking nonsense, this girl clearly only has two years left to live, but -"

He shook his head, "That's all, you don't believe it even if I say it."

Rong Shu said hurriedly: "What? You might as well say it bluntly. "

When the old Taoist priest said she had a short life, Rong Shu just thought he was making up nonsense.

But when he later told him about the two-year period, it was no longer nonsense, but he really had some skills.

Rong Shu never understood why she was resurrected, and she was not sure whether she would still be alive two years later. I finally met someone who knew something, so I wanted to ask for clarification.

The old Taoist priest refused to say anything more. He only gave Rong Shu a meaningful look and said, "Don't say it, don't say it. If we meet again in the future,

let me talk to you, Taoist priest!" Then he left.

"The Taoist Master just said that my appearance is clearly a sign of a short-lived life. Did something happen to make my face no longer a sign of a short-lived life?" Rong Shu said: "If not, how could the Taoist Master be so surprised? "

After hearing what she said, the old Taoist priest shook his hand of cattail leaf fan for a moment and looked back at her.

She is a smart girl.

Suddenly he became interested and said: "We are destined to meet each other. I will answer your question."

Rong Shu wanted to ask more than one question. She only knew that the most important thing for such an outstanding person is the word "fate". , it would be considered good if I could answer her question today.

Therefore, she was not greedy. She thought about it and said, "If I don't die in two years, will someone else die for me?"

The old Taoist priest raised his eyebrows and said, "The cycle of cause and effect, retribution, retribution, It's like this. Others can understand what the girl asked, but the girl can't."

"Why can't I?"

The old Taoist didn't answer, "I will only answer your question now. I'll meet you again in the future. I’ll answer your question, girl.”

Within a moment of saying these words, the figure of the old Taoist priest completely disappeared from the other end of the bridge.

Such a conversation is really unbelievable.

Luo Yan actually didn't quite understand the conversation between the old Taoist priest and Rong Shu, but he was afraid that Rong Shu would think too much, so he still said: "Girl, don't take it seriously! There are so many Taoist priests who cheat and kidnap these days, and that one back then was gullible. Yao Dao, this is how he aroused the wrath of Heaven. "

The "that one" in Luo Yan's mouth refers to Prince Qi Yuan.

The prince did a lot of practical things in the years he supervised the country, but for some unknown reason, he suddenly became obsessed with alchemy. He built alchemy rooms and alchemy furnaces. I heard that he also arrested many boys and girls, which aroused public resentment. .

Prince Qiyuan's reputation among the people was so bad that when others talked about him, they used "that one" instead.

Rong Shu also had a bad impression of Prince Qiyuan, but she would not hate all Taoist priests because of this.

There are demons in this world, but there are also good Taoists, and you can't overturn a whole boat of people with one pole.

After suppressing all the thoughts in her mind, she smiled and said, "I have nothing to do. Let's go and buy pine nut candies." When

the old man selling pine nut candies saw her, he greeted her cheerfully and said: "But I still need to add more pine nuts?"

Rong Shu responded with a smile.

The old man threw down two spoonfuls of pine nuts and said, "The husband who came with the girl last time also came to the old man a few days ago to buy pine nut candies."

Gu Changjin?

Is he here to buy pine nut candies?

How could he like pine nut candies?

Rong Shu blinked twice and said, "Is that the old man, are you sure it's that person?"

"Are you sure? How could such a handsome old man admit his mistake? If you wait a little longer, he might be here soon."

The old man said . I had a good impression of the husband. I knew that this girl was his sweetheart, so I thought about pulling strings, and unexpectedly I was about to meet her.

In fact, he just mentioned it, but he didn't expect that the man actually appeared before the pine nuts in the pot were fried.

The old man shook the iron spoon in his hand, raised his chin, and said with a smile: "Look, girl, the old man is not only good at craftsmanship, but also accurate in his words."

Rong Shu looked along and bumped into Gu Changjin at a glance. In the dark eyes.

He is also... here to buy pine nut candies?

The pine nut candies she made for him in his previous life got wet and spoiled, but he didn't even eat them. Could it be that he actually likes to eat and doesn't eat it because she made it?

It's not impossible.

Rong Shu felt that he had found the truth and said, "Master, Mr. Yun is also here to buy pine nut candies?"

Before Gu Changjin responded, the stall owner said, "Girl, two pine nut candies are ready."

Rong Shu hurriedly accepted it. However, after handing the money to the stall owner, he heard the man next to him say calmly: "Rong Shu, I'm here to find you."

Rong Shu's hand holding the pine nut candy froze slightly, why did he call out again? Her name?

He was very defensive. He used to call her "Madam" one after another, but in fact, the alienation there was easily detectable.

Calling her by her first name was naturally more alienating than calling her "Madam", but his tone sounded as familiar as if he were an old friend.

Rong Shu thought about it and understood.

He just doesn't understand love, but he doesn't understand right and wrong.

Whether he reconciled with him neatly in this life or helped her all the way after coming to Yangzhou, he was somewhat grateful to her.

Thinking of this, Rong Shu stopped thinking about it, handed a bag of pine nut candies to Luo Yan, and said cheerfully: "Master Yun wants to go back to Pingnan Street? Is it convenient for Sister Luo Yan to go with me?

" Yan is a member of the Protector General's Mansion and a person sent by Danzhu County Lord to protect her.

Gu Changjin thought for a moment and then replied: "Convenient."

The three of them went to Pingnan Street together. It was still the same courtyard full of empty wine cans and the same cane chairs. Only now there was one more person, and the atmosphere seemed to be tense. It’s different.

Tsunegi and Shiiun are both gone, leaving Hengping alone looking after the house.

Hengping recalled the words that Changji had muttered before going to work, "Remember to create some opportunities for the master and the young lady to be alone."

Then he came out of the inner room and said to Luo Yan: "I heard that Miss Luo Yan is the chief guard of Danzhu County Lord. Can I ask her for some tips?"

Luo Yan ignored him. She understood more or less that this person Mr. Gu is not at all like those noble ladies in Shangjing said, and he has no interest in Miss Rong at all.

Her general has always been alone, and it is rare to find someone he likes. She has to help her master to tighten the corner no matter what.

Furthermore, the masters were talking in the yard, and the guards ran to attack him. Could it be that Mr. Gu's elder brother was mentally ill?

"Wherever the girl is, I will be there." Luo Yan said coldly.

Hengping is not like Changji and Zhuiyun. He has many crooked ideas, and when he sees the falling smoke, he is silent and continues to make the saw-shaped gourd. After thinking about it, since Miss Luoyan was there, there was no need for him to avoid her, so he simply stayed in the yard.

So the number of people in the yard changed from three to four.

Rong Shu couldn't detect the undercurrent here, but Gu Changjin glanced at Hengping lightly.

"Do you have any clues about me, sir?" The little girl didn't even bother to eat the pine nut candy. As soon as she sat down, she asked, "Is there any relationship between the Shen family and Liao Rao?"

Gu Changjin looked at Rong Shu and spoke slowly. Said: "It is true that some maritime merchants cooperated with the pirates on Sifang Island and secretly sold Dayin's silk, porcelain, and tea. But there was no Shen family among these merchants. The Shen family gave up after the late emperor launched the maritime ban. Maritime trade is a trade route that has never been touched again."

When he said this, his voice paused slightly and he said with a little respect: "Back then, your grandfather was one of the first merchants to follow the maritime ban and give up maritime trade. "

When Emperor Jiande was alive, the Shen family was still headed by my grandfather.

My grandfather was a man who would never secretly do anything harmful to Dayin.

"The Shen family started as a grain merchant. After many generations of hard work, it was passed down to my grandfather and he became the largest businessman in Yangzhou." Rong Shu talked about the grandfather he had never met, and a smile appeared on Hibiscus's face unconsciously. He smiled and said, "I heard from grandma that when the Shen family was at its peak, business was spread across all walks of life, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation, but my grandfather would never give up the interests of the family and country for the sake of profit."

They all say that the maritime trade route is a road of gold and silver. How many people would rather build ships privately and secretly sell their goods overseas than give up the profits, but my grandfather really gave it up when he said it would.

After Emperor Jiayou ascended the throne and most of the Shen family's wealth was dispersed, my grandfather once again became a grain merchant. It was not until the Shen family was handed over to Shen Zhi that he slowly started to start other businesses.

When the little girl talked about her grandfather, she couldn't hide the pride in her voice. As Gu Changjin listened to her, a smile gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Shen Zhi did follow your grandfather's instructions at first and only engaged in grain trading. But in the past ten years, he has become a salt merchant. Over the years, he has been working in the salt fields of the Chief Secretaries of Fujian, Shandong and Liaodong. He used There are traces of

Yan Yin and Lu Yin. "It is said that salt is the best in the world.

Salt merchants have always been the richest businessmen in Dayin. The Shen family started out as a granary business. Shen Zhi would choose to exchange grain for salt. In fact, it was because of profit.

It was precisely because of his transformation into a salt merchant that the Shen family's wealth today has increased dozens of times compared to twenty years ago.

"Salt fields in Fujian, Shandong, and Liaodong." Rong Shu thought about these places carefully and asked puzzledly: "Why doesn't uncle get salt from the salt fields here in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also the locations of several major salt fields in Dayin. Our waterways extend in all directions and water transportation is convenient. Why would we abandon such convenient salt-fetching land and go to Fujian and Liaodong to fetch salt?

"It is precisely because of the convenient water transportation that salt merchants from all over the country come to the salt fields in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huaihe to extract salt. As a result, the salt here is not enough for withdrawal, while the nearby land is stagnant with salt. The imperial court has always encouraged salt merchants to go to Fujian and Liaodong. Promoting salt to alleviate the salt shortage in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Your uncle was the first salt merchant to go abroad, and he received a lot of praise for this. "

Everything is so reasonable and reasonable, and there is no doubt at all.

Rong Shu felt suspicious, and the fingers holding the oiled paper bag turned white.

Gu Changjin's half-downed eyes were focused on her as if she was peeling onions. After a moment, he raised his eyes and looked at her and said: "The current clues really can't find anything, but don't worry, I will continue to investigate."

Rong Shuye I know this matter cannot be rushed.

There are still at least two years left, even if the Shen family and the Rong family really cannot escape this disaster, she has left a way out for herself and her mother-in-law.

Thinking that Gu Changjin had to check Shen Zhi for her despite his busy schedule, Rong Shu felt both grateful and guilty for a moment. If Shen Zhi had colluded with Liao Rao, he would have easily checked Shen Zhi, but if not, it would have been a waste of time.

"Your Excellency, we still have the case of Liao Rao and Pan Gongshi to investigate. Since the Shen family has nothing to do with Liao Rao's matter, your Excellency does not need to investigate anymore."

Rong Shu really didn't want him to be distracted. Now there are pirates involved in Liao Rao's matter. The sneak attack on Yangzhou is even more important.

After thinking about it, he said: "The pirates will come ashore as soon as autumn comes, burn, kill and loot. Yangzhou is rich and prosperous, so it is naturally the target of those pirates. I hope that your Excellency and the generals who are guarding the capital will be well prepared for this matter. We must not take it lightly." . "

This is the second time she has emphasized to him that she must be prepared for pirate attacks in autumn.

Gu Changjin paused for a moment and looked straight into her eyes. Those clear moonlit eyes couldn't hide any thoughts, and there was a clear concern.

He nodded gently, his voice sounding both comforting and reassuring: "I have met General Liang. As soon as the Ghost Festival is over, the generals guarding the capital will enter martial law in advance. Yangzhou, we will hold it." He

mentioned "Zhongyuan Festival " Festival." Gu Changjin's mind moved, and he suddenly remembered that this girl's birthday was on the Ghost Festival.

"Rong Shu," he called her name, his deep voice flowing slowly like spring water in the hot summer night, "How will you celebrate your birthday this year?"