Chapter 604: Nanlin Goes North and the Golden Hairpin Gathers (Part 4)
Xiaoyi Street, Xue’s Pawnshop.
Knock knock knock~
Hearing someone knocking on the door, the shopkeeper Yue Baili hurriedly locked the account books and two letters on the table into the drawer, and then he raised his voice and answered, "Come in."
Squeak~
The wooden door was gently pushed open, and the shop assistant He San bowed outside and reported: "Boss, the eldest daughter is here. She said she wants to find a few rare items to give as gifts. She is now selecting them in the backyard storeroom."
It’s almost dark, what is the eldest daughter of the Xue family doing here at this time?
Yue Baili frowned, stood up, put his hands behind his back and walked out of the inner hall. He walked to the door of the storehouse, pondering all the way. He listened for a moment and found that only the sweet and naive murmur of a young girl could be heard faintly from inside. He could not hear it clearly, so he put on a smile and walked in.
After entering the room, he saw Xue Baoqin in a green dress and a small hat. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the little girl must have sneaked out again and was not instructed by her family.
As a result, the smile on Yue Baili's face became more genuine, and he reminded her half-truthfully, "Young lady, you shouldn't act recklessly at this moment."
"At this moment?"
Xue Baoqin looked back at Yue Baili in surprise and asked curiously, "Did something happen recently?"
It turns out that this little girl didn't know that her family's business was in trouble.
Yue Baili felt even more relaxed, and changed the subject: "It's not a big deal. I wonder what rare thing the young lady wants to find today?"
"Um……"
Xue Baoqin gently poked her chin with her fingers. Although she was dressed in men's clothes, her playful and serious look still made the two shop assistants' hearts beat wildly.
Then she muttered hesitantly, "It's best if he's liked by a warrior... No, he doesn't seem to be a pure warrior."
What warriors like?
Not a pure warrior?
Yuan Baili's heart moved, thinking to himself, could it be that Xue Ke had hit a snag in the morning and still refused to give up, so he wanted to please Wang Ren with a rare gift?
But even if a gift is to be given, it shouldn't be the eldest daughter who chooses it, right?
He couldn't help but probe: "I wonder who the young lady is going to give this gift to?"
This sentence immediately aroused Xue Baoqin's interest. She raised her nose high and spoke in a rhythmic manner like a storyteller: "Speaking of this man, he is a world-famous strange man. It is said that he was born with a bloodshot eye and is good at judging yin and yang cases. He also has unparalleled courage and strength. He can defeat thousands of troops with a single sword!"
Hearing this, one of the guys couldn't help but blurt out, "Could it be that General Sun who conquered Huguang with one sword?"
"Yes!"
Xue Baoqin nodded her head sharply, and then said proudly: "Because my eldest uncle's cousin is a close friend of General Sun, my brother went to the dock to meet him today. Who would have thought that he and General Sun would hit it off right away, and he was even planning to get him to invest in our shop!"
These words were three-tenths true and seven-tenths false, but she said them in such a boastful tone that people could not help but believe them 100%.
Yue Baili secretly pondered in his heart that Xue Ke might be doing this to attract strong reinforcements - but although Sun Shaozong was famous at a young age, he was probably still a long way from being able to compare with any other family.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard Xue Baoqin say with some doubt: "I also heard from my brother that General Sun will be promoted to the pacification envoy, but I don't know what this position is? Why is even Wang Yanei going to the dock to welcome him?"
Pacifier?
Could it be the pacification envoy in charge of the Northern Pacification Division? !
Yue Baili's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself that if this was true, this matter must not be underestimated - for any official, who would not be afraid of the Northern Pacification Office?
It seems that I must send a message to Suzhou, so as to avoid...
Just as he was thinking of a countermeasure, he suddenly saw Xue Baoqin blinking her big eyes again, with a look of longing on her face: "If General Sun really buys shares in our shop, it won't be so easy to do bad things without telling my brother in the future - as long as we ask General Sun to judge, whether it is loyalty or treachery will naturally be exposed!"
Yue Baili felt worried again. He had just been thinking about the reputation of the Northern Pacification Office, but had forgotten about Lord Sun's ability to solve cases.
If Xue Ke discovered something was wrong and asked him to help investigate, wouldn't he be...
No, it seems that the plan has to be postponed, at least until Suzhou solves this big problem first!
With such a heavy heart, Yue Baili picked out two treasures from the pawned items, escorted Xue Baoqin to the carriage, and then hurried back to the inner hall, took out his writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and began to write.
But when Xue Baoqin got into the car and just lowered the curtain, her face suddenly fell. She buried her innocent body in the cushions and murmured, "I don't know if this method can stabilize the Zhen family."
It turned out that the family that had business disputes with the Xue family was none other than the Zhen family from Jiangnan.
The Zhen family is an old friend of the Rongguo Mansion and the Wang family. In terms of closeness, they are even closer than Xue Ke and his mother, and their influence is more than ten times greater.
Comparing the two, it is no wonder that Wang Ren deliberately neglected Xue Ke.
"ah!"
At this moment, a woman outside the carriage suddenly screamed, followed by the driver's scolding: "You woman, don't you have eyes? Why did you bump into the horse's hooves?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't see it clearly just now!"
The scolded woman apologized repeatedly, but a pleasant voice sounded beside her: "Although my mother is wrong, in this weather, you should drive slower."
"You little girl..."
"Laifu!"
Hearing that her own driver was still trying to argue, Xue Baoqin lifted the curtain and shouted, "What he said makes sense. In such weather, we should have driven slower in the city."
As he spoke, he nodded slightly to the other side: "Madam, are you injured anywhere? The clinic is not far ahead, I will take you there..."
“No need, no need!”
When the woman was asked this question, she shook her hands hurriedly, then picked up a small package and hurried across the street.
However, her daughter returned the greeting gracefully and then followed slowly.
"This sister is really a good color."
Xue Baoqin watched the other person go away, praising him, but added in her heart: He is only slightly inferior to me.
Let’s not talk about how Xue Baoqin returned by car.
But when the mother and daughter reached the other side of the street, they looked back and saw that the carriage had gone far away. The woman heaved a sigh of relief, but then she couldn't help complaining, "If your father hadn't been so stubborn and insisted on sending us to a faraway place, how could this have happened? Fortunately, I'm still quite agile, otherwise I would have almost..."
"mother!"
The girl stopped the unlucky move and gently persuaded, "Dad was worried that the Wang family would look down on us and that it would cause us a lot of inconvenience on the way to Beijing, so he didn't let us pawn our things nearby. If he had known about the danger in advance, he would never have let Mom bring the things here."
The girl's voice was clear and pleasant, and it also had a refreshing warmth that was refreshing to the heart. She was able to ease her mother's annoyance with just a few words.
But the woman's anger had just subsided, and she was worried again. She smiled bitterly and said, "Even if she goes to Beijing, what will happen? Your aunt has been married to the eldest master of Rongguo Mansion for twenty years. Has she ever taken care of our family?"
It turned out that the mother and daughter were none other than Mrs. Xing's sister-in-law and niece Xing Xiuyan.
The mother and daughter originally followed Mrs. Xing's brother Xing Zhong to run a small business in Suzhou City.
Who would have thought that in recent years the family's financial situation has gone from bad to worse, and now they can't even afford to rent a house. They have no choice but to move north to live with relatives.
It was a coincidence that Wang Ren happened to be passing by Suzhou, and all the officials in the mansion went to greet him and see him off. Xing Zhong also took the opportunity to make friends with his relatives and wanted to take a ride on a ship to the capital.
Who knew that although the travel expenses were saved, the expenses for showing off increased by an unknown amount.
After just a few days of traveling, most of the money the Xing family had used up. Xing Zhong did not want to show weakness in front of the Wang family, so he had to secretly ask his wife and daughter to take a few things and sell them at a pawnshop far away.
Stop talking nonsense.
However, Xing Xiuyan and her daughter took advantage of the night and entered the Wang family's old house through the back door. However, after searching inside and outside, they could not find any trace of Xing Zhong.
After asking the maid on duty, she learned that it was a man named General Sun who had come. Since he was related to the Xing family, she invited Uncle Xing to accompany him.
"General Sun?"
Xing Zhong's wife didn't think much of it, but Xing Xiuyan's eyes lit up and she couldn't help asking, "But what about Sun Shaozong and General Sun who just quelled the Huguang rebellion?!"
After receiving the affirmative answer from the maid, Xing Xiuyan felt a little uneasy. From time to time, she looked towards the front hall with eyes full of longing.
Seeing that she had lost her usual composure, Xing's mother immediately misunderstood her daughter and hurriedly advised her daughter, " Who cares about General Sun or General Li? Since he is a distinguished guest of the Wang Yamen, he is definitely not someone we can cling to. You have always been sensible, so don't let your imagination run wild!"
"Mom, what are you thinking about?"
Xing Xiuyan stamped her feet shyly. Seeing that her mother was still a little suspicious, she had to reveal the truth: "In fact, this General Sun is the Lord Sun of Shuntian Prefecture that Sister Miaoyu often mentioned in her letters before."
"You know, I have always felt that Sister Miaoyu should not rashly entrust her life to the Buddha - and Sister Miaoyu has always been very determined, but in recent years she has repeatedly mentioned this Lord Sun. I think it must be fate!"
"Because of this relationship, my daughter wants to see with her own eyes what Mr. Sun looks like and whether he is a good match for Sister Miaoyu."
It turned out that the courtyard that Xing Zhong had rented for many years in Suzhou was exactly the property of Miaoyu's family, and it happened to be near the nunnery where Miaoyu practiced Buddhism.
So Xing Xiuyun and Miaoyu lived as neighbors for ten whole years. All the characters she learned were taught by Miaoyu. They were truly both teacher and friend. So when she heard that the person Miaoyu had been thinking about had arrived, she could no longer remain calm.
After hearing her daughter's well-reasoned words, Xing's mother was relieved and smiled as she advised, "If they are really destined to be together, you will definitely be able to see it in the future. Why rush now? Besides, wealthy families are most particular about the distinction between insiders and outsiders. How can we..."
Just as I said this, I heard a loud shouting outside the yard:
"This is terrible! General Sun wants to come to our house to question the case!"
"Is this General Sun who has the bloodshot eyes? Is he judging a human or a ghost this time?"
"Of course it's a human trial, but you have to be brave enough to watch it if you want to judge ghosts!"
"Come on, let's go and see something new!"
When Xing Xiuyan heard this, she could no longer hold back and hurriedly told her mother that she wanted to go to the front to see if her father was drunk, and then she mixed in with the maids.
