The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

Xiao Li went out today for some private matters, so he was not wearing his official uniform.

Instead, he was wearing a dark-colored straight-collared robe and a waist belt with auspicious cloud patterns of the same color.

His jet-black hair was tied up and he wore a simple white jade and silver crown. He looked handsome and noble, and he looked arrogant.

But the shopkeeper didn't know what he was talking about, and still stepped forward to protect the servant: "You said you were the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, and you are, then I said I was a prince."

There were so many people in the inn that they blocked the door and refused to move.

Since Xiao Li entered the government, he has solved countless cases. He is a prophetic figure in the Dali Temple.

He never thought that one day his identity as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple would be questioned.

The key point is that he really has no way to prove that the people he brought with him had already been sent away to the yamen to transfer officials.

The only person present who knew his identity was Shen Baozhao.

And if she spoke for him at this moment, the shopkeeper would think that they were in the same group.

It's really like a scholar meeting a soldier, he can't explain himself clearly even if he is right.

Shen Baozhao couldn't help but feel in good spirits when she saw that the Junior Official of Dali Temple, who had glared at her that day at Brahma Mountain, was humiliated in front of a small shopkeeper.

At this time, a man came from a distance with a group of officials.

The leader bowed to Xiao Li and said, "Sir Shaoqing, I happened to see the Five Cities Army on patrol, so I asked Commander Gong to borrow some of their men."

Xiao Li didn't say much, just waved his hand at the group of officers and said, "Search thoroughly, don't leave any corner unsearched."

The shopkeeper was so frightened when he saw the police that he sat down on the ground.

This is terrible. He was blind and failed to recognize the great man. Now he has brought trouble to his boss again.

In less than a quarter of an hour, an official came to report that they had found a number of banknotes and silver in the servants' room, as well as some jade pendants and other valuables.

The servant found that he could not hide the truth any longer and had to confess.

It turned out that when Miss Cui paid the deposit yesterday, the accountant saw the silver in her bag.

The accountant, together with the servants, used smoke to knock Miss Cui out in the middle of the night and stole her property.

The truth was revealed before they could even divide the spoils, and the servants were as pale as death. The shopkeeper was indeed kept in the dark.

The onlookers all looked at Shen Baozhao with admiration.

"The girl is truly a deity, she can solve a case with just a red string. Even Bao Gong is no better than her!"

"Girl, please tell me who stole my cow."

"Girl, girl, I'll give you one or two taels of silver. I'll calculate it first."

"Me first, me first..."

Shen Baozhao saw that Miss Cui had already taken back the silver, and the people nearby were too enthusiastic, so he had no choice but to take Miss Cui with him into the carriage.

The road on the street had already been cleared by the Five Cities Army, and the driver hurried away in his carriage.

Xiao Li saw the dust left by the speeding carriage and his eyes were unclear.

In the carriage, Miss Cui saw that there were only two women, Shen Baozhao and Qingkong, so she took out her hairpin, and her three thousand strands of black hair fell down.

Qingkong originally wanted to nag his young lady not to bring a man from another family into the carriage, but when he saw that Miss Cui was a woman, he couldn't help but wonder if the young lady had already figured it out?

Miss Cui bowed to Shen Baozhao and said, "Thank you for your help today."

Because of Shen Jiemin's incident, Shen Baozhao already sympathized with Cui: "Miss, you don't have to be so polite."

Miss Cui was also very cheerful and generous: "We shouldn't go around like this anymore."

"My last name is Cui, Cui Mingzhu. You can just call me Mingzhu."

In the previous life, I only knew Cui, but not her maiden name. The Cui family’s love for Cui Mingzhu can be seen from her name.

It's a pity that the pearl was covered in dust and Shen Jiemin was blind.

"Mingzhu, my last name is Shen, and my given name is Baozhao. I just don't know why you went out alone? People are treacherous. If I hadn't met you today, what would have happened if you had lost your money?"

Cui Mingzhu lowered her head and shed tears secretly. From childhood to adulthood, today was the worst day she had ever had. She was kicked out of the inn and almost had her clothes taken off in the street.

"I ran away from home, and today is only the second day. My parents arranged a marriage for me, but I haven't even seen the other person's face, so I'm not happy about it."

"I have to come to Kyoto to have a look to feel at ease. If he is not a good man, I will not marry him even if he has to become a nun."

Shen Baozhao saw that although Cui Mingzhu was willful, she also had her own principles. In her previous life, she was probably driven away by the shopkeeper and then found by her family.

"Bao Zhao, you are from Kyoto. Have you ever heard of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion?" Cui Mingzhu asked hopefully.

Shen Baozhao did not hide it from her and said frankly: "Ning'an Marquis's Mansion is my home. My father is the second master of Ning'an Marquis's Mansion."

After hearing what Shen Baozhao said, Cui Mingzhu immediately smiled. This was such a coincidence.

"Then Shen Jiemin is your brother?" If he is Baozhao's brother, then he must be a good person.

Shen Baozhao nodded: "He is my brother from the next room. Could it be that Miss Cui is my sister-in-law who is not married yet?"

Cui Mingzhu blushed at what Shen Baozhao said. It was not easy to ask directly about the character and appearance of the brother.

And Shen Baozhao didn't want to tell Cui Mingzhu that Shen Jiemin was not a good match based on his personal subjective judgment.

Even if Cui Mingzhu trusted her, she couldn't convince Cui Mingzhu's parents and relatives.

Forget it, let's not talk about it for now. Anyway, Jin Shiniang is like a string of firecrackers that can be lit at any time, and she will be discovered sooner or later.

He only asked Cui Mingzhu: "Mingzhu, what are your plans now? If you want to go back to the Cui family, I can ask the family to send you there in a carriage. This way you don't have to worry about meeting bad people."

Cui Mingzhu shook her head: "I don't want to go back, Baozhao, I still want to see your brother and talk to him."

"Can you arrange that for me?"

Seeing Cui Mingzhu's pleading look, Shen Baozhao came up with a compromise.

"I have a house on Sifang Street, where I have adopted many homeless children. Now there is only one Aunt Li to take care of them."

"You can stay there temporarily, and I'll assign a maid to take care of you. If you trust me, I'll take you to see my brother when the time is right. How do you think?"

Cui Mingzhu readily agreed. Shen Baozhao sent her to the charity hall, and after arranging everything, he took Qingkong back to the Ning'an Earl's Mansion.

After going out for a while, seeing patients and solving cases, Shen Baozhao was exhausted.

But today it is her turn to take care of the patient, and she has asked the third wife, Mrs. Tang, to look after him, so she can't just ignore him.

Then we came to Rongde Hall.

The old lady had just gone to bed, and the whole room was filled with a rotten smell mixed with the smell of medicine.

Shen Baozhao couldn't stay any longer and left the room, and saw the third wife was also in the hall. The two looked at each other, and both saw embarrassment in each other's eyes.

The Third Madam could only exchange pleasantries: "Zhao Zhao went to the Wu'an Earl's Mansion today. Did you see the Third Young Master Qiao?"

It was rare for the Third Madam to take the initiative to talk to someone, so Shen Baozhao naturally would not ignore her: "I saw him, Third Young Master Qiao is being treated for his illness."

"It should be healed soon."

The teacup beside the Third Madam fell to the ground with a clang. She looked at Baozhao in disbelief.

"What did you say? Can Third Young Master Qiao recover?"