Zheng Xiao Mistake: The Mistake of Rebirth Provoked the Cold Master

Early in the morning, before daybreak in Zhu Mansion, a round figure carrying a wooden barrel staggered across the corridor.

Mingcui dragged the bucket with great effort, and poured it out in one breath as soon as he stepped out of the pavilion. However, he did not notice a figure in the corridor, and was splashed all over by the bucket.

"Oh sorry!"

"sorry!"

Two apologies rang out at the same time, startling many birds that were still asleep.

Mingcui held onto the bucket, "Why do you have to apologize too? I'm the one who's embarrassed."

The guy in gray clothes was soaked like a drowned rat, dripping with water, and bent over, "I'm sorry, I'm standing in the wrong place!"

"I didn't see anyone standing here..." Mingcui also bowed and explained with guilt, "It's been dusty lately, and I have to splash water on it every morning. Sorry, I'll get you a cloth to wipe it off."

The gray-clothed guy pretended not to hear him and apologized with a red face, "I'm sorry, I...I...I'll leave now."

After saying that, he turned around and ran away, leaving Mingcui standing there with the bucket in her hand, completely confused.

Just as the man was about to turn around the corridor, he suddenly stopped and turned back abruptly.

He ran back to Mingcui and took out a bulging cloth bag from his arms.

"Yes... I'm here to give this to you. Please, young lady... give it to the Fourth Young Miss."

Mingcui reached out her hand, but before she could catch it firmly, he let go of her hand, lowered his head, and immediately turned around and ran away.

Mingcui said "Hey" from behind and shouted at him, "What's your name? How do I tell the lady?"

The man paused and said, "Chang-Chang-ying, my name is Chang-ying."

*

When Mingcui came in with the tea, the fourth young lady had already gotten up and was sitting in front of the window facing the chessboard.

She wore a honey-colored embroidered skirt loosely over her snow-white nightgown, and her long black hair was untied and draped over her shoulders. Her head was slightly lowered, and her hair fell in front of her, revealing a section of her snow-white neck.

The sky outside the window was gradually getting brighter, casting a soft, hazy glow over the profile of her face, making her look like a goddess in heaven filled with sorrow, which made people feel soft-hearted.

Mingcui felt that something was different about the young lady, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

For example, recently the young lady often plays chess and reads books, or stays in the study all day long writing something. These hobbies are really too quiet compared to her previous hobbies of fishing, hunting birds, and picking jujubes from trees.

Mingcui walked closer and saw that there was no chess piece on the board. The young lady was holding two chess pieces, one black and one white, in her hands, staring at something in a daze.

"Miss." she called.

Then he placed the tray next to the chessboard, with a gray cloth bag next to the hot tea, "I received this this morning. The person who handed it to me said it was called Changying."

Zhu Zheng responded, took the cloth bag and opened it, inside was a stack of silver bills, the amount was quite considerable. After a rough count, it was about twice what he had given out before.

"Did Changying leave any message?" Zhu Zheng looked up and asked.

Mingcui said, "Before I could ask him, he ran away like a thief."

"He really is worthy of being called that." Zhu Zheng smiled helplessly, "Pack up, I'm going out for a while."

"Where are you going, young lady?"

"Qianye Tea House."

Near noon, a pretty female guest came to Qianye Tea House, and she was greeted by a waiter in gray clothes and a black face.

"Is Changying adapting well?"

"Fourth Miss!" Changying couldn't hide his surprise, "Why are you here?"

Zhu Zheng raised the gray cloth bag in her hand and said with a smile, "Where did the money come from? Does your shopkeeper know?"

"Of course I know!" Changying explained quickly, speaking fluently, "This was given to me by the shopkeeper himself. When I helped him out last time, the shopkeeper promised to give one tenth of the tea shop's profits to you. Business has been booming recently, and the silver bills we earn from sharing the profits have been piling up. I couldn't sleep well with them, so I sent them back home."

On the way here, Zhu Zheng actually had such a guess that the owner of the tea house, Sun, was a very sincere person who valued even a drop of help, let alone the kindness of helping someone in need.

If it is true as Changying said, Qianye Tea House will make a fortune in the future. Even if it only makes 10% of the profit, it will not be an exaggeration to say that it is sleeping on a mountain of gold.

With Zhu Zheng's personality in her previous life, she might have been coy and made some remarks that regarded money as dirt, but in her current situation, it is hard to say who is the benefactor who helps her in her time of need.

Her original plan was to meet Shopkeeper Sun in person, but unfortunately he had left Beijing for work today, so she had to postpone the meeting to another day.

"Remember to let me know when your shopkeeper comes back." Zhu Zheng took out two silver bills and handed them to Changying. "Also, remember to leave a message next time, so as not to make me feel anxious. I will not be able to take the windfall with ease."

Changying nodded, "I will remember this."

While talking, Changying had not stopped his work. He had recently been learning how to sell tea at the counter. There were many guests coming and going, and he was busy but orderly, looking quite skilled.

"Miss! Please turn around and look to the right!" Changying suddenly spoke in a low voice, stopping Zhu Zheng who was about to turn around and leave.

Zhu Zheng turned around when she heard that and saw a man covered in a black veil just coming in from the door. It covered him from head to toe, tightly and was very eye-catching.

He walked straight to where Zhu Zheng was standing. Although there was a curtain between them, Zhu Zheng could inexplicably feel the gazes looking at her from top to bottom.

"Two kilograms of Baihao Yinzhen tea." The man stretched out two fingers to pinch a handful of tea leaves, paused, and said, "Pack them separately."

It was a man, with a completely unfamiliar voice.

Changying called the skill of tea, and the man talked to himself, "The grass and trees are in their hearts."

He turned to Zhu Zheng and asked, "Miss, do you know what the word is?"

"Tea." Zhu Zheng raised his eyebrows.

The man let out a low laugh, "The girl is smart."

Every year at the Lantern Festival, Zhu Zheng is an expert at guessing riddles, but this riddle is so simple that it is not appealing to the eye.

As he spoke, Changying quickly packed two bags of tea and handed them to him.

"The taste of Baihao Yinzhen is clear and sweet, but it is difficult to brew. So while waiting for the tea to brew, there is a custom of using riddles to make friends and add fun." The man only took one packet and put the other packet on the table and pushed it towards Zhu Zheng, "This is the lucky number that the fourth girl guessed."

Zhu Zheng didn't answer and asked suspiciously, "Do you recognize me?"

He didn't answer, but chuckled again, "See you again if we're lucky."

As soon as the word "wait" came out, the Riddler in black walked out of the door at a quick pace.

"This guest dressed in black has come many times." Changying said to Zhu Zheng, "Every evening he comes to weigh a pound of Baihao Silver Needle. Today he came early. He was dressed strangely, so I paid attention to him."

"You come here every day?" Zhu Zheng asked suspiciously, "Do you also come up with a riddle every day?"

"No, he seldom said anything else. Maybe he could tell his subordinates didn't understand what he was saying."

A strange feeling surged into Zhu Zheng's heart. She picked up the tea bag that the person beside her had just handed to her and opened it quickly.

A note fell out from the interlayer.

There were four words written on the note: "Defend the front and stabilize the back."

Changying couldn't believe it. "When did he put it in there?"

Zhu Zheng's face suddenly changed after reading the note. Without even saying goodbye to Changying, she went out as quickly as possible and got on the carriage.

Fortunately, the street was long enough, and half of the man's shadow was still at the end of the street.

"The one in black in front, follow him!"

The man in black was riding a horse, and he seemed to have calculated that someone was following him, so he didn't walk very fast, but went around in circles slowly.

The carriage followed him through many twists and turns, and nearly lost him several times. Finally, it followed him into Shengjing's most famous brothel, and stopped at a place that was both familiar and unfamiliar to Zhu Zheng.

Jinxiang Tower.