Pei Ning had heard a little bit about Ye Youqing, so he didn't ask any more questions now.

"When are you leaving?" Pei Ning asked.

"Tomorrow." Ye Youqing replied, "Someone will pick up the silver."

"Okay, girl, take care, then I'll leave first?" Seeing Ye Youqing kept looking out the window, Pei Ning knew he shouldn't stay longer, pushed away the chair and got up.

Ye Youqing smiled at her, then watched Pei Ning's figure walk out of the porch, walk along the stone road by the river, and soon disappeared behind the rouge-colored plum blossoms.

After drinking the wine that was already cold, Ye Youqing got up, took the cloak from the little second hand and wrapped it up, walked down the stairs slowly, and went in the opposite direction.

Jiangning Mansion deserves to be one of the most prosperous areas in the South, where there are young men and women admiring the scenery on small bridges and flowing water. Elderly men and women by the bridge carry a basket of garlands made of plum blossoms for sale, and the women who come and go are fragrant.

Ye Youqing left the river, walked back to the busy city, and entered a high-rise inn. The inn was elegantly decorated, and plum blossom branches were placed in the lobby, which was fragrant.

She went up the steps, walked into an open door, stretched out her hands, took the cloak off her shoulders, and hung it on the wall.

"How is it?" Shili asked in a low voice.

Although two years have passed, Shili hasn't changed much. If I have to say, she is a little tanned. With her well-proportioned nose bridge and browbones, she seems to be more energetic.

"Everything is going well." Ye Youqing said and walked to the stove. Since then, she has always been afraid of the cold, so whenever it is winter, she has to light a hand stove.

Shili nodded, and snorted outside the door: "The people from the palace are really difficult to deal with. They follow behind their buttocks in the open and in the dark, and they can't get rid of them even if they shake them."

"What do you want to do with him, let him follow." Ye Youqing said with a smile, then heard footsteps approaching, and the door was knocked.

"Say Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will be here." Ye Youqing shrugged, turned and opened the door.

Outside the door was a man in a well-dressed man. When he saw Ye Youqing, he looked a little anxious. He cupped his hands and said, "Miss Chen, Bianjing is in a hurry. You can see that you are wandering around all the time. It doesn't matter if you are traveling in the mountains and rivers." Why don't you hurry up and start?"

"Please don't make it difficult for me, girl. I'm just waiting for orders. As a merchant, it is a great favor for the emperor to personally send someone to invite me. Please don't delay any longer." , half a threat.

"Don't be in a hurry." Ye Youqing smiled warmly. She was holding a hand stove, and with those eyes, she looked a bit weak, "You see, I am weak and can't bear to hurry. You are so anxious, I am still recuperating now."

"If the Holy Majesty didn't ask for generous treatment, and he was afraid that you would die on the way, he would have tied you back long ago." The man slandered.

Ye Youqing guessed what he was thinking, but also smiled and said nothing.

The man sighed for a long time, bent down as if accepting his fate, bowed deeply, and said earnestly: "I beg the girl, we have been looking for the girl for more than a month, if we don't bring her back, we will all be punished." punitive."

"Please hurry up, girl." He bent down again.

Ye Youqing looked at him for a while, and then casually said: "Forget it, it's not easy to see you, besides, Bianjing is about to rejuvenate, so let's go."

The man was overjoyed when he heard the words, and he covered his chest and said: "Thank you, miss, I will prepare the carriage and horses today, and I will pick you up tomorrow morning!"

After finishing speaking, he bowed his head and retreated in relief, and disappeared after a while.

Ye Youqing looked at him indifferently, then turned and closed the door.

"It's true that you have delayed for more than a month. I thought they would not be able to bear it in a few days, but unexpectedly they persisted for so long." Shi Li shrugged.

Ye Youqing nodded, with a satisfied expression: "It proves that the emperor is determined to need that batch of refined iron this time, then it will be easy to handle."

"But we go to the capital alone, aren't you afraid of his hands?" Shili was a little worried.

"The side joints are retreating now, unless the old man has lost his mind." Ye Youqing smiled, "Besides, I want to work hard for the royal family now."

The end of winter in Bianjing is not as revived as in the south, but there is also an atmosphere of welcoming spring. Although the buds have not yet emerged, there are more pedestrians on the street.

The blood flowing into rivers in the frontier fortress seems to have nothing to do with the bustling Bianjing. On the one hand, it is a purgatory on earth, and on the other hand, it is a paradise in a prosperous age.

Especially Yujie, this day because of the rest and sunshine, it seems to be very lively. The sun has been shining for a long time, and the ground even emits some heat.

In the crowd, a man and a woman were walking side by side. The woman was wearing a carmine red dress with white fluff on the skirt and sleeves, adding a bit of calm to the fiery red.

She no longer does not wear makeup as before, but has a plump face, eyebrows like distant mountains, red lips, and those eyes with red corners, she is charming and charming.

The men passing by on the road glanced at her from time to time, and Zhou Hong who was beside her stared back one by one.

Ci Ke acted as if he didn't see it, striding forward, but Zhou Hong bought some small things with money from time to time, and held them in front of Ci Ke to make her happy.

"Look at this purse, it's much more exquisite than in previous years." Zhou Hong smiled and hung a white purse on Ci Ke's waist, but Ci Ke didn't get a smile.

"Ci Ke, today I specially took you out to breathe, so you can save face." Zhou Hong said with a bitter face.

Ci Ke glanced at him, nodded, and forced a smile.

Gongs and drums blare outside Jinling Zhai, it is said that the most beautiful dancer in the whole capital has been invited today, the crowd walked into the store, and it was packed at the door.

Today's Jinlingzhai is also much larger than in previous years. Due to the annexation of the surrounding shops, a stage was set up in the lobby. There are performers playing and singing almost every day. There are round tables and chairs under the stage, and a circle around the head. The railing, inside the railing is an elegant room, which can not only isolate the outside world, but also look at the entire lobby.

Zhou Hong asked someone to save a good place, just under the table, the dishes have been served, chicken, duck and fish are all available, and they are fragrant.

The old man playing the xun on the stage ended his song, and was helped down, and then several women holding pipas got on, playing around the stage, and the ethereal music trickled around the beams.

"Ci Ke, try this, it's a new dish here." Zhou Hong put a plate in front of her.

"Hey, isn't this Zhou Shaoqing!" A loud voice sounded from the side, and a man got up and sat beside Zhou Hong, handed him the wine glass in his hand, and said with a smile, "Why are you willing to bring Miss Ci Ke out today?" ?”

"Brother Du." Zhou Hong was called out suddenly, took the wine glass with a smile, clinked the glasses and drank it down in one gulp.

"I've seen Miss Zhou." The man smiled at Ci Ke, and in exchange for Ci Ke's insignificant nod, he swallowed and looked away.

"Brother, the room is a bit stuffy, I'm going to get some air." Ci Ke got up and left quickly.

"Miss Zhou, watch out for crowding!" The man said to her back.

It is said that the girl of the Zhou family is destined to be ill-fated, and she is a lone star of the gods, and she is not humane. There are rumors in the capital that no one knows which man can bear these things.

But even so, there were not a few people rushing to propose marriage. It was not because of her unmatched beauty. The man surnamed Du murmured in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he chatted with Zhou Hong.

"Zhou Shaoqing, have you ever heard that a businesswoman came to the capital yesterday, and she was specially invited by the Holy Majesty." The man lowered his voice.

"Businessman?" Zhou Hong was a little surprised. Although Qi State was prosperous in business, except for the merchants of the official merchant family, other merchants were not respected even though they had wealth, let alone in the capital.

"Why does the Holy Majesty invite a businessman to do?" Zhou Hong asked.

"I've also heard from my colleagues. I don't allow it to be spread. I only know that the woman is in the iron business. There are her workshops in the north and Jiangnan West Road. All the irons sold by her are refined iron, such as the ones run by the government today. I don’t know how hard it is.”

"There have been two years of war, and there is a shortage of fine iron that can be used as weapons. The ones in her hands are better than those in the official camp. It is said that the long knives she made cut iron like mud. I thought that the Holy Majesty invited her to the capital for this reason. .” The man said quietly.

When Zhou Hong heard this, his hands trembled a little: "Then do you know the origin of that woman?"

"The woman's surname is Chen, and her ancestors are on Jiangnan West Road. The family was in business at the beginning, but then there was an accident in the family, and both parents died, leaving her alone. Later, she started this business somehow. Gently, with this way of being wealthy, she is really a hero among women." The man said, his eyes became more and more envious.

Surnamed Chen.Zhou Hong sighed unrecognizably.

"But isn't the state of Qi not allowed to mine and smelt iron privately? Since she was caught and not punished, why did you invite her to the capital?" Zhou Hong lost interest and asked listlessly.

"How do I know this, anyway, according to others, it's because the Holy Majesty needs her men's refined iron."

Just as the man was halfway through speaking, he suddenly heard a commotion at the door, even the dancer who was dancing on the stage stopped moving and turned to look at the noise.

I saw a few people standing in a circle drunkenly, surrounded by someone, spitting and chattering about something.

The crowd stood up and watched, and knocked a table in the corner to the side. The woman in the light blue dress next to the table was almost stuck in the crack of the wall by the table. Fortunately, the tall masked woman stretched out her hand to break the round table and rescued her.

"Are you okay?" Shili asked with a frown.

Ye Youqing shook his head, calmly wiped off the spilled tea on the table, and looked at the crowd from the corner of his eye.

Surrounded by several men in the center was a girl, dressed in a bright red dress, which made her eyebrows gorgeous. She was looking coldly at the men in front of her, standing upright.

Ye Youqing forcibly controlled the trembling of his palms, so as not to drop the dishes on the chopsticks.

"Miss Zhou, you almost became a widow, and you dress so gorgeously. How can there be such a shameless woman like you in this world!" Juice splashed all over the floor.

"Why can't I understand what you're talking about?" Ci Ke raised his eyes to look at him, and his eyes couldn't help being full of contempt instead of fear.

Her eyes made the man look even more furious, and she raised her hand and punched Ci Ke. Seeing that the fist was about to fall on Ci Ke, Ye Youqing's eyes froze, and she grabbed the fat pig's elbow in front of her. With a shake, the elbow flew towards the man with the soup.

With a bang, he was hit hard on the back of the neck, with such force that his footsteps became stilted, and he stood still by supporting the shoulders of the person beside him. His fist barely grazed Ci Ke's cheek and punched into the air.

The man touched the remaining oil on the back of his head, and couldn't help but get frustrated, he turned his head and shouted: "Who doesn't have eyes!"

The guests looked at each other in blank dismay, not daring to speak.

"What are you doing!" Suddenly heard a roar, Zhou Hong pushed aside the crowd blocking the way and squeezed to Ci Ke's side, protecting her firmly behind him, glaring at the man in front of him angrily.

"Hey, isn't this Zhou Shaoqing? A mere dispensable sixth-rank official, dare to yell at me?" The man was drunk and annoyed, and he walked around Zhou Hong and pointed at Ci Ke, "You poisonous girl, my elder brother A few days after my brother proposed to you, he broke his leg from his horse, and he is still lying on the couch, unable to get up. Others still don’t believe you when they say that you are an evil and lonely star, and you deserve to be an old lady for the rest of your life!”

"Xiao Yucheng, don't go too far!" Zhou Hong's eyes were red with anger, and he stepped forward to press his shoulder, pushing him back.

"Is there something wrong with what I said? Who doesn't know that your younger sister is a demon, you can hurt my elder brother, if my elder brother can't keep this leg, I will break both of this demon girl's legs!"

Hearing a thud, Zhou Hong hit the man's face with his fist, immediately nosebleed spewed out, dripping down the skirt of his clothes.

Everyone at the side was stunned, and then the scene became even more chaotic. Several people swarmed up to surround Zhou Hong, fighting in a chaotic manner, bumping into the surrounding tables and chairs, shaking, and dropping porcelain continuously, adding to the noise.

The man surnamed Xiao escaped from the melee and approached Ci Ke. He was about to grab her by the collar, but the woman looked at him with a half-smile and said in a low voice, "You're right. man."

The man's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.

"Your brother didn't listen to my persuasion that day, but wanted to raise his hand to touch me. No, he broke his leg on the way back?" The woman was smiling, but her eyes were full of coldness. It's like a demon.

The man's lips moved, and his back felt cold when she stared at him.

"You, you!" The man was a little scared, but couldn't bear the anger in his heart, he grabbed the chair with his backhand, turned around and threw it on Zhou Hong's head.

"Brother." Ci Ke stared slightly, and stepped forward to block it, but saw another huge leg of lamb flying from behind, covering the man's face with a gust of wind. This time it missed, and landed on his feet superior.

The man wailed, bent over and hugged his feet, and jumped up and down again and again, while Ci Ke's eyes flickered, and he hurriedly looked in the direction where the leg of lamb came from.

Before Ye Youqing had time to get up, he heard footsteps again. Several people in black rushed into the room, vigorously pulled away the men who were fighting with Zhou Hong, and pushed them into the oily dirt on the floor.

"Good day, who is making trouble here!" A young man's stern voice sounded, and then a man in brocade clothes strode in, and saw him standing with his back to Ye Youqing standing next to Ci Ke, with his back turned to Ye Youqing. Immediately there was no sound.

"Song, Song's yamen..." The man who took the lead in making trouble just now didn't dare to speak, and stood aside blankly.

"How decent is it to bully a girl in broad daylight! Do you want to be escorted to an official by me!" Although the man was young, his words were majestic and loud, especially the man surnamed Xiao, who immediately tensed up and sobered up. He didn't even dare to lift his head.

"Hurry up and get out." The man glanced at Ci Ke and said impatiently.

After a while, the troublemakers all ran away.

The waiter in the store has long been used to this kind of scene, and came to clean up with a broom and rag, smiling while tidying up, arranging the rest of the guests to sit down, and changing to new dishes.

Ye Youqing saw that Ci Ke's eyes were drawn away, and the body that had just stood up slowly sat down again, frowning and staring at the two people in the distance.

"Miss Zhou, are you okay?" The man looked down with concern, then handed Ci Ke a clean handkerchief, "It's noisy downstairs, I left Accord on it, Zhou Shaoqing, let's go up together."

Zhou Hong has martial arts in his body, so he didn't suffer much, but his clothes were a little messed up. He exhaled and nodded in agreement.

"Then let's go." The man said gently, reaching out to support Ci Ke.

Ci Ke not only did not hide, but also took the handkerchief in his hand, and thanked him softly.

The teacup in Ye Youqing's hand in the distance was suddenly full of cracks.

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