All the ancestors in the capital begged me to be a substitute

Under the pressure, the steward changed his arrogance from yesterday and bowed to Yun Chong and said: "Master Marquis, please invite some people to come into the house to have a talk."

Yun Chong pretended to be surprised and said: "Has Marquis Yiyang agreed to this marriage? What about Madam Li? Madam Li, is she willing to marry me?"

"This..." The steward glanced at the people who were waiting eagerly outside the door, and said vaguely: "The Marquis only invites Yuan Wai into the house, other things... Yuan Wai will know when he sees the Marquis."

Hearing this, Yun Chong staggered back half a step, covered his heart, and said sadly: "It seems that the Marquis is still unwilling to agree to this marriage. He just invited me into the house to discuss it in detail because of his face... He refused. , even if I go into the house, what’s the point. I... just come back tomorrow."

After saying this heartbrokenly, Yun Chong turned around and walked out.

The butler was a little dumbfounded.

He was originally ordered by his master to temporarily invite this person into his residence.

Wait until dark and the people outside disperse, then throw him out.

This put the matter to rest.

But I didn't expect that he... instead of entering the house, he actually left like this? !

Doesn't he want to enter the mansion and compete again in front of the Marquis?
Come back tomorrow...

Do you want to marry or don't want to marry?

"Hey, Yun Chong..." The manager wanted to say something to persuade him to stay, but in front of so many people, he represented the face of the Hou family, so naturally he couldn't chase Yun Chong out and drag Yun Chong back.

I could only close the door of the house in confusion and quickly ran to the study to report the news.

The moment the steward closed the door, the crowd outside suddenly became commotion.

Everyone unanimously made way for Yun Chong, staring directly at the betrothal gifts worth one or two thousand gold in front of the Hou Mansion.

The new matchmaker had already made plans in her mind. She waved her handkerchief and shouted at Yun Chong's back: "Executive member, your betrothal gift..."

"No more." Yun Chong waved his hand, "If I can't marry Mrs. Li, what use will these extraneous things have to me."

As soon as these words came out, everyone on the scene rushed towards those things desperately...

On this day, even though there were officials from the government on duty, there were still countless injured people in front of the Yiyang Marquis Mansion, and there were almost rivers of blood.

Whether they were the people who grabbed something or the people who didn't grab anything, they all talked about it and talked about it with great interest.

And Li Xiaoqing, the sister of Marquis Yiyang, has also become the most popular person among everyone in the capital.

In the Yiyang Hou Mansion, when Li Xiaoqing heard the maids telling her what happened outside the house, her face was ashamed and annoyed, and even the handkerchief in her hand was twisted into a rope.

"When Zhao Yuanwai left, his eyes were extremely disappointed. Even the slaves felt sad for Yuanwai when they saw her. It is clear that my wife and Yuanwai love each other so much, why can't the Marquis nod."

Li curled her lips, "Why else? My brother just doesn't like Zhao Lang as a merchant. He would be embarrassed if I married a merchant. After all, he now expects that the one in the palace can give him the dragon seed as long as he is pregnant with her. How can he let me stain his family name after earning the title of father-in-law?"

The maid heard the words and thought about it: "Now everyone in the capital says that the lady is the most deserving beauty in the capital. She has emerged from the mud without being stained, she does not bend her waist for money, and she has her own character. Many literati have begun to work for her. My wife has composed a poem."

"There are still people who are complaining about the fact that my wife was abandoned by the ancestors of Zhenguo Gongfu. Many people say that my wife's character is so valuable, so the Xu family must have treated her harshly. Many people also say that Xu Yuanshan is a narrow-minded person. Not worthy of my wife at all.”

When Mrs. Li heard this, she was about to cry.

"It turns out that this is Zhao Lang's real purpose. He deliberately came to propose marriage and spent a lot of money... all to clear my name. He is so affectionate to me, how can I... how can I let him down? Let's go, I I have to go to my brother to argue with him. If he stops Zhao Lang outside the house tomorrow, I, I will never let him leave like this again."

Li Xiaoqing made up her mind to marry "Zhao Long" and went directly to Li Xiangyang, the Marquis of Yiyang, and had a big quarrel with him.

"Have my brother and sister-in-law ever looked at me seriously since I returned to the Duke's mansion? Even the servants in this mansion dare to roll their eyes at me blatantly."

"It was my brother who told me to marry Xu Yuanshan in the first place. Xu Yuanshan was so weak that he was a useless person and couldn't even give birth to a son. My brother made a lot of money through the shell of the Xu family, and I made a lot of money. ? We are all from the same mother, has my brother ever taken pity on me?"

"In these years, no matter whether Xu Yuanshan is dead or alive, I have been a widow in the Xu family, and now in the end, I have ended up being reviled by thousands of people..."

When Li said the last words, she beat her heart and burst into tears.

"If you hadn't poisoned your mother-in-law, how could you have been abandoned by the old lady of Zhenguo!" Li Xiangyang, the Marquis of Yiyang, frowned into the Chinese character "Chuan".

Li cried and said: "It was my brother who told me about Xu Yuanshan's Li Daitao's stiffness. It was also my brother who asked me to try my best to assist Xu Yuanshan. He wanted me to help him give medicine to the servants and mother-in-law. Listen to brother, I Of course I have to do it, but now it’s my fault if I do it? If my brother thinks I’m at fault, just kill me. Anyway, I’m alive now, I have nothing, and it’s meaningless.”

Li Xiangyang rubbed his brows and slowed down his voice: "It's for your own good that I won't let you marry the man named Zhao. When Jiaojiao is favored in the palace, what kind of husband will you look for as an aunt? Can’t do it?”

"What's more, this person is a spice seller. The incident just happened at the Zhenguo Palace. I always feel that this matter is not that simple..."

Li Xiaoqing wiped away her tears and looked at Li Xiangyang resentfully.

"When my brother asked me to marry Xu Yuanshan earlier, he also said that although he was weak in body, he had a big heart and could become a great person. But what happened? He was just a coward in the nest. When things happened, he wanted to put all the blame on me. On the head."

"Besides, what happened to the spice seller? If my brother hadn't opened the incense shop in the name of the Zhenguo Palace, how could he be so wealthy today!"

When Li Xiangyang heard this, his face immediately darkened and he said sternly: "From now on, this matter must not be mentioned in front of others, otherwise, the Mu family's today will be the Li family's tomorrow. Do you understand?"

He rarely acted so harshly in front of his biological sister.Mrs. Li couldn't help but shudder, and suddenly felt a little timid in her heart.

However, she thought again that if she just retreated, the matter between her and Zhao Lang would no longer be possible. She mustered up her courage and said with a stern face: "Anyway, I don't care. Now I just want to marry Zhao Lang. If my brother doesn't do it tomorrow, Promise...I will, I will leave the Hou Mansion and elope with Zhao Lang!"

"You dare!" Li Xiangyang said solemnly.

Li's eyes were red, and she said stubbornly: "Whether I dare or not, brother will know once he tries. Brother, don't forget, that damn guy from the Xu family still has something in my hands. If I die without knowing it, someone will hand over those things." Go to the government office and let me take care of myself!"

With that said, she turned around and walked towards the door without looking back.

Li Xiangyang looked at her back and his eyes deepened.

After she left the yard, he walked to the desk, wrote a secret letter with a pen, sealed it with wax, gave it to the servant, and sent it out of the house...

Liu Meiren was floating in the Li Mansion. She had seen enough of the bustle. She floated back to the East Palace with satisfaction and told Shen Lingxi everything about the conversation between the brother and sister.

"You haven't seen that Xu Yuanshan's face is not only green, it's like a big sauce vat, smelly and wonderful at the same time."

She licked her fingertips coated with kodan and counted in detail what Li had said about Xu Yuanshan: "Weak, arrogant, useless, dead ghost... Oh, I thought these two couples were so loving before." Shen Lingxi But from Li's words, I could figure out some details that I hadn't noticed before.

"This Mrs. Li is quite interesting." She said playfully: "I thought she didn't know anything, but looking at it now, she may not know anything."

Liu Meiren asked doubtfully: "Then what does she know?"

"It's only for a day or two. I'll find an opportunity to ask Mr. Li face to face." Shen Lingxi said meaningfully, "Since Yun Chong wants to 'eat two things with one fish', he shouldn't delay for too long."

*
As Shen Lingxi expected——

Because there was too much commotion in front of the Yiyang Marquis Mansion in the first two days, on the third day when "Zhao Yuanwai" was about to come to propose marriage, more people flocked to Jin regardless of the government's dissuasion. Anfang.

First, I came here to see the excitement, and then I came here just to pick up some valuable betrothal gifts for free like I did the previous two days.

This time, I learned from the past that the people who came were all strong men. After all, you had to rely on your fists to rob the ownerless property.

It can be seen from this that if there is another riot in front of the Hou Mansion today, I am afraid that not only will countless people be injured, but people may also die.

However, this time, everyone was gearing up and waiting for a long time, but no one was seen.

"Could it be that you're... feeling disheartened?"

"Perhaps he is just a gambler. He originally wanted to gain favor by gambling and marrying an aunt of the Hou family back home. Who would have thought that the Hou family would ignore him at all. Now that all his wealth has been dissipated, he has run away in despair."

"Is it possible... It's not that I won't come, it's that I won't be able to come..."

In the crowd, I don't know who said this, and everyone thought of something and became strangely quiet.

After about two cups of tea, many good people came one after another to the Heming Tower where "Zhao Yuanwai" stayed to find out what was going on.

However, as soon as everyone arrived at the hall of Heming Tower, they saw the waiter rolling and stumbling down the stairs.

"Dead...dead..." The waiter pointed to the wing above in fear and shouted to everyone in a trembling voice: "Executive member Zhao was, was, was killed by someone!"

*
News of Yuanwai Zhao's death soon spread throughout the capital.

The people in the capital were talking a lot about Yuanwai Zhao's death.

Because Zhao Yuanwai was murdered, the murderer in everyone's mouth, although not explicitly stated, pointed to Yiyang Marquis Li Xiangyang.

"I heard that the property in the room has not been touched, there are only traces of fighting, and the death is so miserable, it must be a vendetta. How could a businessman from afar easily become enemies with others? It must be an eyesore for the noble... "

"Speaking of which, two times when we came to propose marriage, there were two riots in front of the Marquis' Mansion, and the news spread to the harem. If it happens for the third time, and there is a riot again, and the emperor asks, which one will definitely not be with the emperor? To explain, naturally it would be best not to have this third time."

"Hey, the Li family wants to be the head of the country. How can they look down on a businessman who is full of copper odor? The Li family has called themselves a 'noble and noble family' since the previous dynasty. How could they marry their sister to a mere businessman? , If you want to blame, it’s the man named Zhao who deserved to die because the toad wanted to eat the swan meat because he had some bad money.”

"Hey, tell me, Mrs. Li, is she Kefu? Maybe, the second master of the Xu family was killed by her in the first place."

Li Xiangyang, Marquis of Yiyang, almost fainted when he heard these rumors.

He didn't want the man named Zhao to visit him again, but he wasn't stupid enough to kill him in a place like Heming Tower.

"Disappearing" silently is the least noticeable way.

It's a pity that the people he sent last night have not replied yet, and I don't know if they know who killed the man named Zhao.

"Quickly, go to Dali Temple yourself." Li Xiangyang hurriedly called for the servant and told him: "Tell the prince to find out who the real murderer is, otherwise, I will be regarded as a person in this case. It’s so vicious!”

The boy didn't dare to delay and turned around quickly.

at the same time--

The secluded courtyard where Li Xiaoqing was ignored was filled with sobs and cries.

She was fully expecting to be able to sleep and fly with "Zhao Yuanwai" today, stay away from those conspiracies and conspiracies, and continue to live her life of luxury.

But what he waited for was the news that his sweetheart had been killed in Heming Tower.

"The thieves were so rampant that they broke into the member's guest room, killed him, and even cut off his head. Even after that, the thief still didn't understand his hatred and threw the head of the member into a mass grave for the wolves to chew on. The flesh and blood were... so miserable, so miserable."

The maid who inquired about the news cried and said in front of Mr. Li, "The boy next to Yuan Wai said that after Yuan Wai returned yesterday, he felt uneasy. And it happened that the first batch of goods in the shop was transported by water to the dock in the suburbs of Beijing. , the officer sent him out of the city to pick up the goods."

"Before leaving, the foreign minister gave the young man the title deeds to the shop in Beijing and told him that if anything unexpected happened to him, he would let the young man take care of the whole shop in his wife's hands..."

"I thought the officer was just joking, but I didn't expect... I didn't expect that the separation last night was actually life and death..."

The maid cried and took out a thick stack of deeds and a letter from her sleeve, and presented them to Mrs. Li, "Madam, this is the letter Yuanwai wrote to Madam last night. Yuanwai... I'm afraid he had expected it. It's a disaster today. Look, the title deeds of these shops are all written with my wife's name... In this world, I am afraid there is no man as affectionate as Yuan Wai."

Li stretched out her hand and took the letter and the land deeds.

She opened the letter tremblingly, and the man expressed his deep love for her in the letter in elegant handwriting.

"...Qing Niang, if one day something unexpected happens to me, please don't feel sad for me. Do you know that if I can meet you in this life, I will have no regrets. I only hope that you can be peaceful and happy for the rest of my life, and I can also smile." …”

Li Xiaoqing's heart was broken when she saw the end. She glanced at the deeds and saw her name written on them. Tears blurred her vision.

Originally, she only wanted to get close to him in order to find a job where she could settle down and make a living.

Unexpectedly, he fell deeply in love with her in such a short period of time and was devoted to her.

"How could he be so stupid..." Li Xiaoqing cried.

The maid was also at the side, wiping her tears, "The young man also asked the slave to ask the lady, the largest incense shop was originally scheduled to open the day after tomorrow. It was an auspicious day carefully selected by Yuan Wai before his death. Yuan Wai said that the day after tomorrow It was two months since he and his wife met... Yuan Wai put a lot of effort into that incense shop before his death, but now that he has died unfortunately, the shop...can't still be opened?"

Li Xiaoqing's eyes were already red from crying.

Hearing this, she felt her heart skip a beat and said with a choked voice: "Well, since it is the day set by Zhao Lang, I must complete what Zhao Lang wants to do for him, so that our acquaintance is not in vain..."