Wuling Lane is not too far from Zuixiang Building. It takes only two sticks of incense to walk to the entrance of the alley. After walking inward for more than ten steps, there is an old-fashioned bookstore standing quietly in the alley."Mo Zhai" two large characters.

According to the rough information provided by Xu Mingyu before, this book shop was originally passed down for a hundred years, and it seems that it changed to a new owner more than ten years ago. As for who the owner is, Xu Mingyu is not even concerned about such a trivial matter.

But today in Zuixiang upstairs, when Xu Minggui casually mentioned that he would go to the bookstore in Wuling Township, a dude was stunned, and then accurately named the store "Mozhai": "There is only this bookstore in Wuling Alley.", you should be going to Mozhai, right?"

Xu Minggui was stunned at the time, and looked at the other party with a strange expression: "Why do you know so well that there is only one bookstore in Wuling Lane, and you are even impressed by the name?"

When he asked, others also looked at the speaker, with deep suspicion in their eyes: What about the uneducated friends who agreed to eat, drink and have fun together, the bookstore is what people like them should pay attention toplace?You thick eyebrows and big eyes, wouldn't you secretly study hard while everyone was eating, drinking and having fun?

...A traitor has come out of our midst.jpg

Seeing everyone's suspicious looks, the dude waved his hands again and again: "Don't get me wrong, I also found out about it from Chen Er by accident. You should have heard that last time the brothers sold out all the antiques, calligraphy and paintings at home, and their money became more abundant again., The shot is also generous. When I went to Hongxiulou to cheer for Miss Yueyue, I met that guy and chatted casually. He was drunk and said everything..."

"...When he suddenly mentioned the bookstore in Wuling Lane, I thought it was a store that had never been sold by their family.Sold it all and squandered it at the gambling table?"

Having said that, he smiled sarcastically, very disdainful.

"What kind of a character is the censor of Zuodu, Mr. Chen, even us juniors have heard of it. I can't imagine that the descendants are so disappointing!"

Even these playboys know that throwing their family business on the gambling table is tantamount to throwing it into a bottomless pit.

The key word "Zuodu Censor" made Xu Minggui feel familiar. He drank two sips of wine, and suddenly remembered where he had heard this word-didn't his elder brother just say it before, he was the son of Mr. Chen, the former Zuodu Censor?Have you bought a batch of calligraphy, painting and antiques?

It all happened here.

Xu Minggui, who was originally not interested in any bookstore, suddenly became interested, and he took the initiative to ask: "So the Chen family is behind that bookstore?"

"That's not the case at all!" Seeing that he was interested, the person who spoke couldn't help showing off, and then said, "I don't know the details. I heard from Chen Er that the owner behind the bookstore is quiteIt is mysterious, and the origin seems to be unusual."

"That's it? Just rely on his empty teeth?"

"I don't think Chen Er is telling lies. At that time, he drank a lot. He cursed when he was drunk. He scolded the white-eyed wolf and had no conscience. His words involved the women in his boudoir. He was extremely resentful. I was curious for a moment.I couldn't help but use his words, and only then did I know that he was scolding the sister-in-law of his mother—Chen Jiuniang!"

As soon as these three words came out, there was a moment of silence on the wine table.The playboys who were not interested in it all became interested one after another.

"Are you talking about Chen Jiuniang, who was the most famous in Beijing? I heard that she has a beautiful appearance and unparalleled painting skills. Back then, her suitors were like crucian carp crossing the river.The prince is worthy... I don't know if it's true or not."

Everyone, you speak and I speak.

"—Didn't she die of a serious illness after Mrs. Chen passed away? Twenty years have passed, and the brothers of the Chen family have ruined their family business, and they blamed a weak woman who died young, so unreasonable!"

"Oh, such a beauty died of illness. It's a pity that I was not born at the time, and I couldn't see her face. I will regret it for the rest of my life."

"The younger brother of the current empress, Yu Liulang, who is excellent in calligraphy and painting, is not just infatuated with her? After Chen Jiuniang passed away, Yu Liulang actually ran out of the house and went up the mountain to become a Taoist priest. The Yu family searched for twenty years and failed to find anyone...When I heard people mention it, I almost thought it was a fabled story. I really want to know, what kind of stunning person is that."

"Could it be that because Yu Liulang became a monk and was angered by the Yu family, Chen Ercai complained, so mean to a deceased person?"

When it comes to topics such as beauties, the dandies can't stop talking.After a lot of speculation, the person who brought up the topic finally revealed the answer: "Now you are wrong. Chen Er whispered to me while yelling, that Chen Jiuniang is not dead at all!"

"—He said that his sister eloped because of sympathy for Lang."

"What?" Everyone was shocked.

The man spoke out what he had pulled out of the mouth of the drunk.

No one in Shangjing knew why the Chen family fell.

Twenty years ago, when the battle between the crown prince and the kings was at its fiercest, Lord Chen, the censor of Zuodu, known for his integrity, was naturally the one who fully supported the orthodoxy and stood on the side of the crown prince in the East Palace.

And the battle for succession has always been cruel.There are always successors who have been sacrificed and abandoned in this silent war.

This Zuodu censor was a pawn that was sacrificed.

He was involved in a major corruption case, and all the evidence was linked together, three points were true and seven points were false, but he himself was indeed not completely innocent, even though he was considered clean compared to most officials—in the officialdom, whoCan it be free from dirt?Then I'm afraid I won't be able to get along.

But he has always been famous, and the impression he gave the emperor in the past is that he is upright and upright. In other words, his promotion is not based on ability, but on character and reputation.When such a person is accused of corruption, he will have no future, and all the good impressions he left in the past will become deception.

It's like an honest person may only tell a lie once in his life, but he was discovered by others, so all the truths he told in the past will all be suspected of being lies.

The first emperor was blown by the pillow of the noble concubine, and he had a bad impression of him. Once he stopped, he would not be an official for three generations.If the prince hadn't tried his best to express his feelings, the entire Chen family would have been ransacked and exiled.

After Mrs. Chen left, Chen Jiuniang, the noble lady of the official family who was once unattainable, became dusty like a pearl. don't know how many people wanted to attack her.

Instead of talking about the relationship between siblings, the brothers of the Chen family took their sister as the only bargaining chip in their hands, posing as if they were up for sale, and finally attracted the highest bidder, that is, Yu Liulang.

At that time, the palace had just issued an order to choose a concubine for the crown prince, and the Yu family was chosen.Being able to become in-laws with the Crown Princess, the Chen family was overjoyed and agreed to the Yu family's marriage proposal without hesitation.

Then, as everyone knows, Chen Jiuniang fell ill a few days after the marriage was settled, and soon died of a serious illness.

It wasn't until twenty years later that a playboy accidentally learned from Chen Er's drunken words that Chen Jiuniang was not seriously ill, but disappeared suddenly at home, and the truth behind it was revealed——

After Chen Jiuniang disappeared, the Chen family inspected all the maids around her, and only then learned that Chen Jiuniang had a sweetheart long before the Chen family was defeated.But the maids didn't know anything about the origin of the other party. They only knew that Chen Jiuniang used to go to the bookstore to meet with the other party.The Chen family investigated secretly for a long time based on the clues provided by the maid, but they did not find out the identity of their lover, nor did they find the missing Chen Jiuniang. Fearing that they would offend the Yu family, they could only lie that she was seriously ill and died.

As for the bookstore in Wuling Lane, it is said that this is the place where Chen Jiuniang and her lover had a tryst, and in the eyes of the Chen family, it was the source of disaster.Back then, they tried to threaten the owner of the book shop and ask the identity of the person who had a tryst with Chen Jiuniang. The boss said he didn't know, and the Chen family wanted to take action against the book shop, but they were punished.When they came out, everyone was as quiet as a chicken.

If it wasn't for Chen Er being drunk and being clichéd, no one would have known about this matter so far.

After hearing this story, all the dandies here suddenly realized: "So, if Chen Jiuniang had not disappeared at the beginning, but had married Yu Liulang, wouldn't the Chen family have become the uncles of the family now? Ha, no wonder Chen ErSo pissed off!"

"Mo Zhai—"

Standing at the door of the book shop, Su Ying curiously read the two words on the plaque, playing with the emerald jade pendant in his hand.

"...The source of disaster in the eyes of the Chen family, but to Chen Jiuniang, it is a place of sweet memories and love?"

Lan Xin, who was floating next to him, recalled: "When Miss first left the mansion, she met Prince Wang in this bookstore. The two hit it off right away and became friends with each other. Later, at the beginning of every month, they would meet at the bookstore... After Miss disappeared, we were persecuted by the Chen family. We also came to the bookstore to find someone, but we never saw the prince again. We searched according to the name and origin he gave, but found no such person. The Chen family was furious.So I reported to Miss that she was seriously ill, and I wanted to beat all of us maidservants who served Miss to death, and I was lucky enough to use all my wealth to buy off the hands, so I survived."

——The lady that Lan Xin talked about was of course Chen Jiuniang, and this daughter of Zuodu Yushi was also Li Sanlang's adoptive mother.

"...The Chen family thought I was dead, so I didn't dare to show up casually. It wasn't until more than three years later, when I met Miss by accident, that I realized that it was Prince Wang who took her away."

——At that time, it was no longer Prince Wang who followed Chen Jiuniang, but the stranger Li Langzhong.I don't know what happened in the past few years. Not only did Chen Jiuniang change her identity, her surname was no longer Chen, but she and Li Langzhong were also called husband and wife.After recognizing her former personal maid, the guilty Chen Jiuniang kept her by her side, and Li Langzhong came forward to apply for a new household registration for her, changing her name to Lan Xin.At that time, she was pregnant and it was inconvenient to travel around, so they temporarily lived in a village outside Shangjing to raise their baby.

No one expected that a few months later, when Chen Jiuniang was in labor, Mrs. Wei Guogong's son came to their house by accident.

At that time, Chen Jiuniang had just given birth to her son less than half an hour ago, and only the three of them knew about it.Seeing Mrs. Wei Guogong's sudden premature delivery, looking at the wrinkled son beside her, and thinking that he was destined to accompany her in exile, she suddenly had an idea.

——Maybe it's destiny, so that this child doesn't have to suffer with her irresponsible mother.

So, driven by her mother's love, she did something wrong.

——Concealing the fact that his son had been born, pretending that he was influenced by Mrs. Wei Guogong and then mobilized to transfer the child.

"Back then, I did something wrong on a whim, and the young lady was still brooding about it, and she died of depression in a few years. Before she died, she thought of her own son whom she had never seen before, so she gave me this jade pendant, and asked me to replace the future little master.Keep it safe, and don’t move it lightly unless it is absolutely necessary. It’s best if you don’t need it for the rest of your life, but if the little master’s life experience is exposed and the situation is in dire straits, you can take the jade pendant to Mozhai..."

Speaking of this, Lan Xin felt a little guilty. After all, the little master she was referring to was Xu Mingjin. This was a retreat prepared for Xu Mingjin. It came from the heart of a loving mother, but she never considered Li Sanlang's mood.But for Lan Xin who had betrayed her, this was no longer a secret that needed to be concealed.

"Miss told me that this ink studio was bought by the prince and given to her when they made love twenty years ago."

She quietly observed Su Ying's expression.

But he didn't see anger or disappointment on his face, instead he looked interested.She heard the boy speak excitedly:

"...So, this is my territory now?"

"—that's easy."

He walked straight into the quaint book shop, and amidst the greeting from the shopkeeper, the young man showed the jade pendant in his hand: "I don't buy books..."

"—I'm here to take over this bookstore."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the shopkeeper's eyes fell on the jade pendant, and there were turbulent waves in his eyes.He described it carefully with his eyes, looked again and again, and his face finally changed.

"My lord, please come inside." He extended an invitation to the young man who came out of nowhere, entered the room, and finally couldn't help asking, "May I ask you, my lord, where did you get this jade pendant...?"