Chapter 999: Meeting in Miyagi City, Pan'er is surrounded by onlookers
As soon as he walked into the Chui Gong Hall, Zhou Chen felt that the atmosphere in the hall was wrong. All the maids and maids were trembling slightly and cautiously.
Zhao Heng, an official who was sitting in front of the Long Case, was still angry and dissatisfied in his eyes. When he saw Zhou Chen come in, he calmed down a little.
"I pay my respects to the officials."
"Zhou Qing, you are here."
Zhao Heng's expression returned to normal and he rubbed his swollen head.
"Zhou Qing, I called you here because I want to ask you about the hat demon case. You have been investigating it secretly for some time, but what have you gained?"
Zhou Chen immediately replied: "I have indeed gained something when I return to my official home."
When Zhao Heng heard this, he immediately became energetic and urged: "Have you gained something? Okay, then tell me quickly, what did you find out?"
Zhou Chen spoke calmly.
"Behind the case of the Hat Demon, I discovered that someone was deliberately causing trouble. The purpose is probably to disrupt the court situation, causing panic in the world and causing rumors to fly."
Zhao Heng's face was gloomy, he naturally knew this a long time ago.
"To get to the point, have you found out who is behind the scenes? In other words, what force is it?"
He has been the emperor for more than 20 years. If he doesn't even have this kind of vision, he will have been the emperor for so many years in vain.
It's just that he has speculation in his mind, but there is no evidence, and the matter is so important that there is naturally no way to deal with it. What he wants most now is evidence.
"Back at the official house, I am not sure yet who it is, and I am still investigating. But what is certain is that the mastermind behind this is a high-ranking official in the court, and his status is very high."
"A high official in the DPRK?"
Zhao Heng sneered. The result was still not beyond his expectation, but the answer still did not satisfy him.
"Zhou Qing, do you know what Lei Jing and Wan He who just left said?"
Without waiting for Zhou Chen to speak, he said directly: "Wan He told me that the case of the hat demon may be the one led by the Imperial City Division, which is why the Imperial City Division has never been able to find the murderer; but Lei Jing said that the hat demon case
One case was related to the Chief of Staff, because they caught one of the murderers and was taken away by the Chief of Police, and then tortured to death. They said they did it deliberately to destroy evidence."
"Zhou Qing, please tell me, Lei Jing or Wan He, whose words are more trustworthy?"
"?"
Hearing Zhao Heng's words, Zhou Chen was also confused. Good guy, are the Imperial City Secretary and the Palace Chief Secretary fighting each other?
Although the position of the Front Secretary is higher than that of the Imperial City Secretary, and Lei Jing is also a weakling, it does not mean that Lei Jing and the Imperial City Secretary are easy to bully. If you, the Front Secretary, put such a big blame on others, they will not fall out.
That's weird.
How did he answer this?
"Official..."
"Zhou Qing, tell the truth, I trust you more than the two of them."
Zhou Chen directly regarded Zhao Heng's words as farts. The emperor said he trusts you, so you really have to be careful.
"Officials, I am not familiar with Lei Company and Commander Wan Fudu, but I feel that this matter is of great significance. If there is no substantial evidence, it is not credible to just talk about it."
Zhao Heng didn't get an answer, but he wasn't angry at all. Both the Imperial Palace Department and the Imperial City Department were important institutions and belonged directly to him. It would be really surprising if these two institutions could no longer be trusted.
"You continue to investigate and be sure to find the mastermind behind the Hat Demon case. I will definitely remember you for your great contribution."
The Imperial City Division and the Dianqian Division were biting each other, but Zhou Chen did not shirk responsibility or bite others, so he naturally felt that Zhou Chen was more reliable than Lei Jing and Wanhe.
.
"I accept the decree."
After saying this, Zhou Chen left Chui Gong Hall.
The Palace Secretary and the Imperial City Secretary started to fight with each other in front of Zhao Heng. This incident was something he really didn't expect. It could drive Lei Jing, a simpleton and a duplicitous person, into a panic. It seemed that the Palace Secretary
People really do things without leaving any room for error, and they obviously want to trick Lei Jing and Gu Qianfan into death.
It's just that neither of them has evidence, so naturally it's impossible to really hurt the other party. But after today, the Imperial City Division and the Palace Division are really going to be tit for tat.
I just saw that Zhao Heng's attitude was very angry, but I'm afraid he may not be as angry as he showed. The front department and the imperial city department are not at odds, so it should be more convenient to check and balance.
However, the initiative of the Dianqian Secretary to start a group also illustrates a problem, that is, Qi Mu and other Qingliu people should not be able to sit still.
This is a good thing for him.
After walking out of Chui Gong Hall, Zhou Chen was not ready to leave the palace immediately, but was going to visit Ma Junsi.
As the deputy commander of the bodyguards and horse forces, Zhou Chen still has considerable operational power in the palace. Even without the company of a chamberlain, he can go to many places in the palace.
A group of people walked towards him, Zhou Chen frowned slightly, and was surprised, could he encounter this?
Zhou Chen saw the other party, and the other party naturally saw Zhou Chen.
"Wait, it's you."
Gao Hui suddenly stopped and looked at Zhou Chen who was walking towards her in shock. Because Zhou Chen had left such a deep impression on her that day, she recognized him at a glance when they saw him again.
"Why are you in the palace? You are also an official in the imperial court?"
Zhou Chen was speechless. After all, you are also a daughter of the Gao family. Your father is Gao Kuan and your aunt is Gao Fei. Don’t you even understand such a simple truth?
Besides, with his obvious purple robe, how many people who can enter and leave the palace can't recognize him?
The chamberlain who led the way for Gao Hui hurriedly explained: "This is the Zhongyong Marquis, the Marquis of Zhou."
But who would have expected that when Gao Hui learned Zhou Chen's identity, he was even more shocked: "Are you Marquis Zhongyong?"
Zhou Chen nodded and said: "I am Zhou Chen, Madam Gao. I have other important matters to attend to, so I will leave first."
After saying that, he ignored Gao Hui's eager gaze and left quickly.
"Hello."
Gao Hui still wanted to call Zhou Chen to stop, but she thought that this was the palace, and even though her aunt was a virtuous concubine of an official family, she couldn't act arbitrarily, so she had no choice but to let go.
"He turns out to be the Zhongyong Marquis. So he is so young?"
This was not the first time she had heard of Zhou Chen's name. Her father had previously thought of marrying her to Marquis Zhongyong. However, at that time, she didn't have any favorable impression of Marquis Zhongyong, who had never met him before. Naturally, she didn't like him at all.
I will pay attention to Zhou Chen.
But things are different now. She has always remembered what happened that day deeply, especially Zhou Chen, who she will never forget.
When she was most desperate and frightened, Zhou Chen appeared and saved her like a hero in a story. Although it was only a short contact, she would never forget it.
She originally thought that this was just an accident and there would be no chance of seeing her again in the future, but she didn't expect that the person who saved her would be the famous Zhongyong Hou.
"Go back to my father and ask about it."
Zhou Chen didn't know that Gao Hui was already interested in him. After he returned to the office, he started fishing again.
It feels good to catch fish for a while, and it feels good to catch fish all the time.
Ma Xing Street, half-covered tea house.
After a few days of rest, Banzhan Mian reopened. After Xiao Qinyan's birthday party, business was extremely booming.
After the fact that Song Yinzhang was highly praised by Mr. Ke Xianggong became known, countless people from all over Tokyo came here just to see Song Yinzhang's style and to hear how outstanding his pipa skills were, which was highly praised by Mr. Ke Xianggong.
The guests who arrived with half-masked faces were not disappointed. Although few people saw Song Yinzhang, everyone heard the pipa music played by Song Yinzhang.
Song Yinzhang's pipa is already outstanding, and coupled with Ke Zheng's filter, it is even more impressive and convincing.
It is no exaggeration to say that Song Yinzhang really became famous overnight. Looking around Tokyo, her pipa is also ranked high.
It is precisely because of Song Yinzhang's charm that the popularity of half-faced masks has increased to a higher level. Zhao Paner and the others have been so busy these days that they are dizzy.
For this reason, they had to recruit another waiter, and by chance, they actually met Ge Zhaodi, who was in the plot.
It's just that there is no conflict like in the plot. As a worker who was recruited, Ge Zhaodi's relationship with Zhao Pan'er and others will naturally not be so good.
After a few days of going viral, the half-masking gradually stabilized, but their business was much better than before, and there was an endless stream of customers every day.
But because many people came here for Song Yinzhang, Song Yinzhang was very tired these days. In the end, it was Zhao Paner who gave her two days off so that she did not collapse from exhaustion.
Because Song Yinzhang had resigned from his nationality, although he was very tired during this period, he did not complain like in the TV plot. Instead, he felt that he could be sought after by so many people, and he was extremely excited.
It was just the excessive playing in the past few days that made her scalp numb and she almost didn't want to touch the pipa.
Song Yinzhang did not perform for two consecutive days, so the business of half-masked people was slightly worse during these two days.
But Zhao Paner didn't care at all. You can make money slowly, but you must not tire Song Yinzhang.
It's just a little strange today. There is obviously no performance by Song Yinzhang, but there are more guests than before. What's even weirder is that many people who come in are looking at her as if they are not there, which makes her a little confused.
Finally, she discovered that regular customers Yuan Tuntian and Mr. Zhuo Shi were also looking at her with strange eyes, which made her even more strange.
"Mr. Yuan, Mr. Zhuo Shi, why are you two so strange today?"
Yuan Tuntian laughed and said: "It's not us who are weird, it's you."
"Me?" Zhao Pan'er looked confused and quickly asked what was going on?
Mr. Zhuo Shi shook his head and said: "Recently, there is news circulating in Tokyo that our young general Zhongyong Hou of the Song Dynasty has fallen in love with a commoner woman and threatened to marry her in front of the officials, so many people are curious.
What is so special about this lady, so everyone wanted to come over and have a look."
Zhao Paner's expression suddenly changed. Has the incident between her and Zhou Chen spread? And it was in front of officials?
At this moment, she was very panicked, because her first reaction was not happiness, but fear, fearing that she would affect Zhou Chen.
Yuan Tuntian and the others did not know what Zhao Pan'er was thinking, but they laughed and said: "Ms. Zhao, you really hide it well enough. We are all so familiar with each other. You and Marquis Zhongyong have this kind of relationship. Please reveal it to us as soon as possible."
Well."
Zhao Pan'er smiled reluctantly, talked to the two of them for a few words, and then left.
Next, when she faced everyone's gaze, she always felt weird and uncomfortable, so she simply closed the teahouse in the afternoon.
"Pan'er, I think it's not a bad thing for people to know about your relationship with Lord Zhou. Why do you want to close the teahouse?"
Sun Sanniang didn't quite understand what Zhao Pan'er was doing, so she asked about it when she got home.
Song Yinzhang sat aside. She understood Zhao Pan'er's approach somewhat, and also agreed to close the teahouse for a few days. She didn't care whether it was money or not. Now she really wanted to rest.
Zhao Pan'er looked calm and said: "I don't want to cause trouble for Zhou Chen, and I don't like to be looked at as a monkey."
She was able to bravely become a businesswoman and open a teahouse, but she relied on her own skills. But now, the customers who come to the teahouse are not coming to drink tea at all, but are coming to see her, which makes her very uncomfortable.
Comfortable.
Sun Sanniang hesitated and said: "But these days, the teahouse's business is really good. Our sudden closures will definitely have a great impact on the teahouse's business."
Her thoughts are relatively simple, she just wants to make more money.
Song Yinzhang said: "Sanniang, let's listen to Sister Pan'er. No matter how well our teahouse runs and makes money, it is not half as important to Sister Pan'er as Lord Zhou Hou."
"Sister Pan'er, I support you. Lord Zhou can say he wants to marry you in front of the officials, which shows that he is sincere. In the future, you will go to the Hou Mansion to be the eldest wife. This teahouse cannot be opened.
,It does not matter."
Her thoughts were relatively simple. Anyway, she just felt that no matter how much money the teahouse made, so what? Is it comparable to the status of the eldest lady of the Hou Mansion?
"But……"
Sun Sanniang didn't understand this truth, but she felt that it was difficult for them to gain a foothold in Tokyo. This teahouse was built by them alone, and she was really reluctant to give up this teahouse.
"Sanniang, Yin Zhang, I don't want to turn off the half-mask. I just think it's not appropriate to open the door these days. Let's wait until this period of time has passed."
Zhao Pan'er is a very enterprising woman, and of course she is reluctant to close the teahouse, but as Song Yinzhang said, compared to Zhou Chen, this teahouse is not worth mentioning.
She was not targeting the Zhongyong Hou Mansion, but Zhou Chen as a person.
Xiao Qinyan made an appointment with Zhou Chen again, still at the mansion where they first met.
"Are you saying that you are going to risk yourself and seduce Qi Mu and others to assassinate you?"
Zhou Chen was a little surprised to learn from Xiao Qinyan his purpose of looking for him, but he was not too surprised.
Because in the TV plot, Xiao Qinyan used this trick, but he used it a little too much, and almost killed Gu Qianfan.
His appearance changed the plot a lot, but Xiao Qinyan was actually planning to use this trick, which was a bit beyond his expectation.
Xiao Qinyan said with a smile: "Those people are hiding very deep, but if there is a chance to take my life, I believe they will not let this opportunity go."
"Aren't you afraid that something unexpected might happen, that your cleverness will be mistaken for you, and that you will lose your life?"
"That's why I found you, Lord Marquis. If Lord Marquis is willing to help you, nothing will be a problem."
"Then you trust me so much? Aren't you afraid that I will betray you?"
"If the Marquis can ask this question, it explains the problem."
Xiao Qinyan showed a confident smile: "Cooperating with me is the most beneficial to you, Lord Marquis. I am still willing to make this bet."
Of course, this was just a scene, and of course he couldn't completely trust Zhou Chen. He was just looking for Zhou Chen to provide himself with insurance, and he had other arrangements secretly.
Zhou Chen knew very well what Xiao Qinyan had in mind, but he still agreed.
