Chapter 30.1

Cherry Red and Lychee Fragrance (11)

Cangzhou, located in the south, has frequent trade and abundant products. Many seasonal fruits had already arrived in the market.

For example, cherries and lychees.

But those were all early-maturing varieties, and there were not many people selling them, which made the price quite high. Li Ruo Shui hesitated for a while and bought a kilo of small cherries.

She was carrying a small bamboo basket and was about to walk back when she ran into a woman in black clothes holding a knife.

“Sister Lu!”

Lu Fei Yue, who was in a hurry, looked at her with a relieved frown.

“Ruo Shui, how are you doing in Zheng Mansion?”

“It’s okay.”

Li Ruo Shui nodded. After all, Zheng Yan Qing was very special in the Zheng Mansion. Almost no one came to his yard except for the maids who delivered meals and the teacher.

Lu Fei Yue nodded, and the corner of her tightly pursed lips curved into a smile. She knew Li Ruo Shui was a very clever person.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be long before we……What’s wrong with you here?”

Lu Fei Yue raised Li Ruo Shui’s chin, and stared at the bruises on her neck.

The bruises?

Oh right, the pinch marks left by Lu Zhi Yao the night before yesterday had not disappeared.

“The day before yesterday, someone pretended to be a ghost in the Zheng Mansion. I was unfortunately trapped.”

“I’ll tell you more about this later.” And before Lu Fei Yue asked a question, Li Ruo Shui changed the topic: “You went to the case patrol division to report, how did things go?”

Lu Fei Yue shook her head, took out a bottle of ointment and gave it to Li Ruo Shui.

“Once in the morning and once in the evening. There is a change in this matter of Zheng Mansion. The case patrol division in Cangzhou gave a secret order to stop this.”

“Why?”

Li Ruo Shui was really puzzled. There was no such plot in the original story. Lu Fei Yue caught the poisoner and stole the information.

How come this was not allowed now?

Lu Fei Yue sighed slightly, her long eyelashes drooped to cover her pupils, and her original firm eyes were somewhat confused.

“I don’t know.”

Li Ruo Shui was silent for a moment and raised the basket in front of her.

“Sister Lu, do you want to try some cherries? We’ll continue to investigate the case after eating these.”

Lu Fei Yue looked at her, softened her eyes, and patted her head affectionately.

“Thank you …… I’m going to find Jiang Nian now. Do you want to come along?”

“Where is he?”

“The teahouse in Smoke Willow Lane.”

Li Ruo Shui paused, her eyes a little subtle.

“Smoke Willow Lane, isn’t it one of the biggest flower streets in Cangzhou?”

Lu Fei Yue smiled and shook her head: “But the storytelling in the teahouse is also the best in Cangzhou, and I often go to listen to it. It’s nothing.”

Li Ruo Shui nodded and then followed Lu Fei Yue to the teahouse in Smoke Willow Lane.

*

“My lord, today’s scene is about love, are you sure you want to go in?”

Lu Zhi Yao was stopped by the boy at the door. He took a step back in some confusion and distanced himself from the boy.

“Why can’t I enter?”

Seeing that his eyesight was bad and he looked like he was new to this teahouse, the boy told him politely.

“Today’s teahouse storytelling scene is not about sword fighting on a windy and snowy night, but about male and female love.”

“So?” Lu Zhi Yao thought for a moment: “Is there any difference?”

The background of the dynasty was set more open-mindedly in the original novel in order to highlight Lu Fei Yue’s ability in solving cases.

This kind of teahouse usually told normal storytelling, but there would also be some extra programs on a fixed day every month, perhaps telling horror and weird things, or just talking about lingering love stories.

The teahouse in Smoke Willow Lane had superb storytellers and new stories. It had long been famous in Cangzhou, and many people came here admiringly. When Lu Zhi Yao entered, many people were already seated.

Most of the people who came to listen were women, but in fact there were also many men.

He paid for tea and then sat quietly in the corner, waiting to find the cause of his heart palpitations.

Lu Zhi Yao had a slight smile on his lips with a gentle temperament, but it blended harmoniously with the noisy scene.

“Brother Lu!”

Hearing the familiar voice, Lu Zhi Yao ignored it, still sitting there quietly.

Jiang Nian ran down from upstairs and sat down next to Lu Zhi Yao.

“I’m surprised to see you here. Li Ruo Shui didn’t come?”

Lu Zhi Yao smiled softly: “She is not always with me.”

“That’s true.” Jiang Nian picked up a peanut and threw it into his mouth. “Although it’s fake, she’s considered married after all. She still has to be with Mr. Zheng.”

Recalling how Li Ruo Shui ran to look for Zheng Yan Qing, Lu Zhi Yao fumbled and poured a cup of tea, facing the stage.

“Marriage is nothing.”

Jiang Nian was taken aback. He covered his mouth to hold back his laughter and said in a buzzing voice, “Yes, yes, I talk too much.”

Snap—

The storyteller on the high stage knocked the gavel, opened his fan, and started his storytelling.

“Speaking of the love between a man and a woman, I have to talk about the Butterfly Lovers…”

The audience booed, saying that it was too old-fashioned, and everyone had heard about it.

“The Butterfly Lovers is just a quote, everyone listen to me carefully.”

Although the story of the Butterfly Lovers is a well-known story, with the storyteller’s eloquence and humor, it is interesting to listen to it again.

Everyone sitting in the audience was listening for fun. Only Lu Zhi Yao took it seriously.

He had never heard the story or the book.

This man’s vocal skills were excellent, and he could give people the feeling of being in the scene. Lu Zhi Yao was immersed in the story.

He was interested at first, but he slowly frowned later and suddenly laughed when he heard the two of them transforming into butterflies.

Jiang Nian had been observing his expression and was somewhat curious at this point.

“What are you laughing at?”

“After fighting for so long, I finally watched them transform into butterflies and left.” Lu Zhi Yao smiled and sincerely sighed that Ma Wen Cai’s vision was too narrow.

“If it were me, I would have caught the butterfly, so that it could never fly away again.”

Jiang Nian was silent for a while and then said, “……So why are you substituting Ma Wen Cai?”

“Is there anyone else in this?” Lu Zhi Yao was a little puzzled: “Zhu Ying Tai? Or her mother?”

Jiang Nian widened his eyes, somewhat shocked, and dropped some of the melon seeds in his hand.