Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Qin Fengmian's heart was finally put at ease when he heard Jiang Xiaoxiao's reply, "So, shall we leave now?"

"Not now," said Xie Xun.

Jiang Xiaoxiao nodded, "We have something to do."

"When shall we go then? Give me an approximate time."

"Three days from now."

After Qin Fengmian left, Xie Xun and Jiang Xiaoxiao took a carriage straight to the Nie Family Cloth Shop.

Upon arrival, they realized that the Nie family's cloth shop was no ordinary one. It had everything from needles and threads to fabrics and ready-made clothes, from low-priced sections to high-end areas, from fitting rooms to customer lounges, and even offered custom-made clothing.

A few days ago, Shopkeeper Cheng had received a message from Old Master Nie, stating that the secret guardians in Yanjing had been transferred, and someone would come with Old Master Nie's token.

Shopkeeper Cheng had expected an old friend of Old Master Nie, but to his surprise, it was the recently returned King of Chu.

Shopkeeper Cheng was taken aback, and promptly led the noble guest to the lounge, instructing that no one should disturb them.

In fact, Xie Xun didn't have many public appearances after returning to Yanjing. Even as an informed businessman, Shopkeeper Cheng might not have recognized Xie Xun in such a short time.

The main reason was that portraits of the King of Chu were circulating in the market, and selling quite well.

With such a jade-like, exquisitely handsome face, which young lady wouldn't blush upon seeing it?

It was said that the person who created these portraits was making a fortune.

Xie Xun was still unaware of the portrait matter. He only asked Shopkeeper Cheng, "How many secret guardians are there in total?"

"Around fifty," replied Shopkeeper Cheng. "Old Master Nie was meticulous. These people have been dispersed across various social strata, including street vendors, teahouse owners, courtesans from pleasure quarters, servants and stewards in official households. It is said that there is even one in the palace, but I have never met them, so I do not know who it is."

Xie Xun nodded. Old Master Nie was indeed meticulous, which explained how he had managed to uncover the top-secret information about the Crown Prince's plan to open the imperial tombs back then.

Shopkeeper Cheng accepted the token from Xie Xun and handed him a hairpin in exchange. "From now on, these secret guardians will report to you. All their intelligence will be delivered here, and you can either come and collect it yourself or have me send someone to deliver it to you."

Xie Xun took the hairpin. "Let's not worry about the intelligence for now. I want to know if any of these people are particularly skilled in combat."

Zhang Junyi, a disciple of the Heavenly Master's Mansion and Jiang Xiaoxiao's third senior brother.

It was quite awkward to encounter the subject of the portraits he was selling.

Zhang Junyi's eyes shifted, "Oh, it's my junior sister. I came down from the mountain to earn your dowry!"

"Dowry?" Jiang Xiaoxiao was a bit confused.

"Yes," Zhang Junyi said solemnly, "Aren't you going to get married one day? And don't you need a dowry to get married? Master is so poor, where would he get the dowry from? So I'm being proactive and earning it for you."

"And then, I discovered that portraits of your future husband sell quite well, so I made a few more."

Zhang Junyi looked at Xie Xun, "Since it's all for my junior sister to marry the King of Chu, Your Highness wouldn't mind, would you?"

Xie Xun glared at him and extended his hand, "The money?"

"The money? Of course, I've saved it all for my junior sister."

"I'll save it for her."

Seeing Zhang Junyi's hesitation, Xie Xun raised his eyebrows, "Since it's all for your junior sister to marry me, her brother-in-law wouldn't mind, would he?"

Zhang Junyi protested, "That's not... What kind of son-in-law demands money from his mother-in-law's family? Is that appropriate? Is that appropriate?"

After saying this, Zhang Junyi looked at Jiang Xiaoxiao pitifully, "Junior Sister, you can't just watch your senior brother being bullied, can you?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't react, still trying to process and understand their conversation.

Suddenly, Zhang Junyi remembered something and widened his eyes, "You haven't even gotten married yet, but you're already being improper. Don't tell me you two have... been intimate?"

"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoxiao said, "Yeah, every month."

"!!" Zhang Junyi erupted in anger, "Murong Xun, I'll kill you!"

Xie Xun: "..."

Originally, he had deceived the innocent young lady by saying "being intimate" meant staying at home and not going out.