Chapter 296 Are You Serious?

"Mother Zhou, your Hu Yulou is really lively tonight."

Princess Ankang joked with a smile.

Princess Yuan'an, who was standing by, was also a little surprised to see that her sister could deal with such people so easily.

She always thought that Princess Ankang was an introvert, but she didn't expect that she could talk to strangers so easily.

But personality is actually closely related to the body.

Princess Ankang used to be weak all day long, so she naturally didn't have the energy to talk to people.

But now Princess Ankang is healthy and energetic, so she unconsciously became more lively and cheerful.

When Mother Zhou heard what Princess Ankang said, she smiled bitterly and bent down even lower, making the scene in front of Li Xuan even more beautiful.

"I am really sorry for disturbing the two ladies."

Mother Zhou's tone was extremely humble.

But from the perspective of serving customers, she did an impeccable job.

It's just that Li Xuan was happy to see it, but the two princesses were particularly dissatisfied.

Princess Yuanan snorted coldly, turned her head away, and stopped looking at Mother Zhou.

Princess Ankang couldn't help but twitch her lips.

"This is too big..."

She complained in her heart, but couldn't help looking down at her chest, her mouth pursed, feeling unhappy.

But this mood only lasted for a moment.

Princess Ankang knew that she was still young and had a promising future, so there was no need to be so depressed now.

She then looked up and said, "Mother Zhou, don't be too polite, get up and sit down to talk, we also have something to ask you."

Although it was an ordinary sentence, Mother Zhou was still keenly aware that the other party's identity might not be simple.

Appearance, tone, demeanor, clothing, plus the majestic guards beside him, obviously not an ordinary person.

Mother Zhou came to them specifically, not without reason.

She asked her own servants and found out that the fire on the fourth floor was put out by the two guards in front of her.

Moreover, the means of extinguishing the fire were appalling. It was said that after only one palm strike, a water dragon appeared and directly dispersed the fire.

The fire that they all had no idea how to deal with was solved in an instant.

Mother Zhou runs Hu Yulou in Huajie and has a lot of experience.

People who can do this are rare masters in Beijing.

And people who can use such masters as guards are naturally more extraordinary.

Mother Zhou is now desperate.

Not to mention the previous explosion of their stage, Ayimu disappeared, and Hou San was seriously injured.

In this matter, Ayimu's escape will bring her an unimaginable debt burden, and Hou San was affected, and she has to give an explanation to the Hou family.

Now, Hou San was burned to charcoal, and the Hou family could not find out the reason, so they would definitely take her out.

At that time, she would not even have a chance to reorganize her old business.

She couldn't imagine how the Hou family would treat her.

So when Mother Zhou found out about the extraordinaryness of these two young ladies, she immediately approached them to try to get close to them, to see if she could find a chance to break the deadlock.

"Thank you for your generosity, young ladies. I am very grateful!"

Mother Zhou squeezed out two tears at the right time, and seemed to be overjoyed at their forgiveness.

Princess Ankang was stunned, but did not say much. She just pointed to the chair in front of them and asked Mother Zhou to sit down.

After Mother Zhou sat down, she wiped her tears pitifully, looking haggard.

"Mother Zhou, it's just a fire, why are you so scared?"

Princess Ankang knew that Hou San was dead, but she still asked deliberately.

"Alas, the two young ladies don't know."

The expression on Mother Zhou's face was even more miserable.

"The previous fire was so unlucky that it just happened to burn the third young master of the Hou family, Hou Chisi."

"Oh, that's the one who was affected by the stage explosion last night."

"There was an accident on my stage, and I had to be responsible for curing him. I didn't expect that I invited a doctor and treated him well, but he was burned to death in a fire in the middle of the night."

"This young master Hou's life is too miserable!"

After hearing what Zhou's mother said, Li Xuan was amused.

If he hadn't endured the humiliation last night, hid under someone's skirt, and listened to the conversation of those Huajie mothers, those who didn't know would think that Zhou's mother was so kind and responsible.

Even this Hou San was forced to be taken care of by Hu Yulou by other mothers.

Otherwise, Hou San would probably still be lying on Huajie and groaning.

Although Hou San was burned to death after being moved to Hu Yulou for care, it is better than lying on the street all the time.

Of course, Hou San might not think so.

Princess Ankang had heard the details from Li Xuan before, so she naturally couldn't believe Zhou Mama's lies, but she didn't have such low EQ that she would expose her in person. She just smiled and continued to ask her curious questions:

"Mother Zhou, I heard that the fire tonight is not simple. It is not only a strange green fire, but also can't be extinguished by water."

"Some people say that this is a ghost fire, and it is a female ghost from Flower Street who came to take her life."

"Mother Zhou, do you think this is true or false?"

Mother Zhou's expression immediately became unnatural.

"Miss, don't scare me. How could my Hu Yulou be haunted?"

"Those ghost stories are just jokes from guests after drinking. Don't take them seriously."

Seeing Mother Zhou's reaction, Li Xuan narrowed his eyes.

From the tone and expression, Mother Zhou's reaction was fine.

But Li Xuan clearly saw that before Mother Zhou answered, her pupils suddenly shrank.

Although she quickly returned to normal, Li Xuan knew that Mother Zhou was lying.

"Is this Flower Street really haunted?"

Li Xuan thought to himself. He had never thought that there was a possibility that ghosts would exist in this world.

"No, it's too early to tell whether it's a human or a ghost."

Before seeing it with his own eyes or seeing relevant records in the government records, Li Xuan decided to remain skeptical.

Princess Ankang saw that Mother Zhou avoided talking about ghosts, so she didn't force it, but turned to ask about Hou San.

Mother Zhou told her everything, even taking the initiative to mention the details that Princess Ankang didn't ask.

In general, Hou San is a typical dandy, who brings his friends to Hu Yulou to have fun every day.

Compared to the time he lives at home, Hou San spends more time in Hu Yulou.

And he plays wildly, hurting many girls in their Hu Yulou.

If it weren't for Hou San's generous money, Mother Zhou would not be willing to receive such a guest.

Mother Zhou complained, and Princess Ankang listened quietly.

"Oh, I've been talking for a long time, and I can't stop you two young ladies from resting."

"I've sent someone to clean up the rooms on the third floor, please go there and rest."

"Something happened on the fourth floor, so it's better not to continue sleeping there."

"There's a lot of work in the store tonight, and I'm sorry for bothering you. The expenses of the two young ladies will all be charged to me. Just consider it as an apology to you two. Please give me a chance to apologize."

Mother Zhou said, stood up and bowed. This time she didn't show off her capital.

Through the previous test, she was already very clear that the two young ladies in front of her had no interest in her.

Princess Ankang turned her head to look at Princess Yuan'an on the side and asked her: "Sister, are you still sleepy?"

"No, I'm not sleepy anymore."

Princess Yuan'an muttered dissatisfiedly.

Mother Zhou apologized to Princess Yuan'an again and again, but Princess Yuan'an just turned her head and didn't pay much attention.

Princess Yuanan would not have a good face for those who caused trouble for her.

She also couldn't stand Mother Zhou, who showed off her cleavage whenever she had something to do, and she didn't know who she was showing it to.

This made Princess Yuanan very dissatisfied, so she also had a bad attitude towards Mother Zhou.

"I don't feel sleepy anymore. If Mother Zhou has nothing to do, why don't you chat with us."

"We sisters are both in Huajie for the first time, but we are very curious about what's going on here."

Mother Zhou smiled when she heard that Princess Ankang was willing to talk to her.

Although the other lady was not very happy with her, as long as there was another lady who liked her, it would be fine.

And Mother Zhou knew very well that Princess Yuanan was just a little emotional out of a girl's mood, and it was not a big problem.

Sure enough, after a few subtle compliments from Mother Zhou, Princess Yuanan's little face gradually had more smiles.

In the past, Princess Yuanan was surrounded by cautious eunuchs and palace maids, which was completely different from Mother Zhou's style.

Mother Zhou was able to make a name for herself in the flower street, and these were basic tasks. It was easy to deal with the simple Princess Yuan An.

After a while, the three women were chatting enthusiastically.

Mother Zhou mostly told the two young ladies some interesting stories about the flower street.

She also quickly figured out the preferences of the two princesses and immediately began to cater to their preferences.

At first, Princess Ankang wanted to get some words out of Mother Zhou to answer her curious questions.

But when she came to her senses, the topic had already been led by Mother Zhou.

Looking out the window again, the sky was already turning pale, and it was about to dawn.

"Oh, it's already this time without knowing it."

Mother Zhou heard noisy sounds coming from the street.

These were diligent people preparing for a new day's livelihood.

In the past, these brothels were the time to catch up on sleep, but because of the fire last night, many girls were still awake and had no choice but to work overtime.

"You two ladies must be hungry. I'll ask someone to buy some breakfast from the East Market Street. Our breakfast here is also excellent. You must try it when you come."

As Mother Zhou spoke, she called a waiter from Hu Yulou and asked him to go to the street to buy a few breakfasts of various kinds.

Mother Zhou was very enthusiastic towards the two princesses, but she would not make people feel uncomfortable, and would only think that the two parties were getting along well.

This was also her brilliance.

Originally, the three of them were talking happily, but after sending the waiter to buy breakfast, Mother Zhou suddenly sighed for no reason.

Princess Yuan An immediately joked: "Are you worried about the breakfast money, Mother Zhou?"

Mother Zhou's pretty face immediately became serious, and her eyes flew, she was really charming.

Then she chuckled and continued:

"Miss, don't look down on me. Although my business at Hu Yulou is not big, I can still afford two breakfasts."

Then Mother Zhou's smile gradually faded, revealing a little loneliness.

"But soon, this Hu Yulou will cease to exist. I can't help but feel sad, and it has ruined the mood of the two young ladies."

After hearing this, Princess Yuan An asked in surprise: "I saw that your business was quite good last night, why are you going to close it?"

Li Xuan sneered in his heart. Mother Zhou had been laying the groundwork for a long time and finally got to the point.

"You two young ladies don't know that the young master who was burned to death here last night is the son of the current Minister of Personnel."

"Now that he died here, he will come to settle accounts with me anyway."

"By then, I'm afraid I will never have the opportunity to talk to you two young ladies like this."

Mother Zhou was so sad that she wanted to cry.

But the two princesses were very calm.

Mother Zhou wiped her tears, but she was confused in her heart.

"Hmm?"

"Why aren't they surprised at all? And I've invited them to breakfast, don't they feel sad for me at all?"

Princess Yuan'an was even more depressed, and finally said indifferently:

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Mother Zhou was so angry that she cursed in her heart: "Oh, you big-headed ghost, are we just talking so happily all fake? Can you have some sympathy?"

"The girl is pretty, how can she be as cruel and heartless as those men."

Mother Zhou saw that Princess Yuan'an was unreliable, and she couldn't help but turn her hope to Princess Ankang.

After all, from the beginning, Princess Ankang was much easier to talk to than Princess Yuan'an.

As a result, Mother Zhou saw that Princess Ankang just looked at her with a smile, and didn't even say "oh", which was even worse than Princess Yuan'an.

"I'm crying so sadly, how can she still laugh?"

Mother Zhou's tears suddenly became much hotter, and she cried more sincerely.

Princess Ankang laughed heartlessly for a while, and then she belatedly said a few words of comfort, but it was a little perfunctory.

"Don't be too sad, Madam Zhou. The dead cannot be resurrected. Please accept my condolences."

Mother Zhou cried even louder on the spot, thinking: "I'm not dead yet, and the stinky girl curses me to death!"

But the next moment, she realized that Princess Ankang was talking about Hou San, and she was so angry that she stood up immediately and hurriedly said:

"I lost my temper."

Mother Zhou knew that these two young ladies were unreliable, so she chose to give up directly.

I thought they were two beautiful and kind-hearted young ladies from official families, and they might get some protection after winning their favor, but they didn't expect that they were two girls who only wanted to have fun.

Mother Zhou realized that she had made a mistake, walked to a place where no one was around, wiped her tears, and cursed a few bad lucks.

Seeing Zhou's mother crying and leaving, Princess Yuan'an asked in confusion:

"It's just a mere Hou San, and the Minister of Personnel is not a high-ranking official, why is she crying?"

Princess Ankang laughed and said casually:

"Maybe she didn't sleep well last night."

When Princess Ankang noticed that Zhou's mother was leading the topic, she became alert, and when she raised the question of Hou San, she knew clearly what she wanted to do.

Therefore, she didn't fool Zhou's mother at all.

As for Princess Yuan'an.

Princess Ankang thought that she should have pretended to be stupid after she noticed it.

Those who live in the palace are naturally sensitive to topics related to interests.

It is estimated that Princess Yuan'an also figured out what Zhou's mother wanted to do at the last minute.

It's just a brothel madam, how could Princess Yuan'an get involved in their affairs based on a one-time encounter.

Although Princess Yuan'an said it lightly, the Minister of Personnel is not a small official.

The Ministry of Personnel, also known as the Heavenly Official, is in charge of the appointment, examination, promotion, transfer, and honors of civil officials throughout the country.

Each of the six ministries is headed by a Shangshu and a Shilang as the chief and deputy chief.

Therefore, the Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel is a powerful official who holds a pivotal position in the court.

In the past, Princess Ankang did not know much about these common sense in the court due to lack of information.

But as she has read a lot of books in Qianxing Pavilion in the past few months, she has long been familiar with such common sense.

Of course, both of them are princesses.

Even if Princess Ankang is not favored now, she will not be afraid of a minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

But even if she is not afraid, there is absolutely no need to interfere in the affairs of a brothel madam and oppose the minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Seeing that Princess Ankang is clear, Li Xuan also lies in Princess Ankang's arms obediently.

When they talked before, Li Xuan stared at Mother Zhou tightly, just to see what she was thinking.

Sure enough, under his burning eyes, even with heavy cover-ups, Mother Zhou's thoughts were still easily seen through by him.

"Hehe, under my fiery eyes, nothing can confuse me."

Li Xuan stared at the direction where Mother Zhou left in embarrassment, and did not retract his gaze for a long time.

Seeing him like this, Princess Ankang pulled his little ear in annoyance.

"Ah Xuan, I saw that you looked at Mother Zhou very seriously just now."

"Then let me ask you, what color clothes did Mother Zhou wear?"

Li Xuan's pupils immediately trembled, and he found that he could not remember these details at all.

"Clothes?"

"Did Mama Zhou wear clothes just now?"

"Why can't I remember anything?"

"My memory seems to have disappeared."

"Charm technique!"

"This must be a very good charm technique!"

Li Xuan wanted to explain himself, but looking at Princess Ankang's kind smile, he knew that all explanations were pale.

"You little pervert, wait and see how I teach you a lesson!"

Li Xuan closed his eyes resignedly, did not resist, and accepted Princess Ankang's torture.

Princess Yuan'an, who was watching enviously, thought that it would be nice if she could also be bullied.

...

There was a murder on Hua Street, and the government could not remain indifferent.

Not to mention, the dead was the son of the Minister of Personnel.

Early in the morning, the officials of Wannian County came to Hu Yulou, inspected the scene, and collected the body.

Hou San's charred body was carried to the county government office for an autopsy by the coroner, and more people from the Hou family came. In front of the officials, they arrested Mother Zhou and placed her under house arrest in a room on the fifth floor, taking full control of all the affairs of Hu Yulou.

If the government wants to investigate the case, the Hou family will not just sit there.

Butler Fan has regained consciousness, and A Biao, who left last night, also brought a thin man with shifty eyes.

I think this is the broker who sold Ayimu to Hu Yulou.

Princess Ankang and others sat in the private room, eating a hearty breakfast and watching the lively scene below.

When Mother Zhou was angry and left in the morning, she forgot to tell the waiter, so the waiter who went to buy breakfast foolishly bought all kinds of breakfast and sent it directly to them.

If Mother Zhou knew about it, she would probably be angry again.

Doctor Fang stood downstairs, accepting the interrogation of the officials.

The officers seemed to be familiar with the doctor, so they were not rude to him.

After checking him and finding that he was not suspicious, they went to check other guests in the store.

A middle-aged man who looked like a head of police came to Hu Yulou and kept whispering to housekeeper Fan. It was unknown what they were discussing.

"Sister, do you think they can find out the reason?"

"I heard from the officers that someone really saw a female ghost on the street last night."

"Someone else saw a green ghost fire floating on the street, and then it shot into Hou San's room with a whoosh, which caused the fire."

Princess Yuan An said it in a very serious manner, as if she had seen it with her own eyes.

She went downstairs earlier, and Princess Ankang wondered what she was doing. It turned out that she went to inquire about the news.

Compared with the cases assigned to them in this month's competition, the case in front of them obviously interested the two princesses more.

"A ghost?" Princess Ankang muttered to herself: "If there is one, that would be great." Her eyes looked a little sad. Li Xuan raised his head, meowed at Princess Ankang, stood up from her arms, and hugged her lovingly. "Hehe, I'm just talking, don't worry, Xuan." Princess Yuanan, who was originally talking happily, felt sour when she saw this scene. This man and cat always show off their love in front of her, not caring about her feelings at all, and she can't stand it anymore. "No, I have to take Bai Xiao with me from tomorrow, wherever I go!" Princess Yuanan bit her red lips and made up her mind. At this time, Butler Fan walked out of their private room alone. He knocked twice on the open door, and then bowed respectfully outside the door. "I am Fan Changming, and I am here to thank you for saving my life." Butler Fan should be talking about the eunuch in flowery clothes who helped them put out the fire. Princess Ankang and Princess Yuan'an had overheard Li Xuan talking about what happened before, and they understood what he was talking about.

"Butler Fan, why don't you come in and talk."

Princess Ankang invited Butler Fan to come in.

Only then did Butler Fan thank them again, took a step forward, and stood in the private room.

He did not continue to move forward, but stood by the door, half bent over, looking very respectful.

If he had not seen his arrogance against Doctor Fang last night, Li Xuan would have really thought he was an honest man.

"Don't be polite, Butler Fan. We are also trying to save ourselves."

"But I heard this morning that the young master of your mansion has..."

"Please accept my condolences."

Princess Ankang said.

Butler Fan's face also darkened, but he still thanked: "Thank you, young ladies."

However, Princess Yuan'an on the side could not bear it any longer and asked immediately:

"This Butler Fan, I heard that the fire last night was caused by ghosts. Is this true?"

Butler Fan slowly raised his head with a complicated expression.

Li Xuan was also very curious about his answer.

Last night, he and several other girls from Hu Yulou took care of Hou San who was injured in the explosion in the room.

Logically speaking, if it was just a fire, there would be absolutely no reason for Butler Fan to throw Hou San alone into the fire.

But the result was that Hou San was burned to charcoal alone in the fire.

This is also what Li Xuan has been unable to understand.

He was also very curious why Butler Fan threw his young master alone on the bed and ran away alone.

"The two young ladies have been very kind to Fan. If it weren't for this gentleman warning me that the green fire was poisonous and helping to extinguish the flames, I am afraid that I and other servants of the Hou family would be in danger."

"Therefore, there is no need to hide what happened last night from the two young ladies."

"To be honest, I did see a female ghost outside the window last night. There were several ghost fires around her. I saw the female ghost pointing at me from a distance, and a ghost fire slowly flew towards me."

"The ghost fire went out halfway. I thought someone was playing tricks, but when I turned around, I saw that my young master was actually burning."

Li Xuan couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this.

No wonder Butler Fan didn't take Hou San out of the fire, it turned out that he was the source of the fire.

And from what Butler Fan said, there really is a female ghost haunting this flower street.

This time, not only the three little ones, but even the most curious Princess Yuan An couldn't help swallowing their saliva.

"There really is a ghost."

Thanks to Xiaobenbi and Angel Love to laugh for the reward support.

Thank you all book friends for the monthly ticket support.

Today is also two-in-one, it's more comfortable to write in one go.

I got up early in the morning, so I wrote quite fast today.

I hope I can get up early tomorrow.

Good night everyone, see you tomorrow~