The Salted Fish’s Political Marriage - Chapter 10

Song Mingzhi followed Mu Yanzhou and cast his gaze toward the horizon.

Tonight, the clouds over Chongjing obscured the moon. Let alone enjoying the moonlight, one could not even find a shadow of it.

Song Mingzhi drew out his tone: “Oh, the moon.”

Mu Yanzhou shifted his gaze away, his voice pale and feeble: “Strange. I saw it right here just a moment ago.”

No sooner had he finished his weak excuse than he saw the servants who had accompanied him to the backyard following behind Song Mingzhi like two timid quails. They emerged from the back, and at that moment, they were looking up at him and smirking.

Their faces clearly said: Your Highness, it is better to confess.

It was evident that they had already revealed everything to the Princess Consort.

Mu Yanzhou remained silent.

Those who adapt to circumstances are wise.

He sighed softly, closed his eyes, and honestly confessed: “A little drink is just for pleasure and to help with sleep. If the Princess Consort could take into account that I have been studying bitterly all night, perhaps you could be a bit lenient? Besides, even if one were to quit drinking, it should be done gradually, right?”

Yet, who drinks shao dao zi when just having a little drink?

A sudden night breeze blew out the palace lantern under the eaves.

Just as Song Mingzhi was about to speak, he saw that at the very moment Mu Yanzhou finished his sentence, his gaze suddenly dimmed, and even his breathing faltered for a half-beat.

Although this momentary change was minute, it did not escape Song Mingzhi’s eyes. His words faltered. The sentence Mu Yanzhou had spoken at the Liao family residence surfaced in Song Mingzhi’s mind: A glass of wine will be fine.

Is His Highness using alcohol to suppress an anomaly in his body?

Song Mingzhi shifted his gaze away calmly and handed the wine pouch to him: “Your Highness, if you wish to drink in the future, you may have me procure it for you.”

At the same time, a servant hurried forward to relight the palace lantern at the backyard gate. In the blink of an eye, the area outside the courtyard brightened again. Mu Yanzhou finished the wine and tossed the pouch back into Song Mingzhi’s hands.

He added a disparaging remark: “What a stingy person.”

By now, he had completely returned to normal.

The Prince’s symptoms just now were not those of alcoholism, and even if he truly were an alcoholic, it would be impossible to recover in an instant from just one glass of wine.

A suspicion gradually sprouted in Song Mingzhi’s heart.

In the late spring season, the weather was fickle, and it was not advisable to stay outside for long at night.

Seeing that the wine was finished, Mu Yanzhou ordered one of the servants to escort Song Mingzhi back to Zhuohua Courtyard. Before the two could get far, he lowered his voice and asked the other servant: “Did you keep the bronze key safe?”

As the master of the estate, how could he not even have the freedom to drink? The servant immediately replied: “Please rest assured, Your Highness, I have already stored it away.”

As he spoke, he began patting his pockets.

To his shock, he came up empty: “This, I… where did I put the bronze key? I clearly had it stored away just a moment ago.”

The servant’s complexion changed instantly. He turned around, raised his lantern, and looked back into the courtyard. The night wind dispersed a wisp of cloud.

Under the moonlight, the two did not see the bronze key. They only saw Song Mingzhi in the distance, holding his hand high and shaking the object in his grasp: “Is His Highness looking for this?”

The servant turned deathly pale: “How could this be in the Princess Consort’s hands!”

He made as if to step forward to retrieve it. However, before he could reach the key, Song Mingzhi had already tucked it into his palm: “I will keep it for a few days.”

Mu Yanzhou lowered his eyelids and chuckled softly: “Very well, I will listen to the Princess Consort.”

At the same time, he tapped his fingers against his leg twice, leaving no trace. He realized that his Princess Consort seemed to have some small tricks up his sleeve. Perhaps it was time to send more people to keep an eye on him.

Twilight gathered, and the sunset glow was like silk.

The Southern Market, located at the corner of Chongjing City, was at its most bustling hour. The Great Chu had close interactions with the Western Regions. Aside from official government guesthouses, most merchants and dancing girls from the various Western states stayed, or even resided long-term, in the Southern Market.

In a corner of the market, dancing girls dressed in Western attire danced barefoot to the rhythm of the dense drumbeats, tossing colorful silks to the onlookers and causing a scramble. Amidst the sound of the jie drums, Song Mingzhi, wearing a veil, bypassed the crowd and entered a gold shop.

He said to the owner: “Excuse me, owner, please take a look and see which craftsman made this bell.”

The “Southern Market” was the largest marketplace in Chongjing, with a mix of all kinds of people. The owner did not ask too many questions; he took the bell from his hand and said to him: “This bell in your hand, young master, must be quite old?”

Song Mingzhi thought for a moment: “It should be over a dozen years old.”

The owner nodded. “The inside of this bell is copper, and it has a layer of gold plating on the outside. There aren’t many in Chongjing City with this kind of craftsmanship. However, it has been too long; it might not be easy to find out right away.” He put down the bell and asked Song Mingzhi, “Would the young master be willing to leave the bell here so I can inquire carefully?”

“That would be troublesome,” Song Mingzhi nodded to him and placed a gold ingot on the table. “I have other things to attend to today. Owner, no need to rush. I will come to the shop to retrieve it in two days.” With that, he headed out of the shop.

“Naturally, naturally!”

Seeing this, the owner’s eyes lit up instantly. He hurriedly cupped his hands to send him off: “If there is anything else the young master needs, if you need help, just speak up!”

Song Mingzhi smiled: “No matter, I am just looking for someone.”

As he spoke, he had already walked out of the gold shop and headed toward Zuiying Tower.

The guards in the Qi Prince’s mansion had suddenly increased in number recently. Although it was not difficult for Song Mingzhi to leave the house, it was still somewhat troublesome, so he had to accomplish more things whenever he went out.

Compared to the bell, this was his main event today.

Song Mingzhi had been observing for several days. Aside from occasional slight tremors of his fingers, Mu Yanzhou did not show any symptoms related to alcoholism. While he liked to drink, he showed no signs of addiction. On the contrary, his timing and the amount he drank were extremely regular. It matched the rhythm of his three daily meals.

Such a situation was not unfamiliar to Song Mingzhi. In his previous life, from the day he entered the secret guard camp, Song Mingzhi had been implanted with a Gu poison. He was forced to take special medicine daily to feed the Gu worm in his body to keep it stable.

If he was not mistaken, His Highness the Prince of Qi might have been poisoned with a Gu, and the Gu worm in his body was very likely feeding on alcohol!

In the market, the drumming grew denser, and the dancers’ steps became faster.

As the final drumbeat faded, Song Mingzhi finally pushed open the door and entered Zuiying Tower. A fragrant aroma rushed to meet him. Before he could turn back to close the door, a dancing girl in a scarlet skirt, holding a cup of wine, had already arrived in front of Song Mingzhi.

The moment she saw his eye color, she called out in the Sulan language: “Young master, a new guest, I see.”

Song Mingzhi’s mother was a Sulan dancing girl. Born and raised in these taverns, the first language he learned was, naturally, Sulan.

Song Mingzhi silently took a small half-step back. He did not take the wine but asked directly: “Is your boss in today?”

The dancing girl was taken aback: “The boss?”

She slowly set down the wine cup in her hand.

Song Mingzhi nodded and said naturally: “Yes, get your boss. Tell him someone is here to buy something from him.”

Zuiying Tower was not only the largest Western tavern in Chongjing but also the place where Song Mingzhi was born and raised in his past life. To Song Mingzhi’s knowledge, the successive owners of Zuiying Tower, besides doing business in Chongjing, often acted as middlemen between the Western Regions and the Central Plains, specializing in selling unscrupulous, high-profit goods.

The dancing girl hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: “Please wait a moment, young master. I will go and see if he is in the building today.”

Few people knew that the boss of Zuiying Tower did private business on the side. Song Mingzhi’s appearance and his familiar tone were mistaken by the dancer as being a frequent guest of the boss or an old friend from the Western Regions.

With that, she bowed to Song Mingzhi and left the front hall of the tavern.

Song Mingzhi returned the bow: “Thank you for the trouble.”

He then stood silently under a corridor pillar.

The layout of Zuiying Tower followed a classic Western style. There were no tables or chairs in the hall, only a giant carpet. At a glance, everything was in full view. Only a few pillars offered some cover from sight.

It was inconvenient to use a veil hat to cover one’s face in Chongjing City. Therefore, although Song Mingzhi was in the Southern Market and wearing a mask, his long, platinum-blonde hair was still too conspicuous. Even standing by the pillar, it drew countless gazes, both overt and covert.

On the second floor of Zuiying Tower, several drunken, hedonistic sons were being helped out of a private room by dancing girls.

One of them stopped in his tracks as soon as he stepped out: “Wait.”

While hiccupping from the alcohol, he walked toward the railing. Seeing this, a dancing girl immediately stepped forward to support him: “Young master, be careful!”

He ignored the people beside him and stared intently down at the floor: “Strange.”

Someone walked up and asked: “What is it, Jian’an brother?”

The dandy named You Jian’an pulled the person to his side: “You, look down there, by that pillar! That person… why do they look so familiar?”

Before the person beside him could speak, Liao Wenbai, who was also drunk, stumbled to the railing and looked down. He had only glanced casually, but after a few seconds, he suddenly widened his eyes and slammed his elbow into his companion: “You, look at that person below!”

“What person?” The equally drunk dandy looked in the direction he was pointing. After a few seconds, his eyes widened: “He! Why does he look a bit like the Qi Princess Consort?”

Liao Wenbai sobered up instantly. He turned and asked the dancing girl: “Do you have any male dancers in your shop?”

The question was too bizarre. The dancing girl, whose Central Plains language was not great, was stunned, then shook her head: “In response to the young master, we do not.”

The group looked at each other, and in unison, they leaned over the railing to look down. The dancing girl in the scarlet skirt had walked out from the back room. At this moment, she was approaching Song Mingzhi and saying: “Young master, the boss is in the building today, please follow me.”

After speaking, she led Song Mingzhi toward the deepest part of Zuiying Tower.

Song Mingzhi nodded to her, lifted the felt curtain, and walked into the back room: “Thank you for the trouble.”

In almost an instant, he had disappeared from their sight.

The group could neither hear nor understand what Song Mingzhi had said to the dancer. They only saw that his movements were practiced and his expression was calm, without a hint of novelty or nervousness.

Liao Wenbai said blankly: “Do you guys think it’s him?”

His companion replied immediately: “Definitely! Those eyes, who else could it be but him?”

You Jian’an said in shock: “You say the Qi Princess Consort, what is he doing here?”

After these words fell, the group suddenly stopped talking. What else could he be doing here? In a place like this, what were they there for? Naturally, he was there for the same thing!

The dandies exclaimed in shock.

They quickly exchanged glances, and in each other’s eyes, they saw profound terror. The alcohol buzz vanished in an instant.

You Jian’an said sluggishly: “What do we do? I seem to have stumbled upon a major incident inadvertently!”

“What else can we do?!” Liao Wenbai slapped the back of his head hard. As he spoke, he had already hurried toward the stairs: “Naturally, we tell His Highness the Prince of Qi! Bring the Prince here to catch him in the act!”

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