Right now without evidence, they were like headless flies!

They could only wait quietly!

Jingrong ordered continued secret surveillance of the Si family and Wen family.

Early the next morning.

Jingrong changed into coarse cloth garments and found an old straw hat to wear on his head, disguising himself thoroughly.

His handsome and refined bearing was completely gone!

He looked like a common commoner through and through.

He was just about to go out when a figure suddenly darted in front of him.

“I’m coming along.”

Hmm?

He turned his head to look and saw Ji Yunshu also dressed in coarse hemp clothing, with two small mustaches pasted on her mouth, thick black eyebrows drawn on, and a large black mole on her left cheek with… a hair growing from it.

If it weren’t for those delicate features, this appearance would indeed look rather disgusting!

“What are you doing?”

“Coming along.”

“Do you know where this prince is going?”

“To follow Wen Xian.” She said directly, “You want to investigate the disaster relief silver, I want to investigate what Miss Ye’er said before her death about reporting to officials, to see if it’s connected to her lover Wen Xian. So we have a common goal, which means we’re going the same way anyway.”

The same goal!

Two people investigating two matters separately!

So they were indeed going the same direction.

Jingrong could only say, “Let’s go then.”

But after taking two steps, he turned back around and looked that woman up and down.

“Can you make yourself any uglier?”

“Mm… I can.”

So she silently pulled out another black mole and stuck it on her chin.

She rather resembled a matchmaker now.

Jingrong was stunned for a moment. There was nothing he could think of that this woman couldn’t do.

When it came to disguising oneself as ugly, she was still the best!

He shook his head, quite impressed!

Only then did the two leave.

They went to Laihe Residence!

Going up to the second floor, they sat by the window, ordered a pot of tea, a plate of peanuts, a few small dishes, and two bowls of rice.

Jingrong took his chopsticks and tapped them against the bowls and plates several times, producing a series of crisp sounds.

Looking completely languid.

“Will he come?” Ji Yunshu asked.

“Wen Xian comes to Laihe Residence every other day and sits for about an hour, right at that spot.” He pointed to a table one away from theirs and continued, “Each time he just sits like that, doing nothing. After leaving, he goes to a medicine shop in front to pick up medicine, then returns to his own residence. But within half an hour he comes out again, then goes to a lakeside outside the city and sits for several hours until it gets dark before returning. Very regular. Of course, unless he goes to the Wen family embroidery workshop that day, or to the Si family silk shop.”

Ji Yunshu listened while looking down at the street below, questioning, “Then are you certain that at this critical juncture, he’ll come?”

“He’s not stupid. He definitely knows that this prince’s people are now monitoring his silk shop. And if he doesn’t come at this time, wouldn’t that be like ‘no silver buried here’—showing his own guilty conscience? But if he does come, he can still play dumb and clear himself of suspicion.”

“Since he knows someone will be monitoring him, even if he comes here to do something, right now it’s just for show.”

“Since he’s a clever person, he naturally also thought that this prince would secretly send people to follow him. But this prince chose to come personally because I want to get close and see exactly what he does all day.”

Ji Yunshu looked at him and smiled.

Just as these words finished, Jingrong lifted his chin toward the street below.

“He’s here.”

Looking down, Wen Xian had indeed arrived!

He was dressed as elegantly as usual, with that flute still hanging at his waist.

The server at Laihe Residence recognized him. Seeing him arrive, he greeted him with a smile, waving the towel in his hand. “Master Wen, your spot upstairs has been saved for you.”

“Mm.”

“Shall I bring you the usual dishes?”

“Mm.”

“Right away!”

The server led him up to the second floor and seated him at that empty table, bowing at the waist and wiping the table several times with the towel in his hand before leaving.

Because Jingrong and Ji Yunshu’s disguises were very successful, he didn’t notice them. Sitting there, he tilted his head to glance outside the window, then looked at the diverse crowds of people coming and going on the street.

Then he just sat like that!

Soon the server brought up a table full of good dishes, but he didn’t take a single bite. His gaze remained on the outside, though it was unclear what exactly he was looking at.

During this time, he had no contact with anyone, didn’t speak to anyone, and didn’t even make any unnecessary movements.

There was really nothing that seemed suspicious.

Ji Yunshu and Jingrong exchanged glances, both understanding without words.

Suddenly—

“Come, come, come look at this everyone.” A rough male voice came from the second floor stairway.

Five or six people crowded up together, with one of them holding a smooth, irregularly shaped stone in his arms.

He placed it on a table.

Immediately it attracted the attention of people on the second floor, but everyone acted as if they’d seen it all before.

This was…

Stone gambling?

The burly man holding the stone said to the surrounding people, “This stone, who’ll make an offer?”

“Old Zhao, how much for this stone?”

“One hundred taels, very cheap, cheaper than any before.”

“For the past month or two, not one stone from your hands has been real. When they’re cut open, they’re all worthless.”

Old Zhao became anxious. “That’s not right what you’re saying. Didn’t that old woman from the Shi family buy my stone and become rich? And the youngest from the Liu family in the first half of the year, didn’t he also become wealthy? Stone gambling, stone gambling—it’s gambling by nature. One cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich. You all know this.”

Those experts touched the stone all over, then scraped it a few times with their fingernails. All sorts of strange movements emerged.

In trade terms, this was called stone examination!

One of them said, “One hundred taels is expensive. Inside, it’s not necessarily top-grade jade.”

Old Zhao said, “I’m telling you all, this stone is different from the previous ones. Look at this shape and luster—there’s an eighty percent chance it’s real inside.”

“You say that every time.”

The group began studying that stone together.

Wen Xian, who had been looking outside all along, suddenly stood up and walked over.

“I’ll take this stone.”

“So it’s Master Wen. You really want this stone?” Old Zhao asked, his eyes lighting up.

Without another word, Wen Xian pulled out one hundred taels of silver and placed it on the table. “Carry the stone to my residence.”

“Right away.”

Old Zhao picked up the silver and counted it, very pleased.

People around advised, “Master Wen, this stone really isn’t good. Don’t waste your money.”

“Right, you’re not an expert. Don’t be deceived.”

…

Wen Xian said nothing.

Over here, Jingrong suddenly asked Ji Yunshu, “Guess, is it real or fake?”

“Fake!” She was blunt.

“How can you tell it’s fake?”

She smiled. She wasn’t an expert in stone gambling, but how to put it—she could be considered half an archaeologist. Following that group of experts in and out, she had picked up some knowledge here and there. Stone gambling and stone examination touched slightly on archaeology, so she knew a thing or two.

“So-called stone gambling means that before jade is mined, it’s wrapped in a layer of weathered skin on the outside. Only by cutting it open can you know if it’s real or fake. Judging from the fine cracks and skin color on that stone, it’s not real.”

“You even understand these things.”

“Just a beginner!”