"Are you saying he's gone missing?"

"Yeah, that heartless man, in bed he told me he'd redeem me, he'd get us rich, make me wear gold and silver, be a mistress, have a bunch of people wait on me. All bullshit."

Xiaotaohua pouted, “He just left me a pile of books and then disappeared without a trace. I can’t read a single character! What do I need books for? If it weren't for the fact that I'm getting older and have no one else, I wouldn't even remember these books.”

"So, you've never read the contents of this book?" Wei Ling'er asked for confirmation.

“If I could read and write, my family wouldn't have sold me, would they? Look at you, so refined and well-educated. You were born at a good time. Back then, women weren't encouraged to study.” Xia Taohong put the silver away in her bosom. “I’ve said what I needed to. The money is mine now, isn’t it?”

"Hmm." Wei Linger nodded, glanced at her hand again, and then took the rest of the books away.

But this time, she didn't get anything useful. It was just some idle books.

Unlike last time, which was a business method written by that man named He Tianlin, mentioning Fu Jiujiu is because the Fu family has already established mahjong and hotpot businesses. These two points have no first-mover advantage for him anymore, but he can do something else.

And then there are his random ramblings about the Fu family being someone like him from modern times, and that strange thing he suddenly has that allows him to exchange items for something else, making him excited about how to use it to make money.

Useless books, Wei Ling'er had Zhao Shi burn them when she was cooking over the fire. One book was enough.

That night, a somewhat older courtesan named Xiaotaohong died in Lvwu Courtyard. Her death was sudden; she had been in good health and showed no signs of illness. She was known for her strength when fighting with other courtesans over customers.

But she was past her prime and the madam didn't care, she also took her savings.

"I didn't expect Xiaotaohong to have so much inventory after being out of business for so long, wow, that's a lot of money."

The madam tasted it and walked away contentedly.

Then I had a serious illness, as if I'd lost a layer of skin. I went back and forth near the gates of hell several times, almost losing my life.

She thought it might be Xiaotaohong who knew she had swallowed her money and refused to let her go. After a spell, she gradually got better.

……

Inside Fenghuang Temple, Fu Jiujiu lazily stretched and got up, only to find that the old copper mirror had changed drastically.

In the mirror, her reflection was no longer hazy but clear and distinct. She was both startled and delighted. When the man saw her smile, he smiled too.

"What did you have the magpie do?" Fu Chi Chi asked.

Tang Xian nodded, but Fu Jiujiu suddenly realized something. She looked at his hands and found that there were two blisters on them, thin skin wrapping a bubble of water, shiny.

She gently kissed the wound, "Does it hurt? You silly fool, how could you be so careless!"

Tang Xian caressed her silken blue hair, resting his chin on her head. "Thinking about how glass is made, my ambiguous little jiu-jiu naturally deserves a small mirror. It's the first time making one, not very skilled, still a bit ugly, don't dislike it."

Fu Jiu Jiu took a look and realized it was already very good. She only knew the principle, but if she had to do it herself, she might not be able to do it this well.

"Yeah, it's a little ugly, but... I like it."

Tang Xian kissed her lips, once, twice. “It’s good that you like it. You’re getting heavier, so don’t worry about other things. Let Haojing deal with the people he offended himself; you don’t need to worry.”

She agreed verbally, but now that she was a senior, she couldn't bear to see the younger generations wasting their good days. Besides, there was one more thing she needed to investigate.

"I know, but Haojing said that the little one's toxicity has increased and it already hurt someone. I suspect someone did this on purpose. This is a big deal."

Tang Xian frowned, "Is this Nan Yu's people? That's not right, Nan Yu's men don't have this kind of reach, besides, Xiao Ai is at Qixing. It makes no sense for Nan Yu to deal with Qixing."

Fu Jiujiu nodded, "So I suspect it's for Qixing. My fifth sister only has this one daughter, and Qixing has been close to me since she was little. How could I possibly not care?"

She successfully persuaded Tang Xian, the man could only nod, "Then you have to be careful, I'm worried that after so many years, you may not be able to find out."

"How else would I know? I'm going to investigate everyone who has crossed paths with Qixing, even those who have had disputes with them. Now that Haojing has arrived, it's perfect timing. If that person doesn't want Qixing and Haojing to be together, they will definitely show themselves again at this time."

Fujujju's just guessing, after all, people came here because of the Seven Stars, but there are too many possibilities for their purpose.

"I'm just worried you're too tired. The little one in your belly is a handful, when she comes out, I'll take good care of her for you."

Fu giggled and smiled, "It's really out now! Where could he bear to part with it?"

"I cast a divination yesterday," Fu Jiujiao said.

Tang Xian saw that she was in good spirits and was happy to chat with her, "It's been a long time since you've touched these."

"Yes, isn't that just something to do with nothing to do?"

Is the divination favorable or unfavorable?

There are good and bad things.

Tang Xian smiled, "You're naturally blessed. What bad luck could there be?"

It's not bad, just that I might encounter some trouble, but... The divination says I will meet a long-lost friend.

"Friend?" Tang Xian didn't think much of it. "Is Su Wen coming back?"

Over the past ten years, Qin Suwen and Fu Jiujiu have kept in touch through letters, but she has never returned.

Maybe.

The Classic of Internal Medicine, and it's been a long time since I last saw an old friend.

But there is still one more.

Fu Jiu Jiu lowered her head to look at her own stomach. Compared to Su Wen, she wanted to know about the whereabouts of her voice more.

After all, even though they haven't met in person, Su Wen is doing well in Dong Qi. Although Dong Qi has been plagued by civil unrest these years, with Xiao Lin suppressing countless rebellions over the past decade, he has also kept his promise to Qin Su Wen and remained loyal to her.

Tang Xian's low, magnetic voice interrupted her thoughts. "Don't overthink it, with me here, even if there are troubles, I'll help you block them. Maybe you just got a grain of sand in your mouth while eating, that's quite a hassle too."

Fujuju was amused by him. He was a troublemaker, but she didn't say much. "Maybe I only understand the surface level, and my divination isn't very good," she said.

Tang Xian rubbed her hair, telling her not to overthink things. If she was really bored, just clean up those three smelly boys. A good beating is healthy, right?

Soon after, Fu Jiu received a message that Coral and the others had returned.

She thought that the reunion of old friends in the divination chart referred to Coral, so she didn't think about it anymore.

Tang Xian wouldn't let a woman work so hard. He sent someone to investigate according to Fu Jiujiu's thoughts, but he didn't expect that after checking all the young ladies related to Hong Qixing, they found nothing.

He couldn't help but wonder, who was so skilled?

(Editor in charge：precious based on the novel)