Chapter 30

"Trouble...," Zhao Junchen muttered.

He had been so focused on the bigger picture that he had neglected the matters close at hand.

If he even forgot about his wives and concubines, it would certainly raise suspicions.

"As the saying goes, you can hide things from anyone but not from the person who shares your pillow. Be careful not to slip up. If all else fails, I can only use the excuse of being injured and having lost my memory," Zhao Junchen thought helplessly.

Although he had been using the excuse of "being injured and having lost his memory" to explain his abnormal behavior to Xu Qingyan these past few days, after returning to the capital, Zhao Junchen did not want to use this excuse anymore—especially not in the imperial court, where it would put him at a disadvantage.

Not to mention, if the people's attack on him were to be known by Emperor Deqing, given the emperor's nature, those who attacked him would surely lose their lives, and it might even implicate many innocent people, including Liu Chang'an, who had already become one of Zhao Junchen's followers.

More importantly, if his political enemies learned about this, they would use his memory loss as an excuse to "kindly" suggest to Emperor Deqing that Zhao Junchen should rest at home, thereby seizing the opportunity to seize power! The financial power in his hands was the foundation of Zhao Junchen's position in the court, and he could not easily give it up.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen had already instructed Xu Qingyan not to reveal to anyone that he had "lost his memory due to injury."

Although so, if he could not hide it, Zhao Junchen would have to use the "injured and memory loss" excuse again. Fortunately, it was just his household, and the news would not reach his political enemies.

However, before that, Zhao Junchen decided to first probe Xu Qingyan to get a general understanding of his wives and concubines, and with some preparation and understanding, he might be able to get away with it.

This probing was actually a roundabout way of asking, as Zhao Junchen had told Xu Qingyan that although he had lost his memory, it was not severe, and he had only forgotten some unimportant things. If he now forgot about his own wives and concubines, it would be too implausible.

...

"Qingyan, come over here, I have something to ask you," Zhao Junchen called out to the outside of the carriage.

Not long after Zhao Junchen spoke, Xu Qingyan nimbly jumped onto Zhao Junchen's carriage and entered the compartment, sitting beside Zhao Junchen and asked, "Young Master, what do you need?"

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Junchen asked, "Qingyan, what do you think of... well, what do you think of Lady Ruyi?"

To Zhao Junchen's surprise, Xu Qingyan did not find his question abrupt. Instead, after a slight pause, he seemed to recall something and looked delighted.

"Young Master, you finally see it clearly!! I've told you before, Lady Ruyi is too shrewd. She will eventually find out the problem, and when that happens, with her methods, we will be in trouble. We must be cautious with her."

Hearing Xu Qingyan say this, Zhao Junchen felt puzzled but did not want to ask in detail, so he said with a calm face, "Qingyan, don't worry about how I think. Just tell me your thoughts on her, in detail!"

After Xu Qingyan's explanation, Zhao Junchen finally understood why Xu Qingyan had such an unusual reaction when mentioning "Lady Ruyi."

Zhao Junchen had not yet taken a main wife, nor even a secondary wife, but he had several concubines, and the one he favored the most was Lady Ruyi.

Lady Ruyi's real name was Fang Ru. Because she was favored by the original Zhao Junchen, the people in his household did not dare to look down on her just because she was a mere concubine and respectfully called her Lady Ruyi.

Fang Ru had a poor background. When she was young, she was sold to a brothel by human traffickers. Because she was a beauty from a young age, the brothel trained her to be a top courtesan, and she suffered much humiliation and abuse.

Two years ago, when Fang Ru was sixteen, although she had not yet "left the brothel," she was already famous throughout the capital. Everyone knew that in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, there was a woman named Fang Ru, who was beautiful and talented. On the day she first sold herself, the highest bidder won, causing a city-wide commotion. Fortunately, the original Zhao Junchen acted in time, not only redeeming Fang Ru but also bringing her into his household as a concubine, sparing her the life of a courtesan.

However, after Fang Ru entered Zhao Junchen's household and won his favor, she made a request—she wanted everyone in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion to die a miserable death!!

Clearly, the countless humiliations and abuses she had suffered as a child had made Fang Ru hate the madam, the pimps, and even her "sisters" in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion to the bone.

The original Zhao Junchen fulfilled Fang Ru's request. A few days later, a poisoning incident occurred in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, and no one survived, becoming one of the major unsolved cases in the capital.

The poison was personally forced down the throats of the people in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion by Fang Ru.

Since then, Xu Qingyan had been wary of Fang Ru.

The reason was simple: the mastermind behind the Hundred Flowers Pavilion was none other than Zhao Junchen himself!!

At that time, Zhao Junchen thought that as long as everyone in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion was dead, no one besides him and Xu Qingyan would know this secret.

But Xu Qingyan did not dare to think so. Because Fang Ru was not only impulsive but also extremely shrewd.

Perhaps due to growing up in a brothel, Fang Ru's values were quite distorted. She knew about Zhao Junchen's corrupt activities but was not repulsed by them. Instead, she acted like a virtuous wife, offering advice and strategies to Zhao Junchen. Many times, when Zhao Junchen could not act and Xu Qingyan was not capable enough, it was Fang Ru who took charge.

During this period, Fang Ru's shrewdness and decisiveness made Xu Qingyan increasingly wary, always worrying that Fang Ru would discover that the mastermind behind the Hundred Flowers Pavilion was Zhao Junchen himself. If that happened, with Fang Ru's impulsive nature and shrewd methods, Xu Qingyan could not imagine what she would do.

For this reason, Xu Qingyan had repeatedly warned Zhao Junchen, but the original Zhao Junchen was too fond of Fang Ru, even to the point of favoring her exclusively. If it were not for her background, he would have made her a secondary wife. He did not listen to Xu Qingyan's warnings, so Xu Qingyan had no choice but to carefully monitor her on his own.

This was also why Xu Qingyan had not mentioned Fang Ru to Zhao Junchen in the past two months.

...

"Young Master, I must say, you were too fond of Fang Ru and trusted her too much. If this continues, there will be trouble sooner or later..."

After explaining, Xu Qingyan complained to Zhao Junchen.

Fond? Trusted?

Hearing Xu Qingyan say this, Zhao Junchen found it quite amusing. This Xu Qingyan was overestimating the original Zhao Junchen. In the memories he had inherited, there was not even a trace of Fang Ru, indicating that the original Zhao Junchen had not taken her seriously and was merely using her.

However, Zhao Junchen could not say this outright, so he just nodded and said to Xu Qingyan, "I understand. I will be careful in the future. Don't worry."

Realizing that he had no other wives and that only one concubine had frequent contact with the original Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen felt relieved, even though Xu Qingyan had described this concubine as shrewd and terrifying.

Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped.

Xu Qingyan was slightly taken aback and lifted the curtain to look outside. He saw that during their conversation, the convoy had already arrived at the city gate, but for some reason, the gate was crowded, blocking the path of the convoy.

Before Zhao Junchen could say anything, Xu Qingyan ordered a guard, "Go see what's happening and make them clear the way."

The guard nodded and rode forward, shouting, "The carriage of the Deputy Minister of Revenue, Zhao, is here. Clear the way quickly!!"

As the guard's words fell, the noisy city gate suddenly fell silent for a moment, followed by a commotion, mixed with shouts of "It's the Deputy Minister of Revenue, Zhao Junchen!!" In no time, the road in front of the city gate was cleared.

Zhao Junchen lifted the curtain and saw the panic on the faces of the surrounding people as they looked at the convoy, realizing how deeply they feared and resented him. He could not help but smile bitterly.

Unlike in Lu'an Prefecture, in the capital, his reputation was even worse and more deeply ingrained. It would not be as easy to change it as it was in Lu'an Prefecture.

"Don't shout so loudly in the future." Glaring at Xu Qingyan, seeing his innocent face, Zhao Junchen sighed helplessly and said, "Forget it, let's go back to the mansion."

...

With this commotion, the news of Zhao Junchen's return to the capital quickly reached the ears of those who were interested.

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