Stone gambling!
Without any evidence, he was like a headless fly!
He could only wait patiently!
Jing Rong ordered his men to continue monitoring the Si and Wen families.
The next morning.
Jing Rong changed into a set of clothes made of coarse cloth and found a worn-out straw hat to wear on his head. His disguise was complete.
His elegant demeanor was nowhere to be seen!
He was just a regular citizen.
Just as he was about to leave, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Let's go together."
Huh?
He turned his head and saw Ji Yunshu dressed in coarse hemp clothes. Her mustache was stuck to her mouth, and she had thick black eyebrows. There was a big mole on the left side of her face, and there was … a strand of hair on it.
If it weren't for her exquisite facial features, this appearance was indeed disgusting!
"What are you doing?"
"Let's go together."
"Do you know where this prince is going?"
"To follow Wen Xian." She said directly, "You want to investigate the disaster relief funds, and I want to investigate the report Miss Ye 'er mentioned before her death. I want to see if it has anything to do with her lover, Wen Xian. Since we have the same goal, let's go together."
The same goal!
The two of them were investigating two different things!
So, they were indeed going the same way.
Jing Rong could only say, "Let's go."
After taking two steps, he turned back and looked at the woman from head to toe.
"Can you be uglier?"
"Yes … I can."
Thus, she silently took out another mole and stuck it on her chin.
She looked like a matchmaker.
Jing Rong was stunned. There were only things that he couldn't think of, but there was nothing that this woman couldn't do.
She was still the best at disguising herself!
He shook his head in admiration!
The two of them finally left the door.
They went to the Flying Crane House!
They went up to the second floor and sat by the window. They ordered a pot of tea, a plate of peanuts, a few side dishes, and two bowls of rice.
Jing Rong used his chopsticks to knock on the plate, making a crisp sound.
He had a lazy look on his face.
"Will he come?" Ji Yunshu asked.
"Every other day, Wen Xian would come to the Crane House and sit there for two hours." He pointed at the table next to him and continued, "Every time, he would sit like this and do nothing. After he left, he would go to the clinic in front to get some medicine and then return to his own house. But within an hour, he would come out again. Then, he would go to a lake outside the city and sit for a few hours until the sky turned dark. It was a very regular pattern. Of course, unless he returned to the Wen family's embroidery workshop or the Si family's silks."
Ji Yunshu glanced down at the street as she listened. She questioned, "Are you sure he will come at this critical juncture?"
"He's not stupid. He must know that this Prince's people are watching his silk shop. If he doesn't come at this time, wouldn't he be revealing his guilt? If he comes, he can still pretend to be ignorant and clear his name of suspicion. "
"Since he knows that someone is watching him, even if he came here to do something, he is just putting on a show."
"Since he is a smart person, he must have guessed that this Prince would secretly send people to follow him. But this Prince chose to come personally because I want to see what he does all day."
Ji Yunshu looked at him and smiled.
As soon as she finished speaking, Jing Rong raised his chin and looked at the street below.
"He's here."
She looked down and saw that Wen Xian had indeed come.
He was dressed as elegantly as usual, with the flute hanging on his waist.
The waiter who came to the Crane House knew him. When he arrived, he greeted him with a smile and a towel in his hand. "Young Master Wen, a seat upstairs has been reserved for you."
"Mm."
"Can I serve you the same dishes as before?"
"Mm."
"Alright!"
The waiter led him to the empty table on the second floor. He bent down and wiped the table a few times with the towel in his hand before leaving.
Because Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu's disguise was very successful, he didn't notice them. He sat there, tilting his head to look out of the window, then at the various people coming and going on the street.
Then, he just sat there like that.
Soon, the waiter served a table full of good dishes, but Wen Xian did not take a bite. His eyes were still looking outside, but no one knew what he was looking at.
During this time, he did not come into contact with anyone, nor did he speak to anyone. He did not even make any unnecessary movements.
There wasn't anything suspicious about it.
Ji Yunshu and Jing Rong looked at each other and had a tacit understanding.
Suddenly …
"Come, come, come, come. Come and see." A rough male voice came from the second floor.
Five or six people rushed up like a swarm of bees. One of them was carrying a smooth and irregular stone.
He placed it on a table.
In an instant, it attracted the attention of the people on the second floor, but no one looked surprised.
This is …
Stone gambling?
The burly man carrying the stone said to the people around him, "Who wants to bid for this stone?"
"Old Zhao, how much is this stone?"
"One hundred taels. It's very cheap, cheaper than before."
"It's been two months. None of the stones in your hands are real. Once you cut them open, they're all farts."
Old Zhao panicked, "That's not right. Didn't that old lady from the Shi Family buy my stones and become rich? Half a year ago, the youngest son of the Liu Family became rich too. Stone gambling, stone gambling, it's all about gambling. You all know that one cut makes you poor and another makes you rich."
The connoisseurs stroked the rock back and forth, scratched it with their fingernails, and made all sorts of strange movements.
In the jargon, it was called stone testing!
One of them said, "One hundred taels is too expensive. It might not be the best jade inside."
Old Zhao said, "Let me tell you, this stone is different from the ones before. Looking at the shape and luster, it's eighty percent real."
"You say that every time."
The group of people began to surround the stone and study it.
Wen Xian, who had been looking outside, suddenly stood up and walked over.
"I want this stone."
"So it's Young Master Wen. Do you really want this stone?" Old Zhao's eyes lit up.
Wen Xian didn't say anything. He took out a hundred taels and placed it on the table, "Bring the stone to my residence."
"Alright."
Old Zhao picked up the silver and counted it. He was very happy.
Someone tried to persuade him, "Young Master Wen, this stone is really not good. Don't waste your money."
"Yeah, you're not an expert. Don't be fooled."
…
Wen Xian didn't say anything.
On the other side, Jing Rong suddenly asked Ji Yunshu, "Guess, is it true?"
"It's fake!" She said straightforwardly.
"How do you know it's fake?"
She smiled. She wasn't an expert in stone gambling, but she was still considered half an archaeologist. She followed those experts around, so she more or less knew a thing or two. Stone gambling and stone testing could be considered to be a little bit related to archaeology, so she also knew a little bit about it.
"The so-called stone gambling means that before the jade is mined, it's wrapped in a layer of weathered skin. Only by cutting it open can we tell whether it's real or fake. Judging from the small cracks on the stone and the color of the skin, it's not real."
"You know about this?"
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