Chapter 21

  Zhan Zhao returned to the government inn when the sky had already darkened.

  The lights in Lu Xiaofeng's house were on, and the windows were open. However, Xiaohe stood in the yard with his head raised, looking up at the roof.

  Zhan Zhao followed her gaze and saw a bamboo ladder, suddenly he knew what the reason was.

  He flew up onto the roof and indeed saw Lu Xiaofeng.

  She sat in the middle of the rooftop, bathed in moonlight, propping up her cheek with one hand to gaze at the stars. When she saw him, she only gave a glance and continued gazing at her own stars.

  "Why isn't the girl sleeping yet?"

  Lu Xiaofeng said: "Zhan Huwei is not here, Hua Zhong has not returned to the case, I certainly do not dare to sleep."

  Zhan Zhao smiled and didn't think she was telling the truth. He just sat down beside her in his robe, "What are you thinking about, miss?"

  Lu Xiaofeng hesitated for a moment. She racked her brains and thought about it for half a day, but all she could remember was that Hua Zhong had been beaten and captured by a group of heroes in a remote nunnery. This was the only clue she had, and she wasn't sure if it would be useful or not.

  Speak up, and it seems like she's talking nonsense. Don't speak up, and this is at least a clue.

  Little Phoenix Maiden was slightly entangled.

  What she fears most is that she can't explain to others how she knew about this, as if she should say that she and the plotter are relatives who obtained insider information through backdoors?

  This is also too ridiculous!

  "I'm worried about when Hua Chong will be caught and brought to justice. If he's always on the run, my actions will be restricted by you forever." This is not a pleasant thought.

  "Zhan Mou is considering the girl's safety."

  "I understand, but can't I just dislike it?"

  Zhan Zhao shook his head helplessly.

  "Is there no clue at all?"

  "For the time being, there isn't." Zhan Zhao also felt a bit anxious.

  Lu Xiaofeng tilted his head and looked at him.

  "Miss, if you have something to say, just say it."

  "Okay, I have something to tell you, but I don't know if you'll believe me."

  "Zhan Zhao said with absolute certainty."

  Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but tease him, "I'm Miss Pong, you know."

  Zhan Zhao calmly said: "But Miss is still the 'Feng Niang' praised by the people of Chenzhou."

  "Don't bring this up again to provoke me, got it?" If not for this reputation, she wouldn't have been included in the Pang family's ancestral records, and Emperor Renzong wouldn't have had her brought into the Ministry of Justice. Just thinking about it brings tears.

  "Zhan Zhao was rude."

  "Never mind, it's pointless to argue with you. What I'm saying is that maybe you should go and investigate some remote temples, who knows what unexpected gains you might get."

  "What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao was taken aback.

  "Uh-huh."

  Zhan Zhao stood up and stopped again in the next moment.

  Lu Xiaofeng immediately assured him, "I won't run around, I'll just stay at the official inn."

  "Let's go with Miss Zhang together."

  "Ah?" Lu Xiaofeng was shocked, "I'm afraid I'm a burden?" Zhan Xiaomao, you're going to catch the flower thief, and you bring a girl along, is this adding dishes or fishing?

  "Zhan Zhao felt it was better to stay with his daughter and be at peace."

  Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but cover his forehead, "How can you say that I'm not well-behaved? Heaven is my witness, I don't know how much more law-abiding I can be!" His sister has always been a good citizen, a good citizen!

  Zhan Zhao smiled and stretched out his hand to her, "I, Zhan, have wronged you."

  Lu Xiaofeng glared at him.

  Zhan Zhao swept her into his arms and leaped out from the rooftop with her.

  Zhan Zhao took Lu Xiaofeng to the Ding family to find Bai Yutang.

  Unfortunately, they ran into Beixia at Ding's residence as a guest, and Sanxia bumped into him again.

  "An Tang?" Bai Yutang was somewhat skeptical after hearing Zhan Zhao's words.

  Lu Xiaofeng said: "There are nuns in the temple, and nuns are female."

  Bai Yutang couldn't help but cough to cover up his embarrassment, "Lu Niang, some things you don't have to say so bluntly, okay?" This girl was too straightforward.

  "I'm afraid you won't understand, Fifth Master," Lu Xiaofeng said innocently.

  Bai Yutang blew his top again, "Am I so stupid, Fifth Master?"

  "Sometimes it's not necessarily a matter of being very clever."

  Bai Yutang turned to glare at the person beside him, "Zhan Zhao, since you're going to capture Hua Chong, what's the point of bringing her along?"

  "It's not suitable for her to be alone in the government hostel, it's better if she stays at the Ding residence where people will feel more at ease." This was Zhan Zhao's reasoning.

  Ding Zhaolan smiled and said: "Miss Lu is staying at the Ding residence, so Master Zhang can rest assured."

  "Trouble you, Brother Ding."

  "I'll have Yuehua keep company with Lu Niang, we're going to look for Hua Chong."

  "Thank you."

  Is she being entrusted with an orphan? Little Phoenix Maiden was speechless for a moment.

  After settling Lu Xiaofeng, Zhan Zhao and a few others hastily left.

  Ding Yuehua smiled and said: "Miss Lu seems to be a bit distracted, if you're tired, I'll let the maid accompany you to rest first."

  Lu Xiaofeng glanced at a certain cat's official partner, then thought of another official partner who was accompanying the cat, and couldn't help but look up at the beam with a 45-degree gaze.

  The trajectory of how things happened seems a bit melodramatic.

  "Lu Niang and Zhan Daxia seem to have a good relationship."

  "It's okay." As the adopted daughter of the Pan family, her relationship with Zhan Xiaomao is probably not too close, and it's good enough to maintain a peaceful coexistence.

  "Will the young lady always have Master Zhan follow her?"

  Lu Xiaofeng glanced at Ding Yihuah and finally began to notice that something was off about her, as if she had been mistaken for a hypothetical love rival.

  As an official partner, this worry is too superfluous. She'd say that instead of worrying about her, Dīng Yuèhuá might as well worry about Bái Lǎo Shǔ, after all both are official partners and when they clash it's a fair fight.

  Life is tough these days, women not only have to compete with other women for men, but also have to compete with men for men, it's really pathetic.

  "Miss Ding is wrong, it wasn't me who asked Zhan Zhao to follow me, on the contrary, I never wanted him to follow me. However, he seems to be worried that Bao Da Ren would not be able to explain things properly to my adoptive father, so he's been quite anxious about my safety."

  "Is that so."

  "Actually everyone is clear that my adoptive father and Kaifeng Prefecture can be considered as mutually exclusive, so some things are a bit too tense for Zhaoyang."

  Ding Yuehua nodded to indicate she understood.

  Lu Xiaofeng continued to dispel Ding Yuehua's worries, saying: "As long as we catch Hua Zhong, Xie Zhaowu won't need to protect me like this."

  Ding Yuehua's face turned slightly red, and she pretended to change the subject casually, saying: "It's getting late, Miss should go to bed early."

  Lu Xiaofeng hastily explained, "Miss Ding doesn't need to sleep with me, I think Hua Zhong will definitely not dare to cause trouble in the home of the Twin Heroes of the Ding family."

  "Alright then, I'll have Yaya bring the young lady to her room."

  "Thank you."

  Lu Xiaofeng followed the maid from the Ding Mansion to the guest room to rest, and soon fell asleep on the bed.

  Then, I slept soundly until dawn.

  When she arrived at the front hall, Zhan Zhao and others had already chatted for a while.

  "Miss Lu seems to have slept extremely well." Bai Yutang couldn't help but tease her.

  Lu Xiaofeng honestly admitted, "I slept very well, the Ding family's home is as safe as can be." His eyes involuntarily looked towards Zhan Zhao.

  "The flower has fallen into the net."

  Lu Xiaofeng furrowed his brow, the meaning of "falling into the net" was that he had been captured alive. The proper punishment would have let him live a little longer.

  Little Phoenix Maiden said: She's very unhappy!

  Bai Yutang smiled and said, "It's also a coincidence, Fourth Brother unintentionally discovered the whereabouts of Hua Chong, then we chased after him together, it was easier to take action."

  Lu Xiaofeng finally understood why the other four mice were present and couldn't help but smile slightly.

  When a person is down on their luck, even drinking water can get stuck in their teeth. I guess it's also because the evil deeds they've accumulated have finally caught up with them.

  "What is Lu Niang thinking about?" Bai Yutang looked over with a hint of a smile.

  Lu Xiaofeng said bluntly: "Have you handed Hua Chong over to the government?"

  "Yes."

  "As it happens, I have some business at the yamen."

  The cat and mouse simultaneously thought of that one knife, and their eyes coincidentally converged on her.

  This won't...

  In fact, neither the cat nor the mouse is wrong.

  Little Phoenix Maiden ran to the government office for that small matter, it wasn't a big deal, she just went to the death row and cut off Hua Feng's arm.

  Bai Yutang, who accompanied her to prison, couldn't bear to look at Hua Chong's miserable state.

  Zhan Zhao Ming stayed outside the prison intelligently and waited for them to come out.

  "Why don't you just execute him immediately? Why must you torture him like this?" Bai Yutang couldn't help but feel some sympathy.

  Lu Xiaofeng hummed and said: "I think that those innocent girls are still too cheap for him, he should find some strong men to take turns with him."

  Zhan Zhao: "......"

  Bai Yutang: "......"

  Lu Xiaofeng suddenly found his mouth seemed to have slipped out a little, innocently looking at them.

  Zhan Zhao opened his eyes.

  Bai Yutang coughed dryly.

  "Zhan Zhao, are you really not going to hit the drum?" This girl is too fierce, do you want to change to another object?

  "Brother Bai, if you're interested, go by yourself." Zhan Zhao spent four taels of gold.

  Bai Yutang was suddenly slapped in the face with a bloody cat, this dead cat!

  There's so much loving interaction between the cat and mouse, Little Phoenix is hitting her head against the wall, what to do? She thinks both official pairs are great, doesn't know which one to support more.

  Bai Yutang, who was stabbed by a certain imperial cat, was so angry that he almost burst with rage and left. The imperial cat then accompanied the fierce little Phoenix girl back to the government inn.

  As soon as they returned to the government hostel and entered the courtyard, Xiao He came forward to greet them.

  "Miss, it's good that you're back safely."

  "With you by my side, I will definitely be safe."

  "Zhan Gongye is the same, since Liu Xiaojie is in Ding Fu, she should bring her maid over together. Others don't have maids serving Miss so wholeheartedly." That Ding girl obviously has a crush on Zhan Gongye, and it's only because of her family's heartless and unfeeling miss that she would blindly follow without understanding the situation.

  Zhan Zhao turned his head to look at the flower bed in the courtyard.

  Lu Xiaofeng didn't notice Zhan Zhao's embarrassment, and simply pulled Xiaohe's hand towards the house, "Xiaohe, tomorrow we'll go to Jianhua Chong for a decisive battle."

  "Okay." Xiao He agreed happily.

  "Help me find something to change into."

  "What's wrong?"

  "He's just been thrown into prison." Lu Xiao Feng did not want to give Yiniang any more explanation.

  Xiaohe went to help her get some clean clothes.

  When Lu Xiaofeng reappeared in front of Zhan Zhao, she had changed out of her original clothes and was wearing a brocade silk robe. The hairpins on her hair bun were not numerous, but each one was exquisite, obviously not ordinary goods.

  Jian Zhaoyang looked at her and Lu Xiaofeng pouted, "Right? You also think this dress is too luxurious, don't you?"

  "It's not." Her temperament could suppress any clothes, but when she dressed like this, he couldn't help but think of her identity as the young lady of the Pan Manor, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of sighs.

  Between Bao Daren and Pang Taishi...

  "Miss, are you going to watch the flower festival tomorrow?" Zhan Zhao threw away his own thoughts and asked her something else.

  "Right."

  "Doesn't the girl want to wait until after autumn to deal with him?"

  "The night is long and dreams are many, it's best to behead such villains immediately."

  Zhan Zhao then said nothing more.