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Chapter 597 Minding your own business
That evening, Zhu Yu and Lu Qing went to the front of Yunyin Pavilion again, ordered a pot of wine and a few dishes, and ate casually while listening to the people around them chatting.

That night, Yunyin Pavilion was unusually lively. The events that had happened on the streets during the day had already spread to every corner of the capital, becoming excellent topics of conversation.

Powerful officials and nobles are not uncommon in the capital, but it's not something you can encounter every day when someone who was once incredibly powerful falls from grace.

Zhu Yu and his group were surrounded by people, and almost everyone was discussing these matters.

If the scholars had previously discussed such matters with some secrecy and caution, the drinkers now seemed much more fearless.

At first, Zhu Yu listened attentively, but as the people around her drank more and more, they became more uninhibited and started talking more. Some slightly drunk people even came to their table to ask her and Lu Qing how they viewed these matters.

Fortunately, she and Lu Qing were very in sync and reacted quickly. The two of them echoed each other in a daze, sending away all the people who came to talk to them.

After a while, Zhu Yu saw Liu Yueyao's figure flash by nearby, seemingly making a subtle gesture in their direction. Lu Qing then signaled to her, and the two got up and left, taking a detour back to the backyard.

Before long, Liu Yueyao arrived as well.

"Master, Madam." She curtsied to Lu Qing and Zhu Yu. Lately, she had become more and more accustomed to reporting to both masters, including Zhu Yu, instead of just Lu Qing.

If at the beginning she did this out of respect for Zhu Yu's status as "Madam", after witnessing Zhu Yu's methods and audacity, Liu Yueyao was completely convinced. Now when she speaks, she no longer regards Zhu Yu as someone who is qualified to listen, but as a master with real decision-making power, just like Lu Qing.

Lu Qing nodded to her and asked, "Did you receive some important news that sent us back?"

“Exactly.” Liu Yueyao nodded quickly. “Master told me to keep an eye on where Gu Lingyun is.”

Initially, I didn't hear anything about it, and there were even rumors that she was hiding in the Prince Shu's mansion.

"But I just received word that she's probably hiding here now." Liu Yueyao took out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it over.

Lu Qing took it, unfolded it, and looked at it with Zhu Yu. An address was written on it in very small print.

Zhu Yu was unfamiliar with the capital, but Lu Qing immediately recognized that this was a residential area in the north of the city, inhabited by the lowest classes of people in the capital. It was a crowded and mixed place.

Lu Qing's brows twitched, and he asked Liu Yueyao in a low voice, "We hadn't found any trace of her before, but recently we've suddenly been able to confirm that she's staying here?"

"Yes." Liu Yueyao nodded, answering with great certainty.

Lu Qing pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling Liu Yueyao to leave: "Alright, go ahead and do your work."

The capital has been bustling these past few days, and I imagine Yunyin Pavilion's business will be much better.

Remember, anything else is acceptable, but absolutely no one is allowed to drink and cause trouble, bringing any problems into the house.

"Don't worry, sir, we're all being careful. You and your wife should get some rest, I'll take my leave now." Liu Yueyao nodded, turned and quickly left, returning to her work at the front.

After Liu Yueyao left, Zhu Yu asked about the address. When he learned that it was in such a place, he understood the purpose of Lu Qing's question to Liu Yueyao.

Looking at Gu Lingyun's hiding place alone, there seems to be no problem. Although it is a place where the lowest of the low live together, it is noisy and crowded, but because there are many people coming and going, the flow of people is relatively large, so any unfamiliar faces will not attract anyone's attention.

Moreover, the more chaotic the place, the more difficult it is to surround and intercept them. If they are discovered, it is very easy for them to create some chaos and then take the opportunity to escape.

But all of this is based on the fact that the secret she hid there was indeed kept from the vast majority of people.

What if Liu Yueyao's spies were not the only ones who knew about this?

The person who was originally kept completely hidden, even someone as well-informed as Manager Liu had been searching for for a long time without any leads, suddenly found out after the recent troubles at the Duke of Yan's side...

That makes things rather unusual.

"It seems someone wants others to know where Gu Lingyun is hiding so they can search for her." Zhu Yu frowned.

“Yes.” Lu Qing got up and pulled Zhu Yu to the side of the screen, then handed her a cloth bag. “Go change your clothes, let’s go take a look.”

Zhu Yu took the cloth bag, opened it behind the screen, and saw that it contained a set of black night clothes.

She quickly changed her clothes, then took out her small leather bag and stuffed it into her bosom.

When she noticed Lu Qing watching her stuff the leather bag, she sighed, "I heard you asking Liu Yueyao those questions earlier, so I reckon the chances of us seeing the lively Gu Lingyun are slim."

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but ask, "But what if the other side isn't as efficient as us?"
We got there and found Gu Lingyun was still alive… What should we do? Should we move her somewhere else and hide her?”

"We won't concern ourselves with matters that don't concern us."

"We won't do anything that doesn't benefit us." Lu Qing shook his head. "Besides, we don't have the resources to shelter others right now."

Gu Lingyun wasn't some rabbit frozen stiff in the snow, someone you could take home unsuspectingly to warm up.

“I understand that principle, and I know the story of the farmer and the snake.” Zhu Yu nodded and casually replied, “That Gu Lingyun is not only a beautiful snake, but also a bamboo viper!”

"Oh? The story of the farmer and the snake? I've never heard that before." Lu Qing asked with interest, "What's it about?"

"Let's go, let's go. I'll tell you the story when we get back tonight!" Zhu Yu felt a little helpless for blurting out the story without thinking. Fortunately, the story was essentially the same and could still be told, so she calmed down and reached out to tug at Lu Qing's arm. "If it's any later, it'll be late, and it'll be troublesome if we run into the night patrol."

Lu Qing smiled and nodded. The two of them quietly left the room, went around to the back door, and exited Yunyin Pavilion.