There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 336 Suicide or Homicide

Liang Yuying: "If Cheng Zhian dares to harm Shu Chen, I will definitely not let him off."

Ye Bingli: "No one is allowed to hurt Shu Chen."

Li Shuchen chuckled upon hearing this, "It's so nice to have you all. Perfect timing, it's time for dinner. Why don't you eat here before you leave?"

"Good"*2

Thanks to the meticulous care of her friends, Li Shuchen's hand has almost fully recovered. She can now easily handle tasks like washing dishes, getting dressed, and no longer needs assistance.

"Miss, the prodigal son is being executed today. Would you like to go see him?"

"See, we're just killing time anyway."

Just as Li Shuchen stood up, Princess Changning arrived.

"Li Shuchen, I'm taking you to see how that playboy died."

Li Shuchen glanced back and, not seeing Gu Ziying, asked, "Where's Ziying? Isn't she looking?"

Princess Changning: "She's been staying indoors these past two days, I don't know what she's studying, she won't come out no matter how much I call her."

Li Shuchen: "Then let's go."

Princess Changning: Let's go.

When the carriage swayed and rattled to the execution site, it was packed with people. The two men turned around and went up to the second floor of a nearby shop to get a clear view of the scene.

Li Shuchen sat by the window, sipping tea as he said, "What goes around comes around; no one escapes the wrath of Heaven."

Princess Changning: "He deserves this. Any man who disrespects women should be punished."

Li Shuchen: "You're right."

"It's noon; execute him."

At the sound of the command, the executioner immediately swung his blade and struck.

A head rolled to the ground, splattering blood all around it.

After the excitement subsided, the crowd dispersed, still bustling and noisy.

Li Shuchen: "Let's go back too."

Princess Changning: "Okay."

The two walked downstairs when they overheard people talking.

"The former prefect of Piancheng is dead."

"What? Wasn't he living in Beppu? How did he die?"

"Oh dear, he drowned himself in the lake."

Why would he jump into the lake for no reason?

"Who knows? Maybe she knew her son was going to die, and she lost all will to live, so she couldn't bear it and jumped into the lake."

"That's also possible."

Princess Changning sighed, "Life is unpredictable."

Li Shuchen: "Okay, let's go back."

The two had just sat down in the Three Treasures Hall when Ye Bingli came in carrying a bag of food.

"Changning's here too! I bought coconut milk jam cake, let's use that together."

After Ye Bingli finished speaking, she took off her veil and placed it aside.

Li Shuchen noticed something amiss with the veiled hat and asked, "Why is Bingli wearing a veiled hat today?"

"The sun is too bright today, so I'm wearing sun protection. What's wrong with that?"

Ye Bingli spoke calmly, but Li Shuchen couldn't discern anything from her words, so he could only shake his head.

"nothing"

Princess Changning smiled and pulled Ye Bingli over: "Come sit down and have something to eat."

Ye Bingli: "Okay"

The three of them played together until dusk before parting ways.

The next day, when Grape was cleaning...

"Miss, did you sneak off to play yesterday without the grapes on your back?"

Li Shuchen looked wronged: "How could that be? I was with Grape all day yesterday, how could I have had time to sneak out and play?"

Grape nodded in agreement: "That's true. So where did this soil come from?"

"Soil? Let me see."

Li Shuchen walked quickly to the grapes, squatted down, and picked up some soil from the ground to examine them closely.

"Why is it red? Where in the capital of Portugal can you find red soil?"

Grape: "There's a Swan Lake in the north of the city, made of red soil."

Could it be that Bingli went to Swan Lake yesterday?

"Miss, what's wrong?"

"It's alright. Just clean this up and don't tell anyone."

"Yes, miss"

Li Shuchen sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully recalled the scene of seeing Bingli yesterday.

She changed into a new outfit she had never seen before; it wasn't her usual blue dress, but a light blue one.

The hem of her skirt was wet and wrinkled, no longer flowing. At first, she thought it was water from handling the flowers.

Now it seems like they went to Swan Lake to get some water.

But what was she doing going to the lake for no reason? And wearing a veiled hat, was she afraid someone would recognize her?

Could it be?

Fine, if she won't tell, I'll keep her secret.

"Li Shuchen, come with me to Ziying's house quickly," Princess Changning said, pulling Li Shuchen along.

Li Shuchen: "What's the rush?"

Princess Changning smiled happily: "Ziying has been bestowed the title of Township Princess by the Emperor! Come with me to Ziying's house to celebrate for her!"

Li Shuchen was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Village Chief, that's wonderful! Let's go, let's pick up Bingli!"

Princess Changning: Let's go.

The carriage stopped at Baihuazhuang.

Li Shuchen ran into the store as fast as he could, and when he looked up, Ye Bingli had changed back into her blue clothes.

"Bingli, Ziying has been promoted to a noble title! Come with us to her house to celebrate!"

Ye Bingli smiled and said, "Okay."

The three of them bought a lot of things and arrived at No. 2 Xingfu Lane in a grand procession.

You carry one bag, I carry one bag, and we go into the yard.

Gu Ziying was already smiling as she greeted them at the door.

"You've come, so why bring so much stuff?"

Li Shuchen: "Such a joyous occasion deserves a proper celebration. We bought a lot of ingredients and wine; we're going to drink until we drop tonight!"

"Alright, let's drink until we're drunk!" *3

Everyone put down their things and began to get busy. Li Shuchen, while washing vegetables, asked, "Changning, does Yuying know about this?"

Princess Changning: "I know, the imperial edict was issued during the morning court session this day. Many ministers praised Ziying, especially the military officers. However, Yuying has been quite busy lately, so we'll have to wait for her."

Upon hearing this, Ye Bingli asked, "Has Ziying developed a new weapon?"

Li Shuchen: "Ziying should have been busy with her period these past few days, how could she possibly be researching new weapons?"

Princess Changning: "It is a menstrual belt. Ziying has already made it and presented it to the Empress's aunt. The Empress's aunt was very pleased after seeing it, saying that this menstrual belt can make women more comfortable and clean during menstruation, and is very beneficial to women's health. So she requested the Emperor to bestow upon Ziying the title of Fourth-Rank County Lady."

Li Shuchen: "A fourth-rank county lady? But you told me it was a third-rank township lady."

Princess Changning: "That's right, she's a third-rank township princess."

Ye Bingli: "Why is that?"

Gu Ziying chuckled from the side, "Changning gave me the cotton seeds, and I presented them to the Emperor."

Li Shuchen was very puzzled upon hearing this: "Changning, why is that?"

Princess Changning smiled and said, "My title has reached its limit. If I hand it over to my uncle, the Emperor, I'll only receive some rewards at most. It would be better to give it to Ziying, who can present it as tribute. Perhaps she can be promoted another rank."

Li Shuchen chuckled, "Then Ziying was promoted two ranks at once, becoming a third-rank township head. That's amazing!"

Ye Bingli smiled and said, "Ziying is really amazing, congratulations!"

Gu Ziying: "I also want to thank Changning for giving me cotton seeds and putting in a good word for me; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to level up again."

Princess Changning: "It was Shu Chen who suggested offering cotton seeds as tribute; otherwise, I would never have thought of it."

Ye Bingli: "Shu Chen has a deep sense of patriotism and a strong sense of justice."

Li Shuchen grinned from ear to ear: "Hehehe, you flatter me, you flatter me. But I didn't expect Ziying to make a cotton menstrual belt so quickly."

Gu Ziying sat down next to Li Shuchen, met her gaze, and said earnestly.

"I didn't want to be powerless when Shu Chen was humiliated. If I were a third-rank township head that day, I would have stopped the former prefect of Piancheng and prevented him from harming you in the slightest. Not only that, but since his son insulted me, I would have made him and his son be punished together."