Help Su Qingli find someone

"Okay, please wait a moment, sir."

The errand boy in the teahouse glanced at the two detectives in plain clothes and made a pot of Tieguanyin tea and brought it over with a smile on his face.

After filling the tea glasses for both of them, another customer came in.

"Tea waiter, bring me a pot of Biluochun."

A man in blue sat at a table nearby, dressed like a peddler, wearing an old, dry blue cotton gown and a net scarf on his head.

Two constables looked over here. They had noticed that the man in blue was a martial artist when they saw him walking, so they couldn't help but pay more attention to him and were whispering to each other at the moment.

Fu Xuechen on the second floor was immersed in the sound of the piano. Listening to the lingering music, he had no interest in the uninvited guests downstairs.

Su Qingli played for only an hour. She had no intention of playing until she found Su Huaihai. "Mr. Tan, let's stop here today. My father is still being searched for. I..."

Fu Xuechen watched her fingertips leave the strings, understood her difficulties, and said caringly: "Miss Su, I will take you out of the teahouse."

"Thank you, Mr. Tan, for seeing me off. I'm going to the gambling house to find my father." Su Qingli looked unhappy and stood up and walked out.

She couldn't just rely on the government officials, she also had to take more action herself. In the past two days, she even went to various gambling houses to look for her father Su Huaihai.

There are still some gambling houses in the capital, and she has not had time to visit and inquire.

Fu Xuechen prepared for the worst. Given Qi Jinqian's cruel nature and methods, Su Huaihai might have died.

"Miss Su, I will accompany you to the gambling house. It will be inconvenient for you to go there as a woman." Thinking of this, Fu Xuechen couldn't help but feel pity for Su Qingli who was alone.

"Mr. Tan, is your family business stable?" Su Qingli glanced sideways.

"It's stable now, so I can accompany Miss Su on her investigations."

Fu Xuechen cleared his throat. He had to go this time and couldn't let Su Qingli face it alone.

"Then let's go. Mr. Tan, if you feel unwell, don't keep it to yourself because of me. Your heart disease is very difficult to deal with."

Su Qingli did not refuse. The previous few times she went to the gambling house to look for him, the people in the gambling house still wanted to touch her. She brought up the name of the Qi Mansion and barely intimidated the perverts in the gambling house.

"Miss Su, don't worry. I carry the pills prescribed by the doctor with me. In the event of an emergency, these pills can save my life and provide relief."

Fu Xuechen took out a small white porcelain medicine jar from the brocade bag on his waist. It did not contain pills, but actually a golden ointment for applying on wounds, which could be used when he was out.

Su Qingli believed it and did not use the small medicine jar to verify its authenticity. She was busy looking for her father.

When they walked downstairs, the three of them followed them without any prior arrangement.

Constable Wu and Constable Peng, one tall and one short, each took their own horse and mounted it, following behind Su Qingli's carriage.

The man in blue also followed him away.

"Why are you following us?" Constable Peng pulled the reins of his horse and shouted at the man in blue.

"Brothers, I didn't follow you. Perhaps we were on the same road and were going to the same place." The man in green was burly. Although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, one could tell from his gestures that he had strong tendon muscles.

"Such a coincidence exists in the world. You can fool an ignorant three-year-old child, but do you think you can fool us?"

Constable Wu's eyes bulged as he stared at the man in blue. They had investigated so many cases, how could they not see that there was something wrong with the man in blue? He was clearly following the carriage in front.

"You two, I really didn't lie. If you're worried that I might be up to something bad, then just walk in front of me."

The man in green was targeting Su Qingli and Fu Xuechen, and he didn't bother to argue with them.

Constable Peng watched the carriage go further and further away. He thought it would be embarrassing if he continued arguing. "You'd better stay behind us. We might go our separate ways soon."

Fu Xuechen lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and said, "Miss Su, those people behind us seem to be following us. I will let the carriage get rid of them."

Su Qingli followed Fu Xuechen's line of sight and saw the general outlines and figures of three people from afar. Two of them looked familiar to her and she vaguely remembered who they were.

"Mr. Tan, I need your consent for something." Su Qingli was so worried about her father's safety that she almost forgot to tell the government what she had promised to do.

Fu Xuechen's expression, hidden behind the veil, shifted slightly, even though he had guessed what Su Qingli was going to say next. "What's the matter? Miss Su, please speak freely."

"My father's disappearance has alarmed the authorities. I don't know who reported our Su family to the authorities. The government officials found the Su residence and recorded the confession. They want to see you. It's okay if it's inconvenient for you."

Su Qingli explained in detail and did not force him to go.

"Miss Su, after I accompany you to the gambling house to find your father, I will also go with you to the government office."

Fu Xuechen agreed immediately. Fortunately, he had informed County Magistrate Dai in advance.

The coachman shook off the three men in a cloud of dust and, under Su Qingli's arrangement, came to a nearby gambling house. This was an area where Su Qingli had never been to look for anyone before.

Although it is a bit far from Su's house, her father is a gambler. If he is not allowed to enter the nearby gambling houses, he will try to gamble in the faraway gambling houses.

Su Qingli didn't expect Tan Xi to agree to this so easily. She had anticipated that Tan Xi would be hesitant and would have to lift the veil when going to the county government office to expose his face to the public.

Tan Xi was unwilling to even show it to her, but this time he made an exception for her.

"Mr. Tan, thank you for coming with me."

Su Qingli jumped off the carriage and expressed her gratitude in front of a gambling house.

"We are friends, it's too polite to say this. Miss Su is in trouble, and as a friend, I should help her." Fu Xuechen mentioned their friendship.

"Mr. Tan, it's my blessing to meet a friend like you who treats me well. Let's go in and take a look. If we can find out where my father is, it will also save the officials from worrying about our Su family."

Su Qingli walked into the gambling house while talking, and Fu Xuechen followed her into the gambling house.

The gambling house was bustling with people, the sounds of shaking dice and the noise of gamblers were intertwined, and from time to time the shouts of the treasure official could be heard.

The two stood in the noisy crowd, and the gambling house's hangers-on greeted them, "Dear guests, would you like to bet big or small? We have several empty gambling tables here. Please follow me."

Fu Xuechen said quickly, "We are not here to gamble."

"If you are not here to gamble, then why are you coming to our gambling house?" Upon hearing this, the hanger-on's expression immediately changed, and he wanted to drive the two away.

Su Qingli had endured such cold stares countless times. She calmly explained the reason, "Please forgive us, we are here to look for someone."

"Looking for someone?" The hanger-on's face was even more displeased. "We don't have the person you're looking for in our gambling house. Please leave now."