Chapter 57: Setting up a trap to catch the traitor

Early the next morning, Liuzhi said excitedly: "The eldest young lady's wife calculated it correctly. Miss Cao went to see the second lady overnight."

Yuan Wanru was not surprised. You know, the interest she paid to Cao Lanxin was not cheap. If she couldn't resolve the document issue within ten days, she would suffer a great loss.

"As I recall, Hawthorn can't read?"

Liuzhi nodded: "That's right."

Yuan Wanru hooked her finger, "You are like this..."

-

After lunch, Yuan Wanru and Aunt Pang sat aside and learned how to knit.

She had never done this kind of handicraft before, and she found it quite interesting to learn.

Liuzhi came in and poured her a cup of tea: "Madam, have some red date ginger tea."

Yuan Wanru looked up at her, and Liuzhi made eye contact with her. Yuan Wanru knew that Hawthorn was outside.

She accidentally knocked over the teacup on purpose, causing Liuzhi and Aunt Pang to exclaim, "Are you scalded?"

Liuzhi quickly helped Yuan Wanru into the inner room to change clothes, while Aunt Pang called Shanzha at the door to come in: "Come and clean up these broken porcelain pieces and clean the floor."

Shanzha had a big round face and looked honest. When he heard what Aunt Pang said, he immediately responded, "I'll be right there."

While Shanzha was tidying up the house, the conversation between Yuan Wanru and Liuzhi in the inner room floated out.

"Madam, it's a good thing the document wasn't soaked by the tea, otherwise it would have been a disaster."

"Forget it, then don't carry it with you. I'm counting on it to make money now. Find a safe place to hide it."

Liuzhi seemed to have opened a box. After a while, she said, "I have put the document into the plum blossom purse and placed it in the red lacquer box on the shelf. Madam, don't worry."

"Um."

Shanzha pricked up his ears and picked up the broken porcelain cup very slowly, for fear of missing a word.

Madam Pang watched as the play inside ended, and she reprimanded Shanzha: "It's just a small thing, but you drag your feet. Do you usually eat for free?"

Anyway, he had heard all the information he needed to hear, so Shanzha moved quickly, cleaned up the place in no time, and left.

She had to quickly tell Xi Que that the whereabouts of the note had been found.

-

Taking some time off at noon, Shanzha quietly went out and met Ximagpie at a rockery in the southwest corner of the mansion.

She didn't notice that there was a woman named Xu following her.

This old lady Xu also came from the Yuan family with Yuan Wanru.

She used to be a bodyguard and had some skills. Later she met Yuanchuan, who took her in out of pity for her.

Because of this love, she is loyal to Yuan Wanru.

Although she is nearly fifty years old, she is as agile as any young person.

Hawthorn and Magpie did not notice that someone was watching them not far away.

Xi Que was Zhou Fang's trusted maid, so her food, clothing and other expenses were naturally not comparable to Shanzha's. When she saw Shanzha, she immediately asked, "How is it? Did you find where you put the things?"

Before, when Cao Lanxin asked Zhou Fang for help, Zhou Fang had made up her mind to "drag it out".

Cao Lanxin was anxious, and she went to Zhou Fang's house every time to ask for help, but her request was never met with succumbency. She gave Zhou Fang fifty or thirty taels of silver, and Zhou Fang received several hundred taels of silver as a reward without having to work.

Zhou Fang originally wanted to tease Cao Lanxin again. After all, the Cao family was a merchant family and was very rich.

Zhou Fang's family has fallen into decline, and Lu Bai has not made much progress in recent years. Zhou Fang's life is not easy and she has to be very frugal on a daily basis.

She had finally found a way to make money, so she wouldn't be stupid enough to give up so quickly.

But last night, Cao Lanxin gave Zhou Fang an ultimatum.

If Zhou Fang cannot help her get the receipt within four days, she must return the money she had received before. If Zhou Fang refuses, Cao Lanxin will go back to Lu Bai to complain.

Although Zhou Fang despised Lu Bai for being a loser, she actually cared about her husband very much because of his good looks.

If Lu Bai knew that she had done such a thing, he would definitely have a fight with her.

Cao Lanxin even promised that if she succeeded, she would give Zhou Fang another 200 taels of silver as a reward.

It was because of this that Zhou Fang became anxious.

Shanzha nodded: "Today I finally heard the eldest young master's wife mention the document, which is placed in the red lacquer box in the inner room."

The magpie said condescendingly: "It is still somewhat useful."

Shanzha was a little unhappy. Although she was a second-class maid, the eldest young lady's most trusted maids were Liu Yan and Liu Zhi. They seldom had the chance to enter the house to serve, so it was not easy for them to get any information.

But the magpie always looks domineering, as if she is her master. With such great ability, why doesn't she go find it herself?

"Since you know where it is, steal the document for me within the next two days."

Shanzha is not stupid either. She and Xi Que are just in a relationship of interest, so she always wants those benefits.

"I was feeling unwell a while ago and took some medicine. I don't have much money left."

The magpie snorted coldly, took out two taels of silver from his purse, and threw it on the ground: "Here you go, poor fellow."

In Zhou Fang's eyes, Yuan Wanru was just a sucker, so Xi Que also looked down on Yuan Wanru, thinking that she was stupid and easy to fool, and as a result, he looked down on her subordinates even more.

Shanzha picked up the two taels of silver, clenched it in his hands, and looked at Xi Que with deep and indifferent eyes.

-

Yuan Wanru made a plan to catch the thief and went to find Wang Min as soon as possible.

Although Wang Min and Zhou Fang had an average relationship, Wang Min just felt that he and Zhou Fang had different personalities.

As the mistress of the house, Wang Min was in charge of household affairs, but Old Madam Lu was very partial to her and managed to seize some of the power and gave it to Zhou Fang.

Her excuse was that after she died, the second branch would have to be separated and live on its own, and Zhou Fang couldn't be completely ignorant of the housekeeping, so Zhou Fang was currently in charge of purchasing.

Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for her to plot to cause Lu Jiangnian and Yuan Wanru to fall into the water.

Only when you have power will people use it for you.

Yuan Wanru was going to make a big fuss about this matter and seize Zhou Fang's power.

She actually extended her hand into her nephew's yard. No matter how you look at it, Zhou Fang was in the wrong. With this favorable situation, does Madam Lu still have the nerve to let Zhou Fang participate in the housekeeper's affairs?

-

Wang Min was furious: "Is the magpie really colluding with the hawthorn in your room?"

Yuan Wanru handed her a cup of tea to calm her down: "If I were still in Momei Pavilion, it wouldn't matter if we were colluding."

"But I live in Lingshuiju now, and my husband is the Minister of the Imperial Guards, so I am most afraid of this kind of thing."

The Minister of Imperial Guards is responsible for the safety of the Emperor. If the secrets in Lu Jiangnian’s study are leaked, the entire Loyal and Brave Marquis’ Mansion will be in jeopardy.

"Zhou Fang's hand is stretched too far!"

Wang Min asked Yuan Wanru with a cold face: "What do you want to do?"

Yuan Wanru smiled with a determined look: "Of course we caught the perpetrator red-handed."

"What do you mean by catching someone red-handed?"

Suddenly, a person came in from outside. It turned out to be Lu Jiangnian who had finished his shift and had returned.

When he saw the cat-and-mouse smile on Yuan Wanru's face, he knew that she was up to some bad idea again.