Chapter 76 Chapter 76 He Wanrong gently...

He Wanrong gently pushed Jiang Wan away and whispered, "I can't leave."

"How can that be?" Jiang An anxiously pulled her hand. "If you stay here, you won't be able to eat or sleep well. You'll get sick after a while. And what if Marquis Jing'an goes crazy and wants to kill you?"

He Wanrong brushed his hair, which had become disheveled from tunneling, and said softly, "I don't think they're planning to kill me yet. My identity is sensitive, and I'm the personal maid of the Lady of Dunhuang County. If I died in the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion, they wouldn't be able to explain it."

"But..." Jiang An was still worried.

"There's no need to worry. If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, how can you even talk about overturning the verdict?" He Wanrong's voice was a little weak, but her tone was firm. "Besides, there's something seriously wrong with the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion. If I stay here, I might have a chance to find some crucial information."

Jiang An couldn't persuade her, so he could only warn her worriedly, "If you encounter any danger, tell us immediately. Don't try to handle it alone."

Seeing that He Wanrong had made up her mind, Wen Shen took out a key and said, "This is the key to open the chain. If you are in danger, you can also open the door."

"Thank you, Mr. Wen." He Wanrong took it with both hands, carefully hid it under the straw, and performed a standard bow to Wen Shen.

Next, she detailed the contents of the roster. The list was identical, with a few names circled. The circled individuals ranged from men to women, young and old. Jiang Wan and the others analyzed the names and discovered two things in common: they were all family members who had died for various reasons after the incident; and after the Duke's Mansion was sealed, most of their families had been redeemed and were now living relatively well.

Jiang Wan frowned. The four of them looked at each other, each with a guess in their mind:

These people were probably forced by the murderer to set up the scene and frame Duke He.

Next, Jiang Wan recounted the story of the broken saber. Tracking down the abandoned saber would take time, so the group unanimously decided to start with the bank's roster and probe the concubine's background.

Four hours passed unknowingly and it was almost dawn.

Jiang Wan hugged He Wanrong again and promised, "I will find out the truth as soon as possible and rescue you."

Jiang An's mouth was even more chattering than her own sister's: "It's damp and cold here, you must cover yourself with a blanket at night."

"There are so many insects and ants in the dungeon, you have to wear outer clothes when you sleep."

"Eat on time. Don't wait until the food is cold before eating. It will cause stomachaches."

He Wanrong chuckled: "I know, Brother Jiang, I'm not a child anymore."

As she smiled, her eyes gradually turned red. She looked at Jiang An again, who was also staring at her, with a lot to say but unable to utter a word.

In this situation, Jiang Wan felt a little sad. He subconsciously turned to look at Wen Shen, but found that he was also looking at him.

She coughed and lowered her head guiltily.

After saying goodbye to He Wanrong, the four of them crawled into the tunnel and returned to the Wen Mansion.

After crawling back and forth in the tunnel, Jiang Wan came out with his newly changed clothes covered in mud. Just as he was about to take a break, he saw an acquaintance.

Master Shen Jianqing was lying on the sofa, his legs crossed in a nonchalant manner, and he said to Wen Shen, "It's really ungentlemanly of you to take a young girl to a tunnel in the middle of the night."

Wen Shen nonchalantly patted the mud off his sleeves: "Chen Jianqing, you have a bunch of cases on your hands, why are you running here before dawn?"

"Of course I found something good during the interrogation, so I came over to show off." Shen Jianqing narrowed his eyes and sat up straight. "That scarred Hun has confessed."

"He was just a cargo courier and had never entered the capital. The goods were only delivered outside Yumen Pass and handed over to an informant." Shen Jianqing said, "Based on the information he gave, I had someone find the informant and secretly follow him."

"This person delivered the goods to Lin'an and stored them in various shops outside the capital. He then went to the Fulai Inn for lunch. He left a note about the goods on the bottom of his bowl and called out the signal for the meeting. The inn's waiter took the note. I examined the goods and found that they were mostly copper and iron utensils. I also ordered someone to follow the waiter, but we haven't found anything else yet. Furthermore, these people are from the Great Zhou Dynasty, so it's difficult for the Jinyiwei to arrest them without evidence."

Jiang Wan thought about the lunch they had when they first arrived at the Fulai Inn: "Is the secret code for the meeting related to Dongpo pork?"

She recalled the customer's words: "I want four pieces, meat only, no skin. Is that right?"

"How did Miss Jiang know?" Shen Jianqing glanced at her in surprise. "How many pieces of Dongpo pork are needed? It refers to where the goods are placed. Only the meat is needed, not the skin. The meat and skin should refer to the type of goods."

It seems that this guy who has secret dealings with the Huns has a huge organization, and even the transportation of goods is handled several times.

Jiang Wan thought for a moment and said, "The Fulai Inn is doing good business and has many guests. It won't be easy to find the waiter's superiors. It would be better to start with the Minister of Personnel's concubine. Women from high-ranking families don't interact with many people, especially since she's pregnant. She has even fewer opportunities to interact with outsiders, so it would be easier to investigate."

She relayed He Wanrong's words, and Shen Jianqing took out a small booklet and took notes as he listened. After listening, he nodded: "Miss Jiang is right. We will pay attention to both sides. If there is any result, we will let you know. Miss, you haven't slept all night, go back and rest early."

Shen Jianqing closed the booklet and stood up. The colorful cover flashed before Jiang Wan's eyes. Stunned, he called out, "Master Shen, wait a moment. Do you usually use this... 'Letter to My Wife' as a notebook?"

Chen Jianqing looked down at the notebook in his hand and smiled, "Forgive me, forgive me. I always forget to bring a notebook when I go out, so I just write it down here. Oh, I've finished reading this one, it's quite interesting, and I also gave a copy to Zi Yan. If Miss Jiang is interested, I'll give you one too?"

"No, no, no." Jiang Wan shook his head, feeling inexplicably lost.

How could someone as aloof as Wen Shen suddenly start reading a storybook? It turned out that Lord Shen had given it to him.

She yawned, feeling sleepy from staying up all night, and said goodbye to Wen Shen. Jiang An also stood up, his expression conflicted. After a moment, he bowed and said, "Thank you for your help today, sir. I will remember your kindness."

While waiting for the results, Jiang Wan wasn't idle either. He completed the renovations of the six shops in Lin'an, and hired new managers for the remaining two. With these shops leading the way, shops in other counties and prefectures gradually completed their renovations and integrated their sales channels with the Jiang family shop, becoming the Qingjiangju.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi's Suzhou embroidery skills became increasingly sophisticated. Not only could she embroider entire garments, she also innovated the double-sided embroidery technique. Leveraging Qingjiangju's reputation, her daily income approached 100 taels. Consequently, Jiang Wan decided to establish a Suzhou embroidery branch, adding two dedicated display cases to the porcelain shop to sell Suzhou embroidery products.

After the renovations were completed, a renaming ceremony was scheduled. This ceremony officially introduced Jiang's shop to the public as Qingjiangju, a crucial factor in attracting customers. Therefore, Jiang Wan began preparations early, setting the ceremony for the tenth day of the sixth lunar month and inviting a wide range of renowned craftsmen to participate.

The day before the ceremony, she went to Chen Xi's embroidery studio. Ever since she bought the studio, Chen Xi had been practicing like crazy, staying in the studio day and night.

This child can't let go of the matter of her biological parents and uses embroidery to numb herself.

Jiang Wan sighed with heartache and pushed open the door of the embroidery room.

"Take a break. You'll go blind if you keep embroidering." She placed the snacks she had just bought on the table and advised, "Your health is the most important thing. Eat something first. After that, I'll take you for a walk."

Chen Xi put down the embroidery needle and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I plan to auction this embroidery at the renaming ceremony tomorrow to showcase the strength of the embroidery branch. It's almost finished. Master, I'll work on it for a while."

Jiang Wan moved closer and spotted the embroidery on the table. It depicted the sun rising over the eastern mountains, a phoenix soaring to the sky—an auspicious image of a red sun and phoenix. The entire piece was about five feet long and three feet wide, the needlework expertly executed, effortlessly flawless.

After not seeing her for more than ten days, the apprentice's embroidery skills have improved. You know, the last time I bought the embroidery studio, she could only barely embroider a whole dress.

Jiang Wan stroked her young apprentice's pigtails. "You've made rapid progress. Master is proud of you. But sharpening the knife doesn't delay the chopping of wood. Exhausting your energy like this will not only affect your body, but will also easily dull your spirit. Rest for a while before embroidering again. It's still early."

Chen Xi obediently covered the embroidery with a rolled-up cloth and shoved a piece of pastry into her mouth. The sweet aroma filled the air as she opened the box, and the freshly baked strawberry pastry melted in her mouth. Chen Xi ate two pieces, but she wasn't as happy as before. She stared blankly at the river flowing in front of the door.

Jiang Wan pulled up a stool and sat beside her, peeling the oil-absorbing paper from the cheese for him. Halfway through, he suddenly felt a tightness around his waist.

Jiang Wan looked down and saw Chen Xi holding her tightly with both arms, her head buried in her chest. She asked sullenly, "Master, do you think Mother is still alive?"

This mother, of course, wasn't her adoptive mother back in the small city of Fangpan, but rather Su Xiu Niang. Two months ago, Chen Xi discovered she had a long-lost biological mother, and her adoptive parents had come to Beijing for the only time in their lives, only to find a daughter.

Looking back now, Chen Xi's insistence on coming to Lin'an two months ago was somewhat fueled by resentment at having been abandoned by her birth mother. But after hearing her story firsthand, Jiang Wan felt that perhaps she was more worried.

But what are the chances of survival for a person who has been missing for fourteen years?

Jiang Wan swallowed those bad guesses and gently patted his little disciple's back, like comforting a crying child: "Master will help you find her. Whether Senior Su is alive or dead, I will help you find her. Xixi, you have to take care of yourself first. If Senior Su were here, he would be sad to see you suffering like this."

She paused and ruffled Chen Xi's hair. "Besides, you still have your parents in Xiaofang Pancheng, two senior brothers, your favorite embroidery, and me, your master."

"Hmm," Chen Xi moved his shoulders and raised his head, seeming to have regained some energy. "Master, the strawberry yogurt is delicious. Let's go buy another box."