Madam Chu did not agree with Chu Yiyi's idea. "Yiyi, if we go, won't that let Fu Man'er know that it was our Chu family who did it?"

This time, they were very careful. Apart from Madam Chu's confidants, no member of the Chu family showed up. In short, they paid someone to hire them, but that person didn't know who hired them. They only knew that they were paid to do something.

"Mom, it's okay. I'll cover my face, take a quick look, and then I'll come back."

Chu Yiyi suddenly felt that simply ruining Fu Man'er's face was too lenient on her. Everyone said that Fu Man'er had a beautiful face, so she decided to ruin that face herself. In the end, Madam Chu could not resist Chu Yiyi's persistent pleading and, accompanied by her confidante, Chu Yiyi went to the small, dilapidated house where Fu Man'er was imprisoned.

This dilapidated house is in the town, an old and inconspicuous house that has been abandoned for many years and no one lives around it anymore.

It's a good place for Tibetans, and even if the people inside manage to escape, there are many forks in the road outside, and they don't know where to run for a while.

Others might not know, but the leader knew perfectly well that these men were a bunch of petty thugs in town who disliked honest work because it paid too little.

Today I'm working as a thug at this gambling den, tomorrow I'll be following that money lender to collect interest. I have no fixed abode, and seeing that the area is all empty, I simply decided to stay here.

"Boss, are we leaving Lan Town after this job is over?" A group of thugs were warming themselves by a fire in the house across the street, and one of them asked.

"Well, the employer paid a lot of money this time. We've only received half so far. After the job is done, we'll take the other half and leave."

"After doing this, we can no longer stay in Lanzhen."

The leader was named Jin Biao. He knew that doing this would get him arrested and imprisoned, but the employer said that once it was done, they would be provided with vehicles and luggage and could leave the city immediately.

Once they leave Lanzhen and go to another place, they can change their identities, divide their money, and everyone can live a very good life.

"Alright, there's nothing good to stay in Lan Town anyway, let's go with our brother." These guys weren't very bright; they just followed Jin Biao's lead.

Although Jin Biao was dishonest, he treated his brothers well, so everyone respected him.

“Since we’re leaving anyway, why don’t we pull off one big heist?” Jin Biao beckoned everyone to come closer.

Meanwhile, Lu Sheng and his companions discovered that they had made a wasted trip chasing after the carriage.

They caught up with the carriage, but didn't find the person.

She was often traveling, and as soon as she entered the carriage, she smelled a faint scent of sleeping potion. She took a whiff and quickly withdrew.

When she returned some time ago, Fu Man'er asked her for some sleeping pills. Compared to the other drug, the one in the carriage was much more potent, especially for those with martial arts skills. As long as they circulated their energy, they would become even more powerless.

“These people came prepared!” Lu Sheng glanced at the carriage with a cold face. They even knew that Fu Man’er knew martial arts.

If that's the case, I'm afraid Man'er is really in danger this time.

Thinking of Fu Man'er, whose whereabouts are unknown, Lu Sheng felt extremely remorseful. He should have just waited for her in town so they could come back together.

"Lu Sheng, I've taken some men to check ahead. The tire tracks stop here." Cao Zixuan returned from ahead with several men.

This area is uninhabited and not on a main road; the wheel tracks of the carriage stopped here.

"Let's go back to town." Lu Sheng turned his horse around and headed towards town, wondering how Xu Yi was doing and hoping for good news.

Unfortunately, Xu Yi only received bad news; the new coachman who came in that day had made some progress.

That man was a street thug who used the pretense of being a coachman to sneak into the Xu residence, probably with Fu Man'er as his target.

Most importantly, these people had absolutely no connection with Fu Man'er, and the Xu family couldn't understand why he would target Fu Man'er.

"Perhaps they were instructed by someone, or perhaps it was for money," Xu Yi said.

According to the other servants who had contact with that scoundrel, the man would say he had no money and would ask to borrow money from others repeatedly.

Since they had neither enmity nor resentment, the only thing that could drive them was money.

As for where the money came from, Xu Yi was a little unsure. At this moment, he hoped that those people had kidnapped Man'er for ransom, so that at least they would treat Man'er well.

"Genshan, think about it again. Have we offended anyone?" Liu Fang cried until her eyes were red and she almost fainted.

Xu Genshan racked his brains but couldn't come up with anything, but they wouldn't let go of even the slightest possibility.

Anyone who has had a grudge against the Xu family has been sent to inquire about their recent whereabouts, including the Chu family.

In fact, Xu Yi initially only suspected two people: the Chu family and Qian Dayong.

Qian Dayong has received a reply; there's nothing unusual. He's currently suffering from severe buttock ulcers and is still bedridden and unable to move.

We're just waiting for the Chu family.

The people who went to investigate returned, and the results they received left the Xu family feeling disheartened.

There was nothing unusual at the Chu family home. Madam Chu and Chu Yiyi had been at home for the past two days. Only Master Chu went out, and even when he did, he always went out in places where everyone could see him.

Besides, he's all alone, so there's no way he could do anything in public.

"Who else could it be but the Chu family?" Xu Genshan's entire body suddenly went limp, and he muttered, "Why not the Chu family?"

This feeling of not knowing who it is is like a knife repeatedly rubbing against a wound, causing immense suffering.

"No, that's not right." Xu Yi thought for a while, and he felt that something was wrong. After thinking it over, he realized that only the Chu family could have such a motive.

"That coachman isn't from the Chu family. We shouldn't be keeping an eye on the Chu family members, but rather on those who have contact with them."

"Go again and find out who the Chu family has been in contact with these past few days, especially those related to that thug."

"Also, have someone inquire about the places that thug frequents, and find out who he usually associates with. The more detailed the better."

Xu Yi quickly sorted out his thoughts and methodically arranged things.

At this moment, you must not panic. Man'er is still waiting for him to save her. You cannot overlook any small detail or any possibility.

Xu Wen and his brothers had already searched the area but found nothing. Upon hearing that the Chu family was a suspect, he spoke up directly.

"What's the point of asking around? I'll storm the Chu family right now, arrest the entire family, and interrogate them one by one. I refuse to believe I won't get some information out of them."

He's impatient and can't sit still; so much time has passed and there's still no news.

"No, we haven't found out yet that the Chu family was behind it. What if it wasn't the Chu family? What should we do then?" Although Xu Wu was anxious, he still maintained a degree of calm.

"Who else could it be but the Chu family? They even made Man'er kowtow and apologize back then. Only their family would do something like that."

Xu Wen couldn't wait any longer. His helplessness made him extremely agitated. He grabbed a spear and rushed out.

"Xiao Wen." Ma Hong grabbed him. This child was impulsive, and she was really afraid that he would cause some trouble if he went there.

"Mother, let me go. I need to go to the Chu family and get some answers." Xu Wen tried to break free but didn't dare to use force.

Xu Yi glanced back into the room; everyone's expressions were worried and anxious.

"Second Aunt, let him go."

"Yi'er?" Everyone looked at Xu Yi. Sending Xu Wen to the Chu family at this time would only make things more chaotic.

"I'll go right away, brother." With Xu Yi's words, Xu Wen had a perfectly legitimate reason to go.

"I also suspect it's the Chu family. Let Xiaowen go and bomb them; maybe we can find out something." At this point, we had no choice but to try anything.

"Remember, just scare them a little, don't go too far."

"Okay, I know." Xu Wen said as he grabbed his spear and ran outside, with Xu Mao and Xu Wu quickly following behind.

After the three of them left, the room fell into a terrible silence again.

"Father, Mother, I'll go out and take another look." Rather than sitting inside waiting, it's better to go out and search first.

He remembered the time when Man'er was kidnapped by human traffickers when he was a child. It was because he went out that he ran into Man'er.

This time, it will definitely work too.

"Alright, none of us will stay inside. We'll all go out and look for them. You all stay inside and wait for news. If Man'er comes back, she'll feel relieved to see someone at home." (Reading by)

The three Xu brothers were also preparing to go out together. Just as they got up, a servant ran in.

“A letter, a letter, someone left a letter at the door.”

Before the servant could stop, Xu Yi snatched the letter from his hand, unfolded it, and read only a few lines: "Miss Xu is with me. I'm prepared to pay a ransom of ten thousand taels. The money will be exchanged for her tomorrow." After reading the words, Xu Genshu said, "Finally, some news has arrived." As long as there's something to gain, things will be easier.

"This was placed with the letter as well." The servant presented a hairpin.

“It’s Man’er’s. I gave it to Man’er a few days ago.” Because Huang Si’an personally selected the hairpin, she remembered it very clearly.

Sending the hairpin along with the hairpin at this time was meant to tell the Xu family that Fu Man'er was indeed in their hands.

"You brought this letter in as soon as you saw it?" Xu Yi asked.