Chapter 290 What Does Reputation Matter?

Upon hearing Doctor Luo's words, Qi Qingyuan shook his head: "I have no concrete evidence; this is purely speculation."

But before Mu Xi and Doctor Luo could ask any more questions, they did not speak.

Qi Qingyuan then said solemnly, "Over the years, I've increasingly felt that many of the actions of the Marquis of Yong are rather strange. Therefore, I secretly investigated and discovered that there is a tower in the Yunding Temple on the Yunding Mountain Range south of Qinzhou City. The person imprisoned in the tower should be Shen Lun's mad younger brother, Shen Qiao. I also recalled some rumors I'd heard. It's said that the former Prime Minister Shen Mao had twin sons, both of whom showed extraordinary intelligence even at a young age. However, Shen Mao's assessment of his two sons was that the elder son was wise, and the younger son was clever. People often confuse wisdom and cleverness, but upon closer examination, they are quite different. Considering the actions of the Marquis of Yong over the years, he is undoubtedly extremely clever. Therefore, I dare to deduce..."

Mu Xi vaguely remembered hearing this news from Granny Yan and the other two years ago, but she didn't pay attention to it at the time. Now, thinking about it carefully, she couldn't help but feel terrified.

Doctor Luo's voice trembled with surprise and doubt: "So you deduced that Shen Lun is not the Shen Lun of the past, but was replaced by his younger brother Shen Qiao at some point, and that the real Shen Lun was replaced by his brother, who took his place and imprisoned him in the tower?"

Qi Qingyuan nodded, saying nothing more, leaving the two of them time to process their thoughts.

Although Mu Xi was startled upon hearing this, she didn't feel much because she hadn't spent as much time with the two of them back then.

Upon closer reflection, a faint hope arose in my heart: wouldn't it be even better if Qi Qingyuan's deduction were true?

Therefore, he asked Qi Qingyuan, "Elder Qi, now that you've mentioned it, and you're here again, does that mean you're planning to take action?"

"To be honest, my lord, the reason I came here was to find a way to verify this." Qi Qingyuan nodded, but his face showed difficulty. "However, I never expected that before I could even arrive in Qinzhou and make arrangements, I heard that Marquis Yong had also rushed back to Qinzhou for some unknown reason. As a mere merchant, if I were to confront Marquis Yong head-on, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock. I was already trembling with fear while acting in secret. If I were exposed, I fear the entire Qi family of Xiangnan would be destroyed. But if I don't take this step, I will be controlled by others at every turn. Marquis Yong has even bewitched my eldest son, who is still willing to serve him. How can I not take the risk and try?"

"What does Elder Qi intend to do?" Mu Xi had already vaguely guessed what was going on.

Having confirmed Mu Xi and Doctor Luo's attitudes through their previous conversation, Qi Qingyuan boldly stated, "To find out the truth of the speculation, we only need to rescue the person in the tower at Yunding Temple and ask them directly, and we will understand everything. However, it is probably impossible to do this without anyone noticing. My worst-case scenario was to rescue that person without arousing the suspicion of Marquis Yong, which would be the best outcome."

"If, after rescuing the person, things turn out as Elder Qi suspects, what are Elder Qi's plans to do next?" Mu Xi asked again.

Qi Qingyuan had already considered this, and answered directly: "Then naturally we should expose this matter to the world. No matter how powerful and influential the Marquis of Yongguo is, once his deeds are exposed and his reputation is ruined, I'm afraid..."

Mu Xi shook her head: "What does reputation mean to powerful and influential families?"

"Then what does Your Excellency mean..." Qi Qingyuan couldn't come up with a better solution for the moment.

Mu Xi did not answer, but at least the disgraceful end was too good for Shen Lun.

Meanwhile, Mu Xi's purpose in this trip was to find Mu Xun's whereabouts and rescue him from Shen Lun's clutches. As for Shen Lun's true identity...

Unable to make up her mind, Mu Xi then spoke her mind: "Elder Qi's move was not easy, and fate has brought us together here. Originally, exposing the Marquis of Yong was both a matter of conflict between us and a matter of benefiting the country and its people. However, my main purpose for this trip is to rescue Mu Xun. I am afraid that if I rashly inquire about Shen Qiao's affairs, I might alert the enemy."

Qi Qingyuan did not force the issue, but sighed: "Alas, the Marquis of Yong is powerful. If he hadn't been pushing me too far, I wouldn't have wanted to be his enemy. After some investigation, I hesitated and found it difficult to proceed. In addition, I suddenly learned that the Marquis of Yong had rushed back to Qinzhou, so I dared not make any rash moves. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been lingering in this area for several days and being targeted by mountain bandits."

"Is the news of Marquis Yong's urgent return to Qinzhou accurate? Why did he suddenly return?" Mu Xi had to take this news seriously the second time she heard it.

Qi Qingyuan confirmed: "The news is accurate, but the reasons behind it are unknown."

"My scouts have been unable to find out where Mu Xun might be hiding. Does Elder Qi have any clues about this?" Mu Xi had no other ideas and could only ask again.

Qi Qingyuan thought hard for a moment, but could only shake his head: "Qinzhou is located in the eastern part of the southern border, facing Xiangnan from afar. Once you enter Qinzhou, you can say that you have entered the territory of the Marquis of Yong. In the early years, when my Qi family's business was about to expand in this area, the Marquis of Yong even tried to stop us. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had such a hard time gathering information these days."

"I see. No wonder the scouts from the front have been sending back fewer and fewer messages since they entered Qinzhou." Mu Xi tapped her fingers on the table, biting her lower lip lightly. Her mind raced as she suddenly realized something and asked, "Is Elder Qi certain that the one imprisoned in the tower of Yunding Temple is Shen Qiao?"

"Yes." Qi Qingyuan was very certain, and then added cautiously, "According to the reliable information I've gathered, the Yunding Temple has been heavily supported by the Shen family's ancestral home for many years, and there are always secret guards disguised as hunters guarding the area. It seems that a second young lady, who was said to be the Marquis of Yong, used to live in the temple. Because their birth dates clashed, they could not meet, so she was fostered in the temple. However, in recent years, the second young lady has come of age and left, but the number of secret guards has not decreased at all, and the food and clothing sent to the tower every now and then are still the same. The people inside are always there."

"Since that's the case, then I might as well go and rescue that person. Whether he is Shen Lun or just Shen Qiao, as long as I get hold of him, he will be of great use." Mu Xi suddenly had an idea.

Doctor Luo realized almost simultaneously: "They want to exchange hostages?"

"Yes," Mu Xi readily admitted.

Doctor Luo frowned: "Given Shen Lun's character and conduct over the years, I'm afraid he won't comply."

Mu Xi also recalled the time when Shen Pingting was used as a hostage in the Yanshan camp, but the attempt to exchange her for Mu Xun failed. However, times had changed: "Back then, Shen Pingting wasn't really a hostage, and besides, we both had something to rely on. If the person in the tower is truly as Elder Qi said, then that person's value is greater than Shen Pingting's. This Marquis Shen may not care about family ties or reputation, but what if it directly affects his control of real power?"