Since it was only two days' journey from here to the Lady of the Marquis, Granny Lu made a detour to pay her respects on her way back.

Wang Yan and Fu Ling gathered all the young maids brought by Granny Lu and the others together and served them freshly brewed lotus-scented tea.

This also revealed that their purpose in coming here was to send Aunt Yang to the estate.

Wang Yan sighed upon hearing this. Fortunately, her older brother and sister had been redeemed, otherwise their lives in the Moyuan Academy would certainly be difficult.

Afterwards, she and Aunt Xia went to make breakfast for Granny Lu and the others. Granny Lu arrived just as breakfast was about to begin.

In order to keep moving forward, the group of people skipped breakfast and planned to eat when they found an inn in the afternoon.

Granny Lu didn't like to drag things out. She originally planned to pay her respects, explain the situation of the second branch to the First Madam, and then leave directly with her people without wasting any time.

It was Lady Hou who suggested that they have breakfast before setting off, since it would probably be 5 PM by the time they reached the inn.

Then these people can eat with them, savory soy milk with fried dough sticks.

Luckily, I fried a lot of dough sticks this morning. I cut the dough sticks into small pieces and spread them at the bottom of the pot. I added some pickled radish, diced bamboo shoots, some minced shrimp, salt, and a suitable amount of sesame oil. Then I poured the hot soy milk I had cooked directly on top.

With the crispy fried dough sticks, take a bite and the flavor is rich and fresh. Granny Lu picked up a bowl, took a sip, savored it and swallowed it, then took another sip, and by the third sip she started to gulp it down.

Occasionally, you can enjoy a crispy fried dough stick, which is then soaked in the soup and saturated with soy milk. The combination of the two flavors is quite delicious.

The situation at Moyuan Academy is indeed shrouded in gloom. The fact that the old lady could recite each and every account so clearly means that the ledgers have definitely been leaked!

It was impossible for Gu Xiao to do it; he used a trick and hid all the account books in Gu Ting's study.

The problem could only be with Gu Ting. After returning home, Gu Ting investigated carefully for several days, and he felt that everyone he met was not right.

I've had my doubts about Chun'er, but I also find Fang Li strange, and Gui Xiang has gone out several times!

It's highly unlikely that Gui Xiang could figure out the secret compartment in his study. Chun'er is so stupid, and Fang Li shouldn't be able to either!

Zhou Chuan? Zhou Chuan! The Third Young Master felt that Zhou Chuan was the most suspicious, so he ignored Lin Mu and stayed home to recover from his injuries.

Someone was sent to check on Lin Mu; he has almost recovered and was told to return to Mo Yuan Courtyard to take up his duties as soon as possible.

The first thing Lin Mu did after returning was to investigate who knew about the secret compartment in the study.

"Young master, I personally believe we can investigate by looking at who benefited from it. It's impossible for someone to gain something without leaving a trace!"

"Alright, then you should start from this point." The Third Young Master was so angry and confused the other day that he only knew how to suspect everything and didn't even think of this point.

Lin Mu ran into Fang Li as soon as he came out. "You look great, young lady. Are you in high spirits because of some happy event?"

Fang Li laughed, "Nonsense, how come I don't know? I think you're just too happy to come back to work after recovering from your injury, so you think everyone is good."

Lin Mu clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Absolutely! Sister is right!"

After exchanging a few words, the two went back to their work. After he left, Fangli frowned. She had originally had a chance to transfer Fangtang to the inner courtyard, but now she would have to wait a little longer!

Listen carefully to the implication; the Third Young Master has already begun to suspect her? Ha!

Lin Mu inquired privately for several days, but couldn't find anyone who was acting strangely!

“Young master, this servant has not found anything amiss, nor has he been able to find out who has gained unexpected wealth or a good position. The only exception is that this servant’s father got a job as a gatekeeper.”

But my father's mistake was arranged on the master's orders.

Lin Mu, with a bitter face, reported the results of his investigation over the past few days to Gu Ting.

Gu Ting certainly didn't suspect Lin Mu. He also knew that Lin Mu's father worked as a gatekeeper. One of the servants his family had assigned to the gatekeeper had accidentally done something wrong and was punished by being dismissed.

In order to place another one of his own people, Gu Xiao personally sent Nan Chen to handle this matter.

After searching for so many days without any results, Gu Ting got a little annoyed and simply gave up.

The key issue is that he now suspects the second master is unreliable, and wonders if he might have missed a backup.

What's the point of wasting my time here? Besides, this whole thing has already blown up, hasn't it all been resolved? Let's stop investigating!

Seeing that Gu Ting had calmed down, Fang Li breathed a sigh of relief. Two days later, she sent a message to Fang Tang, asking her to come to the inner courtyard to deliver clothes.

Fangtang took over the task of delivering clothes from the laundry room to Moyuan Courtyard. When she arrived, she was wearing the two gold-inlaid hairpins that Chun'er had given her before.

After the clothes were delivered, the Third Young Master happened to be leaving. When he saw the two hairpins on her head, the Third Young Master frowned!

Manjing asked curiously, "Fangtang, why do you have the hairpin that Aunt Yang wanted to give to Wang Ying in your hair?"

"Wang Ying has been searching for this hairpin for a long time."

Gu Ting wouldn't have remembered the two pieces of jewelry, since he and Aunt Yang hadn't asked her to bring anything to the estate a few days ago.

Gu Xiaoquan took the money she had saved up, and Zhou Mama packed up some of the remaining jewelry.

Manjing specially prepared some jewelry that her aunt liked and went into the room to ask Xu Shaoqing how to keep it safe.

Gu Ting glanced at it and saw a matching headdress inside, which wasn't very valuable.

Manjing casually remarked that the headdress was a set, but at that time, Aunt Yang casually plucked two hairpins and gave them to Wang Ying.

So Gu Ting also remembered that Manjing said it was a gift the year before last, but at that time he clearly remembered that Fangtang had already fallen and injured herself, and had left the mansion with her head in her hair?

Could it be that Fangli snatched or stole something? The Third Young Master's sensitive and suspicious nature hadn't subsided yet, and he looked at Fangtang with a cold face, waiting for his reply.

Chun'er was so frightened by the noise that she almost fell over. Why would Fangtang come wearing these two hairpins?

"Two years ago, when I was injured at home, Chun'er learned that I liked this style of gold-inlaid jade, so she specially bought two hairpins for me."

This hairpin looks pretty, so I've been wearing it all these years.

It was Chun'er? This silly girl, could it be that she has a habit of stealing?

Gu Ting became suspicious and had Lin Mu investigate further to confirm that Chun'er really didn't seem to have stolen the money!

If it's not true, then it's not true. Even the Third Young Master wouldn't believe that such an idiot stole it.

But she had stolen things from other maids before, so she couldn't be let off so easily. Chun'er was beaten three times with a cane and chased out while wailing and howling.

Fang Li was satisfied with the result. Actually, she hated Liu Xiang'er the most. Chun'er was stupid and became an accomplice. Now she finally had another chance to vent her anger.

The Third Young Master's investigation into the traitor has stalled these past two days, so he won't endanger Chun'er's life. We can use this opportunity to kick her out!

Seeing that the young master was in a bad mood, Liu Xiang'er didn't dare to approach him at all. Ever since she came back this time, she has become very cautious every day.

Moreover, Gu Ting has been treating Xu Shaoqing exceptionally well lately, which Gui Xiang noticed was a bit off, but she didn't know how to remind her young mistress.

He had no choice but to firmly grasp the profits from the estate and shops, and subtly remind the young lady that this money was the foundation for her livelihood!

Xu Shaoqing smiled, seemingly having taken it to heart.