Hearing Wang Ying kneeling outside, weeping bitterly, Song Ren believed her.

Just as he raised his hand to order the two constables to go to the Shen family to inquire, Ye Zi also knelt down.

Ye Zi knelt on the ground, trembling, "My lord, please forgive me. My young lady was injured by a knife and was helped by her benefactor. She would never do anything to detain her benefactor."

Before they returned to the Shen residence, Granny Qian specifically sent me out to serve Miss Ying, but for three days now, we haven't been able to communicate with the Shen family.

Song Ren then took it to heart. Ye Zi only realized that a sprightly old man was sitting inside when the sedan chair was lifted. As the sedan chair bearers pulled back the curtain, a pair of sharp eyes looked over.

The look in his eyes startled Ye Zi so much that she almost stopped breathing. After she came to her senses, she quickly lay down on the ground, lowered her head, and dared not look the adult in the eye.

"Okay." Song Ren casually uttered a single word before leaving.

Wang Ying and the other woman quickly knelt to one side to make way for them.

"They were slashed and wounded? Their nest was usurped? Yet they dared not openly report it to the authorities, instead turning to this inspector and temporary accountant for help."

Song Ren closed his eyes to rest in the sedan chair, never expecting that Jiangnan would change so much in just three years since he left.

The sedan chair had gone quite a distance, and after turning a corner, it was no longer visible. Only then did Wang Ying stand up and wipe away her tears.

"Can you take me to see my mother and sister now?"

"We can't get into the Shen Mansion yet!"

"What!" Wang Ying was furious and couldn't help but shout out in the street. The sound was so loud that they were about four or five hundred meters away from the inn.

Even from there, the residents on the second floor of the inn could hear her roaring and opened their windows to see who was making such a racket!

"What exactly do you want! I'll tell you, I..."

Wang Ying was interrupted by Qian Qing (Qian Mama's brother) who had just arrived.

"Don't be upset, young lady. If things go as expected, we will be able to communicate with your family tomorrow."

We're not going to see them now to protect their safety, young lady, please don't be impatient.

"Ye Zi, quickly take Miss Ying back to the inn to wash her face."

After the two women left, Qian Qing couldn't help but sigh.

Not to mention Wang Ying was worried about his family, Qian Qing was also very worried about his younger sister and master.

………………………………………………………………

Song Ren's return to Jiangnan this time was not due to the covert machinations of other political parties.

He was acting on a secret order from the current emperor, ostensibly to take over the task of inspecting the Jiangnan Circuit.

Secretly, he was there to investigate a tea tax case, which is why the transport official's accounting officer "suddenly fell ill" as soon as he arrived, all in order to give Song Renteng a position so that he could act as acting official for two days.

Logically, he should have done it discreetly, but Song Ren disdained playing that game. He was confident that he had pulled out all the corrupt officials once he got this far.

Jiangnan is his hometown, his home turf. Moreover, he came here only to gather solid evidence, and Song Ren doesn't have much time to waste with those corrupt officials.

Conducting investigations in secret would take too long. He was so brazen; he didn't believe those corrupt officials wouldn't make a move. Once they did, it would be easy to deal with them.

Upon arriving at the government office, Song Ren pondered for a moment. He realized that the people who had stopped his sedan chair earlier that day, ostensibly to find someone, were actually there to file a complaint.

Why would they complain to the tax collector? The Shen family are among the top merchants in Jiangnan. Don't they have any backing? Why would they come to him?

"Go and investigate the two people who stopped the sedan chair today."

By the afternoon, in just three hours, Wang Ying and her companions had been thoroughly exposed.

Then the weaving bureau held a gathering and invited merchants from all over the country to attend.

Shen Jiamu is the new young master of the Shen family, so he must attend this gathering.

Shao Jinxin was so anxious that he wanted to stop her, but he had no reason to!

Shen Jiamu didn't mention that she was injured; she was perfectly fine. Moreover, after she took over the Shen family, it was the first gathering of her colleagues. How could the new young master not attend?

Could this shrewish young woman be trying to use this opportunity to reveal her knife wound to her colleagues at the Manufacturing Bureau?

Should he go and report this to Lord Yang? Shao Jinxin hesitated for a few moments, but ultimately decided not to go.

After Shao Jinxin entered the Shen residence, Lord Yang sent a letter saying he wanted to return to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents. This clearly showed that he did not want to cause any more trouble and was unwilling to take the lead. This was a sign that he completely trusted Shao Jinxin.

If he can't handle this small matter well, what if he gets removed from his position as head of the salt mine?

"Go! If our young lady falls, she shouldn't go out today if she can avoid it," Shen Fu instructed his two servants.

So, after breakfast, when the group from Ruixuelou came out, someone fell down.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Shen Jiamu who was splashed with tung oil; normally, the tung oil should have been enough to make a group of people fall down.

But Shen Jiamu came out a little later, and only two third-class maids and two second-class maids had fallen down.

Everything went smoothly; Shen Jiamu left the manor without incident. He was accompanied by Granny Qian, but the carriage broke down halfway there.

But they happened to run into the daughter of the deputy transport commissioner of the transport office, and got a ride in her carriage to the weaving bureau.

I stayed there for a while, had some snacks, and discussed next year's development with everyone.

Shen Jiamu returned with Granny Qian, and it was Steward Shen who went to pick them up.

Granny Qian was in a good mood today, so she asked the kitchen to make chicken tofu for Wang Yan and the others.

Wang Yan, who was listening intently nearby, wondered if they were adding more dishes for dinner.

Chicken tofu is made by using fresh chicken breast, slicing it and washing it in ice water to remove the blood and fishy smell.

Then use the back of a knife to pound the chicken breast into a paste, removing and discarding any fibrous tissue. During the pounding process, add small amounts of scallion and ginger water several times.

Then add an egg white to the minced meat and stir again. Pour it into a sieve and strain it once.

Add cornstarch water, salt, and pepper, and stir constantly until it becomes a smooth, thin paste.

Chop up a hen, put it in a pot and simmer over low heat for a full three hours. It must be simmered over low heat; if the heat is too high, the soup will become cloudy.

Filter the broth through a sieve to get a clear soup, and patiently skim off all the oil from the soup.

Then bring the clear broth to a boil over high heat, pour in the thin, paste-like minced meat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for half an hour.

When you scoop it out, it will look like tofu pudding. First, put clear broth in the bowl, then put the chicken tofu pudding on top.

"The soup is as light as tea, and you can't see the chicken when you eat it." It's smooth, refreshing, and has a light yet mellow flavor. It perfectly suits the taste of people from Lin'an.

However, this dish is not from Lin'an. It was a dish that Shen Wan ate in the local area of ​​Sichuan last year when she went to inspect shops.

Thinking it would suit his daughter's taste, he specially spent one hundred taels of silver to have the chef write it down, and brought it back to his home to cook.

Shen Jiamu was really happy when he ate this dish. In the blink of an eye, Shen Wan was gone!

Granny Qian only realized what was happening after she had given the instructions and the dishes had already been delivered to Ruixuelou.

I don't know why I blurted out this dish; maybe I was just too excited?

Or is it that Madam feels sorry for Miss? After this thought crossed her mind, Granny Qian couldn't help but burst into tears.

But Shen Jiamu doesn't eat meat, so the kitchen also cooked porridge for her.

A porridge made with more than ten ingredients, including yam, jujubes, red beans, japonica rice, Job's tears, goji berries, and lotus seeds, was simmered over low heat for an hour to replenish qi and blood.

Shen Jiamu ate two bowls of porridge and the dish of braised tofu, which Wang Yan taught the head chef to make.

The sweet and sour, juicy tofu whetted Shen Jiamu's appetite considerably; he was able to drink two bowls of porridge today, all thanks to this tofu dish.

Wang Yan ate half a bowl of chicken tofu, while Aunt Wang ate the other half.

She was no longer panicked today, and she ate heartily with Aunt Wang.

"Mother, we've been inside the manor for three days now. Yingjie must be worried sick outside."

"Oh, that's right. I think we still need to send a letter to your sister." Speaking of this, Aunt Wang was also worried.

But the two of them knew more inside information than Wang Ying. Of course, even if they didn't say anything, they could see that there were undercurrents in the Shen family.

Before feeding the cat any of the food, we have to let it try it out.

Besides, didn't they say they were going to send ham to Fatty Wang a while ago? Less than a day later, Granny Qian came over and told them to wait a little longer.

What does this mean? It means that, given the current situation, the young master of the Shen family doesn't have much influence.

Although it was just a guess, and they didn't know if it was true or not, neither of them really wanted to contact Wang Ying under these circumstances.

Exposing Wang Ying too early before the results are in is risky. What if the relatives in this household are as mentally unstable as the third young master of their Marquis's mansion?

While the two of them were being carefully taken care of at the Shen residence, Wang Ying would certainly also be looked after.

Besides, being outside is always better than being brought into the mansion.

These two are so carefree; they only worry for a moment before continuing to eat, and they eat with great relish.

Wang Ying's situation was completely different from theirs outside. Ye Zi ordered a table full of dishes, but Wang Ying couldn't eat much of them.

"When I went to report to the authorities today, you told me I could see my mother and sister! Why are you telling me now that I can't enter the Shen residence?"

Ye Zi didn't know either; the only thing she knew more than Wang Yan was how to stop the sedan chair.

Now all I can do is wait here with Wang Yan. But don't worry, sister, my grandfather said that you and your family will definitely be reunited in the next couple of days.

What are they waiting for? They're waiting for Song Ren to meet with them and investigate. Until Song Ren has a clear understanding of the situation, everyone is currently holding back.

Pan Chu, the current deputy transport commissioner of the transport department, was promoted by Song Ren before his promotion.

Pan Shulan was sent by her father to deliberately "bump into" Shen Jiamu on the road.

After receiving the account books, he hurriedly returned home. Once home, he dismissed everyone who came to serve him and stayed alone in his room, too afraid to move.

She only breathed a sigh of relief after Lord Song, who came to visit that evening, personally took the account book and tucked it into his sleeve.

After Song Ren arrived, Yang Lou witnessed all of these events.

Especially today, I heard that Song Ren's sedan chair was stopped, and that the person who stopped it was related to Shen Jiamu.

Yang Lou panicked completely. Just as much as Shao Jinxin hated Qiu Wu, Yang Lou hated Shao Jinxin!

However, the only good thing is that the truth is now in my own hands.