Liu Yingying was starting to get tired of these formalities and pleasantries...

“My lord…” she finally couldn’t help but interrupt Gu Tao.

"Sir, won't you even ask why I've come to see you?"

Gu Tao was slightly taken aback, then feigned curiosity and asked, "This... I have never met you before, Lady Yu, and I truly do not know what business you have with me..."

Liu Yingying brought up the fact that she had been turned away the previous two times she came over.

"Does Your Excellency still remember your classmate and good friend, Lord Shen?"

"Ah Xu... County Lady knows Ah Xu, what... what happened to him?"

Gu Tao put on a concerned expression, as if he wished he could just walk down from up there.

Liu Yingying remained calm. "He was framed and is currently imprisoned in the Furong County jail. Have you heard about this, sir?"

"What... when did this happen? I have no idea!" he said, slamming his fist heavily on the table, his tone tinged with anger.

"Who framed Ah Xu?"

"Lin Shichang, Prefect of Ningzhou!"

Last night, Liu Yingying observed Gu Tao's expression again, and unsurprisingly found that there seemed to be no surprise in his eyes.

It is clear that he was aware of this matter.

Gu Tao then asked, "So, Lady Ning'an, you came to the capital because of A-Xu's matter?"

"Do you have any evidence to overturn Ah Xu's case? If so, give it to me right now!"

Liu Yingying did indeed have evidence, which was originally intended to be given to Gu Tao by Shen Shangxu.

But now she has changed her mind.

Gu Tao thought she was hesitating; "What, does the county magistrate not trust me?"

Liu Yingying smiled gently; "My lord, you misunderstand. I was indeed entrusted by Lord Shen to come and ask you for help, but I do not have any evidence to help Lord Shen overturn the case."

Seeing that Gu Tao clearly didn't believe her, Liu Yingying continued, "If I really had any evidence, why wouldn't I show it? Otherwise, why would I come to see you, sir?"

After thinking about it, Gu Tao realized that what she said made sense, and then he put on a troubled expression: "But if there is no evidence to overturn the case, this matter will be difficult to handle!"

Liu Yingying: "Isn't it precisely because it's difficult that we came to Lord Gu for help?"

"You and Lord Shen have a deep friendship; I believe Lord Gu will not stand idly by and do nothing, will he?"

“This…of course!” A fleeting hint of unease crossed Gu Tao’s face.

Gu Tao still didn't believe that Liu Yingying didn't have evidence to overturn the case. If she didn't have evidence, what good would it do to come to him so rashly?

No matter how he tried to get information out of her, Liu Yingying wouldn't budge.

Gu Tao was at a loss for what to do with her for the time being, and after exchanging a few polite words, he could only send her out first.

After everyone left, Gu Tao called over his trusted confidant; "Find a reliable person to secretly follow her these next few days."

"Yes, sir!"

Liu Yingying came out looking somewhat dejected. Xue Ye saw her and quickly ran over.

"How about it?"

Liu Yingying looked up at him and gestured with her eyes, "Let's go back first."

Inside the carriage, Liu Yingying finally let out a long sigh, "How come something that seems so simple is so difficult to do?"

Xue Ye frowned; "What's wrong? Is it that Lord Gu is unwilling to help?"

"If he really doesn't want to, you don't have to force him. Anyway, you've done what you should do, and I believe Lord Shen won't blame you."

It's rare that he can say so many words in one go.

Liu Yingying smiled helplessly; "I didn't hand over the evidence to Lord Gu... I always felt that this person was untrustworthy."

Although Shen Shangxu repeatedly emphasized that the man was his close friend of many years, Liu Yingying found that he was not as upright and honest as he had described when she met him.

She trusts her intuition more than her intuition.

Xue Ye comforted her, saying, "Then let's think of another way."

"Yes!" Liu Yingying nodded, a determined light shining in her eyes.

The road may be dead, but people are alive. Now that she has arrived in the capital, she will not let this trip be in vain!

The two returned to the inn, and as soon as they entered, the waiter stepped forward and told Liu Yingying, "Gentlemen, a woman surnamed Zhang came to see you earlier, saying she has something very important to discuss!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yingying's eyebrows twitched; it must be Zhang Hui coming to find her.

Has she run into some trouble?

Where is she?

Waiter: "She's already gone back. She said she'd come looking for you once you found out!"

"Okay, thank you for letting me know!" Liu Yingying took out a silver ingot and stuffed it into Xiao Er's hand, then turned to look at Xue Ye with a serious expression.

"I need to go out again!"

Xue Ye: "I'll go with you!"

"Okay!" Liu Yingying nodded slightly.

The two arrived at the alley where Zhang Hui lived. Zhang Hui opened the door and was very excited to see Liu Yingying.

But when he noticed a handsome man following behind her, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Yingying, who is this?"

Liu Yingying explained with a smile, "This is my eldest nephew, Xue Ye. His mother and I are sworn sisters."

"Oh...I see. Come in quickly, I have something important to tell you!" Zhang Hui said, pulling Liu Yingying's hand into the courtyard, and then glanced at Xue Ye.

"I'll wait for you in the courtyard. You can go inside and talk about what you need to say!" Xue Ye said calmly.

Zhang Hui smiled with relief, "Okay, then Yingying, come with me..."

They entered Zhang Hui's bedroom.

This is an extremely simple room, with no other furniture except for a worn-out wooden bed and a cabinet with a broken leg.

There wasn't even a stool in the room, and Zhang Hui pointed somewhat awkwardly to the small wooden bed.

"Yingying, why don't you sit on the bed..."

"Okay!" Liu Yingying nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, showing no sign of dislike.

"Hui Niang, what happened that made you so eager to see me?"

"I've found the dog!"

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Liu Yingying was genuinely happy for her, but seeing that Zhang Hui seemed to have something else to say, she couldn't help but lower her eyebrows.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Hui's expression was a mix of joy and fear. "I remember you told me that the reason you came to the capital was because of that Lord Shen from Furong County, and the person he offended was Lin Shichang, the prefect of Ningzhou..."

Liu Yingying was slightly taken aback; "Are you suggesting... that Gou'er's disappearance is also related to Lin Shichang?"

Zhang Hui nodded; "After I came to the capital, I met a sworn brother who is a hanger-on of the Qingyun Gang. It is thanks to his help that I was able to stay in the capital for a long time."

"The Qingyun Gang has more than a hundred members, so I asked them to help me find Gou'er's whereabouts. Today, my sworn brother told me that he found the group of human traffickers who came from Ningzhou County. They are related to the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion!"

"What... How could the Yong'an Marquis's mansion be involved with human traffickers in Ningzhou?" Liu Yingying was a little unsettled.