Hearing Wu Qing's words, Jiang An frowned even more and angrily rebuked him: "Do you think I like doing this? You didn't go with him, you don't know what happened, and you don't know how despicable and shameless the other party is. I don't have any evidence that he framed me. I came back this time to prepare for the worst. I will still go after I've settled things properly."

"Sigh, Cheng'er is such a good-for-nothing, we can't count on him at all." At this point, Jiang An slammed his fist on the table in anger.

Seeing her husband get angry, Madam Pang lowered her head guiltily. There was nothing she could do; when her husband returned, he didn't see his son, and when he asked the servants, he learned that his son wasn't in the mansion and couldn't find out where he had gone. No wonder he was furious!

Fortunately, the master didn't have the mind to ask in detail. If he knew that Cheng'er had taken three hundred taels of silver and left on the day he left and hadn't returned since, he would have been furious and ordered the servants to search for him. Once they found him, he would have given him a severe beating.

As for where he is, he was at a young widow's house a few days ago, but when the master returned today, she quickly sent someone to look for him, but they couldn't find him. The young widow said that he went out last night and didn't come back, and she didn't know where he went. She thought he had gone back to the Jiang family mansion.

The atmosphere in the living room was oppressive. To the Pang family, Hong Xiaoduo was an uninvited guest. Since the master himself was not enthusiastic towards her, the Pang family naturally did not ask anyone to serve tea.

Hong Xiaoduo, on the other hand, didn't care at all. When Quan Jinghuai returned this morning, he asked her in a low voice whether he still wanted to go to the Jiang residence.

She thought for a moment and said no need.

Since Jiang An was able to feign an attempt to cover up his actions and avoid arousing Wu's suspicion, and he used people from elsewhere to investigate, it means that he knew the seriousness of the problem. Therefore, he would not have returned to the manor without his help.

Hong Xiaoduo was wondering if it was appropriate to just sit there like this, and whether she should say something.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and then the gatekeeper came in: "Master, someone from Zhaozhong Town has come and says they have urgent business with the concubine."

Upon hearing this, Pang immediately reprimanded, "So you're in a hurry?"

People from Zhaozhong Town, could it be that something has happened to your family?

The gatekeeper, who was standing outside, quickly called the person in.

A thin man in his forties entered the room, bowed to Jiang An to greet him, and then hesitated before looking at Madam Pang and saying, "Madam, I am Pang Zigui. I have come on the orders of the old lady. Young Master Yong fell and broke his leg three days ago, but don't worry, the best doctor in the manor has examined him and said that if Young Master Yong rests well for three months, he will be able to walk normally again."

Originally, I was thinking of keeping it from you, Madam, since it's almost the New Year, but after discussing it with the other masters, we felt it wouldn't be right to keep it from you, so I had to come."

"What? You said Dayong broke his leg? My son!" Upon hearing this, Madam Pang stood up anxiously, clutching her chest.

Hong Xiaoduo managed to suppress her pursed lips, her acting quite convincing, but unfortunately, she hadn't missed her initial reaction. When the gatekeeper announced that someone from Zhaozhong Town had come urgently to see her, her immediate reaction was genuine nervousness.

However, the moment Pang Zigui said that Young Master Yong had fallen and broken his leg, her tense body visibly relaxed.

The reason I was so nervous at the beginning was probably because I thought something had happened to her parents or brothers.

Mrs. Pang pressed for an answer, asking how her son had fallen.

Hong Xiaoduo glanced at Jiang An. She had put on this whole show just to see Pang Shi and Steward Wu's reactions with her own eyes, just to confirm it again.

At this moment, Jiang An still looked exhausted and annoyed, completely unable to care about the trouble that his aunt had with her ex-husband's son.

"Wow, this acting skill would win a Golden Eagle Award in the modern film and television industry!" Hong Xiaoduo thought to herself.

Compared to Jiang An, Pang's acting was much inferior. Her worried and sad expressions seemed a bit exaggerated. When she learned that her biological son had broken his leg, her eyes didn't even tingle, let alone shed a tear.

“Da Yong broke his leg. You should pack your things and go back to see him. Take plenty of money with you. If necessary, bring him here to be cared for,” Jiang An said to Pang Shi.

Upon hearing this, Madam Pang was immediately taken aback. She quickly replied, "My lord, I should go back now that Yong'er is injured, but you need to resolve that troublesome matter right now, and I can't help you. How can I leave at a time like this?"

Also, as you know, my lord, Yong'er has always held a grudge against me. It would be better if I didn't go back. If I really went, I'm afraid he might do something that would be detrimental to his recovery.

"My mother and brothers are taking care of Yong'er, so there's nothing to worry about."

"That's good. After I resolve that troublesome matter, I'll take you back to see Dayong and let you stay for a few more days," Jiang An said to Pang Shi with great satisfaction.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Also, Wu Qing, go to the storeroom later. I remember there's a century-old ginseng root there. Take it back for Young Master Yong to nourish himself."

Feeling relieved that he had successfully dealt with the Ponzi scheme, he sat back down in his chair.

Manager Wu led Pang Zigui to a guest room to rest, while he went to the storeroom to find ginseng.

In the living room, Jiang An frowned, looking like he was racking his brains for a solution. Pang was absent-minded, frequently glancing towards the door, but she didn't see the people she had sent out to look for her son.

As for Hong Xiaoduo, she had not seen Jiang An since she left the Jiang residence last time until today, so she was unaware of his specific plans.

The letter that Jiang An sent to her today simply told her to find a pretext to come to his residence.

In other words, the script wasn't given to Hong Xiaoduo, the two of them hadn't rehearsed their lines, and she didn't know what Jiang An was planning to do.

Therefore, even if Hong Xiaoduo wanted to say something, she didn't dare to say anything carelessly. She was afraid that Jiang An wouldn't be able to respond, and even more afraid of disrupting Jiang An's rhythm.

For example, the excuse Jiang An used was about the shop that was in big trouble. Hong Xiaoduo didn't dare to pretend to ask about the specifics of the trouble, for fear that she might do more harm than good and end up making things worse for Pang Shi and Wu Qing.

Not long after, Steward Wu returned and told us that the century-old ginseng had been found and had been handed over to the messenger from the Pang family.

"Master, Madam, something terrible has happened!" A panicked voice came through the commotion, and a servant scrambled into the living room.

Jiang An slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with anger, and demanded, "What is it now?"

"Reporting to Master, the young master had two fingers chopped off at the gambling den, accused of cheating and being caught. The gambling den is holding him and demanding that our household take a thousand taels of silver to pick him up," the servant said in a panic.

"Cheng'er!" Upon hearing this, Madam Pang screamed and stood up. Her vision went black, and she swayed before collapsing to the ground.

Upon hearing the servant's words, Steward Wu frowned, sensing something was amiss. He tried to subtly signal to Madam Pang to remain calm, but it was too late. He instinctively glanced at Jiang An...