Chapter 96 The Secret

"I don't know the old Zhang you mentioned. I only know that the title deed to this villa and even the entire forest is in my hands now."

When Manager Li heard this, his face changed and he quickly bent down with a respectful look.

"My name is Li, and I am the manager of Lingyu Manor. May I ask your name, Master?"

"My last name is Chen."

"Master Chen, in the past, a steward named Zhang came once a year to collect the harvest from the farm. Now he has been replaced, and no one informed us, so we were not able to greet him in time. I hope you can forgive me."

Chen Shiyi nodded.

"It doesn't matter. I just decided to come here on the spur of the moment."

When the people at the table saw Steward Li bowing and talking to a woman, they gradually quieted down. Occasionally, they could hear the sound of cups and plates colliding, but no talking.

Manager Li asked cautiously again.

"It's not that I'm being cunning, I just want to ask if you can show me the deed, so that some unscrupulous people won't use it to make trouble when there's nothing there."

Chen Shiyi looked Manager Li up and down. This man was very good at making innuendos and blaming others, so he asked Yuanxi to learn from him.

The three of them had to admit defeat in the face of such a strong man.

"Forget about the land deed. After all, not everyone can look at it casually. Tomorrow, I will go to the Yanzhou government office and tell them directly that there are bullies in Lingyu Villa. The government office has sent soldiers. Then Manager Li will naturally recognize who the owner of this place is."

When Manager Li heard this, he immediately put away his questioning look and became even more respectful.

"Master Chen, you have come a long way. I will ask my wife to clean up two rooms for you all to stay in!"

Chen Shiyi looked around the courtyard, then looked at the food on the table, glanced at the people around him, and chuckled.

"No, I just came to take a look. Manager Li, you don't have to bother making arrangements. You can continue with your dinner. We are leaving now."

After saying that, he took Fu Xuwen and Yuan Xi out.

The grandtenant followed closely.

It was already dark, and several people lit torches, but they still moved much slower than during the day.

Chen Shiyi sat in the carriage, opened the front curtain, and looked ahead. The night was like a ghost, and their carriage was moving step by step into its open mouth.

Yuanxi couldn't help but ask.

"Sister, it's getting late. Just now, Manager Li said he would clean up the courtyard and let us move in. Why don't we move in?"

Chen Shiyi took a deep breath.

"If we really move in, I'm afraid we won't be able to bear the consequences."

Several people were shocked.

"Why?"

Chen Shiyi was silent.

"You can tell us everything you saw in the yard today, no matter how big or small it is."

Yuanxi thought for a moment and said.

"Li, the steward, is wearing silk, and there are several women at the round table, also wearing silk, one of whom has better embroidery, and the others, who are not as old as his daughter, have seductive looks in their eyes, so they should be concubines. But he is just a steward, and his total salary is no more than fifteen taels of silver a year. How can he afford so many concubines?"

Chen Shiyi nodded in appreciation.

"Yuanxi observed very carefully."

Fu Xuwen immediately answered.

"Besides Manager Li's family, there were a dozen strong men sitting next to them. At first glance, they looked like farmhands, but when we first came in, the expressions of those men were like the thugs I had seen in the casino before, fierce and sinister."

Chen Shiyi said with a smile.

"You still recognize these?"

Fu Xuwen smiled shyly.

"I begged everywhere in Kyoto and met some people."

Chen Shiyi stopped joking and spoke seriously.

"On the dining table, there was a dish of silver knife sea fish, which was shipped from thousands of miles away. I ate it once in the Marquis's mansion. It's not that the fish was delicious, but the cost of shipping it from the sea was extremely high. Even the Marquis's mansion, which was rich, was surprised that eating this fish was like eating silver.

There is also a Luohanta pine planted in the courtyard. The cheapest one costs nearly three hundred taels of silver.

Although Manager Li has such a high annual salary, he can still accept some of the hidden wealth of the farm. The problem is, I looked at the number of fields today and calculated the harvest. Excluding the four-tenths of the tenant fields, the other six-tenths are not enough to cover Manager Li’s silks, satins, silver knife sea fish, and arhat pine trees.”

"So, in that vast forest, there must be some unspeakable secret going on."

Chen Shiyi pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and put it against the neck of the grandson tenant who was sitting in the car.

"Right? Grandtenant."

The cold dagger was suddenly placed on his neck, and the grandson tenant's whole body trembled.

He swallowed and spoke in a halting voice.

"Master Chen, could you please put down the dagger first?"

Chen Shiyi smiled faintly.

"Don't be afraid, grandson tenant. I'm just playing a joke on you."

However, the dagger in her hand was still firmly on the grandson's neck, without any movement.

The grandson tenant lowered his head slightly.

"Master Chen, I have no other choice. If anyone were to tell others about what happened here, my whole family would be in danger!"

Chen Shiyi persuaded.

"Tenant Sun, you are the first person I have come into contact with who knows what is going on here. You are the owner of this forest. If you stick to your principles here, do you think Manager Li will firmly believe that you will not reveal what is happening in the forest to me?"

"I…"

"You are in a dilemma because you are a kind person. You have responsibilities for your family. You are a good person, but kindness is not cowardice or compromise. I don't know how Manager Li treats you. But I know that your house has been in disrepair for a long time and is dilapidated. I think you are exhausted just to make a living, right?"

The grandson tenant thought for a long time, and a low voice sounded from the darkness.

"I just happened to see that there was a large stockade built deep in the forest. There were many people guarding it. The people coming in and out were the same people who were sitting at the table just now. If I'm not mistaken, they are bandits who rob people."

Chen Shiyi silently put away the dagger in his hand.

Long Muchuan, your grandpa's!

Now this villa is under her name. If it is discovered by the government, she will be the mastermind and will be beheaded.

He must have known what happened in the mountains and forests, and he even pretended to be grateful by giving me such a big land deed. I really fell for his trick.

What a ungrateful bastard!

Chen Shiyi gritted his teeth, feeling extremely angry, but there was nothing he could do now.

The carriage stopped at the door of the grandtenant's house.

Chen Shiyi and his companions did not get off the bus.

"Tenant Sun, you should be careful during this period. If Manager Li asks you about it, just pretend you don't know anything."

After saying that, he asked Fu Xuwen to drive the carriage away from Lingyu Villa.

"Xu Wen, we passed by a village on our way here, so the three of us stayed there for the night."

"Okay, sis."

In the village, a kind-hearted family took them in.

After dinner, several people sat under the tree to enjoy the cool air.

Chen Shiyi frowned.

This matter must be resolved as soon as possible, the sooner the better, otherwise if the truth is revealed, she will have no way to defend herself.

"Xu Wen, drive the carriage back and inquire about the current situation of each place. Whether it is Sun the tenant or Manager Li, you need to investigate carefully. However, you must be cautious and don't make any surprises."

"yes."