413 Secret Investigation
If you travel quickly, it will take less than half a month to get from Yingtian to Minzhou.
Sun Sicheng agreed with Ping An to set out in four days. During the four days, he had to take a look at the properties here and also give Chen's father and son some time to prepare.
Ping'an didn't expect that someone unexpected would come to the mansion on the afternoon of the next day.
"Are you Xu Song?"
Xu Song bowed and saluted: "Master Ping'an, thank you and the eldest master, otherwise my life would be over."
"Have you resolved that matter?"
"Yes, my biological father harmed his own son. The prefect was furious and wanted to severely punish my father and stepmother. They were scared and wanted me to go to the government office with them. I promised my father to go to the government office to plead for mercy, but the premise was that we would really divide the family before that. I didn't want their things, I only took my mother's dowry. From then on, they could no longer control me. Now our household registrations are separated."
Ping An whispered, "Your reputation as a playboy must have been spread by that woman? So what are you going to do in the future?"
Xu Song knelt down with a plop: "Master Ping'an, please accept me. Xu Song can assure you that I am not a lowly person. I am willing to follow you all my life, loyally and faithfully, and will never betray you.
I had been away for three years before, just to practice martial arts in a martial arts school in Hezhou. When I was six years old, my mother asked me to learn kung fu from a bodyguard. However, my mother passed away four years ago, and the bodyguard master was driven out by my father. It was really hard to stay at home, so I secretly went out to practice martial arts.
My mother was from Bianzhou. My father also did business in Bianzhou when he was young. Then they got married. Who would have thought that they would have a bastard child three years after the marriage. My mother was depressed for many years and then encountered some troubles. She finally passed away when I was twelve years old.
Now I am free, just like being kicked out of the house, please accept me, Master Ping An."
Ping An didn't expect that the boy was such a capable person.
"Stand up and speak. If I heard you correctly, you should be a rich young man. And since your mother has such a dowry, your grandfather's family should not be poor. Why don't you go to them?"
Xu Song stood up and lowered his eyes. "My mother had a miserable life. Her only brother accidentally fell into the sea while doing business. His body was never found. My grandparents were gone the same day when they heard the news. The money from the business disappeared with my uncle's death. The rest was quickly divided up by the clan members. My mother only lived for a year after that."
Ping An was shocked. This unfortunate child was in an even more difficult situation than him. "My people may not be slaves, but they must at least sign a 20-year contract."
Xu Song nodded: "That's natural."
The Xu family had many servants, and they were under life indentures.
"My master and I will leave for Minzhou in three days. Do you have anything to deal with? Will we make it in time?"
Xu Song was overjoyed, as this meant that the young master was willing to accept him: "Master Ping'an, I am homeless now. As for my mother's things, she dealt with most of them before she died, otherwise they would not be here until now. If you need money, I can give it to you."
Ping An laughed and said, "You are the first rich young man I have ever accepted. You can keep the money. I don't need it. Life is long. You can keep it for yourself."
"Lin Feng, take Xu Song to find Xiao Wu and sign a 20-year living contract. Then let him live with you."
"Yes, Master."
"Xu Song, I didn't intend to accept anyone casually. You and I are destined to be together, so I accepted you. But if you want to stay with me safely, you must not cause trouble outside casually, and you must not fight in your own family. My people must be closer than brothers, and you must not engage in intrigue. Only in this way can we be at ease and trust each other's backs."
"Master, Xu Song knows."
Half an hour later, when Sun Sicheng came back and learned about this, he didn't say anything.
Ping An accepted Wan Xiang and Xu Song this time, and now he has 31 personal assistants, which is definitely enough for a short period of time.
If Ping'an knew that his master was thinking this way, he would definitely say that it was not enough. These young men have to get married in a few years, and they can't just buy their marriage partners from a pawnbroker. They have to have some skills like Lengshui, Lengyue and the others.
The next day, the steward of Mr. Xu's family came to see him, but Sun Sicheng directly refused, stating that he had to leave immediately and really had no time.
Liver disease is different from stroke. Doctor Xu from Huichuntang, Huashoutang and Baicaotang can treat it. You don't have to rely on him.
Ping An explained all this to Xu Song, fearing that he would feel uneasy. After all, the blood relationship was there, and no one else knew whether Xu Song still had his father in his heart.
Xu Song smiled bitterly: "Master, you may say that I am cruel, but I really don't care about him anymore. Even if we are as close as father and son, after a long time, the heart will be hurt.
I became a student at the age of twelve. After my mother died at the age of thirteen, he cruelly stopped me from studying and asked me to help with chores such as collecting rent.
These things can be done by any small steward, but he let his eldest son do it, otherwise he would have to hand over all my mother's dowry. So, Master, from today on, I, Xu Song, have no other family members, and you are my family members."
Two days later, on October 15th, Sun Sicheng set off with everyone early in the morning. There were more than 20 followers including Chen's father and son and nearly 70 people in the convoy.
Having more people is good, there are more guards and no one dares to mess with you. But having more people also has its troubles, for example, it is difficult to find accommodation in an inn.
Just as Sun Sicheng and his group were on the road, Wan Li and six or seven other people had already quietly arrived in Minzhou.
They changed their appearance, settled down not far from Baicaotang, and began their investigations.
Wan Hua is the new shopkeeper brought from the Medicine Valley. He is smart, flexible, and has good kung fu. He was also Fang Xiao's right-hand man in the valley, and was sent to Minzhou this time as a last resort.
"Wanhua, follow Dazhuang and take a few people to the three villages to find out if there has been any incident in the past three years. Try not to alarm anyone."
"Yes, but if you go to the medical hall alone, what if you encounter danger?"
Ming Wanli raised his chin and said, "I'm not bragging, it's not easy for these people to catch me."
Wan Hua thought about it and realized that it was indeed true. Brother Ming could be said to be the best martial artist around the eldest son.
A few days later.
The result left Ming Wanli speechless.
The old shopkeeper Li Mao is seriously ill, and the acting shopkeeper is not his son Li Chengwang, but his nephew Li Chenghuan who came to seek refuge three years ago. The one who takes care of the old shopkeeper is his eldest brother Li Sheng.
Li Mao is an old man in Baicaotang. After being married for many years, he finally gave birth to a son, Li Chengwang, when he was in his thirties. He loved him deeply.
For the sake of his son, he asked the eldest son to release his son's bond and make him a free man.
The son was quite capable. Although he had been a slave, he could not take the imperial examination, but he worked as an accountant for three farms in his twenties. After he was freed from slavery, he opened a shop and his business was booming.
But all this came to an abrupt end after Li Chenghuan and his son arrived.
First, Li Chenghuan fell ill, and the doctors at Baicaotang were helpless. Li Mao was planning to take his son to see the eldest son, but one day his eldest brother came to him and said that he had a way to cure Chengwang's illness...
The result is self-evident. From then on, Li Sheng and his son controlled Li Mao and his son, as well as Baicaotang and three manors in Minzhou.
Of course, Ming Wanli spent a lot of time to figure out these things, and he learned them after meeting Li Maocai who was under house arrest.
The old shopkeeper was paralyzed on one side of his body and was extremely thin. He begged him to rescue his son. His eldest brother said that his son Li Chengwang was in a medicine store, but it was unknown whether he was alive or dead.
The doctors in the clinic either believed Li Chenghuan’s lies or were sent back home.
Wanli asked the old shopkeeper: "Isn't your elder brother afraid that the eldest master will come looking for him?"
Li Mao's words made him speechless: "They never thought of staying here for their whole lives. If things didn't go their way, they would run away. By then, they had already made enough money. They could go anywhere in the Great Zhou. Why did they have to stay here and fall into a trap?"
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