The people from the capital came to buy lychees, and Xu Mo returned late the next day.
Jiang Sheng's first thought was the Liao family. "Could it be that the business of supplying lychees to them is going to change hands next year, and they're resorting to desperate measures?"
But before she could even feel happy, the thought of her older brother, who had not yet returned, made her face fall again.
The three siblings hurried along. Fortunately, they had rented the two-courtyard house so that Xu Mo could go to school. Even on foot, they arrived at the Imperial College in no time.
School had already ended, and a large number of students had left, leaving only a few chatting with their friends.
Chang Yan grabbed a friendly-looking student and asked, "Are there any students in the Imperial Academy who haven't finished their studies yet?"
"Not yet." The student was puzzled, but still answered, "We've almost finished."
This means that Xu Mo is not in the Imperial College.
Where could he go? And with whom?
Chang Yan thanked the students and then turned around with Jiang Sheng and Wen Zhiyun.
With his older brothers absent, the youngest brother resolutely took on all the responsibilities.
"Fifth Brother, where are we going? Fengjing City is so big, are we going to split up and search?" Jiang Sheng asked breathlessly.
Chang Yan abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Yes, Fengjing is so big, with taverns and brothels everywhere, and countless teahouses and inns. For just a few of them, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“Or, we could ask Grandma for help,” Jiang Sheng suggested softly.
Wen Zhiyun nodded gently, "I can also ask the Princess Consort of Prince Gong."
Not only that, the Qi family, the Yao family, the Zhao family, and even the Zhu family—as long as you ask them, they will definitely help you turn Fengjing City upside down.
Finding Xu Mo doesn't seem to be a difficult task.
What exactly are the people behind this scheming for?
Chang Yan didn't believe that anyone in this world would be so bored as to kidnap Xu Mo just for fun.
Let's discard the fools; normal people should have their own purposes in speaking and acting.
“If it’s the Liao family, it means they want the lychee business. My eldest brother will only be used as a bargaining chip, not harmed,” Changyan analyzed slowly. “If it’s any other family…”
They didn't have many enemies in Fengjing, except for the Liao family and the Fang family, who remained silent.
The business battles have been going on for so long that everyone has overlooked the fact that there is another family, the Fang family, eyeing the imperial examination with covetous intent.
"Could it be the Fang family?" Jiang Sheng also remembered, "But my elder brother said that the Fang family wouldn't dare to touch him."
With so many people in Fengjing watching the upcoming imperial examinations, if Xu Mo really gets into trouble, the Fang family will be drowned in spit.
Fang Yuan will forever be nailed to the pillar of shame for "cheating in scientific examinations".
Chang Yan nodded, but quickly shook his head, "It's not that I'm afraid to touch him, but that I dare not hurt him."
There is a difference between the two.
They recalled that a few days ago, every time they asked Xu Mo if there was anything unusual, he would pause for a moment and say that there was nothing malignant.
There is a significant difference between having no abnormalities and having no malignant abnormalities.
“Oh, right,” Jiang Sheng said, “I just remembered, my older brother’s face was a little red when he came home yesterday.”
What could have happened to make this upright gentleman blush?
Chang Yan clenched his fists, his pupils trembling from side to side, filtering all the possibilities and impossibilities in his mind.
Finally, he said in a hoarse voice, "I'm so damn stupid, I didn't even notice that something was wrong with my brother."
The second brother and the younger sister were busy with the lychee business, and the fourth brother was busy with the clinic. Only he, the idle man, should have been the most perceptive, but he overlooked it, which led to all these incidents.
Fifth Brother.
"Xiao Wu".
Wen Zhiyun and Jiang Sheng shouted at the same time, "It has nothing to do with you. As long as someone plots against you, you can't escape it."
"The most urgent thing now is to find our eldest brother."
Chang Yan took a deep breath and gradually began to make sense of things.
As predicted earlier, the Fang family wouldn't dare harm Xu Mo, but they would definitely try every means to bring him down, turning him from a dignified and gentle young master into a rogue and brute, from someone admired by everyone to someone despised by everyone, and ideally, making him lose interest in studying and fail the exam next year.
If the siblings hadn't investigated further and had instead sought help from powerful families like the Jiang and Qi families, they would have found Xu Mo somewhere that could have utterly ruined his reputation and left him speechless with shame.
It can only be... a place where there are women.
Perhaps it was a brothel, or perhaps it was a dilapidated temple where Prince Gong's son kept a mistress.
While it's not exactly concrete, at least we have a direction.
"Jiang San, Jiang Si, you two come here," Chang Yan said in a low voice.
The two boys, around fifteen or sixteen years old, blushed and nodded shyly as they left.
If their speculation about the methods is true, then in order to find Xu Mo as quickly as possible, the Fang family would definitely not choose a place too far from the Imperial Academy.
It shouldn't be too difficult to find; they might even have deliberately left clues.
Following this logic, Changyan sent Jiang San and Jiang Si to the nearest brothel to investigate whether any young men had been forcibly brought in.
"Fifth Brother, let's go help too," Jiang Sheng's urgent voice rang out.
Wen Zhiyun chimed in, "That's right, many hands make light work, let's help look too."
Chang Yan's vision went black, as if he could see the two of them looking lost and helpless among the flowers.
"No need," he refused in a low voice. "You can just wait here."
Jiang Sheng asked, puzzled, "Is Fifth Brother afraid that we'll hold him back?"
“Yes, Xiao Wu, we can help.” Wen Zhiyun said, feeling wronged. “We also want to find our eldest brother as soon as possible.”
But there are some places that are really not suitable for the two of you to go.
Chang Yan pretended not to hear.
After a short while, Jiang San rushed over in a panic, "Fifth Young Master, you guessed right, it's in that... brothel, the third room on the second floor."
brothel?
Jiang Sheng and Wen Zhiyun both shut up immediately, so embarrassed they almost burst out laughing on the spot.
Chang Yan also struggled, and asked in a low voice, "Is there any movement inside?"
“There’s been no movement.” Jiang San said shyly. “I told Jiang Si to squat by the window. If anything seems amiss, we’ll just break the window with the eldest young master.”
However, brothels are a mixed bag of people, and there might even be high-ranking officials and nobles among them. Breaking the window would make too much noise and would definitely attract attention.
This is not good news for Xu Mo.
"Let's go there first." Chang Yan frowned. "If all else fails, we'll have to set a fire and create some trouble."
It's easier to escape when things are in chaos.
The Fifth Young Master's heart was indeed the darkest in the family, and Jiang San felt a greater sense of awe from the side.
The group boarded the carriage and hurried on their way.
Suddenly a tail appeared behind it, following furtively, neither too far nor too close.
"Young lady, young master, we have someone behind us." Jiang San quickly realized. "Should we shake them off, or find them?"
Chang Yan had no interest in playing cat and mouse. "Drag him out and give him a beating."
The carriage slowed down, and Jiang San loosened the reins, using the carriage shaft as leverage to lunge forward. He thought he could easily catch the thief, but the person inside reacted quickly as well. After a few exchanges, the two rolled on the ground at the same time.
"No, no, no, stop hitting me!" the man cried out. "Little Jiang Sheng, don't hit your brother, don't hit me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com