Chapter 142 Each with their own ulterior motives
Seeing their strange expressions, Yun Zhao hurriedly explained.
"Ah, right, we can go through the main gate now, but I think Brother Jingchen could take a look at this dog hole. My third uncle said..."
This dog hole was dug by a person. Why would that bad guy dig a dog hole to go home? I think that's a very big question!
Wei Jingchen understood.
After all, only a fool would believe that Yuan Shijie had a penchant for climbing through dog holes.
Wei Jingchen looked around. The dog hole was fairly well hidden, and it was even dug specifically behind the woodshed.
He clearly didn't want others to know that he had made a dog hole here.
Since it was his own yard, and Yuan Shijie was a well-known scoundrel,
It's just digging a dog hole, why make it so mysterious?
"Let's go in and take a look."
The three walked toward the back gate not far away, where the guards were the officials from Yangguan County.
The officials recognized Wei Jingchen and Yun Zhao, so they let them in directly.
"By the way, where are the servants in the manor?"
Wei Jingchen stopped and asked.
"They are all being held in the front yard, awaiting Lord Yang's judgment. Also, Yuan Hongyang's wife has returned."
Upon discovering that the mansion was surrounded by government officials, they caused a disturbance in the front yard. The officials ordered that they be detained as well.
Recalling what she had witnessed yesterday, Yun Zhao feigned curiosity and asked, "Where is the aunt who whipped Uncle?"
"The aunt who whipped her uncle?"
The officer didn't understand what she meant at first.
Wei Jingchen put his fist to his lips and coughed lightly: "Ahem, it's Yuan Hongyang's mistress."
“A mistress? I haven’t seen her. Young Master Wei might want to ask our boss about that.”
The official guarding the back door shook his head.
They didn't know much, so Wei Jingchen didn't ask any more questions.
Upon entering the Yuan residence, Yun Zhao stroked her chin and suggested, "Brother Jingchen,"
Sister Lu and my third uncle are quite familiar with the mechanisms of the secret room, so why don't we ask them to come and help?
"Maybe that bad guy will hide it in a secret room!"
Lu Xun immediately took action: "I'll go find them and bring them over."
Wei Jingchen nodded and let him go.
When Wei Jingchen brought Yun Zhao to the front yard, the officials were already used to seeing Yun Zhao riding a tiger.
The servants were terrified.
"Help! Help! There's a tiger!"
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, the flowers won't bite!"
Yun Zhao stopped the tiger a foot away, and some of the more timid servants fainted as soon as their eyes rolled back.
Wei Jingchen didn't let her take the tiger away, and instead surveyed the people who had been detained.
This mere county magistrate had fifteen guards and more than twenty servants in his household.
This is a standard that even a ninth-rank county magistrate could not afford to keep.
Wei Jingchen's gaze finally settled on a noblewoman.
"Are you Yuan Hongyang's wife?"
"yes……"
The noblewoman, trembling and still shaken, answered.
"Don't be afraid. If what you're saying is true, the tiger won't hurt you."
Yun Zhao followed up on Wei Jingchen's words at the opportune moment: "Yes, yes, beautiful auntie, don't be afraid."
Wild animals can detect lies; they'll know if you're lying, as long as you tell the truth.
"The tiger won't hurt you, right, Flower?"
The tiger responded with a "woof~"
Madam Yuan said tremblingly, "I...I don't know anything!"
"Yuan Hongyang is just a ninth-rank county magistrate, where would he get the money to support so many people?"
Wei Jingchen asked.
“My family is in business, and my son is very good at making money.”
Doing business?
Wei Jingchen frowned slightly.
What kind of business do they run that they can afford to support so many servants in this small An County?
"What kind of business is it, and when did your son take over the business?"
"My family used to be in the leather goods business, but later my son went to study in Jiangnan."
I got to know some young gentlemen, and through the connections of the Yuan family elders, my fur trade spread throughout the surrounding prefectures.
Business flourished, and starting the year before last, my father handed the entire business over to my son.
The noblewoman glanced at the tiger, and seeing that it showed no sign of moving, she grew bolder.
"Where is my son? What crime have we committed that we are being detained here?"
These two children in front of me don't look like officials at all!
"What crime to charge you with is for Lord Yang to decide. But I ask you, where have all your concubines gone?"
Wei Jingchen did not answer her question directly.
"Concubines? My family has no concubines. Yuan Hongyang only achieved his academic success because of my Du family."
"Hmph, using my Du family's money to take a concubine? I'll skin Yuan Hongyang alive!"
The mere thought of "taking a concubine" filled Madam Yuan with rage.
"But beautiful auntie, Zhao Zhao saw it with her own eyes, a bad auntie was whipping a bad uncle in the house!"
Yun Zhao was just speaking innocently, but Madam Yuan immediately became furious.
"What?! Old Feng, tell me, what's going on?!"
The steward, Lao Feng, turned pale instantly and hurriedly lowered his head.
"I don't know anything!"
"Fine, you bunch of ingrates raised by the Du family, keeping this a secret for Yuan Hongyang!"
Madam Yuan suddenly stood up, rolled up her sleeves, and rushed towards Old Feng.
"I'll beat your mouth to a pulp!"
The officers immediately stepped forward, grabbed the man, and shouted sternly, "Don't move! If you move again, you'll be thrown in jail!"
Madam Yuan then sat back down, still feeling indignant.
Do you know where that mistress is kept?
Wei Jingchen looked at Lao Feng, only to see him looking around, pretending not to know that he was being asked a question.
"Stop pretending, do you want to test how sharp the tiger's teeth are?"
Wei Jingchen sneered.
Old Feng trembled with fright and hurriedly explained, "Young master, I'm just a manager."
That Lady Yuan was a concubine kept by the master. When the incident happened yesterday,
The master has already sent her away; she's probably almost at Xuyang Prefecture by now..."
It's Xu Yangzhou again?
Madam Yuan was furious.
"Great! I'll just go out once, and he'll bring the young lady home."
"I'd rather be detained myself than let that little bitch get away! Yuan Hongyang, I'm not finished with you!"
Wei Jingchen glanced at her and, seeing that her anger seemed genuine, realized that she was probably being kept in the dark by Yuan Hongyang and knew nothing about it.
The first wife is truly pitiful. The trouble that happened to the Yuan family father and son this time is probably related to the fur business.
In this case, they will likely end up losing both their money and their life.
Wei Jingchen waved to the officers and walked away with one of them.
"Send someone to inform Lord Yang to investigate the Du family's fur trade."
"This leather goods business, for example, likely involves those young masters Yuan Shijie mentioned."
"yes!"
The official received his orders and left.
At that moment, Lu Xun led Xu Yiyan and Lu Xinnian in through the main gate.
"Third Uncle!"
Yun Zhao waved excitedly at him.
Xu Yiyan hurriedly stepped forward: "Zhaozhao, are you alright?"
"Zhaozhao is alright~ Uncle, let's hurry and find the secret room!"
As Yun Zhao and Xu Yiyan were talking, Wei Jingchen kept observing the expressions of everyone in the Yuan household.
When Yun Zhao mentioned finding the secret room, only Madam Yuan's expression changed.
Wei Jingchen turned his head to look at her, and Madam Yuan noticed. When she looked up and saw him staring at her, she immediately turned her head away in a panic.
"Strange, you know about the secret room that even Yuan Hongyang didn't know about."
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