Chapter 122 It still comes down to Tong Wanjun from the Little Feet Detective Team...
Tong Wanjun frowned, looking at Mingxi with a puzzled expression, not understanding why she said that the Jiang family had known all along that Jiang Xu liked men.
Mingxi was actually slow to realize it.
Logically speaking, even if a daughter-in-law quarrels with her son and goes back to her parents' home, the father-in-law and mother-in-law should not go to pick her up together.
Moreover, Jiang Xu and Tong Wanjun do not live with their parents. Logically speaking, unless Jiang Xu took the initiative to tell his parents about his argument with Tong Wanjun, they should not have known about Tong Wanjun's return home so quickly.
The reason why Tong Wanjun returned to her parents' home was a secret. If Mingxi were Jiang Xu, she would definitely not have mentioned it to Jiang's parents, much less ask them to come to Tong's home to pick up Tong Wanjun.
But Jiang Xu did the opposite, taking the initiative to say that he would bring his parents to pick up Tong Wanjun. Wasn't he afraid of pushing Tong Wanjun to the edge and making her tell the truth to his parents?
Yes, he might not be afraid.
As long as Jiang's parents already knew that Jiang Xu liked men, Jiang Xu wouldn't be afraid of Tong Wanjun telling them. On the contrary, Jiang Xu would be more afraid of Tong Wanjun staying at her parents' home, because then Tong Wanjun might tell her family about his liking for men.
He knew Tong Wanjun's personality perfectly. He knew that Tong Wanjun was worried about their two daughters and wouldn't tell anyone about his attraction to men, but Tong Wanjun's family might be a different story. As long as Tong Wanjun stayed at her parents' house, he would worry about this every day.
Thinking about it this way, it becomes obvious why Jiang Xu was so eager to urge Tong Wanjun to go home and even brought up his parents.
Mingxi initially only had suspicions, but after hearing Tong Wanjun say that Jiang's parents didn't get along with her, she became even more certain of her guess.
The Jiang family is well-off, and Jiang Xu himself is also quite accomplished, working as a staff member at the Cultural Palace. Moreover, Jiang Xu is the only son in the family. Logically, Jiang Xu should be selective in choosing a partner, looking for someone with even better prospects.
Mingxi wasn't saying that Tong Wanjun was in a bad position, but rather that she was a little less fortunate than Jiang Xu. Not only was Tong Wanjun unemployed, but in the Tong family, only her father had a job. Furthermore, Tong Wanjun had an older brother who had been sent to the countryside.
The Tong family's circumstances are nowhere near comparable to those of the Jiang family, who both work.
The Jiang family clearly didn't approve of Tong Wanjun either.
The Jiang family disapproved of Tong Wanjun, but still agreed to Jiang Xu's marriage to her. Moreover, according to Tong Wanjun, Jiang's parents started urging her to get married right after she and Jiang Xu got married.
Tong Wanjun is only twenty-seven this year. She said Jiang Xu is the same age as her, and they got married seven years ago. When they got married, they were just over twenty. Both Jiang Xu and Tong Wanjun are very young.
The young couple is young and has just gotten married. Even if Mr. and Mrs. Jiang are eager to have a grandchild, there is no need to urge them to get married so early, right?
Unless they already knew that Jiang Xu liked men and were worried that he wouldn't be able to have children with women, which is why they rushed to urge the two of them to have children as soon as they got married.
Of course, the most important person is Ning Feng, the man Jiang Xu is seeing outside.
Tong Wanjun said that Ning Feng and Jiang Xu have been inseparable friends since childhood. Jiang's parents treated Ning Feng like their own son. When Jiang Xu got married, Ning Feng always ran around with Jiang's parents. During holidays, Ning Feng also sent gifts to the Jiang family without fail.
Ning Feng and Jiang Xu have such a good and close relationship, didn't Jiang's parents ever notice anything amiss?
Mingxi found it suspicious no matter how she looked at it. After listening to Mingxi's analysis, Tong Wanjun also gradually became suspicious, and scenes of her life after marrying Jiang Xu flashed through her mind.
She still remembers that on the second morning after her marriage to Jiang Xu, she woke up late. When she got up, the entire Jiang family was already sitting at the dinner table. Jiang's mother then said with a sullen face and a sarcastic tone, "The whole family is up, but you are the only one who is not up, making the whole family wait. You have no manners at all. If it weren't for Jiang Xu... a woman like you would never have been allowed into our Jiang family."
What else could it be?
And when she gave birth to Lele, when Mr. and Mrs. Jiang learned that she had given birth to a girl, a hint of disappointment flashed across their faces, but she remembered Mr. Jiang saying, "A girl is a girl, at least there's an heir, it's better than..."
Compared to what?
Jiang Xu always says that Ning Feng is his best friend, and his parents treat Ning Feng like their own son. However, every time Ning Feng goes to the Jiang family, Jiang's parents look at him strangely. It's not like they like him or hate him; they always seem to be subtly critical. But in front of them, they can't find anything wrong with their attitude towards Ning Feng.
But when Jiang's mother was alone with her, she would always say, "It's all Ning Feng's fault for leading Jiang Xu astray..."
What's the bad influence?
All the past scenes flashed through Mingxi's mind. The details that she hadn't noticed before now seemed suspicious.
Tong Wanjun's face turned pale, and her lips trembled as she said, "So, so my in-laws all know about Jiang Xu, they know about him..."
Tong Wanjun couldn't continue speaking. Seeing her like this, Mingxi could only comfort her, saying, "This is just my guess. I'm telling you so you'll have some idea."
Tong Wanjun and Mingxi both understood that Mingxi's words were only meant to comfort Tong Wanjun.
Tong Wanjun remained silent for a long time, then suddenly let out a desolate laugh. Her smile was bitter, and even Mingxi felt a pang of sympathy watching it.
Mingxi patted her shoulder and said, "You should make plans as soon as possible and explain things to your family, at least so they can be mentally prepared."
You can tell from Jiang Xu's decision to have Tong Wanjun's child with Ning Feng that he has no bottom line. Such a person is capable of any disgusting means, and he might even resort to some insidious scheme to force Tong Wanjun to go home.
Tong Wanjun nodded; she understood what Mingxi meant.
She plans to go back and confront her parents.
Returning to Jiang Xu, Mingxi recalled what Zhao Sulan had said the night before and asked Tong Wanjun, "You've lived with Jiang Xu for seven years. Do you know anything about him? If you do, you might be able to threaten him into divorcing you."
"handle?"
Mingxi nodded: "Like in terms of work?"
Tong Wanjun thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I don't know."
With a pale face, she said, "Jiang Xu never talks to me about work. When I first married him, I wanted to ask him about it, but he said that I was just a woman who didn't know anything, so why should I ask so many questions?"
Mingxi frowned: "What about Ning Feng? How much do you know about Ning Feng?"
When Tong Wanjun heard Ning Feng mention Mingxi, a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes.
For so many years, she had always thought Ning Feng was a good person. He spoke softly and gently, and every time he saw her, he would affectionately call her Sister Wanjun, saying that it was more intimate than calling her sister-in-law. Whenever anything happened in their family, Ning Feng was always the first to appear. Ning Feng was also good to Lele. Every time he came to their house, he would hold Lele and play with her, saying that Lele was so cute that he wished she were his daughter. He would even tease Lele to call him Dad, and he would give Lele lucky money during holidays…
But now, just thinking about these things makes her feel nauseous.
No wonder Ning Feng doesn't call her sister-in-law, no wonder Ning Feng makes Lele call him dad...
Tong Wanjun suppressed her disgust and said, "I don't know much about Ning Feng. I only know that Ning Feng's family is of average means, but he is the youngest boy in the family, so he is still very spoiled at home. He has an older sister who is married well, and Ning Feng got a job at the city museum through his brother-in-law's connections. He doesn't really like this job. He said that although there is little work at the city museum, the pay is also low, and he gets bored working every day. But since last year, I haven't heard him complain about it."
Tong Wanjun paused here, then suddenly said, "Yes, last year!"
She held Mingxi's hand: "Ning Feng suddenly made a fortune last year. I don't know where he got the money. He suddenly spent money to buy a motorcycle. It seems that Jiang Xu also made a fortune during that time. He gave me money very readily during that period."
Jiang Xu had always managed the money in Tong Wanjun's family. Every month, Jiang Xu would give Tong Wanjun money for groceries, cooking, and living expenses. In the past, it was very difficult for Jiang Xu to give her money, and he would have to nag Tong Wanjun for a long time every time. But one day last year, Jiang Xu suddenly became very generous when giving her money.
Although Jiang Xu didn't tell Tong Wanjun, Tong Wanjun knew that he must have made a fortune.
Mingxi stroked his chin: "Ning Feng and Jiang Xu made their fortunes at the same time?"
This is just so strange no matter how you look at it.
Mingxi speculated that these two hadn't made their fortune in a good way, otherwise they wouldn't have needed to hide it from Tong Wanjun; they could have just told her directly.
The fact that even Tong Wanjun kept it a secret means that this matter cannot be brought to light.
What they're looking for—the leverage they're using against Jiang Xu—might just be related to this matter.
Mingxi pressed on, "Besides being generous with money, was there anything else that seemed off about Jiang Xu during that period?"
Tong Wanjun thought for a moment: "If there's anything wrong, it's that he suddenly started working the night shift."
Mingxi didn't understand. What was wrong with working the night shift?
Tong Wanjun said, "Apart from the gatekeeper, no one at the Cultural Palace works the night shift. Jiang Xu has never worked the night shift in all these years, but last year he suddenly said he had to work the night shift and be on duty at the unit. I didn't think much of it at the time, but later when I saw Jiang Xu's colleagues and they talked about working the night shift, they all said that it didn't happen. I went back and asked Jiang Xu, and Jiang Xu said that I remembered wrong, that he didn't go to the unit to work the night shift, but went to Ning Feng's house to play."
Tong Wanjun didn't think much of it at the time, only that she might have remembered it wrong. But now, recalling it, her memory is definitely correct. Jiang Xu was definitely going to work on duty.
Work unit, on-duty shift, unexpectedly making a fortune.
Mingxi: "Could it be that Jiang Xu embezzled public funds?"
As soon as Mingxi said this, she immediately shook her head. No, it shouldn't be that simple.
The loss of public funds is a serious matter. If the Cultural Palace really does lose public funds, it must be reported to higher authorities immediately, and then the Public Security Bureau must be notified to conduct a thorough investigation.
However, from last year to this year, there has been no news of any loss of public funds at the Cultural Palace, so it should not be theft of public funds.
What could it be?
Mingxi scratched her head, somewhat puzzled, but she felt she should have someone investigate Ning Feng and Jiang Xu's fortune. She shared her thoughts with Tong Wanjun.
Tong Wanjun nodded, agreeing with Mingxi's idea, but then she looked troubled and asked, "But who should we ask to investigate?"
Tong Wanjun, an ordinary housewife, really didn't know anyone who could investigate this kind of thing.
Mingxi thought for a moment and said, "I'll try to find someone suitable for you, but we can't let them work for nothing."
Tong Wanjun understood Mingxi's implication. She nodded and said, "I understand. Don't worry, Xiaoming, I definitely won't let anyone work for nothing. You're paying, right? I'll pay whatever it takes."
Tong Wanjun was determined to go all out. Even if she had to borrow money from Wang Hongmei, she was willing to spend money to find out something about Jiang Xu so that she could divorce him.
Mingxi: "Okay."
With Tong Wanjun's words here, Mingxi felt relieved.
That evening after work, she went straight to the Guan family's house. She didn't actually know anyone who could investigate Jiang Xu and Ning Feng, but she felt that Guan Lixin must know someone who could do it.
Guan Lixin is a businessman who knows all sorts of people. When he heard that Mingxi wanted to find someone who could investigate Ning Feng and Jiang Xu's identities, he immediately said that he knew someone who could do it.
However, he was somewhat curious: "Ning Feng and Jiang Xu, who are these two? I've never heard of them before. Why are you suddenly investigating them? Did they offend you?"
Mingxi: "It's not that I've offended you, it's that you've offended someone else. I was just asking around for someone else."
"Oh, I see." Once he heard that it wasn't Mingxi's business, Guan Lixin stopped asking questions.
Guan Lixin agreed to the task and quickly found a suitable person for Mingxi. Upon receiving the news, Mingxi took Tong Wanjun to meet the person Guan Lixin had helped her find.
The man Guan Lixin found was surnamed Bao, but his given name was unknown; everyone called him Third Master Bao. Third Master Bao was also known as "Bao the Inquisitor," because in the northern part of the city, there was nothing Third Master Bao didn't know.
Guan Lixin's words sounded incredible, but when Mingxi finally met Master Bao, she realized that he was just an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
After the other party introduced himself, Mingxi learned that Master Bao's original profession was to pull boats for people, but don't misunderstand, Master Bao's boat pulling was different from the boat pulling that Mingxi did as a matchmaker.
To be honest, Master Bao is more like a middleman from later generations.
It's the kind of intermediary that has a wide range of expertise.
These days, things are different from later generations. The internet hasn't developed as rapidly, and all information is spread by word of mouth. In the future, if you want to rent a house, you can just open a rental app and search. Now, you have to ask around in each place. If you don't have the time or energy to ask around yourself, you can just pay someone to help you find out.
It's not just about renting or buying houses; it's the same for everything else. Hiring people to work, buying and selling things... basically, anything that can make money, even hauling boats will do.
Bao Sanye was a boatman who also did the job of finding out information from people because he was well-informed.
Mingxi and Tong Wanjun told Master Bao about the people and situation they wanted to investigate. Master Bao quoted a price: "Two hundred yuan for two people. I guarantee I'll get the information. I'll collect the money afterward. If I don't get the information, I won't charge you."
Two hundred yuan was not a small amount, but Master Bao had made it clear that he would not accept money if he could not find out any information, so Tong Wanjun gritted her teeth and decided to take the gamble. She nodded in agreement.
Master Bao's prices were not low, but his efficiency was also high. The investigation was entrusted to him and the results were brought back within two days.
"We've found out. Jiang Xu and Ning Feng are involved in the illegal trade of cultural relics. We don't know exactly what they're selling, but the buyer is an American. Initially, they were introduced by someone in our industry, and Ning Feng took the job. However, later Ning Feng started contacting the American privately. To get more specific information, I'll have to ask around."
Reselling cultural relics?
Where did Jiang Xu and Ning Feng get the cultural relics?
Mingxi looked at Tong Wanjun, who also looked bewildered.
She has been married to Jiang Xu for seven years, and she has never heard of Jiang Xu having any cultural relics.
If it wasn't in Jiang Xu's possession, then could it have been stolen by Ning Feng from the museum? Doesn't Ning Feng work at the museum?
However, this possibility is not very high. Museum artifacts are generally of high value, and if problems arise, the museum will definitely investigate. Moreover, if it were a matter of reselling museum artifacts, Ning Feng could handle it alone; Jiang Xu wouldn't need to get involved at all.
Jiang Xu, Jiang Xu!
Mingxi's eyes lit up: "I know, it's an artifact from the Cultural Palace!"
During the political movements a few years ago, some of the cultural relics and antiques confiscated by the Red Guards were stored in the Revolutionary Committee's warehouse, but some were placed in the Cultural Palace.
Logically, the belongings of those whose homes were confiscated should be returned now that they have been exonerated. However, in practice, there is still a lot of room for maneuver.
For example, a significant portion of the original owners of these items have passed away, gone abroad, or are missing... and some original owners simply won't come to claim their belongings.
Mingxi had heard of such things in her past life, but she only listened to them as stories and didn't think about them at first. It wasn't until now that she remembered them.
When Bao Sanye heard Mingxi's words, he couldn't help but nod: "What you're saying is actually quite possible. There were quite a few good things confiscated when they raided your house."
At this point, he gave a mocking smile: "But what's left in the Cultural Palace now isn't the most valuable; the original ones are long gone. Back then, quite a few people drove to the Cultural Palace to 'visit' it after dark."
The "visit" that Master Bao mentioned was certainly not a simple visit.
Mingxi understood what Bao Sanye meant, but she didn't respond.
She frowned in thought. Although there was no concrete evidence yet, it was basically certain that Ning Feng and Jiang Xu were currently engaged in the illegal trade of cultural relics.
Trafficking in cultural relics is no small matter. If this gets out, Jiang Xu and Ning Feng will definitely lose their jobs. If they report it to the police, depending on how much they profited, if the profit was high enough, they could even go to jail.
However, without any evidence, relying solely on Mingxi and Tong Wanjun's words would not threaten Jiang Xu and might even alert him, making him wary.
Mingxi stroked his chin and asked Third Master Bao, "Third Master, could you help us find out about the American who made the deal with Ning Feng?"
Mingxi wanted to see if she could film the transaction between Ning Feng and Jiang Xu as evidence.
Master Bao shook his head: "That American is in direct contact with Ning Feng. It's a bit difficult to find out anything about the American."
Mingxi took a deep breath and said, "Then I'd appreciate it if you could help me find out. Try your best to find out, but it's okay if you can't."
When Master Bao heard Mingxi say this, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll try my best."
After Master Bao left, Mingxi told Tong Wanjun her idea. Tong Wanjun bit her lip and asked, "Will this work?"
Mingxi: "Let's try it whether it works or not."
She turned to look at Tong Wanjun and said, "Do you still want to divorce Jiang Xu?"
"think!"
Tong Wanjun gritted her teeth and said, "Then I'll go with Ning Feng and see when she meets the Americans."
Tong Wanjun wasn't smart and didn't know what she was capable of, but Mingxi was busy helping her get a divorce, so she couldn't just do nothing and leave everything to Mingxi.
After thinking it over, she decided that she could stake out Ning Feng's house. She believed that as long as she kept following him, she would definitely be able to find out when Ning Feng met with the Americans.
Mingxi moved her lips. Ning Feng would definitely be extra cautious when meeting with Americans. Tong Wanjun, a female comrade, had not received professional training. If she followed Ning Feng, she was very likely to be discovered and alert him.
After hesitating for a long time, Mingxi finally spoke up: "Let's leave this to Master Bao. If you act rashly, you might ruin things."
Tong Wanjun pursed her lips and obediently agreed.
But the very next day, she brought Mingxi some explosive news: "I saw it, Ning Feng met with the Americans today!"
"What?!"
Mingxi's eyes widened instantly, staring at Tong Wanjun in disbelief.
No way, could it be that Tong Wanjun really has a talent for stalking, and she made such a significant discovery on her first attempt?
Tong Wanjun calmed herself down and said in a trembling voice, "Today I wanted to go to Ning Feng's house to check on things. As soon as I got near his house, I saw him dressed smartly in a suit, riding his motorcycle out. I wanted to chase after him, but he was riding too fast and I couldn't catch up. I didn't know where he was going. At that moment, I heard an old lady coming out of Ning Feng's courtyard say to another old lady, 'The Ning family boy is dressed like that, is he going to meet that blond foreigner again?' The other old lady nodded and said, 'Definitely, didn't you see? He went straight to the Great Wall Hotel.'"
Unable to contain her excitement, Tong Wanjun said, "After hearing what they said, I took a bus to the state-run restaurant. As soon as I entered, I saw Ning Feng sitting near the entrance with a blond American. I quickly went in and sat behind Ning Feng. From that spot, Ning Feng couldn't see me, but I could hear his conversation with the American."
Mingxi clicked her tongue in amazement.
If you had to pick the most well-informed people in the northern part of the city, it would definitely be the Little Feet Detective Team.
The Little Feet Detective Team knew exactly what was going on, even if a gossip couldn't find out.
Mingxi sighed for a moment, then looked up at Tong Wanjun and couldn't help but marvel at her good luck. She just went to Ning Feng's house and heard crucial information. When she arrived at the Great Wall Hotel, she even seized the opportunity to run up to Ning Feng and the American and overhear the information.
This series of events, one after another, is so fortunate that it's no exaggeration to say it was blessed with a lucky aura.
Mingxi: "Did you hear Ning Feng and the Americans discussing when the deal would be made?"
Tong Wanjun nodded emphatically: "I heard you!"
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