Li Duan thought that this matter could not be left alone like this, he had to find someone to go out and inquire about it, but he didn't have any good candidates for who to send.

Last time, because of Wei Xiaoshan's incident, the farm where their family kept people was seized by Governor Tang. Not only did the people they kept escape, but their family was also targeted by the gentry in Lin'an City and the Pei family. They had no way to recruit new people, and no one was left to do the shady things in the family. Not only were they no longer as well-informed as before, but many events were also put on hold.

Otherwise, why not recruit a few people to help?

Li Duan was thinking carefully about the well-known thugs in Lin'an City when Lin Jue came.

He immediately stood up and walked out to greet Lin Jue, while asking the servant who came to report: "Did you come alone or with someone?"

Lin Jue went back to Fujian this time to contact the Peng family. I wonder how things went?

But before the servant could say anything, he ran into Lin Jue who was surrounded by several servants.

Lin Jue had a sullen face. Seeing Li Duan, he said directly without even saying a few words: "A Duan, let's talk in the study!"

Li Duan's heart skipped a beat and he felt something had happened.

His face couldn't help but darken, and he waved to the servant beside him.

The servants all retreated.

Lin Jue and Li Duan entered the study.

Li Duan didn't call the maid, but made tea for Lin Jue himself.

Lin Jue impatiently took off his cloak and threw it on the Luohan bed in the study, and said to Li Duan: "A Duan, it's bad! The eldest master of the Peng family came with me this time and said that the Pei family accidentally got a navigation map that can go from Guangzhou to Daqin. The Tao family in Guangzhou has already tried to sail, and the route is feasible..."

"What did you say?" As if struck by lightning, Li Duan's hand trembled, and the tea jar fell to the ground with a "pop", and the fine Biluochun tea was scattered all over the floor. He turned around and looked at Lin Jue with a dark face, "The Pei family got a sailing map?"

He had always been worried that there was something wrong with the Yutu, but he didn't expect that before the issue of the Yutu was clarified, another thing like this would happen!

Lin Jue looked at Li Duan and took a deep breath. Only then did he feel his panicked heart calm down a little and his thoughts became clearer: "I rushed back to Fujian and sent the painting to the Peng family. The Peng family checked the painting and the map and were very satisfied. Then I did as we had agreed before, without asking for any reward. In the future, we will have a share in the business of the Peng family on this route. The one who met me was the eleventh master of the Peng family. By the way, he also came with the eldest master of the Peng family this time. He agreed at the time. I thought, words are not enough, written evidence is needed. So I wanted to sign a document with their family, and the eleventh master also agreed.

"It just takes time to write the paperwork, and I tactfully indicated that the document needed to be stamped with the Peng family seal. So I stayed at the Peng family for the night. The next morning, Master Eleven personally brought the draft document to discuss the details with me, but who knew that the situation would change after lunch.

"The eldest master of the Peng family met me in person and asked me how I found the painting. Of course, I couldn't tell them about the Yu family and the Wei family. I just said that I found Lu Xin according to the clues they gave me. I never thought that Lu Xin agreed to sell the painting to us, but then he got drunk and drowned. Lu Xin's relics fell into the hands of the Yu family. We were afraid of alerting the Pei family and attracting their attention, so we secretly persuaded the Lu family to take back Lu Xin's relics, and then spent 500 taels of silver to buy them back from the Lu family."

At this point, Lin Jue's forehead was covered with sweat, and his voice became a little deeper. He continued, "Master Peng listened carefully and didn't say anything at the time. He just asked me to pack my luggage and follow him to Lin'an City. I was a little confused when I heard it, and asked Master Peng what happened. Master Peng smiled and said that he was not familiar with Lin'an City and asked me to show him the way.

"Who am I? I followed my father all over the country before I even learned to walk. I have met all kinds of people and seen all kinds of things. When I heard this, I knew something was wrong, but I was living in the Peng family's house and eating the Peng family's food at the time. I was really afraid that they would kill me there without a word. Pretending that I hadn't discovered anything, I packed up my things and followed the Peng family out of the city overnight.

"On the way, I found out. It turns out that the Pei family got a map of fortune from somewhere, the same map that the Peng family wanted. The Pei family also sent out invitations to many wealthy families from all over the country to come to Lin'an to hold an auction. They said that whoever has the most money will get the map of fortune. The deposit for entry is two thousand taels of silver..."

So, the unfamiliar faces that appeared in Lin'an City these days are the wealthy and powerful people from all over the place?

Li Duan no longer cared about the tea leaves spilled on the ground. His face was gloomy as if it was going to rain. He poured a glass of water and handed it to Lin Jue, saying, "What does the Peng family mean? Do you think we gave this painting to the Pei family?"

Lin Jue can be said to have basically not closed his eyes these past few days, let alone eating and drinking well.

He took the teacup and gulped it down. After he emptied the cup, he said, "No one in the Peng family said anything. But isn't this obvious? As soon as we entered Lin'an City, Mr. Peng asked me to come find you. He brought Mr. Eleven to live in the guesthouse that the Pei family used to entertain the people who participated in the auction. He also told me that Mr. Eleven would come to visit us tonight. I thought that since the Pei family wanted to sell this Yutu and made a deal of the highest bidder wins, they would definitely give out a part of the Yutu to those who came to the auction to identify the authenticity. Mr. Peng lived in the Pei family as a bidder, probably to see if the Yutu was the same as the Yutu in "Songxi Diaoyintu"."

How did things turn out like this?

Li Duan was very panicked.

But he and Lin Jue are both relatives and partners. There are some things that relatives can say, but partners cannot say. He can't show it in front of Lin Jue, otherwise the Li family and the Lin family will rise and fall, and Lin Jue will think he is weak and will not obey their family as before.

"What are you afraid of?" He couldn't help but put on a calm face and said calmly, "The clues of the painting were provided by the Peng family. We also sent the painting to the Peng family according to their wishes. After verification, they also proved that it was a real painting. Now there is a mistake, what does it have to do with us? They will visit us in the evening!" Li Duan snorted coldly, "Then let them come to visit. I also want to ask the Peng family what to do about this matter? Didn't they say before that there is only one painting of Yutu? Where did the Yutu of the Pei family come from? Scarcity makes things valuable. No matter how stupid we are, we will not play two boats and sell good jade for cabbage."

Lin Jue was indeed a little panicked before, but now seeing Li Duan's confident look, he calmed down.

He couldn't help but say awkwardly, "I'm afraid the Peng family might suspect that we leaked the news, right?"

"As for leaking the news, don't the Peng family have any suspicion?" Li Duan said, and his confidence gradually increased. "Didn't they look for other families before looking for us? The Peng family is one of the most powerful families in Fujian, but the world is so big, there are also Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu. They were able to get the news of "Songxi Diaoyintu", don't other families hear anything at all? This kind of thing has a greater chance of being leaked from a wealthy family like them, right?"

Lin Jue smiled bitterly.

That being said, the Peng family also has to admit that the problem lies on their side!

They are rich and powerful, and if they want to anger them, what can they do?

"Let's talk about it after we meet Master Eleven tonight!" Lin Jue said listlessly, "I hope the map of public affairs obtained by the Pei family has nothing to do with us!"

At this point, we can only wait until we meet the Peng family in the evening.

At the Pei family's side, Pei Yan was free.

When the time came, everything that needed to be arranged was arranged, and everything that needed to be paid attention to was taken care of, and now nothing went wrong.

Ah Ming came in with a small four-compartment box, squinting his eyes and smiling, "Third Master, the Yu family sent some peanut crisps over. Would you like to try them and see if they are delicious?"

Pei Yan opened the box and found three of his favorite snacks, as well as an unfamiliar kind of crispy candy.

The malt-colored sugar is coated with plump white peanuts, which not only looks fresh but also makes people feel appetizing.

Pei Yan took one.

It has the sweetness of maltose and the crispness of peanuts.

Pei Yan clicked his tongue.

Usually the things wrapped in the candy made in this way look like they are cooked, but this peanut crisp is as crispy as its name suggests.

However, it would be better if there were more peanuts.

He subconsciously thought that this was something Miss Yu had made.

"Then what is Miss Yu doing?" Pei Yan asked.

As soon as Hu Xing came back from the Yu family's old house, he ran up to him to show off his achievements. Of course, he also knew that the Yu family's forest was most suitable for growing peanuts.

He said, "Are they planning to grow peanuts? I see that the candy is not cheap. However, candy with peanuts wrapped in it is cheaper than candy made entirely of sugar, so it should be able to sell. I'm afraid that it will take three years to sell the peanuts from one season. By then, the peanuts in the peanut candy will not taste good, and the candy will not be easy to sell, right?"

Although these words are a bit harsh, they are not groundless.

Ah Ming had a good impression of Yu Tang, and after Pei Yan said that, he started to worry about Yu Tang.

"I heard that this peanut crisp was made by Miss Yu." He looked at Pei Yan nervously and said, "But, I haven't heard that Miss Yu wants to sell this! Maybe she made this delicious dessert accidentally and wanted to ask you to try it? You have helped their family so much, they must be very grateful to you!"

There is some truth in this.

Pei Yan hummed, and said, "Is this the peanut crisp that Miss Yu has been making recently?"

Ever since Pei Man failed to answer the last time Pei Yan asked about Yu Tang, the people of the Pei family have been paying special attention to Yu Tang's whereabouts.

Ah Ming spoke without hesitation, "Miss Yu has not left the house these days as you instructed. She should be making these peanut crisps at home. However, Miss Yu has sent people to inquire about the sale of preserved fruits, grocery stores, and charcoal burning businesses."

Pei Yan's mouth twitched involuntarily.

Why does it sound like you're buzzing around like a headless fly?

Can't she just be quiet and stay at home?