Chapter 3166 Notice
There was no one on the avenue in front of the Supervisory Office. Perhaps because a murder had just happened, even the nearby alleys were extremely quiet. Even if someone walked by, they would run hurriedly with their heads down, not daring to look up at the gate of the Supervisory Office.
Zhou Silang stood in front of the door holding the gift box and gift bag, looking at them again and again, and stared at the official on the steps for a while.
The other party raised his eyebrows and his face darkened. Zhou Silang immediately smiled and went up with the gift in hand. "Sir, we are here to pay our respects to Lord Yang. By the way, this is our invitation."
Zhou Silang directly took out Zhou Man’s official letter.
The other man took it, his casual expression turning serious after he opened it. He raised his eyelids to look at Zhou Silang, "You and this Mr. Zhou?"
"Brother and sister," Zhou Silang said proudly, "This is my sister, my biological sister!"
The official's attitude became more favorable. He asked, "Are you acquainted with our Lord? Did you arrange a visit in advance? What is your business this time?"
"What official business do I have?" Zhou Silang said with a smile, "I was just passing through Yangzhou, so I came to see Lord Yang. He used to be the magistrate of our Luojiang County, and he and my younger sister served in the same court, so we have a good relationship, so I came to see him."
The officer thought about it and asked him to wait here for a while. He took the note and went in to find Lord Yang.
Yang Heshu rarely went out at this time, only handling government affairs in the government office. After receiving the note, he was stunned for a moment and said, "Please ask them to come in."
The official responded respectfully and went out to invite Zhou Silang and the others in.
In addition to the two pens, Zhou Silang also brought a few bags of snacks, all of which were bought on the spot.
Yang Heshu smiled when he saw what he brought and asked, "When did you come to Yangzhou?"
Zhou Silang said hurriedly, "We arrived more than a month ago, but we didn't stay in Yangzhou for long. We went to Suzhou and Hangzhou to buy some goods."
Zhou Silang carefully looked at Yang Heshu's face and thought he looked fine, so he asked directly, "Master Yang, I will be returning to Qingzhou the next day. Do you have a message for Manbao and the others?"
He said with some worry, "I heard from people outside that you were assassinated two days ago?"
Yang Heshu was stunned for a moment before he smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. Most of the rumors out there are false. Don't listen to them."
He paused and said, "Just give me a message. Ask how they are and tell them that everything is fine here."
Zhou Silang finally left empty-handed.
Wan Tian brought up the tea and couldn't help asking, "Master, why don't you give the things to Mr. Zhou Si to take away?"
Even writing a letter would be fine.
Yang Heshu shook his head and said, "Even a mosquito coming in here wouldn't escape the eyes of those people, let alone Zhou Silang. It would be best for him not to bring anything with him."
He said, "Tang He will be here soon, right?"
Zhou Silang went back with a smile on his face, but his face darkened as he entered the room of the inn.
Uncle Shi, who lived in the same room with him, was startled when he saw this and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Silang's brows relaxed, and he smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just wondered if we could go back a day earlier. We don't have much to do right now, and staying here one more day would cost one more day's rent."
Uncle Shi: "...Didn't you say you wanted to take a good stroll around Yangzhou City? And the boat has already been booked. Even if we wanted to leave earlier, they can't do that."
He frowned and asked, "Is there something wrong with Lord Yang?"
"Not really," Zhou Silang said. "On the way back, I did some calculations. With so many of us here, food and lodging, it's going to cost us nearly a hundred yuan a day. I feel a little bad."
Uncle Shi: ...
Since he couldn't leave early, Zhou Silang didn't mention the matter anymore. The next day, he still took people out to stroll around Yangzhou City and bought some popular Yangzhou accessories and ready-made clothes as gifts.
After a day of shopping, they went back to rest early in the evening and had to get up early the next morning to escort the goods to the dock.
By the time all the merchants' goods were loaded onto the ship, it was already dawn. Zhou Silang took his men on board and officially set off.
Zhou Sanzhu came back from inspecting the cargo and couldn't help but pull Zhou Silang aside and whisper, "I have a feeling our things have been rummaged through, but after a careful inspection, nothing is missing. It's just that they weren't packed neatly. Do you think there are thieves on this ship?"
"That's impossible?" Zhou Silang hadn't said anything yet when another person said, "If there was a thief, he must have lost something. But now it hasn't been lost. Maybe it got jolted around when we lifted it up?"
"A box of silk, wrapped in oil paper and stuffed inside, can the fabrics be shaken out of order even after being bumped around?" Zhou Sanzhu said, "Although this is my first time doing business, we've brought Shu brocade from home all the way to the capital, and then from the capital to Qingzhou, moving it up and down several times. The Shu brocade is exactly the same as it was when it was put in, it's very tightly packed."
Zhou Sanzhu insisted, "That definitely wasn't caused by the bumpy ride. Someone must have been rummaging through our stuff."
Zhou Silang thought for a moment and said, "It's okay. As long as the things aren't lost, we just need to be more careful next time."
He put his arm around Zhou Sanzhu's shoulders and pulled him into the cabin. "Hurry and take a look at our luggage."
Zhou Sanzhu was careful and Zhou Silang was not careless either. They hadn't noticed it before, but now when they opened their luggage, they found traces of rummaging.
Zhou Sanzhu's eyes widened and he almost jumped up, but Zhou Silang covered his mouth with his hand to prevent him from shouting.
Zhou Sanzhu pulled his hand away and said in a low voice, "Fourth Uncle, what are you doing? This is a pirate ship. While the ship is just starting, let's find a reason to get off."
"Shut up," Zhou Silang first glanced outside, then whispered, "The thief is probably gone."
"How do you know?"
Zhou Silang's back was covered in sweat. He said, "We didn't lose anything. This thief is obviously looking for something else, not money. Since he can't find it here, he will naturally not come again."
"What kind of thief is this? What is he looking for?"
"How would a commoner like me know?"
Having said that, Zhou Silang was still restless along the way, and it was not until he saw Longchi Wharf that he felt a little relieved.
As soon as the boat docked, he didn't care about his priceless things on the boat. He gave them all to Uncle Shi and Zhou Sanzhu for inventory, then lifted up his robe and went ashore, and then went straight to the yamen in Longchi.
When he saw County Magistrate Fang, he was as excited as if he had seen his parents. He immediately stepped forward and shook his hand, "County Magistrate Fang, where is my brother-in-law? Is he here?"
County Magistrate Fang was startled. When he recognized Zhou Silang, he quickly said, "Master Zhou Silang, you came at an unfortunate time. He just left after his inspection the day before yesterday and should be in the county town right now."
County Magistrate Fang asked carefully, "Has Lord Zhou Si encountered any trouble?"
Zhou Silang laughed it off, "No, I just haven't seen him for a long time and I miss him so much. Since he's not here, I'll just go back to the county town to look for him."
(End of this chapter)
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