Chapter 23 seems to suggest that someone deliberately set a trap for him.
Uncle Qingshan leaned back in his chair, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at Qi Yuanhong.
He knew Qi Yuanhong was a despicable, treacherous, and ungrateful man. The reason he chose him as Su Yuezhen's son-in-law was because he felt that someone from a poor family would be easily manipulated. Besides, a despicable person like him would be more useful.
Most importantly, he needed to marry Su Yuezhen off as soon as possible, and he couldn't choose a powerful family in the capital. Qi Yuanhong was the best option at the time. However, he hadn't anticipated the huge trouble Qi Yuanhong would be embroiled in.
"Where is Jiang Yu now?" Uncle Qingshan asked Qi Yuanhong.
“It should be in Nanshi Town,” Qi Yuanhong replied.
Uncle Qingshan snorted, "Just like you said, the notice was written by Jiang Yu. But she's in Nanshi Town, so how did this notice end up in the capital?"
Qi Yuanhong: "..."
At this moment, the steward of the Qingshan Marquis's mansion knocked on the door and came in. He bowed to the Qingshan Marquis and said, "My lord, I had someone investigate, but they couldn't find out who posted the notice."
Uncle Qingshan snorted at Qi Yuanhong, "She's quite capable. A small-town merchant like her couldn't possibly do something like this. She must be cooperating with someone in the capital. Who does she know in the capital?"
Qi Yuanhong shook his head, "I've known her for over ten years, and I have no idea who she knows in the capital."
Uncle Qingshan snorted heavily in disdain, "Useless!"
Qi Yuanhong's hands, hidden under his sleeves, were clenched tightly together. He had been intelligent since childhood, and everyone, whether teachers or classmates, said he was a genius. This was the first time he had ever heard the word "useless," and he was surprised that it could be used to describe himself.
“Those notices are printed; check the bookstores in the capital,” Uncle Qingshan said to his steward, Zhao Cheng.
Zhao Cheng said, "I have checked. There are three bookstores in the capital, and they all say they have not printed that notice."
He opened his mouth, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. Uncle Qingshan said, "If you have something to say, just say it."
Zhao Cheng: "Of the three bookstores, one belongs to the Marquis of Anling."
Qingshanbo frowned again. "I have never heard of Marquis Anling owning a bookstore!"
Zhao Cheng: "That bookstore was part of the dowry of the Marquis of Anling."
Uncle Qingshan clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. "Could it be that Jiang Yu is colluding with Marquis Anling?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Yuanhong clenched his fists even tighter. If Jiang Yu knew the Marquis of Anling, then what did all he had done amount to?
Just then, a commotion broke out outside. A moment later, Su Yuezhen rushed in, passing by Qi Yuanhong as if she didn't see him, and threw herself at Uncle Qingshan, saying, "Grandfather, I want Jiang Yu dead, I must make Jiang Yu die."
The moment she entered, Uncle Qingshan's stern expression softened considerably. However, he still maintained a serious demeanor and said, "So impulsive! Letting a merchant die is nothing compared to this undignified behavior?"
Su Yuezhen smiled, "I was just anxious. Grandfather, you have no idea how hateful Jiang Yu is. He actually brought Song Yushu to me and made me lose face. I..."
"Ahem..." Uncle Qingshan coughed twice, interrupting Su Yuezhen's next words. Even if he felt he could completely control Qi Yuanhong, he couldn't embarrass him too much, after all, he would still have to live with his granddaughter in the future.
Su Yuezhen seemed to only just notice Qi Yuanhong's presence. She glared at Qi Yuanhong and said, "This is all your fault. If it weren't for your ex-wife causing such a big mess, I wouldn't have lost face in front of Chen Ying today."
Qi Yuanhong lowered his head and remained silent. The more Su Yuezhen looked at him, the more cowardly he seemed. She snorted heavily again and turned to Uncle Qingshan, saying, "Jiang Yu is lucky. She wasn't burned to death last time. This time, Grandfather, you must not fail."
These words surprised both Uncle Qingshan and Qi Yuanhong. Qi Yuanhong asked anxiously, "What do you mean by not burning her to death?"
"I told you you still have feelings for her." Su Yuezhen glared at him fiercely again, then explained to Uncle Qingshan.
"That day, my granddaughter went to find Jiang Yu to divorce her, but Jiang Yu not only did not cry and beg for forgiveness, but also humiliated my granddaughter many times. In the end, she even brought Song Yushu in front of me. She wanted to expose my shortcomings."
Finally, Jiang Yu demanded that this person return the money, totaling over ten thousand taels. I pawned my jewelry to get the money back. Grandfather, you don't know how utterly humiliated I felt. How could I let her live after that?
Qi Yuanhong was shocked once again. She did not expect Su Yuezhen to kill Jiang Yu. That was murder, but she talked about it so casually, as if Jiang Yu's life was not a human life at all, but the life of a cat or dog.
Uncle Qingshan wasn't shocked by her words, but nodded in agreement, saying, "That Jiang Yu was so arrogant, she certainly deserved to die. But how did you do it? How are you sure she's not dead yet?"
Uncle Qingshan still couldn't believe that posting notices in various bustling areas of the capital wasn't something a small-time merchant like Jiang Yu could do. It seemed simple, but the fact that he managed to do it without leaving a trace was definitely not simple.
He was more inclined to believe, or rather, to believe, that Jiang Yu was dead, but that others, having learned of this, were using it against him. He even suspected the person in question: the Marquis of Anling.
"Tell me in detail what happened?" Uncle Qingshan said.
Su Yuezhen found a stool and sat down next to Uncle Qingshan. She said, "I was really angry that day, so I asked Yang Tianfu, the son of my maid Yang, to stay and kill Jiang Yu. Then I set off for the county town and found an inn to rest."
But the next day, Yang Tianfu still hadn't returned, so I sent people to investigate. We learned that the Jiang family's house had been burned down, especially Jiang Yu's courtyard, which was reduced to ruins. However, Yang Tianfu had disappeared, and we heard that no burned body had been found in the Jiang family's house.
"What about Jiang Yu?" Uncle Qingshan asked.
Su Yuezhen: "It seems they've also disappeared."
The more Qingshanbo listened, the more suspicious things seemed, as if someone had deliberately set a trap for him. Qingshanbo lifted his eyelids to look at Qi Yuanhong standing there. He even suspected that Qi Yuanhong was also part of this trap, but that he had personally found him.
But what if Song Yushu is also part of the scheme? First, he might use Song Yushu to seduce Su Yuezhen, then their affair would be discovered. In that case, he would have to marry Su Yuezhen off as soon as possible. Would this year's top scholar be the best choice?
Thinking of this, Uncle Qingshan broke out in a cold sweat. If it was really as he thought, what was the real purpose of the person who set the trap? Who exactly was this person?
Marquis of Anling?
Or is it the Chengen Marquis's family, the Empress's maternal home?
At this moment, Uncle Qingshan's mind was clear but he had no ideas. He said to Qi Yuanhong, "You can go down now."
"Yes." Qi Yuanhong bowed to the Earl of Qingshan, then walked out of the study with somewhat stiff legs.
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