Chapter 209 Warm Heart
The man walked in confused, and seemed to be worried that the Chu family had bad intentions, so he didn't dare to get too close.
"Well, you guys are not doing anything bad, are you?"
Bai waved her hand and said, "Don't get me wrong, little brother. We caught a thief last night and were about to send him to the government office."
The man wondered, "Why would a thief be sent to the government office in a vegetable basket?"
"This... is a long story." Mrs. Bai clasped her hands together, thinking about how to say it, but Chu Yuxin, who was holding onto the hem of her skirt, had already spoken it in her little mouth.
He explained clearly how the thief broke into his house last night, how he caught the thief, and why he put the thief into the vegetable basket.
Mrs. Bai looked down at her daughter. She was so good at making up stories. Did she learn this on the stage?
"So that's how it is. To avoid causing other troubles, we really can't let the thief's accomplices see it." The man nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and didn't seem to doubt that Chu Yuxin was fooling him at all.
Chu Yuxin blinked at her mother and said, "Isn't your little girl awesome?"
Bai pursed her lips to suppress her laughter and raised her hand to touch her little head.
Seeing that Father Chu and Chu Shangming were struggling to lift the vegetable baskets, the man stuffed the wine jar into Bai's hands without saying a word and walked over to help.
It would be much easier for three people to lift it.
Father Chu smiled and said, "Thank you for your help, little brother. What's your name?"
"My last name is Xiao, Xiaoyue Xiao, and I'm the fifth child in my family. You can just call me Xiao Wu." Xiao Wu said, "What's your name, brother?"
"We're of different generations." Father Chu pointed at Chu Shangming and said, "You look about the same age as my son. Just call me Uncle Chu."
"Okay, Uncle Chu." Xiao Wu smiled, his smile was a bit naive, and he looked like a very honest young man.
Father Chu thought the young man was quite pleasing to the eye and said, "I saw the middleman bring someone to look at the shop yesterday. It didn't look like you, but was it your relative?"
"No, they're friends I met through business." Xiao Wu's mind flashed back to the middle-aged couple he had sent away with a banknote. "I was busy preparing the stock yesterday and couldn't leave, so I asked them to help me look after the shop. If they're suitable, I'll buy it and sell the wine."
"Selling wine?" Father Chu was surprised and looked at him. "There are many wine shops on these streets. It will take some effort to sell wine here."
"I know." Xiao Wu smiled, "I inquired about it before I bought the shop."
Father Chu was worried that he was being cheated by that friend. He thought that since he had just bought the shop and it hadn't opened yet, he could change to another business or sublet it. At most, he would have to give up a few taels of silver, which was better than losing all his capital if the business was bad in the future.
However, after hearing what Xiao Wu said, he knew that Xiao Wu had a plan in mind, so he said no more.
Xiao Wu looked at Chu Shangming and asked, "Is this Mr. Chu Shangming, the one who was granted admission to the Imperial Academy by His Majesty?"
Chu Shangming knew that word of his being rewarded by His Majesty had spread, and since Xiao Wu had taken over the shop, he naturally had to inquire about it first. It wasn't surprising that he knew about this. However, he rarely got called "sir," and it was something he wasn't used to.
He asked, "How old are you, Brother Xiao?"
Xiao Wu said, "Twenty-one."
Chu Shangming said, "I am nineteen. Brother Xiao, why don't you call me by my courtesy name, Deyin?"
"Okay." Xiao Wu was a straightforward person. "Don't call me Brother Xiao anymore. We're just neighbors. We'll spend a lot of time together. I'm older than you, so just call me Brother Wu."
Chu Shangming nodded.
Xiao Wu looked at Father Chu and said enthusiastically, "I have an acquaintance in the government office. Uncle, I will accompany you to the government office to settle this matter."
"I'm sorry to trouble you. You just moved here, so you must have a lot to do." Father Chu waved his hand, "Deyin will accompany me."
"Well, it's okay. I just need to go to the government office." Xiao Wu helped Father Chu harness the ox cart and said, "Deyin is a scholar. How can he compare to me in terms of strength in lifting and moving things?"
Father Chu wanted to refuse, but Xiao Wu said, "Uncle, please don't be so formal with me. It's fate that we can be neighbors. I'm new here and I don't know the neighbors well. When I'm too busy moving wine and delivering goods in the future, I'll have to ask you for help."
Having said that, the young man was very kind-hearted, and Father Chu was not a shy person. He nodded and said, "Okay, if you need any help in the future, just let me know."
"Hey!" Xiao Wu responded with a smile.
The two men drove an ox cart to the yamen. Bai tidied up the yard and opened the shop to do business.
In the restaurant selling braised pork diagonally across the street, two customers hurriedly paid and left with their packed braised pork.
By the time the restaurant owner's wife was looking for change, the two men had already disappeared. She glanced toward the street corner and asked curiously, "Why are they gone when they still haven't got the change?"
*
Posthouse.
The chief guard bowed and reported to the man on the bed, "Your Highness, the Chu family apprehended a thief last night and sent him to the Shuntian government office in an ox cart. I saw from afar that the thief was wearing the same clothes that Yao Zhou wore yesterday, and his figure was the same, so he must be Yao Zhou."
Wei Mingliang's face was gloomy.
Yao Zhou is quite skilled in martial arts, but he was caught when he was just investigating a grocery store. Could it be that there are hidden talents in such a small grocery store?
Something occurred to him, and he asked, "Besides you, is there anyone else watching around the grocery store?"
"There are no suspicious people around." The captain of the guards shook his head and asked, "Your Highness, Yao Zhou has been imprisoned in Shuntian Prefecture Prison. Should we send someone to rescue him immediately?"
"Yes." Wei Mingliang said, "Let the people from the merchant company redeem it."
The captain of the guards received the order and was about to inform the manager of the trading company when Wei Mingliang stopped him and asked, "How is the matter I asked you to inquire about?"
"In reply to your Highness, I have made careful inquiries and found that the grocery store is just doing ordinary business. Apart from the fact that the head of the household frequently goes out to deliver goods, there is nothing unusual going on."
Again nothing unusual.
Wei Ming felt guilty. There was clearly something wrong, so why couldn't he find out what it was?
He clenched his fist unconsciously, and only when he felt the pain from the wound did he slowly loosen his fist and let out a deep breath.
He said, "Tell the merchant to go to that street and buy a shop as close to the grocery store as possible."
The captain of the guards didn't understand why his Highness was so focused on a small grocery store. He had carefully observed it and found it to be a perfectly ordinary place. Why would he waste so much energy on it?
However, these doubts only lingered in his mind.
He thought to himself that this order came at an untimely moment. If His Highness had given the order two days earlier, the shop next to the grocery store would have been an excellent choice, but unfortunately it had been sold yesterday.
Wei Mingliang didn't know what he was thinking, so he ordered, "Please invite the princess over."
"As you wish." The captain of the guards turned and went out, telling the maid to ask the princess to come over while he contacted the trading company.
At the same time, Dali Temple.
In the duty room, the Grand Secretary and two Junior Secretaries sat opposite each other, all with worried looks on their faces, scratching their heads over the case of Prince Li.
Zuo Shaoqing said, "Sir, judging by the autopsy results, the Crown Prince was completely defenseless when he died. The murderer must be someone the Crown Prince knew. Why not investigate again?"
"We've already sent people to investigate everyone the Crown Prince had contact with after he arrived in Beijing. We've even sent people to question Princess Gaochang, and everyone can confirm they weren't at the inn when he died. The guards responsible for protecting the Crown Prince also claim they didn't see anyone suspicious."
The Dali Temple Minister sighed, "There are no new clues. Even if we investigate again, there will be no progress."
How did this trouble fall upon him?
The Dali Temple Minister was worried.
At this moment, a guard came in and reported: "Sir, the steward Zhao from the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery wants to see you."
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