Chapter 158 Second Aunt and Ying'er are not the kind of people who believe everything they hear
When Liu Xianling arrived at the academy, it was already late at night.
He did not take the county government's carriage. After receiving the letter from his teacher, he brought two personal attendants and rode here with the messenger.
The servants of the academy seemed to have been waiting for a long time. As soon as he got off his horse, the door was already opened.
"Master Liu!"
Liu Xianling nodded, but did not enter the academy immediately.
As he turned to hand the whip to his attendant, he caught a glimpse of two horses snorting on the hitching stone beside the courtyard gate. Although it was night, one of them had a mane like satin under the moonlight, and its head was raised high, and it was half a head taller than the other.
He withdrew his gaze and quickly followed the servant to the front hall. As expected, besides the two elders of the Rong family, there was also a young man he had never met.
"Teacher, Master's wife."
He lifted his coat to salute and stood up. At this moment, the young man beside him also stood up and bowed in greeting.
"Sir Liu, I am Du Heng, Madam Du's nephew."
Liu Xianling paused; the name sounded familiar. But now wasn't the time for small talk; finding someone was more important. He returned the greeting and said, "Teacher, if Lanruo were here, I wouldn't let you and your wife sit around in boredom until dawn. Young Master Du and I will be here. I'll have someone escort you two back to your rooms."
Mr. Rong seemed about to speak again, but Du Heng beside him advised, "While in Beijing, Cousin Ying'er was most concerned about your health. Now that Lord Liu has arrived, I will convey all you have just said. It is late at night, and the dew is heavy. Please return to your rooms and rest. We will bring back Second Aunt and Ying'er. They will be relieved to see that you are well and in good spirits."
What the old man longed for most, naturally, was the safe return of his daughter and granddaughter. Du Heng's words were like a reassurance. He didn't discuss countermeasures, but simply said to bring Ruolan and Ying'er back.
If he insisted on staying, it would seem like a bad omen. Mr. Rong no longer insisted, and now he needed to rest up enough to wait until they returned.
He sighed slowly, and clasped Du Heng's hands tightly, as if entrusting them with something. He then said to the two of them, "We are from the academy, and you can command us at your command."
…
"So Ruolan,"
Liu Xianling listened to Du Heng's retelling and pondered for a moment before speaking. But when he called out Rong's name, he realized something was wrong and changed his words, "Did Madam Du and Ying'er leave with the woman they rescued along the way?"
Du Heng did not notice the change in his address. Since entering the academy, his mind has been entirely focused on finding Ying'er and Second Aunt.
"According to the servants' recollections, after they brought the woman back to the academy, Second Aunt only had the servants around her stay in the guest room to take care of her. No one else knows what they said to the woman."
"I just heard from the servants outside the courtyard that Second Aunt had instructed someone to prepare a carriage to send the person away tomorrow. So I guess something unexpected must have happened along the way, causing Second Aunt to change her mind."
Du Heng's brows furrowed as he spoke. Second Aunt hadn't been home in years and had little contact with the local area. Ying'er, on the other hand, had almost nothing to do with outsiders except for the troubles at the Su Mansion.
"Second Aunt and Ying'er aren't the type to believe everything they hear. That woman must have said or done something to change Second Aunt and the others' minds, even though they originally didn't want to get involved in gossip."
Liu Xianling deeply agreed with Du Heng's analysis. Now that Ruolan had returned, he felt she had changed a lot.
She became cautious and less talkative, but her heartfelt kindness could not mask her true nature. Simply to protect herself, she chose to go back to her own way after rescuing the stranger.
It's unusual for them to be traveling together, so that woman must be the key.
Du Heng saw his expression change slightly, so he continued: "According to the servant who opened the gate, the woman was wearing gaudy and frivolous clothes, with a gold hairpin in her hair. If she was a girl from an ordinary family, Second Aunt and the others would not have let her go the next day. They saved her and made a clear decision. It can only be..."
Before he finished speaking, Liu Xianling suddenly realized something and said, "I think I know what made them not think too much and voluntarily come along."
"Please explain clearly, Master Liu!"
Du Heng spoke anxiously. He was eager to know what could have made the kind-hearted Ying'er follow someone so recklessly.
Liu Xianling looked solemn as he told Rong about the things he had been asked to investigate, as well as what he had found out so far.
"Lord Liu."
Du Heng's brows furrowed even more after hearing this. He bowed and said, "I'm sorry to say this. You've clearly alerted the enemy by sending people to check the household registration of the Lin family and others."
Liu Xianling was puzzled and slightly stunned.
Du Heng said solemnly, "To be able to tamper with the household registration so easily and go undetected for so many years, it must have been done by someone in the government office. This is all too coincidental, like a series of unexpected events."
"As you said, Second Aunt was trying to embarrass Lin and found out the details of her good name and documents, and then asked you to help investigate. You not only checked the household registration, but also Wei Liang and the village where Lin came from. This was a huge commotion."
"Also, there's another coincidence!" Du Heng said solemnly, "Ying'er's father had just left when the woman was rescued. If I hadn't happened to arrive today, only you, Lord Liu, could have helped."
"No matter how you look at it, this looks like a trap set up after they calculated that Mr. Rong was out of reach!"
After hearing this, Liu Xianling closed his eyes heavily. The remnants of the previous county magistrate had not been cleared up, and he had been cleaning up for many years, but there were still omissions.
Du Heng saw the regret on his face, so he bowed again and said apologetically, "Please forgive my rudeness. I am just very worried."
Before he could finish his words, Liu Xianling raised his hand to stop him and said sternly, "Mr. Du is absolutely right. It was my negligence."
He changed the subject, "To be honest, although Yueqing isn't under my jurisdiction, I've still sent people to secretly track Wei Liang's movements. He does have a private residence he frequents. But if this is really a setup, would they hide him there?"
Liu Xianling's question left Du Heng silent for a moment. If they were setting an ambush, why would they hide someone in a mansion owned by someone else? If they guessed right, wouldn't they be able to catch them all?
But if we don't check, we're afraid that they've figured out people's minds and deliberately hidden people there.
It is absolutely forbidden to trespass without permission. If you want to ask the Yueqing government office for help, you must have solid evidence.
The two were just contemplating their dilemma when a servant came hurriedly in with the news: "Young Master Yuan wants to see you! He said that if the master has rested, he would also like to see Madam Du."
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