A ruthless glint flashed in Jian Hong's eyes.
"Don't worry, A-Yang, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."
He would not wrong an innocent person, but he would never let any villain who wanted to harm his sister go unpunished.
So, starting the next day, Jian Hong moved back to the General's Mansion.
He claimed he wanted to show filial piety to Prime Minister Jian, but in reality, he wanted to monitor Wang's whereabouts.
Prime Minister Jian had been feigning illness, but when his son, who was eager to move out, returned on his own initiative, he guessed that the son must have some purpose or plan.
However, Jian Hong refused to utter a single word, leaving Prime Minister Jian helpless.
Although Wang was very puzzled and curious about Jian Hong's behavior, she did not dare to ask.
Compared to Prime Minister Jian, she was actually more afraid of the eldest son of the Jian family, who had been through countless deaths.
So she greeted them with a smile and served them well every day, afraid that something might go wrong.
The peaceful days continued until the night of the third day.
Jian Hong's hidden guard, who had been planted in the Wang family's courtyard, rushed over to report: "General, there's movement in the west courtyard!"
"Understood, you may leave." Jian Hong finished speaking, put down the military treatise in his hand, and vanished into the darkness in an instant.
At this moment, Lady Wang had already put on a black hooded cloak and walked out of the back gate of the Prime Minister's residence, where a carriage was parked.
"Madam, please." The coachman respectfully helped Madam Wang into the carriage.
Jian Hong narrowed his eyes. This was definitely not the Prime Minister's carriage, and he had never seen the coachman before.
After the carriage had traveled some distance, Jian Hong leaped down from the rooftop, like a lithe black panther, chasing closely behind the carriage at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
If nothing unexpected happens, he will uncover the secret behind Wang's late departure from the mansion.
By this time, curfew had been in effect, and the carriages dared not swagger onto the streets, so they traveled through alleys and lanes.
Since it wasn't a main road, the carriage slowed down, greatly reducing the difficulty for Jian Hong to track him.
But to his utter surprise, as he turned a corner at the alley ahead, four identical carriages suddenly appeared on the road.
Jian Hong was greatly surprised.
He guessed that the other party had probably already figured out that the carriage was being followed, so they sent out three more carriages to confuse him.
After a brief moment of shock, Jian Hong quickly regained his composure.
Even if the carriage and the horses look the same, the drivers will certainly be different.
If he wasn't mistaken, the four carriages would soon part ways and head in different directions.
Sure enough, the four carriages suddenly scattered and ran off in four different directions.
Fortunately, he had already identified the coachman who was picking up Wang Shi, and he followed him without hesitation.
The carriage wandered back and forth through the alleys of the imperial city for a long time before finally stopping in front of an ordinary-looking house.
Hiding not far away, Jian Hong concealed his figure and presence, preparing to trap them like turtles in a jar.
The courtyard of a private residence was opened from the inside, and an elderly woman, about the same age as the driver, waved to him and asked, "Why are you so late coming back tonight?"
The driver laughed and said, "I got a big job today, so I'm back late."
As he spoke, he drove the carriage into the courtyard.
"How big of a job is it?" the old woman couldn't help but ask.
The coachman replied earnestly, "When I was about to finish my work and go home in the evening, a richly dressed young man suddenly stopped my carriage and asked me to run to the back gate of the Prime Minister's residence to pick up a lady. When I got to Xici Hutong, he asked me to drop off the lady and finally gave me ten taels of silver."
"My God!" The old woman covered her mouth in excitement.
Ten taels of silver would have been enough for their family to live on for a year, but she never expected that her husband would earn so much money in just one night. Naturally, she was overjoyed.
The couple tied up their horses in the yard and happily went inside to count their money.
Jian Hong, who saw all this through the crack in the door, looked extremely solemn.
He refused to believe he had been tricked, so he leaped into the courtyard and thoroughly inspected the carriage inside and out. He had no choice but to accept the reality.
He had indeed lost track of Wang.
Jian Hong returned to the general's mansion with a face full of guilt.
Jian Yang was just getting ready to go to sleep.
She had just lain down when she heard a knock on the door.
"Ayang, may I come in?" Jian Hong asked.
Jian Yang quickly sat up, put on an outer garment, and then ran to open the door.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Seeing Jian Hong's dejected look, she guessed that he must have encountered something bad.
"Ah Yang, I'm sorry, I messed this up," Jian Hong said regretfully.
Jian Yang was completely baffled and asked in confusion, "What are you referring to, brother?"
Jian Hong told her about how he lost track of Wang Shi.
This must have been a huge blow to him; Jian Yang had never seen such an expression on her brother's face before.
So she comforted him, saying, "Brother, this is really not your fault. It can only be said that the other party is too cunning. I even think that no matter whether you follow Wang Shi tonight or not, when you get to that alley, there will still be three other carriages."
Her words finally comforted Jian Hong a little. He raised his hand and ruffled her hair, smiling, "Go to sleep. Brother won't give up. We'll continue our investigation."
Jian Yang grabbed his sleeve and said seriously, "Brother, let's put this matter aside for now. I'm more worried about Father's safety than myself."
Jian Hong's eyes trembled: "You mean, Wang Shi will also target Father?"
Jian Yang said seriously, "It's hard to say, but in any case, we have to remind Father."
"Alright, I will return to the Prime Minister's residence tomorrow and inform Father of this matter."
Jian Hong originally planned to go there himself to tell his father what had happened that night, but to his surprise, his father came to his general's mansion early the next morning.
"Where is your sister?" Prime Minister Jian looked around the room, seeing that only his son was eating breakfast.
Jian Hong said calmly, "Ayang hasn't woken up yet."
"It's already high in the sky and she's still sleeping!" Prime Minister Jian said with exasperation. "Could it be that this girl doesn't want to be Empress because she's afraid of getting up early?"
“How could that be?” Jian Hong naturally defended his sister. “A-Yang usually gets up very early, but she stayed up late last night because she was helping me with official business.”
Prime Minister Jian looked at him with suspicion. "Can she really handle official business like that?"
“Why not? I used to manage the imperial harem!” Jian Yang’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.
The people in the general's mansion were all Jian Hong's confidants, and they were only loyal to him, so Jian Yang was not afraid of others overhearing.
Prime Minister Jian turned around and saw that she looked like she had just gotten out of bed without washing up. He shook his head and said, "When will you ever be able to give your father a break?"
Jian Yang pursed her lips, thinking to herself that this cheap father was really acting like a father today, coming to lecture her first thing in the morning.
"Instead of worrying about his daughter, Father should worry about the woman beside him."
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