Bang!
Chen Dachang slammed his fist on the table.
It's so infuriating!
He was angry at himself for being careless and letting Su Wenzhi take advantage of him.
At the beginning, Su Wenzhi clearly had no desire to die, so she was willing to cooperate and confess everything.
It was not until he asked where the poison came from that Su Wenzhi suddenly made up her mind to die.
He bit the poison sac without hesitation. If Chen Dachang had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed how determined he was to die.
She would rather die than reveal the origin of the poison. It seems that the person who gave her the poison is not an ordinary person.
"Father-in-law, do you want to investigate further?"
"Investigate, of course we have to." Chen Dachang was furious. He was tricked by Su Wenzhi and was furious.
"But almost everyone around Su Wenzhi is dead. Where should we start investigating this matter?" The subordinate told the truth.
If you want to investigate, you must have a target to start with.
Almost all of Su Wenzhi’s people are dead, so who should I look for to investigate?
Chen Dachang frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Send this information to the capital. Let them worry about how to investigate next and where to start. The Jinwu Guards have arrested so many people related to Su Wenzhi, so they must have confessions. Maybe there will be clues in them."
"I obey your command!"
Two people came in and carried Su Wenzhi's body away.
Chen Dachang was in a depressed mood and drank to relieve his sorrow.
The prohibition on alcohol is almost useless in the Jiangnan area.
With the disaster situation easing, this year should be a year of good weather and a good harvest.
With enough food, the government in the south of the Yangtze River simply turned a blind eye to gatherings for banquets.
"Father-in-law, something terrible has happened!"
"What's the rush?" Chen Dachang looked at his subordinates with dissatisfaction.
The subordinate was sweating profusely. "Sir, the secret agents outside Madam Jiang's residence have all been withdrawn at some point."
"What? Are you sure all the secret agents have been withdrawn?"
"I personally checked, and all four secret agents have been removed."
"When did it happen?" Chen Dachang asked anxiously.
"I'm still investigating. It should have happened in the last two or three days."
Chen Dachang was furious. "Ridiculous! The secret agent was withdrawn, and you didn't even notice it immediately. What are you doing?"
The subordinates dared not argue and could only bow their heads and accept the scolding.
Chen Dachang snorted coldly and asked sternly, "Where is Jiang Yan? Is she still here?"
"I have arranged for people to cordon off the yard, but I haven't sent anyone in to check yet."
Chen Dachang didn't dare to delay, so Su Wenzhi's matter had to be put aside for the time being.
He took his men and hurried to the house where Jiang Yan lived.
Bang!
The door was kicked open.
The yard was quiet, and there was not even a gatekeeper.
Chen Dachang immediately had a bad feeling.
He rushed into the inner courtyard in one breath.
The houses in the inner courtyard were in a mess.
Silks, satins and jewellery were scattered all over the floor.
But there is no silver.
"Father-in-law, a body was found here."
In the side room, two maids were lying dead on the ground, their lips were purple, and it seemed that they died of poisoning.
"Father-in-law, we found someone alive."
“Bring it here!”
A fire-making maid was brought up with a pale face.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I didn't see anything, I don't know anything."
Chen Dachang signaled with his eyes, and his subordinates took action for him, forcing the maid who was stoking the fire to calm down.
Chen Dachang asked, "What happened?"
"Slave, slave..."
"Talk nicely and I'll spare your life. Otherwise..."
"I said it, I said it. I didn't see what happened with my own eyes, I just heard the noise. When I came out to check, the people were gone, and the nanny was dead too. Woo woo..."
"When did this happen?"
"Yes, it was yesterday evening, when it was getting dark."
"Why didn't you leave after what happened yesterday?"
"I am an orphan. I don't know where to go if I leave here."
"There are so many silks and jewels in the house, haven't you ever thought about them?"
"I've thought about it, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid I can't keep those things, and I'm afraid I'll be killed if I go out."
She looks dull, but she is actually a smart girl.
She understood the principle that it is a crime to possess a treasure.
Chen Dachang asked again, "Where is your wife Jiang? Do you know why she disappeared and where she went?"
The fire maid hesitated for a moment, "Yesterday morning, Madam Jiang took Yuanyuan out to burn incense. The kitchen only prepared a few simple meals at noon, so Madam Jiang must not have returned at noon. When it was time for dinner, something happened. I haven't seen Madam Jiang since yesterday morning."
"So, Madam Jiang ran away secretly with the child early yesterday morning."
"I don't know anything."
Chen Dachang was extremely angry.
Several subordinates lowered their heads in fear.
Jiang Yan disappeared yesterday, and they didn't find out until today. This was obviously a big oversight.
Chen Dachang snorted coldly, "It's obvious that Jiang Yan was the first to discover that the secret agent had been withdrawn. It's even possible that she was taken away by the secret agent, but this possibility is very small and can be ignored for now. We prefer to believe that after Jiang Yan discovered that the secret agent had been withdrawn, she used the excuse of burning incense to secretly escape with the child."
Chen Dachang pointed at the two bodies in the side room.
"According to our family's understanding, those two maids were sent by Zhou Jin to guard Jiang Yan. They were considered Zhou Jin's confidants. If it was a secret agent who took Jiang Yan away, there would be no reason to poison the two maids."
"I'm incompetent! I didn't even notice the incident immediately."
Chen Dachang angrily said, "I told you to keep an eye on Jiang Yan, but nothing happened in years. You all relaxed your guard, thinking nothing would happen. But then she took advantage of your laxity and caused a major incident."
"Please punish me, sir."
"Find Jiang Yan and use your merits to atone for your crimes. Otherwise, our family will punish you severely."
"I obey your command!"
Chen Dachang searched the bedroom carefully again.
Jiang Yan's secret departure was obviously not a whim, but a plan she had long planned.
All the gold, silver and valuables were taken away, leaving only the cloth that was inconvenient to carry and the eye-catching jewelry.
There were also obviously fewer children's clothes.
What's the point of talking about burning incense? I'm afraid he had already thought about how to escape.
Obviously, Jiang Yan's agreement to cooperate was just a temporary measure.
Chen Dachang was puzzled as to why Zhou Jin had withdrawn his undercover agent. Had something happened? Or had he given up on Jiang Yan?
He suddenly asked, "Where is Eunuch Rong?"
"Reporting to the eunuch, Eunuch Rong should be in the public housing right now!"
"Come with us to see Eunuch Rong."
"I obey your command!"
Chen Dachang hurried to see Rong Xin.
After seeing the person, he didn't bother to exchange pleasantries and asked directly: "Did something happen to Zhou Jin?"
"Eunuch Chen is very well-informed. We just found out about it too."
"What is it?"
Rong Xin handed the letter to Chen Dachang, "News from the sea has just arrived. Zhou Jin has a grand banquet on the island. All the pirates operating nearby have gone."
"Zhou Jin has a son?"
"Yes! It seems that Zhou Jin intends to cultivate his son as his successor."
Chen Dachang shook his head. "No! If Zhou Jin intended to groom his son as his successor, he wouldn't have held a grand banquet. Instead, he should have hidden his son away from the public. He's holding a grand banquet now, clearly handing the evidence to his opponent. Catching Zhou Jin is difficult, but catching his son is easy. With one move, we can lure the tiger away from the mountain, and capture both mother and son."
"Eunuch Chen, are you saying this is Zhou Jin's maze?"
Chen Dachang nodded. "I'm afraid the true successor isn't on the island, but is being carefully cultivated somewhere in Jiangnan. I even suspect Zhou Jin's son is already quite old, old enough to go out to sea and gain experience."
The son on the island now is nothing more than a distraction to distract everyone. I'm afraid the grand banquet is a setup to help his son achieve success and become a leader."
Rong Xin was shocked. "My father-in-law, what you mean is that Zhou Jin is using one of his sons as bait to pave the way for his own son? Is he trying to take advantage of this opportunity to kill those visiting pirates? Isn't he afraid of incurring public outrage?"
Chen Dachang said, "We don't have to kill them all. We can kill one troublemaker and let his own son do it in front of everyone. His own son can then take this opportunity to step forward and gradually divide the power of Zhou Jin's generals.
A group of pirates, they only trust their fists. Trust is completely absent, and they can turn on each other and kill at any time. Former brothers can become enemies as often as not. No matter how close brothers are, they are never as close as sons. The trust between brothers is like a piece of paper, easily broken by a poke, and it is no match for the bond between a father and son.
After listening to this, Rong Xin sighed, "Zhou Jin is truly a hero."
"What kind of hero is this? He's just a pirate leader. Calling him a hero is clearly an insult to heroes!" Chen Dachang's face was full of sarcasm.
Rong Xin said, "It's a pity that Zhou Jin cannot be used by Madam."
Chen Dachang said, "How could a man like Zhou Jin be willing to be inferior to a woman? The ocean is a man's world. Zhou Jin hangs out with men, so naturally he can't accept the conditions offered by Madam. Madam, give up the offer and adopt the strategy of driving away the wolf and devouring the tiger. This is the best strategy."
Rong Xin asked, "How did the eunuch get the news about Zhou Jin?"
Chen Dachang spoke frankly, Rong Xin would know it sooner or later anyway.
He did not cover up for his subordinates, "The secret agent withdrew, and Jiang Yan ran away secretly with the child. Our people were careless and failed to discover it in the first time.
We speculated that the sudden removal of the secret agent must be due to something going on with Zhou Jin. Sure enough, Zhou Jin used his son to cause trouble.
"We even suspect that Jiang Yan knew Zhou Jin had a biological son long ago, and even guessed that Zhou Jin was planning to abandon her. That's why she made preparations so early, and as soon as the secret agents were withdrawn, she took the child and ran away."
Rong Xin frowned. He hadn't expected Jiang Yan to actually run away. His plan to use Jiang Nan to capture Zhou Jin had officially failed.
Jiang Yan, this woman, is indeed cunning.
He asked Chen Dachang, "Where do you think Jiang Yan will flee to, Eunuch Chen?"
Chen Dachang said, "Our initial guess is that she might return to her hometown in the northwest, or she might go to the capital. There's only a very small chance that she'll continue south to Lingnan."
Rong Xin had a different idea. "Why is that? On what basis did Eunuch Chen conclude that Jiang Yan would not go to Lingnan, but would instead choose to go north? You know, many people in the capital know her. If she returns to the capital, she's walking into a trap. And she has a child with her. She should choose a place away from trouble to hide and wait out the storm."
Chen Dachang said in a resounding voice: "Because she has a grudge! Because she knows someone in the capital! Our family has carefully studied Jiang Yan's life. This woman is a typical gambler.
Back then, she had been a maidservant to Madam Zhao. Relying on her outstanding beauty, she refused to be inferior to others and was determined to climb up the social ladder. Madam Zhao gave her an opportunity, and she seized it without hesitation. Coming from the northwest to the capital, she was taking a gamble, a gamble on her life.
After entering the palace, she was juggling between Concubine Xue and Concubine Li De, which was also a gamble. Even choosing to be with Zhou Jin was also a gamble. She was a complete gambler. Gamblers can never quit gambling. So it is very likely that she would choose to go to Beijing and gamble with her life.
Rong Xin frowned and thought for a moment. "I will write a letter to the capital to tell them the truth. I believe there will be news soon about whether Jiang Yan went to the capital."
Chen Dachang said confidently, "We are 70% sure that this woman went to the capital. As for her child, she may have been taken to the capital, or she may have been fostered in Jiangnan."
Rong Xin asked, "Eunuch Chen has had several interactions with Jiang Yan. How much do you think she cares about that child?"
Chen Dachang didn't hesitate at all. "The person she cares about most is always herself. She can sacrifice her children for herself."
Jiang Yan is such a cruel woman.
Chen Dachang added, "The child was born to her and the pirates. This child can't bring her any security. She may have already hated this child."
Rong Xin nodded and said, "I will send more people to track down Jiang Yan's child. It is possible that the child is really being fostered in someone's home."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
