The guard turned pale, knowing that he had let the person go because of his negligence. He said timidly, "It was about 3:30 in the morning. After entering the city, it seemed to be heading west. The woman in the car said she was Huang Tongzhi's sister. She went back to Jiaxing to visit Huang Tongzhi's family. I think the girl in the painting looks very similar to one of Huang's maids."
Yun Xiao said, "I have already asked the governor Huang Tong, and his sister Huang died of illness after getting married at an early age."
Yu Qizhe frowned, his face gloomy: "Then seal the city. As long as she is inside the city, we will turn Jiaxing city upside down to find her."
The guard was frightened by his fierce aura and trembled as he said, "But the letter in the woman's hand is indeed from Prefect Huang Tong, and it has the seal of the prefecture on it."
The prefect of Jiaxing said hurriedly, "The seal of Huang Tongzhi was lost a few years ago. It was said that the servants in the family were dishonest. Later, they specially carved a Huangtian seal. The letter in the hands of the group of people entering the city might have used the seal that Huang Tongzhi lost."
Yu Qizhe stared at the Jiaxing prefect indifferently for a while, until he broke out in a cold sweat. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said, "I will have people seal off the city and search the city carefully for Madam Yu's traces."
Yu Qizhe nodded slightly. After the Jiaxing prefect left, he asked the city gate guard, "When you saw her entering the city this morning, was she being held hostage?"
The guard hurriedly shook his head and said, "Madam is outside Huang's carriage with the maids."
After waving his hand to let the guards leave, Yu Qizhe stared at Yunxiao with a cold look in his peach blossom eyes. He said, "The prefect of Jiaxing cannot be trusted. I'm afraid that Huang Tongzhi is also suspicious."
Yunxiao deeply agreed. He had already been to Huang Tongzhi's house in person. Although Huang Tongzhi behaved flawlessly, he seemed very unnatural, as if he had expected him to go there and had already thought of the words he said.
"Then sir, what should we do?" Yunxiao asked.
Yu Qizhe tapped the mutton-fat jade on his waist with his knuckles. It felt like a huge rock had fallen on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.
There is a reason why pirates are so rampant in Jiaxing. I'm afraid that the place is rotten from the root, with officials and bandits colluding with each other and becoming more and more arrogant.
No wonder Cheng Ying would consider this place as his last resort.
"Bai Lu, go out of the city to Linjiang Prefecture and borrow the soldiers from Linjiang Prefecture to come to Jiaxing." Yu Qizhe had calculated that the only military force that could be mobilized nearby was Linjiang Prefecture. It took a day's journey by fast horse from here to Linjiang Prefecture, and this was the nearest force.
Bai Lu took the token from Yu Qizhe's hand and said, "Okay." Then he rode out of the city on a fast horse.
"Take your men to search secretly in the west of the city and avoid the people from the Jiaxing government office." Yu Qizhe said to Yunxiao again.
Yunxiao followed the plan and took several other secret guards to the west of the city.
Jianjia saw that everyone had something to do. She knew that her martial arts skills were not good enough, but she still couldn't help but asked, "Sir, what can I do?"
Yu Qizhe said, "Go and find out if Huang Tongzhi's sister really died of illness."
After Jianjia left, Yu Qizhe went to a clothing store to buy a set of fancy clothes, put on a little disguise, and went to the largest gambling house in the city.
Anyone who can run a gambling house in a place like Jiaxing where all kinds of people mix together must have a backer. And gambling houses are always filled with all kinds of people, so if you want to get news about pirates, this is the place that is most informed.
Yu Qizhe hung out in the gambling house for half a day and got to know a lot of information. He also targeted a man who had lost a lot of money.
Because after the man lost all his money, what he bet on the gambling table were extremely precious imported items such as ivory.
Yu Qizhe sat down at the gambling table and deliberately lost several hundred taels of silver to the man. Because he was decisive and willing to accept defeat, the man was beaming with joy, his original depressed look gone, and he soon became friends with Yu Qizhe.
The man's name was Lu Ren. When he heard Yu Qizhe praising his good luck in gambling, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. On a whim, he waved his hand and wanted to take Yu Qizhe out for a drink.
Yu Qizhe wanted it more than ever and agreed with great pain.
The two of them went to the restaurant, and while they were drinking, Yu Qizhe said, "Brother Lu, to be honest, my family is a merchant. I came here from Qingzhou because I heard that we can get good things from overseas. Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with Jiaxing and don't have any connections. Just now in the gambling house, I saw Brother Lu's first move was ivory. I wonder if Brother Lu has any connections?"
Lu Ren drank several bowls of wine happily. He smiled and said, "Brother, you have found the right person."
"What do you mean?"
"Just tell me what you want and I can get it for you, but the price..." Lu Ren rubbed his fingers.
Yu Qizhe: "The price is negotiable."
After another round of toasts, seeing that Lu Ren was already half drunk, Yu Qizhe tried to test him, "I heard that the goods we can get from the sea are from those heroes on the sea. I wonder which one Brother Lu is acquainted with? I want to do long-term business. Can Brother Lu introduce me to one or two?"
"Brother, you have good vision!" Lu Ren patted Yu Qizhe's shoulder, and even though he was drunk, he did not forget to lower his voice, "Let me tell you the truth, your brother Lu is from the sea."
"Really?" Yu Qizhe's eyes moved slightly, and he said calmly, "I heard that there is chaos on the sea, and there are several forces."
Lu Ren boasted, "The most influential person in Jiaxing is Hosokawa. The others are not as good as him. If it weren't for the leader's words that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind, the other two families would have been dealt with by us long ago."
Yu Qizhe glanced at the shoulder that Lu Ren had patted, suppressed his impatience, and continued: "Brother Lu, I feel relieved when you say that. I have been out for many days and I am anxious to return home. When will the goods be ready? The reputation of the hero Hosokawa is so loud, I think there should be goods in our Jiaxing city."
"Of course." Lu Ren was drunk. "I can get you the goods today, but I have to inform the manager."
Yu Qizhe took out a silver note of 1,000 taels and said, "This is the deposit. Thank you for your help, Brother Lu. I will stay at Laifu Inn."
Seeing the banknotes, Lu Ren's eyes lit up, and he stuffed the banknotes into his arms, promising, "Don't worry, brother. I'll go find the manager and deliver the goods to the inn later."
After Lu Ren staggered out of the restaurant, Yu Qizhe followed him quietly.
Based on the information he got from the gambling house, Yu Qizhe guessed that the Hosokawa pirates with muskets were Cheng Ying's reliance.
He entered Jiaxing City, and the place he settled in must have been the stronghold of the Hosokawa pirates.
That's why he had to discuss business with Lu Ren. Instead of searching the city like a headless fly, it would be better to go directly to the thieves' den. Besides, the officials and bandits in Jiaxing were colluding, so the so-called search was just a waste of effort.
As long as we find the Hosokawa pirates who are related to Cheng Ying and keep an eye on their movements, we will be able to find clues about Cheng Ying.
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