The outer residence of Governor Cheng was heavily guarded. Lu Jin had been waiting outside the residence for so many days but had not been able to see Liang Wushuang. Why did Liang Wushuang know about Lu Jin's accident as soon as he got into trouble?
Lu Jin said that the Liang family originally sold soy milk in Taoxi Lane. How did she know that Li Xiu had a childhood sweetheart who worked in the Jiaofangsi?
The carriage drove out of the alley, passed through the lanes, and stopped outside the Annan Marquis Mansion. The doorman recognized Yu Qizhe and hurriedly led him into the mansion.
Gu Yun had been with Liu Ziqi the entire afternoon and had just returned home and was now having dinner.
Seeing Yu Qizhe coming over, he asked the servants to clear away the dishes. He rinsed his mouth, wiped the corners of his lips with a handkerchief, sat down on the chair with Yu Qizhe, and asked, "What happened again?"
"Did the people sent by the young marquis to investigate Li Xu's family bring back any news?" Yu Qizhe asked.
Gu Yun had someone pour tea and shook his head, saying, "Li Xu's family is dwindling. His mother, Li, died of illness not long ago. Li Xu has never married, and none of his relatives are in the capital. It is no longer feasible to get information from Li Xu's family."
"Li Xiu has a childhood sweetheart in the Jiaofangsi, her name is Su Zhen. Can Young Marquis Gu find a way to get Su Zhen out of the Jiaofangsi?"
"How do you know?" Gu Yun raised his eyebrows slightly.
The maid brought in the brewed hot tea and poured a cup for both of them. Yu Qizhe's face was obscured by the mist. Yu Qizhe didn't want to involve Liang Wushuang right away. After all, she was Cheng Ying's person. Although there was nothing between her and Lu Jin, if it got out, it would be detrimental to Liang Wushuang's reputation.
He lowered his eyes and said expressionlessly, "I have my own way after all."
Gu Yun stared at his face with a probing look in his eyes, and he felt that this man was becoming increasingly difficult for him to understand.
"Mr. Yu Wu is so powerful. I underestimated you in the past." Gu Yun snorted.
Hearing his misunderstanding, Yu Qizhe did not explain, but picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.
He didn't believe that this man had no one to help him. Gu Yun narrowed his eyes and thought, then shouted outside the house, "Seventeen."
Seventeen heard the voice and entered the room, standing respectfully in front of Gu Yun, "Master, what do you want?"
Gu Yun said, "Take my badge and go to the Jiaofangsi to find a woman named Su Zhen and bring her back to your house."
Seventeen nodded and left.
Gu Yun thought for a moment and said, "Li Xu from the Dali Temple has not confessed anything yet. I have sent people to keep an eye on the officials from the Ministry of Revenue who are in charge of the transfer of government silver, but no news has been sent back yet."
Although he didn't like Yu Qizhe, they had already worked together. He said, "I'll have someone inform you as soon as I have any news."
Yu Qizhe also looked up at Gu Yun and said slowly, "I have guessed two candidates in my mind. The embezzlement of official silver must be related to the people who handled it. The purpose of the person who set up the trap should be on these two adults."
"Who?" Gu Yun looked serious.
Yu Qizhe dipped his finger in tea and wrote down the identities of the two people on the table. Gu Yun looked at it for a while. Yu Qizhe's guess was the same as what Ziqi saw.
He stayed in Liu Ge Lao's house for an entire afternoon. Zi Qi speculated that if Li Xiu was a chess piece thrown out, then the person he gave up was most likely one of these two people.
Although Zi Qi did not hold an office in the court, he was the son of the Liu family and was taught by Lord Liu. He knew the situation in the court very well. He also had a very smart mind and was extremely intelligent.
But why could Yu Qizhe also guess about these two people?
Gu Yun looked at Yu Qizhe. The edges of this man's face were still immature, and his brows were sharp between that of a teenager and an adult, but his temperament was calm and mature beyond his years.
The candle covered with yellow crepe made a crackling sound, and the dancing light and shadow shone on Yu Qizhe's handsome face. Gu Yun felt for no reason that the expression on this man's face was somewhat unfathomable.
The maid removed the yellow crepe lampshade, trimmed the wick, and quietly stepped aside.
Gu Yun sat back in his chair and said, "These two are indeed not members of the Shen Party. The Minister of Revenue Qin Huaiyuan is a student of Liu Ci Fu. He is an honest official. Although he has a lucrative position in the Ministry of Revenue, he has always been honest and not mean. Even though he is a second-rank official, his family still lives in a small house in the outer city. He has to travel for an hour every morning for the court, but Lord Qin is reluctant to even ride in a carriage. He has been like this for more than ten years. He is really a rare good official."
Gu Yun often went to and fro at Liu Ci Fu's residence, and had met Qin Huaiyuan several times when he went to discuss matters with Liu Ge Lao. Even Liu Ge Lao joked that he would give Qin Huaiyuan a carriage, fearing that Qin Huaiyuan would get frozen legs and feet if he kept running around like this in the winter when he was older.
Qin Huaiyuan was wearing the official uniform that he had worn for many years, and the cuffs were worn out with white edges. He smiled and shook his head to refuse.
Such an honest person would naturally not go along with the treacherous party. He also occupied such a lucrative job as the Ministry of Revenue, so he was regarded as a thorn in the side by the Shen Party, and it was very likely that he would be eliminated as soon as possible.
Gu Yun paused and talked about another person. "Minister of Works Xu Youzhi is a man who hates evil and is upright and stubborn. He has offended many people. He is neither in league with evil people nor close to the upright people in the court. Some time ago, something happened in Xuanfu. Shen Tian wanted to nominate his people to take over the military power of Xuanfu. Xu Youzhi directly rebuked them in the court with fierce words, which prevented this matter. It was a slap in Shen Tian's face. It is possible that some people hold a grudge against him and want to frame him."
The wet water marks on the table were so mottled that the words could no longer be discerned.
"Lord Liu has already reminded Qin Huaiyuan to be more careful these days." Gu Yun stood up and walked to the bookshelf beside him, and continued, "Xu Youzhi and I have never met before. It would be a bit too much to come to his house and talk about these things. Besides, these are just speculations. Xu Youzhi may not appreciate it with his personality."
Holding the chessboard, Gu Yun returned to his chair and sat down. He looked at Yu Qizhe and asked, "I have an endgame here. Would you like to try it?"
Yu Qizhe did not comment.
Gu Yun placed the chessboard on the table. He usually loved to play chess, but his chess skills were average. It is said that playing chess can best reveal the depth of a person's mind, so Gu Yun wanted to test the person in front of him.
He picked up the black and white chess pieces and set up a game endgame. He handed the jade basket containing the white pieces to Yu Qizhe and looked at him leisurely.
Old Marquis Gu is a chess expert, and Liu Ziqi is even more skilled. This endgame was played by the two of them last year while watching the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival. The black and white chess pieces restrained each other and were both in trouble. There was no way to break the situation, and a single move could affect the entire game.
This endgame had been kept in the room of old Marquis Gu, who had studied it for a long time. Gu Yun could see it every day when he went to pay his respects. Although he was not very interested in playing chess, he memorized the endgame in his mind, so it was very easy for him to reproduce it.
Yu Qizhe took the white chess basket, placed it on the table, and lowered his eyes to look at the chessboard.
The white and black pieces are in a tight stalemate on the board. It seems that the black pieces are attacking fiercely, ambushing and killing at every step to seize the advantage of the initiative, while the white pieces are retreating gently, but in fact they are setting traps everywhere and laying snares in every move, and each step contains hidden meanings.
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