As Su Man expected, the stimulated Fang Junyi came to her again the next day.
Su Man gave him great comfort when he was at his most vulnerable. Coupled with the good impression that Xia Luoran had given him before, Fang Junyi wanted to discuss it with Su Man as soon as he got any news.
That night, Fang Junyi seemed to have regained his spirits. "You're right. There really is something fishy going on with Master Zhou."
Su Man's eyes lit up, "What did you find?"
"I sent someone to Pingchuan County to find out about Mr. Zhou's background and learned that he was not just an ordinary landlord, but an official who had taken off his official belt and returned home."
"Official...what kind of official was he before?"
"Governor of the Grand Canal."
Su Man was a little surprised to hear about this official title. "Since he has such a great background, how could he be an unknown squire in Pingchuan County?"
"I only heard that before he untied his belt, he seemed to have been demoted for some reason and wandered around in a foreign land for several years before finally settling down in Pingchuan County to live out his remaining years."
Besides, Pingchuan County is just a county town. As he deliberately concealed the truth, no one knew what he did before and they just thought he was an ordinary landlord.
River transport...
Youth City...
The reason why Qingyun City is called Qingyun City is because it is close to the Western Regions and close to the waterway, and many goods are transported here.
Since Mr. Zhou had served as the governor of the Grand Canal, even if he retired, a lean camel would still be bigger than a horse. He had been in charge of river transportation for many years and must have some connections.
Could it be that Fang Qingshan and Mr. Zhou have reached some kind of cooperation?
Upon learning of Master Zhou's identity, Fang Junyi's imagination exploded. "Do you think it's possible that Master Zhou, while managing the river transport, embezzled some treasure and is afraid of being discovered by the imperial court, so he's turning to my father for help?"
Su Man, who was lost in thought, said casually, "That makes sense."
Fang Junyi became more and more excited as he analyzed it. "No wonder Father was so nervous when he mentioned this. He must be worried that Master Zhou would be implicated if he didn't handle it well. It's just..."
He paused, "Even if we knew Mr. Zhou's background, we still wouldn't be able to find out about those things."
What Fang Junyi said makes sense. As an outsider, if you want to know the inside story, you need a breakthrough point.
Suddenly, Su Man thought of something, "What is the background of the concubine that Master Zhou took in this time?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Junyi scoffed, "What kind of background could that be? This Master Zhou is famous for his love of women. He's taking in a concubine every month, and he's doing it with such extravagance. After all these years, I wonder if his mansion is still big enough."
"I see."
Su Man's brows relaxed, "This Master Zhou must be using the opportunity of taking a concubine to deal in those hidden treasures."
After Su Man pointed it out, Fang Junyi understood, "Yes! That's why Ao Xi and the others got those stolen goods by mistake."
Seeing the progress, Fang Junyi was very excited and regarded Su Man as a mentor. "I knew that you were very smart and would definitely be able to figure out the trick."
Su Man smiled faintly, "If the Second Young Master hadn't found out Mr. Zhou's background, I would never have thought of this."
Fang Junyi was amused. "You have no idea how much effort I put into finding this out. The magistrate of Pingshan County hid his household registration so well that he even changed his name. If I hadn't had a close relationship with the magistrate, there would have been no way to find out."
"This is the Second Young Master's ability."
Su Man echoed a few times. Fortunately, she entered the Fang family by chance and got in touch with Fang Junyi. Otherwise, the connections in the government would not be accessible to ordinary people.
...
In the next seven or eight days, Fang Junyi would come to discuss with Su Man every other day.
However, the news was mixed with some true and some false, and many of them were smokescreens released by Mr. Zhou, so there was no progress for a while.
One day, Su Man, who was bored to death, was counting the floor tiles in the yard when a pair of boots suddenly came into his sight.
When she looked up, Fang Junye was looking at her with a smile, "Miss Xia."
Why is he here?
Su Man was suspicious. She bowed and said, "Master Fang."
Fang Junye looked around and asked, "Miss Xia, are you adapting to living here?"
Upon hearing this, Su Man's face immediately drooped. "I'm going to be bored to death if I stay here every day."
Seeing Su Man's lively expression and bright face wrinkled, Fang Junye couldn't help laughing, "Miss Xia, are you homesick?"
"It's okay to miss home, but it's mainly because it's too boring. I can only stay in a small place every day, which is boring to death."
Su Man gestured as she spoke, deliberately acting innocent.
She saw that Fang Junye had some feelings for Xia Luoran, so she begged Fang Junye, "My dear, can you please tell Chunyu and Dongyu to let me go out for a walk, even if it's just out of this yard."
"this..."
Fang Junye was a little hesitant. These days, Master Xia often sent people to ask about Xia Luoran. If he didn't let them meet, it would probably cause gossip, so Fang Qingshan asked him to come and test Su Man's attitude.
Seeing him struggling, Su Man simply took his arm and said, "Master, please, otherwise I will be suffocated sooner or later. My request is not high. I just want to go out for an hour every day, oh no, half an hour is enough, okay?"
After some thought, Fang Junye nodded. After all, Su Man was not a criminal. It would not be good if Master Xia knew about it.
"Okay, from now on, let Chunyu and Dongyu take you for a walk in the South Garden every day. You can't go anywhere far away."
The South Garden was not far from Su Man's residence, and there were few people around. With two maids accompanying her, there was no expectation that anything would go wrong.
"Thank you, Master. You are the best."
Su Man's eyes were filled with smiles, and Fang Junye couldn't help but smile when he saw her.
As the heir of the Fang family, he had to take every step carefully. Looking at Su Man's unrestrained and romantic look, he was also infected and agreed to this seemingly insignificant request.
When Fang Junye left, his steps were relaxed. Not only because he enjoyed spending time with Su Man, but also because Su Man didn't look like she had noticed anything. This made him and his father feel relieved.
-
Black Wind Village
"Have you found out the news?"
Ao Xi sat on the tiger-skin chair in the main hall, and the monkey who answered trembled, "I am incompetent. The Fang Mansion is heavily guarded, and our brothers can't get close."
"Crash"
The tea bowl in Ao Xi's hand broke. The monkey was afraid that his skull would be the next to break, so his knees softened and he knelt on the ground.
Bodhisattva, please come back soon! I haven’t finished what I prayed for last time!
Military Advisor Yuan, who was standing beside the monkey, took a step forward. His eyes were dark circles, and he looked funny no matter how you looked at him.
Looking at his masterpiece, Ao Xi felt a little relieved. He said with a forced smile, "When the military advisor sent Madam away, did he expect that she would be imprisoned in the Fang Mansion?"
Military Advisor Yuan knew he was in the wrong and said awkwardly, "I didn't expect that."
Fearing that Ao Xi would attack again, Military Advisor Yuan quickly said, "But I have a solution."
"This method will definitely allow me to see Miss Xia."
Ao Xi withdrew his hand and said, "Speak."
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