Chapter 416: Old Man Hu's Testimony
Zhu Lan and his party arrived at Yang Zhubu's house and happened to meet Mrs. Yang who had just gone out.
Madam Yang looked a little anxious. After asking around, Zhu Lan and the others learned that Chief Yang had not returned home the previous night and Madam Yang was preparing to go to the Shaofu Supervisor's Office to look for him.
Upon learning that Yang Zhubu was not in the Shaofu Supervisor either, Madam Yang's body shook.
"Although he usually comes home late, he never stays out all night, could something have happened?
Ah Fei didn't come back last night, something must have happened... My Lords, please help me!"
Madam Yang was about to kneel down as she spoke, but Zhu Lan quickly stopped her.
"Madam, don't worry. This is the patrol officer from the Dali Temple. We will definitely help you find Yang Zhubu.
By the way, who is the Ah Fei that Madam just mentioned? "
"That's our new servant. He's very smart. Yesterday afternoon I asked him to go out and buy some things for me, but he hasn't come back yet."
Zhu Lan's expression changed, but before he could say anything, he heard an officer from the Dali Temple walking towards them from afar.
"Sir, we have new clues!"
The officer brought an elderly man who said his surname was Hu. He was responsible for registering strangers entering and leaving the Shaofujian every day.
When Old Man Hu saw Si Ying, he bowed and said:
"The inspector asked me earlier whether any outsiders entered the Shaofuguan yesterday, and I certainly didn't.
But there was indeed one person who tried to enter the Shaofujian."
"Who is it?" Si Ying asked immediately.
"I don't know the man's name, but he claims to be... a servant of Yang Zhubu's family."
Zhu Lan and Si Ying looked at each other, their expressions changed slightly, and then they heard Old Man Hu say:
"He came to see Yang Zhubu yesterday evening and said that there was an urgent matter at home, and Madam asked him to return home quickly."
Zhu Lan and the other person turned their gaze towards Madam Yang, who looked confused.
"I just asked Ah Fei to go out and buy something for me yesterday afternoon, and I haven't seen him since then. When did I ask him to go look for my husband?"
Si Ying asked Old Man Hu:
"What time was it when the servant came to the Shaofuguan yesterday?"
"About... a quarter past the hour of You."
At 1:00 p.m., Zhou Xiangrong should have just left the Shaofujian early and left the key to the treasury to Yang Zhubu.
Si Ying asked what happened next.
Old Man Hu recalled and said:
"The Imperial Household Department is an important place for the imperial court, so I naturally couldn't let a servant of his enter casually. But seeing that he looked really anxious, I went to ask Yang Zhubu to come out on his behalf.
Yang Zhubu met him and talked to him for a while, then left in a hurry with him.
Old Man Hu paused and added:
"Oh, by the way, he just left not long ago and came back in a hurry.
I guess he left something in the government office, so he went back to get it before leaving."
Zhu Lan found it a bit strange. "There was an emergency at home, but he went back to the Shaofujian?"
"That's right." Old man Hu nodded.
Si Ying thought for a long time but had no clue, so she asked Old Man Hu: "Did you feel anything unusual during this period? Tell me anything that you feel is wrong."
"There's nothing unusual about Chief Yang..."
Old man Hu frowned his gray eyebrows and thought hard for a long time.
"If there was anything, it was that the boy came to him with a wide-brimmed hat in his hand.
Later, when Yang Zhubu returned to the Shaofujian, he wore that wide-brimmed hat.
The old man was a little surprised at the time. After all, that kind of wide-brimmed hat was mostly used by warriors, and it was somewhat strange for Yang Zhubu, a scholar, to wear such a wide-brimmed hat.
But when I heard that he had an emergency at home, I didn’t stop him to ask more questions.”
Si Ying asked: "When did Yang Zhubu return to the Shaofujian, and how long did it take for him to come out?"
Old Man Hu replied, "The young man came to look for him at 15:00 on the twelfth hour. At that time, I called Yang Zhubu out. The two of them had just left for less than an incense stick of time when Yang Zhubu came back wearing his wide-brimmed hat.
At that time, several treasures were delivered to the Shaofujian. I was busy negotiating, and I didn't ask any more questions because I didn't want to delay Yang Zhubu's urgent business.
Later... after about a quarter of an hour, Yang Zhubu came out again and left the Shaofujian. "
Zhu Lan suddenly had an idea. "Master Yang was wearing that wide-brimmed hat. Did you see his face clearly?"
Old Man Hu was slightly stunned. "He lowered his head, so I couldn't see him clearly, but his attire and figure were definitely those of Yang Zhubu."
"Madam Yang, how does the figure of the servant A Fei compare to that of Chief Clerk Yang?" Zhu Lan asked.
Madam Yang recalled for a moment and murmured, "My husband is thin and not very tall, and he seems to be... not much different from that Ah Fei."
Si Ying looked at Zhu Lan: "In that case, there must be something wrong with that servant A Fei."
After hearing what the two of them said, Mrs. Yang became even more anxious.
"My Lords, I am just a woman and I don't understand what's going on in the Shaofu Prison. I just ask you to help me find my husband!"
Zhu Lan quickly comforted Mrs. Yang and told her not to worry and to go home and wait for news.
Afterwards, Zhu Lan and Si Ying returned to the Shaofujian to find Li Xiang, and Si Ying expressed her analysis.
"It seems that the storekeeper Zhou Xiangrong often leaves early. Everyone in the Shaofu Supervisor knows this, but due to the relationship with Supervisor Li, no one dares to criticize.
When Ah Fei found out about this, he had an idea. He pretended to get close to the Yang Zhubu couple and became their servant, gaining their trust. He even found out some of Zhou Xiangrong's habits through Yang Zhubu.
Yesterday, Ah Fei must have learned through some means that Zhou Xiangrong had a drinking party in the evening, and he expected that he would leave the Shaofujian early and give the key to Yang Zhubu for safekeeping.
So after Zhou Xiangrong left, Ah Fei went to the Shaofujian and claimed that he had an urgent matter to trick Yang Zhubu out.
What happened afterwards... According to my guess, Ah Fei tricked Yang Zhubu into a place and trapped him, then he disguised himself as Yang Zhubu and returned to the Shaofujian, where he found the treasure house key left by Zhou Xiangrong and stole the Nine-Curved Pearl. "
Li Xiang's eyes widened when he heard this and he said angrily:
"He let the thieves in so easily, what is Old Hu doing for a living?"
"Although Old Man Hu was negligent in this matter, the thief is very careful and meticulous, and it is indeed difficult to guard against him." Zhu Lan said in a deep voice, "The key lies in that wide-brimmed hat."
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