Chapter 545: An Encounter with a Fat Fish (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
I heard that my daughter ran away from home to go to Heyin.
Zhao Feng looked at Xu Jie with anticipation.
He rubbed his hands together awkwardly, and after a long pause, he finally spoke: "This is, after all, a family matter, and in principle, it shouldn't trouble Wen Zhu to get involved. However—it's not convenient for me to use my household guards and troops to arrest people from your river lord's camp. You see…"
Qin Li's brow twitched violently.
Zhao Feng's words, though seemingly casual, contained a great deal of information—he genuinely regarded Xu Jie as a prefect, respecting his territorial power and refusing to lead troops into the territory without permission, rather than considering Xu Jie as a colleague under the same lord.
He knew that Zhao Feng was a rough-around-the-edges but shrewd-minded person, but—Dayi really didn't know part of the reason why the lord wanted the River Governor.
With his back to Qin Li, Xu Jie naturally didn't notice the subtle change in his expression; his attention was entirely on Zhao Feng.
Because the two had recently shared drinks and had been quite candid with each other, their relationship had quickly grown closer, and he hadn't paid much attention to the underlying stance of Zhao Feng's words. He readily replied, "That's alright, I'll send you a message as soon as I have any news about your daughter."
Zhao Feng's anxiety eased somewhat.
Just as he was about to say that Qin Li and Xu Jie had worked hard to help him find his daughter, and that he would treat them to a meal today, Qin Li suddenly added, "Just because someone says she's the River Governor doesn't mean she is. With your shrewd personality, it's not like you're a victim of a scam."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng said with a bitter face, "...No, no, she can't possibly play a trick on her father like that, can she?"
Qin Li's eyes clearly said—
What do you think?
Although not every woman from a military family has a heroic personality, Zhao Feng's daughter was spoiled rotten by him. Moreover, she was born during a period of hardship, so she was of extraordinary significance to Zhao Feng, who was a new father.
Even though Zhao Feng later had other children, some well-behaved and sensible, some clever and quick-witted, and some who inherited his martial arts talent, none of them could shake the daughter's position in the family. Naturally, as the daughter grew up, her behavior became strange.
Zhao Feng had been tricked more than once or twice.
"Then, what should we do?" Old Zhao's heart, which had been half relieved, suddenly jumped to his throat, and his expression was blank and helpless.
"Send men to block the only routes between Yiru and Shangnan, just in case." Qin Li was also worried about his niece, his brows furrowed. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed and said, "If you don't have enough manpower, you should ask the lord for some..."
"But this..."
Zhao Feng was not very willing.
Honestly, he had no personal issues with Wu Xian. However, the fact that his lord had allowed the Tianhai faction's generals to ostracize him after his return two years ago made him somewhat uneasy. He didn't want to bow down to Wu Xian right now; if he didn't, he might miss out on his daughter…
Qin Li lowered his voice and reminded him.
"My niece's safety is the most important thing."
Zhao Feng let out a sigh of relief.
He said in a low voice, "That's true..."
But there's always a thorn in my heart.
Xu Jie stayed in Tianhai for two or three days, begging and pleading, pulling strings and using both soft and hard tactics, as well as threats and inducements, and spending a lot of money. Finally, amidst the cursing and swearing of several prominent families in Tianhai, he managed to abduct the female teacher they had carefully selected.
They packed the people up and ran away overnight.
Wu Xian: "???"
Faced with his tearful subordinates, Wu Xian gave an awkward smile and, somewhat hesitantly, suggested, "Perhaps there's a misunderstanding?"
He couldn't honestly say that Xu Wenzhu didn't do it on purpose. Xu Wenzhu was clearly deliberately picking a fight!
Because these families were putting pressure on Xu Jie behind the scenes and subtly sowing discord between the couple, Xu Jie couldn't openly confront them, but that didn't stop him from looking for an opportunity to get revenge. He actually spent money to poach the female teacher they had hired at a high salary.
Don't poach other people's property...
We're focusing on these few households.
The companies whose employees had been poached were livid, their teeth grinding in disbelief: "...What misunderstanding could there be?"
Wu Xian smiled and said, "Wen Zhu came over earlier saying he was looking for several female teachers, and the best ones in Tianhai are all in your residence..."
You can't blame Xu Jie for keeping an eye on them and digging in the corner.
They just had too good an eye for talent.
Several companies: "..."
So they deserve it?
Xu Jie felt he had successfully completed his mission and returned to the He Yin administrative office with ease and joy. He treated the invited female teachers with the courtesy due to a learned scholar. Most of them were between thirty and fifty years old, and almost none of them had any family burdens. Their current goal was to save enough money for their retirement, and in the future, to adopt a surviving member of their clan so that they would have a child to carry on their legacy after their death.
Xu Jiepang, however, had no money to spare. He sent men back to He Yin to intercept Zhao Feng's daughter, but when they returned to the capital, his subordinates reported that no woman matching her identity had appeared in the territory.
Xu Jie asked again and again, "Have you checked everything carefully?"
"It has been thoroughly investigated."
Thanks to those who laid the foundation, the massive and complex household registration system was made detailed and the institutional framework was built solidly. Any stranger entering the country needs a travel permit. Illegal entry, unless one stays in a remote mountain forest, will eventually be detected.
It's not difficult to find a girl from out of town.
Not found—
Either Madam Zhao didn't come to He Yin and her casual conversation with the carriage guild was a deliberate attempt to mislead the investigators, or Madam Zhao is hiding deep in the mountains. The latter possibility is very small.
Just as I was about to take a sip of water, I heard that during his business trip to Tianhai, a friend came to visit, waited for two days, and then left.
Xu Jie: "Who is this friend? Why aren't we treating them properly?"
The steward replied, "That gentleman introduced himself, saying he was from Fengxi County and had some old acquaintance with the master. He was traveling here and stopped by to visit a friend. Unfortunately, the master is away these past few days. He had some business to attend to and left."
Xu Jie murmured, "Fengxi County?"
Memories returned in their entirety with this word.
A red image flashed into my mind.
He said with an "Oh," "It was him."
Fengxi County, neither within the former territory of Xin Kingdom nor Geng Kingdom, belongs to a tiny kingdom situated at the border of the northwest and southwest of the continent. It is famous for its flowers, and everyone in this small kingdom loves flowers. Xu Jie once visited it. However—
That country seems to have been destroyed.
The reason given for destroying the country is quite far-fetched.
This country is located in the middle and lower reaches of the river, but at the suggestion of a certain unscrupulous person, the upstream forces dammed the river before the rainy season—this river is the lifeblood of this tiny country. When the rainy season arrived, the upstream forces released water indiscriminately…
Then the country was destroyed.
It's a real pity about Xu Jie.
The flowers from this country make excellent rouge.
He profited immensely from buying and selling goods and exploiting information asymmetry by exploiting the wealth of nobles, high-ranking officials, and noblewomen from various countries.
Those who can be called friends...
I reckon it's just that one person.
At first, he regretted missing his friend, but then suddenly remembered something and exclaimed in alarm, "Quick, find out what's missing from the house. Especially what I like..."
The butler looked puzzled.
Considering the context—
Are the parents suspecting that a friend broke into their home and stole their belongings?
After searching, nothing was missing, but the box where Xu Jie, who was obsessed with his brother, kept his family letters had been moved, and a flower had been added next to it. The study was Xu Jie's private territory, and without his permission, even servants could not easily enter to clean it.
The letter box had been moved?
The steward was trembling with fear, afraid that Xu Jie would accuse him of negligence, but Xu Jie simply waved his hand.
"You can go now, this is none of your business."
"only."
\(￣︶￣*\))
Good grief, I almost got locked out today and ended up sleeping on the streets.
My teammate was charging the fingerprint lock and removed the battery. Then, when he went out to throw away the cat poop, he accidentally closed the door behind him, and he was locked out... Luckily, he borrowed a power bank from his brother as a backup power source, which allowed him to unlock the fingerprint lock...
(End of this chapter)
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