Chapter 177 Collusion
Taking care of the family and Lu Ming at the same time requires not only mental and financial resources.
It so happened that she remembered that in her previous life, a shocking case occurred in the Guangzhou Chen family, and the Chen family's wealth was divided up by their relatives overnight. At that time, it was rumored that Chen Mao was a very bad person and plundered the money of his clan members for his own use, which was his revenge.
Later, Chen Mao's son reported the matter to the authorities, who investigated the matter and finally found out the truth, clearing Chen Mao's name.
This case was so horrific that everyone knew about it, and she, who was in An Ning, knew it very well.
So she saved Chen Mao in exchange for his promise to take care of the Sun and Lu families.
"I wonder if the Sun Nian and Lu Ming families are doing well?" Sun Wei asked.
"Please rest assured, madam. Everything is fine." Chen Mao said, "Every year during the holidays, I send gifts to both families. Mr. Lu is a noble man who only loves wine and meat and ignores everything else. But I heard from Mr. Sun that he has distant relatives in Jiankang. Now that he has enough money, he wants to go to Beijing to visit them."
Sun Wei's heart tightened when he heard this: "Did he say when he wanted to go to Beijing?"
"But he didn't explain it in such detail. Perhaps someone below him overheard it. I'll have someone ask him to clarify things later."
Sun Wei felt a vague worry in his heart.
She knew that her father, Sun Nian, had a certain yearning for life in the capital, but he knew nothing about his relatives there. He always thought that these people were relatives after all, and that if he came to live there, not only would his life not be any worse than if he stayed in Anning, but he could also secure a future for his children.
She then said to Chen Mao, "Sun Nian must not come to the capital. The shopkeeper has been in the capital these days, and I'm sure he's aware of the turbulent political situation here. Who knows when a war will break out? Besides, bandits are rampant in today's world, and he has come a long way from Anning. What if something happens on the way? The shopkeeper has seen a lot of the world, and I'm afraid he's heard a lot of such disasters. Please do me a favor and persuade Sun Nian to give up this idea. At the very least, reduce his monthly convenience fee by half, and make sure to prevent him from coming to the capital."
Seeing her serious tone, Chen Mao hurriedly said, "Please rest assured, Madam. I will do my best."
Sun nodded slightly and asked, "As for the matter of Wu Fen, how is the shopkeeper doing?"
"I'm afraid this news is a little late," Chen Mao said. "To be honest, Madam, I met Wu Fen in Guangzhou last July."
"oh?"
"That was at Governor Liu's birthday banquet. Wu Fen seemed to be very close to Governor Liu. I never expected that Wu Fen, the Left Protector of the Three Immortals Sect, a man the imperial court would want to chop into pieces, would be treated as a guest of honor by the Governor of Guangzhou."
Sun Wei pondered.
This news just confirmed her guess.
For a long time, she had a doubt in her heart.
How did Kong Qi manage to survive after leading 200,000 followers to retreat to the barren land of the island? She guessed that someone must have helped them.
A year later, when Kong Qi was forced into a desperate situation by Sima Jun and the Northern Palace and committed suicide on the beach, a left protector named Wu Fen led the remaining troops to Guangzhou and stayed there for more than half a year.
After Sun Wei gained Chen Mao's trust, in order to make the best use of his talents, he asked him to check on Wu Fen. Unexpectedly, he actually found some clues.
Earlier, when Xie Xiao arrived in Xunyang, he revealed to Sun Wei that Sima Jun was also ordering Ruan Hui to investigate the forces behind the Three Immortals Sect.
What Chen Mao said now is just the right time to help.
Chen Mao continued, "At that time, I didn't know where to find my wife. A few days later, I heard that Wu Fen had left Guangzhou, and I haven't heard from him since."
Sun smiled and said, "It's okay, the shopkeeper has already helped a lot. If you get any news about him in the future, please let me know."
Chen Mao said, "I will be returning to Guangzhou to visit my father soon. I will definitely make further inquiries then."
"This Wu Fen is no ordinary man. Manager Chen, please do not alert him, and there is no need to offend the governor because of my matter."
"Don't worry, Madam. I know what I'm doing," Chen Mao said. "As soon as I have any news, I'll have someone from the Jiankang branch report it to you."
The two of them made a plan, and Aju also picked out a few pieces of jewelry.
After Chen Mao left, Sun Wei sent someone to deliver the jewels to the eldest princess.
The next day, Sima Jun arrived before dawn.
The seat of Wu County was in Wu County, and the fastest way to get there was via the canal, which only took two days.
The matter of Wu Fen was of great importance. As soon as he got on the boat, Sun Wei found Sima Jun and wanted to tell him about it.
Sima Jun asked first, "Did a merchant selling rare goods from the South China Sea come to see Madam yesterday?"
Sun Wei was not surprised.
Although Deng Lian did not hear her conversation with Chen Mao, his meeting with Chen Mao was clear to him.
If he knew, it meant that Sima Jun knew as well.
"The princess sent me a gift a while ago, so I had to return the favor," Sun Wei said. "I asked A'ru to go to the East Market to check out the latest fashions. By chance, she discovered that Guangzhou's Yongfu Pavilion has opened a branch in Jiankang. Yongfu Pavilion is Lingnan's leading treasure merchant. I heard their agarwood is excellent, highly sought after by the nobles in the capital. A'ru asked the shopkeeper to bring some over, and I took a look myself. It's truly excellent, much better quality than what we have in our treasury."
"Hmm." Sima Jun was reviewing documents at his desk, saying as he wrote, "Although there are many businesses in Jiankang City, there are few branches from Guangzhou. I think this shopkeeper is quite capable. He is also from Lingnan, so he and my wife are from the same hometown. I will meet him next time I have some free time."
Manager Chen has gone back to Guangzhou, who will you be?
Sun Wei thought proudly in his heart and said, "The prince also wants to see the treasures of the South China Sea?"
"Didn't Madam say that even the ones in the treasury couldn't compare to them?" Sima Jun said, "I should at least be able to see the world."
Sun Wei changed the subject and said, "There is one more matter, which I think is very important."
"What is it?"
"I observed the stars a few nights ago and I'm afraid this war will bring disaster to Guangzhou."
Sima Jun paused for a moment, "Oh?"
"Yesterday, while I was talking to the shopkeeper, I happened to think of this matter, so I asked him about it. I asked him if he knew about the Three Immortals Sect. Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper not only said he knew about it, but also said he had seen someone from the Three Immortals Sect at the birthday party of Liu Ke, the governor of Guangzhou. He seemed to be a Dharma protector, his surname was Wu, and his name was something else..."
"Wu Fen?" Sima Jun immediately asked.
"It's Wu Fen." Sun Wei suddenly realized something. "Does the prince know him?"
Sima Jun frowned.
Wu Fen is Kong Qi's right-hand man, there is no way he didn't know that.
He put down his pen and looked at Sun Wei with a sharp gaze: "What else did the shopkeeper say?"
"I just thought that Wu Fen and Governor Liu seemed to have a good relationship, and there's nothing else to it."
Sima Jun pondered for a moment, then called Deng Lian and ordered him to send someone to Jiankang to question Chen Mao as soon as the ship docked.
Then, Sima Jun turned to Sun Wei and asked, "Is this shopkeeper reliable?"
"Although he doesn't know who I am, he knows I'm from the Prince of Yuzhang's palace, so he wouldn't dare lie to me. Furthermore, I've bought quite a bit from him, and he's been trying his best to please me. As a businessman, as long as I can make money, what taboos are there?"
Sima Jun looked at Sun Wei, not knowing whether he believed it or not.
"Madam, do you know this Wu Fen?" he suddenly asked after a while.
Sun Wei certainly knew that Wu Fen was actually Kong Qi's number one military advisor.
In his previous life, if Kong Qi had not been defeated and the Three Immortals Sect had not been severely damaged, Wu Fen, who was lurking in Guangzhou, would probably have been even more troublesome than Kong Qi.
"How would I know?" Sun Wei asked, "Why don't you tell me, my lord?"
"Wu Fen was a scholar, but he was also very resourceful. Two years ago, our troops divided into three groups to pursue Kong Qi. In the end, we set up an ambush and killed Xie Kun. It was Wu Fen who did it."
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