Chapter 96: The Dispute between the Legitimate and Illegitimate Children
Yu Qi turned the teacup in his hand and said, "Yeah, I heard about it."
"I have never understood how Chen Fang, who grew up in the deep house of our Chen Mansion, got in touch with Nanli.
Until a few days ago, after receiving a letter from Huan Shaoqing, I thought about it for a long time and finally thought of his biological mother, Liu.
So I sent someone to check Liu's background, and sure enough, I found the problem.
There is no Liu family name in their village's genealogy."
"Oh, then this Liu family might be the root of the problem?"
"That's right. But Liu has been dead for many years, and the people who served him are no longer around, so there's no way to investigate."
After hearing this, Yu Qi thought for a moment and said, "Where are the elderly people in your house?"
"The butler is an old man, but he is now following Chen Fang wholeheartedly. I'm afraid we won't get any information from him."
Yu Qi frowned after hearing this: "Apart from this, are there any other clues?"
"Yes, Chen Fang's wife, Yu Qingyue, seems to have problems too. She's a bit too suspicious. My people have already gone to investigate."
Yu Qi unconsciously touched the knife at his waist, fumbled with it for a while, and said with a curled lip:
"You mean they're a united group?"
Chen Jia tapped his fingers on the wheelchair. "Even so, I have a way to pry open a gap between them."
Yu Qi smiled slightly after hearing this: "Oh, what's the plan?"
"Of course, they're using a strategy of alienation.
So, send someone to secretly kidnap the steward tonight and make him disappear for two days."
Yu Qi laughed slyly after hearing this and said, "We are very good at kidnapping and beating people with clubs, don't worry.
What happens after you catch him?"
"After catching him, treat him well with food and drink. You just need to restrict his movements. After a day or two, everyone in the palace knows about his disappearance, and then you can send him back safely.
When the time comes, you can find any excuse to go to the mansion and take people, just take those on the list."
Chen Jia said as he took out a list from his pocket and handed it to Yu Qi.
Yu Qi grinned fiercely and said, "Your trick is mean.
At that time, don't mention the butler at all, just say that someone provided the clues, and they will naturally suspect him.
The housekeeper is now covered in mud, and it's shit anyway."
After saying that, Yu Qi burst into laughter.
"Chen Dalang, you are so sinister.
You said you were so smart, how could you fall into Chen Fang's hands and have both your legs broken?"
After hearing this, Chen Jia looked out the window with a distant gaze.
"I was young and naive, and I thought the love between brothers was real."
Yu Qi sneered and looked at Chen Jiadao with amusement:
"Your Chen family is so wealthy and powerful, there will always be disputes over the family property, yet you still believe in the deep love between brothers?"
Chen Jia didn't speak for a long time.
"I had no intention of fighting for the family fortune. I was determined to pursue a career in government, and I thought any of my brothers could be the head of the family."
Yu Qi nodded after hearing this and said, "Actually, there's nothing wrong with you thinking this way.
When you are in the court, no matter who of your brothers becomes the head of the family, they can support each other and help each other.
But you never suspected that Chen Fang was a spy.
If he is a spy, and you are an official in the court, he will have to listen to you even if he becomes the head of the family.
To him, you are like a mountain, pressing down on him and preventing him from ever truly taking power.
If I were him, I would get rid of you first.
But he was still a little indecisive and didn't kill you directly, so he would be the one to die in the end."
Chen Jia sneered after hearing this: "He wants to kill me. He will definitely die if he falls from such a high place.
Fortunately, I was caught by branches twice during the fall, so I didn't die on the spot, but only broke my leg."
After hearing this, Yu Qi clicked his tongue twice.
"The struggle between legitimate and illegitimate children has always been like this, it's either you die or I die.
But don't be sad, it looks like you're going to win this round."
Chen Jia turned to look at Yu Qi, smiled and raised the teacup in his hand towards Yu Qi and said:
"I'll give you my good wishes."
The two exchanged a few more words and then dispersed.
Sure enough, that night, the housekeeper Chen Ping was kidnapped from his bed in the middle of the night.
The next day, Chen Jia went out as usual, and nothing unusual happened.
I went home for lunch at noon and heard my wife Min Xiu say at the table:
"My dear, have you seen the housekeeper Uncle Ping today?"
Chen Jia replied calmly: "No."
"Strange, I went to look for him today for something, but he said he hadn't seen him."
"Maybe my sister-in-law arranged for him to do something important. He might be back in the afternoon."
Min Xiu nodded and said, "That's right."
It was not until the next day that Yu Qingyue was anxious to find Chen Ping for something. She searched everywhere and found that he was missing.
Yu Qingyue was worried and went to Chen Ping's residence in person. She saw that all the valuables in the house were there.
He then looked at his robe and shoes placed aside, as well as the messy bed.
I suddenly felt that something was wrong. It was obvious that he was kidnapped directly from the bed.
So he sent someone to report to the authorities.
When the government heard about it, it immediately sent people to help in the search.
But Yu Qingyue had basically concluded in her heart that it was Yu Qi's doing.
However, he had no evidence and did not dare to go directly to the house to ask for the person's return, so he had to return home with a lot of anger.
At night, he wrote a letter and sent it by carrier pigeon to Chen Fang in Beijing.
On the morning of the third day, the servant of Chen's house yawned and went to open the door. When the door opened, he saw a man lying at the door in a snow-white middle garment.
So he went forward to check and found that it was Chen Ping.
After Chen Ping woke up, he packed up and went to see Yu Qingyue immediately.
"Madam, I was suddenly kidnapped while I was sleeping that night. I have been staying in a dilapidated courtyard for the past two days."
Yu Qingyue asked, "Then how did you escape?"
"I didn't know that they didn't torture me, but instead treated me to delicious food and drinks.
I went to bed as usual last night and appeared at the gate of our house early this morning."
"You mean they kidnapped you for no apparent reason and sent you back for no apparent reason?"
"Yes. Did they realize they had kidnapped the wrong person and send him back?"
Yu Qingyue frowned and shook her head, "How could it be so easy to break into our Chen Mansion at night?
There are hundreds of rooms in this mansion, how could they have found your room so accurately? None of the valuable gold and silver in your room was lost, only you were taken away.
That means they came for you from the beginning."
Chen Ping was shocked when he heard this and asked, "Then what is their purpose in kidnapping me?
Just to treat me to delicious food and drinks?"
"Of course not. Our Chen family has been peaceful these past few years, but it was only recently that someone from the capital came and caused some disturbances.
Therefore, I reasonably suspect that this was done by someone from the Zhenguogong Mansion."
"But they didn't do anything to me. Why would they do this?"
Yu Qingyue's expression remained unchanged after hearing this. She looked at Chen Ping calmly and then smiled:
"Of course it's to drive a wedge between you and me."
Without waiting for Chen Ping's response, Yu Qingyue smiled and comforted him:
"Uncle Ping is frightened. Go back and rest first. I will take care of the rest."
Seeing this, Chen Ping had no choice but to bow and leave.
After Chen Ping left, Yu Qingyue glanced at the person next to him and said:
"Send someone to follow him."
The maid Linghua asked in surprise, "Didn't Madam say someone was causing discord? Why are you still suspecting him?"
"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be prepared for the worst."
"Yes."
Linghua went down to make arrangements.
In the afternoon, Yu Qi brought his men to Chen's house in a swaggering manner.
There were still only Yu Qingyue, Chen Jia, and Yu Qi in the living room.
Yu Qi looked at Yu Qingyue and said with a smile:
"Our people checked the account books these days and found that a person named Jiang Cheng frequently appeared in them."
Chen Jia explained: "This Jiang Cheng is the head shopkeeper of my family. What happened to him?"
"I saw his signature at the end of the account book and thought he was an important person, so I took him away.
in addition……"
Yu Qi was interrupted by Yu Qingyue before he could finish his words.
Yu Qingyue suddenly heard that the head shopkeeper had been taken away, and she couldn't hold it anymore. She looked at Yu Qi with a cold expression and asked:
"General Yu, we're here to catch thieves and seize stolen goods. Why did you take away our chief treasurer without any evidence?"
Yu Qi's face instantly turned cold, and he held his sword in his hand and said coldly:
"Madam, are you teaching me how to do things?"
Seeing the atmosphere gradually becoming tense, Chen Jia spoke to ease the situation:
"General Yu, please don't be offended by my sister-in-law's anxious words."
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