Chapter 95 Tracing the Roots
When the old lady heard this, she shouted outside, "Qinniang, come in."
The old woman at the door who called Qin Niang came in.
"Go find Madam Liu's indenture contract for me. Go now."
"Yes." Qin Niang replied.
After Qin Niang left, the old lady thought about it carefully and suddenly looked up:
"When you mention that, it reminds me that the person who sold Concubine Liu here didn't speak with an accent that sounded like a local."
"Oh, where's your accent?" Chen Jia asked.
"It seems to be from Lingnan Road." The old lady recalled carefully.
"Lingnan Road borders the Southern Li Kingdom."
"I remember that because of the flood, many people came to my door to sell their children.
I was afraid that they would die at our doorstep, so I sent people out to distribute porridge. When we arrived at the door, I happened to meet the housekeeper who was picking people out.
I just stood there and listened for a while, and then I noticed Liu. "
Chen Jia frowned when he heard this: "Mom, with so many people around, why did you immediately notice the Liu mother and daughter?"
"Why else could it be? Those people were all dirty, but they were the only ones wearing tattered but clean clothes."
Chen Jia nodded after hearing this.
"It seems that Liu is even more suspicious."
The old lady was now angry and regretful:
"For so many years, he actually let a wolf into the house, and now he is the head of the family. This is leading our Chen family to a dead end."
"Mother, that's not the case. The court is hoping we can help them find evidence that Chen Fang is a spy so they can take him down."
The old lady felt relieved after hearing this, and after thinking for a while, she said:
"He has quite a few spies in this mansion now, so he might have already known that you received the letter from Beijing.
Even though his wife is a concubine, she's not a pushover either. You'd better send someone to investigate."
Chen Jia smiled and said, "As you wish, mother.
It would be best if he knew, so that when he takes action, I can easily catch him."
When the old lady heard this, she said nervously, "Son, do you want me to find some experts to accompany you so that no more accidents happen?"
Chen Jia shook his head and said, "Mom, no need, I have people."
As soon as the two finished talking, Qinniang came in and handed the indenture contract to the old lady.
The old lady looked at it under the light and confirmed that it was Liu's indenture, so she gave it to Chen Jia.
Chen Jia took a look at it and put it in his arms.
He bowed to the old lady and said, "Mother, I won't bother you anymore. I'll take my leave now."
After Chen Jia left, the old lady tossed and turned and couldn't sleep all night.
When I finally got a nap at dawn, I dreamed that all the Chen family members were taken to the execution ground and their heads fell to the ground one by one. I was frightened awake again.
The old lady sighed and struggled to get up.
He lost all mood to eat breakfast and immediately sent someone to invite his family.
The old lady's nephew from her mother's side ran a security company and had some skilled men under him, so he assigned a few unfamiliar but skilled men to Chen Jia's command.
After making the arrangements, he sent someone to tell him that there was some movement last night, and asked the guards at home to check the yard on the east road from top to bottom.
A few problematic people were beaten with sticks and sent to the farm.
Yu Qingyue, Chen Fang's wife in the main courtyard, also received Chen Fang's letter last night.
Ask her to send someone to closely monitor Chen Jia, and if they find that anyone from Beijing has contact with Chen Jia recently, they should immediately take action to eliminate Chen Jia.
Yu Qingyue burned the letter in her hand and asked nonchalantly, "What did you do today, sir?"
"The master has gone out now. He should be listening to books in Tingyun Teahouse." The maid next to her answered.
At this moment, someone came in and reported the old lady's movements in the east courtyard.
Yu Qingyue said calmly: "Don't worry about this, old lady, just keep an eye on me."
"Yes."
In the next few days, Chen Jia went out to the teahouse to drink tea and listen to music as usual. There was nothing unusual.
Secretly, Chen Jia sent several people from the escort agency to investigate Liu and Yu Qingyue, and also sent people to Cangzhou.
"Uncle, I went to Liu's hometown. It has been a long time since then, and the village is dilapidated and I have no way to ask about it.
Finally, I found their family tree in the ancestral hall at the entrance of their village.
The record above is very strange. It records Liu's father and brother, but not Liu's name.
Chen Jia had expected this to happen, so he nodded and said:
"Got it. Any news from Yu Qingyue?"
“Not yet.”
Chen Jia continued, "The Yu family is mainly engaged in the silk business. Old Master Yu is a playboy and has countless concubines in his backyard.
Yu Qingyue was just one of his concubine daughters.
Because she was good at business, she was registered under her stepmother's name and was finally able to marry Chen Fang.
So focus on investigating Yu Qingyue's past. If you can't find anything, then investigate her mother."
"Yes."
Three days later, the deputy general of the Duke of Zhenguo, Yu Qi, arrived in Meixun.
After receiving the news, Chen Jia immediately asked the people from the escort agency to come to the door and secretly gave a letter to Yu Qi.
After reading it, Yu Qi destroyed the paper and then began to investigate the Chen family in a big way.
Yu Qingyue received the news immediately and ordered the housekeeper Chen Ping to pay a visit.
As expected, I didn't see it.
Yu Qingyue knew this result from the beginning and didn't take it to heart.
Instead, he followed Chen Fang's instructions, packed up the account books on Nanli's side, and waited for someone to come.
Yu Qi investigated vigorously for several days, but found nothing.
On this day, he delivered a visiting card to the door.
Yu Qingyue was a woman, and it was not appropriate for her to meet Yu Qi alone, so it was natural for Chen Jia to appear in the reception room.
After a few people exchanged polite greetings, Yu Qi told them the purpose of their visit.
"When your Majesty was assassinated, we investigated the spies and discovered that it was related to Nanli, and there were clues that your Chen family was involved.
This time, I came to see if there are any problems with the business dealings between your Chen family and Nanli."
In front of Yu Qingyue, both Yu Qi and Chen Jia acted in a businesslike manner, as if they didn't know each other at all.
But it is true that the two had never met in person, they only communicated through letters.
After hearing what Yu Qi said, Chen Jia smiled apologetically:
"Don't worry, General. Our Chen family will cooperate."
Then he shouted outside, "Come here, bring up all of Nanli's account books."
Yu Qi fought on the battlefield with the Duke of Zhenguo, and there was a very obvious scar on his forehead, which made him look quite fierce.
After hearing what Chen Jia said, he laughed grimly:
“It seems that you have been prepared for a long time, just waiting for us to come.
In that case, I will not be polite."
In front of the two of them, Yu Qi sent people to pack up all of Nanli's account books and take them away.
Yu Qingyue observed for a long time but did not find anything fishy between the two.
Seeing Yu Qi leave, he nodded at Chen Jia and turned back to the inner house.
Chen Jia also left the hall, his wooden wheelchair rolling along the exquisitely carved bluestone bricks.
In the huge courtyard, between the gray walls and green tiles, the figures of the master and the servant looked bleak and thin.
After returning to his yard and chatting with his wife for a while, Chen Jia changed his clothes and went to Tingyun Teahouse.
In the private room on the second floor of the teahouse, Yu Qi, who had changed his clothes, was waiting there.
When the two met at Chen's house today, a servant who was responsible for carrying the account books and Yu Qi's deputy Fu Long passed by him and slipped a note into his hand.
After Yu Qi came out of Chen's house, he naturally saw the note.
"Meet General Yu."
Chen Jia bowed while sitting in a wheelchair.
"No need to be polite."
Yu Qi reached out and poured a cup of tea for himself and Chen Jia respectively.
"When I came from the capital, the state minister told me that I wanted to cooperate with you after I arrived.
I have followed your letter these past few days. Have you made any progress?"
After hearing this, Chen Jia picked up the teacup, took a sip, looked at Yu Qi and said:
"I believe you all know Chen Fang's background.
He was born to my father's concubine, who later died while trying to save my father, and Chen Fang was placed in foster care under my mother's name."
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