"I just arrived and I'm starving. I went to the kitchen and stole some food to fill my stomach. I have something to tell you!"
Qin Jian didn't even raise his head, gnawing on the bone in his hand like a starving ghost.
"This braised food was really good tonight! It's a shame I couldn't drink with my buddies. We'll have to have a good drink together once this is all over!"
Qin Jian ate while inhaling sharply; the braised food tonight had chili peppers added, making it both spicy and delicious.
Lu Baichuan responded, not in a hurry to ask him what was wrong, and sat aside to wait for him, while also sobering up.
Fortunately, Qin Jian wasn't deliberately keeping him in suspense. After a few bites and enjoying the food, he said, "Wow, I've made an incredible discovery!"
"That old bastard Qian Xing is really a surprise!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, I used to think he was blinded by lust, but now it seems that's not necessarily true!"
Qin Jian kept clicking his tongue, then looked up and saw that Lu Baichuan's expression was not good, so he quickly said, "Oh dear, it's just that I saw Qian Xing's future brother-in-law at the theater today. I asked around and found out that he's a regular customer. He usually likes to stay in the private rooms, so I never had a chance to run into him. Today, I heard someone call his name and that's how I found out that he's Qian Xing's future brother-in-law. Moreover, I also saw him bypass his companions and go to the backyard, as if he knew the way like the back of his own home."
Lu Baichuan narrowed his eyes: "You mean Qian Xing's brother-in-law and that group from the opera house are in cahoots?"
"That's very possible!"
Qin Jian nodded repeatedly and then said, "I'm not entirely sure about the specifics. I'll have to investigate further. I just suddenly discovered this and wanted to let you know so you can have someone keep an eye out for it. I've been spending all my time at the theater lately and haven't had time to think about many things."
Lu Baichuan replied, "It's fortunate that you brought it up. Qian Xing is involved in the cheating case. I was planning to arrest him directly in a few days, but after you said that, it seems that the matter is quite extensive. In that case, we can only play the long game and catch the big fish."
They could easily send men to wipe out that group immediately, but that would mean they wouldn't be able to catch the people behind them.
Their goal is to expose all the people or organizations behind the scenes.
"Yes, that's exactly what I meant. I was worried that if you did things ahead of time, it would ruin their plans, and then we'd have to come up with another solution. Now, even if we're in the dark and they're in the light, we can keep an eye on things at any time."
Qin Jian nodded and continued gnawing on the bone.
"What about your end? What's the situation now?"
That's a good question. He wasn't just gossiping; he was also somewhat concerned about official business. After all, he was quite interested when Lou Chong and the others brought it up tonight.
“Your sister-in-law’s trick really worked. Xinran got sick and is now more convinced that our relationship is bad. She’s secretly thinking of causing trouble. I’ll deal with it for now and let you know if anything happens. You don’t need to worry.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Baichuan realized there was nothing useful to gossip about, so he gave up on the idea.
"Okay, you've eaten enough, right? Get out of here, I'm going to sleep!"
Lu Baichuan ignored him and walked straight out. Qin Jian originally wanted to find a guest room to sleep in Xishuiyuan, but considering that his identity was still sensitive and he had not fully gained the other party's trust, he obediently returned the plates of food to the kitchen before returning to his own house.
When Lu Baichuan returned, He Jiuniang was so full that she couldn't sleep and was pacing around the room.
Seeing Lu Baichuan return, he asked, "Where have you been? Why are you taking so long? The water's almost cold."
"Qin Jian came to see me and told me some things, which caused a delay."
Lu Baichuan didn't hide anything from He Jiuniang, after all, she was needed to cooperate. If she made a scene on the day of the prefect's wedding because he hadn't told her, it would be terrible.
"What's up?"
He Jiuniang was indeed very gossipy. She wanted to know these things not to do anything bad, but simply to have some fun.
"I'll go wash up and I'll come back and tell you in a bit."
Having drunk alcohol tonight, Lu Baichuan reeked of it, and to avoid being disliked by his wife, he wisely decided to wash up first.
He Jiuniang's gossipy nature was aroused and hard to suppress, so she hurriedly chased after her inside: "I'll help you wash, tell me quickly!"
Lu Baichuan: ...
Even though he'd already done *that*, he still felt a little guilty about having his wife help him take a bath.
A wife is meant to be cherished, not served.
"No need, I..."
"Smack!"
Lu Baichuan reached out to grab the towel from the bath, but was slapped by He Jiuniang.
"Don't move! Tell me! What did he say to you? How far have things progressed between him and Xinran?"
Lu Baichuan: ...
He obediently sat back in the bathtub, leaned over the edge, and let his wife, who had wronged him so much, scrub his back and serve him. Then he lazily recounted what Qin Jian had told him.
"What? I thought it was two separate things, but it turns out it's the same thing. These Dongting people are really everywhere!"
He Jiuniang was shocked after hearing this. She never expected that the Dongting people had infiltrated to such an extent. She wondered how many such specialized organizations there were in secret, all for the purpose of invading Beiyan.
"Yes, I didn't expect to run into Qin Jian. This is a good thing. Weren't we planning to expose him on Qian Xing's wedding day? Now it seems we should wait and see."
As Lu Baichuan spoke, he let out a comfortable hum. Being served by his wife was truly different; it felt so good!
"Sure thing, sure thing! It's always more satisfying to squeeze out an abscess after it's gotten bigger!"
Lu Baichuan: ? ? ? What kind of description is this?
Before he could speak, He Jiuniang continued, "Then the question is whether Qian Xing knows the other party's background. How do you plan to investigate?"
"Let's go to the yamen tomorrow morning to ask everyone what they think. We're a bit short-handed right now. If we go to investigate this matter again, we'll have to bring back all the people we sent out to investigate Danzhu Tower."
The shortage of manpower is also a major headache for Lu Baichuan.
The Fire Cloud Division has high standards for hiring, but it's hard to find elites. In addition, another group has been sent to Nantai to continue their undercover work, so recruiting people is really difficult. They all have to have been trained in the military.
However, there are still capable people in the military camp. But because they are capable, the people in the military camp are unwilling to release them, so they are just waiting it out.
"What are you asking! If we're short-handed, can't we still have me?"
He Jiuniang suddenly jumped up from behind him, her large face almost touching Lu Baichuan's eyelids.
Lu Baichuan: ...
He stepped back slightly and reached out to pull her, but she dodged him. She said earnestly, "I'm serious. I can help with this. Anyway, I'm just killing time... oh wait, I'm not killing time, but I can still help!"
"To put it bluntly, this matter is actually very simple. There is no need to transfer so many people back from so far away. I can handle it by myself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com