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It is actually not that easy to find out what is happening in Tingzhou. After all, the person who delivers the letter is just a messenger and may not know much about the inside story.
Sending people to investigate would be time-consuming, and since the Red Flag Gang had done such a big thing, they wouldn't make a big fuss about it no matter who they were collaborating with behind the scenes, so it would be really hard to find any clues.
However, these did not pose a problem for Lu Jian. The messenger had previously said that Sun Yuanrang and others had left Tingzhou City on the night of the fire.
In order to leave quickly when the city is in chaos, you need a pass, which is not something that ordinary people can give.
In other words, behind the Suoyi Gang and the Chiqi Gang, there is another powerful family that does not want the Lu and Ye families to form an alliance and is secretly obstructing them.
In order to deal with the Lu family, Lu Jian had already found out the inside story of Tingzhou early on, and the only suspects were those few families.
Following this line of investigation, news came back within two days.
"It's actually the Xiao family." After receiving the news, Lu Jian frowned slightly. This answer was somewhat unexpected, but also reasonable.
It would be fine if others didn't know, but he still knew that the Xiao family had some grudges against the Lu family's backers. Even though the Xiao family pretended to be a farming and scholar family and not involved in officialdom over the years, they still had a lot of fear and resentment in their hearts.
But it might not be Xiao's intention to make such a big fuss. After all, their family is in Tingzhou, and no one wants to get into trouble.
If this is the case, it will be difficult to find clues from them.
The clues from the Xiao family have been cut off, and the only person who can be investigated is the "woman" that Ning Fu was concerned about.
In fact, if one wanted to escape overnight, even with proof, it would be easier to get away disguised as a female relative. Cheng Xi had disguised herself as a woman before, so it was not surprising that she would use the same trick again this time.
How could Sun Yuanrang just casually say something like this? But the question was, could it be that he had also worn women's clothing when he went on the assassination, which caused the ghost book to misunderstand him?
Lu Jian could almost conclude that it was Cheng Xi who led the team that assassinated Ning Fu, and he could even guess how he missed the target and escaped right under the opponent's nose.
He had seen Cheng Xi's skills and was "saved" by him once. If it was an assassination, it would probably be memorable.
Then the problem arises. Ning Fu is not a fool. In terms of intelligence, ordinary people can hardly match him. Moreover, he has directly investigated the Xiao family, so he probably knows more than others.
How could such a person mistake Cheng Xi for a woman? Or was there really a woman at that time?
When he thought of this, Lu Jian suddenly remembered another thing, that is the "Miss" mentioned by the leader Yan of the Red Flag Gang.
Yan Yuan was probably closely related to General Qiu, but he had tried to find out the identity of that "young lady" several times but to no avail. He really had no clue.
Could it be related to this matter?
After thinking for a while, Lu Jian said to the people around him: "Please ask the people from the Suoyi Gang to come over again."
Since I can't think of the answer, I should ask someone who knows the answer.
The man quickly rushed over and bowed when he saw Lu Jian: "Master Lu, did you call me here for anything else?"
He was the person who delivered messages between the Suoyi Gang and Panyu. How could he not take it seriously when Master Lu personally called him?
Lu Jian smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. When we ran into the ghost scholar in Tingzhou, did your gang have any interactions with him?"
The question startled the other party, who hesitated and said, "I really don't know. The news I received didn't mention this matter."
This answer was not surprising. Lu Jian changed the question: "Since you discovered that the ghost scholar was also in Tingzhou, have you changed your plans and made new plans?"
This time the messenger nodded and replied, "It seems we got into some trouble. Fortunately, thanks to the military advisor's advice, we were able to escape unscathed."
Lu Jian immediately caught on to the topic: "Military Advisor? The one who planned the prison break in Panyu?"
He had also heard Sun Yuanrang mention that there was someone behind the prison break. The fact that they were able to escape unscathed after encountering the ghost scholar might have been the work of this person.
The messenger showed a hint of satisfaction on his face: "Indeed, this time it was thanks to the military advisor who personally went to the Red Flag Gang that we were able to invite Gang Leader Cheng to help."
Lu Jian felt his heart tremble, but a smile appeared on his face: "That's really a talent. May I ask the name of your gang's military advisor?"
The other party hesitated for a moment before saying, "We all call him 'Mr. Fang', and we don't know anything else."
This seemed to involve some secrets. Seeing that the other party was unwilling to continue, Lu Jian immediately changed the subject. However, the name sounded familiar to him.
After sending the messenger away, Lu Jian summoned Lu Sanding and asked, "When we investigated General Qiu, was there anyone named Fang among his trusted staff?"
Lu Sanding was startled and quickly said, "Yes, there is one, his name is Fang Tianxi. He was originally an aide to the General's Mansion, but when General Qiu fell into trouble, he escaped first."
"Fang Tianxi..." Lu Jian frowned and suddenly asked, "Has the Red Flag Gang had a new leader recently?"
"That's right." Lu Sanding said immediately, "I heard he's Gang Leader Cheng's trusted aide, his last name is Tian, and he seems to have a problem with his legs."
His surname is Tian... Lu Jian's face changed. Wasn't there a tax officer of General Qiu imprisoned in Panyu Prison? That man also had the surname Tian and was said to have died in the fire in the government office.
Is he really dead?
"Go check immediately to see if Tian Yu, the death row prisoner previously imprisoned in the government jail, has a disability in his legs." Lu Jian said sternly.
Lu Sanding was startled, as if he had thought of something, and immediately turned away.
This matter was not difficult to investigate. After only half an hour, he came back to report: "I heard that the prisoner had his tendons cut and is a little crazy..."
Before Lu Sanding could finish his words, Lu Jian had already stood up and paced around the room.
No wonder Cheng Xi suddenly followed him to Panyu last time. No wonder he waited until the Suoyi Gang broke into the prison before retreating even though he knew the danger. I'm afraid that he was ostensibly helping him and the Suoyi Gang, but in fact he was trying to save people. He rescued a death row prisoner from the prison without anyone noticing.
And that death row prisoner, the former tax official, has now become Cheng Xi's trusted aide.
How could he have persuaded a stubborn civil servant, so stubborn that even the imperial court couldn't pry his mouth, to work for him? If that old military advisor, Mr. Fang, was truly General Qiu's former aide, why did he specifically contact the Red Flag Gang and ask Cheng Xi to personally go to Tingzhou?
And Yan Yuan, who obviously came from a military background and had close ties with General Qiu, how could he have defected to the Red Flag Gang as soon as they met and become Cheng Xi's confidant?
How could a young man, barely a dozen years old, subdue these talented individuals? Besides courage and ability, what else did they have in common?
General Qiu had no sons or close nephews or nieces, but he had a daughter whom he loved like a pearl in the palm of his hand.
Suddenly, something in his mind seemed to light up, and Lu Jian stopped in his tracks: "Yes, he calls him 'Miss'."
The dying family soldier was not unable to speak, but he only heard the word "Miss".
After Yan Yuan saw Cheng Xi and even fought with her, he cried out these two words.
Lu Jian held his forehead and laughed uncontrollably.
If that were the case, everything would make sense. The leader of the Red Flag Gang wasn't acting recklessly, pretending to be a woman at will. She was actually a woman! Only a woman would pretend to be fourteen or fifteen years old, not an adult man.
It's ridiculous that he couldn't see through such a simple thing.
"Master!" Lu Sanding had never seen the master laughing so uncontrollably, so he called out in fear and trepidation.
Lu Jian suddenly stopped laughing. Wait, does Ning Fu know about this? After pondering for a moment, Lu Jian shook his head. That guy probably couldn't guess it.
If Cheng Xi was truly a woman, she would likely have used a female identity when she went to Tingzhou to discuss business with the Xiao family. That way, even if the Ghost Scholar turned Tingzhou upside down, he would only know that the person who hurt him was a woman, and would never guess that this person was the leader of the Red Flag Gang. No wonder such a question was asked at the banquet.
What if Ning Fu finds out about this in the future?
Lu Jian's expression suddenly became serious, and he asked, "Have you found out where the ghost scholar is these days?"
Lu Sanding hurriedly said: "No, this man is cunning and has been hiding for a long time."
Why would Ning Fu come to Panyu? He couldn't just be trying to establish an alliance and establish friendship with him, right? Even if that ghost scholar didn't know this was Red Flag Gang territory, with their spies, he should have been wary of him tipping off the gang, right? Could he be plotting something else?
After a moment's silence, Lu Jian asked, "Did Manager Yang of the Qingfeng Gang go to Luoling Island?"
"That's right, he left in a hurry." Lu Sanding said hurriedly.
"I'm afraid Shen Feng is going to call for help." Lu Jian pondered, "Ning Fu might have come here just for this matter."
Ning Fu also knew the inside story of Tingzhou. If the Red Flag Gang sent troops to help the Green Phoenix Gang attack the Ye family, the island would be empty. Would the ghost scholar try to take advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise attack? The Red Flag Gang had two camps, and their troops might not be able to hold them.
Lu Sanding also understood something and asked carefully, "Should we send a message to Gang Leader Cheng?"
The three words "Boss Cheng" startled Lu Jian for a moment, then he smiled and said, "I'll go there myself."
What was General Qiu's daughter's name? It seemed to be... "Qiu Yuehua."
The three words lingered on his tongue but remained unspoken. Lu Jian's smile deepened. "Go down and prepare. We'll leave tomorrow."
Regardless of whether this guess is right or wrong, he has to take a look at it himself before he can feel at ease.
If it was really a woman, things would be very different.
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