The following evening, with a gentle breeze blowing, Yun Duoduo and Yun Yishu arrived at Jinxiu Silk Shop, followed by A Xiang and Shi Tou.
Liao Ziwan and Chu Dunshi were already sitting in the inner room waiting for the two of them. They had agreed to meet today to discuss their strategy.
"Big boss, little boss."
When the two saw Yun Duoduo and Yun Yishu walk in, they stood up to greet them.
"Please sit down."
Yun Yishu reached out and patted Chu Dunshi on the shoulder, while Yun Duoduo gave the two of them a sweet, innocent smile.
"This is so sudden! The person who did this is incredibly wicked!"
Chu Dunshi slammed his hand on the table and said angrily.
"yes!"
"Sister Ziwan, in the past, which family made the clothes for the palace?"
Yun Duoduo only knew that most of the clothes in the palace were made by the Imperial Clothing Bureau, but she didn't know anything about the imperial merchants in the market.
“In the past, when the Imperial Clothing Bureau couldn’t keep up with the demand for the palace’s clothing, Fengxiang Manor was the one that made them. Fengxiang Manor is a business owned by the Gu Liang family.”
Liao Ziwan poured tea for the two of them, pushed the pastries on the table toward Yun Duoduo, and continued speaking.
“The Gu Liang family is deeply rooted in the capital and owns countless businesses. It’s not impossible that they sent people to do this.” Yun Yishu frowned and shook his head slightly.
"I've heard that the Gu Liang family is extravagant, bullies the weak and oppresses the strong, and has a bad reputation," Chu Dunshi continued.
"So, the reason the palace came to the market to find new silk and clothing shops was actually to replace Fengxiang Manor?" Chu Dunshi suddenly realized.
"Um."
"So, even if we can't deliver the clothes on time, this batch of goods won't end up in Fengxiang Manor's hands."
Since the palace wants to replace Fengxiang Manor, even if the clothes from Jinxiu Silk Shop are ruined this time, the palace will not go to Fengxiang Manor again, but will go to other silk shops and weaving workshops.
"So, it wasn't the Gu Liang family who did it?"
"Then who else could it be?"
"If our clothes are ruined, who will ultimately benefit?"
Liao Ziwan pondered: "I've only heard of Ma's Brocade, Jin's Silk Weaving Workshop, Ruyi Silk Weaving Workshop, Yunxiang Clothing Workshop, Yao's Cloth Shop, Zhou's Silk and Li's Weaving Workshop."
"The Ma family is a well-known wealthy family in the capital. They are quite arrogant and seem unlikely to do such a thing."
The group pondered who would ultimately benefit if Jinxiu Silk Company messed things up.
A commotion arose at the door. A dashing, expressionless guard strode up to Yun Yishu and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, the person has been brought."
Yun Yishu nodded, signaling them to bring the person up.
Liao Ziwan glanced at Chu Dunshi with a puzzled look, as if asking, "Have you caught the person who instigated Steward Yu to replace the tiles with cloth?"
The guards threw in a man in black who was tied up with ropes: "This man was acting suspiciously near the Wen's Cloth Shop. He even met with Yu Zhanshi in private and gave Manager Yu a large sum of money."
The guard kicked the man, and the man in black knelt on the ground.
Yun Yishu removed the cloth stuffed in his mouth and scolded, "Speak! Who sent you! Who's so reckless!"
"When did you get in touch with Steward Yu?"
"Pooh!"
The man in black tilted his head to one side, spat, and then kept his lips tightly shut without saying a word.
"Will you tell me or not!"
The stone punched the man hard.
"Even if you beat me to death, I won't tell!"
The man in black spoke, his voice somewhat shrill, and he didn't seem as strong and robust as Yun Duoduo had imagined.
"You'll never know who's behind this!"
Yun Duoduo glanced at Yun Yishu in surprise, and was about to say something when she saw the black-clad man's face turn fierce.
Based on her experience watching many palace dramas, Yun Duoduo judged: "Oh no, he's going to commit suicide!"
Everyone rushed to stop him, but it was too late. The man fell to the ground and committed suicide by biting his tongue.
Yun Duoduo quickly squatted down beside the man, pried open his mouth, and tried to see if there was any possibility of saving him.
But that person seemed to have been trained, knowing exactly how to die the fastest.
The bite of the tongue was steady, accurate, and forceful.
"He is quite loyal."
Liao Ziwan sighed helplessly.
"What should we do? The enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the open."
"I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to investigate in the future."
Yun Duoduo looked at the person lying on the ground, somewhat puzzled.
[This guy really went that far. Competition between businesses is normal; why would he kill himself after barely asking a couple of questions?]
It's not like it's something serious like murder or arson.
It can't be that bad...
Yun Duoduo recalled the words that person had said before he died, and her brow suddenly twitched.
She glanced at Yun Yishu, gesturing for him to come out with her.
"Drag him out." Noticing Yun Duoduo's gaze, he said to Shi Tou.
Yun Duoduo drank the water in her teacup in one gulp: "Sister Ziwan, I'm going out for some fresh air."
Liao Ziwan glanced at Yun Duoduo with concern.
Oh, what a pitiful child, so young, to have to witness such a bloody scene.
...
When they arrived at the backyard, Yun Duoduo saw that no one was around, so she asked Shi Tou to stand guard to the side.
"Third brother, don't you think that person is a bit strange?"
Yun Yishu didn't speak, but gestured for her to continue.
"Isn't his voice a little too high-pitched?" Yun Duoduo said in a low voice.
Now that you mention it, it's true.
Yun Yishu frowned, recalling what had just happened.
"Ordinary people, or servants and stewards in wealthy merchants' mansions, would never speak in a high-pitched voice?"
"They're probably from the palace."
"Stone, look!"
Yun Yishu wholeheartedly agreed with Yun Duoduo's guess. He raised his head, and Shi Tou reluctantly went to pull down the pants of the dead man in black.
Yun Yishu pulled Yun Duoduo away from him.
"It's a limp one." After examining it, Stone clapped his hands and gave his conclusion.
"really."
Yun Duoduo revealed an expression that said, "I knew I was right."
As if suddenly remembering something, Yun Yishu abruptly ripped open the man's clothes.
“Duoduo, look, he has an oleander branded on his left shoulder.”
Upon hearing that it was oleander, Yun Duoduo's heart clenched as if it were being squeezed tightly, making it difficult to breathe.
"Duoduo? Are you alright, Duoduo?"
Yun Yishu looked at Yun Duoduo with concern and gently patted her shoulder.
"Oh? Oh, I'm fine."
Yun Duoduo leaned closer to the man in black and glanced at the mark on his shoulder.
"I never expected it would be someone from the palace." Yun Duoduo felt a little weak.
Oleander...
"They are from Linhua Palace."
"The eunuchs and palace maids in the harem all had brand marks on their shoulders. The people in the Empress's palace had peony brand marks on their shoulders. The servants of other concubines, princes, and princesses also had different brand marks."
Why would the people of Linhua Palace want to harm Manager Wen?
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