Su Mingzhong was very suspicious that Su Gu swallowed the money because he was greedy for it.
Su Gu choked
"Of course it was stolen. How could I do something that would get me killed and my entire family exterminated? I knew no one would believe me. Not even my father, let alone the Marquis!"
Knowing that the money was really stolen, Su Mingzhong became worried.
"What do you think?"
Su Gu paused, gritted his teeth and said,
"Dad, why don't we run away? If we don't, we'll only end up dead. Think about your grandson Xiaofeng. He can recite the Three Character Classic at such a young age. Before he even started school, he's already as good as children who've studied for three years. Do you really want him to die with us?"
"But we will be fugitive slaves for the rest of our lives."
"Dad, I'm out on some business. The Marquis won't know the money is gone for a while. During this time, Dad will go to another county to buy an identity, and then leave without anyone noticing. We'll be gone before the Marquis can react.
We have made a lot of money over the years, which is enough to last a lifetime even if we do nothing. When Xiaofeng becomes famous, we can become the elders of the officials. It is much better than being a slave, Dad!"
Su Mingzhong was loyal to the Marquis' Mansion all his life, so he couldn't let it go when he rebelled against the Mansion. However, it didn't matter if he died, but he really couldn't bear to leave his intelligent grandson.
"Well, let's do as you say. You go back to Qingjiang County and pretend to leave. Then disguise yourself and return halfway. Wait for us there. Once we have our identities in place, we'll travel south by water and find a place to stay along the way before making plans."
"Okay, I'll go back now."
"Leave quickly and don't let anyone see you. Too many people recognize your appearance. This disguise won't fool those who are familiar with you. You can't stay in the capital for long."
"Well, you go out first and I'll follow."
Su Mingzhong went back calmly and continued to do what he was doing. It was completely impossible to tell what had happened.
"Yueyue, they are going to betray the Marquis!"
Congcong finished watching the man and ran to report the news
"It's just right. Without them in the mansion, Su Chengang has few loyal and capable people around him, so he can take action more confidently.
Besides, if they don't betray their family, they will die. It's better for them to leave so that I don't have to worry about saving their lives. I took the money, and I can't let them die for no reason. This way, Su Chengang loses his most loyal person, but no one dies. It's good.
"Then I won't stare at them!"
"If you have nothing to do, go play with No. 1, 2, and 3."
As the twelfth lunar month approached, Su Mingzhong became increasingly busy and often had to go out, which served as a cover for him to go to Lin County to buy a household registration.
When he came back, it was Doudou's hundredth day. He invited his uncles and elders to come over, and opened the ancestral hall in a proper manner. He asked the elders to enter Doudou in the family tree, and Su Chengang named him Su Hongyuan.
Neither of them had any special ideas about what to call them. A name was just a title and didn't mean much to them. So since Su Chen was willing to spend the effort to come up with one, they just left it to him.
He really put a lot of thought into choosing a name. He didn't even go to the backyard these days. He wrote names one by one during his waking hours and checked classics over and over again just to come up with a good name.
The floor of the study is covered with papers with names written on them. If I didn’t know how he behaved in the past, I would really be touched by how much he cares about his children.
A hundred days later, Su Mingzhong ordered people to clean the mansion for the last time and arranged everything properly. He was so conscientious and meticulous that it was impossible to tell that he was going to betray and leave.
The next day, his wife and children left the house on the pretext of visiting relatives. The next day, Su Mingzhong left the house on the pretext of checking accounts and never returned.
"Yueyue, that family boarded the ship and left. They actually took five large boxes of silver, a box of banknotes, and two boxes of various jewelry. They are much richer than Su Chengang is now. I wonder how many days it will take for him to notice that they have disappeared."
"I guess it'll take about two days!"
"Why only two days?"
"Su Mingzhong is in charge of all matters in this mansion. He usually returns the same day when he goes out, or two days at most. Besides, that family also has work to do in the mansion, so if they don't return for a long time, someone will definitely report it."
"That's true! I have to see his expression when he guesses the truth. Wait for my performance!"
"Haha, go ahead! I guess he'll have to vomit blood!"
As expected, two days later, the house was locked at night, but the housekeeper Su and his family had not returned for three days, not even a letter. The housekeeper went out and did not come back either, although he should have returned that day.
Fearing that something had happened to Butler Su's family, he hurried to report to Su Chengang.
After naming Doudou, he indulged himself in wine and women. He lost his job and could not go to court without being summoned. He was too embarrassed to go out. So he just stayed in the backyard!
When the servant came to find him, he was playing with two little Bais, hugging them on both sides with their clothes open, and he was already slightly drunk.
"My Lord, I have something to report to you."
"This person is really tactless. If there is anything, can't he report it tomorrow?"
"My Lord, let's ignore him!"
"Well, ignoring it is not as important as hugging a concubine."
The Marquis did not call him in, but the housekeeper's family affairs were extremely important. He was the most useful person in front of the Marquis. If something really happened, it would be a big deal. He had no choice but to shout outside,
"I haven't seen any of the Marquis and Steward Su's family, and no one has replied, and no letters have come. Could something have happened?"
"Something happened? What could happen..."
Suddenly startled, he pushed Zhilan away.
"What did you say that everyone in their family is missing?"
Su Chen just woke up from the alcohol
"My Lord, this is a big deal. If you don't reply today, you can reply tomorrow."
Zhiyue was about to throw herself into Su Chengang's arms when he suddenly threw her to the ground. Her head hit the chair and blood started to flow.
"Ah~ Lord Marquis"
"Get out!"
Although the two did not understand what was going on, the Marquis was angry and hurriedly gathered his clothes and ran back to the inner room.
Su Chen just ran outside and grabbed the collar of the messenger,
"What's going on? Tell me!"
"Just as we were about to lock up the house, we discovered that the housekeeper's family hadn't returned for three days. They had said they would be back the next day. Furthermore, the housekeeper had gone out and hadn't returned either. We were worried that something had happened to the housekeeper's family, so we came to report it."
Su Chen was actually hoping that something really happened to his family, so that he would still have hope.
"Quickly gather all the guards and go to the relative's house they mentioned to check. Go quickly!"
"yes"
The guard left the city overnight with the sign of the Marquis' Mansion, and rode quickly all the way to the relative's house on the farm outside the city, and then to the place where the housekeeper wanted to check the accounts.
Su Chengang didn't sleep either. He kept walking around waiting for them to come back and report the news.
"My Lord, the Su family has never been to the manor."
"My Lord, the accountant said they haven't seen Steward Su. We had agreed to meet yesterday to reconcile the accounts, but after waiting all day, the steward still didn't show up."
"My Lord, the housekeeper's room is almost empty, all the valuables are gone!"
Su Chengang’s eyes went dark.
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