Chapter 22 Breakthrough Tang Suzi walked through the streets and arrived at Ling An's residence...
Tang Suzi walked through the streets and arrived at the gate of Ling An's mansion.
Just as he was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, Lin Xiangli and her maid returned, and the two met unexpectedly.
"Miss Tang!"
Lin Xiangli's voice was full of surprise. She stepped forward quickly and naturally held Tang Suzi's hand with both hands.
"Where have you been these days? Ling An and I miss you very much."
Tang Suzi smiled faintly, thinking about the delicate relationship between Lin Xiangli and Chen Weiyu, so he could only answer vaguely,
"I was caught up in some trivial matters, so I was delayed for some time."
Lin Xiangli nodded understandingly, then pulled Tang Suzi into the house, saying as they walked,
"It's windy outside, let's go inside and talk."
*
Inside the house, Ling An was thinking with his head down. He looked up inadvertently and saw Tang Suzi and Lin Xiangli coming side by side. A flash of surprise appeared in his eyes, and then he stood up to greet them.
He stood in front of Tang Suzi, words lingering in his throat. He wanted to ask:
Where have you been these days?
But when his eyes met her slightly thin face, those questioning words finally turned into just one sentence,
"Are you... okay?"
Tang Suzi felt the care and nodded gently with a warm smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had some things to deal with recently, so I've been a little busy."
Then, Tang Suzi turned to Lin Xiangli and asked about her plan.
"What are your plans today? Perhaps I can lend a hand and see if I can be of assistance."
Lin Xiangli said gratefully,
"I plan to sell the Lin family's assets to compensate the victims' families. Ling An and I have roughly completed the inventory of the family property over the past few days. Next, we plan to split up and go to the market to understand the market prices of jewelry and calligraphy and paintings, and find suitable buyers or auction channels; the other is to find a suitable way to sell the Lin residence."
Ling An took over the conversation.
"There are two main things we need to do now. One is to find a reliable auction house to handle the jewelry and calligraphy, and the other is to find a real estate agent to help us sell the house."
After hearing this, Tangtang Suzi nodded thoughtfully and then suggested,
"In that case, I'll be in charge of getting information about the house. You guys can focus on selling the jewelry, calligraphy, and paintings. How do you think?"
"Very good."
The three of them smiled at each other and reached a consensus.
*
When Zhou's mother returned to the prefectural government, she was unable to muster any appetite in the face of the dazzling array of delicacies on the table.
Her thoughts involuntarily drifted to the scene on the street during the day, and her heart felt heavy as if it were being pressed by a huge rock.
The girl's face reappeared in her mind.
The charm in her eyes and eyebrows was so strikingly similar to Tiao'er's, as if time had gone back to the past when mother and daughter lived together.
However, her mind told her that Tiao'er had been gone for about ten years, and this resemblance might just be a coincidence...
But the moment she saw her on the street, the sense of intimacy that surged from the bottom of her heart, the palpitations as if we were connected by blood and recognized each other by soul, made it difficult for her to let go.
She wouldn't be able to not even recognize her own daughter...
"lady?"
"Mother?"
Two calls interrupted Zhou's mother's thoughts.
She looked up and met her son and husband's eyes full of concern and worry.
In order to prevent this emotion from affecting her son, she had to suppress her inner turmoil, put on a forced smile, and replied softly,
"Well, let's eat."
The chopsticks gently touched the porcelain plate, picked up a piece of tempting braised pork, and put it into the mouth.
However, this usually mouth-watering delicacy now tastes like chewing wax and is bland.
Her mind was still immersed in those chaotic thoughts, unable to extricate herself.
During the meal, Zhou's father broke the silence. He looked at Zhou Jin and said earnestly,
"Jin'er, we came back this time not only to see you, but we also have another plan."
Zhou Jin listened to the words and responded respectfully.
"Father, please speak."
Zhou's father said,
"You have been appointed as the governor of Weizhou, and we are old and unwilling to travel back and forth between the capital and Weizhou. This time, your mother and I plan to stay in Weizhou, which can be regarded as a return to our roots."
After hearing this, Zhou Jin agreed with his father's idea.
He nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that's great. I'll make arrangements as soon as possible to find a quiet and comfortable home for you and your parents to spend their remaining years in."
"Okay, thank you, Jin'er."
Father Zhou smiled with relief.
"You are too kind, Dad and Mom. This is my duty as a son."
*
In the capital city of Yaozhou, the night is as dark as ink.
More than ten carriages drove silently towards the South Gate, a desolate place that was rarely visited by people on weekdays.
The outline of the carriage was looming in the dim torchlight, like a ghost moving through the night.
The soldiers guarding the gate stopped the leading carriage alertly and shouted,
"Who went out of town late at night and violated the curfew?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man walked out of the carriage, holding an exquisitely carved token in his hand. It shone with a faint cold light under the illumination of the torch.
The soldiers were immediately shocked, apologized repeatedly, and quickly ordered their companions to open the city gate and let the convoy pass.
The convoy set out in a mighty procession, but before it had traveled a mile, it encountered an accident.
Accompanied by the sound of rapid horse hooves and clothes tearing through the air, a group of men in black rushed out from the darkness like ghosts and surrounded the carriage.
The driver was so frightened that he pulled the reins hard, and the horse suddenly stopped with a neigh.
Inside the carriage, the middle-aged man hurriedly lifted the curtain and angrily scolded the man in black.
"Who are you to dare to stop the government carriage?"
However, the man in black ignored this and subdued the middle-aged man and all the drivers in an instant.
In the darkness of the night, a young man with a stern temperament and handsome face walked out slowly. He walked straight towards the middle-aged man and also showed his token.
The middle-aged man saw this and his face suddenly changed. He exclaimed,
"Sky Eagle Pavilion!"
As soon as the voice fell, the young man gave a cold order.
"take away!"
*
In a hidden place outside the city, the secret interrogation center of Eagle Pavilion stood quietly in the night.
It is surrounded by high walls and deep trenches, with only a tightly closed gate connecting it to the outside world. Except for a few core members such as Fang Buyu and Guo Yan, its location is little known.
In a dark room inside the gate, Guo Yan was reporting to Fang Buyu.
"No, after an overnight interrogation, the drivers have confessed everything. They insist they were merely hired to transport the goods, had no idea what was inside the boxes, and were not involved in any illegal activities. They all said the same thing, stating that the goods carried by the carriages were finally unloaded at the Prime Minister's residence. The man leading the group was Wu Yong, the butler of Wang Gui's residence. This was found on him..."
As he spoke, Guo Yan handed a token to Fang Buyu. The word "Tuoba" was clearly visible on the token, and it glowed faintly under the dim candlelight.
Fang Buyu took the token, examined it carefully for a moment, and then a sardonic smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Tuoba Xuan...he's really becoming more and more interesting."
After saying this, he stood up and strode towards the underground darkroom.
In the darkroom, Wu Yong, who was chained to the wall, heard footsteps and struggled hard. He looked up at the young man walking slowly towards him at the end of the passage, and an inexplicable chill welled up in his heart.
"You...you are Fang Buyu, the head of the Sky Eagle Pavilion?"
Fang Buyu walked up to Wu Yong and stopped.
"Exactly."
Wu Yong glared at him, but did not dare to act rashly.
"You and I have no connection, no grudges or hatred. Why do you treat me like this and imprison me here?"
Fang Buyu smiled slightly,
"Don't worry, Steward Wu. Our Sky Eagle Pavilion has its own reasons for doing things. I do have many doubts about the palace, and I need to consult Steward Wu."
Wu Yong's face suddenly changed when he heard this.
"You...how do you know my identity?"
Fang Buyu did not respond directly to his question, but changed the subject.
"Butler Wu went through so much trouble, traveling all the way from the Weizhou Palace to the capital, just to deliver these ten carts of goods to the Prime Minister's Residence. Just how precious must these goods be to warrant such a fuss?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the darkroom froze instantly, and Wu Yong's face became even more gloomy.
His eyes flickered, trying to get away with it.
"It's just some ordinary cargo."
"oh?"
Fang Buyu deliberately prolonged his tone, and then asked word by word,
"What kind of ordinary cargo requires two or three people to move a single box? And what kind of ordinary cargo requires such secret transportation in the dead of night? What's even more puzzling to me is that the capital city has everything, so why would the Prime Minister's Office need to purchase these so-called 'ordinary goods' from a bookkeeper in a remote prefecture?"
As Fang Buyu asked three questions one after another, Wu Yong's face became paler and paler. Although it was winter, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His eyes flickered, as if he was trying hard to hide something, but in the end he just gritted his teeth and remained silent.
Seeing this, Fang Buyu said no more, but took out the prime minister's token from his sleeve and shook it gently, as if he was really savoring this unexpected gain.
"This token was found on you."
Fang Buyu's voice was casual, as if he was stating something insignificant.
"With it, your connection to the Prime Minister's Mansion is irrefutable. Steward Wu, you've probably underestimated the severity of this matter. You cannot escape responsibility."
Wu Yong finally broke down, but still spoke only fragments.
"I...I'm just delivering the goods for Wang Zhangbu. I really don't know anything."
Fang Buyu shook his head slightly, his expression stern.
"Butler Wu, I'll take note of your story for now. But at this moment, I don't want to pursue any other disputes between you and the Prime Minister's Mansion. I just want to know one thing—what's in those boxes?"
His words carried an irresistible majesty, like an invisible shackle that bound Wu Yong tightly.
However, Wu Yong still gritted his teeth, begged for mercy in a trembling voice, and still insisted that he knew nothing.
"Okay, since you're so insistent, I'll give you some time to think it over. But remember, the truth will always come to light. If I find out the secret of the box from someone else, Butler Wu, don't blame me for not giving you a chance to confess."
After saying that, Fang Buyu didn't want to waste any more time and turned to leave.
After leaving the underground darkroom, Fang Buyu issued an urgent order to Guo Yan who was guarding the door.
"Guo Yan, immediately mobilize your forces and apprehend Wang Gui with all your might. Once you have him, send someone to Ningxiang Residence to report this to Chen Weiyu.
Guo Yan looked puzzled.
"Bu Yu, what's the meaning of this? Why did you specifically inform Madam Chen about the arrest of Wang Gui?"
Fang Buyu explained,
"As long as Wang Gui remains undetected, the women who have been persecuted in Ningxiangju will be hesitant and may not have the courage to testify against Lin Bowen and Wang Gui's evil deeds."
When Guo Yan heard this, he suddenly understood.
"Indeed, if they didn't know Wang Gui had been captured, relying solely on his power and influence, it would be difficult for Madam Chen to unite with the other sisters to denounce him."
Fang Buyu then continued to instruct,
"In addition, you need to deploy more personnel to strictly guard this place and ensure that nothing goes wrong. At the same time, distribute warm blankets to all detainees. No one can be harmed before a thorough investigation."
"Yes, sir!"
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