In the blink of an eye, it has been three days since Jiang Wan moved back to the General's Mansion.
After the Lantern Festival, everyone in the mansion was filled with anxiety.
Madam Yuan originally planned to teach Jiang Wan a lesson after she returned to the mansion, but now she is too busy to take care of herself.
Every day before dawn, Song Lin would set off from the main gate of the General's Mansion, kowtow all the way along the streets and alleys, and return to the palace, arriving back late at night.
In just one day, his knees were covered in bruises, and now they are so swollen that they are unsightly.
More devastating than the physical pain was the mocking gaze of others. Every day after returning home, Song Lin was filled with shame and anger, throwing tantrums and smashing cups.
The elder's wife reprimanded her several times, causing quite a commotion.
At the same time, He Xingyun was ordered to investigate the loss of the reward.
The matriarch was in a state of utter distress and had no time to spare for Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan, however, was absolutely certain.
The owner of Treasure Pavilion had long been protected by Linglong Pavilion. Apart from giving a statement to the Prefect of the Capital once, the Song family had no way of finding him.
Naturally, the boss concealed the appearance of Biluo.
He Xingyun could only find out that the people in the General's Mansion had sold the rewards, which was enough to close the case.
If the matriarch wants to protect Gu Yurong, she will have to pay a price.
Jiang Wan wanted to see what other cards she had up her sleeve.
When she had some free time, she sent Biluo to inquire about Bi Yuan.
She reads and brews tea every day, waiting quietly.
"lady."
That day, the curtain was lifted, and Biluo strode in, enveloped in a blizzard.
"The person you asked me to keep an eye on has disappeared from the inn and can't be found."
"I've been inquiring for half a day, but I haven't heard a word about him. Someone must have helped him hide his tracks. Should we have the brothers in the pavilion investigate?"
Jiang Wan took a sip of tea.
Bi Yuan's only acquaintance in the capital is Gu Yurong. Who else could it be?
The fact that Gu Yurong would hide someone suggests that there's definitely something fishy going on between them.
Perhaps we can uncover some unknown secrets.
Compared to her previous life, Gu Yurong's current situation is far worse.
But with Song Lin and Song Ziyu still by her side, she still has room to breathe and a chance to turn things around.
To completely defeat her, we need to strike at Song Ziyu's most vulnerable spot.
"Don't do it yet, lest we alert them."
Even if we capture Bi Yuan, we probably won't get anything out of him.
Jiang Wan said calmly, "We need to start by targeting the people around Gu Yurong."
Upon hearing this, Cai Die chimed in from the side, "Speaking of which, Gu Shi's close maid, Zi Que, has been missing for the past two days. I've inquired about her, and everyone says that she did something wrong and was punished by Gu Shi."
Jiang Wan narrowed her eyes, not surprised at all.
Song Yu later told her about what happened on the Lantern Festival. Originally, Song Lin had violated Zi Que, and he thought that Gu Yu Rong would hold a grudge against Zi Que after learning the truth.
Jiang Wan agreed with his opinion.
However, Zi Que was completely loyal to Gu Yu Rong, and even if Jiang Wan managed to extract information from her through coercion and enticement, she dared not fully believe it.
Rather than doing that, it's better to see through Gu Yurong's true colors completely, so that she will betray us completely.
That day, Cai Die secretly visited Zi Que, as Jiang Wan had instructed.
She came back with red eyes.
“Gu resented Zi Que for seducing Song Lin, called her a vixen, locked her in the woodshed, and didn’t even give her food or drink.”
“I secretly brought her some, and found that her fingers had been crushed and broken, her body was covered in wounds, and she was barely clinging to life. She was so pitiful.”
It was clearly that beast Song Lin who did this, but Gu Yurong insisted on taking her anger out on an innocent maid!
The butterfly gritted its teeth.
Although Zique had done many bad things, and Caidie always argued with her until they were practically choking on each other, as fellow servants, she could empathize with her grievances.
"You told her what I said, what did she say?" Jiang Wan asked.
When the matter was brought up, Cai Die became even angrier: "She was beaten to the point of being half dead, and Zi Que said that Gu Shi had just misunderstood her and was only angry right now. She would let her go once her anger subsided."
She exclaimed, "How foolish! They won't shed a tear until they see the coffin!"
Jiang Wan chuckled: "If one day I treat you like this, and Gu Yurong sends someone to rescue you, will you betray me?"
Cai Die's eyes widened: "How could Madam treat me like this? There must be some misunderstanding! And what good intentions could Madam Gu possibly have? I won't be fooled by her!"
“That’s right.” Jiang Wan nodded. “It’s clear that Zi Que thinks the same way.”
Butterfly opened her mouth, looking sullen.
"Then what should we do?"
“Zi Que hopes that master and servant can reconcile, but unfortunately, she will soon be disappointed,” Jiang Wan said calmly.
She summoned Shen Ci, who was on duty.
"The day after tomorrow, the manor will be selling off a batch of maids. According to the usual methods of human traffickers, they should be sent to Xiaoxiang Pavilion. You go and keep an eye on one named Zique."
“I need to get some things out of her. She probably won’t agree at first, but I guess with the torture methods of Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she won’t last more than a few days. When that happens, send me a message and I’ll go see her in person.”
Shen Ci was taken aback.
"Xiaoxiang Pavilion?"
That was the largest brothel in Dingjing.
Jiang Wan is clearly a woman from a secluded household, yet she seems to know a lot about the methods there and even dares to set foot there herself.
Ordinary noble ladies would have avoided this place.
"What, is it difficult?"
Seeing that he didn't speak, Jiang Wan frowned and looked him over.
"If you're worried about not being able to resist the temptation, tell me in advance, so as not to ruin my important business."
Shen Ci: "..."
Master is right, there is indeed something wrong with Jiang Wan!
Jiang Wan's guess was correct.
A few days later, Shen Ci sent word that Zi Que wanted to see Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan disguised herself as a man and headed straight for Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
At this moment, in a private room on the second floor of Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
Pei Xuan and He Xingyun sat on either side, each drinking tea.
"Is this what you meant by 'strange things'?" Pei Xuan's gaze swept over the person downstairs: "Wasn't the case at the General's Mansion almost solved? Why are you keeping an eye on him?"
"The case has been solved, but I'm still furious! The owner of a treasure pavilion—I mobilized the entire capital's prefecture, yet we couldn't find a trace of him. Isn't that strange?"
He Xingyun's eyes widened.
"He must have a powerful figure guiding him, maybe even some evil force!"
"Fortunately, I discovered that he had a close relationship with a songstress here, so I had people keeping watch. Sure enough, we finally caught him showing up today! Let's wait and see who covers his escape, then we'll know who's behind him!"
He Xingyun stared unblinkingly at the doorway, then suddenly his eyes widened.
He didn't see wrong, did he?
Why does this handsome "young master" who walked in by lifting the curtain look so familiar?
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