socalfunplaces Page 529
Page 529
Upon hearing Xu Lingyue's voice, Mu Nanzhi immediately recognized her, "You, you are Li Chang'an's wife."
Xu Lingyue was very satisfied with the title and showed a sweet and generous smile. "I am just the young master's concubine and am not worthy of the title of madam. Do you have something to discuss with the young master, sister?"
For some reason, at this moment, Mu Nanzhi, the most beautiful woman in Dafeng, was filled with envy for a concubine.
Being able to spend every day with your beloved is far happier than being a princess living a life of luxury.
Her expression hardened, and she thought of a reason that she thought was reasonable. She said somewhat flusteredly, "Yes, yes, I would like to ask you, young master... to arrange flowers."
Xu Lingyue smiled and said, "Sister wants to invite the young master to do flower arranging, but the young master is away on official business in the capital and will probably be gone for three to five months."
Hearing Xu Lingyue's words, Mu Nanzhi suddenly felt a sense of relief. Since Li Chang'an was not in the capital, she no longer had to be caught in a dilemma.
"I see... Thank you for informing me, Madam."
Xu Lingyue said, "Don't worry, sister. I will tell the young master when he returns that you came to see him."
Mu Nanzhi instinctively wanted to wave her hand, not wanting Li Chang'an to know that she had been there, but if she did that, wouldn't it just make things more obvious?
Moreover, Xu Lingyue was Li Chang'an's concubine, so how could she not tell Li Chang'an about this?
"In that case, thank you very much, Madam."
After saying this, Mu Nanzhi fled as if running away, leaving Xu Lingyue with a puzzled look on her face.
This older sister is really strange. The young master likes calligraphy and painting, but I've never seen him arrange flowers. It's really odd.
Dusk, at the Xu family ancestral home.
Xu Xinnian returned to the capital, intending to take some changes of clothes, rice, flour, and money.
Yunlu Academy provides accommodation but not meals, so Xu Xinnian has to bring his own food from home, which means he has to go home regularly.
When he reined in his horse at the gate of the Xu residence, he found that the gate was locked.
Xu Xinnian's heart tightened. The last time the front door was locked, his family was facing imprisonment.
Locking the door is a big deal. If the master of a household keeps servants, even if he is not at home and closes the door to guests, the door is locked from the inside. A lock on the outside means that no one is home.
He went to the corner, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself, "I can scale walls and roofs!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Xinnian took a few steps back, feeling his limbs filled with strength, which propelled him forward as he leaped over the three-meter-high wall.
The entire Xu residence was quiet and deserted. Xu Xinnian pushed open each door, but the rooms of his parents, Xu Qi'an, and the servants were all empty.
Moreover, all the belongings in the mansion were moved away.
Xu Xinnian stood at the door, his expression blank and bewildered. What was going on? Had something happened to his family?
"My home, such a big home... No, the home is still there, but I'm gone!"
"Where are the family members? Does anyone dare to mess with the Xu family now... With Lord Li and Ning Yan around... Has the night watchman's case implicated them?"
"That's not right. There's no seal on the door, and the house is very clean. It doesn't look like it's been robbed by the government or bandits."
Xu Xinnian suddenly realized something, his eyes clearing as he grasped the key to the matter: "So that's it, they moved!"
Upon receiving this reliable conclusion, Xu Xinnian instantly fell into despair. He slumped down on the threshold, tears welling in his eyes, his heart filled with unspeakable grievances.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about the move? Have you forgotten Erlang who studied at Yunlu Academy?!"
"How could you do this..."
Since Xu Lingyue married Li Chang'an, and Xu Ningyan became a night watchman, he has become the least valued person in the family. Even the foodie little bean ding gets more attention than him.
Once upon a time, Xu Xinnian was the pride of his family and the hope for bringing glory to the Xu family!
But then everything changed. His family became increasingly wealthy, but he grew increasingly obscure, eventually becoming invisible.
"Ten years of hard study... couldn't overcome nepotism and power... Since that's how it is, I'm leaving!"
Xu Xinnian, his face contorted with anger, leaped over the high wall and landed on his horse, intending to leave the capital and return to the academy.
But then, the distant sound of bells and drums could be heard, and the city gates were closed.
An hour later, night fell, and a cold wind rose.
There was no curfew in the outer city. Xu Pingzhi led a team of Imperial Guards on patrol. When they passed by his ancestral home, he noticed a thin figure crouching under the stone lion at the entrance.
The figure hugged his knees, buried his face in his arms, and shivered in the cold wind. Not far away, a horse listlessly snorted.
Xu Pingzhi's heart skipped a beat. The figure looked familiar. Could it be such a coincidence? His son had just returned to the city today...
"Erlang?"
The scholar in the Confucian robe slowly raised his head. He was exceptionally handsome, but his expression was haggard, and his eyes held a hint of resentment, as if he had just been crying.
The father and son stared at each other in silence for a long time before Xu Pingzhi coughed twice and asked, "Why don't we go to the inn?"
There's a curfew in the inner city, so we can't enter now. The city gates are closed, so we can't get back to the academy. We can only go to the inn.
"We're out of money."
"It's chilly at night, you can make do with spending the night in the mansion."
“If a person sleeps in his house, his horses will be stolen.”
"Why not return to the academy for now?"
"The city gates are closed."
Xu Pingzhi grabbed Xu Xinnian's arm and said apologetically, "My family moved to the inner city and wrote you a letter, but it probably hasn't arrived yet. There's a curfew in the inner city, so I'll take you to an inn."
Xu Xinnian's eyes were brimming with tears. He had written a letter to the academy from within the city, and it arrived in just one day. Clearly, his parents had forgotten to write earlier.
He slowly pried Xu Pingzhi's hand away, then turned his face to the dim wall, his voice hollow and empty.
"My lord, I have no family left."
"..."
In the cold wind, Xu Pingzhi was speechless, as if he could hear the sound of his heart breaking.
Xu Qi'an changed to a boat and drifted on the river heading towards Yunzhou.
This time, the group heading to Yunzhou consisted of twenty bronze gongs, six silver gongs, one gold gong, three of Governor Zhang's personal attendants, and one hundred Tiger Guards, for a total of one hundred and thirty-one people.
The leaders were naturally Governor Zhang and the night watchman Jiang Luzhong, but Xu Qi'an, due to his powerful background, had become the de facto number three in the team.
It was already night, but the three of them were still sitting in the cabin, talking about their mission.
"Ning Yan, our mole is dead." Jiang Luzhong got straight to the point and handed over the scroll.
While Xu Qi'an was reviewing the case file, Governor Zhang said, "Zhou Min had no external injuries and was not poisoned; it appears to be a natural death."
"Dream Witch." Xu Qi'an quickly connected the two to the magistrate of Taikang County.
Governor Zhang continued, "Zhou Min is experienced and wouldn't hide important evidence on his person. The most urgent task is to find the evidence he's hiding. For this, we'll have to rely on Lord Xu."
Xu Qi'an not only has a powerful background, but he is also quite skilled at solving cases.
“I will do my best, but the Commander-in-Chief is the governor of a prefecture and holds military power. If he is cornered, we will be the first to suffer.”
Jiang Luzhong said, "This is a risk we have to take, and Governor Zhang and I will mediate between us."
Xu Qi'an needed more information, so he asked, "Governor Zhang, what else do you know about Yunzhou?"
Governor Zhang pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Back then, Emperor Wuzong led his army into the capital, and then all the prefectures surrendered one after another. However, Yunzhou resisted fiercely. The garrison commander of Yunzhou at that time was good at defending the city, and Emperor Wuzong was unable to conquer it for a while."
"The two armies fought for several years, and the people suffered greatly. Many of them became bandits. After Emperor Wuzong conquered Yunzhou, he planned to recuperate and recover before suppressing the bandits."
"However, Yunzhou has many mountains, and once the bandits grow too big, they can never be completely eradicated. Every time one group is wiped out, another group will emerge. Now it has become a paradise for criminals wanted by the imperial court and scoundrels of the martial arts world. It is a deep-rooted problem that is hard to cure!"
Some problems were not solved well when the country was founded, and later generations were even less able to solve them. Firstly, they lacked the ability, and secondly, they were prone to complacency and lacked the courage to make significant sacrifices from top to bottom.
Judging from this perspective, Yunzhou's future development will drift further and further away from the Great Feng Dynasty.
After discussing some details, Xu Qi'an left the cabin to get some fresh air on the deck.
As he looked, an official ship sailed towards him, and figures could be seen moving about on the deck, seemingly trying to dodge after spotting the night watchman.
This is a normal phenomenon; what official isn't afraid of the disciplinary committee?
Xu Qi'an tore off a page of the Qi Observation Technique, and then his eyes were filled with blood.
On the official ship, there was a large patch of bright red, viscous blood.
Chapter 322 Miaozhen, don't forget your feelings, let's switch jobs!
A period of time after the murderer commits the crime, blood will appear, which suggests that the ship is full of evil people.
Of course, it's also possible that they were government officials who repelled the bandits, but this place is very close to Yuzhou City, so it's practically impossible for there to be a large number of river bandits. Therefore, the other party was neither a bandit nor an official who was suppressing bandits.
From this perspective, the surging blood light seems quite strange.
Xu Qi'an immediately called to the night watchman and rushed towards the official boat.
The other party tried to escape, but the night watchmen were all experts, and soon Xu Qi'an led several people to board the pontoon with a gong.
Upon seeing the group of night watchmen board the deck, the officials' expressions changed slightly, and they quietly gripped the hilts of their swords at their waists, their wariness evident.
"My lords, this is..."
A bearded man rushed out of the cabin, dressed in the uniform of a government official, wearing a tall hat and black boots.
Upon seeing the night watchmen, he forced himself to remain calm and asked, "Gentlemen, what brings you here?"