Xunfanglou's housekeeper's mother stood in front of Ah Shi with her hands down, not daring to express her anger. The young man in front of him has only been in the Fang family for more than a month, and he is already the manager of Wanhua House. The flower houses under the Fang family are now in his hands. Moreover, his methods were even worse than those of ordinary stewards. On the third day after Wanhua Tower was in his hands, a corpse was carried out.
The person who died was a steward who had been in the building for six years, so he was almost the same age as Wanhua Building. I heard that he committed suicide by hanging from a beam, and a good person would disappear after saying goodbye, which made people panic. What's more, before the girl committed suicide, Ah Shi had looked for her several times...
No one knew the inside story. Even the head of the family, Fang Lihui, didn't say much. He just put the money for the girl's life in Ah Shi's account. Suddenly, rumors spread in the streets and alleys that things were about to change.
However, these days are no different from the past. Ah, apart from being stricter in checking accounts and being more careful when verifying the identity of people entering the building, there is nothing else. In addition, after he unearthed the old accounts of several flower houses, with people involved in lawsuits and money unknown, the Jingzhao Yin Mansion sealed them up.
Those who were sealed were all their opponents, which made their lives much easier, and they no longer dared to say anything about the new manager.
"I've read this month's accounts, and there's nothing wrong with them." Ah Shi's voice interrupted the mother in charge's thoughts. She nodded hurriedly and said, "That's good..."
"Are you ready with all the things I asked you to prepare?" Ah Shi said and stood up. The mother in charge said respectfully: "Everything is ready, but I don't know..."
"There are some things, and it's no good if you know too much." Ah Shi glanced at the person in front of her, and she immediately fell silent.
Fang Zilan saw this scene as soon as she entered Xunfang Building. She hadn't seen it for a long time. There was a bit of gloom in the young man's eyebrows, as if covered with a layer of dust and no longer as clear as before.
In an instant, she suddenly felt a little more regretful. Was it wrong to push Ah Shi into the Fang family?
"Master Fang." Ah Shi's eyes lit up when he saw her, and he walked over and saluted: "Master Fang, okay. Since you are here, why are you standing at the door and not coming in?"
"I just came to get Chu Bin's body deed, and I left after I got it." Fang Zilan still stood there, and the light in Ah Shi's eyes dimmed suddenly, "Master Fang, is there anything else you have to do?"
Fang Zilan hesitated for a moment, "It's not very busy."
Ah Shi raised the corners of his lips and raised his hand in a gesture of invitation. Fang Zilan followed him to the private room on the second floor.
There were not many guests in Xunfang Building in the afternoon. In the quiet atmosphere, Fang Zilan's stomach rumbled at an inappropriate time. Ah Shi led the way and said, "Master Fang, you haven't had time to have lunch yet, right?"
Fang Zilan hummed and saw Ah Shi pushing open the door of a private room facing the street. There was a table filled with lunch on the table inside.
"This..." A look of surprise flashed across Fang Zilan's face, and Ah Shi explained: "I heard that His Majesty summoned Mr. Fang to the palace early in the morning, and I thought it would be at least close to noon for Mr. Fang to come here. I know that Mr. Fang is not here. I always use my breakfast late when I'm in the shower, and I'm afraid it will be the same today, so I ordered someone to prepare it in advance."
Fang Zilan pursed her lips, "What if I go back home first after leaving the palace and come back later?"
Ah Shi opened his mouth and swallowed back the "you don't know" he originally wanted to say. He knew that Fang Zilan was resolute and would never allow such a long night and many dreams to be delayed unnecessarily, but he also knew that the person who needed her to go to great lengths to fake his identity must not be simple. He didn't want her to doubt him, so he simply didn't point it out and changed his words: "That's okay, it's just a lunch, nothing."
Fang Zilan didn't say anything else. She walked straight in and sat down. She picked up her chopsticks and tasted briefly. She stopped after taking a few bites and asked, "Aye, how are you doing at Fang's house?"
Ah Shi was stunned for a while and then said: "It's pretty good."
"I heard the conversation just now between you and the mother who is in charge of the building." Fang Zilan gradually tightened her grip on the chopsticks. "I have heard it all. You are now the manager of Wanhua Building. The Fang family..."
"Master Fang." Ah Shi interrupted her abruptly, his voice trembling, "Miss Lingyu is dead."
Lingyu? Fang Zilan repeated the name secretly, feeling that it sounded indescribably familiar, and then remembered that Xiao Xuan'er had told her that after Ah Shi took over Wanhua Tower, a girl committed suicide by hanging from a beam, and her name was Ling Yu.
It was considered a commotion at that time, and Xiao Xuan'er once asked her if she wanted to say hello to the Fang family and take care of Ah Shi.
She refused after hearing this. In her mind, Ah Shi was the kind of bastard who would force the girl to death. If she stretched her hand too far, it would easily cause Ah Shi trouble. If others mistakenly think that it is because of her that A can gain a foothold in the Fang family, I am afraid it will be very difficult in the future.
But now that Ah Shi looks like this, it seems that Ling Yu's death is indeed related to him...
Fang Zilan took a deep breath at this thought and put down the chopsticks in her hands, "Yes, would you like to talk to me?"
After the crisp sound of the chopsticks fell, the young man's dull voice was filled with astringency, "I just wanted to know what happened in Wanhua House six years ago. I never thought that it would cause Miss Lingyu to commit suicide."
"Six years ago?" Fang Zilan thought for a moment, but found that she had no memory of this time point.
"I checked the accounts of Wanhua House. Six years ago, a large amount of money flowed in, which allowed the business where all the girls in the building to be servants to survive." Ah Shi said quietly: "But I don't know any of the Fang family's account books. Zhongdu has not found the source of this batch of money. It was the second year after the previous head of the family, Fang Liren, took over. The elders of the Fang family were very strict about all accounts and expenditures, and there was no possibility of tampering behind the scenes."
Fang Zilan responded, "The second year after Fang Liren takes over as the head of the family will be the time when Fang Lihui's Wanhua Building is completed, right?"
"Master Fang, have you ever heard of the Jiangnan Boat Fire Case?" Ah Shi suddenly mentioned an unrelated old case. Fang Zilan was startled and remembered. The fire shot up into the sky and burned the entire river red.
That was more than six years ago, when she came out of Hidden Sword Villa and encountered this shocking case.
A fire not only burned to death several state officials on the boat, but also the boats nearby were not spared. Countless gentry, wealthy businessmen were killed and injured. Later, it was found out that some kabuki dancers on the boat set the fire to vent their anger because they hated the unfairness of the world.
Although the fire was huge, the truth behind it was also obscured by the death of the murderer. However, after this case, the imperial court strictly managed the entertainment venues in various places, and there were strict requirements from the beginning...
"It seems that Mr. Fang has heard of it." Ah Shi looked at Fang Zilan who was silent and continued talking to himself, "The kabuki culprit in this case and the arsonist came from Qianyan Pavilion, which was the first theater opened by Mr. Fang Lihui. One brothel, the second one is Wanhua Tower.”
Fang Zilan's heart tightened, "You mean..."
She didn't continue, and Ah Shi added: "Not only that, after that case, the relationship between the Fang family and the state government got much better, and Master Fang Lihui's silk and satin shop even became more like a nobleman..."
"Ah yes, does Fang Lihui know that you are checking him?" Fang Zilan suddenly spoke up, and the ends of Ah Shi's eyes turned red, "More than just knowing? Otherwise, why did Mr. Fang think Miss Lingyu died?"
