It was raining continuously. After breakfast, Yu Zheng went to the study. When Jiang Shu was feeling bored, Yu Lan came.
"Sister." Jiang Shu happily stood up to greet her.
Yu Lan glanced at her belly and said, "The little one has grown up."
Jiang Shu nodded and excitedly shared with her the first fetal movement last night.
Chu Yushuanghua served tea and fruit snacks, and the two of them whispered in the room.
"I haven't seen Yijun for a long time, and I really miss him." Jiang Shu sighed with emotion.
Yu Lan took a sip of tea and said, "The wedding is approaching, and she has been detained in the house recently. I'm afraid she is also depressed."
Jiang Shu smiled thinking of Sun Yijun's impatient appearance, and finally sighed softly: "It's a pity that I am pregnant and can't go to her wedding banquet."
Twins are not allowed to attend weddings and funerals.
Not only was it Sun Yijun's wedding banquet, but counting the days, she couldn't go to Yu Lan's wedding to Zhou Boxu.
"It's a bit regretful, but the child is big and everyone is looking forward to his birth." Yu Lan looked at Jiang Shu's slightly bulging belly with soft eyes and couldn't help but reach out and touch it.
Just at this moment, the little guy moved.
Yu Lan's beautiful eyes were filled with joy: "He moved."
Jiang Shu also felt it and said warmly: "He must like Auntie."
"Smart guy, you know how to please people before you even come out." Yu Lan joked with a smile and retracted his hand.
Jiang Shu raised her hand to caress her lower abdomen and whispered to Yu Lan about her dream.
"Oh? Can you tell it's a boy or a girl?" Yu Lan asked her with interest.
Jiang Shu shook his head and said with a slight blush: "The dream is illusory, even if you see it clearly, you won't believe it to be true."
"That's not necessarily true. I heard that fetal dreams can come true." Yu Lan looked very experienced.
Jiang Shu said with a smile: "What did sister dream about when she was pregnant with Yun?"
Yu Lan tried hard to remember: "I don't think I have ever dreamed about children."
After many years, the memory has been blurred.
Ben was just chatting casually, neither of them paid much attention to it, and turned to talk about something else.
Time passed quickly when someone was with me. I don't know when the rain stopped outside.
Zhou Boxu stepped on the shallow water and walked straight through the front yard to Yu Zheng's study.
Yu Zheng put down the document in his hand and the two sat opposite each other.
Zhou Boxu got straight to the point: "Xie Qi'an said that as of yesterday afternoon, Master Cao's courtyard has been under martial law and no one except Cao Qian is allowed to enter or leave."
Based on the scene when Grandmaster Cao left the dinner yesterday, the questioning with Grandmaster Zhou, and the absence of attendance at the dinner, they guessed that Grandmaster Cao's condition had worsened.
Yu Zheng stared and thought: "So yesterday's birthday banquet was just a cover."
Zhou Boxu nodded.
The Cao family deliberately held a large birthday banquet and forced Grand Master Cao to attend, just to make the world think that Grand Master Cao was in good health and could live for a long time.
"If Grand Master Cao dies soon, the Cao family will definitely take action."
Yu Zheng said: "After returning home last night, I sent people to keep an eye on the Cao Mansion."
Zhou Boxu greatly agreed with this move.
Although they have spies in the Cao family, and Xie Qi'an also has the eyes and ears of a beautiful concubine, they are still unable to cover everything. Cao Qian's recent movements are particularly important and should not be ignored.
The two were discussing things and knocked on the door one by one: "Master."
Yu Zheng responded, Zhufeng pushed the door open and entered the house.
Zhou Boxu knew that Zhufeng must have something important to report, so he asked, "Do you want me to avoid it?"
Yu Zheng raised his finger and asked Zhufeng to speak directly.
Zhufeng said respectfully: "There is progress on Zhang Li's side."
The last time Zhufeng brought Zhang Li back, he had only one breath left, and it took a lot of effort to save him.
After a few days of recovery, Jiang took the initiative to surrender to Yu Zheng.
Zhang Li was not stupid, he understood that although Cao Qian abandoned him, he would never let him live. If Cao Qian found out that he was not dead, he would definitely kill him and silence him, so the only option left for him was to seek refuge with Yu Zheng.
And this was the reason why Yu Zheng threw him back to Cao Mansion. Taking the initiative to surrender after seeing the situation clearly is much more effective than coercion and inducement.
"Say." Yu Zheng listened attentively.
Zhufeng said: "Based on the clues provided by Zhang Li, we found a dark spot in Cao Qian's party's lending."
"Send people to go deep, collect evidence, and find their bank account and list of accounts." Yu Zheng ordered decisively.
"Also, let Zhang Li's side continue to follow up and investigate."
"Yes." Zhufeng bowed his hands and stepped back.
There are three cunning rabbit holes, and Cao Qian's party will never have only one dark spot. And the ill-gotten gains they made from loan sharking must not be deposited in banks. They must have built private banks.
Looking at the closed door, Zhou Poxu asked in surprise: "Cao Jiaqi is lending money at interest?"
Yu Zheng nodded: "I also learned about this incident by chance recently, and I just found out some clues."
Zhou Boxu said coldly: "The Cao family's hands are really wide and they dare to do anything."
The imperial court ordered officials to make private loans at interest, which was a serious crime and according to the law, their homes should be confiscated and sent into exile.
Now that Yu Cheng is only the prince, the Cao family dares to act so boldly. It is unimaginable how much the Cao family will do in the future when Yu Cheng ascends the throne.
"Making friends with officials, managing people up and down, and stationing troops and raising horses all require a lot of money. The Cao family has no business, so how can we get money like this?" Yu Zheng was not surprised by this.
Zhou Boxu frowned when he heard this: "I have conducted many secret investigations, but I have not yet found any trace of the Cao family's private soldiers."
Camping private soldiers is a serious crime of genocide. Cao Qian was extremely cautious and would not let anyone find his trace. It was not easy for Zhou Boxu to find out this matter.
Tapping the armrest with his slender fingers, Yu Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "If you can't find them, then force them to show themselves."
Zhou Boxu looked at Yu Zheng after hearing this, wondering what he meant by this.
Yu Zheng said: "This matter is not urgent, let's do other things first."
Near noon, after the two of them had discussed the business, Yu Zheng got up and sent Zhou Bo a preface.
Zhou Boxu came out of the study and hesitated: "When I came here, I saw... your sister's carriage in front of the house."
After hearing this, Yu Zheng raised his eyebrows in surprise: "My sister is here?"
Zhou Boxu was surprised: "You don't know?"
He still thought he sent him away on purpose.
Yu Zheng said calmly: "I don't know."
Yu Lan must have come to the palace to look for Jiang Shu. He was handling government affairs in the study, so it was normal that he did not report it to him.
Glancing at Zhou Boxu, who was motionless, Yu Zheng asked, knowingly: "It's noon, do you want to stay for dinner?"
Zhou Boxu's eyes lit up and he followed the good advice: "Okay."
What I was waiting for was his words.
Although he and Yu Lan had been married by the imperial edict, considering Mrs. Zhuang's feelings, it was not easy to go to the Zhuang's house to look for her. They had not seen her for a long time.
Looking at Zhou Boxu, whose lips were raised and his expression was full of energy, Yu Zheng felt puzzled.
Now that he is so clingy and unwilling to miss any opportunity to meet, how did he endure it all those years ago?
The two of them returned to the main courtyard together, and sure enough they saw Yu Lan sitting in the room talking to Jiang Shu.
Maybe he was tired after talking for a long time, but maybe he was relaxed physically and mentally. Yu Lan rested his hand on his chin with a relaxed expression, like a satiated cat.
The man's shoes made a "staining" sound when he stepped on the thin water on the ground.
The two people in the room turned their heads when they heard the sound, one happy and the other shocked.
"Husband, Mr. Zhou." Jiang Shu called out softly.
Zhou Boxu often came to the palace to discuss matters with Yu Zheng, and Yu Zheng occasionally went to Zhou's palace to discuss matters. Jiang Shu was accustomed to this.
The only surprise is that Yu Lan happened to be here today.
