Originally, Zu An had considered handing Han Fengqiu to Sang Hong as a witness, but when he came to the graves of Shen Zhou's wife and children and thought of the dozens of innocent lives in the village, he decisively gave up this idea.
I am not qualified to forgive anyone on their behalf. All I can do is send people away and let them decide for themselves.
As for dealing with King Qi, one more Han Fengqiu and one less Han Fengqiu will not have much impact.
After paying homage, I returned to the mission residence and found that the Habayashi men were coming in and out and arresting many people.
Sang Hong was also busy nervously, interrogating prisoners and checking accounts and statistics.
Finally I found a chance to talk to him: "Uncle, is there something wrong with the things in the account book?"
"Some of the content is not correct. It is obvious that King Qi's forces have done some follow-up work during this period. However, as long as we investigate carefully, these cover-ups can be easily distinguished." Sang Hong had a smile on his face, "I'm afraid King Qi is responsible for this." There is no escape. By the way, I heard that there was a big battle in a courtyard in the city, and many dead soldiers died there."
Zu An knew what he was implying, so he nodded and replied: "Some people are always responsible for those innocent villagers."
Sang Hong stopped and said, "I will ask the people in the yamen. Since it is a dead soldier, it is probably a vendetta, and they will close the case soon."
Zu An felt warm in his heart, knowing that he was trying to clean up the aftermath for himself: "Thank you, uncle."
"This has nothing to do with you, why are you thanking me?" Sang Hong smiled like an old fox.
…
The two then discussed some specific details about King Qi's case, and then Sang Hong continued to interrogate and investigate those involved, while Zu An came to Pei Mansion in his spare time.
2k
He was already familiar with the guards and terrain of Pei Mansion.
It was easy to arrive at Pei Mianman's courtyard.
As soon as she entered the door, she bumped into Hong Zao, pinched her baby-fat cheeks, and then handed her the snacks she brought.
In the past, her eyes would light up every time she saw snacks, and she would shout "Uncle" in one mouthful, which was so sweet. Who knows, but this time she snorted, turned around and continued to do her own thing, as if she didn't see him at all. .
Zu An was full of doubts, and when he came upstairs, he saw a graceful figure sitting by the window playing the piano. She was wearing a bright red dress, which made her look even more delicate and unparalleled.
Her back was straight, and her sitting posture was very demure and dignified. However, unlike other ladies, she seemed to rest her heavy breasts on the table in order to reduce the burden on her body.
The curve of being pressed by the table is so thrilling that people can't take their eyes away immediately.
Zu An did not disturb her and listened to the song quietly before praising:
"The sound of the piano is beautiful, and the people are even more beautiful."
"Oh, our grandfather probably used these sweet words to deceive other girls." Pei Mianman obviously knew that he was coming. He gently caressed the strings with his fingers without even turning around.
As soon as he heard her tone, Zu An understood. He squeezed to sit next to her and said with a smile: "Why, you are still jealous."
No wonder Hongzao didn't give him a good look just now. In the past two days, he was so busy that he almost forgot that Tang Tian'er held his arm and she caught him.
"How dare I? There are so many beauties around you, and I'd be jealous of every one of them." Pei Mianman still didn't look at him, and seemed to be concentrating on playing with the strings.
Zu An said: "I was really investigating the case last time. It was through Miss Tang that I found out that the boss behind Biyufang was actually the Pegasus Chamber of Commerce. We went to check the Pegasus Chamber of Commerce and found that the Pegasus Chamber of Commerce was related to the Demon Cult and King Yan. ...As a result, the further I investigated, the more complicated the matter became. It was all planned by King Qi..."
Pei Mianman snorted slightly when she heard Tang Tian'er at first, but her attention was quickly attracted when she heard what happened later. After understanding the whole process, her mouth opened wide. I still remember being jealous: "I didn't expect that King Yan and the Demon Cult would actually collude, and King Qi is too cunning to fool us all."
Zu An sighed: "I'm more worried about you now. The new spokesman chosen by King Qi in Yunzhong County is your father, but the emperor is determined to get rid of King Qi, and this time the imperial mission Enough evidence has been found, King Qi’s good days are few, and your father will also be implicated by then.”
Pei Mianman snorted: "He likes to follow the crowd, so just let him go."
Zu An advised: "He is your father after all, and if he is punished, you will definitely be implicated."
"He is just my father in name only. How can he treat me like his own daughter these years? And how did he treat my mother back then." Pei Mianman's face was filled with frost, and he obviously had a lot of resentment in his heart.
Zu An naturally knew the kind of treatment Pei Mianman received in her early years. That is to say, as her appearance became more and more outstanding, the Pei family treated her a little better in order to use her for marriage in the future.
But she was only given a sick and unwanted maid, and the most remote and dilapidated courtyard in the house was given to her. Not to mention the daughter of the city lord's house, even the young lady of an ordinary family would be treated much more than this.
"Of course I'm not worried about his life or death. I'm mainly worried about you getting hurt." Zu An held her hand.
Feeling his concern, the jealousy in Pei Mianman's heart disappeared long ago, and she naturally snuggled into his arms: "Listen to what you just said, the other spokesperson chosen by King Qi is Yu Xuansu, who is my stepmother's Father, I know that woman’s temperament best. With this relationship, my father can’t withdraw even if he wants to.”
"I know you are doing it for my own good, but if you really go to inform him, it will put you in danger. After all, the Yu family, father and daughter, and King Qi have been prepared in advance, and it might be detrimental to you."
Zu An laughed: "They say girls are outgoing, and it's true. My Da Manman really values me as her lover more."
"You're such a bastard!" Pei Mianman was so angry that he bit him hard on the shoulder.
Hearing the sounds of playing and laughing upstairs, Hongzao downstairs covered his ears and muttered: "Miss is really spineless, she reconciled with my uncle so quickly."
She turned her eyes to the pastry box brought by Zu An and swallowed: "It's not my fault. Even the young lady has forgiven my uncle. What can I, a maid, do?"
After talking to himself like this, he seemed to have put down his psychological burden, and soon opened the food box and started eating.
"Well, it smells so good~ I'm the best!"
Let's say that after Zu An and Pei Mianman had been in harmony for a long time, they still ran to see Pei Shao.
Although Pei Mianman didn't say it, Zu An knew that she also longed for family affection in her heart.
Even if it can't stop Pei Shao's ambition, it can at least delay his time to get on King Qi's chariot.
"Master Zu, what kind of wind has brought you here?" Pei Shao was a little surprised when he saw him. The key is that the other party did not seem to take the main entrance and did not notify him in advance.
A sudden visit, "Come, let's serve tea."
"No need, I have something to say to the city lord alone." Zu An stopped him.
"I wonder what Master Zu has to say?" Pei Shao naturally heard that he didn't want outsiders to be present, and couldn't help but be secretly frightened, thinking that this guy wouldn't come to assassinate me.
These days, he has heard a lot of rumors about the other party. Fighting alone, he has no confidence that he can defeat the other party.
"The city lord should know that many people were arrested today." Zu An asked straight to the point.
"I have indeed heard about it, but it's a pity that Mr. Sang keeps everything secret. I don't know what crimes these officials and businessmen have committed." Pei Shao replied.
"Is the city lord really not aware or is he pretending not to know?" Zu An said with a half-smile.
Pei Shao's expression changed: "Master Zu, what do you mean!"
Zu An smiled: "I heard that the Lord of the City is planning to marry King Qi recently?"
Pei Shao said with a smile: "Lord Zu, you are joking. How can we dare to reach out to such a person as the Crown Prince of Qi?"
Seeing that he was still playing tricks at this point, Zu An secretly sneered: "The city lord is a smart man, and he should have guessed what it means for those people to be arrested. With the status and background of the Pei family, he can wait and see what happens. Make a decision when it becomes clear. If you get tied up with certain people too early, something really big will happen and you won't be able to distance yourself from it."
Pei Shao's expression changed. In fact, he was murmuring in his heart when he heard that those arrested today were all people related to King Qi. Now that he heard this, he immediately thought of all the possible consequences.
He asked in a deep voice: "Why are you telling me this, Mr. Zu? Are you acting as a lobbyist for...?"
Zu An smiled and said: "The city lord thinks too highly of himself. The emperor is busy with everything, so I'm afraid he can't care about the city lord."
Pei Shao looked ugly, but he also knew that what the other party said was the truth.
At this time, Zu An sighed: "The main reason is that Miss Pei helped me a lot when I was in Mingyue City, and I just returned her favor. The city lord is a smart man and he takes care of himself."
After saying that, he quickly disappeared out of the window without waiting for the other party to stop him.
Pei Shao hurriedly called his servants: "Go and call my wife, and inform your father-in-law that there is something urgent to discuss."
But just as the servant was about to leave, Pei Shao called out to him: "Forget it, there's no need to shout."
The man looked at him confused.
Pei Shao pondered for a long time and then ordered: "Ask the people in the house to postpone the purchase of dowry until I notify you of the next step."
…
In the next few days, Zu An kept paying attention to the news in Pei's house and learned that Pei Shao had postponed the purchase of dowry and seemed to have a big quarrel with his wife because of it. He breathed a sigh of relief and knew that his words had an effect.
When Pei Mianman learned that he no longer had to marry the prince of Qi for the time being, his heart was shattered. He was even more tender and affectionate towards Zu An, allowing him to enjoy all the tenderness.
It’s just that Hong Zao is so hard-working that she has tossing and turning every day, and suffers from big dark circles under her eyes every day.
After a few fairy-like days, Xu Yu suddenly notified all the senior figures in Yunzhong County to come to the county governor's house, saying that they had a major matter related to the life and death of Yunzhong County to discuss.
Zu An and Sang Hong were confused and didn't know what was going on through various channels, but the other party said solemnly, so they had no choice but to accept the invitation.
