Thinking of this, Gu Xu pondered for a moment and asked Manager Yang beside him: "Did Mr. Shen meet anyone before he left today?"
Steward Yang replied: "Shen Hua, the heir to the Jinling Shen family, came here today. The two brothers had a brief conversation. But I don't know the specific content of the conversation."
Gu Xu nodded, turned around and walked towards the house.
In the courtyard behind the small building, there is a small lounge.
Although Shen Qiu is a guest of Gu Xu's house, and Gu Xu also left a room for him in the mansion, its symbolic significance is far greater than its actual significance.
Anyway, sleeping is not strictly necessary for practitioners - like Gu Xu himself, he often stays up all night practicing, and the bed at home has almost become a pure decoration.
During the recent period, due to the initial opening of the elixir workshop and the numerous affairs, Shen Qiu basically regarded this room as his temporary residence.
In Gu Xu's impression, Shen Qiu was a very organized person.
His clothes are always clean and tidy, and everything he says is very logical; no matter how busy things are, he can always make a reasonable plan and handle them in an orderly manner.
However, the scene in the lounge at this time surprised Gu Xu.
I saw a lot of torn waste paper on the ground, a writing brush fell to the ground, leaving obvious ink marks on the ground; several wooden chairs were also kicked down, and there were several silk pillows next to the chairs. There were several dirty footprints on the surface.
It was a complete mess.
However, the fragile items in the house, such as porcelain tea sets and vases, were still safe.
In addition, Gu Xu also saw several knitted clothes and gloves on the table.
Their workmanship is very rough, and the patterns on them are also a bit childish and ridiculous. They are all simple flowers, grass and animals, but Shen Qiu placed them in the most conspicuous and accessible position.
"Earlier today, someone got angry in this room." Shangguan Jin appeared beside Gu Xu at some point and whispered to him.
Shangguan Jin has the magical power of "heaven calculation", and everything in the house can be presented in her field of vision in the form of data. With the help of this data, she can roughly guess what happened in the house.
Gu Xu nodded.
He thought about Shen Qiu leaving a list and leaving in a hurry today, and he felt more and more that he might have encountered something really difficult.
At the same time, Gu Xu also remembered that on the day he and Shen Qiu met in Longmen Academy, Shen Qiu's words clearly revealed his dislike for the Shen family members - it could be seen that the relationship between him and the clan members The relationship between them is not harmonious, and they want to break away from the family and prove their talents on a broader stage in Luojing.
"Could it be that the Jinling Shen family made some arrogant demands to force Shen Qiu to return to the family?" Gu Xu silently guessed in his heart.
Then he asked Shangguan Jin beside him: "Fellow Taoist Shangguan, how much do you know about the internal situation of the Shen family in Jinling?"
Although Gu Xu is well-read and knowledgeable, his knowledge is mainly concentrated in areas related to spiritual practice.
As for the private affairs within the family, they are generally not recorded in books, and Gu Xu has no time to pry into the gossip. As a personal follower of the head of the Exorcism Department, Shangguan Jin has been dealing with various big figures for a long time, and also has many intelligence channels within the Exorcism Department. He must know more information in this regard.
Shangguan Jin immediately guessed what he wanted to ask.
"Shen Qiu is the concubine of Shen Qianren, the head of the Shen family. His mother is an ordinary maid of the Shen family." She thought for a while and replied, "It is said that there is a deep conflict between Mrs. Shen and the mother and son. Shen She was the one who kicked Qiu's mother out of the house. If the head of the family hadn't persuaded her so hard, she would have even considered putting the mother and son to death - of course, these are just rumors, and you may think it's a bit exaggerated. But Shen Qiu Zai’s situation in the clan must be very bad.”
"Mrs. Shen actually has such a high say in the clan?" Gu Xu asked.
From his understanding, prominent figures like the head of a powerful family basically have wives and concubines. Both the head of the Chen family in Xiangyang and Lu Huan, who died on charges of treason, had more than ten concubines.
As for the Zhao family in Youzhou, after the death of his wife, Mrs. Qu, Zhao Changying, the Duke of Yan State, neither needed a second marriage nor took a concubine, and had only an only daughter, Zhao Yan, but there was never a shortage of beautiful singers in his house. Ji Wu Ji.
"The situation of the Shen family is different from that of the other two families," Shangguan Jin explained. "The Zhao family in Youzhou has a saint sitting in charge and holding military power; the Chen family in Xiangyang has many disciples and followers in the court, and there are also some among the younger generation. Brilliant genius.
"However, the Jinling Shen family relied on running workshops and trading to make their fortune - although this can make them rich in the world, wealth is nothing but rootless duckweed without strong strength as a foundation and without the protection of high-level practitioners. .
"In the past few decades, there have been no particularly powerful monks in the Shen family, and the younger generation is basically mediocre in talent, so it can be said that there is no successor.
"If this situation continues, the Shen family will gradually lose its status as a powerful family and die slowly in the torrent of history.
"In order to save this situation, they chose to marry the He family of Lin'an, which is famous in the Jiangnan area. The He family is an upstart that has risen in recent years. Although they lack a foundation and have no immortals like the Shen family, they are full of talented people today. And there is also a huge industry in the Jiangnan region.
"Mrs. Shen's original name is 'He Ru'. She is the direct daughter of the He family in Lin'an. She is not weaker than Shen Qianren, the head of the Shen family, in terms of cultivation. Shen Qianren even needs to rely on her sometimes. Her opinions, Shen Qianren Don’t dare not listen carefully.”
"That's it." Gu Xu nodded.
In a wealthy family, although there are many rules, deep routines, and all kinds of intrigues, the ultimate competition is still about hard power.
For example, if Mrs. Shen's natal family is powerful, she can quarrel with her husband over the issue of having an heir with a maid; but if she is a wife of a lowly background, she can only turn a blind eye to her husband's behavior. Eyes, showing a virtuous and gentle look.
"Being born in such an environment, the things that can make Shen Qiu lose his temper must be related to his mother." Gu Xu guessed.
Although Shen Qiu claimed that he returned to Jinling City to deal with his own private matters, he did not seek help from Gu Xu or anyone in "Shuchangfang", and he was determined not to reveal any more information.
However, in Gu Xu's view, Shen Qiu abandoned his powerful family, gave himself high recognition, resolutely defected to his command, and in just a few days, he managed "Shuchangfang" into a Such a prosperous appearance.
Gu Xu was very grateful for this trust and this help.
He sincerely hoped that Shen Qiu would return smoothly, and that Shen Qiu and his mother would be safe and sound.
He was silent for a moment, then took out a copper coin from his pocket, recited the names of "Tai Shang Haotian" and "Emperor Zi Wei", and asked in his heart: "Are everything okay with Shen Qiu and his mother?"
The copper coin was gently thrown up by him, and then landed on the table with a clang.
Back side up.
the answer is negative.
Gu Xu frowned.
Then he tossed the copper coin again to divine: "Are Shen Qiu and his mother still alive?"
This time the copper coin came up heads up.
Gu Xu breathed a sigh of relief.
But his eyes were still solemn and his mood was not completely relaxed.
Then he thought silently in his heart: "With his own strength, can Shen Qiu solve this trouble in the family?"
The copper coin spun around on the table a few times, then landed with the back side up.
Seeing such a scene, he turned to look at Shangguan Jin beside him and said to her: "Do you have channels to collect more intelligence information about the Jinling Shen family? What Shen Qiu encountered this time may be more than we imagined. It’s even more troublesome. I think I have to help him as much as possible.”
Shangguan Jin saw his solemn eyes and heard his serious tone, knowing that his attitude this time was sincere and serious.
"Shi Xiaohan is right," she thought, "He is indeed a person who values his companions very much."
In the first month of this year, when Xiaohan was still recovering from his injuries in the Exorcist Department, Shangguan Jin once extracted a lot of information about Gu Xu from Shi Xiaohan.
At that time, Shi Xiaohan commented: "I used to think that Gu Xu was stingy and uninterested. He only knew how to practice all day long and only ate vegetables and tofu from the yamen's kitchen. He never knew how to rest or how to Try to find a way to get yourself something delicious. Even if I want to spend money to treat him to a delicious meal at Piaoxianglou, he often finds various excuses to refuse.
"In addition, he is often too cautious when doing ghost-killing tasks - every time he opens a door, he will feel that there is a ghost hiding behind the door, which made me think he was a coward.
"But, although he seems timid, he never leaves his companions and runs away alone.
"The two of us often teamed up to do missions together in Yishui County. Sometimes the ghost was stronger, so I would say to him, 'You run first, and I, the heroine, will follow.' After all, as a monk in the second realm, I have the obligation to protect him. Good for the weak in the first realm.
"But in this case, he would say to me, 'Ms. Heroine, do you look down on my strength?' Then he would stand in front of me and take out a complicated-looking talisman from his pocket. , and threw it towards the ghost—Sister Shangguan, although I don’t understand the Tao of Talisman, I can feel that the talisman in his hand is more powerful than the talisman drawn by others."
Shangguan Jin listened silently, nodded, and responded with a few polite words, such as "Sister Xiaohan, your sword skills are so powerful, you can kill the 'Painted Skin' ghost in one move", such as "Piaoxianglou's The food sounds really good, I really want to try it." For example, "Gu Xu has only learned the art of talisman and seal script for less than a year. His talent is really outrageous"...
Shi Xiaohan especially liked hearing these words.
And when Shangguan Jin praised Gu Xu, she would be happier than praising herself.
"Is this the youthful emotion of a pregnant girl?" Shangguan Jin thought silently in his mind.
Such emotions have always been strange, childish and ridiculous to Shangguan Jin - she feels that in life, she should work hard for her career wholeheartedly, and things like emotions will only hinder her ability to climb higher.
Of course, Shangguan Jin also had to admit that Shi Xiaohan's blushing and giggling look was very cute, and she, who loved all beautiful things, couldn't help but take a second look.
At that time, Shangguan Jin also thought of one thing - when he went to solve the case of Lu's haunted house, no matter the large number of meritorious service or the precious magic weapon, he could not successfully persuade Gu Xu to go and carry out this task; however, Chu As soon as Feng Ge mentioned the curse on Yishui County Governor Chen Jisheng, Gu Xu didn't hesitate for a second and set off without hesitation.
Gu Xu's performance today reminded her of this matter again.
So she replied: "We have to go to the Yamen again to check the situation in Jinling. If it doesn't work, we have to ask Chief Luo."
Gu Xu nodded: "Then let's set off as soon as possible."
…………
at the same time.
Shen Qiu used the "Breaking Sky Bead" to directly tear apart the space, arrived at Jinling City in the blink of an eye, and entered the Shen family's mansion.
Then he went to his father, Shen Qianren, the head of the Shen family, and asked about his mother's condition.
Shen Qiu felt anxious, like an ant on a hot pot.
But in front of his father, he tried his best to remain calm, his tone was polite, cold, and unfamiliar, not like a father and son, but more like a pair of unrelated strangers.
But this time, when he saw Shen Qiu's figure, his father Shen Qianren did not show his previous disgust. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You are finally back."
(Change first and then change)
ps: Happy New Year to everyone!
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