No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 704 Black-hearted Little White Flower? [Seeking monthly votes! ]

Xiushuifang is a famous wealthy place in Xunyang City.

There are many luxurious mansions of wealthy families. Because it is close to the foot of Kuanglu Mountain, each house is covered with green plants and the environment is quiet.

The people who come in and out of this place are either wearing brocade clothes or gold and silver belts. They are either rich or noble.

Not to mention that the Xunyang Palace, which was re-established a few years ago, is also located in this square. Its transcendent status has further elevated the style of Xiushui Square.

It is estimated that only Xunyangfang, which is located in Jiangzhou government office and has official residences of all levels, can be compared with it.

Except for a busy street leading to the West Market in Xiushuifang, the towering walls on both sides block the view of passers-by.

People passing by cannot see the scenery behind the high walls at all.

Occasionally, the laughter of girls playing on the swings could be heard from inside the high walls, which would arouse the endless reverie of passers-by...

This was not the first time Wang Caozhi came to Xiushuifang.

The last time I came here was when I accompanied Xie Xun and Xie Xue'e to attend the Lantern Festival dinner at Xunyang Palace.

In addition, Wang family of Langya also has several luxury properties in Xiushuifang for their children to settle down. In addition, Wang family of Langya also has three or two branches of children serving as officials in Xunyang City, although their official ranks are not high.

"What's going on? Why did you send me here to keep an eye on the matter? I'm not here to hang out in the city. My brother-in-law is in a meeting at the governor's mansion today. I'm busy and don't have time to delay."

Wang Caozhi walked into a restaurant on a busy street in Xiushuifang, ignored the old shopkeeper who came to greet him enthusiastically, and went to the third floor under the respectful guidance of a smart servant.

He changed into a formal black brocade suit today, and while lowering his head to adjust his cuffs, he began to mutter to himself.

The smart servant who led the way upstairs looked a little hesitant and turned back and said:
"I'm sorry, sir, but we're not sure about this matter this time. We don't know whether we should send someone to follow up. We need you to take a look..."

"He's talking nonsense."

Wang Caozhi shook his head, turned around, and instructed the two confidants following behind him:

"You two go to the carriage and bring the gifts over first. Now that we are here, the palace is just across the street. We can deliver them directly to them later. The gifts are for Sister Xie and Brother-in-law, but we have to give Brother-in-law's portion to Sister Xie first, hey."

Turning back, he restrained his smile and continued the previous topic:
"Okay, lead the way. I want to see Xunyang City under my brother-in-law's rule. Apart from the palace, is there any place we can't go to investigate? Could it be a royal relative..."

Wang Caozhi curled his lips, went up to the third floor, straightened his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and walked into a box facing the street with his head held high, the door open and an excellent view.

Wang Caozhi glanced at the bustling street scene outside.

Apart from the hustle and bustle of traffic, there is only a high red wall across the street, which belongs to the residential area of Xiushuifang.

"What's so special?"

He looked puzzled and turned around to ask.

"Sir, across the street... take a closer look. That thin-faced man is the one who entered this house."

"Opposite? Those people? Whose family is that red wall opposite..."

The sunlight overhead was bright and dazzling. Wang Caozhi stood by the window, muttering to himself, raising his hand over his brow to block the sun and looking at the high red wall opposite.

He followed his gaze along it and saw an inconspicuous back door, diagonally in front of the restaurant. Standing in the private room on the third floor of the restaurant, one could clearly see people entering and exiting the door. However, at this moment, the back door between the red walls was closed.

The opposite side should be a residential area. I don't know which wealthy family it belongs to, but those who have a convenient location facing the street are all powerful families.

Apart from the fact that this red wall was quite eye-catching, Wang Caozhi looked at it for a while and asked directly without thinking:
"Whose family is this? The houses in Xiushuifang all have white walls. It's rare to see one painted this red. Usually only temples have red walls. Is the owner of this house a Buddhist, or a monk?"

As he turned his head and looked back, the clever servant scratched his head:

"More than a few, in fact, this is the only family that truly believes in Buddhism..."

The clever servant's words suddenly got stuck.

Wang Caozhi noticed that the servant turned his head to look behind him and was caught by the scenery downstairs outside the window.

"You can't even speak clearly, what are you looking at..."

Wang Caozhi, who was standing by the window, frowned, turned around, and followed the alert servant's gaze, looking down casually.

I saw that the back door between the red walls was open, and someone was going in instead of coming out.

A carriage emerged from the crowd on the busy street, turned off the main street, and drove into the back door of the red-walled mansion.

Wang Caozhi paused.

Because he knew this carriage and had seen it many times in Xunyang Grottoes.

Seeing this, the alert servant asked cautiously, "Sir?"

Wang Caozhi interrupted: "Shut up."

His eyes were fixed on the carriage that was slowly driving into the door.

Through the curtains of the carriage, Wang Caozhi could vaguely see the silhouette of a familiar, noble young girl.

There was also a square-faced coachman driving the carriage outside, with his forehead wrapped with a white cloth, as if he had lost a loved one.

It was Princess Anhui and her carriage.

Wei Anhui's carriage drove into the back door between the red walls and the door closed heavily.

Except for Wang Caozhi and others upstairs, no one paid attention to this scene.

Wang Caozhi suddenly turned around and asked the alert servant who was silent as a cicada:

"Are you sure that the sneaky tall and thin man hid in this house?"

"Yes, he entered through this back door, there is no doubt about it, but we don't know what happened after he entered... Sir, look over there."

Wang Caozhi heard the alert servant's voice suddenly stop, turned around and saw that the servant was pointing at the opposite side.

The back door between the red walls was pushed open from the inside not long after Princess Anhui and the carriage entered.

Several people hurried out of the door, merged into the crowd on the street, and left quickly.

Wang Caozhi recognized one of them, the thin-faced man who had been sneaking around in the Xunyang Grottoes. He was now wearing a hat with the brim pulled down to cover his face.

But Wang Caozhi had sharp eyes and a very good memory of people, especially their backs and walking posture, and he could never make a mistake.

The atmosphere in the street-facing box gradually became quiet.

At some point, the alert servant looked up at Wang Caozhi's motionless back and asked cautiously:
"Sir, should we pause..."

Wang Caozhi suddenly interrupted:
"Follow me, keep following me." After a pause, he continued, "I'm talking about that thin-faced guy."

"Yes, son."

The clever servant clasped his fists and quickly left the box.

Wang Caozhi stood silently for a moment, turned around and took another look at the high red wall across the street.

He murmured:
"My goodness, you are truly a royal relative..."

……

Xunyang ferry, pier.

Ships are anchored densely and coming and going.

Qian Chen had just left Princess Anhui's mansion. With a serious face, he came to the dock with a few followers.

They were dressed in uniform grey uniforms and caps, making them quite inconspicuous. As they made their way through the crowds of people, they handed out several small wooden signs to several boatmen who were basking in the sun on the shore.

After the boatman checked, Qian Chen and his men boarded a cargo ship that was about to set sail. Soon, the cargo ship started and slowly sailed away from Xunyang Ferry.

Qian Chen didn't know that not long after the ship he was on left, a figure appeared on the shore of the pier where the ship was previously docked.

He is a servant with a pointed face and a sharp face.

He looked at the direction the ship left with his eyes wide open, then turned back to look in the direction of the Municipal Trade Bureau...

About half an hour later, a clever servant walked out of the Municipal Trade Bureau with a list in his hand, and he was flipping to a certain page.

On the way back, the clever servant took a look with great curiosity.

The destination of a certain ship was clearly written on it.

"Qian Chen, Hukou County?"

……

Ouyang Rong rarely lived or worked in the Jiangzhou Governor's Mansion.

Although he accepted the imperial edict to act as the governor of Jiangzhou, Ouyang Rong's food, clothing, housing and transportation were the same as when he was the Sima and Changshi of Jiangzhou. He lived between his residence in Huaiye Lane, the lobby of Jiangzhou and the Xunyang Palace.

According to past practice, Ouyang Rong should have moved to the Jiangzhou Governor's Mansion with the women of Huaiye Lane.

Perhaps because his deceased enemy Wang Lengran had lived there for a long time, Ouyang Rong had no such idea at all.

However, this is also related to the fact that when Ouyang Rong went to Wang Lengran's funeral hall to burn incense, Wang Lengran's widow and family members inexplicably gave him a wave of merit.

Every time he thought of this, Ouyang Rong felt it was a bit outrageous, and he had a bad impression of this governor's mansion.

However, there is an important meeting this morning that needs to be held at the Jiangzhou Governor's Mansion, and the timing is quite special.

Ouyang Rong summoned everyone in the name of the Jiangzhou governor and held a meeting in the Jiangzhou governor's mansion. The heads of various counties in Jiangzhou would rush to Xunyang to attend the meeting and also come to report on their work to the Jiangzhou governor, their immediate superior. This was a routine.

Many people will attend the meeting this time. In addition to local officials, Ouyang Rong’s close associates, including Wang Caozhi and Pei Shisan Niang, will also be present.

People from Xunyang Palace, the Supervisory Council, and even the central military camp on the front line will attend the meeting.

At present, it is estimated that only Ouyang Rong, the governor, has such status and influence to regulate the forces of all parties.

The purpose of this meeting at the Governor's Mansion was mainly to discuss two things.

One thing is that the Donglin Buddha is about to be completed, including the specific date.

Another thing is the preparation for the celebration ceremony on the day when the Donglin Buddha is completed.

It can be said that the two rumors about the Donglin Buddha that have been circulating in the city recently were actually leaked during the process of notifying all parties in advance of the meeting of the Governor's Office. It is not known whether it was intentional or unintentional...

Since the morning, at the gate of the Governor's Mansion in Xunyangfang, there have been officials' carriages stopping by, or officials riding alone with their entourage, making it very lively and the gate gradually became crowded.

There were Magistrate Diao of Longcheng, Magistrate He of Jishui, Magistrate Meng of Hukou... and some county secretaries and county lieutenants who came to replace their superiors.

Rong Zhen did not come, but sent a trusted female official to the scene. Qin Changshi from the front-line central army camp also sent his old acquaintance Qin Yi, and Xunyang Prince Li Xian... They all sent people over, but did not show up in person... In a sense, this also meant to let Ouyang Rong take the lead, and they did not come to steal the show.

The meeting time was agreed to be 2:15 in the morning. All the officials had arrived 2:15 in the morning.

But there was no sign of a certain young governor.

There was some noise in the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion.

In the past, Governor Ouyang was the most punctual and never missed a day.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one dared to complain or make any noise. They just waited quietly, because being late was the leader's privilege...

……

"You mean, that skinny guy named Qian Chen left Princess Anhui's residence and took a boat from Xunyang Ferry to Hukou County?"

"That's right, brother-in-law."

Jiangzhou lobby.

Ouyang Rong changed into a brand new official uniform of a governor, and was about to go out for a meeting with his entourage including Yan Liulang, when he met Wang Caozhi who had hurried over.

Ouyang Rong temporarily dismissed everyone and took Wang Caozhi to a side hall. The two sat down. Yan Liulang went out tacitly and stood guard at the door with a knife in his hand.

In the side hall, Ouyang Rong listened to what Wang Caozhi said, asked a question, and after getting the answer, he calmed down.

Ouyang Rong subconsciously picked up the teacup on the table, lifted the lid halfway, and found that no one was here to make tea for him, so he gently put the teacup back to its original place.

He asked calmly:
"They took a boat to Hukou County. Did your people follow them?"

"There was no time to join Qian Chen and his crew, but the person I sent to follow them was smart enough to send a servant back to report to me, and he went straight to catch the next boat to Hukou County."

Wang Caozhi hesitated and said:

"But after all, there is a time difference of about an hour. Qian Chen and his men may arrive in Hukou County and get off the boat directly. When our people arrive, we may not be able to find them for a while."

Ouyang Rong nodded, without commenting, and asked again:
"Are you sure this is Princess Anhui's house? Are you sure you are not mistaken?"

"I'm not mistaken!" Wang Caozhi said firmly, "Brother-in-law, I couldn't have mistaken her. It was definitely Princess Anhui and her carriage. They drove in right in front of me. And I checked. In the entire Xiushuifang, the only one who painted the walls of her mansion red was this princess. There's no doubt about it."

Ouyang Rong narrowed his eyes and asked, "How did you deal with Princess Anhui's house?"

Wang Caozhi immediately said, "I have someone watching over there, so I think everything should be alright."

Wang Caozhi saw Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, stood up, paced in the hall with his hands behind his back, and turned in circles alone. He didn't know what he was thinking.

Wang Caozhi asked carefully:
"Brother-in-law, if it was Princess Anhui's people, why did the princess send someone to look for Ms. Miaozhen? It's understandable that she went to look for Ms. Rongzhen, but to look for Ms. Miaozhen... I heard that Ms. Miaozhen is a bit aloof and doesn't interact with people much. Could it be that she is very familiar with Princess Anhui?"

Ouyang Rong didn't answer, but just glanced at him.

Wang Caozhi continued to grumble:
"And why did the young princess send people to Hukou County for no reason? Is there anything special about Hukou County? Oh, is there a general of the White Tiger Guard leading people to suppress bandits and round up a group of pirates?"

Ouyang Rong suddenly said:

"When you see one cockroach, there are a lot of cockroaches."

Cockroaches are still called cockroaches in this era.

Wang Caozhi was stunned for a moment, his brows gradually furrowed, and he began to think carefully.

At this time, Ouyang Rong walked straight over and pushed open the door of the hall.

"Let's go."

He walked out of the hall without looking back.

Wang Caozhi quickly followed and asked:

"Where is my brother-in-law going?"

Ouyang Rong's voice was flat:
"Governor's Mansion, we are already late. Let's talk about this matter after the meeting."

"it is good."

Wang Caozhi shrank his head, glanced at his brother-in-law's tall and slender back in the crimson official uniform, and followed him obediently.