Adhere to the gentleman's principles

As night fell, everything was quiet. Zhou Aoyang took a sip from his teacup and said slowly, "I saw Hu Yunshan today. When he passed by my stall, he paused for a moment." There was a hint of mystery in his words.

Hearing this, Li Ziyan couldn't help but ask curiously: "What happened after that? What happened?"

Zhou Aoyang continued, "At the time, I thought, could this be the legendary god who came down to earth to help people solve their problems? As the saying goes, 'If you don't want others to know, don't do it yourself.' Maybe he really did something wrong, so he came back to find me."

Xu Wenhe was also interested and asked quickly, "What happened next? Tell us now!"

Zhou Aoyang smiled slightly and continued, "Then I looked at him quietly and told him that I knew he was worried about something recently. It turned out that his son needed a ladder to move to the next level after participating in the provincial examination. Originally there was only one way to get that key ladder, but now there is another option - a way that does not go against his conscience." At this point, Zhou Aoyang's eyes became profound.

Zhao Junning couldn't help but feel very curious after hearing this, while Zhou Aoyang continued, "Hu Yunshan didn't expect that what I said was consistent with what he thought in his heart, and he began to waver.

So I took the opportunity to tell him that I could tell his fortune to see if he would have good fortune today. Then I asserted that he would get a fortune that fell from the sky. Sure enough, just as he walked to the door of the mansion, Mo Yu and I cooperated in hiding in the dark and threw a bag of silver in front of him. When people are afraid, they tend to believe all kinds of things. "

"In this way, he believed it without a doubt and turned back to the mansion to find me." Zhou Aoyang added.

Li Ziyan patted Zhou Aoyang's shoulder in appreciation, saying, "Well done! You have to keep him calm in the next few days. I firmly believe that Yu Si must be closely related to the missing 30 million taels of silver."

After Zhou Aoyang and Xu Wenhe left, Zhao Junning turned his gaze to Li Ziyan and asked, "So Ziyan, what do you plan to do next?"

Li Ziyan analyzed: "The reason why Yu Si was so calm and not afraid of my investigation must be because these officials were willing to follow his instructions. It is not easy to win these officials over to our side, but as far as I know, there are several officials in Xunyang City who are influential and do not completely stand on his side."

Zhao Junning looked at Li Ziyan with a puzzled look, waiting for him to explain further. Li Ziyan frowned and said, "Yesterday I noticed that Gao Changhe and Liu Ming had a strange attitude. They didn't seem to want to favor either side. They also tried to solve the case, but failed for various reasons."

After listening to this, Zhao Junning nodded and expressed her agreement: "Maybe they did have good intentions in the beginning and wanted to settle the case. It's a pity that Xunyang is like a piece of rotten meat, stuck in the mud. Even with a pure heart, it is difficult to escape the fate of being tainted." She sighed with emotion, as if she was full of helplessness and disappointment with this land.

In Liu's house, the two were discussing the fight between Li Ziyan and Yu Si. Liu Ming was full of confidence in Yu Si, thinking that Li Ziyan was just a young man and could not compete with him at all. However, Gao Changhe had a different opinion.

Gao Changhe shook his head slightly and said firmly, "That being said, Li Ziyan left a deep impression on me the first time I met him yesterday. He is very courageous and talented, and he is truly extraordinary. And with his sincere heart, maybe he can really create a miracle."

After hearing this, Liu Ming could not help but nod his head in agreement. He sighed and said, "Yes! Back then, didn't we also have such a sincere heart? Unfortunately, in this place of Xunyang, having a heart is far from enough. The cruelty of reality often smooths people's edges and corners, and those beautiful qualities gradually disappear." At this point, Liu Ming's face showed a trace of helplessness and regret.

Gao Changhe was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "It is true that the environment can indeed change a person. But if one still retains that innocent love in one's heart and perseveres and fights for it, who says that one cannot achieve something? Li Ziyan may be such a person, and his appearance may bring new changes to Xunyang..."

At Shen Yu's residence, the night was deep and everything was silent.

"Sir, it's late, you should go to bed early." A servant said softly.

However, Shen Yu was not sleepy at all. He stared at the book in his hand with a sharp gaze.

"Now that Zi Yan is here, we have a better chance of solving this case. Tell me, where did you get this book from?" Shen Yu asked in a serious tone.

The housekeeper replied respectfully, "Your Excellency, this book was found in the study of the government office. At that time, I saw that it looked like an account book, so I took it out for your inspection."

Shen Yu nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. Then, a smile appeared on his face, and he whispered, "Five hundred miles to the south, there is a mountain, and there are a thousand bandits in the mountain."

"Sir, is there anything wrong with this sentence?" the butler asked doubtfully.

Shen Yu nodded slowly, a glimmer of wisdom in his eyes, "This is exactly the problem. If there really were such a large number of bandits hiding in the mountains, how could the local government be unaware of it? There must be something fishy about this matter."

He paused and continued to analyze: "Perhaps this was deliberately released by someone in an attempt to mislead the direction of our investigation; or perhaps this is simply a fictional story to cover up the real truth. Or perhaps there is something in this village. In any case, we cannot take it lightly."

After saying that, Shen Yu gently closed the book and fell into deep thought. He knew that to solve this mystery, more clues and evidence were needed. And the mysterious account book in front of him was just the tip of the iceberg...

In the majestic Qin Mansion in Pingliang, Qin Zhuoxi sat quietly in the study, holding a letter from Qin Zhuoyuan in her hand. She gently opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and her eyes fell on the familiar lines of handwriting.

"Although my mother was from a foreign family, she lived a life of walking on thin ice. On the day of her death, Zhao Mengshi was just a bystander. If she had saved you and me, we wouldn't be motherless today. The Meng family will be executed, and the Zhao family will be executed."

After reading the letter, Qin Zhuoxi slowly placed it on the table, feeling extremely heavy-hearted. She had heard similar words from He Jue before, but she was unwilling to believe it at the time. However, now that even her beloved brother said so, it seemed that this must be true.

Qin Zhuoxi raised her head and looked firmly towards the east, which was the direction of the Zhao Mansion. She secretly made up her mind to seek justice for her mother and make those who had hurt them pay the price.

Qin Zhuoxi exudes a resolute aura at this moment. She knows that the road ahead is rough, but for the sake of justice and family honor, she has no hesitation. With this decision, a storm is about to sweep across the entire Pingliang City...

It was midnight, and everything was silent except for the moonlight shining through the window. The room was dark, and the flickering candlelight illuminated two figures.

"Miss, this is the poison Mingjue bought on the black market. It can kill people instantly after taking it. There is also this poison that causes heart disease, which can make people die painfully. The last one is cartilage powder, which will make people weak all over and unable to resist." Yunzhi said softly, her tone calm and firm.

Qin Zhuoxi silently looked at the bottles of medicine in Yunzhi's hand, with mixed feelings in her heart. She knew what these medicines meant, but deep in her heart she was full of contradictions and struggles.

"Yunzhi, do you think I'm doing the right thing? Jun Ning has treated me very well since I was a child, but now I'm trying to find a way to kill her mother..." Qin Zhuoxi's voice trembled a little, tears flashing in her eyes.

Yunzhi sighed softly and comforted her, "Miss, if you look at it from a common sense point of view, this is indeed inappropriate. But Madam Zhao was your mother's best friend, but she chose to stand by and watch at the critical moment, not to help, which led to Madam's death. She can be regarded as an indirect murderer."

Qin Zhuoxi smiled bitterly, "Yes, you are right. I have lost my mother, but Zhao Junning has had her mother by her side since she was a child. Even if my mother is really a spy of Handan Chi, so what? Can this be a reason for not saving her?"

Her eyes gradually became firm, as if she had made an important decision. "No matter what, I will seek justice for my mother!"

-