Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

"The culprit who stabbed Xu Mengru is Guo Qiang, originally from Nanhe County. He said that six years ago, Xu Mengru had someone seize his home and turned it into a dyeing workshop for the Xu family cloth shop."

"His parents were also beaten to death on the spot by thugs hired by Xu's cloth shop. He was lucky enough to escape because of his strong body. After crawling out of the mass grave, he took a boat to Hedong Road to seek refuge with distant relatives."

"This year, there was a flood on Hedong Road. All my relatives and family members were drowned, and I was the only one who survived. I followed the flood victims all the way to Linshui, and unexpectedly met Xu Mengru here."

"Thinking that my family was destroyed because of Xu Mengru, I suddenly had evil intentions and took action."

Chen Lang took a sip of tea and said, "Just as I was about to use the Great Memory Recovery Technique, the county lieutenant rushed in with more than a dozen constables. I didn't want to clash with them, so I stopped the interrogation."

"The county lieutenant told me that the county magistrate, Lord Chang, will hold a trial for this man in two days, and he will most likely receive the death penalty."

Hong Er said angrily, "That's nonsense. My young lady would never do such a thing as bullying others by taking advantage of her power."

"Besides, we opened the dyeing factory according to the government's requirements, and we will pay you a full penny."

"He said his parents were beaten to death by the young lady's hired men. This is pure slander."

"More importantly, I have been serving the young lady since I was a child, and I have never heard of this person."

Li Xiuzhi pondered and said, "Erlang, I feel that this matter is not directed at Miss Xu..."

Chen Lang nodded. "Yes, Guo Qiang's answer does sound reasonable at first glance, but therein lies the problem."

"The answer was so perfect that it actually exposed the flaws."

Li Xiaohu scratched his head and said, "If it's not targeting Miss Xu, then who is it targeting?"

Zhao Chunhua said, "Is there any need to think about it? It must be directed at my brother-in-law."

Li Xiaohu was stunned: "Ah? How is it related to my brother-in-law?"

Chen Lang was also curious about why Zhao Chunhua came to such a conclusion, and said, "Chunhua, tell me what you think."

Zhao Chunhua said, "Brother-in-law, I'll tell you what I said. Please don't laugh at me if I'm wrong."

Chen Lang said, "Just say it."

Zhao Chunhua took a deep breath and said, "Brother-in-law wants to be a royal merchant. Besides skills, another important criterion for being a royal merchant is reputation."

"As the nominal owner of the cloth shop, if Miss Xu's reputation is ruined, her path to becoming a royal merchant will be cut off."

"There are few things in the world that are more hateful than forcing someone's family to be torn apart and their lives destroyed."

Chen Lang clapped his hands and said, "Chunhua, your perspective on things is indeed very sharp."

"But your opinion is also my opinion."

"Guo Qiang, he must have been hired."

Li Xiaohu wondered, "That's not right. If you want to ruin someone's reputation, why not just attack your brother-in-law directly?"

"To be frank, Miss Xu is just an employee of my brother-in-law. If her reputation is ruined, my brother-in-law can just find someone else to manage the cloth shop. It won't affect her status as a royal merchant."

Chen Lang said coldly: "They don't have the courage to attack me directly."

"Assassinating Xu Mengru can serve as a warning. If I were to replace Xu Mengru, the successor would also worry about whether he would end up like Xu Mengru."

"Secondly, Xu Mengru has always been in charge of the business of becoming the Imperial Merchant. In the eyes of outsiders, she represents the image of the cloth shop. If she has any moral problems, the entire cloth shop will inevitably suffer."

Li Xiuzhi asked, "Erlang, could it be that Mr. Lai?"

"The only one in Linshui County who would compete with us for the title of Imperial Merchant is the Lai family."

Chen Lang said: "At the moment, he is indeed the most suspicious."

"But Conan told me that the most suspicious person is often not the suspect."

"Besides, there is no evidence to prove that Guo Qiang was hired by the Lai family."

Speaking of this, Chen Lang suddenly missed Wu Le very much.

If he were around, he would probably be able to get to the bottom of the whole thing in less than a day.

He Jinling returned to the capital to report on his work, and the round trip would take at least half a year.

I lack someone around me who can find out the news.

Just then, Master Sun Sizhen and his apprentice came out.

"Miss Xu is not in danger of death, but she has lost too much blood and is still unconscious."

"After waking up, it will take three or four months to recover. During this period, it is best not to do anything and just rest peacefully." Sun Sizhen said.

Chen Lang said, "Divine Doctor Sun, thank you for your hard work."

Sun Sizhen said, "As a doctor, this is just what I should do. It's not hard at all."

"Doctor Sun, please go and rest first. I'll call you for dinner." Chen Lang said.

Sun Sizhen was indeed a little tired. After nodding, she went back to her room to rest with the help of Xu Fei.

Xu Mengru will not be able to manage the cloth shop in the short term, but Chen Lang has promised Empress Xiao that he will become the imperial merchant within three months and then do business with Yelu Yuan.

I have to do this matter myself.

However, the most urgent task is not to become a royal merchant, but to find out who is stabbing him in the back.

Chen Lang's gaze fell on the Ning Wenxu siblings not far away.

He pondered for a moment and waved at Ning Wenxu.

Ning Wenxu walked quickly, and although his steps were still a little unsteady, his complexion was much better than when he was outside the city.

"Master, what are your orders?"

After the indenture was signed, Ning Wenxu became a slave of the Chen family, one level lower than a servant.

So the other servants called Chen Lang "Young Master", but he could only call Chen Lang "Master of the Family".

As for not calling the master, it was Ning Wenxu's last bit of stubbornness.

Chen Lang didn't bother with the question of address and said, "Ning Wenxu, you are a newcomer to our family. For a while, the people in Linshui County won't associate you with me."

Ning Wenxu was very smart. As soon as Chen Lang started talking, he guessed what Chen Lang wanted him to do, but he didn't say it out loud.

Because of the huge disparity in status between the two parties, it would be too presumptuous to express the master's thoughts before the master speaks.

"I'll leave it to you to investigate Guo Qiang's identity and his motive for assassinating Xu Mengru."

"I know you may not have done this before, but from now on, you have to get used to doing these things."

"Because you're educated and have brains. And things like investigations and interviews require brains."

"I hope you can find a satisfactory result."

Ning Wenxu bowed and said, "Master, rest assured. I will do my best to live up to your trust."

Chen Lang sighed and said, "Alright, let's all go and do what we need to do."

"Hong'er."

"The servant is here."

"Please sort out all the account books of the cloth shop and the correspondence with the merchants during the past period and send them to my study."

"Slave, let's do it now."