The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

After wandering around, it was easy to find out about the student surnamed Ji. Both his parents had passed away, and he was now all alone. It was Mr. Tian who found Ji Heng starving to death when he was out and quickly took him into his mansion.

Discovering that he had some talent for studying, they took him on as a disciple, and Ji Heng is now living in the Tian family's residence.

The doubts in my mind grew larger and larger.

Even if Mr. Tian is a good teacher, he probably doesn't have that much money. Not to mention his house, he has one wife and three concubines, two legitimate sons, four illegitimate sons, and three illegitimate daughters.

The Crown Prince's fiancée, Tian Rong, is the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife. It is said that when Mr. Tian was in his hometown, his wife married and had children. Later, when he went to take the imperial examination, his wife left with another man and took Tian Rong with her.

This led to Mr. Tian searching for Tian Rong for a long time, and he only found her five years ago. Therefore, he dotes on her and always puts Tian Rong first.

In one household, Mr. Tian kept ten women, plus one wife and three concubines, making a total of fourteen people. Including Mr. Tian himself, there were fifteen masters in total, not counting the servants in each courtyard.

For someone as pampered as Tian Rong, all expenses were kept separate, with the best food, lodging, and transportation, naturally making her the most expensive.

If we count ten people in total, including those who serve a master personally, second-class servants, and those who do menial tasks, then there would be one hundred and fifty people just serving the master, not counting servants in other places.

The main kitchen, embroidery room, stables, outer courtyard, flower garden, etc., all require manpower. Generally, such households also need to employ several guards.

Wow, that's quite a lot when you calculate it like that.

One hundred taels is definitely not enough for a month's expenses, and three hundred taels might not even be enough.

Mr. Tian also has an elderly mother in his hometown, and people who take care of her.

So how does this gentleman support his family?

Sir, you probably don't earn much money in a month.

The more Du Mingxian thought about it, the more she felt that Mr. Tian was acting strangely.

She wrote down all her doubts on paper and continued to deliver food on the appointed day, this time two bowls.

The old woman had been waiting for a long time, and she was really happy to see Du Mingxian arrive. "Big sister, you've finally come! I was afraid you wouldn't come."

"Come on, it's a bit far from home, and it takes time to get to the city, doesn't it? Come on, let's take a look at the goods."

The old woman looked at the two bowls with some disappointment, saying, "This is too little."

"These two bowls are already what I divided up. If it weren't for the fact that we're destined to meet, I wouldn't have brought them to you. Wouldn't it be better to keep them for yourself?"

"Okay, okay, it was a slip of the tongue. Please don't be offended, little sister. Can you still deliver it as usual the day after tomorrow?"

"alright."

After exchanging money for goods, Du Mingxian turned and left without a second thought. The old woman, who had initially wanted to get closer to her, could only turn around and go inside to collect her reward.

The next day, Qiu Shu contacted Du Mingxian, and the two met outside.

“Madam, the Tian family is not very famous in the area. I heard that Mr. Tian was from the village. After passing the imperial examination, he became a Juren and bought a house in the county to serve as a clan residence.”

"Now only Old Madam Tian lives in the house, and there are some servants who take care of her."

"It seems that Mr. Tian's life only got better after he came to the prefectural city. His current wife was also married after passing the imperial examination. Her family is the daughter of a wealthy household in the county."

Du Mingxian frowned. "Mr. Tian has never been married before?"

"When my subordinates investigated, they found nothing. They only heard that Mr. Tian's family had not been well-off before, and that they only got better off after passing the imperial examination with the help of others."

That's strange. He doesn't have any special skills, but he has the ability to raise a daughter who was found and to give her all the best things in life.

If Mr. Tian's current affluent life is due to Mrs. Tian, ​​then it is absolutely impossible for one woman to raise a daughter born to another woman so well.

There's definitely something fishy going on here.

"Did you find anything else?"

"Yes, during the time period you mentioned, Mr. Tian's daughter did go back. I heard she stayed at the manor for three days before returning to the prefectural city. She went back alone; the Prince Ming's heir did not accompany her."

So the murderer must be Tian Rong. But if the child belongs to the Crown Prince of Ming, did the Crown Prince know that Hong Guo and the child in her womb had been assassinated?

“You’re a bodyguard, so you can hide. I want you to keep an eye on this Miss Tian.”

"OK."

"Alright, keep a close eye on this one and observe her. I'll investigate the rest myself. Oh, and while you're keeping an eye on her, also keep an eye on the person named Ji Heng."

"Yes."

After Qiu Shu left, Du Mingxian went back home. There must be something fishy going on at the Tian family. She still needed to find out what the young master thought of this Miss Tian Rong.

Du Mingxian didn't come out in the afternoon; she stayed in the yard to rest. Dong Shi took Dong Chengbao out to play.

As dusk approached, Qiu Shu returned. Du Mingxian sat up straight. "Did something happen?"

"The Tian family has a master, and my subordinates were afraid of being exposed, so they did not dare to approach."

"Master?"

"Yes, I can detect at least three people."

Du Mingxian's breathing tightened. "Okay, then you don't need to go yet. Go to the Tian family's old house again and investigate carefully how the Tian family became wealthy. Also, find out if Mr. Tian had ever been married before, and if his wife ran away with someone while he was away on a scientific expedition, taking the child with her."

"While you're at it, also investigate the current character of this Madam Tian."

"Yes."

Since the Tian family has a master, she will go and see for herself tonight.

That night, Du Mingxian woke up after a nap, quietly put on her night clothes and left. At this time, she always complained that the rented courtyard was too far from the Tian family's place and also far from the Prince's Mansion, making it always troublesome to get there.

Using her light-footed skills, she arrived at the Tian family's residence. After observing for a long time without finding anything, she quietly sneaked into the Tian family's house.

The three-courtyard house wasn't actually that big, and with so many masters and servants in the household, the living space wasn't very spacious.

She walked around stealthily for a while but didn't find the person Qiu Shu had mentioned. Suspecting she was going in the wrong direction, she quietly changed direction again. As a result, she sensed a different kind of breathing outside the courtyard.

The other party was very perceptive; upon spotting her, they immediately locked onto her. Du Mingxian also entered the space in an instant, otherwise... she would have been discovered.

After entering the space, she nervously tried to calm herself down, thankfully she reacted quickly.

Immediately afterward, a man in black landed lightly at the spot where she had just entered the space, looked around with some confusion, perhaps wondering if he was seeing things.

Another man in black came over. The two did not speak, but Du Mingxian could clearly see that they were gesturing. The first man shook his head slightly, the two looked at each other, and then hid.

Such a vigilant person, no wonder even Qiu Shu didn't dare to approach, lest he be discovered and alert the enemy.