Chapter 779 - 781: Targeting
Chapter 779: Chapter 781: Targeting
Gu Wenheng naturally knew this; otherwise, he wouldn’t have made the trip today.
However, the other party had targeted Jin Qianqian without reason several times, and this score could now be settled. "I am naturally willing to believe Lady Liang, but I am somewhat curious. Why didn’t they strike from another angle? Why did they drag the old servant by your side into this?"
Mrs. Liang He was speechless. Naturally, it was because she had been too obvious in targeting Jin Qianqian over the past year. Had she known this would be discovered and used by others, she would have restrained herself earlier.
In front of Governor Liang, she really couldn’t answer easily. She could only point at Winter Granny again and scold her angrily, "You really get more muddled the older you get. You didn’t even see the person clearly, yet you dared to blindly pass on messages.
"Now that you’ve caused a disaster, go confess your crimes to Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu yourself. Otherwise, I will absolutely not let you off lightly."
Hearing this, Winter Granny crawled forward on her knees until she was in front of Gu Wenheng, kowtowing incessantly. "My lord, it is all my fault. It was my loose tongue. I truly know I was wrong. Please forgive me, my lord..."
Jin Qianqian pulled her husband aside and stood in front of Winter Granny herself. "Since when can a few words of apology fix a mistake?
"Since you had the mind to spread rumors, you should also have the ability to quell them."
Jin Qianqian then raised her eyes to look at Mrs. Liang He. "Lady Liang, you should discipline your servants more. Those who don’t know the truth might think the Gu Family couple came to your door today to throw our weight around and bully people."
Mrs. Liang He’s expression looked unnatural. She actually did harbor such thoughts. In front of this couple, she had to give them some face; she couldn’t just have someone beaten to death right here.
As long as they had reservations, the matter would eventually be left unsettled, and this incident would pass.
She hadn’t expected this woman surnamed Jin to be so difficult to deal with, completely unlike the amiable demeanor she had shown in the past.
"Winter Granny, what are you doing?" Mrs. Liang He had no choice but to speak up and reprimand her. "If you want to atone for your sins, hurry up and find the person who framed you. Otherwise, no one will spare you."
Gu Wenheng smiled and said to Governor Liang, "Lord Liang, how should we handle this now? The investigation can’t go any further here, and we don’t even know if what this old servant said is a lie."
Liang Shi hadn’t expected things to reach a stalemate here. Although Gu Wenheng was lower in rank than him, he truly didn’t want to become enemies with the man.
Over the past year, Gu Wenheng had maintained close ties with Shangjing. He had several major backers behind him, none of whom Liang Shi could afford to offend.
Moreover, he wanted to use Gu Wenheng to take another step forward in his career. In his heart, he secretly cursed his own wife for failing to discipline the servants, which had resulted in others coming to their door to demand answers.
He wanted to just ignore it. Even if Gu Wenheng held a grudge, he wouldn’t dare do anything to him for the time being. But that went against his original intentions.
After a thousand thoughts swirled in his mind and he weighed the pros and cons, he finally said, "Mr. Gu, this matter was a disaster caused by the loose tongues of the subordinates. I will continue to have someone investigate it.
"As for this East Maid, I will temporarily lock her up in the prison. If her innocence cannot be proven, she will naturally be handed over to Mr. Gu for punishment."
Receiving such a reply, Gu Wenheng knew Governor Liang’s choice. "Thank you, Lord Liang, for handling this impartially. If it is truly as this servant said, then the other party had premeditated this, aiming to provoke a conflict between us."
If they hadn’t laid everything out in the open today, the two families really would have become enemies over this.
It wasn’t that he and Jin Qianqian didn’t suspect that Mrs. Liang He had orchestrated all of this. But on second thought, as long as she wasn’t stupid, she wouldn’t have made it so obvious.
Furthermore, spreading rumors about Feng Shui far and wide wouldn’t benefit the Liang Mansion in the slightest. After all, Governor Liang had enclosed such a large piece of land right across from them, with so many shops and houses for rent. The ones who would truly suffer losses were them.
Liang Shi was even more dissatisfied with Mrs. Liang He. She couldn’t manage the inner courtyard properly, nor could she run a successful business. It would have been better if she had just stayed put obediently, but he never expected her to stir up such trouble for him now.
As soon as he saw the Gu Family couple out the door, Liang Shi’s face darkened. "Thoroughly sort out the inner courtyard. In the past, you asked me to hand over the entire management of the inner courtyard to you. Now look at the result!
"If you can’t manage it well, then I will find someone who can."
Hearing this, Mrs. Liang He’s face turned pale. The so-called person who could manage it well was none other than her stepson’s wife, who was even older than she was. If she really let that woman take over, what authority would she have left in the mansion?
"This has absolutely nothing to do with me. Those people are clearly targeting you, my lord..."
"You are still making excuses here," Liang Shi said, his headache returning. How did his family find him such a wife? He didn’t expect her to help, but at the very least, she shouldn’t be causing trouble behind his back.
"What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and discipline the inner courtyard! Look at the state you’ve left it in. The last poisoning incident made me run around apologizing to everyone, and how long has it been since then..."
Liang Shi felt that if he stayed any longer, he definitely wouldn’t be able to stop himself from cursing. Without another word, he turned and left.
At this point, Mrs. Liang He could no longer hold back her tears.
`「Meanwhile.」`
The rumors in Yongchang County were now considered temporarily under control. However, Jin Qianqian and the others did not relax. They continued to have people keep an eye out; as soon as there were any signs of the rumors resurfacing, they would immediately suppress them.
Moreover, they hadn’t stopped searching for the mastermind behind the scenes. This person clearly harbored malicious intent towards them. If they didn’t root them out, there was no telling how much trouble they would cause in the future.
"Have someone investigate the merchant caravans that arrived in Yongchang County recently," Jin Qianqian suddenly suggested.
"I’ll have someone go in a bit," Gu Wenheng replied. "Do you suspect it’s the work of outsiders?"
"It’s not entirely impossible. After all, you have been too conspicuous these past few years..."
"If they are outsiders, they must have joined forces with the locals; otherwise, so many rumors wouldn’t have sprung up overnight."
Gu Wenheng thought even deeper into the matter. Having been an official for so many years, there were definitely many people who found him an eyesore, or with whom he had even forged enmities.
If someone really did come over, then who was providing them with information and assistance?
However, this was indeed a valid direction. The husband and wife exchanged a glance and separately instructed their subordinates to get to work.
Clearly, they had found the right direction this time.
It didn’t take two days for them to gather some clues.
Two traveling merchants claimed to have come from Shangjing, arriving just a few days before the rumors appeared.
Relatively few merchants visited Yongchang County, so the street vendors would always take note when they saw unfamiliar faces. Therefore, many people remembered them.
Coincidentally, the other party had approached the escort agency under Jin Qianqian and was preparing to leave in two days.
Minghai had already arranged for people to follow them, taking the opportunity to figure out who these two had been in contact with or what they had been doing these past few days.
And unaware that they had already fallen under surveillance, Tie Zhu and Lu Sui were sitting in the Tianle Restaurant, observing the Tianfu Restaurant from afar.
"We went through so much effort but accomplished absolutely nothing," Tie Zhu said. "The master will surely punish us when we return."
Lu Sui rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. "It’s not safe to stay here any longer. I have a bad premonition. How about we don’t travel with the escort agency? Let’s head to the next city by ourselves first, and then find another escort agency to leave with."