Chapter 100 Outer Room
After Jiang Li left, she returned to Lizheng Hall. She did not tell Ye Jiaer that she had met Duke Su. For the people of Xiangyang, the name of Duke Su was too far away, and few people had seen him in person. If Ji Heng walked on the street, people would only be surprised that there was such a handsome man in the world, but they would not have thought of his identity.

Moreover, Ji Heng's appearance made the whole matter more complicated. Jiang Li didn't plan to tell the Ye family before she figured out the whole story. Even if she told the Ye family, she had to wait until Ye Mingxuan and Ye Minghui came back to discuss it in detail.

By the time the people who came with the ancient fragrant silk to ask for money were settled one by one, it was almost evening. Jiang Li and his party returned to the Ye Mansion. Guan had almost returned, and Zhuo was relieved to learn that Li Zhengtang was fine. However, Ye Mingyu was not able to come back with them.

"The third brother is impulsive. When I got there, he had already broken into the government hall. I heard that he was clamoring to see Prefect Tong, but was arrested by the government officials. The officials were outnumbered and the third brother was no match for them. I wanted to see Prefect Tong and ask for a favor from him, but I didn't even see him. The gatekeeper told me that if I wanted to see him, I would need at least the silver. I left in a hurry and didn't bring any silver notes with me. I had to take some silver notes and go again tomorrow morning. I hope the third brother didn't suffer."

"You still want banknotes?" Ye Rufeng said angrily, "These damn officials!"

Jiang Li was no longer surprised by this. Not everyone was as incorruptible as Xue Huaiyuan. The smaller the official, the more benefits he enjoyed from power. Otherwise, how could there be the saying "A clean magistrate can earn 100,000 silver coins in three years".

"This is how the world works," Zhuo sighed, "Let's get together. We can't just leave the third child alone."

"That's true," Ye Jiaer also said, "Fortunately, what they want is money, so that's easy to deal with."

"Jia'er, you don't know." Guan sighed, "The Ye family has already lost a lot of money because of the incident with the ancient fragrant satin. The clothing store stopped doing business with us, which is another unknown loss. People are greedy, and we are afraid that these people will be greedy and ask for too much, treating our Ye family as a treasury. Once this mouth is opened... it will take a lot of effort to get your uncle and father out."

The Ye family is good at doing business and can see the greed of people clearly. As long as Tong Zhiyang gets the benefits from the Ye family, a Ye Mingyu can be redeemed with a lot of money. As for Ye Mingxuan and Ye Minghui, they will not give up until the Ye family is hurt.

The Ye family is like a piece of fat meat. Tong Zhiyang has been eyeing it for so long and finally found an opportunity to make a move. How could he let the duck in his mouth fly away?
Jiang Li smiled and said, "Actually, there's no need to worry."

Everyone in the room looked at her.

Everyone knows that Lizhengtang was safe and sound today, thanks to Jiang Li's words. Although she is younger than Ye Jiaer and has never managed a business, she looks more thoughtful than anyone else present.

"No need to collect the money. I think Tong Zhiyang will release Uncle Mingyu soon."

"Why?" Ye Rufeng asked with a frown.

"Because my father is Jiang Yuanbo," Jiang Li said, "He is scared."

……

In the study room of the Tong Mansion, Tong Zhiyang suddenly threw the book in his hand away and asked loudly: "Jiang Yuanbai's daughter? Why is she in Xiangyang?"

Tong Zhiyang was short, fat and round, with small eyes and a big nose. Even in the mansion, he wore a shiny official robe. But at this moment, he seemed to be furious and was mad at his subordinates.

"I don't know either," the subordinate replied timidly, "I thought maybe someone from the Ye family pretended to be her, but the guards of the Yuanfu Palace don't tolerate fakery. Someone in Xiangyang City who has been to Yanjing saw it for himself, and it is true that it is Miss Jiang Er. Miss Jiang Er is indeed in Xiangyang now, living in the Ye family."

Tong Zhiyang was stunned. He asked, "What's going on? Didn't the Ye family and the Jiang family cut off contact more than ten years ago? Didn't Jiang Li no longer recognize the Ye family? Why did she suddenly come to Xiangyang?"

"Well, I heard that Madam Ye was seriously ill, and Miss Jiang came to visit her."

Tong Zhiyang kicked the bench away and said, "Are they kidding me? How come they suddenly become so loyal after so many years of no news?"

"That's all fine... Master, the second Miss Jiang is still standing at the door of Lizheng Hall. Say, say..." The subordinate began to stammer.

"say what?"

The man hesitated for a moment, then repeated to Tong Zhiyang exactly what Jiang Li had said in front of the Lizheng Hall. He had a good memory, remembering every word, including the weaving room order mentioned by Jiang Li, and the words Jiang Li used to ridicule and mock Tong Zhiyang.

Tong Zhiyang's face turned pale after hearing this. He held it in for a long time before uttering two words: "Asshole!"

Being mocked so mercilessly by a junior was like being stripped naked and paraded in the streets for a pretentious and vain person like Tong Zhiyang. One must admit that Jiang Li's sarcasm was sharp and heart-piercing without a single dirty word. What's even more infuriating is that in the face of such mockery, Tong Zhiyang couldn't say anything, because Jiang Li was the daughter of Jiang Yuanbo, who was the current prime minister. In comparison, he, the prefect, was nothing. Not only could he not refute, but he had to please this rich lady, even if it was just superficial.

"Master, originally we were almost certain to defeat the Ye family, but who knew that the Second Miss Jiang would show up in the middle of the process. The Second Miss Jiang is a member of the Jiang family, so... should we reconsider our plans now?"

The words of his subordinates made Tong Zhiyang think. His brother-in-law asked him to find an opportunity to deal with the Ye family not long ago, saying that if the Ye family's affairs were handled well, the prefect would also have a chance to be promoted. Tong Zhiyang was able to become the prefect because of the promotion of his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law worked for a noble in Yanjing City and had many connections. Of course, Tong Zhiyang agreed without saying a word and acted according to his brother-in-law's plan. He only waited for the Ye family to be fooled miserably and had no way out before giving the Ye family a long-planned last way out.

Of course, Tong Zhiyang himself also coveted the huge fortune of the Ye family, but he didn't dare to dream of taking it all for himself. Moreover, the Ye family's business was well-known in Northern Yan, and it was not so easy to swallow it. Now that he had his brother-in-law and the nobles in Yanjing City as his backers, Tong Zhiyang became bolder. Taking this opportunity, he could not only get a chance to be promoted, but also make a lot of money from the Ye family. Why not?
Everything was going well, but who knew Jiang Li would suddenly appear.

Tong Zhiyang guessed that in his brother-in-law's original plan, he probably didn't expect that Miss Jiang, who had no contact with the Ye family, would suddenly come to Xiangyang and help the Ye family. He even brought up the Weaving Room Order. Tong Zhiyang naturally knew what the Weaving Room Order was. He could be the king in Xiangyang City, but he was nothing in front of the officials in Yanjing.

"This won't work." Tong Zhiyang walked back and forth in the room twice and said, "Go get some paper and pen."

His men hurriedly went to find paper and pen. Tong Zhiyang wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the paper and pen in front of him, still thinking about how to start writing.

Jiang Li's appearance in this matter was beyond the plan. Since Jiang Li dared to tell Li Zhengtang about writing a letter to Jiang Yuanbo, it can be seen that Jiang Yuanbo's attitude is not completely without feelings for the Ye family. If Jiang Yuanbo is angry with him for this, not to mention his brother-in-law, he is afraid that he will not be able to be a small prefect. Glory and wealth are lovely, but losing both the wife and the army is not lovely. Tong Zhiyang decided to write a letter to ask his brother-in-law, or let his brother-in-law let the nobleman make a decision, at least tell him what to do next, otherwise it would be too late to regret if he took the wrong path by himself.

As he was writing hurriedly, his subordinate suddenly remembered something and said, "Master, the third master of the Ye family is still imprisoned. Should we release him or not?"

In the original plan, Ye Mingyu was just an insignificant person. He had no involvement in the Ye family's business, and he knew nothing about the Ye family's business, so he didn't specifically tell Tong Zhiyang what to do with Ye Mingyu. But Ye Mingyu came to Tong Zhiyang himself, and Tong Zhiyang didn't mind arresting him. At least the panicked Ye family brought a large sum of money to redeem Ye Mingyu, which was also a windfall for him. But the current situation is different. It's better to avoid trouble for yourself. It's not a good thing to make Miss Jiang hate you more for no reason.

"What are you talking about? Let him go! Just say it was a misunderstanding, my subordinates acted on their own initiative, it has nothing to do with me!" Tong Zhiyang scolded.

The men hurried out to report.

Tong Zhiyang stood in the room, becoming more and more furious the more he thought about it. However, the situation did not allow him to delay. Just as Jiang Li said, he had already written a letter back to Xiangyang to tell Jiang Yuanbo that he had to catch up as soon as possible and immediately wrote a letter to his brother-in-law, asking him to think of a plan.

What a sudden disaster.

……

Ye Mingyu returned to the Ye Mansion an hour later.

The Ye family was overjoyed to see him return safely. Guan asked Ye Mingyu if he was hurt, but Ye Mingyu just shook his head. Although the officials arrested him, he was not easy to deal with, so he did not give them any hardship. As for what they wanted to do to him, he was still the third master of the Ye family, and he had many friends in the underworld. If there was any problem, who knew who would be in trouble.

"I thought I would have to pay silver to redeem you tomorrow." Zhuo heaved a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're back."

"I don't know what happened." Ye Mingyu scratched his head. "At first, the officers were rude to me and said they would make me suffer. But at night, they suddenly became respectful to me and apologized, saying it was just a misunderstanding, and then they let me go. I thought the matter of Guxiangduan had been cleared up, but I didn't expect that my eldest brother and second brother hadn't come back yet."

Everyone in the room looked at Jiang Li.

"What are you looking at Ah Li for?" Ye Mingyu asked, "Is this related to Ah Li?"

"This is indeed thanks to my cousin." Ye Jiaer just told the story of what Jiang Li did in front of the Lizheng Hall, and said, "Prefect Tong must be afraid of the relationship with the Jiang family, so he released Third Uncle so quickly."

Ye Mingyu didn't expect that there was such a relationship between them. He looked at Jiang Li and didn't know what to say. Although he didn't hate Jiang Li, he never had a good impression of the Jiang family. Jiang Yuanbai had remarried early, and the Jiang family and the Ji family were well matched. From the bottom of his heart, Ye Mingyu also looked down on the Jiang family's selfishness and indifference. But if it weren't for the Jiang family's reputation today, Li Zhengtang might have been gone. Being saved by someone you hate is really speechless.

In the past, the Ye family always said that they should not have married Ye Zhenzhen to Jiang Yuanbo. If Ye Zhenzhen had married an ordinary person, perhaps her fate would have been different. But if Ye Zhenzhen really married an ordinary person, without the Jiang family's reputation, how long could the Ye family hold on? In the past years, if it weren't for Ye Zhenzhen being Mrs. Jiang, the Ye family would not have been so peaceful. More than a decade has passed, and seeing that the Jiang and Ye families no longer have any contact, these people immediately became restless.

In the final analysis, a tall tree attracts the wind.

Jiang Li saw that Ye Mingyu was uncomfortable, so she smiled and said, "It's nothing. People tend to bully the weak and fear the strong. Tong Zhiyang is as timid as a mouse, but he is also greedy and hesitant. Naturally, he is shocked by the reputation of the Jiang family. In fact, if it were someone more ruthless, the result might not be the same."

"You seem to know Tong Zhiyang very well." Ye Rufeng couldn't help but speak.

"Tong Zhiyang didn't show up from the beginning to the end. He always let others do the work. It can be seen that he is a timid person. He is so cautious and cautious. I am afraid he will only show up after he is sure of victory and the dust has settled."

Ye Mingyu nodded and suddenly asked, "Ali, did you really write a letter to your father?"

Jiang Li said in front of Lizheng Hall that she had told Jiang Yuanbai about Xiangyang and asked Jiang Yuanbai to report it to the Weaving Room Commander. The Weaving Room Commander sent people. Ye Mingyu hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Will your father...really stand up for this matter?" In the eyes of the Ye family, Jiang Yuanbai should not stand up for such a small matter. In Jiang Li's view, the reason why Jiang Yuanbai did not take action was not necessarily because of the small matter, but because it involved the right prime minister. Although the Jiang family and the Li family are enemies, they have been carefully maintaining a balance for so many years. If it were in the past, Jiang Yuanbai would not dare to confront the Li family directly, but now that the right prime minister has Cheng Wang behind him, the Jiang family must be more careful in doing things.

If it was for the sake of the Ye family to offend King Cheng, Jiang Yuanbai would definitely not take action.

Jiang Li shook her head: "No."

The Ye family looked at him in surprise. Ye Jiaer asked, "So, did my cousin try to scare Prefect Tong?"

"That's not the case." Jiang Li said, "Although I didn't write to my father, I wrote to Cousin Ye. Cousin Ye is now the newly appointed Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Weaving Room Commander dare not treat him badly. Moreover, I also told Cousin Ye that even if I used my father's name, the Weaving Room Commander would pay more attention to it. I think the Weaving Room Commander would send someone to Xiangyang as soon as he received the report."

No one expected Jiang Li to say this. Ye Rufeng asked uncomfortably, "How could you let your elder brother use your father's name?"

"At the palace banquet, my cousin and I received gifts from His Majesty. Everyone knows the relationship between me and Cousin Ye. I see that my father has a lot of appreciation for Cousin Ye, and I think my father will not shy away when his colleagues ask about it. Since everyone in Yanjing City thinks that Cousin Ye and my father are of the same kind, it is better to let them misunderstand to the end. Wouldn't it be a waste if we don't use the title?"

Her matter-of-fact attitude gave people the illusion that Jiang Li was taking advantage of a stranger rather than her father.

"Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble to your father?" Ye Rufeng asked, "If you act on your own and return to Yanjing City, your father will not forgive you."

"So what?" Jiang Li smiled slightly, "It's done, can he still kill me?"

This attitude of "a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water and will naturally straighten itself out when the time comes" really left everyone in the Ye family speechless.

Jiang Li knew clearly that she did all this not only to help the Ye family, but also to break the possibility of an alliance between King Cheng and the Jiang family. She wanted to make the rift between Jiang Yuanbo and the Right Prime Minister irreparable. This way, she would have an opportunity to take advantage of it.

As for how Jiang Yuanbai would vent his anger on her after returning to Yanjing City, that was something she would have to consider later. In order to deal with Yongning and Shen Yurong, she was willing to pay any price.

Even her life.

If there really was someone behind Tong Zhiyang, his plan would have been disrupted by his appearance, and he would have to write a letter for help, but before that, Jiang Li's letter to Ye Shijie had already been sent. Before Tong Zhiyang got a specific solution, the people from the weaving room must have arrived in Xiangyang, and Tong Zhiyang would no longer have the final say.

This sequence of time is precisely the opportunity.

"So don't worry." Jiang Li smiled and said, "I think Tong Zhiyang will not act rashly recently, but those ancient fragrant satins that have been collected must be well preserved. There is no problem with the ancient fragrant satin I am wearing, which shows that the ancient fragrant satin with problems is only available recently, or in other words, only in Xiangyang. No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem to be a coincidence. When the people from the weaving room come, they will probably be able to find out clearly."

Ye Jiaer nodded: "I think so too."

After talking about the arrangements for the next few days, the Ye family members dispersed to rest. Jiang Li walked behind, and Ye Mingyu was in front. She called him, "Uncle Mingyu."

Ye Mingyu stopped and said, "What's wrong? Ah Li."

"Take a step to speak."

Ye Mingyu followed Jiang Li to Ye Minghui's study. Jiang Li asked Tong'er to hold the outside and said, "Uncle Mingyu has traveled a lot, so he should have some friends."

Ye Mingyu laughed when he heard this: "Yes, I do have a lot of friends."

"These people should all be willing to go through fire and water for their friends. Uncle Mingyu, I think there is something that must be done by you or your friend."

Seeing Jiang Li's serious expression, Ye Mingyu couldn't help but put away his smile and said, "What's the matter, Ah Li, tell me."

"Everyone in Xiangyang City knows that Tong Zhiyang is henpecked. Although he is extremely greedy, he is very clean when it comes to sex. He has never even set foot in a brothel. It is for this reason that his wife is willing to let her family support him and let him take the position of Xiangyang prefect."

Speaking of the matter between men and women, even Ye Mingyu felt a little uncomfortable, but Jiang Li looked calm, as if she was talking about something very ordinary. Ye Mingyu had to find excuses for Jiang Li in his heart. After all, Jiang Li had been in the nunnery for eight years, and she was pure and had few desires. She understood the principle that color is emptiness and emptiness is color, so it was natural that she looked at the matter between men and women very calmly.

This is what it means to be unworldly!

Thinking a little too far, Ye Mingyu heard Jiang Li say again: "But Tong Zhiyang is not as well behaved as he seems on the surface. He has a mistress who lives on the outskirts of Xiangyang City. He bought a house for her and she gave birth to a son for him."

"What?" Ye Mingyu was shocked. He had never heard of such a secret. Tong Zhiyang was afraid of his wife, so how could he be so bold?

"Uncle, don't be surprised." Ye Mingyu was so surprised that Jiang Li was speechless. She said, "The concubine's child is young and beautiful, and Tong Zhiyang likes her very much. In addition, his wife in his own house only gave birth to two daughters for him. Tong Zhiyang wanted a son very much, and the concubine gave birth to a boy, who was the apple of Tong Zhiyang's eye. He would visit the mother and son every once in a while."

Ye Mingyu was so shocked that he couldn't close his jaw: "Are you telling the truth?"

"It's absolutely true." You know, Xue Zhao had this handle on Tong Zhiyang at the beginning, so he didn't let Tong Zhiyang continue to embarrass Xue Huaiyuan. At that time, Tong Zhiyang had just had a son from his mistress. Now, it has been five or six years. Jiang Li asked around, and in the past five or six years, there were no rumors that Tong Zhiyang had a mistress outside, which showed that Tong Zhiyang hid it very well. She also specially asked someone to go to the edge of the city to check, and the mother and son were still there.

Tong Zhiyang's love for this mother and son is ridiculous.

"Even if what you said is true," Ye Mingyu asked, "how do you know these things? Ah Li, you have been in Xiangyang for less than a month. My eldest brother and his family have been in Xiangyang for decades and have never heard of these things."

If others heard the secrets that Jiang Li told, they would be shocked, and they might even think that Jiang Li was lying. Ye Mingyu would not think that Jiang Li was lying, but he was puzzled. Jiang Li was not from Xiangyang, so why did she know so much about Tong Zhiyang. Not only that, but Tong Zhiyang's brother-in-law was the bell official in Yanjing City, so he also knew about it. Ye Mingyu believed that Jiang Yuanbai could not pay attention to a prefect in Xiangyang, and these things would definitely not be learned from Jiang Yuanbai.

How did Jiang Li know?
"I brought the guards back from Yanjing City." Jiang Li smiled. "These guards were carefully selected by my father. I asked a guard to go to Tong Mansion to inquire. Coincidentally, Tong Zhiyang was instructing someone to send silver to the mother and son. I asked someone to follow them and found that they were indeed correct. Then I learned the secret."

She naturally couldn't tell Ye Mingyu that she knew about this because of Xue Zhao. This explanation was reasonable. At least apart from this, Ye Mingyu couldn't think of any other way that Jiang Li would know about it, so he just treated it as a coincidence.

"Okay, Ah Li, tell me about Tong Zhiyang's mistress. What does that mean?"

"As we can see, Tong Zhiyang dotes on this mother and son. I suspect that Tong Zhiyang is related to the incident with the ancient silk of the Ye family. Maybe there is someone behind the scenes. In order to avoid any mistakes, I need him to be cautious. At least, he can't do anything before the commander of the weaving room sends someone to Xiangyang."

Ye Mingyu looked at her, not quite understanding what Jiang Li meant.

"Since Uncle Mingyu is a man of the world, it shouldn't be difficult for him to take away a pair of mother and son." Jiang Li said, "I hope Uncle Mingyu or Uncle Mingyu's friend will kidnap Tong Zhiyang's mistress and son. Tong Zhiyang suddenly learned the news, and all his energy will be used to find this pair of mother and son, so he can't spare any other energy to deal with the Ye family. If necessary, he can use this pair of mother and son to threaten-" Jiang Li smiled and said, "You must know that Tong Zhiyang dare not let his wife know the existence of this pair of mother and son. Once the truth comes out, his position as the prefect of Xiangyang will be lost. In order to protect this secret, Tong Zhiyang will definitely make any deal with you. After all, he is a man who fears his wife like a tiger."

Ye Mingyu now understood that Jiang Li wanted him to kidnap Tong Zhiyang's mistress and son and hide them. Whether it was a plot or a tool to distract Tong Zhiyang, Tong Zhiyang would not dare to do anything to the Ye family.

He said, "Ali, you want me to kidnap a mother and her son..." They could not capture the wife and children. They, the people in the underworld, disdain to do such a despicable thing, and are unwilling to bully women and children.

As if she could guess what he was thinking, Jiang Li looked at Ye Mingyu calmly and said, "Uncle Mingyu, when Tong Zhiyang was dealing with the Ye family and inciting the people to smash and destroy the Lizheng Hall, he didn't expect that the Ye family would be full of old, weak and sick people. Not to mention that cousin Ye is still an official in Yanjing City, and my grandmother is in poor health. If she knew that something happened to the Ye family, how could she be safe?"

"Besides, I'm not asking you to take the mother and son away to do anything to them. They can eat and drink well, they are just a little frightened. When the matter is done, send them back, they won't lose anything." Jiang Li smiled and said, "It's a matter of life and death, Uncle Mingyu can't be soft-hearted."

The last sentence, although spoken gently, seemed strangely harsh.

Ye Mingyu was startled when he heard this. After thinking about it carefully, he said to Jiang Li in shame, "I thought it was too simple. You, Ali, could see it, but I couldn't. I have grown so old in vain." He said seriously, "Leave this matter to me. Tomorrow I will find a few trusted friends and look for a place where no one else can find us. Since Tong Zhiyang is afraid of his wife, he will definitely not openly look for the mother and son. This is our opportunity."

Jiang Li nodded: "After the matter is done, when Tong Zhiyang gets the news, it will be too late. It will be even more difficult to find someone."

"However," Ye Mingyu said, "What you said about Tong Zhiyang being related to the incident with Gu Xiangduan, and someone behind the scenes directing it, is that true?"

The Ye family has been unable to find out the cause of the accident of Guxiangduan, let alone blaming Tong Zhiyang. If what Jiang Li said is true, this matter is very serious.

"I'm just suspicious." Jiang Li said, "There is no definite evidence. However, as long as the Weaving Room Commander comes to Xiangyang, everything will be revealed." Jiang Li smiled faintly, "I think even if Tong Zhiyang is bolder than the sky, he dare not do anything under the nose of the people sent by the Weaving Room Commander. What's more, with his favorite concubine and son as threats, Tong Zhifu should weigh the pros and cons."

Even if there was a high-ranking official in Yanjing who could protect Tong Zhiyang, and that high-ranking official happened to be the powerful Right Prime Minister, Jiang Li guessed that the Right Prime Minister would never reveal his name to avoid being implicated in the event of an incident. Tong Zhiyang would not be bold enough if he did not know how solid the support behind him was.

Moreover, Tong Zhiyang's son and his mistress were missing, so he must have been afraid. He would understand that distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, and he would be a hero who knows the current situation first.

　Over 100 chapters!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)