Chapter 104: The Play
The meeting with Old Madam Ye went more smoothly than Jiang Li had imagined. Although she consciously used the troubles of the Ye family to improve her relationship with the Ye family, Jiang Li thought that even if this incident had not happened, there would be no gap between Old Madam Ye and Second Miss Jiang. As long as Second Miss Jiang turned back, Old Madam Ye would always be her backer.

But after all, I accomplished something I had always wanted to accomplish.

The next thing to do was to calmly wait for the result from Tang Fan. However, no one expected that the result would come so unexpectedly.

Three days later, Tang Fan went to the Ye family and said as soon as he entered the house, "We found the person who brought Tuo Luohua to Xiangyang."

Ye Minghui asked: "Who is it?"

Tang Fan shook his head. "These past few days, I have sent people to investigate the case with Prefect Tong. We followed the clues and found the Dafeng Pharmacy in Xiangyang City. The owner of this pharmacy sends people to collect some rare medicinal materials every six months. He has a smart clerk who came back from the Western Regions two months ago. Some people say that he brought back a lot of medicinal materials. According to others, there seems to be traces of Tuoluo flowers."

"Dafeng Pharmacy?" Ye Mingxuan hesitated for a moment, "People in Xiangyang all get their medicine from Dafeng Pharmacy, but they have no grudge against our Ye family."

"We wanted to arrest him as soon as possible, but who knew that early this morning, the owner of Dafeng Pharmacy and his family of seven, along with the clerk who returned from the Western Regions, were all killed."

"Silencing?" Ye Jiaer exclaimed.

"Yes, it shouldn't be a revenge killing. I think," Tang Fan looked at Jiang Li, "it's very likely that the person behind the scenes knew that we were investigating and sacrificed the car to save the king."

"You mean, there is someone behind this?" Ye Mingyu asked.

"If it was just the idea of ​​the people in Dafeng Pharmacy, there would be no need to wipe out the whole family. Now it seems that all those who knew about it are dead, and there must be someone behind the scenes directing it." Tang Fan replied. He was not sure at first, but when he saw that the suspected Dafeng Pharmacy was wiped out overnight, he was almost certain that someone was behind the plot of the Ye family's ancient fragrant satin. However, the means were so brutal and they were not afraid of the consequences, which showed that the other party was quite powerful.

But since I have already stood on the side of the Jiang family, it is too late to regret now, so I have to bite the bullet and do it.

"Lord Tang's suspicion of Dafeng Pharmacy should not have been leaked out." Jiang Li smiled slightly, "In such a short time, the people from Dafeng Pharmacy were killed. Maybe someone got the news in advance and killed the Dafeng Pharmacy. In this case, there must be a traitor..."

"Absolutely impossible!" Tang Fan assured hurriedly, "We were sent to Xiangyang by the Weaving Room Commander to thoroughly investigate this matter. It has nothing to do with the Dafeng Pharmacy and the news will never leak out." He was afraid that Jiang Li would suspect that it was their people who tipped off the other party, which led to the silencing of the witnesses from the Dafeng Pharmacy.

"Don't be anxious, Lord Tang. Since I have handed all the matters over to you, I naturally believe that you will give us an explanation. But this matter is really unexpected. We just targeted Dafeng Pharmacy, and then no one was left alive in Dafeng Pharmacy. Don't you think it's too coincidental? Prefect Tong has a lot of subordinates. Could it be that Prefect Tong's people accidentally leaked the news, giving others an opportunity to take advantage of it?" Jiang Li said with a smile.

Tang Fan's eyes slightly changed when he looked at Jiang Li, and he sighed in his heart. Tong Zhiyang had completely offended the second young lady of the Jiang family. Jiang Li's meaning was that she suspected that Tong Zhiyang was in cahoots with the people who framed the Ye family. After getting the news, she told the other party, and the other party sent people to kill all the people in the Dafeng Pharmacy. Although this was possible, Jiang Li's suggestion at this time was clearly to suppress Tong Zhiyang. When Jiang Li returned to Yanjing City and told Jiang Yuanbai about this, Jiang Yuanbai could find any reason to make Tong Zhiyang be watched carefully and investigated, and he would always be able to find some clues.

Miss Jiang Er is not easy to mess with, don't offend her. Tang Fan had this understanding in his mind, so he was more polite when talking to Jiang Li, saying: "We found some scattered pollen of Tuoluo in the yard behind the shop assistant's house of Dafeng Pharmacy. Although Dafeng Pharmacy was destroyed, it can be concluded that it was the shop assistant who did it. Once we collect enough evidence, we can clear the name of the Ye family."

"But the person behind the scenes hasn't been found, right?" Ye Minghui said in a deep voice, "If we fail this time, what will happen if those people plot against us next time? Now we finally found a clue, but the Dafeng Pharmacy was wiped out. How can the people believe the Ye family's words? They might think that our Ye family colluded with the government and businessmen, and found an excuse. The reputation of the Ye family has been ruined. Not to mention other things, I'm afraid that the business of Guxiangduan will not be carried out in the future. What should we do?"

Ye Minghui's words were sad, but not entirely without reason. Tang Fan said, "We will find a way to tell the people the truth..." He also felt that what he said was very reluctant. Even if the people of the Weaving Room said that the Ye family's ancient fragrant satin business would not be able to be done in the future, the main business of the Ye family is ancient fragrant satin. This time, the Ye family was also seriously injured.

"Uncle Minghui," Jiang Li said, "Investigating the case is not what the Weaving Chamber Master should do. If we want to know the clues about the person behind the scenes, we have to rely on Prefect Tong. Let's hand this matter over to Prefect Tong and let him investigate. If Prefect Tong can't find out, we will continue to report it to higher levels. If even the Jingzhao Yin of Yanjing can't find out, we can think of a way for me to let my father go to the palace to meet the emperor. We can always find a way out."

She said it lightly, and Tang Fan was shocked when he heard it. He thought to himself that Tong Zhiyang's career as prefect seemed to have come to an end. Fortunately, he stood on the side of the Jiang family from the beginning. Otherwise, with the second Miss Jiang's penny-pinching personality, he didn't know how much trouble she would have to deal with after the incident.

Thinking about this, Tang Fan did not dare to delay and explained the next steps to Jiang Li in detail before leaving.

After Tang Fan left, Ye Rufeng couldn't help but speak up: "The people from Dafeng Pharmacy have no grudges against us, so how could they be used as a gun to trip up our Ye family?"

"People die for money, and birds die for food," Ye Mingxuan taught his son. "Since you are willing to be a gun, you must have received benefits or threats from others. If the people from the Weaving Room had not taken action this time, the Ye family would have been doomed. If you live well by stepping on the blood of others, you will always pay a price. Look, a good medicine shop has nothing now."

Since the person is dead, it is futile to pursue the matter further. Ye Mingxuan sighed.

"But at least it gives us a reminder, doesn't it?" Jiang Li said with a smile.

"But the business of ancient fragrant satin has been cut off," Guan sighed, "Mother will know about this sooner or later. The Ye family's business was built by my parents, especially the ancient fragrant satin. Now it is ruined in our hands..." She was unable to continue.

Madam Ye was in poor health and could not stay out for a long time. She had to stay in bed to recuperate. Apart from chatting and laughing with Jiang Li, she did not bother Madam Ye with these trivial matters on weekdays. But it was unclear whether Madam Ye, who was equally important, would hear these things from the servants.

Thinking of the difficulties that the Ye family will face in the future, everyone was worried. When they dispersed, Jiang Li pulled the corner of Ye Mingyu's clothes. Seeing this, Ye Mingyu understood and walked into the house to talk with Jiang Li.

"Uncle Mingyu, are Suqin and Tongyu okay now?" Jiang Li asked. Suqin and Tongyu are Tong Zhiyang's mistress and son.

"Don't worry, I've taken good care of them. Tong Zhiyang has been like a mad dog these days, sending people everywhere to look for news about the mother and son. If he wasn't afraid of He, I think he would have mobilized all the people in their government office to look for them!"

Jiang Li said: "Nothing, let someone take a letter to Tong Zhiyang today."

"What letter?" Ye Mingyu was suspicious and said, "I was worrying about how to deal with these two mother and son. Now that the matter of Gu Xiangduan has been settled, the two mother and son are of no use to me. I was thinking about telling He's family directly and letting them deal with Tong Zhiyang."

"We will definitely tell the He family in the end," Jiang Li smiled, "but before that, we have to make Tong Zhiyang tell us who is behind the harm to the Ye family."

"He knows?" Ye Mingyu was shocked.

"I think that as a prefect, he may not know the other party's identity, but he can always give some clues. With these clues, I won't be afraid of not being able to find the person when I return to Yanjing City." She looked at Ye Mingyu, "Uncle Mingyu, use Tong Yu's underwear to threaten Tong Zhiyang. Even for this only incense, Tong Zhiyang will tell everything he knows."

Ye Mingyu said: "I'll go right away!"

"Be careful." Jiang Li said, "Don't let anyone catch you."

Ye Mingyu smiled: "Don't worry!"

……

Tong Zhiyang has had a rough time these days.

First, when the Ye family was almost certain to win, Jiang Li suddenly showed up to mess up the situation, and the Ye family had to watch helplessly as they escaped. Later, Tang Fan came and, relying on the title of the weaving room commander of Yanjing City, suppressed him in Xiangyang City, leaving him without any dignity.

The most important thing is that his beloved mistress Suqin and son Tong Yu have been missing and have not been found yet.

Whenever Tong Zhiyang thought of this, his heart ached. Suqin was fine. Although she was beautiful and considerate, she was still a woman. If she died, he could always raise another one. Tong Yu was different. He only had one son. It seemed that He Shi could not give birth to a son. If Tong Yu died, the incense of their Tong family would be cut off from him. How could he not be anxious?
Tong Zhiyang suspected that He knew about the existence of the mother and son, and that it was He who took them away. But if he thought about it carefully, with He's personality, if she knew about the existence of Suqin and Tong Yu, she would never pretend to be deaf and dumb and secretly plot something. The most likely possibility is to go to their house. And even if it was really He who did it, Tong Zhiyang did not have the courage to question He, so he had to keep it in his heart and felt uneasy.

The weaving room commander acted too quickly. Fortunately, he immediately told others about the people in Dafeng Pharmacy who Tang Fan suspected, so nothing went wrong at Dafeng Pharmacy. Although he failed to complete his brother-in-law's plan, he didn't cause any trouble either.

Just as he was thinking about it, his servant suddenly came running in from outside and shouted, "Master!"

Tong Zhiyang turned back impatiently: "Why are you so startled!"

The servant closed the door and panted, "Master...Master..."

"Is there any news about the young master?" Upon hearing about Tong Yu, Tong Zhiyang immediately stood up excitedly.

The servant handed a letter in his hand to Tong Zhiyang, along with a longevity lock, and said, "This was found in the gatehouse. I don't know how long ago. I saw that this was the young master's button, and I guessed that this matter is related to the young master." He handed the letter and the silver lock to Tong Zhiyang.

Tong Zhiyang looked at the silver lock, and his excitement was immediately evident. He said, "It's Yu'er's!"

Tong Zhiyang doted on Tong Yu. When Tong Yu was born, he specially had someone put a longevity lock on her. The lock in his hand was Tong Yu's. He couldn't wait to open the letter, and the more he read it, the uglier his expression became.

The servant didn't know what happened. He just saw Tong Zhiyang throw the letter to the ground after reading it, gritting his teeth and saying, "How ridiculous!"

"Master, what happened?" asked the servant.

"Someone kidnapped Yu'er and Suqin," Tong Zhiyang took a deep breath, "This letter is to threaten me!"

"Do they want money?" the servant asked. Whenever there is a threat, there must be a purpose behind it.

"If only they wanted money!" Tong Zhiyang was very angry. The letter clearly stated that Tong Yu and Su Qin were both in the hands of the other party, and the other party did not want any talent. He was asked to explain everything he knew about the troubles of the Ye family. If the other party was satisfied, they would naturally release the people. If they were not satisfied, they would wait until Tong Zhiyang said something that satisfied them.

This is to make Tong Zhiyang betray his brother-in-law!

Tong Zhiyang was reluctant, but looking at Tong Yu's longevity lock, he felt very unwilling. Without Tong Yu, no matter how high his position was or how rich his family property was, there would be no successor. Was he going to watch his only incense being cut off?
After thinking it over, Tong Zhiyang gritted his teeth and made up his mind. People are selfish, and he has done his best in dealing with his brother-in-law. If he wants to blame someone, he should blame the second daughter of the Jiang family for suddenly appearing and turning things around. He can't joke with his own flesh and blood for others.

"Bring paper and pen!" Tong Zhiyang said.

The servant hurriedly ran to get something. Tong Zhiyang looked at the letter on the ground and gritted his teeth again.

The other party asked him to write the letter and have someone send it to the backyard of the He family. Tong Zhiyang wanted to send someone to keep an eye on the letter and follow the clues to find out who the other party was. But when it was sent to the He family, the He family was He's family. No matter how bold he was, he didn't dare to do it under the eyes of the He family. He was even more afraid that the He family would discover the existence of Suqin and her son because of him.

The other party is really calculating, and nothing is wrong, which makes people hate him so much...

……

Jiang Li stood at the door of Ye's house. She was waiting for news of Ye Mingyu's return. Ye Mingyu went to get the reply letter from Tong Zhiyang. Although Jiang Li could roughly guess the result, she still needed Tong Zhiyang's letter to confirm some things.

The sunlight shines down lazily, winter is approaching, and the winter in Xiangyang city is warm, unlike Yanjing in the north. Even when it snows, it is not very cold, but more like white pear blossoms floating in the wind.

The door of the neighboring house opened. Jiang Li looked over there and saw Ji Heng and the guard named Wen Ji walking out.

The two of them also saw Jiang Li. Ji Heng looked at Jiang Li, smiled, and walked towards this side slowly.

There were not many people at the gate of Ye's house, as those who lived here were all dignitaries, but Ji Heng's appearance was so stunning that she immediately attracted everyone's attention. Jiang Li even saw a young girl leaning against the gate of the house in the distance, frequently looking at Ji Heng.

They didn't know Ji Heng's identity, but even so, Ji Heng could still be the most eye-catching one here.

"My Lord." Jiang Li saluted Ji Heng.

"It's rare to see Miss Jiang coming out to bask in the sun." Ji Heng said to her with a smile, holding a folding fan.

In the cold winter, the folding fan is no longer needed. If someone else holds it, they will be accused of being pretentious, but when he holds it, he feels very suitable. It seems that the golden folding fan is born to be held in the palm of a beautiful person like him. Of course, Jiang Li is also very clear in her heart. When she saw the peony on the golden folding fan blocking the tip of the knife, Jiang Li knew that this folding fan is not just a folding fan, it is also the most dangerous weapon, but it is hidden in such a casual way.

Just like its owner.

Jiang Li smiled and said, "The Duke is also in a good mood."

To others, they would only think that they were very familiar with each other, like old friends who had not seen each other for a long time. But Jiang Li would not really think that Ji Heng treated her as a friend. Under his gentle smile, he hid the coldest heart. As for what he was going to do, Jiang Li did not understand, nor did she want to understand.

"What is the Second Miss waiting for?" Ji Heng asked, "Waiting for Tong Zhiyang to report the secret?"

Jiang Li raised her eyes to look at him. As expected, even the slightest movement on her side could not be hidden from Ji Heng's eyes.

She agreed openly: "Nothing can be hidden from your eyes."

"Xiangyang City is so small after all." Ji Heng said modestly, "No secret can be kept."

"That's true."

Wen Ji stood aside, and saw the two people, one big and one small, talking as if no one was around, and he couldn't hide his surprise. Ji Heng looked gentle and affectionate, but in fact, she was not a good person to get along with, and was especially arrogant and cold to strangers. It was rare for her to talk so much to someone. Miss Jiang had left Qingcheng Mountain for less than half a year. In the past six months, in addition to causing a stir in Yanjing City, she also established a lot of connections with Ji Heng.

Wen Ji couldn't tell what his master was thinking. He said that Jiang Li would become a sacrificial pawn sooner or later. Ji Heng didn't touch her from beginning to end. He said that Ji Heng planned to support Jiang Li, but Ji Heng never helped Jiang Li in the face of conspiracies and dangers.

He just watched the show happily from the side, with no intention of helping or adding insult to injury.

The Second Miss Jiang was also a wonderful person. Facing the moody Duke Su, she never showed any fear. Not to mention that she was a little girl, even if she was older, she would not be able to talk to Ji Heng so calmly.

"The second young lady seems to have guessed who it is." Ji Heng glanced at her with a smile and said.

"I guess it's the Li family." Jiang Li said directly.

Perhaps because she didn't expect Jiang Li to say it so suddenly without even trying to cover it up, Ji Heng was slightly surprised and didn't say anything. The next moment, she heard Jiang Li say, "The Duke already knew about it, right?"

Throw this question at him again.

She was not afraid of him at all.

Ji Heng asked: "Why are you asking me?"

"Because Xiangyang is too small, no secret can be hidden from the Duke's eyes." Jiang Li answered as a matter of course. She smiled with curved eyes and looked innocent, simple and cute, but every word she said was sharp.

Ji Heng also smiled and asked, "Want to know?"

Jiang Li just looked at him and smiled, so Ji Heng waved her fan and said, "It's unspeakable."

It is unspeakable, but in fact it is just that. Jiang Li nodded. In fact, until now, she still couldn't figure out which side Ji Heng stood on. Not to mention the relationship between him and King Cheng Hong Xiaodi, even his relationship with the right prime minister's family was confusing. He seemed to know Li Jing, the eldest son of the Li family, but when it came to the Li family, he didn't lend a hand when he saw the Li family's plan fail. If he was an ally, he was really an annoying ally.

As he was speaking, a chestnut horse came running towards him from afar. The rider did not pull the reins, but just whistled, and the horse suddenly stopped in front of the door.

It’s Ye Mingyu who is back.

Ye Mingyu turned over and dismounted, and saw Jiang Li standing with an incredibly beautiful man. The man was dressed in red, too beautiful, but not at all feminine. Although he was smiling, his narrow and long phoenix eyes were not smiling at all. Having lived on the edge of a knife for so many days, Ye Mingyu instinctively sensed the danger and subconsciously wanted to pull Jiang Li behind him, away from this man.

"Uncle Mingyu." Jiang Li called.

"Ali, this is..." Ye Mingyu looked at Ji Heng. He couldn't remember when such a person came to Xiangyang City.

Jiang Li hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's a young man who lives in the neighboring house. I've met him a few times."

In the end, Ji Heng’s identity was not revealed.

Ji Heng smiled and said to Jiang Li, "The secret is back, Second Miss, please go back soon." She looked quite meaningful.

Since Ye Mingyu was here, Jiang Li didn't want to say more, so she nodded to Ji Heng and followed Ye Mingyu into Ye's house.

After seeing the two leave, Wen Ji asked, "Sir, do you need me..."

Ji Heng blocked it with her fan and said, "No need." She glanced at the tightly closed door of Ye's residence and smiled, "I know what she is going to do without even looking. Xiangyang is going to be turned upside down."

……

Ye Mingyu and Jiang Li returned to Jiang Li's yard.

Tong'er and Bai Xue hurriedly made tea for Ye Mingyu. Seeing that there was no one else here, Ye Mingyu immediately asked impatiently: "Ali, who was that man just now? Although you didn't say it clearly, I don't think he is an ordinary person. It seems like you two have an old friendship."

Seeing that she couldn't hide it from him, Jiang Li said, "He is the current Duke of Su, Ji Heng."

"Duke Su?" Ye Mingyu took a breath. He had heard of the name of Duke Su, but for the people of Xiangyang, this person was too far away, like a legend. Seeing the legend with your own eyes always felt unreal.

"Why is Duke Su here?" Ye Mingyu asked.

Jiang Li shook her head and said, "I don't know either. I met him when I went to the palace banquet with my father. We talked a few times because of my father, so we have met a few times. This time I met him by chance in Xiangyang, which was really unexpected, so I talked a few more words. However," Jiang Li paused, and continued, "Uncle Mingyu, please don't tell others about this. Duke Suguo has a special status. I don't know why he came to Xiangyang. In order to avoid trouble, it is better not to tell anyone."

"I know." Ye Mingyu patted his chest. Although he didn't understand officialdom, he knew that these dignitaries had a lot of private affairs. He didn't want to get involved in other people's troubles and become a scapegoat for no reason.

He took out a letter from his bosom and said, "This is the reply letter found in He's house." He turned around and praised Jiang Li, "You are really amazing. You knew that Tong Zhiyang was afraid of his wife, so you put the reply letter in He's house. Tong Zhiyang really didn't dare to let anyone follow him, so it was easy to get the letter. I just don't know whether what Tong Zhiyang wrote is true or false."

Jiang Li opened the letter and said, "Really, Tong Zhiyang will not risk his son's life."

She unfolded the letter and read it carefully. After a moment, she handed the letter to Ye Mingyu and motioned for Ye Mingyu to read it.

Ye Mingyu picked it up and looked at it, while Jiang Li fell into deep thought.

Tong Zhiyang must be very concerned about Tong Yu's life. This letter conveys a lot of information. Tong Zhiyang himself is not very clear about who is responsible for the Ye family's ancient fragrant satin. But his brother-in-law, Zhong Guanling, wrote to instruct him that Tong Zhiyang must make the Ye family suffer in the matter of the Ye family's ancient fragrant satin. When the Ye family is desperate, Tong Zhiyang will give the Ye family a way out. The Ye family will have to pay a certain price, but Tong Zhiyang is the only lifeline of the Ye family.

It seems that someone is using the ancient satin incident to force the Ye family into a corner, and then make a deal with the other party to become a weapon for the other party. But Tong Zhiyang has no idea who the other party is. Although this matter was said by his brother-in-law, his brother-in-law is just a messenger. Because his brother-in-law once promised that if this matter could be accomplished, Tong Zhiyang's career would definitely move to a higher level.

And the official Zhong also vaguely revealed a meaning that there was a huge force behind the whole thing, involving a very powerful nobleman in Yanjing City, and they were all working for this nobleman.

It was supposed to be a foolproof plan, but Jiang Li suddenly appeared. As soon as Jiang Li arrived in Xiangyang and learned about the ancient fragrant satin, she wrote a letter back to Yanjing to ask the weaving room commander to come, disrupting Tong Zhiyang's entire plan. He had no choice but to write a letter to Zhong Guanling's brother-in-law, but the weaving room commander's people came too quickly. Before he could get a reply to instruct him on what to do next, the situation was no longer under Tong Zhiyang's control. Instead of being forced into a desperate situation, the Ye family managed to survive.

This is all the facts that Tong Zhiyang knows. He doesn't know more. Jiang Li believes that Tong Zhiyang didn't tell everything, but concealed some of it. For example, the annihilation of the Dafeng Pharmacy, but these are not the most important. The important thing is that in the part that Tong Zhiyang said, the powerful nobleman, if she guessed correctly, should be someone from the family of the Right Prime Minister Li Zhongnan.

From the beginning when Li Lian set his sights on Ye Shijie, to the later conversations between Li Jing and Ji Heng, to the current conspiracy against the Ye family, the whole thing is confusing and seems to have no end.

"Ali," Ye Mingyu said after reading the letter, "I know all the words on this letter, but why can't I understand what they mean when they are connected together?"

"Uncle Mingyu, to put it simply, there is a nobleman in Yanjing City who has set his sights on the Ye family's assets and cousin Ye's career, so he deliberately set up a trap to lure you in. But," she smiled, "it was a mess."

　Today is 520, I give you all a heart, muah muah muah muah!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)