Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 74 Returning to My Mother's Home
From Cai Shiwen to Wu Chengjian, everyone was shocked to see Cai Qinghua seal up the stolen goods from the palace without even looking at them.
But then I heard Cai Qinghua say: "The Governor's Office has handed this matter over to Guangzhou Prefecture. This time we are investigating the Thirteen Hongs because there may be corruption between Nanhai County and the Guangdong Customs. Now that the stolen goods have been found, we will hand it over to Guangzhou Prefecture for trial."
Cai Shiwen was even more confused and had no idea what Cai Qinghua meant.
Wu Chengjian remained silent and glanced at Cai Qinghua. His eyes showed even deeper vigilance and fear.
Qu Xingshu from Guangzhou Prefecture said, "Then this... Official Hao..."
Cai Qinghua said: "He is the person involved in the incident. Nanhai County is also a suspect, so I will give him to you to take back."
When Qu Xingshu heard this, his face turned ugly - this case involved the imperial court, who knew what would happen next, how could it be decided by the Guangzhou prefect? But if Wu Chengjian had any accident in the Guangzhou prison, he would be the one to take the blame!
Wu Chengjian cupped his hands towards Qu Xingshu and said with a smile, "Then I'll have to trouble Qu Xingshu during this period of time."
Qu Xingshu forced a smile and had to accept it, and asked the officials to take Wu Chengjian away.
Cai Shiwen was even more confused and stepped forward and whispered, "Master Cai..." But he was interrupted by Cai Qinghua who raised his hand.
Cai Qinghua said, "Leave the officers and soldiers from the Governor's Office to guard this warehouse, and send a battalion of Green Camp officers and soldiers to seal off the Ye family's warehouse. The rest of you can disperse. The search and suppression of the Thirteen Hongs ends here."
The incident that had lasted for two days and one night came to an end. Except for Xingchenghang, all other businesses resumed operations after the Green Camp withdrew its troops.
But the top wealthy people in Xiguan all know that a storm is brewing and the real big things are just beginning.
The siege on Yihehang was lifted, and the six shopkeepers greeted each other and came to Manqian Penglai to look for Zhou Yijin. They saw that Zhou Yijin was moving - Wu Chengjian's words in the warehouse had picked him out, but on the surface he had also been removed from the list, so it was not appropriate for Zhou Yijin to continue living in Manqian Penglai in a swagger, so he packed up a little and asked Wu Xiaojiu to rent a small building near Xiguan Street for him to live in temporarily.
The six shopkeepers came to see him. Zhou Yijin ordered his servants to leave. The shopkeeper Liu had a worried look on his face and said, "Master Zhou, now that Hao Guan is in prison... you have to help us make a decision."
Zhou Yijin said, "I am no longer a member of Yihehang, let alone a member of the Wu family. It is not my place to interfere in this matter. But before Haoguan went to the warehouse, didn't he bring you any words?"
Manager Liu said, "Official Hao sent someone to bring a message, saying that if Yihe Bank is closed, then business will be suspended. If Yihe Bank is not closed, then business will continue as usual."
Zhou Yijin said: "Then you just do as he says. The world is big, and business is the biggest!"
"Although Yihehang has not been closed, Haoguan is in prison." Ou Jiafu said, "We have to find a way to rescue him, right?"
Zhou Yijin said: "If he didn't arrange for you to do this, then he probably arranged for someone else to do it. You might as well just ignore it."
Everyone looked at each other, but could only sigh and say goodbye. After everyone left, Ou Jiafu slipped back alone, and met Zhou Yijin in a deserted place, saying: "Master Zhou, do you and Haoguan have no backup plan for this matter? Do you want us to cooperate?"
Seeing that he was alone, Zhou Yijin hesitated for a moment before saying, "If I need you, I'll let Xiaojiu find you."
Ou Jiafu said: "Okay."
Zhou Yijin's move was not a big deal. He just asked Wu Xiaojiu to pack up some daily necessities and then moved to Xiguan Street. With his status and Wu Chengjian's influence, it was easy for him to get a suitable small building to live in Xiguan Street, and he moved in that night.
After dinner, Wu Liu quietly entered the small building from the back door and said, "Master Zhou, my master and eldest young lady want to see you."
Zhou Yijin knew what the matter was, but said, "Please reply to your master that it is not appropriate for me to go to the Wu residence now. People from your Wu family should come to see me less in the future."
Wu Liu said, "Master Zhou, this is an extraordinary period, so we will not be shy. After what happened last year, our whole family regards you as the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang of our Wu family. So even though Hao Guan publicly expelled you, we all know that this was for show. Now that Hao Guan is in prison, the master and the eldest young lady are counting on you to make decisions for us."
Zhou Yijin said: "Even if it is for others to see, it has to be done properly. So I can't go to Wu's house, and you guys should come less often."
After hearing this, Wu Liu felt very embarrassed.
Zhou Yijin said, "There are two things you need to tell Mr. Wu. First, it would be best if Mr. Chuan Longci, Short Legs Charlie, and Iron-Headed Army Scar were removed from the Wu family. This way, it would be easier for us to move around outside."
As soon as Wu Liu heard this, he knew that Zhou Yijin was going to take action, and he said happily, "Yes, yes."
Zhou Yijin said, "I heard that after I left, Hao Guan was imprisoned in Guangzhou Prefecture instead of the Governor's Mansion. Have you arranged the prison in Guangzhou Prefecture?"
Wu Liu said: "The eldest young lady has already sent someone to take care of it. The prison officers and jailers in Guangzhou Prefecture did not make things difficult for us and have promised to take care of it. However, this matter is of great importance, so they have to handle it impartially now."
Zhou Yijin said, "Just handle official business as it is. As for the second thing, my uncle has been in prison, the third young lady is pregnant, and my father is ill. As the eldest sister-in-law, I can legitimately go in and deliver meals. If you report these two things back, I think Mr. Wu will understand."
Wu Liu agreed and returned to Wu's house.
This time the incident was a big deal, after all, the head of the family was taken to jail, and the crime involved was "stealing palace items". But perhaps because of last year's incident, the Wu family was not in chaos, and Cai Qiaozhu still controlled the Wu family well. Wu Liu went straight to the backyard, and Wu Guoying sent away his aunt and servants, leaving only Cai Qiaozhu .
After hearing Wu Liu's reply, Cai Qiaozhu said, "I can understand the first reason. It is to get rid of Master Ci and his men. It will be more convenient for them to do things outside. I will do this later. At the same time, I will give Master Zhou and his men some money to use. But what is the second reason?"
Wu Guoying was already nodding, and said, "Master Zhou meant that he should not have too much contact with us for the time being, but if you can go to the prison to see Hao Guan, then if there are any difficult decisions, you can let Hao Guan make the decision."
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Ah, so that's how it is. Master is wise. I will go to deliver the meal tonight, but I don't quite understand this matter. Since the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi sent troops with great fanfare and surrounded the entire Thirteen Hongs, why did they seal up the things they found and not inspect them, and did not bring the people back to the Governor's Office, but instead left them in Guangzhou Prefecture? If they were brought back to the Governor's Office directly, it would be even more difficult for us to see Official Hao. What's the logic behind this?"
Wu Guoying sighed, "I don't quite understand this either. Ask Hao Guan when you deliver the meal."
Suddenly he asked, "How is Xi's wife doing? Has she already known about Hao Guan's situation?"
Wu Liu said: "The Third Young Lady's information is quite insightful. I knew it earlier."
Wu Guoying said, "Hao Guan has been arrested, and she is the only one left in Henan. I am worried. Why don't we let Xi Jiasao move to the old house in Xiguan so that everyone can take care of her."
Wu Liu said: "The Third Young Lady crossed the river this afternoon and should be at the Ye family now."
Wu Guoying and Cai Qiaozhu both exclaimed.
"It was Wu Qi who escorted the Third Young Lady to the Ye family, so I knew about this." Wu Liu said, "But I just found out about it. I was busy today and didn't have time to tell you."
Wu Guoying said, "Wu Qi sent it? Well, it's probably because Hao Guan had something to say and asked Xi Jiasao to tell Old Ye."
Cai Qiaozhu also nodded.
In the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, Cai Qinghua had not slept for two days and one night. When he returned to the Governor's Office, he was very tired, but someone still came in and talked to him.
"Haha ." Cai Qinghua sneered, "Get rid of those hangers-on? Such a trick is not worth mentioning! Go, let Lu Guanhuan and Wang Degong each select people, and work in shifts for twelve hours without rest. Both the open and secret lines will work at the same time to keep an eye on the four hangers-on under Wu Chengjian. If the secret line loses track, let the open line reveal its official identity and force the other party to show up - if they don't show up, treat them as plotting against their will, send officials to arrest their family members for trial, and don't let anyone out of sight. I want to make sure that even if Yi Jin has a trick, he will no longer have room to display it."
The man was about to go do something, but Cai Qinghua suddenly said, "Come back. The Wu family has an old general named Lao Gu, and one of the shopkeepers is named Ou Jiafu. These two can also do secret things for the Wu family. Keep an eye on these two people."
After the visitor left, Cai Qinghua said coldly: "Haha, Yijin, ah Yijin, although you are very smart, you are weak. You can forget about turning the tables in this game!"
Earlier, just as the sun was setting, Ye Youyu's sedan chair arrived at the Ye family.
This time she came by herself, followed by Changzi and Dongxue, and Wu Qi escorted her into the Ye family's door.
Ye Dalin and his wife had recently been a little annoyed with Wu Chengjian, but no matter how much Ye Dalin hated him, he didn't dare to quarrel with Wu Chengjian. The servants of the Ye family naturally didn't dare to neglect him, and they put on a happy face to welcome the third young lady.
When Ma heard that she was coming, she was a little surprised. She didn't want to see her, so she asked her eldest son Ye Haoye to come forward.
