Chapter 115: Retribution Not Satisfied (Part 1)

  Xue Mingrui said: "We can find a few servants who are familiar with farming to ask them."

  Ronghua nodded, she had thought about it too, but there were not many people around her who could be used. If she let someone go outside to find out about the farm, it seemed like she was being defensive towards the Xue family.

  Xue Mingrui said lightly, "If it's inconvenient for you, I'll help you find two people."

  Rong Hua's heart suddenly felt a surge of joy.

  ……

  Gu Ying didn't expect to get in touch with the Ministry of Justice so soon, and the two of them got together to drink wine, discussing the cases of the Ministry of Justice in detail. Many people rely on secret reports to make a living, and outsiders also have some rumors about how many people are involved in the Ministry of Justice.

  "How many cases can the Ministry of Justice solve without relying on informants?"

  "It depends on how and when to tell."

  Gu Ying hastily lifted her spirits to listen, watching as the person's mouth opened and closed, not willing to miss a single word.

  For a long time, Gu Ying asked cautiously with a tone of great envy, "If catching an official's mistake can have such results, what if there are many officials' mistakes?"

  That person's face changed upon hearing Gu Ying say this, "From ancient times to the present, there has never been such an example. Moreover, who could have such ability?"

  Gu Ying didn't say a word, but her expression became slightly complacent, "That is... that is..."

  The two of them drank for a while longer, until Gu Ying got drunk. The man hastily called over the top courtesan from the Drunken Moon Building to attend to him. Gu Ying couldn't resist the gentle voice and soft words of the beauty, and instantly sank into a warm and tender land.

  Gu Ying was busy in the cave, while the other person had already gone next door to report.

  That man entered the house and sat down beside Tao Zheng'an, who immediately stood up. "Jing Po has finally arrived, what's the situation?"

  Song Jingpu shook his head at Yi Chenghou Zhao Xin and Tao Zheng'an, then sat down and whispered: "He refused to reveal half a sentence, no way, can only think of other ways."

  Zhao Xindao said: "Letting this person continue to stay is not a good idea, who knows what will happen in the future. If we want to catch the people behind him, it's simple. Why not set up an ambush and deal with Gu Ying first? The people behind him will definitely make a move. If that person doesn't make a move, we can use this opportunity to lure Gu Ying..."

  Tao Zheng'an was worried upon hearing this, "What if Gu Yin gets angry and takes out my handwritten letter? What can I do then?" Zhao Xin had the support of the imperial concubine in the palace, so even if something happened, he could think of a way to escape. But Tao Zheng'an was caught with solid evidence, and whatever he said would be too late.

  Zhao Xindao said, "Su Xi Yao's case was handled by Wu Mu Hou. Now that he is your good son-in-law, are you still afraid that he will investigate you? Moreover, the palace has recently started refining the Golden Stone Elixir and summoned two Taoist priests. I received news a few days ago that those two priests were unsuccessful, and the palace plans to spend a large sum of money to find an alchemist who can refine the elixir. If the Westerner's apprentice finds out, what will you say? We can take this opportunity to lure him out, and your handwritten letter will definitely be found."

  Tao Zheng'an was still uneasy, "I'm having someone keep an eye on Gu Ying, maybe after a few days he'll let his guard down and reveal a weakness."

  Zhao Xin's face sank, "Where can we wait any longer? Moreover, he threatened not only you, but also others. We finally managed to get him an official position to stabilize him for the time being. Otherwise, he would have already reported Lord Cheng of the Surveillance Commissioner to the higher authorities. This matter cannot be delayed."

  Tao Zheng'an couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. If it wasn't for Zhao Xin back then, he wouldn't have contacted that Westerner. Now, Zhao Xin didn't want to prioritize solving this matter, instead thinking about clearing up trouble for someone else. How did he become the abandoned party? Just as Tao Zheng'an was thinking of how to talk to Zhao Xin again, he heard someone outside shouting: "Where's Qin Yue? Let Qin Yue come and serve."

  The old procuress hastily smiled and said, "Qin Yue is not feeling well today and hasn't gotten up. I'll go find another girl for you, sir."

  That person heard the words and knew that there was a water separation inside, so he rushed to Qin Yue's house, kicked open the door with force. Tao Zheng'an thought of Song Jingpei arranging for Gu Yan to meet with Qin Yue, the top courtesan.

  Tao Zheng'an hurriedly went to see Song Jingpo, only to see Song Jingpo and Zhao Xin exchange a glance and flash a smile, then carefully listen to the movement outside. Tao Zheng'an was unclear about what was going on and wanted to ask, but the two people in the room didn't seem to want to explain anything to him.

  After the noisy footsteps passed by, I only heard someone let out a shrill cry. The guests all opened their doors to take a look.

  Song Jingpo finally let out a sigh of relief.

  Zhao Xindao said: "Take advantage of the chaos and let's go first. You have people watching, don't let them run away."

  "Rest assured, I've already made arrangements for this matter. He can't escape even if he wants to." With that, he let Tao Zheng'an leave first, "It's not good to be seen by others later."

  Tao Zheng'an had a lot of questions but could only temporarily put them in his stomach, following Song Jingpei downstairs and out the back door to get into the carriage.

  The horse carriage started moving forward, and Song Jingbo said: "Gu Yin has always been very cautious, especially when it comes to women... you have to use the right method to deal with different kinds of people." He looked at Zhao Xin and said: "Your Excellency can rest assured now."

  Tao Zheng'an only then confirmed his own thoughts, it turned out that Zhao Xin said he was discussing with him but had already set things up beforehand. Tao Zheng'an's heart suddenly felt cold, "Will it work? Is it too hasty?"

  Song Jing said, "We originally wanted to catch him in the act, but this person went to the Tongzheng Temple and didn't do anything. He was completely infatuated with the brothel every day, and there was really no way to deal with him. I know he likes to play that game with Qin Yue, and when they do it, they have to tie up the courtesan with a rope and strangle her neck tightly. I think it's possible for things to go wrong at times, and even he himself may not be able to tell. Gu Yan doesn't have any evidence against me, so when the time comes, I'll just make an appearance," he said, looking at Tao Zheng'an, "Brother Tao, rest assured, your matter will be taken care of by me."

  Tao Zheng'an didn't have the heart to exchange polite words with Song and Zhao, and simply got off the carriage with a gloomy face when they arrived at his own mansion.

  The horse carriage continued on its way, and Zhao Xin said: "It's essential to find the person behind Gu Yin, even if it takes some trouble, it's worth it."

  Song Jingpo said: "Listening to Gu Ying's meaning, there should be other officials' handles in hand. We just need to find this person and take over all the handles in his hands for our own use..."

  Zhao Xin smiled and said: "First find that person, everything else is secondary."

  Mrs. Tao went into the house, and Mrs. Tao hurried over to serve her, changed her clothes, and then let all the maids in the house go down. The two of them entered the inner room, and Mrs. Tao supported Tao Zheng'an's half-reclining body, then massaged his calf, "But there is one thing I want to tell Master," she said, stopping her hand, "The eldest daughter-in-law of the Changning Bo family has passed away."

  Tao Zheng'an remembered that Mrs. Dai had mentioned earlier that Shu Hua had inquired about the fact that the body of Chang Ning Bo's wife seemed to have a problem, and many doctors were invited to see her, all saying that childbirth might be dangerous. Shu Hua then said that she would marry Yao Hua to Chang Ning Bo's son.

  Tao Zheng'an had just been filled with idle anger, and when he saw the big wife looking like she was gloating over someone else's misfortune, he suddenly thought of Zhao Xin and Song Jingpo's smiles. A surge of anger suddenly arose in his heart, and he glared at her with wide eyes, saying viciously: "Someone has died, you're actually happy about it? It makes people look at you and feel disgusted." As he spoke, he lifted his leg, and the big wife was caught off guard by Tao Zheng'an's kick. She fell off the kang from the impact.

  Tao Zhengan continued to scold, "If it weren't for you women being so impatient, there wouldn't be today's trouble. I wouldn't have had to go and talk to Zhao Xin either. None of you are easy-going." After scolding, he saw that the old lady on the ground still hadn't gotten up. Tao Zhengan propped himself up to take a look, only to see the old lady lying motionless on the ground.

  Tao Zheng'an's face suddenly changed greatly, and he loudly called out for people, "Quickly come, quickly come."

  Old Lady Tao had just lain down when she heard someone come in and talk to Rui Qing. Old Lady Tao coughed, and Rui Qing outside heard it and hurriedly came in.

  "What's wrong? Is there something?"

  Rui Qing's face was anxious, "I've said it, old lady, don't worry."

  The old lady frowned upon hearing this and said, "If you have something to say, hurry up and say it. What's with the hesitation?"

  Rui Qing then said: "The old lady be careful not to fall off the kang."

  The old lady opened her eyes wide, "What's going on? Was the fall severe? Quickly bring me some clothes to wear, I'll go take a look."

  Rui Qing hastily called in two more maids to attend to the old lady, helping her get dressed and doing up her hair. Just then a maid came in from outside and said: "Reporting to the old lady, the doctor has arrived and gone into the main wife's quarters."

  Rui Qing was putting a hairpiece on the old lady's head.

  The old lady said: "Can't bother with these trifles," and, waving her hand, she stood up and took Ruiqing to the main room.

  The old lady entered the yard and saw that the maids were carrying out some dirty things, so she knew that the eldest daughter-in-law had fallen heavily. The doctor first opened a prescription to let the maids hurry up and cook it for the mistress to eat, and also opened another prescription that could only be taken after two days.

  The old lady asked anxiously, "How is it?"

  He said, "You need to rest for a few more days. Although you have some injuries on your body, they are more serious and we should invite another doctor who specializes in bone-setting."

  Two people were talking outside, and Ya Qian, who was pale-faced beside Mrs. Lao, lifted the curtain and said, "It's not good, Old Lady, go take a look quickly, Mrs. seems to have seen red..."

  The old lady was taken aback by these words and quickly reacted, asking the doctor, "Can you treat women's diseases?"

  Narong nodded, and the old lady said: "I'll go take a look first, then I'll come back to invite you in, sir." She had Rui Qing support her as she went back into the inner room.

  The lady on this side was already in agony, her hips felt like they were being torn apart, and her mind was a complete mess. With even the slightest movement, she would feel waves of nausea.

  The old lady went in and lifted the quilt to take a look, the mattress and quilt were already red and wet, it didn't seem like a miscarriage but rather a premature birth. The eldest daughter-in-law hadn't had any issues with her body for many years, how did this happen at this time... The old madam didn't want to jump to conclusions, nor did she make a fuss, she just let the maid come in and change the clothes for the eldest daughter-in-law.

  The old lady ordered someone to cut off the mistress's pants, and only then did they see a long and small piece of flesh fall into her pants.