jdhmnovel Chapter 141 Without a trace
Chapter 141 Without a trace
In the afternoon, the eunuch Xiao Lizi entered the marquis's mansion holding the imperial edict.
Everyone in the Qiao family came out to kowtow and receive the order. Since Tian had a heart disease and Qiao Zirui was crazy, they were not allowed to leave their courtyards.
Qiao Zhenbang solemnly accepted the imperial edict and personally took it to the ancestral hall to worship it.
He turned back to make arrangements for Xiao Lizi. Seeing Qiao Zhenbang generously presenting a hundred taels of silver, Xiao Lizi said, "Master Qiao, it can be seen that the emperor admires Young Master Qiao very much. If you can win the emperor's favor, you will have a bright future! Hahaha..."
Qiao Zhenbang's eyes sparkled as he said, "Thank you for your advice, eunuch. Please say a few good words for His Majesty. My son Zien and I will be extremely grateful!"
After seeing Xiao Lizi off, Qiao Zhenbang finally felt relieved.
He sat at the eight-immortal table and drank tea leisurely. He said to Aunt Yao beside him, "The rise and fall of the Qiao family depends on Zi En! I hope he can achieve fame and revive the Qiao family! Don't let him gradually decline like other nobles!"
Qiao Zhenbang knows that he is useless. After the old marquis retired and returned to his hometown, no one would remember the achievements of the Qiao family. Only if the Qiao family produces more talents can it keep its current glory and continue to prosper for three generations.
Qiao Zien is the pillar that supports the Qiao family. How can he not be pleased and proud?
Wutongyuan
Qiao Yuyan was furious when she learned that Qiao Zien had become the heir of the Marquis's mansion, but what could she do? That was an imperial decree, who dared to disobey?
She asked the maids to keep their mouths shut and not let Tian know, otherwise her heart disease would get worse.
But even if I could hide this thing, I couldn't hide that thing.
The little maid ran to Wutong Courtyard in a hurry and shouted before she even entered the door, "It's bad, Madam. The workshop was robbed and everything is gone."
When Tian heard the news, she suffered a heart attack and fainted.
This morning, before the sun rose, the morning light was just beginning to show, and the Zhuangzi workshop was filled with a tranquil and mysterious atmosphere. However, when Butler Qiao opened the door of the workshop, he was so frightened by the scene before him that he almost fell to the ground.
The workshop that was once filled with goods and tools is now empty, as if it was hollowed out by an invisible hand. All the goods, tables, tools and other items disappeared overnight, leaving only four cold walls.
Butler Qiao stared at the empty workshop with his eyes wide open in disbelief. A wave of panic surged in his heart, and all kinds of speculations and doubts kept flashing through his mind. Who could move so many things in such a short time? And how did they do it without making any noise?
The atmosphere in the workshop was unusually heavy. Butler Qiao stood at the door blankly, at a loss. He tried to recall if there were any unusual movements or signs last night, but everything seemed so peaceful. Did he overlook something? Or was there another reason for this bizarre disappearance?
As time went by, the sun gradually filled the workshop and illuminated every corner. Butler Qiao came to his senses and realized that he could not sit still and wait for death. So he decided to report the matter to Tian immediately and go to the government office to investigate the truth.
Soon, Liang Zhilan also learned about this and was furious.
At the same time, Aunt Xu, who was in charge of the princess's storeroom, opened the storeroom as usual to select a piece of fine cloth to make new clothes for the princess. However, when she opened the storeroom, she found that the items that should have been filled with items had all disappeared, leaving only an empty room.
Aunt Xu rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things, but the fact was, no matter how hard she tried, the storeroom was still empty.
Her face turned pale instantly, and a strong sense of panic surged in her heart. She thought to herself: "This is the end!" All the princess's property was stored in this warehouse, and the key to this warehouse was kept by her. Now facing such a bizarre situation, how should she explain it to the princess? With the princess' temper, I'm afraid she will just peel off her skin!
Aunt Xu felt an unprecedented fear. Her legs were shaking as she stumbled back to Liang Zhilan's room, shouting as she ran: "The princess is in trouble..."
At this time, Liang Zhilan was so angry that her face turned red, and she kept cursing Tian and Butler Qiao as useless trash.
Seeing this, Aunt Xu didn't dare to tell the truth and shut her mouth.
After Liang Zhilan finished her temper, she glanced at Nanny Xu and said, "This makes me so angry. If you can't even watch over a workshop, what's the point? What are you so anxious about?"
Nanny Xu was trembling with fear, as if she was walking on thin ice, and said, "Princess, the warehouse was robbed, and the things inside disappeared without a trace, there is nothing left, wuwuwu..."
"What? How is that possible? Go and check it out!"
Liang Zhilan brought her maids, servants, and a group of people to the storehouse. Sure enough, there was nothing except four walls.
Liang Zhilan rolled her eyes and fainted.
In the morning, not only the chief steward Qiao and the steward of the princess's mansion went to the yamen to report the case, but also several servants from the ministers' families came to report the theft of property and money.
The case was so serious that it alarmed the Dali Temple. Zhen Yu took Wei Bufan and others to investigate the scene.
There was no trace of anything in the underwear workshop or the princess's warehouse. The things really disappeared out of thin air. No one was drugged.
After careful observation, Zhen Yu discovered that several other families had left footprints and wheelbarrow marks, and that no large or bulky items were lost in the warehouse, but many gold and silver jewelry and small items were stolen, and that the people had been drugged.
Based on these clues, Zhen Yu quickly made a conclusion: the lingerie workshop and the princess's mansion must have been robbed by Chen Guchuan, because only he had the ability to rob these two houses quietly.
As for the other few families, the situation is harder to say. It could be the work of ordinary thieves, or it could be the remnants of the previous dynasty who are secretly causing trouble.
However, Zhen Yu did not tell his subordinates about these speculations, but directed everyone's attention to the thief. In this way, they would not easily associate it with Chen Ruotong, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble.
A shocking event happened in the capital overnight, causing such a sensation that even the nearby prefectures knew about it.
Most people thought that it was the chivalrous thief Jia Fei who did it, because he only robbed the houses of the rich and powerful. And two of them were known to be corrupt officials, so the people applauded this incident and praised Jia Fei as a great hero.
Zhen Yu felt very helpless, because every time he was the one who took the blame for Chen Guchuan. This time was no exception, and he felt that he should go to Zhenpin Pavilion to ask for some benefits.
When this news reached Chen Ruotong, it was already early February. At this time, she was actively preparing for the spring seedling raising and planting of potatoes, sweet potatoes and other crops.
Chen Ruotong thought: Haha, Zhen Yu and Jia Fei, thank you, because of you, the four seasons are warm; thank you, because of you, you took the blame for me all the way...