After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Even the slightest noise in the dead of night can be heard clearly, let alone the fact that the room she wanted was closest to the main street.

Shen Yi stroked his chin thoughtfully, "It would be great if we could confirm that woman's identity."

Su Yu shook her head. "It's difficult. With the Zhu family so heavily guarded, there's not even a chance to make a move."

Shen Yi smiled and said, "Leave the rest to us. Thank you for your hard work these past two days, cousin."

Su Yu waved her hand, "Why are you being so polite with me!"

After returning, Shen Yi explained the situation to Lu Tong, and the two discussed how to infiltrate the Zhu family to find out what was going on, and began to make plans for it.

Two days later, Zhu Yixuan returned from the prefectural city, his face extremely pale.

What frustrated him even more was that the new house was completely different from the Zhu family mansion. From the layout to the planning, there was not a trace of the Zhu family mansion. He couldn't even find his own courtyard.

The steward hurried over to await orders.

Zhu Yixuan frowned deeply, "What's going on with this house?"

The butler hurriedly explained, "I heard that all the residences in the capital are laid out like this. The county government has made a unified plan based on the residences in the capital. This is what the young mistress said."

Mentioning Cen Mingzhu, Zhu Yixuan paused, and unusually showed concern for her, "How have you been adjusting these past few days, young mistress? Is there anything bothering you?"

The butler shook his head. "The young mistress is doing well. She says the house is nice and praises the bath soap, shampoo, and face wash that the young master sent. But the master is very angry. He complains that the courtyard is not as grand as before and the house is not as spacious as before. He even said he wants to renovate it."

When the eldest daughter-in-law found out, she was furious and had a fight with the master. She said that since she was pregnant, no construction should be done in the house, as it would be bad for the baby. The master was so angry that he cursed and said many hurtful things. The eldest daughter-in-law hated the master because of this and often hurt him.

Seeing that things couldn't continue like this, I suggested that Master move to the house next door to separate him from the eldest young mistress.

The original Zhu family mansion was extremely large, and the county government compensated them with four houses, all connected together.

Zhu Yixuan paid no attention to the butler's actions, and only asked, "What was the compensation that Madam gave to Madam Ke and her son back then?"

The steward was startled, unable to understand why his young master had suddenly brought them up, but honestly replied, "Ten thousand taels of silver notes and the property deeds and land deeds from Pingzhou, but..."

"Just what?" Zhu Yixuan's voice suddenly turned sharp.

The steward shuddered and hurriedly said, "But Madam Ke has never been to Pingzhou. After Madam died, I was handling her properties and even sent someone to Pingzhou. Everything in Pingzhou was as usual. The shops and tenants didn't even know they had changed owners. It's just strange that no one has gone there to collect rent in the past few years."

It was only at this young age that I realized that Madam Ke hadn't left out of spite; she truly wanted to sever all ties with the Zhu family and had nothing left to do with them.

With a loud "bang!", Zhu Yixuan slammed his fist on the table, his mind in complete turmoil. After a long while, he finally ordered, "Secretly send someone to investigate the whereabouts of the Ke mother and son. Make sure you bring them back to me!"

Judging by the time, that child is almost ten years old! Ten years old! If this drags on any longer, the child will really be unable to develop a relationship with the Zhu family!
The butler was filled with suspicion but dared not ask any further questions. Upon returning home, he sighed to his wife, "Why is the young master suddenly inquiring about the whereabouts of Madam Ke and her son? The young mistress was imprisoned for inquiring about their whereabouts. Even the young mistress couldn't do it; how could a lowly servant like me possibly accomplish it!"

The housekeeper's wife, who was also a servant in the Zhu household, immediately perked up when she heard her husband's complaints. "Let me tell you, the eldest young master is strange, and the eldest young mistress is also acting strangely. All the maids and servants serving her are brought back from outside, and there's even a midwife. The midwife was prepared in advance, and one of the maids probably knows medicine."

There were seven or eight other people serving her. None of the servants in our mansion could even think of stepping into the eldest young mistress's courtyard. I was really curious, so I used the excuse of delivering something to try and find out what was going on. Back in the old city, I couldn't even touch the door of the house. It was even worse here. I was stopped at the second courtyard.

While it's understandable that a woman who committed a crime would sneak back home, her secretive behavior in her own home is clearly suspicious! What's going on here?

The butler glared at his wife and warned, "Don't pry into the affairs of the eldest young mistress. Even the master can't interfere. If you dare to ask again, you'll have your throat slit!"

The housekeeper's wife was startled and muttered, "If you don't want to ask, then don't ask! Who are you trying to scare! But I know the whereabouts of the Ke mother and son."

"What? What did you say?" The butler looked at the person next to him in disbelief, thinking he was hallucinating.

My wife, however, insisted, "I'm serious! I used to like chatting around the city, and then someone mentioned Shenjiazhuang and the village school they set up there. I got curious and asked around, and guess what?"

Back then, the doctor that the lady found went to Shenjiazhuang. However, everyone said that the doctor had a family with him, including a beautiful wife and son. After thinking about it carefully, I realized that it was the Ke family mother and son!
If you want to get this done, you'll have to go to Shenjiazhuang. But Shenjiazhuang is no longer the same as it used to be. I heard that they've built a grand wall and gate, and there are many elderly people guarding the village entrance. Strangers who just enter will be stopped and questioned by those people, and if they find something amiss, they'll be kicked out.

Besides, Cousin Ke is the wife of the county magistrate. Didn't you say the eldest young master and the county magistrate had a falling out? What should we do about this?

Listening to his wife speak, the housekeeper's heart pounded, and he almost had a seizure.

He immediately put on his shoes and hurried to report to Zhu Yixuan, "Young Master, if you want to inquire about Madam Ke and her son, you can only ask the County Magistrate or his wife. I am but a lowly person and I am afraid I cannot even enter the County Magistrate's house."

Zhu Yixuan was so annoyed. It was Shen Yi again! It seemed like everything had gone wrong for him ever since he met Shen Yi. They had just fallen out a while ago. Did he have to beg Shen Yi for help now?
No! He will never bow down to Shen Yi!
"Forget it, since we can't investigate now, let's put it aside for now and talk about it again when we have the chance."

He didn't believe Shen Yi could keep rising smoothly. He would only step in and make demands when Shen Yi was down on his luck, in order to achieve his goal.

Zhu Yixuan chose to lie low and even became very discreet in his work.

This left Lu Tong and Shen Yi, who were secretly watching the Zhu residence, completely bewildered. They did not believe that Zhu Yixuan had compromised, and instead became even more vigilant.

Just then, the caravan set off with goods such as strawberry jam, wool sweaters, and jewelry.

Su Tai followed the caravan into the city and arrived at Qingfengzhai.

Hearing the commotion, Su Yu ran out of the shop to bid a reluctant farewell to Su Sheng, who was riding on horseback.

"Stop looking! They're all gone!" Su Tai's teasing voice rang in Su Yu's ears. (End of Chapter)