I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 165 Young Cow Eating Old Grass
Under Xue Qing's shocked gaze, Tang Zhao stood up and walked straight out, saying, "I will take on the responsibilities and obligations of a mother and make those who harmed the Song family pay the price they deserve."

Xue Qing knelt on the spot, watching Tang Zhao's figure gradually disappear into the distance.

Doctor Zhong instructed the old woman to go inside and look after Xue Qing, while he himself carried the candlestick and followed Tang Zhao back to Renxin Hall.

"What are you going to do?"

Tang Zhao sat on the edge of the bed, removing her hairpins and jewelry as she asked, "How many people does Renxintang have in Luoyang?"

"People from all walks of life, informants everywhere."

"Can we inquire about news from aristocratic and official families?"

"Yes, it's possible," Dr. Zhong replied truthfully, "but it will take a little longer."

Tang Zhao carefully wrapped the hairpin and bracelet in a handkerchief, and said, "Go and investigate An Shangbin, the eldest grandson of the An family, who is also the Assistant Minister of Rites."

Dr. Zhong asked in confusion, "The Assistant Minister of Rites? Why would he be investigating his family?"

"The maternal family of the Duke of Wei, the maternal family of the old lady of the Duke of Wei," Tang Zhao handed the handkerchief to Doctor Zhong, "When picking persimmons, choose the soft ones first."

"Are you saying that the one who colluded with the enemy back then was the Duke of Wei?" Doctor Zhong exclaimed in surprise. "What evidence do you have?"

"No, we're looking for it right now," Tang Zhao said sincerely. "Have you heard of the hypothetical-deductive method?"

"What utter nonsense!" Doctor Zhong stared into the girl's eyes and pressed, "Why did you guess it was the Duke of Wei?"

That's General Song's son-in-law, Miss Song's husband, and also your father.

"A famous person once said: 'After eliminating all impossibilities, what remains, however unbelievable, is the truth,'" Tang Zhao explained. "Another person once said that in the absence of direct evidence, the party that benefits the most is most likely the perpetrator."

"Don't you think that the destruction of the Song family would be most beneficial to Tang Zheng?"

In the past, Dr. Zhong would have taken the responsibility of a senior to severely reprimand Tang Zhao for his unfilial behavior of calling his father by his given name. But now, Dr. Zhong was preoccupied with Tang Zhao's words.

"No, no, how could the son-in-law be the one who benefits the most? Without the support of his wife's family..."

“The Yue family had already helped him,” Tang Zhao corrected. “At that time, Tang Zheng had already taken command of the military in the southwest and had risen from a fallen nobleman to a powerful duke. As the saying goes, ‘promotion brings wealth and death. If the Song family hadn’t died, how could my mother have perished?’”

"No, Tang Zheng loves your mother. I can tell. He truly loves your mother."

"Human hearts are fickle," Tang Zhao said decisively. "When young and deeply in love, one doesn't care about the gossip of outsiders, but what about later?"

Even though more than a decade has passed, the people of Northwest China still talk about how Tang Zheng was so considerate, gentle, and even obsequious in trying to please the eldest daughter of the Duke of Huguo's mansion. "Everyone mocks and ridicules Tang Zheng for getting where he is today because of his wife's family's support and because of women's connections. How grating is that for a man who considers himself superior?"

In his previous life, Tang Zhao had worked in the business world and had seen too many men who rose from humble beginnings to achieve success. "Once these men gain power, the first people they target are the women who have always supported them and their in-laws!"

Dr. Zhong took several steps back, his face deathly pale.

"However, these are all my guesses, and we still need to verify whether they are true or not," Tang Zhao said, stuffing a handkerchief full of hairpins into Doctor Zhong's hand and pushing him out of the house. "So you must investigate the An family thoroughly."

Dr. Zhong still didn't believe it and turned around to argue, but the door was slammed shut.

Dr. Zhong:
Dr. Zhong turned and left.

Before sunset the next day, Tang Zhao received the An family's investigation report, which was so detailed that it even recorded how many times Old Master An relieved himself each day. Tang Zhao: There's absolutely no need for that!
Tang Zhao carefully flipped through the list and quickly selected his target, "It's him, An Shangbin."

Why choose him?

Dr. Zhong felt that since working with Tang Zhao, he had more and more questions.

What could a student of the Imperial Academy possibly know? Even if he did, he would only be six years old in the thirtieth year of the Kangxi reign, probably still playing in the mud at home.

"Look, this booklet contains the shortcomings and rumors about everyone in the An family, even the big yellow dog guarding the gate is recorded as being greedy, but there isn't a single bad word about An Shangbin recorded," Tang Zhao pointed to it for him. "There are only two explanations for this situation."

"Either An Shangbin is a saint, or he is a gilded exterior but a rotten interior."

Dr. Zhong took a look and exclaimed, "Hey! It really is!"

"I refuse to believe that the An family, that big cesspool, could actually produce a pure and innocent little white lotus," Tang Zhao ordered. "Investigate An Shangbin thoroughly. I want to see if he's a human or a ghost."

"Okay!" Dr. Zhong walked to the front yard with the booklet, only to suddenly realize that he, an elder, was being bossed around by a junior.

Never mind, business is important.

Dr. Zhong took a deep breath and strode out to run his errand.

This time, Tang Zhao waited for three whole days.

"We found out. That guy surnamed An is indeed no good," Dr. Zhong said, sitting in his chair and drinking two large cups of tea. "He usually thinks brothels are beneath him, but behind his back he likes to seduce married women."

Dr. Zhong felt it was beneath him to speak, but he couldn't remain silent, so he could only say with a stern face, "The Imperial Academy has a one-day break every ten days, and An Shangbin would secretly slip away to Xinghua Lane to have a tryst with a woman who lived near an apricot tree by the entrance. That woman..."

Dr. Zhong stopped speaking at this point.

Tang Zhao asked anxiously, "What's wrong with that woman?" Could it be that An Shangbin has unusual tastes and prefers women who look like Ru Hua?
"That woman has been married for over ten years, has no children, and is now over thirty years old, only three years younger than An Shangbin's mother, Madam An, the first wife!"

Pfft! Tang Zhao laughed so hard he fell onto the couch, “In ancient times there was an old ox eating young grass, now there is a young ox eating old grass. Sure enough, the longer you live, the more you see, hahahahahahaha.”

Dr. Zhong drank another cup of tea, feeling nauseous.

"How long have they been together?" Tang Zhao wiped away tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. "And what about the woman's husband? Didn't he notice anything at all?"

"I don't know exactly how long, but it's been a while," Dr. Zhong said with disgust. "The woman's husband went out to do business with someone, and we don't know if he's dead or alive."

Even if they were alive, they would be furious to death if they knew about this!
"After the Imperial College opens, send someone to contact that woman and tell her that we want to do a big deal with her worth thousands of taels of silver."

Dr. Zhong was so disgusted that he had lost all curiosity and left Tang Zhao to handle the situation.

"While you're at it, go find a few clever and reliable tough guys on the street."

"Why are you looking for that brute?"

“Since the woman can’t find a husband, let’s find one for her.”

What are you going to do?

"Dr. Zhong," Tang Zhao said with a malicious smile, "have you ever heard of a honey trap?"