Her guards

Chapter 152 The Couple at the Li Residence

As night fell, the streets became quiet, but the backyards of some restaurants and teahouses remained noisy and bustling.

The manager checked the accounts, the servants cleaned the kitchen, and the laborers prepared meals.

Mo Zheng sat by the fire, listening to Uncle Hong, who was washing vegetables, recount the investigation over the past few days. To avoid being targeted by those people, Yang Luo, even though he could go out, did not stay long to see Uncle Hong and the others, and could not bring back news in a timely manner.

Many people investigated Li Bu, including those of the Marquis of Yichun, embroidered officials, and some unknown individuals, perhaps from the capital or from powerful families with unclear intentions.

"Following behind them, we found a small clue," Uncle Hong said in a low voice.

Before Li Bu presented the blood letter, he had a brief chat with a courier from Pingling Post Station while they were getting wine at a tavern.

“Pingling.” Mo Zheng looked at the map lines drawn on the ground with a fire poker. “The last time it was Huzhou, it was to send out people to attack us, so it must have been superficial. This time it’s to help us, to show sincerity, so it must have used hidden people.”

Mo Zheng tapped the spot on Pingling with a fire poker.

"It seems their roots are in the west."

Uncle Hong immediately responded, "Let's investigate to the west..."

Those who dare to seize the world are not ordinary people. There are only a few famous, powerful, and well-equipped figures. As long as you find the right direction, you will definitely be able to find out their origins.

Mo Zheng waved her hand: "Don't disturb them for now, let's do it one thing at a time."

Now, let's ask Uncle Hei.

Uncle Hei is in charge of keeping an eye on things and people related to Yang Luo's background.

The scarred, black-faced man was washing dishes when he heard this and sat down. He said, "Ji Ying said that his servant was born into the household but did not serve him. He was just a lowly servant. His relationship with the Marquis of Yichun is secret and no one knows about it normally. His servant should not know about it either."

Mo Zheng nodded: "This servant must have just been ordered by someone else." She then asked, "What have you discovered these past few days?"

They couldn't touch the officials of the Dali Temple, and the Yichun Marquis and Xiuyi were responsible for checking. As long as the Yichun Marquis and Xiuyi found out, it would be the same as them finding out. So she told Uncle Hei to only keep an eye on some of the miscellaneous servants of the Dali Temple.

Especially the servants who had access to the prison cells.

Uncle Hei took out a booklet from his pocket and flipped through it, then stopped at one line.

“There is indeed one among these servants who is different from the others, and he is also connected to the family that the young master asked to keep an eye on,” he said. “He is the old servant who is responsible for delivering meals. He has a grandson who is studying at the Bamboo Forest Temple outside the city.”

Mo Zheng leaned closer to look at the three characters "Zhulin Temple" on the booklet.

"This is a place in the temple specifically for poor children to learn to read and write," Uncle Hei said. "It was donated by the Li family."

"Li Shi," Mo Zheng raised an eyebrow.

……

.......
As night deepened, the study in the simple inner courtyard of the Li family was still lit, and a slender figure sitting upright reading was projected onto the window.

An old servant, carrying a lantern to light the way, led Lady Li in, who was carrying a food box.

“Sir, it’s late,” she said. “Let’s have some late-night snacks.”

Doctor Li put down his book, nodded, and watched as the old servant placed a bowl of congee and two small dishes on the table.

"Have all the donations been sent out?" Dr. Li asked.

The old servant smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir, Madam personally delivered them one by one."

Doctor Li then looked at Madam Li: "The New Year is just a few days away, and the school should close. Give the teachers an extra portion of meat so they can have a good New Year."

Lady Li responded with a "yes," her brows furrowed, not out of worry about the expense.

She sighed and said, "It seems His Majesty doesn't care. It was still the bandits who destroyed White Horse Town, and Yang Luo's true identity was not revealed."

"That's because Ji Ying's blood letter didn't get to the heart of the matter," said Doctor Li.

He looked at the letter on the table.

The letter was sent by the Imperial Concubine a few days ago. It was about Yang Luo's disobedience to the Empress and what idea the Marquis of Yichun had come up with to have him take advantage of the situation outside...

But before he could finish reading the letter, news of the blood oath from Ji and Ying arrived.

The news of what happened in Baima Town spread quickly.

Compared to this, nothing else matters.

Thinking of this, Dr. Li couldn't help but feel nervous, excited, and confused, and stood up and paced around.

At the time, they were watching the letter from Marquis Yichun to Ji Ying. As soon as Ji Ying received the letter and set off, the men they had arranged made their move, creating the illusion that Ji Ying had been silenced for carrying Marquis Yichun's secret letter. This would uncover the case of Baima Town, and then frame Marquis Yichun, stirring up a great uproar.

But the men and horses vanished without a trace, and Ji and Ying also disappeared.

He initially thought that the Marquis of Yichun had taken precautions in advance, so he dared not act rashly. The Li family could not afford the slightest stain, otherwise all their previous efforts would be in vain...

Unexpectedly, after so long, the name Ji Ying suddenly appeared.

Could it be that Ji Ying himself was on guard and escaped? Then he believed it was a bandit attack, a karmic retribution, and then used Li Bu to confess to the court?

He had investigated Li Bu; he was neither a man of the Marquis of Yichun nor anyone else's man. He was an honest and simple censor.

Although it differed from the plan, it was still to my liking, but the result was still not satisfactory.

So after much hesitation, he decided to take action anyway. He had already bribed the servants of the Ji family, and then had an old servant planted by the Dali Temple deliver a message under the guise of bringing food. Once the servants made a scene, they would directly point out that the Marquis of Yichun was related to the death of that Yang woman...

"The Marquis of Yichun has just entered the palace," the old servant whispered beside him. "Wei Jiao accompanied him in, and it seems that Wei Jiao went to spy on the Marquis of Yichun's residence."

Lady Li looked somewhat nervous: "The Marquis of Yichun must have gone to explain, sir. But relying solely on that servant's words is hardly convincing. Should we send some more evidence? The Chai family has already made arrangements with the border troops; we just need to send it over..."

Doctor Li raised his hand to stop him: "No, the evidence can only be investigated by His Majesty. That way, he will be more convinced."

He looked out at the night sky and smiled.

"Although it sounds absurd to say something like that by a servant, it is not absurd to Your Majesty. Marquis Yichun did it before."

"His Majesty is a very suspicious person."

"Moreover, he has been on the throne for more than ten years, and he has enough power to dispel his own suspicions."

Upon hearing this, Madam Li's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.

Although many things were not satisfactory in the past, the result has now achieved what was desired.

“That’s good,” she said. “We’ve really had divine help this time.”

At this point, she picked up the letter on the table.

"Also, I think Zhu Yunxiao, the heir of the Marquis of Yongwu, whom my sister mentioned in her letter, is quite good."

Doctor Li looked over and nodded slightly: "Then I'll take advantage of these few days of the New Year to see him."

An old servant reminded him, "Master, please eat your porridge before it gets cold."

Doctor Li sat down again and picked up the porridge.

"Master, don't stay up too long, get some rest," Madam Li said with a smile, and left with the food box led by the old servant.

As Madam Li left, the shadows that had lingered in Doctor Li's study also dissipated, disappearing into the servants' quarters and carriage sheds of the Li family mansion.

The figure that had been squatting outside the Li family's house finally stood up.

"Impressive! The Li family's defenses are even stronger than those of the Marquis of Yichun's residence," Mo Zheng exclaimed softly. "We can't get any closer."

Uncle Black's scarred face darkened even more: "When we were keeping an eye on things regularly, we didn't notice anything at all..."

While they were watching, almost everyone in the Li family could freely come and go to spy.

I have never encountered such a situation.

“There must be a code, such as when the couple is together, or when there is a special sign like a bowl of porridge, that would be the time when the guards would be deployed to keep watch,” Mo Zheng said in a low voice. “At other times, when they are open and casual and allowed to be watched, very few people would notice.”

After saying this, he gave his instructions.

"You must be even more careful and cautious when keeping an eye on them in the future."

Uncle Hei responded, "Yes."

Mo Zheng looked at the quiet Li family mansion in the night and raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"It seems that Miss Yang wasn't the only one who was unlucky in her previous life."

Miss Yang died before we saw it.

This time, they can finally enjoy the show.

(You can save this post for later; the ending of this plot is actually in another plot, which will be covered in three or four more chapters.)
(End of this chapter)