In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

The phrase "thank you for your great kindness and be eternally grateful" was something Zhu Qingyu had also said at the Yangzhou government office; it was purely to express her attitude and determination.

Zhu Qingyu was familiar with all of the Zhang family's businesses, and she had seen almost all of their monthly accounts. Therefore, she was confident that the claim that the Zhang family was smuggling salt was baseless and a pure fabrication.

At the same time, she also believed that with Lord Gu's upright character and noble status, he would definitely enforce the law impartially and investigate the truth without bias, and would not really ask her to send any tribute.

Even during Lord Gu's time in Yangzhou, neither Zhang Shen nor Zhu Qingyu dared to send Gu Zhao any money, fearing that it would backfire and damage the Zhang family's virtuous image in Lord Gu's eyes.

As a result, Gu Zhao, after hearing her empty and pretty words, and seeing her so close and within reach, actually asked:

"How can I possibly express my gratitude enough? Madam Zhu, how do you plan to thank me? I would like to hear the details."

They actually kept asking her questions; could they really be here to ask for money back? That's so inconsistent with Lord Gu's upright and incorruptible image.

Zhu Qingyu was stumped by Gu Zhao's unconventional approach and tentatively asked:

"Yes, yes, sir, investigating cases is hard work and you must be tired. I have a century-old ginseng in my household, which is very effective in restoring vital energy and replenishing qi. I would like to offer it to you, sir."

Gu Zhao leaned back in his chair with a relaxed posture, amused by her.

"Is this all the gratitude you deserve? Do you think I'd be short of even a single ginseng root?"

It seems I got it wrong. Well, for a noble family like the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, ginseng isn't exactly a rare commodity.

Zhu Qingyu then examined all the valuable items in the mansion. She really didn't know Gu Zhao very well, nor what he liked. After much thought, she carefully considered her options and said:

"My lord has come all the way to Jiangnan, it would be a shame to return empty-handed. Why not bring some Jiangning specialties with you? My household has several dozen bolts of fine Yun brocade and Song brocade, which would be excellent for making clothes for the women in my family. I would like to offer them to you as part of your wedding ceremony."

Speaking of Song Jin, Gu Zhao recalled the time he saw her dressed up meticulously at the ferry crossing. Compared to her simple appearance today, the difference between her effort and her perfunctory attitude was like night and day.

Her husband wasn't home, and she was too lazy to dress up.

Ultimately, in her heart, she probably didn't see herself as someone who needed to be treated with care.

Knowing he was completely unreasonable, a bitter feeling still uncontrollably spread through his heart. Gu Zhao looked her up and down, his tone carrying an inexplicable chill:

"You have dozens of bolts of the finest Yun brocade and Song brocade, which you know are excellent materials for making clothes. Why do you only know how to send them away and not make yourself a nice set of clothes? Is Zhang Jingyan so stingy that he won't even let you use a single piece of good fabric?"

Zhu Qingyu was a little confused by this unexpected remark.

She looked at the clothes she was wearing, which she had just changed into today. They were clean and tidy, but she didn't know what had offended him, that he was criticizing her attire.

One second he was quite approachable, the next he suddenly became unhappy. I don't know if Lord Gu is just so unpredictable, or if he is using some kind of manipulative technique to affect people's mentality.

Sigh, I'm definitely not cut out for officialdom. Understanding my superiors is just too difficult, much harder than curing a disease and saving a life.

Zhu Qingyu tried to explain:

"I don't care much for dressing up, I've always been like this, it's not that I'm deliberately disrespectful to you, sir. You asked me how I could express my gratitude, and for a moment, I really didn't know how to repay you in order to show my sincerity. As for the matter of smuggling salt, it was really a deliberate frame-up by Lord Liu. I implore you to investigate thoroughly and clear the name of my Zhang family. If you ever need my help in the future, as long as it's within my power, whatever it may be, please feel free to give the order, and I will do my duty without hesitation."

Gu Zhao let the words "whatever it is" roll through his mind, mainly because his mind was not clear, and some inappropriate and vivid thoughts popped up again.

He looked at her intently, unsure whether she was genuinely honest or just pretending, and finally said:

"No matter what it is, I've remembered what you said, Madam Zhu. When I really need your help, don't refuse."

Zhu Qingyu nodded vigorously, trying her best to steer the conversation back to the main topic:

"Of course, sir. I dare not evade or evade your orders. Please advise, sir, how do we need to prove our innocence in this case?"

Gu Zhao sipped his tea and remained silent for a moment.

To obtain something, one can appeal to fear or to trust.

There are ways to deal with fear, and there are ways to deal with trust.

But when it comes to her, trust always triumphs over fear.

Gu Zhao put down his teacup:

"Generally speaking, in solving a case, you need both witnesses and physical evidence; ideally, both should be present. An account book doesn't just appear out of thin air. If I were Lord Liu, I would be thorough in my work and would definitely arrange for a flawless witness to appear. Madam Zhu, who do you think this witness might be?"

The account books of the merchants' homes were mostly handled by the shopkeeper.

Zhu Qingyu recalled the second manager's unusual behavior today and broke out in a cold sweat.

Knowing full well that borrowing money from the government is a huge pitfall, could it be him who still strongly encouraged the Zhang family to jump into it?

But the second manager has been with the Zhang family for decades. Although he has a bad temper, Zhang Shen has always trusted him in his work and has paid him a generous salary every year. What reason would he have to harm the Zhang family?

Without evidence, we cannot convict an old shopkeeper based solely on speculation and intuition.

Zhu Qingyu said:

"Please allow me to check."

Gu Zhao stood up:

"Of course we'll investigate. I won't wrong an innocent person, nor will I let a guilty one go unpunished. Think carefully today and see if there are any suspicious individuals. I'll come back to question you tomorrow. Will you be at home or at the clinic tomorrow?"

Zhu Qingyu had previously stayed home to avoid trouble, but now that trouble had come knocking, there was no need to hide at home anymore.

Moreover, with Zhang Shen not at home, Gu Zhao, an outsider, was running to the Zhang family every day, which inevitably led to speculation among outsiders.

So Zhu Qingyu said:

"Tomorrow, the Zhu Family Medical Clinic will respectfully welcome you, sir."

The Zhang family members were all more or less involved with the second manager. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Zhu Qingyu went to the clinic immediately after Gu Zhao left.

After taking ten taels of silver to Uncle Qi, Zhu Qingyu didn't specifically mention the second manager, but instead said:

"Uncle Qi, could you help me find someone to investigate whether any major events have happened in the Zhang family's households this year? Weddings, funerals, buying houses or land, trouble, fights—anything goes. Don't let the brothers run errands for nothing. Take some money with you."

Before being bought by Zhu Qingyu, Uncle Qi was a wanderer who knew all sorts of people. He might not be good at other things, but he was an expert at buying information. He immediately went out to find people.

As evening fell, Uncle Qi, having received news from various places, rushed over to report to Zhu Qingyu:

"I haven't heard anything about the head manager and the third manager, but the second manager's eldest son owed money to the casino last autumn and didn't pay it back. The casino people stormed into the second manager's house and smashed it to pieces. All the neighbors saw it. It was quite a big commotion."