Don't ask where people go

Chapter 453 Old Cases
The mother in charge of Xunfang Building stood in front of Ah Shi with her hands down, not daring to show her air.The young man in front of him has only been in Fang's house for more than a month, and he is already the chief manager of Wanhualou, and the Hualou under the Fang family's name is now in his hands to take care of.Moreover, his methods are better than those of ordinary managers. On the third day that Wanhualou was in his hands, he brought out a dead body.

The one who died was Qing Guan who had been in the building for six years, almost the same age as Wanhualou.I heard that she committed suicide by hanging from a beam, and the good-looking people said that she would be gone, which made people panic. What's more, before the girl committed suicide, Ah Shi had looked for her several times...

No one knew what was going on, even the head of the house, Fang Lihui, didn't say much, he just counted the girl's life money in Ah Shi's account, and all of a sudden rumors spread in Huajie and Liuxiang, saying that the sky would change.

However, these days are no different from the past.Aside from being stricter in checking the accounts, and being stricter in verifying the identity of people entering the building, there is nothing else.In addition, he also found out the old accounts of several flower houses. There were people's lives and lawsuits, and the money was unknown, so the Jingzhaoyin Mansion seized them.

Those who were seized were all their relatives, and their lives were much easier in this way, so they didn't dare to say anything about the new steward.

"I've read this month's account, and there's nothing wrong with it." Ah Shi's voice interrupted the thoughts of the mother in charge, and she nodded hurriedly, "That's good..."

"I asked you to prepare everything, are you ready?" Ah Shi said and stood up, and the mother in charge said respectfully: "It's all ready, I just don't know..."

"There are some things, it's no good for you to know too much." Ah Shi glanced at the person in front of her, and she immediately fell silent.

Fang Zilan saw this scene as soon as she entered the Xunfang Building. It had been a long time since she saw this scene. The boy's brows and eyes were more gloomy, as if they were covered with a layer of dust, and they were no longer clear as before.

In an instant, she suddenly felt a little more regretful. Was it wrong to push Ah Shi into Fang's house?

"Lord Fang." Ah Shi's eyes lit up when he saw her, he walked over and saluted, "Master Fang is well. Since you are here, why don't you come in while standing at the door?"

"I'm just here to get Chu Bin's body deed, and I'll leave after I get it." Fang Zilan was still standing there, and the light in Ah Shi's eyes suddenly dimmed, "Master Fang, is there something else you need to be busy with?"

Fang Zilan hesitated for a moment, "It's not very busy."

Ah Shi raised the corners of his lips and raised his hand as a gesture of invitation. Fang Zilan followed him to the private room on the second floor.

In the afternoon, there were no guests in the Xunfang Building. In the quiet atmosphere, Fang Zilan's stomach groaned untimely. Ah Shi led the way and said, "Master Fang, will you have lunch in the future?"

Fang Zilan hummed, and saw that Ah Shi pushed open the door of a private room facing the street, and there was a table full of lunch on the table inside.

"This..." A look of surprise flashed across Fang Zilan's face, and Ah Shi explained: "I heard that His Majesty summoned Lord Fang to enter the palace early in the morning. I think it will be at least around noon if Lord Fang comes here. Mu Zhishi's breakfast is always late, and I'm afraid it will be the same today, so I ordered people to prepare it in advance."

Fang Zilan pursed her lips, "If I go back to the mansion first after leaving the palace, what if I come back later?"

Ah Shi opened his mouth, and swallowed back the "you won't" that he wanted to say.He knew that Fang Zilan acted resolutely, and would never let such a long night and dreamy thing be delayed without reason, but he also knew that it would be difficult for someone who required her to go to great lengths to fake her identity.He didn't want her to doubt him, so he simply didn't point it out, and changed his words: "That's okay, it's just a lunch, it's nothing."

Fang Zilan didn't say much, went straight in and sat down, picked up the chopsticks to taste, and stopped after a few mouthfuls, "Aye, how are you doing at Fang's house?"

Ah Shi was stunned for a while before saying, "It's pretty good."

"I heard the conversation between you and the mother in charge of the building just now." Fang Zilan gradually tightened her grip on the chopsticks, "I have heard that you are now the steward of Wanhualou, the Fang family..."

"Master Fang." Ah Shi interrupted her abruptly, his voice trembling, "Miss Lingyu is dead."

Ling Yu?Fang Zilan repeated the name secretly, only to feel that it sounded familiar, and then remembered that Xiao Xuan'er had told her that after Ah Shi took over Wanhualou, a girl hanged herself and her name was Lingyu.

At that time, there was a wave of turmoil. Xiao Xuan'er even asked her if she wanted to say hello to the Fang family and take care of Ah Shi.

She refused after hearing this, thinking in her mind that Ah Shi is the kind of bastard who would kill the girl, if she stretches her hand too far, it will easily cause Ah Shi trouble.If others mistakenly think that it is because of her that Ah can gain a foothold in Fang's family, it will be very hard in the future.

But seeing Ah Shi's appearance now, it seems that Ling Yu's death is indeed related to him...

Fang Zilan thought about this and took a deep breath, put down the chopsticks in his hand, "Aye, would you like to talk to me?"

After the crisp sound of chopsticks fell, it was the boy's dull voice tinged with astringency, "I just want to know what happened in Wanhualou seven years ago, and I never thought that it would cause Miss Lingyu to commit suicide."

"Seven years ago?" Fang Zilan thought for a while, but found that she had no memory of this time point.

"I've checked the account of Wanhua Building. Seven years ago, a large amount of money flowed in, which made the business of all the girls in the building able to survive." Ah Shi said quietly: "But I have no account books in Fang's house. At that time, Fang Liren, the former head of the family, took over the second year, and the elders of Fang Liren were very strict about the expenses of various accounts, and there was absolutely no possibility of tampering with them behind the scenes."

Fang Zilan reacted, "The second year of Fang Liren's succession as the head of the family was when Fang Lihui's Wanhua Building was first built, right?"

"Master Fang, have you ever heard of the Jiangnan Painting Boat Fire Case?" Ah Shi suddenly brought up an irrelevant old case, Fang Zilan was startled, and remembered.The flames soared into the sky, burning the entire river red.

It was more than seven years ago, when she came out of Hidden Sword Villa, she encountered this shocking case.

A fire not only killed several important state officials on the boat, but even the boats next to it were not spared. Countless gentry, wealthy businessmen were killed or injured.Later, it was found out that several kabuki on the boat hated the injustice of the world, so they set fire to vent their anger.

Although the fire was huge, the truth behind it was also obscured by the death of the murderer. However, after this case, the imperial court strictly managed the entertainment venues in various places, and there were layers of requirements from the beginning of their opening...

"It seems that Mr. Fang has heard of it." Ah Shi looked at the silent Fang Zilan, and continued, "The culprit in this case, the kabuki that set fire to it all came from Qianyan Pavilion, which is the first place opened by Mr. Fang Lihui. One brothel, and the second one is Wanhualou."

Fang Zilan's heart tightened, "You mean..."

She didn't continue, Ah Shi interjected: "Not only that, after that case, the relationship between Fang's family and the state government has improved a lot, and Mr. Fang Lihui's silk and satin shop has gone the way of a high-ranking official..."

"Ah yes, does Fang Lihui know that you are looking for him?" Fang Zilan suddenly said, Ah Shi's eyes turned red, "It's more than knowing? Otherwise, Master Fang thinks, why did Miss Lingyu die?"

　Just... all the staff didn't have a good thing...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)