Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 372 Selection

Yun Hao first asked his men to stake out the two locations he suspected, and then looked through the confessions of the other four women. After reading them, he discovered new problems.

These four women seemed to have no connection with each other, and the lists each of them provided were different.

"The Northern Di spies are indeed cunning. It is not easy to catch them all in one fell swoop." Yun Hao muttered to himself.

He pondered for a moment, and suddenly thought of something, so he called one of his men over: "Go check if these women know anyone in common, or have been to the same place."

The men took the order and left, while Yun Hao continued to look through the confession, trying to find more clues from it.

Yun Hao was troubled by the investigation of the case, while Zhao Wangshu was worried about how to choose a wet nurse.

Although the wet nurse was just driven away last night, in such a short time, the housekeeper in the mansion still found five wet nurses for her to choose from.

"Madam, these are wet nurses carefully selected from the servants in the mansion. They all have sufficient milk, gentle temperaments, and are responsible people." The housekeeper stood aside and said in a low voice.

Each nurse lowered her head and stood there respectfully, with a hint of nervousness on their faces, obviously aware of the importance of the moment.

Zhao Wangshu's eyes swept over the five people lined up in a row. All five of them were in their early twenties and wore clean coarse cloth clothes.

"How old are you? How many children do you have?" Zhao Wangshu pointed at the first person on the left, "Start with you."

"Madam, my name is Chuntao. I am 24 years old this year. I am from Wang Tie's family and have given birth to two children, both boys. The eldest son is three years old and the youngest son is two months old." Chuntao, who was called by name, stepped forward and saluted.

Zhao Wangshu nodded slightly and said nothing more.

The second person on the left stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My name is Xiaozhu. I am twenty years old. I am from the Liusheng family. I gave birth to a daughter who is just five months old."

Then, the third, fourth, and fifth wet nurses reported their names, ages, their husbands' names, and fertility status in turn.

"Where did you work before?" Zhao Wangshu asked.

"Madam, I used to work in the laundry room. After I got married, I stayed at home to take care of the housework, and my husband guarded the west corner gate." Chuntao replied.

Xiaozhu bowed and said, "Madam, I used to work in the tea room. After I got married, I stayed at home to take care of the housework. My husband works in the outer courtyard, responsible for cleaning the courtyard."

The third, fourth, and fifth wet nurses also answered one by one. They were all servants in the mansion, and their husbands also had their respective positions in the mansion.

"Who among you is willing to stay and be the young master's wet nurse?" Zhao Wangshu was not sure whether they came voluntarily, so he asked this question in vain.

After all, their children were still young, and although she would agree to let them bring their children in to be taken care of, she was worried that they would feel resentful because she could not concentrate on taking care of the children.

Zhao Wangshu was personally fed by Zhao Li. She didn't know that being a young master's wet nurse not only had a high monthly salary, but also had a special small courtyard to live in, and would also be well cared for when she got old. It was a very good job.

"We are willing!" the five people said in unison.

Zhao Wangshu nodded slightly, and after asking them a few questions, he decided on two wet nurses, Chuntao and a wet nurse named Suiyin.

Both of these wet nurses gave birth to sons. It’s not that Zhao Wangshu favors boys over girls, but that the wet nurse can become Xiao Yunyu’s permanent attendant or bodyguard in the future.

Zhao Wangshu was lazy and took the opportunity to do two things at once, "The young master needs a playmate. You can bring your son in to accompany the young master."

Chuntao and Suiyin were overjoyed, they knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Madam."

Although Zhao Wangshu did not keep the other three wet nurses, he rewarded them with small red envelopes and said, "Use them to sell candies for the children. We will consider you when there are errands in the mansion in the future." "Thank you, Madam." The three wet nurses also knelt down to express their gratitude.

The matter of the wet nurse was decided, and the investigation of the Northern Di spies had also made progress. The subordinate reported, "Sir, we found it!"

Yun Hao put down his chopsticks, picked up the teacup and rinsed his mouth, then said, "Speak."

"Although these four women don't seem to have much in common, if you ask their maids, they all go out on their own on the 15th of every month. After checking, I found out that they went to a teahouse called 'Ju Ming Lou' at the north city gate."

"Juming Tower..." Yun Hao whispered to himself, his thoughts turning rapidly in his mind.

If these four girls go to that teahouse every fifteenth day of every month, then there must be a connection between them. Perhaps, that is the secret base of the Northern Di spies.

"Monitor the teahouse, and after nightfall, secretly arrest the teahouse owner and his waiters and take them to prison for interrogation." Yun Hao gave the order in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir." The men followed the order and left.

Wang Cheng passed by him and came in, "Sir, someone has discovered the whereabouts of Prince Bao."

"Which woman saved him again?" Yun Hao's tone contained a hint of sarcasm.

Wang Cheng raised his hand to cover his mouth, without revealing a snickering expression. He coughed lightly and said, "I found a piece of cloth belonging to Prince Bao on a tree. It is confirmed to be from Prince Bao's brocade robe."

"Have the stolen food been found?" Yun Hao didn't care about Prince Bao's life or death.

"Not yet." Wang Cheng paused, "Someone spotted a team of carriages entering a farm outside the city."

"Which prince does the manor belong to?" Yun Hao asked incisively.

Wang Cheng smiled, "Your Excellency is wise, that manor belongs to the Cao family."

"The virtuous and reasonable Prince?" Yun Hao frowned.

"What should we do now, sir?" Wang Yan asked.

"It's still uncertain whether that team was transporting food and fodder. Let's confirm it first." Yun Hao said calmly.

"I will arrange for someone to investigate right away." Wang Yan bowed and left.

Yun Hao took out the secret letter from Jiao Xiao and started reading it. Time passed quietly as Yun Hao was thinking and reading, and the night gradually enveloped the earth.

His men brought him dinner and asked him to enjoy it.

After a simple dinner, Yun Hao took a walk in the small garden of the prison. Just as he was about to return to his room, his men came to report, "Sir, the owner and waiter of the teahouse have been captured."

Yun Hao was interrogating the owner of the teahouse. When the owner saw him, he cried out that he was innocent. "My lord, my lord, I am an honest man doing business. Did you arrest the wrong person?"

“Since I have captured you, it means I have not captured you by mistake. Tell the truth and avoid physical pain.” Yun Hao said coldly.

"Sir, I have never done anything illegal or disorderly. Please understand." The teahouse owner tried to evade responsibility.

"You have never done anything illegal? Then tell me, why is your teahouse still open despite such a slow business?"

The teahouse owner was stunned, obviously not expecting Yun Hao to ask this question. He was suddenly speechless and stammered for a long time without being able to explain the answer.