My wife has a secret

Chapter 30 White Lotus Sect
Shopkeeper Tao suddenly came to his senses, quickly looked away, trembling all over and his mouth shaking.

No matter how beautiful the woman on the spiritual platform was, she was not someone he could look up to.

"Exposed?"

The woman in a high position twirled her fingers lightly, looking back and forth in front of her eyes.

Against the backdrop of firelight and golden light, her slender hands were as delicate as tender jade lotus roots, and each knuckle was like a finely crafted jade carving, symmetrical and graceful.

"The matter of the gambling house on West Street has been discovered by the government. It is Tao's fault for not doing his job well and ruining the great plan of the Divine Religion. I beg the Saint to bring down divine punishment!"

The middle-aged man was the shopkeeper Tao who ran away and disappeared in front of Xu Qing today.

At this moment, he had lost his arrogance in front of others. He kowtowed to the altar and begged for mercy, and his forehead was bleeding.

"Tongfu and Tiandi Casino have 360 ​​pieces of high-quality weapons in stock. You lost so many in just one day. How should this Saint Lady punish you?"

There was a hint of coldness in the saint's soul-stirring beautiful eyes. She glanced casually at the shopkeeper Tao in the distance and murmured softly.

"The Red Willow Hall in the alley of West Street is an important arrangement of the Divine Religion to win over the local dignitaries. You... are really too careless."

When Shopkeeper Tao heard the Saint deliberately emphasize the last few words, he felt an unprecedented sense of suffocation and was almost suffocated by the other party's words.

But who would have thought that a silver bell-like laughter suddenly came from above.

"Manager Tao, our White Lotus Divine Sect grew up in the prehistoric world, shining with the sun and the moon, dancing with the universe, and has lasted for thousands of years without fading. We are admired by millions of people... Do you really think that what happened today is your fault?"

Shopkeeper Tao looked up blankly.

In an instant, he seemed to have thought of something, and a brilliant smile broke out on his dull face.

"I understand! I understand! Everything that happened today was within the plan of the Divine Religion. Everything was arranged by the adults!"

"The Divine Religion is all about following the will of Heaven. All actions are from Heaven's will. Since you have completed the mission assigned to you by the Religion, you can naturally enjoy the ceremony of returning to Heaven and enter the gate of the Immortal Realm."

"Thank you, Saint! Thank you, Saint! When I enter the immortal sect and become an immortal, I will never forget your kindness in nurturing and raising me!"

Shopkeeper Tao had a dazed look on his face. He was so excited that he could hardly control himself and burst into laughter on the spot.

The people around her who were covered in black robes also looked at her with envy, as if the ceremony of returning to heaven that the saint spoke of was some kind of supreme honor.

"Yuheng Xingjun, perform the ceremony on my behalf."

The fox-faced saint slowly stood up, her black hair reflecting the faint light cascading down like a waterfall, soft, shiny and smooth, like countless falling stars in the Milky Way.

The beautiful legs faintly visible under the skirt are white and tender, like jade.

A tall and thin man wearing a black tights and a mask covering his face walked out from her side.

The other party was holding a strangely shaped weapon in his hand, and the blade was shining faintly.

When Shopkeeper Tao saw him walking towards him, he smiled instead of dodging, "Thank you, Daoist Fellow Yuheng, for helping me cultivate to become a saint!"

After a dull sound, the entire wide space was once again filled with the sound of people chanting.

"The world has two colors of yin and yang, and the freedom of all things is within me. The three thousand worlds are full of life, and the spirit returns to the white lotus heart."

……

Yin hour three quarters.

The news that the government had sealed off the gambling house on West Street spread throughout the entire Suzhou City the next day.

Among them, Chief Jiao, who made great contributions, did not rush to the government office to report the case immediately after searching three gambling houses all night, but turned around and visited Xu's house.

When Xiaohuan saw Jiao Tingchang's figure, she did not stop this fierce man from breaking into the yard. She turned around and woke Xu Qing up from his sleep.

Xu Qing changed his clothes and went out of the house. He saw Jiao Tingzhang sitting on a stone bench with a surprised look on his face.

"Aren't you investigating a case on West Street? Why are you here so early in the morning?"

The matter of weapons hidden in the West Street gambling house is currently being suppressed by Prefect Xu, and few people know the details.

However, because of his aunt, Xu Qing was expressly forbidden by Prefect Xu to participate in the investigation of the matter.

Xu Qing could also understand the concerns of the fourth-rank prefect. The Queen Mother's faction was already very powerful, and the private possession of weapons was an extremely sensitive topic. No one wanted to be involved in it.

So he said goodbye to the Zhaowu commander early yesterday morning and returned to Xu's house.

It's still dark now, and Chief Jiao has been sent here, exhausted. Xu Qing thought about it over and over, but still can't figure out the reason.

"Master Xu, I came here through the back door this time... because I found something in the gambling house on West Street, and if I hand it over to the higher-ups, it might cause quite a stir."

"What makes you so nervous?"

When Xu Qing heard this, he waved his hand to send Xiaohuan away from the yard, leaving the two of them alone sitting opposite each other at the stone table.

Captain Jiao took out a yellow paper bag from his lapel, shook out a document from it, and handed it to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing opened it and his eyes stayed on it.

"Trade and business documents?"

When Xu Qing heard Chief Jiao talk about what happened that day during the search, he had heard of the existence of this thing before and did not feel that there was anything wrong with it.

In order to make more money, local princes and nobles would often join the merchants and use their own names to sign special documents at local government offices.

This is a common occurrence throughout Da Qi and doesn't mean much.

"If this gambling house is just a business protected by a noble, it would be easy to deal with. We in Suzhou Prefecture can naturally follow the clues and search for the remnants of the gang... Mr. Xu, please take a closer look at the official seal on the document."

Xu Qing saw the Suzhou Prefecture seal in the lower right corner and frowned.

"Issued by the Suzhou Prefecture? It can't be that Prefect Xu secretly protected it, right?"

"Of course the prefect would not protect these people, and he knew nothing about this matter before. He was forced to stop the search the day before yesterday by those idle nobles in Hongliu Hall."

Chief Jiao stared at Xu Qing anxiously and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Xu, although these three gambling houses opened last year, the documents they hold were all issued ten years ago. They were signed by the previous prefect when he was in office."

"The new prefect?"

Xu Qing's face froze as he thought of the problem.

In the past ten years, Suzhou has had two prefects.

Except for Prefect Xu who took office four years ago, the previous prefect was Lu Wanhe's biological father.

If his father-in-law was involved in this matter, then his Xu family would also be implicated because of the marriage, and it would definitely affect the delicate situation in the court.

"Who else knows about this?"

"Although the brothers who worked with me knew the existence of the documents, they did not pay attention to the details on the palace seal... Now I have brought all these things out and will follow your orders."

Xu Qing looked at Jiao Tingzhang with some surprise, because the latter's personality seemed different from what he had imagined.

He originally thought that Chief Jiao was the kind of righteous man who hated evil and could not stand officials protecting each other, but he did not expect that he would take such a big risk and bring out the evidence secretly.

"You trust me so much? Aren't you afraid that you and the things on you won't be able to leave this door?" "If it weren't for Mr. Xu's help, the gambling house on West Street would never have found these things... Moreover, Mr. Xu was very concerned about the Zuiyuan Pavilion case and helped solve the refugee problem on Baolin Street a few days ago."

Jiao Tingzhang remained calm and replied, "I think Mr. Xu is not a bad person."

Xu Qing was moved.

Possessing weapons privately is a serious crime of treason. If the Lu family is identified as an accomplice, there is a high possibility that the entire family will be executed.

If someone in the court took advantage of this incident to cause trouble, then his aunt's position in the court would become precarious.

and many more?

Xu Qing frowned and thought for a while, and suddenly realized that this gambling house where weapons were hidden might not be as simple as he thought.

Ever since the tragic death of Chun Shisan Niang, the top star in Zuiyuange, there has been an invisible hand pushing me from behind.

The other party had seen through his intention to investigate the oil seller, so they set up an ambush in Baolin Street in advance.

But the real goal of those people was not to kill him, but to lure him to the West Street gambling house and use him to find the weapons hidden there.

The most obvious evidence of this is that although the refugees in the refugee street are full of banditry, no one dares to cause real trouble in Suzhou City, fearing that their family members and children will be thrown out of the city.

If the other party really wants to kill me, he can just find some more agile and desperate criminals who have no worries.

Of the three gambling houses on West Street, only one, Shopkeeper Tao, has shown up so far, and the boss behind the scenes has long disappeared without a trace.

"When did those gambling houses open?"

Jiao Tingzhang thought for a moment and replied, "If I remember correctly, it should have opened for business in the spring of last year... Although Shopkeeper Tao has been in the local gambling world for a long time, I have checked his wife and children, and they all prove that he took over the shop at the turn of spring and summer."

"In terms of time, about a year and a half?"

"Yes."

Xu Qing frowned and thought.

Because of the poisoning in the backyard, he even suspected that the real culprit of these incidents was Qin from the fourth room.

But Qin had only been in Suzhou for a short year. From this point of view, the other party should have had no room to make arrangements.

"Mr. Xu, this matter..."

After Xu Qing re-examined the cause and effect, he made a decision, "I'll leave the document with you. Hand it over to Prefect Xu tomorrow and tell him what you found out."

"Mr. Xu, aren't you worried about getting into trouble?"

Xu Qing replied calmly, "The real culprit behind the gambling house had planned and prepared the gambling house and personnel on West Street a year or even ten years in advance in order to lure me into the trap. Burning one or two documents will not only fail to clear my name, but will prove that the Xu family has something to hide."

Jiao Tingzhang was stunned.

He thought he had considered the matter very carefully, but he didn't expect that this notorious playboy was even more thoughtful than him.

This passage in particular is clearly the product of careful consideration.

"They have been busy for so long, they will definitely not just prepare the document as evidence. If that is the case... I cannot just follow their wishes, but must do the opposite."

……

After Jiao Tingzhang said goodbye and left, the whole yard became empty.

Xiaohuan opened the door, leaving a tiny gap, and secretly watched her young master.

The young master, who was usually carefree and cynical, became unusually quiet today and sat on the stone bench without moving.

Until a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky.

"Master."

Xiaohuan opened the oil-paper umbrella, walked obediently beside Xu Qing, and called him softly.

"It's cold outside, do you want to go back inside and think about it?"

Although Xiaohuan didn't know what her young master was worried about, she knew it was not a good thing for him to keep thinking about it, so she thought about awakening his thoughts so that he could go back to his room and rest.

"Xiao Huan, I thought I was the eldest son of the Xu family, with a powerful aunt standing behind me, and I could do whatever I wanted in Suzhou City and live a peaceful life."

Xu Qing chuckled self-deprecatingly, "But I never thought that even though I'm thousands of miles away from the capital, there are still people who regard me as a knife to kill people. It's really ironic... It seems that only by becoming strong can I stop these demons and monsters from wanting to attack me."

"Master..."

Xu Qing waved his hand and stood up.

He took the oil-paper umbrella from Xiaohuan, touched the little girl's head, and said softly, "You go back to the house first. I'll go to the Third Courtyard."

Xiao Huan awkwardly handed over the umbrella and asked in a low voice, "Then will this servant... still warm the bed for you, sir?"

"It's warm, and you need to take a shower and smell good."

After teasing the blushing girl, Xu Qing came to the remote Third Courtyard with an oil-paper umbrella.

I heard from the servants in the mansion that the Third Young Madam had just returned to the yard in the middle of the night yesterday after dealing with various matters in the Lu Mansion, and she might be resting in the house now.

After Xu Qing knocked on the gate, the person standing at the door was Ji Xia. She was rubbing her sleepy eyes and looked at Xu Qing in a daze.

Ji Xia is petite and lovely, and likes to wear pink and bright clothes, which makes her very popular in the mansion.

Even the old lady, who was not kind to the third wife, Mrs. Lu, liked this girl to walk around the compound more often.

"Master!"

When Ji Xia saw Xu Qing, her pretty face froze slightly, and her small, fair and delicate earlobes were pink, as bright as cherries.

Ever since Xu Qing took back the Lu Mansion, Ji Xia changed her previous opinion of him and felt that Xu Qing was as mature as people of their age and exuded charming charm.

Of course, this is not love between men and women, but it is more like Xiaohuan's admiration and worship.

"Master, you are here to see Miss, but Miss worked too hard last night and just fell asleep..."

"I'm here to find you."

Ji Xia's hand holding the door handle trembled slightly, and she pretended to be calm and whispered: "What does the young master want to see Ji Xia for?"

"Do you still remember the former governor of Suzhou, Mr. Lu?"

Ji Xia was slightly stunned when she heard Xu Qing's question.

After a moment of calming down, she realized that Xu Qing was asking about the young lady's grandfather.

In front of his young lady, Mr. Lu has always been an extremely sensitive topic, which can easily bring up the other party's sad memories.

Ji Xia coughed lightly and said slowly: "If the young master wants to ask about the young lady's grandfather, why not ask her in person... Ji Xia can only tell you what the young lady wants to tell you."

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(End of this chapter)