My wife has a secret

Chapter 31 Exploration
Xu Qing couldn't help but smile when she saw the maid's wandering eyes.

"Don't think too much. I'm not trying to get close to your lady by this. I just want to get some other information."

Ji Xia bit her thin lips lightly and hesitated for a long time.

After a while, she asked quietly, "What does the young master want to know?"

"I heard that Mr. Lu is an honest and upright official. Is this true?"

Ji Xia nodded and replied, "Of course. The master of the family had a very good reputation in Peizhou and Suzhou. He governed well, and the people in the area under his jurisdiction were all grateful to him. In the early years, when I went out to buy things, merchants often gave discounts after hearing the name of the Lu family. Later... all this reputation was ruined by those relatives of the Lu family."

When Ji Xia mentioned the young lady's relatives, he felt so angry that his teeth itched.

If they hadn't interfered, the young lady would have been able to save up a generous dowry.

Xu Qing secretly observed Ji Xia's expression and saw that what this girl said was sincere and it seemed that the rumors in the market were not groundless.

"When I came back to visit you, I saw that the courtyard of your Lu Mansion was quite large. With only the salary of a prefect of a state, it should be difficult to buy this land deed, right?"

Ji Xia frowned and thought for a while, as if she remembered something, and explained: "Master, you don't know that the house on East Chang Street is not the ancestral home of the Lu family, but a gift from someone else."

"Gift? Who is so generous as to give such a big house as a gift?"

"It's the young lady's master, the great scholar of the Imperial Academy, Master Nie."

"Master Nie?"

Xu Qing had heard this name several times and knew that this literary giant had once taught Lu Wanhe how to read. Even though the latter was a girl, he still regarded her as his own direct disciple.

Now it seems that Master Nie's love for Lu Wanhe may be even greater than he thought.

"Back then, outsiders thought that the young lady was able to take Master Nie as her teacher because the master gave her a lot of gifts in private. However, my master always took out part of his salary to help disaster relief or to comfort the people, so he had no extra money... Master Nie discovered the young lady's extraordinary talent by chance when he was traveling in Jiangnan, so he took the initiative to come to the Lu family and recommend himself as a teacher."

"Because the young lady was seriously ill and often caught a cold in the dilapidated old mansion, Master Nie bought a house on East Chang Street and taught her how to write in it. This was the predecessor of the current Lu Mansion. Later, Master Nie stayed in the mansion for more than three years, taking the young lady to visit old friends in Jiangnan. Later, he bid farewell to the young lady because of a summons from the palace and rushed back to the capital."

After Ji Xia finished speaking, he asked, "Master, what else do you want to know?"

"do not have much left."

As Lu Wanhe's personal maid, Ji Xia naturally wouldn't know the things that her master deliberately concealed. It seemed that this was all the information she had at the moment, and she had to find out the news from other places.

Just as Xu Qing was about to turn around, Ji Xia suddenly called him.

"Master, Ji Xia thought of something that might be helpful to you... In the past, there was a very close person beside the master of the house. He should be able to answer your confusion."

Ji Xia said slowly, "He was the legal advisor recruited by the master of the family when he took office in the Heshui County Yamen. Later, he served us from Peizhou to Suzhou... So when the young lady was seriously ill and the master of the family was on leave at home, it was the legal advisor who managed the affairs in the Yamen."

Xu Qing was slightly moved and had a new judgment in his mind.

The clues Ji Xia mentioned were very crucial. Assuming that there was such a confidant around Governor Lu at the time, the other party could have used Governor Lu's name to privately stamp the official seals of those gambling houses.

"So where is he now?"

"Since the master passed away, my young lady wanted to find this master to come to our house to take charge of the overall situation. However, when I found the master's residence, I suddenly discovered that he had been staying indoors... Later, the Lu Mansion was occupied by those clan relatives, and my young lady lived in the backyard for a long time and lost contact with the master."

Xu Qing nodded and said, "You helped me a lot today. You can go back first."

"Yes, Master."

Ji Xia watched Xu Qing disappear from his sight and closed the gate.

When she turned her head, she saw that the door of the main room had been opened at some point, and a thin woman in a pale white dress was leaning against it.

"Miss."

"cough."

Lu Wanhe was holding onto the door frame, coughing constantly, her face was weak, and her slender figure and slight hunchback made her look particularly fragile.

She looked at the place where Xu Qing had just stood, frowning slightly.

"Has my husband come yet?"

"Yes, the young master just asked about the old master's affairs, and left after hearing the news from Master Liu...Miss, just stay in your room and don't come out."

Lu Wanhe waved her hand and said softly, "It's okay. My husband should be investigating something. That matter may be related to our Lu family."

"investigation……"

When Ji Xia heard these two words, he immediately panicked.

She thought again of what happened before the young master fell into the water and lost his memory, and swallowed quietly.

"Husbands and wives shouldn't keep secrets, and my husband has been very kind to me... I should tell him about that."

Lu Wanhe's long, soft, black hair swayed gently in the autumn breeze, adding a touch of charm to her fragility.

……

After leaving Xu Mansion, Xu Qing rushed to the residence of the legal advisor according to the address Ji Xia gave him.

But this house was obviously abandoned. Not only were the surrounding walls peeling off and the bricks scattered, but even the corners inside were covered with cobwebs, giving the impression that no one had lived there for a long time.

Xu Qing took a quick look and suddenly found something suspicious about the room at the door frame.

It's clear that no one has lived in the house for a long time, but why is there no dust at the corner between the door and the wooden frame, as if it had been pushed frequently?

Could it be that someone comes here often?
Following this thought, Xu Qing walked into the yard and began to search around the room.

The structure of this house is very simple, consisting of two rooms, the main room and the secondary room. The main room is used for resting and receiving guests, and the secondary room has an earth pit stove for cooking.

As the house was ownerless, there was no furniture to be seen except for two wooden frames left over from the bed.

Xu Qing first checked the stove, and then explored inside along the brick wall little by little. Finally, he found something unusual in the beam of the main house.

The wood there is a rare type of red willow, which is slightly different from the surrounding redwoods, and the joints at the four corners are newer and completely free of cobwebs.

“It’s a bit high.”

Xu Qing touched his chin, then turned to look outside the door and called out tentatively, "Captain Shan?"

After what happened in the gambling house, Xu Qing had already discovered that this captain should have been assigned to protect him.

I went out to a strange place today, and there is no reason for the other party not to follow me.

"Come out, I know you're here."

After a while, a young man with a serious face and frowned brows stood at the door. He was wearing a dark blue cloth robe and a crown on his head, and looked like an ordinary citizen.

As soon as the other party stood there, he stared at Xu Qing and asked reluctantly: "How did you know?"

Shan Yongpei changed his outfit specially today and came to follow Xu Qing.

But he really didn't expect that this guy could actually guess his location, even though he had held his breath and concentrated, deliberately hiding his breath and footsteps.

"I guessed... Help me take down this piece of red wood on the beam. Yes, the one with the bluish-white pattern."

Shan Yongpei's eyes were almost filled with anger, and he took a deep breath.

"I am the Zhaowu Commander of the Zhennan Zhongwu Army, not a street performer for the entertainment of a playboy like you."

"Brother, did you put all your points into strength when upgrading, and not pay attention to intelligence? This shabby house and temple, do you think I'm here to watch your performance?"

After Xu Qing said this, he thought about it thoughtfully and looked at the other party with a very suspicious look.

"You're not capable of this, right? It seems that most of the flying over eaves and walls in TV dramas are just exaggerated. There really is no future for practicing martial arts... If you're not capable of this, then don't be embarrassed. I can think of another way."

Although Shan Yongpei didn't understand the meaning of the three words "TV series", he could feel the disgust in Xu Qing's eyes.

The other party obviously looked down on him and despised his abilities.

If it were any other time, Shan Yongpei could have turned a blind eye, but the other party was just a playboy who loved to drink and have fun! How could he bear this anger?

Shan Yongpei snorted coldly, and then found a beam as a foothold.

As soon as they met, he had already flown several feet into the air and directly grabbed the piece of red willow wood.

Then he supported himself with his feet on two beams and directly removed the wood.

By the time he landed on the ground, Xu Qing was already stunned and even clapped his hands for the captain.

"You're quite capable. You even saved the trouble of using a ladder. I take it back... You are indeed quite useful."

Shan Yongpei frowned, feeling that the difference between being somewhat useful and being useless was not that big, and it seemed that Xu Qing still looked down upon him.

Xu Qing took the piece of wood, placed it in the sunlight, looked at it back and forth twice, and sure enough, he found a small dark groove somewhere in it.

When he opened it, he found a golden brocade bag with a folded letter inside.

"On the eighth day of the tenth month in the first year of the Zhengde reign, seventy-eight weapons were lost from the armory."

"In the first year of the Zhengde reign, on the first day of the eleventh month, thirty-two weapons were lost from the armory."

"March of the second year of Zhengde..."

Xu Qing read it from beginning to end and found that it was a list with detailed data, including the number of lost weapons, which could be traced back to the first year of Zhengde.

Considering the identity of the original owner of this house, it seems that these are the weapons lost from the Suzhou Arsenal.

In that case, the weapons hidden in these gambling houses were most likely smuggled out by this lawyer earlier.

But why did this master want to smuggle weapons?
Although the prefect was considered a high-ranking official, his jurisdiction was limited to the area under his jurisdiction.

If he really went to other places, he would have no power. Even a minister sent by his subordinates could command him around.

Moreover, although Suzhou is rich, it only occupies a small area in the south of the Yangtze River. There is no natural barrier to defend here except Peijiang. Rebellion is undoubtedly a huge joke.

Not to mention that the Zhennan Zhongwu Army guarding the four continents of Jiangnan was stationed on the outskirts of Suzhou.

As for selling it, it doesn't seem to make sense.

If I had the power of a prefect of a state, I could have focused more on silk and salt, which are easier to make money from. There would be no need to deal with this U-turn.

Besides, no one would dare to buy this kind of goods, right?

"Captain Shan, you said before that the quality of the weapons in that batch is better than the weapons provided by your Zhennan Zhongwu Army?"

Shan Yongpei looked at Xu Qing in confusion, not knowing why the other party brought up this matter.

"Yes, the craftsmanship used to make swords is to stir-fry steel, and the craftsmanship is excellent."

"Then in the entire Da Qi, which places provide weapons that need to reach this level?"

"Within the entire Da Qi?"

"Well, one more thing, the weapons must be manufactured or transported by Jiangnan Suzhou."

Shan Yongpei frowned slightly and began to think.

The Zhennan Zhongwu Army is already the best among the established armies, and there are probably only a few left that can be supplied with such weapons.

"As far as I know, there are only a few places in Da Qi that need such swords. The Imperial Guards in the capital are one of them, but the weapons there seem to come from Guanzhong, the land of the old Qin."

"Every year, the swords used in the annual martial arts performance in the capital are imported from Jiangnan, but the number required is not large, perhaps only three to five hundred."

"Oh, there is another place, Huangling Pass in the north. The Yang family army has always been responsible for the border defense there, and they often fight with the Hu people waiting for an opportunity to move south. But because the places where they fight are mostly desert wastelands, they need to transport high-quality and well-made military armor from the Jiangnan area for defense."

When Xu Qing heard Huang Lingguan's name, his eyebrows raised slightly.

If he was not mistaken, this was exactly where his second wife lived.

Why do all these messed up things always come back to the people related to me?

"The third one is detailed."

Shan Yongpei glanced at Xu Qing and felt that this layman was pretending to know something.

"What's there to say? The Hu people mainly rely on horseback shooting and slashing, so their weapons tend to be scimitars, which are more conducive to harvesting enemy lives in rapid combat. Although the Yang family army has a group of heavily armored cavalry, their armor and equipment are extremely valuable. It is extremely difficult to obtain replacements if one is missing, so these cavalry are generally regarded as the treasures of the Yang family and will not be used unless it is an absolutely critical battle."

"Therefore, the core strength of the Yang family army is still mainly infantrymen with swords and shields. Whether they can keep their swords intact in a fight with the Hu people, or whether they can cut off the enemy's horse's legs with one sword, has become the key to their survival."

When Shan Yongpei said this, there was a hint of pride in his eyes as he looked at Xu Qing.

Because he felt that the knowledge of military combat was something this dandy young man could never even imagine... Would he dare to say that he was useless in the future?

Xu Qing was immersed in his own thoughts, and said as he thought: "So that's the case. Then this batch of stolen weapons is most likely the weapons shipped to the Huangling Border Army."

　Recently, a family member has been hospitalized, so I have a lot of things to do at home. I hope you can understand. I will move my computer to the hospital as soon as possible in the next two days to facilitate the update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)