Chapter 81 - Getting Wind of It (2/2)

Jia Zhong didn’t really mean to help. After hearing Lu Fengnian’s polite refusal, he made a couple of remarks in affected concern and then left with Jia Yin. Before leaving, he specially cast a glance at Lu Kui’s body in the coffin. On confirmation of Lu Kui’s death, he walked out of the hall unhesitatingly.

The moment they were out of Lu family, Jia Zhong couldn’t help burst into laugh. “Fantastic! Simply fantastic!”

But Jia Yin wasn’t as overjoyed as he was. “Due to the murder of this Lu Kui guy, soldiers are searching every house in the city. This is so ominous. You saw it yourself in Lu family – Yamen runners and guards are everywhere, as if Lu family is really of great importance. If I were that burglar, I would never stoop to go back there again.”

“There’s no need to be angry about it, elder brother. Lu family is merely being mean,” said Jia Zhong.

“Isn’t Ling Zhaowen supposed to a.s.sume personal command in Lu family? Why wasn’t he there?” asked Jia Yin.

Jia Zhong’s face darkened. “He saw us coming and didn’t dare face us, I suppose.”

“Why didn’t that burglar go to Ling family instead? If it were Ling Zhaowen who got killed, we would have been spared a lot of trouble.”

“No burglars would have found anything worth stealing in the poor Ling family.”

The two brothers of Jia family got onto a carriage and left the mansion of Lu family.

When they returned to their home, Mrs. Jia went up to them and asked, “Is Lu Kui really dead?”

“As dead as mutton,” answered Jia Yin coldly.

As Mrs. Jia heard his cold tone of voice and saw his sullen look, her face instantly darkened. A quarrel was about to break out.

Jia Zhong hurriedly made an excuse and left.

After Jia Zhong walked out of sight, Mrs. Jia snorted coldly, “You’re surprisingly amiable to your kind younger brother. Someday he’ll betray you and you won’t even be able to find out how!”

“Shut your mouth!” Jia Yin thundered.

“Aren’t I telling the truth? Wasn’t he the one who was behind the matter of the tavern? He plotted against Ling Zhaowen but ended up victimizing you and allowing that Liu Chengfang to be part of our family!”

“Haven’t we already agreed that this matter should never be mentioned again? Will you please stop bringing it up?”

“I just hate the way he puts on airs. He’s merely a County Magistrate, and we both know how he got that position, yet he has the nerve to affect an air of authority in front of us.”

“Fang s.h.i.+, if you don’t shut your mouth right now, I’ll lock you up!”

Mrs. Jia stormed out of the house in rage, slamming the door as she left.

Jia Yin sat there with a gloomy look on his face. Surprisingly, the anger he had in his eyes a moment ago when Mrs. Jia was present was no longer there.

“Where’s Second Master?”

“Rest a.s.sured, my lord. I’ve been on the lookout outside. Second Master has walked far away. He didn’t hear anything.” The butler of Jia family walked inside.

It was not until this moment that the look on Jia Yin’s face became slightly milder. “Have you found out exactly who it was that knocked me out and took me to that tavern?”

“Well… Please forgive me for my incompetence, my lord. I haven’t found out the definite ident.i.ty of that person yet.”

“You good-for-nothing. Tell me why I should keep paying you!”

“I hope you’ll simmer down in the knowledge that the results of my investigation aren’t thoroughly disappointing, my lord. Do you still remember that Second Master once sent some men to Ling family to make trouble but Ling Zhang ruined his plan? I eavesdropped on the conversation between Adviser Qian and Second Master. They said that on that day, apart from Ling Zhang, there was also a kung fu expert present, who secretly offered Ling Zhang help and struck the acupoints of those men sent by Second Master. That’s why the plan failed.”

“It was in the garden that you were suddenly knocked out and taken away. In Tanyang, there have never been any kung fu experts who are able to sneak in and out of that place without being seen. I’ve been considering all kinds of possibilities and I speculate – if I may be so bold as to do so – that there’s some kind of connection between that man and Ling family. Second Master was targeting Ling Zhaowen who was clearly already in the room, but who suddenly disappeared into thin air, so there must have been some kung fu expert helping him, and there was a ninety-percent chance that this man was the very person who knocked you out and took you away.”

“There’s no need to speculate. He was definitely working for Ling family,” Jia Yin concluded in anger, “but when did Ling family hire a kung fu expert to secretly help them? We didn’t get wind of this at all.”

“Not long ago Ling Zhang suddenly ordered an investigation into the background of the servants in his family and evicted all spies we planted in Ling family. Currently, we don’t have a clue what the situation in Ling family is, but…”

“But what?”

“It is rumored that a few days ago, before daybreak, a team entered the city heading for Ling family the moment the city gate opened. I wonder whether those people have anything to do with this matter.”

“Why didn’t you report this to me earlier?”

“Please turn from your anger, my lord. Actually, it was not until a couple of days ago that someone began to spread a rumor of this matter. There were no pedestrians on the streets when those people entered the city. It was some Yamen runners on guard duty and a couple of vegetable growers who saw them. Those vegetable growers live in the suburbs, and those Yamen runners are under Tao Feng’s firm control. It requires a certain amount of money to get them to talk.”

“And then?”

“What was really weird was that those people disappeared afterwards, and people of Ling family has been acting as if nothing has ever happened.”

After pondering over something for a while with a cold look on his face, Jia Yin said, “I don’t care what kind of means you’ll resort to, but I want you to find out the current situation in Ling family irrespective of the expenses. Come to me when you need money. One more thing, whatever you find, keep it out of Second Master’s knowledge for the moment.”

“Erm… Yes, my lord.”

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