Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1729 Which is more important?

Faced with his father's questioning, Liu Hong looked flustered. He swallowed hard before stammering, "..."
"Dad, after you told me about it last time, I met Chen Mengmeng a few times!"

Although he had expected this answer, Liu Yufeng was still disappointed when he heard it and raised his hand as if to hit him again. Seeing this, Liu Hong subconsciously covered his cheek, but after waiting for a moment, he did not receive the slap. He then mustered up his courage and looked at his father.

At this moment, Liu Yufeng said in a deep voice:
Do you think Chen Mengmeng has feelings for you?

Hearing his father ask this question, Liu Hong was sometimes surprised. His father had always been very disgusted with or even hated his relationship with Chen Mengmeng, thinking that this woman was a femme fatale and that being with him was too ostentatious and would easily attract the attention of people with ulterior motives. After Chen Mengmeng was taken by Murong Yuliang, his father demanded that he completely cut off all ties with her. Why was his father suddenly asking him such a question?
Although he wasn't quite sure what his father was up to, under his father's gaze, Liu Hong scratched his head and said:

“I was her first man, so she must have had some feelings for me, otherwise she wouldn’t have continued to associate with me after she got together with Murong Yuliang!”

Hearing his son say this, Liu Yufeng's feelings were also very complicated.

Since entering officialdom, he has devoted himself to his career, neglecting his family and the education of his children. This has resulted in his eldest son, Liu Hong, becoming a typical spoiled brat who spends his days spending money on drinking and causing trouble…
Among these, Liu Yufeng was most opposed to Liu Hong's flirtatious behavior with the courtesans on those pleasure boats. Those courtesans were the talk of the town in Jiangnan, and countless people were watching them. Therefore, if Liu Hong had too much interaction with them and spent lavishly on them, it would inevitably attract the attention of others. In the end, it would be discovered that Liu Hong, as the son of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, was spending money extravagantly.

Although the salary of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner was not low, especially in economically prosperous regions like Jiangnan, where the annual salary plus bonuses would start at least at a thousand taels of silver, it was still not enough to support the expenses of several hundred or even a thousand taels of silver on the pleasure boat.

Therefore, in Liu Yufeng's view, his son Liu Hong's spending on those courtesans was tantamount to openly telling others that his father had problems and was corrupt and bribed. If these things had happened during the Great Zhou period, the harm would not have been so great, after all, the atmosphere of corruption and bribery in officialdom was very serious at that time, and everyone knew it without saying it.

But times have changed. It is no longer the Great Zhou Dynasty, but the Great Qian Dynasty!
The official salary of the Great Qian Dynasty is several times that of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but its tolerance for corruption is much lower. Therefore, if you keep a low profile, it will be fine. However, if you are too high-profile and flamboyant, you will easily be targeted by people with ulterior motives who will use this as a pretext.

For the sake of his own life and fortune, and also for the sake of his career advancement, Liu Yufeng demanded that his son completely sever ties with the courtesans and never again squander money on them. Under his father's insistence, Liu Hong was forced to break off contact with several lovers, but he still maintained a lingering connection with a courtesan named Chen Mengmeng…

Because of this, Liu Yufeng scolded Liu Hong a lot, but Liu Hong also begged and pleaded, saying that he had feelings for Chen Mengmeng and that he couldn't bear to part with her. He promised his father that he would keep a low profile and would never let anyone target him.

At that time, Liu Yufeng was already the powerful Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan. So, seeing his son's pitiful state and knowing that he controlled the criminal law of Jiangnan, Liu Yufeng tacitly accepted Chen Mengmeng's existence, only demanding that Liu Hong never redeem Chen Mengmeng.

At this point, Chen Mengmeng had effectively become Liu Hong's mistress. However, during a social gathering, Chen Mengmeng, skilled in playing the zither, performed a piece for Murong Yuliang. This performance, however, caught Murong Yuliang's eye.

Although Murong Yuliang held immense power and was the local tyrant of the entire Jianghuai region, he was, after all, an old man over fifty. Therefore, Chen Mengmeng, who was in the prime of her youth, did not want to submit to him. However, under the intimidation of Murong Yuliang's power, Chen Mengmeng had no choice but to swallow her pride and serve him.

Chen Mengmeng thought she would just consider this a mistake, but unexpectedly, the middle-aged Murong Yuliang became addicted to the taste and even became somewhat infatuated with Chen Mengmeng, wanting her to follow him and become his mistress.

Unwilling to submit to the old man, Chen Mengmeng pinned her hopes on her good brother, Liu Hong, expecting him to resolve the matter. Liu Hong was also furious at Murong Yuliang's sudden appearance; after all, since he and Chen Mengmeng became involved, she had become his personal possession, and hadn't served anyone else. If it weren't for his father's orders, he would have already redeemed Chen Mengmeng and kept her as his mistress…
If it were anyone else coveting Chen Mengmeng, he, the son of the Jiangnan undercover agent, would have already made them go in with white knives and come out with red knives, so they would know how powerful he, Young Master Liu, was. However, the person who cuckolded him was none other than his father's superior, Murong Yuliang, the governor of Jianghuai.

When Liu Hong learned that it was Murong Yuliang who did it, he was furious but deflated like a punctured balloon. Although he knew that even his father couldn't afford to offend Murong Yuliang, he still talked to his father about it under the instigation of the beauty, trying to ask Murong Yuliang to stop coveting Chen Mengmeng!

When Liu Yufeng heard about this, he was furious. He wasn't angry that Murong Yuliang had cheated on his son, but that his son Liu Hong was so clueless. He actually wanted to compete with the governor for a woman, and even wanted to go and tell the governor to stop harassing Chen Mengmeng. This wasn't just being brainless; it was practically courting death!
For this, Liu Yufeng gave Liu Hong a severe beating and confined him for three months to completely sever his relationship with Chen Mengmeng.

Without Liu Hong's help, Chen Mengmeng was naturally no match for the intimidation of the powerful Jianghuai Governor Q, and had no choice but to submit to this old man who could be her father or even her grandfather!
At the time, Liu Yufeng could never have imagined he would be where he is today, much less that Chen Mengmeng, the courtesan he once looked down upon, would one day become his lifeline...
Thinking of this, Liu Yufeng looked at his son and instructed him:

"Does Chen Mengmeng know who gave Murong Yuliang money? I heard that Murong Yuliang treated her well and bought her a small courtyard. Some people who gave gifts to Murong Yuliang also sent money to Chen Mengmeng, who then passed it on to Murong Yuliang!"

Hearing his father ask this, Liu Hong understood what his father wanted to do. After thinking carefully, he replied:
"Chen Mengmeng should have some dirt on Murong Yuliang. She told me before that she has a small ledger where she records all the people who gave gifts to Murong Yuliang!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yufeng was overjoyed and quickly said:
"Liu Hong, this is the thing. Get your hands on it as soon as possible. Also, have Chen Mengmeng gather more dirt on Murong Liang!"

Upon hearing his father's instructions, Liu Hong hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Dad! Mengmeng might not be able to give it to me. She said it's her trump card!"

Before Liu Hong could finish speaking, Liu Yufeng angrily cursed:

"You bastard, you can't even tell what's important now. She might not even be able to give it to you. I'm asking you, in your eyes, is this bitch more important, or are your father, your mother, and your younger siblings more important? Do you know that if your father really falls, our family will be completely finished!"

"Those bastards are heartless, actors are unfaithful. When I go to jail and our family is ruined, you'll see if that stinking bastard will even talk to you!"

"You think this bitch is interested in you? If you weren't my son, do you think she'd even give you the time of day?" His father's words filled Liu Honghong with shame. He lowered his head and said:
"Father, don't say anymore, I know what to do!"

"I don't care what methods you use, whether it's stealing or robbing, you must get your hands on Chen Mengmeng's account books. Ideally, you should get Chen Mengmeng to help you gather evidence against Murong Yuliang. Our family is on the verge of life and death this time, Liu Hong, you really need to be careful..."

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Ande County, Shandong Province

Dressed as a traveling merchant, Ye Mingsheng looked at the spotless streets and the clean-dressed people, and his expression became playful. Just yesterday, he entered the Qilu region from Youyan. Although Ye Mingsheng had given orders that Ma Runchuan, the governor of Qilu, did not need to come to greet him personally, Ma Runchuan still sent his deputy governor, Wang Changfu, to the border between Youyan and Qilu to welcome him.

Upon seeing Wang Changfu, Ye Mingsheng realized that his entire itinerary had been arranged by these people. If he were to tour and inspect the place under their guidance, he would not see anything of substance, but only what these bastards wanted him to see!

So after meeting Wang Changfu, Ye Mingsheng decided to shake him off and go on a clandestine visit!
So he ordered Zhang Hu to lead the main force to catch up slowly, while he himself, along with a few trusted guards, infiltrated further into Ande County to see what these people had prepared for him.

What he was seeing was largely within his expectations. After all, these people definitely wanted to show him their best side, while concealing as much of the bad as possible...
After strolling around the county town, Ye Mingsheng led his men to the front of a Fuwang Grain Store. The store had a fairly large storefront, and there were some people gathered around it. But what was strange was that no one seemed to be buying any grain and leaving.

Seeing a grain store that seemed a bit odd, Ye Mingsheng went over and, pretending to buy some grain, asked:

"How much is this grain, buddy?"

Faced with Ye Mingsheng's question, the young waiter instinctively wanted to say something, but before he could utter a word, he realized something, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"Three qian of silver per shi!"

Upon hearing this price, Ye Mingsheng was also taken aback. In Rao'an Prefecture, not far away, aged rice cost five qian of silver per shi, and that was only because Zhang Dafu had suppressed the price of rice. Otherwise, in this year of famine, the price of grain would likely have soared to seven qian of silver per shi. The famine in Qilu was much more severe than that in Youyan, so three qian of silver per shi was simply too cheap.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng glanced at the waiter in front of him and the crowd around him who refused to leave, and then spoke:
"That's quite cheap, give me two stones!"

Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, the young waiter didn't prepare the food for Ye Mingsheng as quickly as usual. Instead, he looked at Ye Mingsheng with some difficulty, then turned to the shopkeeper for help...
Although the shopkeeper hadn't come over yet, Ye Mingsheng, who had witnessed this scene, already knew exactly what was going on.

Now that he already knew the answer, Ye Mingsheng was too lazy to press for details. He smiled, shook his head, and then turned and left.

After leaving the grain store, Ye Mingsheng saw an old man carrying two chicks heading towards the market. Ye Mingsheng immediately went over and stopped the old man to ask:

"Sir, please wait a moment, I have a question for you!"

The elderly man, who had been stopped, looked warily at Ye Mingsheng and the others in front of you before speaking:
"Young man, I have something to discuss with you. Can you ask someone else instead?"

"Sir, I only have a few words to say, it won't take you too long!"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng's earnest and polite words, the old man lowered his guard slightly and spoke:
"Is the current state of the city related to His Majesty's arrival?"

The old man glanced at Ye Mingsheng and said:
"There's good news in the city!"

Ye Mingsheng asked in surprise:
"Sir, do you think this is a good thing?"

"Of course it's a good thing. Now we live in peace and prosperity, the country is at peace and the people are happy. If you say this isn't a good thing, then what is?"

Ye Mingsheng was stunned upon hearing this, and after hesitating for two seconds, he said again:
"Sir, do you really think so?"

The old man glanced at Ye Mingsheng and slowly said:
"Young man, do you have eyes?"

"Of course there is! Sir, why do you say that?"

"It's good that you have eyes. You don't believe what you see yourself and insist that I tell you. You just want to hear nice things, right? Now I'll give you the nice things..."