My younger sister insisted on marrying me and made me the Marquis' wife.

Chapter 246 It takes no effort at all

Gu Shiliu answered carefully, "It is true, but I don't know if it is true or not. He is a man who can endure. He has endured for so many days before. It is unreasonable that he can't endure for the last time. He was going to die anyway, so it is not impossible that he talked nonsense before his death. However, what he said is consistent with what Cheng Ge'er and the others did. Maybe there is someone in the upper room who is secretly in contact with him."

The room was filled with dark shadows, making it suffocating.

"Very good," Gu Jinghui said after a while, "Do you think they know?"

Here they were referring to the twin boy and girl born to Zhao. Gu Shiliu hesitated and did not dare to answer.

Gu Jinghui didn’t embarrass him anymore, and changed the subject, asking coldly, “How is the arrangement going for Mr. Liu?”

Gu Shiliu said: "I'm afraid it has turned to ashes by now."

Gu Jinghui asked again: “Did the servant ask clearly?”

"After asking him clearly, he only helped to release the item that time, and didn't do anything else. This time, the man surnamed Liu asked him to send the letter after he opened the mansion, saying that his family would give him ten taels of gold. It happened that Brother Qi's mother heard it."

"Well, whose child is he?"

"He is the nephew of Steward Zhang's family. His father went to the battlefield and came back with a lame leg. He was raised on the farm, so Steward Zhang promoted him to serve in the mansion. I didn't expect him to do such a thing."

Gu Jinghui thought for a moment and said, “After he’s punished, send him to the farm. From now on, don’t transfer his family members to the military camp or the mansion.”

Gu Shiliu agreed and asked, "What about Butler Zhang?"

Gu Jinghui said, “Have someone keep a closer eye on him. Is it because of an unintentional mistake or something else? After all, he is an old man in the mansion. His family has served the old marquis for generations. Even if he is transferred, there must be a legitimate reason.”

"I am just angry. If he hadn't been lax in his discipline, this wouldn't have happened."

Gu Jinghui said, “You also said that it was due to poor discipline. If there is any punishment, it is just a fine plus a reprimand. If it is more, someone will complain. We are all people employed by the old generation. In front of the old lady, our status is sometimes greater than mine. The lady is reviewing the account book. If there is anything, please bring it to her for review.”

This means we have to wait until my wife has sorted out the accounts before we can attack them all at once.

Gu Shiliu understood what he meant and said, "Then I will go and ask Hongye."

It's said to be asking, but in fact it's just urging, or giving a hint or two.

Gu Jinghui said “hmm” and asked again: “What about the Xu family…”

Gu Shiliu moved his feet nervously and said, "Shiba is still investigating. The casino where the Xu family members stayed is the private property of the King of Jin. I'm afraid they all know about the usury."

This gets a little tricky.

If the Prince of Jin wants to cause trouble for the Marquis' Mansion, he can just start with the Xu family and he will always be able to link it up.

Gu Jinghui frowned in disgust, and after a long while he said, “I see. Before the matter is fully investigated, there is no need to tell Lao Liu. Let him concentrate on writing poetry and painting.”

Seeing that he had nothing to order, Gu Shiliu went out to look for Gu Shiba.

In the dark night, two big men were talking through the small window that had just been opened at the corner door, hunched over and looking a little uncomfortable.

"Why is the investigation of the Xu family so slow?" Gu Shiba complained: "Can you blame me for this? The mansion only gave me so many people. One moment I have to investigate the idlers outside the mansion gate, and the next I have to investigate the Xu family. I haven't found Xu Zhen and Zhao yet. I don't know how to report to the Marquis."

Gu Shiliu comforted him, "There is nothing we can do about it. The mansion is sealed now, so it will tire you out. If the Marquis scolds you, you will have a reason to say so. But you have to find a way to investigate the Xu family as soon as possible. After all, once the mansion is opened, they will come to make trouble. It is unavoidable. The Marquis is a bit troubled, and Sixth Master can't do anything about it."

"What about Xu Zhen?"

Gu Shiba was puzzled. The Xu family was making trouble just for Xu Zhen. If they could find Xu Zhen, they wouldn't have to make trouble.

"The more time goes by, the less hope there is for Xu Zhen. The capital is so big, isn't it easy to hide someone? If he was really kidnapped, he might not even be in the capital anymore. I'm not asking you not to investigate, but you're too busy, so just do something that can be effective first."

Gu Shiba responded sullenly, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Sixteenth Brother, the price of pepper changes every day, and it has already dropped to 45 taels of silver per pound. Shen Changle said that this is not enough, and he wants to spread the word that the Xu family seems to have followed the Sixth Madam into the pepper business, and they are cursing and jumping up and down at home."

Gu Shiliu chuckled through the small window and said, "No hurry, Madam hasn't ordered to buy yet. Please send a message to Shiqi for me, telling him that the price of pepper in the capital has dropped sharply, and ask him to keep an eye on the price changes in other provinces. If there is anything, send a message back so that I can report to Madam and let her know that we have become members and worry about it together."

Gu Shiba nodded admiringly.

Gu Shiliu thought for a moment and said, "You can go and ask the people about the pepper purchase in Xujiatun. The last time the Xu family came, I saw that the Xu family was not united."

"Sixteenth brother is smart, I will follow you. If the Marquis blames me, you will have to help me resolve the issue."

"Of course," Gu Shiliu said, "You go and get busy. It's tiring for us to talk through a small window. When you see Shen Changle, urge him to print his poetry collection quickly. After opening the mansion, Sixth Master will have to go out more. There are many festivals to come, and it would be good to distribute the poetry collection everywhere to spread his fame."

Gu Shiliu was feeling very depressed in the mansion. He was thinking about Shuhai Pavilion and always wanted to teach them a lesson.

Gu Shiba also knew about this, and immediately said, "Don't worry, Brother Shiliu, we will go to Shuhai Pavilion together and let them open their eyes and take a good look."

After chatting, the two of them hurriedly dispersed.

Gu Shiliu was walking back slowly while blowing a whistle. Suddenly he felt the urge to pee. Seeing that there was no one around, he went under a flower stand to relieve himself.

When I was halfway through peeing, I saw a sneaky figure moving towards the wall.

Gu Shiliu immediately stopped moving and held his breath to see what the figure was going to do.

The man hunched over, groped at the base of the wall for a while, then stopped, dug a few times inside, kicked it lightly with his feet, and then quietly slipped away along the base of the wall.

Gu Shiliu didn't care that half of his pants was wet. He imitated the sound of insects in a low voice and spread the message. He then quietly followed the man all the way to the upper room.

"It really is effortless to get it," Gu Shiliu sighed in his heart.

The man had already walked under the light and shadow, and said to the gatekeeper with a smile: "I just had diarrhea, so I squatted for a long time."

The gatekeeper said, "It's okay. You stand there for me for a while. I'll go get some water and bring a lantern."

Gu Shiliu memorized the old woman's appearance, then quietly turned back and stood guard at the foot of the wall.

The guard he called over had already taken out something, which was a small scroll wrapped in oil paper. When it was opened, it was a note full of coded words, and no one knew what it meant.

Gu Shiliu stuffed the things back and asked people to watch around to see who would come to take them.