They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 422 Searching for Someone in the Middle of the Night
"Are you kidding me? Mrs. Xu never came to our house."

"Isn't this going too far in the middle of the night?"

Mu Xiang hurriedly took out the invitation, "Master Zeng, please check if this is an invitation from your household. My mistress and Granny Qin Qing are here today to attend the banquet. The coachman is a servant from the village of Loujia. We don't know what's going on. Maybe—what exactly did your family do!"

Madam Zeng sneered, "You should watch your words, girl. You're slandering our family without any evidence. Do you really think we're easy to bully? This invitation is indeed from our family, but we later decided that holding a banquet today was inappropriate, so we didn't hold it. Your wife didn't come either. If you don't believe me, just ask our servants or the neighbors in this alley."

"Humph!"

Muxiang choked.

Zeng Xiaojuan: "Since the invitation is genuine, and Madam Xu did go out to attend the banquet today, how come she didn't come? Did Mother send someone to inform Madam Xu that the banquet was canceled at the last minute?"

Madam Zeng said lazily, "I don't know about that. You should ask Madam Wen. It was Madam Wen who sent the invitation to Madam Xu."

Master Zeng: "Go and invite the eldest young mistress here."

After the young master Zeng and his wife finished their work, the young master Zeng was also dumbfounded.

"What? You mean Madam Xu went out today? That's impossible, Madam Xu didn't come."

"Really, I swear! If you don't believe me, ask around yourselves!"

Madam Zeng then took the opportunity to scold her daughter-in-law, whom she disliked, for venting her anger: "How dare you say that? Look at how you behave!"

The young mistress of the Zeng family swallowed her anger and dared not speak out.

Where are we supposed to ask around so late at night? We can't exactly knock on every door in this alley, can we?
Liang Lizheng and the others could only patiently wait for dawn.

Liang Lizheng: "We will inquire. If Madam Xu is really missing, we have no other choice but to report it to the authorities. Magistrate Lu is wise and I believe he will have a solution."

Madam Zeng sneered: "That would be perfect!"

Mrs. Zeng was filled with doubt and suspicion. She subconsciously felt that this matter was related to her mother-in-law, but she dared not say anything, much less ask her mother-in-law.

She has no evidence.

Now we can only pray that Madam Xu is found soon and safe, otherwise the Zeng family may not be able to extricate themselves from the situation.
Everyone anxiously awaited dawn.

After daybreak, Liang Lizheng and others hurriedly inquired.

Residents of the street all said that the Zeng family did not hold a banquet yesterday, and they did not see any guests coming and going.

Madam Xu? What Madam Xu? I didn't see her.

They went to Loujia Village again, but the driver did not return.

In other words, Xu Zhichun, Granny Qin Qing, and the coachman have all disappeared.

Something has definitely gone wrong.

Liang, the village head, dared not delay and promptly reported the matter to the authorities.

Lord Lu was also startled.

Madam Shanci must not be harmed.

Lord Lu ordered Constable Yu to lead a search party and make sure to find Madam Shanci.

Yu's men quickly discovered the abandoned mule cart that had sunk into the water and the mules that had already been killed.

The mule died from a fatal stab wound to its carotid artery; the wound was swift and clean, indicating it was the work of a skilled martial artist.

It wasn't that he underestimated the Zeng family; the Zeng family simply couldn't find someone like him.

My sister-in-law is really in trouble.

Fortunately, no other discoveries were made, and he deduced that the other party must have kidnapped the person.

Although their whereabouts are still unknown, it's almost certain they're still alive. Officer Yu doesn't really believe this has nothing to do with the Zeng family.

Without the Zeng family's invitation, my sister-in-law wouldn't have gone out, and therefore wouldn't have disappeared.

The Zeng family promised to host a banquet but didn't actually hold one, nor did they inform my sister-in-law. This is very suspicious, and this alone is enough to warrant our apologies.

Master Zeng, Madam Zeng, the eldest son, and the eldest daughter-in-law were all arrested by Constable Yu and taken back to the yamen. He sent people to guard the gate of the Zeng residence, and the other members of the Zeng family were ordered to stay in the residence and not to go out. Before the truth came out, two people were allowed to go out to buy groceries for a limited time every three days.

Officer Yu then sent men to check the carriages and cars that left the city yesterday and today, and to look for any suspicious people.

Lord Lu was also very worried after hearing Constable Yu's report. He instructed Constable Yu to investigate, but to keep it a secret and to keep it confidential as much as possible.

After all, making a big fuss would not be good for Madam Xu's reputation.

Officer Yu accepted the order.

Lord Lu then instructed, "Find two or three skilled and quick-witted people to be placed in the county school to secretly protect Liang Mingxuan."

"Yes, my lord."

"You go and interrogate the Zeng family members, but be careful not to go too far. I will not interfere in this matter."

"Yes."

The Zeng family had just donated grain, so it would be more difficult for Magistrate Lu to interrogate them personally; it would be better to avoid it altogether.

Officer Yu didn't have as many concerns about the Zeng family.

Apart from the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zeng family, who remained silent, the other three members of the Zeng family were furious, angrily accusing, protesting, and crying out for injustice.

"Injustice?" Constable Yu sneered, "You can't be wronged. If it weren't for the invitations from your household, this wouldn't have happened. What injustice have you committed?"

"But the banquet was never held, and Madam Xu never visited our home."

"Since the banquet has been cancelled, why not send someone to inform Madam Xu?"

"But we forgot at the time that it was our oversight, and we admit our mistake, but nothing else is our problem."

"We want to see Lord Lu."

"Yes, we want to see Lord Lu and ask him to handle this matter impartially."

Constable Yu sneered: "To see Lord Lu? You are not worthy. I have had people investigate, and the so-called banquet on that day is a complete lie. You did not send invitations to any other ladies or young women. None of the families that have regular dealings with your family received an invitation. But your young mistress personally came to invite Madam Xu. Why is that?"

The Zeng family's expressions changed as they looked at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Madam Zeng gave a bitter laugh: "It was all my mother's instruction to deliver the invitation to Madam Xu. Everything else was arranged by my mother herself, and I knew nothing about it."

Madam Zeng, however, turned hostile and glared at her fiercely: "You, Wen Shi, are you trying to push everything onto me? Everyone in the household knows you're in charge. When did it become my arrangement? I know nothing about it!"

"Mother, you!"

"Tell Officer Yu everything you need to say. Be honest and tell the truth, so as not to implicate your family."

"Mother."

Mrs. Zeng never expected this.

Young Master Zeng was already annoyed: "Enough, Wen Shi! What kind of work are you doing? Look at the mess you've made! What are you doing hiding things now? Do you want to get your whole family killed? Speak up now!"

Grandpa Zeng looked at his daughter-in-law with suspicion, "Ms. Wen, tell the truth quickly."

"I've said everything I needed to say, everything I needed to say!"

Mrs. Zeng never expected that she would be attacked by her entire family. Before the government could even say anything, her own family members were already criticizing her.

Mrs. Zeng broke down in tears.