Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 289 288 Gu Zhili's Abnormal Behavior
"Humph!"

Zheng Muwen snorted coldly, opened the food box on his lap, and picked up some snacks to eat.

He gave his opinion with a stern face: "Sumei, don't make it so sweet next time."

Zheng Sumei, holding Cheng Aimei's arm, smiled broadly and said, "I know, Dad."

She turned to Cheng Aimei and asked, "Honey, what happened? I was just going out to deliver snacks to the guests, and it felt like only a blink of an eye, and here I am—and you too, weren't you selling leather shoes in the city?"

Cheng Aimei glanced at Feng Xiuhu pacing back and forth in front of her and whispered, "Don't ask. We're already here, so just watch."

Zheng Sumei was in a hurry to get back to her business and muttered under her breath, "My shop isn't closed yet."

Cheng Aimei patted the back of her hand: "Don't be afraid. If anyone dares to steal from our family, someone will stand up for us."

……

Feng Xiuhu passed by the Duke of Daguo and noticed that the Duke's expression was not good.

The Duke of Daguo was sitting in the first row, making it difficult for him not to notice him.

To be fair, although he tacitly approved of Vadracho's plan to convert officials to Christianity, the Grand Duke did not actually want to see this situation.

He had considered the worst-case scenario: that Feng Xiuhu would use coercion and bribery to forcibly bring in a few unimportant officials—because the higher their rank and the more power they wielded, the less likely they were to agree to Feng Xiuhu's unreasonable demand.

I never expected it to be so lively today.

He didn't know how Feng Xiuhu had done it, and he didn't have time to care about that right now—what the Duke of Daguo urgently needed to think about was what kind of consequences this incident would have.

Lost in thought, Feng Xiuhu took the initiative to greet him: "Something on your mind?"

The Duke of Daguo raised his head and smiled slightly at Feng Xiuhu: "Father Feng, you have some good skills."

Feng Xiuhu laughed too: "Why do I feel like you're unhappy?"

The Duke smiled and shook his head: "That's not true. I'm very pleased that the church has such a talented person as Father Feng."

Feng Xiuhu looked around and found that Wei Su'e was not there, so he asked, "Why didn't the Duchess come?"

The Duke raised an eyebrow slightly and said without any hesitation, "Doesn't Father Feng know? Madam was easily misled by treacherous people and almost brought disaster upon herself. In order to give the church an explanation, I have ordered her to return to Taijing to reflect on her actions."

Feng Xiuhu was taken aback. If he was going to reflect on his actions, then so be it. But what was the point of sending him to Taijing?

Regardless of whether it was appropriate or not, Feng Xiuhu asked directly, "Why do you insist on going to Taijing to reflect on your actions?"

The Duke of Daguo replied matter-of-factly: "The Madam is the President's younger sister. She made a mistake in her husband's family. I asked her family to help me discipline her. What's wrong with that?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded in realization. This was indeed someone else's business, and he didn't ask any more questions.

But then, what should Hong Shenghuo investigate?
Feng Xiuhu suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen Hong Shenghuo for a while.

Just then, the church bells rang.

This means the prayer ceremony is about to begin.

Feng Xiuhu bid a brief farewell to the Duke of Daguo and turned to walk outside.

Finding Shunzi at the door, Feng Xiuhu asked him, "Is everyone here?"

Shunzi handed him the list and the box full of money together: "Everyone on the list is correct."

Feng Xiuhu nodded and took it.

Shunzi pointed to the few empty boxes that had appeared at his feet and asked, "Brother, did you prepare too many boxes?"

Feng Xiuhu smiled and said, "Not many, let's keep waiting. I reckon more people will come."

Shunzi tilted his head: "Believers? Believers are rarely late." Feng Xiuhu shook his head: "They are officials. Remember, if the rest of the group wants to come in, make them buy tickets—charge them double the ransom."

After giving his instructions, Feng Xiuhu picked up the money box and walked out.

When he arrived at the entrance of the Grand Hall, he saw rows of luxurious carriages parked on the street, and officials sent by the Duke hurriedly walking inside.

Qin Xiuyuan was leading the way.

He also spotted Feng Xiuhu, but made no move to greet him.

Feng Xiuhu didn't mind and took the initiative to greet him: "Director Qin, you're so late? The Duke of Daguo has been waiting for you for ages."

Qin Xiuyuan snorted coldly and continued walking inside.

Feng Xiuhu quickly stopped him: "I'm just giving you a friendly reminder. If you don't have enough money, hurry home and get it. Starting today, you'll have to pray to buy tickets."

Qin Xiuyuan's expression changed: "What kind of logic is this?"

Feng Xiuhu responded with a cold laugh: "I made my decision. Don't blame me for not speaking frankly. I may not remember who entered this door today, but I remember very clearly who didn't—I suppose the Duke of Daguo's memory is no worse than mine."

He glanced at the officials on the steps and said, "So instead of wasting time arguing with me here, you should hurry home and get your money. Otherwise, you'll be stuck at the door and won't be able to get in, and then it will be too late to regret it."

As soon as these words were spoken, some people immediately turned around and walked back, which then led to even more people leaving.

After saying this, Feng Xiuhu ignored them and walked down the steps.

Standing on the side of the street, looking left and right, Gu Zhili led Da Mazi and Er Mazi out of an alley after a short while.

Both DaMaZi and ErMaZi were dressed in formal Western suits, and when they stood on either side of Gu Zhili, they looked like bodyguards.

Feng Xiuhu handed the money box to them and said to Gu Zhili, "Take it home and let Xiyao count it and put it in the account."

Gu Zhili looked at the heavy money box and felt it was burning hot.

She couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "By doing this, you've offended the entire government office. I'm afraid you might easily accept the money, but not be able to keep it safe."

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand: "Whether it's safe or not is my business. I said I would collect tribute silver in the upper city, so the money must be in my hands. This is just an appetizer. Once they get used to it, we should let them taste the same methods we used to collect tribute silver in the lower city."

Gu Zhili's eyes were complicated: "Could it be that you're helping the people of Dicheng vent their anger?"

Feng Xiuhu retorted, "Why should I stand up for the people of Dicheng? If they're really angry, they should vent it themselves. What does it have to do with me?"

Gu Zhili expressed her incomprehension: "Then why is that?"

Feng Xiuhu said confidently, "Because I am a very reasonable person. I have already accepted the tribute money from the lower and lower cities. If I don't accept it from the upper city, the people there will say that I am biased."

Gu Zhili thought he was having another episode, so she led Da Mazi and Er Mazi away.

Watching the three figures disappear around the street corner, Feng Xiuhu stood there and continued to wait.

A short while later, Sanmazi, disguised, appeared in front of Feng Xiuhu.

The two reached a secluded spot, and Sanmazi said with a look of indignation, "Squad leader, you were right, that woman was indeed acting strangely."

Feng Xiuhu's gaze darkened: "Explain yourself more clearly."

Sanmazi explained the whole story: "In the morning, she sent the brothers out to stake out the place, but she went out alone. I could tell from her sneaky appearance that she was up to no good, so I followed her with extra caution."

“I followed her all the way and saw her enter Baicao Lane. The road there was narrow and the environment was not as complicated as the main street, so I did not follow her in rashly. I just hid at the entrance of the lane and observed. I found that she went into a pharmacy.”

"She was standing at the entrance of the pharmacy, looking around cautiously, and only went inside after confirming it was safe. So she must have been up to something."

"After a while, she came out carrying a bundle of medicine packets. I saw that she was walking back and was afraid of bumping into her, so I quickly slipped away—I went back to my lodgings to wait. But guess what? When that woman got home, the medicine packets were nowhere to be seen. Although I don't know where she hid them, such concealment must mean she's hiding something."

(End of this chapter)