Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

Upon hearing the name Wang Hu, Zhang Qian's expression changed instantly, and his voice betrayed his anger.

"He's the worst kind of scoundrel! He coerced Liu Yuniang into collecting many girls in their teens or even younger for him, but instead of keeping them for himself, he hired many people from brothels to teach and instruct them, and then..."

Thinking of the spy's report, Zhang Qian sighed heavily, "And then those girls disappeared without a trace."

Li Jinzhi asked in surprise, "What do you mean? They're all gone? Or were they all... killed?"

Zhang Qian said, "If they were killed, why go to the trouble of finding someone to teach and instruct them? My lord, I dare to speculate that these so-called skilled girls might have been given away by Wang Hu to someone else?"

Following the guess, Li Jinzhi asked, "Others? You mean wealthy landowners and merchants from various places?"

But after saying that, Li Jinzhi shook his head again: "No, Wang Hu is the Crown Prince's man. He has no reason to do such dirty things behind his master's back, unless... he gave those girls to princes, ministers, and even princes and heirs. I bet he gave quite a few to the palace too, right?"

Zhang Qian agreed, saying, "In order to help the Crown Prince smooth things over, they are essentially spies planted by the Crown Prince."

The two of them deduced that the result was basically correct.

Although Wei Wujiu did not respond, he also had this suspicion. Such things are quite common, and a wave of cases is uncovered almost every few years. However, it is rare to find someone like Wang Hu who can follow the clues to the end.

"Don't make a fuss about it yet. I'll wait until tomorrow and then conduct a covert investigation."

As Wei Wujiu spoke, he also began to devise a plan for when he went to the Dingxian government office the next day, and then he whispered even more to the two of them.

The next day, early in the morning, the four of them set off on horseback and arrived in Ding County after noon.

Walking through the streets and alleys, people come and go, vendors hawk their wares, and the peaceful and contented life shows no sign of anything amiss.

Lin Wantang entrusted Xuanli to Li Jinzhi for care, and she quickly walked into the market. When she came out again not long after, she was carrying several kinds of food in her arms, all of which were hot and sweet.

Although she didn't know that her words last night had offended Wei Wujiu, she didn't want him to remain cold and distant. So, carrying a pile of food, she approached him and asked, "Brother Wei, you didn't eat much for lunch, are you hungry?"

Upon hearing the word "Brother Wei," Li Jinzhi quickly turned his face away, trying to suppress the urge to smile, but he couldn't.

Wei Wujiu was chatting with an old man, mainly trying to find out about Wang Hu's life and reputation in Ding County. The old man was timid and didn't dare to say much, and left in a hurry.

Wei Wujiu finally withdrew his gaze after a long while, glancing at Lin Wantang indifferently: "What did you call me?"

"Brother Wei? Is that not allowed? Then..." Lin Wantang frowned helplessly. Since the four of them needed to conceal their identities, they could not address each other as the Governor. "Then I don't know what to call you."

"Call me Brother Wei," Wei Wujiu corrected, but then hesitated and changed his address: "No, change the surname, anything is fine."

Lin Wantang was surprised. Anything was fine, but she couldn't just come up with anything. How about she let him take her surname, Lin?

She was about to ask when Li Jinzhi suddenly blurted out, "Call him Wang Dazhuang! My name is Wang Erniu, and his name is Cui Sanbao!"

This name is not just random, it's downright ridiculous.

Zhang Qian, who was drinking water, almost choked. He coughed a few times, slammed the kettle shut, and without saying a word, grabbed Li Jinzhi by the neck and was about to assault him.

Wei Wujiu let the two of them joke around for a while, then thought for a moment and said with a smile, "A rough name is fine, but the surname can't be the same. Don't worry about these things."

Lin Wantang wanted to ask what her name should be, but after hearing this, she didn't say anything more.

The four of them wandered around the town a few more times, and in order to attract attention, they dressed up as people on a parade and bought a lot of things before finally detouring to the brothel.

Unlike the emperor's palace, this estate, which has no official name, belongs to Crown Prince Shen Huai'an. Although it is his private property, it is often used to entertain passing travelers, which is beneficial to the people and also allows the manager to earn some extra money.

Wei Wujiu led his horse forward and knocked on the door first. When the servant came out, he bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "My name is Li Yu. I am traveling with a few sworn brothers to enjoy the scenery. We happened to pass through this esteemed place. We wonder if we could stay here for a few days?"

The servant returned the greeting, unfazed by such behavior. He glanced at the group of people walking behind Wei Wujiu, and in that single glance, he froze in shock.

The group of four, setting aside their attire and horses, were all handsome and refined in appearance. In particular, three of them were so tall and long-legged, with broad shoulders and narrow waists, that they were so striking that they resembled deities and commanded respect.

The last one was rather short, but he was handsome with delicate features and fair skin. Such a young man with red lips and white teeth was truly... a rare sight.

Moreover, the four of them were dressed in embroidered satin and Shu brocade, and the horses they led looked strong and fierce.

No matter how you look at it, these four people are definitely not ordinary.

While the servant was stunned, Li Jinzhi stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting: "My name is Wang Biao, and this gentleman beside me is my younger brother, Wang Mang. As his name suggests, he is a bit impulsive and straightforward. I hope you will not take offense."

Zhang Qian was half a step behind, and then Li Jinzhi made such a fuss about him. He silently clenched his fists.

Only Lin Wantang remained. She cleared her throat, intending to speak again, but Wei Wujiu interrupted her, saying, "That's my cousin, Lin Che."

The servant nodded blankly, then, feeling it was impolite, bowed again. Hesitantly, he asked, "It's alright to stay here; there are many rooms in the courtyard. But may I ask... where do you gentlemen come from?"

"The Land of Joy in Shu," Wei Wujiu said eloquently.

The servant blinked, quickly said "wait a moment," and ran inside.

A moment later, the servant brought out the steward, who was also from Sichuan. He immediately greeted the four of them with a smile, but spoke in Sichuan dialect, clearly testing their intentions.

Fortunately, Wei Wujiu had fought and camped in Shu for two years, and was familiar with a lot of Shu dialect. He could speak it fluently, so the steward, who had been away from his homeland for a long time, could not tell anything was wrong. He only felt that the local accent was rare and particularly warm.

The steward hurriedly welcomed the group into the courtyard and instructed his servants to have someone look after the horses.

Wei Wujiu led the four of them around the courtyard one by one and set up rooms for them. Wei Wujiu gave the steward a gold ingot. When the steward was in a panic, he also saw that Wei Wujiu took out an embroidered pouch full of silver notes.

The steward was wary and didn't dare accept the gold ingot. After busily taking care of the guests, he left a few servants behind and then left under the pretext of having something to do.

After going to the backyard, the steward told Wang Hu about the four people's situation.

Wang Hu, puffing on his pipe and yawning, emerged from the inner room with a sleepy look on his face. Inside, a pretty young woman, disheveled, was huddled in a corner, sobbing.

"What are you crying for? You're lucky to serve me!" Wang Hu roared in annoyance, then, too lazy to care any further, sat down and said to the butler, "From what you're saying, those four people are quite important?"