Chapter Eighteen Interrogation

  As soon as he mentioned this little person, Wang Si Ping obviously became very excited: "It's actually the second steward Gao Cheng! He was originally just a small purchasing officer at the outer court, but because he had won the favor of the big madam, he was promoted to be in charge of purchasing. Now he has climbed up to the position of second steward in the mansion. This time when he returned to the south, his name was not on the list of personnel following the master, and it's unknown who among the masters had spoken out for him, inserting him into the group at the last minute. Along the way, he didn't hesitate to fawn over Master Hou, speaking and acting in a way that flattered those above him while trampling on those below him. He often spoke ill of Old Madam and Second Master in front of Master Hou, saying things that weren't true about them. If it wasn't for his constant whispering in Master Hou's ear, how could Master Hou have become so confused as to not even try to save Old Madam and Second Master?"

  The King of Guangping raised an eyebrow. Big Granny? Wasn't that the one Zhao, that little kid mentioned?

  Zhang also thought of this, if Gao Cheng is really Jiang's person, then the inside story of this little man's flattery is not so simple. Unexpectedly, she was soft-hearted for a moment and couldn't bear to see Zhao Ze's ignorant child's future completely destroyed, and actually ruined her own son and daughter-in-law!

  Zhang's breath didn't come up, and he fainted on the spot. The people in the tent were momentarily panicked. The King of Guangping hastily ordered someone to send Zhang back to his carriage to rest, and continued to interrogate Wang Sipeng: "You said that Gao Cheng, this villain, slandered the Marquis of Jianan, and the Marquis was so cold-blooded and ruthless. What if there was no Gao Cheng? Would the Marquis abandon his stepmother and brothers and let them die without saving them? Would he order someone to kill the people who escaped from the sinking ship to silence them?"

  Wang Siping hesitated, he actually wanted to say that it wouldn't happen, but thinking about how Master Jian Nanhou was being manipulated by a mere steward, he didn't dare to make any promises. Otherwise, wouldn't it be too embarrassing for a noble lord like him to be controlled by someone so inferior? In the end, all he could say was: "If not for the meddling of small-minded people, perhaps Master Jian Nanhou would have been dissatisfied with Old Lady and Second Master, perhaps he would have turned a blind eye to their plight, but it wouldn't have gone as far as completely eliminating them, not even sparing the servants..."

  That is to say, it's unlikely that she will let her stepmother and younger brother off easily.

  Guangping King had a plan in mind, and he couldn't help but frown at the character of Jian Nan Hou. Such an unvirtuous and evil person was truly unworthy to be a descendant of the old Duke's bloodline! Even if he spared his life for the sake of the old Duke, he would never reuse him again in the future.

  He asked Wang Siping again, "When Jian Nanhou left in such a hurry, what did he instruct you to do before he left? Did he just instruct you to collect the bodies of the old lady and Zhao Er's father and take them back home?"

  Wang Siping replied in a low voice: "Master Hou originally planned to send people to find everyone on the sunken ships, whether dead or alive, and not let anyone survive. After that, he would just say it was an accident due to strong winds and heavy rains. However, someone found us and said they rescued one person. Master Hou was afraid of leaking the news, so he claimed it wasn't our people and sent someone to silence them, instructing them to return directly to the villa in Gaotang after completing the task, without coming back to the ship, to avoid being discovered. Gao Cheng also advised Master Hou that since the merchant group who rescued the person must have heard something from him, it's better to just eliminate everyone and bury them in a remote area where no one would find out."

  Guangping King sneered coldly: "This Gao Cheng is really capable, not letting go of anyone unrelated, indeed a petty person!" No wonder he was angry. If it weren't for the emperor's distrust and insistence on bringing more guards, perhaps this proud prince would have died mysteriously by the canal last night. His wife and children were all there, suffering from this disaster, wasn't that unjust? Jian Nan Hou truly deserved to die a million times!

  Wang Siping shrank his head, and his body trembled slightly. Since he knew that the owner of this "merchant team" was a certain person, he knew that his own master's future was doomed. How could he not understand that his previous words were adding fuel to the fire? However, since things had come to this point, helping Jian Nan Hou speak, he also didn't have a good outcome. Why not just tell the truth? He was originally promoted by the old governor, although in his heart he leaned more towards Jian Nan Hou Zhao Jiong. Seeing him so ruthless and cruel, he felt somewhat shocked. As the saying goes, "one day as king, one day as minister", after Zhao Jiong inherited the title, Madam Niu would take charge of the inner court, and would definitely promote her trusted people to take over the position of the great steward. He had taken on the dirty work of cleaning up afterwards, and if Gao Cheng spoke a few more words of slander to Hou Ye after this, he might be silenced, making way for future generations, while Gao Cheng could become invincible from then on.

  Wang Siping continued, "Gao Cheng not only advised Master Hou to silence them but also said that the merchant group was made up of outsiders and were easier to deal with than their own servants. However, if word got out that something had happened to the merchants while Master Hou's party was in the vicinity, it would be bad for them. It would be better to leave early and make a big show of it so everyone could see, to avoid suspicion. Just leave a few people behind to clean up any traces. Master Hou agreed and instructed me that if there were any discrepancies with the bodies they collected, I should cover them up as best I could. If that didn't work, just burn them to ashes. Under no circumstances should anyone be allowed to discover any clues. If the local authorities were alerted, we would blame it on river pirates and have them pursue the matter in the name of the Hou estate, accusing the local officials of tolerating bandits until they stopped asking questions."

  Guangping King smiled and said, "Indeed a talented individual, thinking of all aspects. Being a minor second-in-command in the Jian Nan Hou Fu is indeed a waste of his talent, he deserves a better place."

  Wang Siping didn't dare to come out, and kept his head down low. After waiting for half a day, he finally heard the next words from Guangping King: "Can you handle the few people who stayed behind to take care of things?"

  Wang Siping didn't understand what he wanted to do, and hurriedly said: "There are two people who are not familiar with Xiaoren. One of them is a leftover from the boat team, specifically going to identify the bodies of the shipwrecked workers. The other has always been close to Gao Cheng. I was afraid that the boat team's people would make trouble, and I didn't like the other one either. Seeing that they had collected several servants' corpses, I sent them to Gaotang, at least two days before they could return. The remaining two servants and two women are all relatives of Xiaoren, and will not say much."

  "Very well." Guangping Wang smiled slightly, "For the next two days, let the remaining people follow your orders, collect all the corpses and put them in coffins, hire a good boat to transport the coffins. When the two men who went to Gaotang return, you will stabilize them, don't reveal that I am here, nor tell them that the old lady and the two children are safe and sound. Just bring them on board and transport the coffins to Fengxian. I will escort the old lady from behind, following you southward. As for what to say when we arrive at the Zhao family, I have my own plan."

  Wang Siping hastily agreed, and the Guangping King had someone take him away, also having his subordinates closely follow them to see how they would act, while he himself went to write a letter. The Zhao family of Jian Nan Hou had encountered such a huge change, he had to immediately report it to the Emperor, in order to arrange subsequent matters.

  Zhao didn't know what was going on with the adults, only that Autumn Leaf woke up soon and so did Little Brother Zhao Wei. However, Autumn Leaf recovered quickly, while Zhao Wei continued to be ill, coughing non-stop, causing worry. As Zhao Wei's cough showed no signs of improvement, he was arranged to ride in a separate carriage to rest, and then Grandmother Zhang fell ill too, looking very pale, often falling asleep, and even when she woke up, she would cry uncontrollably. No matter how much Zhao comforted her, it couldn't make her feel any better, and seeing her granddaughter being so considerate and caring only made her cry even more sorrowfully.

  Zhao didn't know how to comfort her. Sometimes when he saw her so distressed, he thought of his own parents in the modern era and couldn't help but cry with her.

  The carriage team of the Guangping King stayed on the riverbank for less than two days and then moved to the Liu Lin Town a few miles away, where they booked the only inn in town - actually just a courtyard with eleven rooms, including three main rooms, three east wing rooms, three west wing rooms, and two back rooms.

  Because of the limited rooms, Zhao was arranged to stay in the west wing of the main house, which was also the room of Dongping King's son, Gao Zhen. Apart from the two children, there were also Da Niang and Yan Xia taking care of Gao Zhen in the same room. Da Niang was devoted to taking care of her young master and didn't pay much attention to Zhao, leaving everything to Yan Xia, who was polite but distant. Zhao wasn't bothered by this, as she was just a guest and was grateful for a place to stay. She was worried about her grandmother and little brother, whom she hadn't seen since they arrived at the inn two days ago. She knew they were staying in the east wing, but couldn't seem to find them.

  She once asked Yunxia privately: "Can I go see Grandma and Brother?"

  Yanxia gently advised her: "Mrs. Zhao and young master Zhao are both ill, and they're afraid that Miss Zhao will catch the illness, so they specifically instructed not to let Miss Zhao go see them. However, don't worry, Princess Wang and Imperial Physician Jiang are taking care of them, and Mrs. Zhao and the young master won't come to any harm."

  Zhao hummed in response, still worried and asked about his parents who had been missing for a long time: "Did the people sent by King Wang find my father and mother? What about the others?"

  Yanxia looked at her with a gaze that was full of pity, but her mouth didn't leak even half a word: "Still looking, Miss Zhao, don't worry, if there's any news, I'll definitely tell you."

  Zhao? Had no choice but to continue being depressed.

  Gao Zhen saw that she was in a bad mood, finished the homework assigned by her father to write big characters, jumped down from the chair, ran over and said: "Zhao sister, don't worry, your parents will be fine, your grandmother and brother will also get better soon."

  Zhao smiled back at him, and of course, it was her wish.

  Gao Zhen thought for a moment, then took advantage of the smoke and his eldest sister going to fetch lunch to say to Zhao: "Your grandmother and brother are living in the east wing, this house is empty at the moment, why don't I take you over to quietly take a look at them, and then quietly slip back?"

  Zhao's heart skipped a beat: "If Smoke and Cloud Sisters found out..."

  "Don't worry, I'm here."

  Zhao immediately jumped down from the bed and quietly followed him out.

  She was barely over a year old, although she could walk, her legs were not strong enough, and she walked crookedly. Fortunately, Gaozhen held her hand and used all his might to carry her down the stairs, and the two children slowly made their way to the east wing of the house.

  East wing three rooms, the main house has two old ladies overnight, on both sides of the partition one room is Zhang Shi and Akira living together, another room for Zhao Wei to live. At this time, neither of the two old ladies are there, but it's the left side of the partition that hears voices talking, listening to it seems like Princess Guangping is chatting with Zhang Shi, Akira is serving inside. Gao Zhen fears his mother will see himself bringing out little sister and scold him, so he quickly gives Zhao a signal with his eyes. Zhao understands, quietly and stealthily makes his way towards Zhao Wei's room.

  In the Zhang family residence, the gentle voice of Princess Guangping came: "Madam, please restrain your grief. Although your son and daughter-in-law are unfortunately dead, you still have grandsons and granddaughters. If something happens to you, who will the children rely on? Please, for the sake of Wei-ge and Mei-jie, try to be strong."

  Zhao stopped in his tracks and turned around in shock.