Chapter 103 Secret Investigation

  Peng Ziqi first contacted the White Lotus Society's Tangkou Lao Da in Beiping, asking him to pay attention to the movements of several Hu people. Everyone was originally from the same vein, and the White Lotus Society in Beiping was also located in a remote area. When the disciples of the Tang went out, they often needed other local White Lotus Society organizations to provide shelter. So this small matter was naturally agreed upon with one voice. Soon, the city's foxes and rats, the hoodlums and rascals of Beiping, looked at the group of Hu people who were treating and gathering medicine as if they were transparent in the wind and rain.

  Then, Ximen Qing took Peng Zilong to the vicinity of Lakshen's residence. Lakshen had been living in Beiping for seven or eight years and had opened a small leather goods store locally to make a living, but his business was bleak. His real business was acting as an intermediary for Mongolian tribes outside the pass to do business, he was a private trader and smuggler, not making a living from this, so he didn't care much about it.

  Peng Ziqi identified the location and, after listening to Ximen Qing's detailed description of Lakshen's appearance, sat down in a nearby teahouse, slowly sipping tea while keeping an eye on the movements of the leather goods store, waiting for those Mongolians to make contact with Lakshen.

  Xia Cheno and Ximen Qing immediately rushed to the Xie Mansion, asking Xie Chuanzhong to help arrange for the hides, animal tendons and other goods being transported to Beijing to be diverted to Qingzhou.

  In the Xie mansion, Miss Xie Yufei was dressed in simple and elegant attire, sitting with a slender and delicate posture. She held a silk pouch containing a hand warmer against her chest, while her bright eyes were intently focused on an old yellowed book on the table. Xie Chuanzhong and his wife, Madame Huang, stood by their side, not daring to breathe loudly.

  She took a sip of tea, savored the flavor, turned another page of the book, and after a long while, Miss Xie finally closed the book. Xie Chuanzhong hastily stepped forward, carefully saying: "Miss, how is it?"

  "Hmm..."

  Xie Yu Fei responded with a noncommittal "en" and took another sip of tea, saying without lifting his head or opening his eyes: "The physical objects, the documents... I've also looked at quite a few of these in recent days. From what I can see, there doesn't seem to be any problem. Based on the existing materials and evidence, you indeed appear to be a descendant of this branch of the Xie family."

  Xie Chuanzhong and his wife exchanged a surprised glance, and Xie Yufei continued: "From the time recorded in this family tree, it seems that your branch should be the descendants of the Yuan people who captured Wen Tianxiang, the Grand Minister, in Chaozhou, and were taken as laborers on their way back to Dadu. From then on, you settled here..."

  Xie Chuanzhong nodded hastily: "Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly what happened."

  Xie Yufei nodded slightly and said, "Yes, in the records of my Xie family's genealogy, there is also a record of the loss of our family members who were taken away by the Mongol soldiers during the war. A few days ago, when I was guessing your origins with Feifei, we mentioned this matter. Now it seems that my guess was correct, and you are indeed the descendant of the branch of our Xie family that got lost back then."

  "Grandma..."

  Xie Chuanzhong, despite his advanced age, was not afraid to show his true feelings. With tears welling up in his eyes, he took a step forward and struck a pose as if finally reunited with a loved one, revealing his genuine emotions.

  Xie Yufei hastily retreated a step, solemnly saying: "Now that it has been proven that you are a descendant of the Chen Guo Xie family, and you also have the intention to recognize your ancestors and return to your roots, I am very pleased. You have a big family and business in Beiping, and it's not easy to leave for a trip. Recognizing one's ancestors is a very serious matter, and sooner or later you will have to go back and offer sacrifices and kowtows to your ancestors."

  Xie Chuanzhong nodded repeatedly: "Yes yes yes, this is what should be."

  Xie Yu-fei continued: "When I came, I had already handwritten a copy of my Xie family tree. If you want to hold a grand ceremony, as your elder, I will personally add this branch back into the family tree and leave it with you. In the future, your descendants will have to follow the order and record their names in the family tree, and report back to the family for consistency."

  Hold a grand ceremony?

  This was exactly what Xie Chuanzhong had in mind, and he couldn't wait to invite all the dignitaries to come and publicly proclaim his illustrious family background. Xie Chuanzhong smiled and nodded in agreement, turned around and took a brocade box from his wife's hand, and presented it to Xie Yu with great respect: "Madam, this is a small token of my appreciation. As a descendant of the Xie family, how can I bear to see our ancestral temple decline and the incense fire dwindle when I return to my hometown to pay respects to our ancestors? Please take this money back and use it to repair the ancestral temple, which is also a small compensation for my branch of the family being away from home for many years and not being able to offer sacrifices to our ancestors."

  Xie Yufei took the brocade box in her hand, and its weight pressed down on both hands. She didn't look at what was inside, but casually placed it aside, smiling faintly: "This is your kind intention, also for the sake of filial piety, I shouldn't decline."

  Chuan Zhong said: "That's natural, that's natural. This is what Chuan Zhong should do, and cannot decline. Chuan Zhong also prepared two more generous gifts, when the young lady returns to her hometown..."

  Xie Yu-fei said: "But this is not necessary."

  Xie Chuanzhong said: "That's not possible, this is Chuanzhong's filial piety to his aunt and great-grandfather, it should be so, it should be so."

  At this time, the butler coughed outside the door and said: "Master, Xia Zhen and Gao Sheng have arrived at the mansion for a visit."

  Chuan Zhong listened and said hastily: "Chuan Zhong has a guest coming, so I'll take my leave now. Madam, please rest first. As for the ancestor worship ceremony, Chuan Zhong will make good preparations."

  Xie Yu Fei faintly nodded and waited for the couple to leave, but immediately stood up tensely: "Xia Jiu? What is he doing here?"

  He immediately fell silent and lost his smile: "He originally had business dealings with Xie Chuanzhong, what could he have to do with me? It's really suspicious to give rise to a dark ghost."

  Although she was comforting herself, she still had a feeling of unease, and towards that guy named Xia Zhen, she always had a sense of danger, just like a sensitive little animal encountering its natural enemy.

  Dai Yubin's eyes welled up with hot tears, and he sighed to Lakshen and the others: "My late father, Xiaolou Gong... before his death, repeatedly instructed me that in my lifetime, I must retake our ancestral home. That is where generations of my Dai family lived. Now, our ancestral home is just a stone's throw away, yet it remains as distant as the horizon, and I still cannot enter."

  Lakshen comforted him, saying: "Don't be sad, if our big plan succeeds, there will still be a chance to come back and kill again."

  Dai Yubin said with a sigh: "By then, our ancestral home will also be reduced to ruins."

  Xi said, "Come on, big man, why are you being so timid? If the ancestral house is burned down, just build a new one that's twice as big and twice as grand!"

  He turned to Lakshen again and asked, "How's the thing I told you to prepare?"

  Lakshen's silly and honest appearance in front of Xiaojun and Ximen Qing was gone, his eyes were full of cleverness. As soon as he saw Xi, he asked: "Don't worry, sir, I have ordered the ironwork separately at seven blacksmith shops, they don't know what I'm making are flying claws and ground boots, we need to assemble them ourselves after picking them up." The leather jacket, leather pants, and ropes were also purchased and ready for use.

  Xi said: "Ba said nodding his head, and then said: 'This matter still needs to use your little sister, have you told her about our plan?'"

  "She's young and doesn't understand things, I'm afraid if she knew about it too early, she might let something slip out. So, I haven't told her anything about the plan. But don't worry, my sister and I are very close, we rely on each other for everything. When the time comes, as long as I tell her what to do, she'll definitely do it without hesitation."

  Xi said Ba said with a smile: "Good, that's good. This matter really can't be done without her help. What's your sister's name? Oh, Tuo Ya, I remember it's called Tuo Ya?"

  Lakshen said: "Yes, my sister's name is Narintoa."

  "Ah, yes, Narentuya, I saw her eight years ago, she was still a shy little girl then, and she already looked quite pretty, now she must have grown up to be even more beautiful?"

  Lakshen said proudly, "Yes, the palace maidens of the Yan Wang Fu are all beautiful, but among them, my little sister is a lovely and delicate flower."

  Xi said Ba said haha laughed: "Good, this big thing succeeded, Da Han will definitely be crowned king for me. At that time, your sister will not lack a queen's position."

  Lakshen was both surprised and delighted, and hastily said: "Thank you, sir."

  Others heard and congratulated the newlyweds, making a racket for a while. Suddenly someone said: "So many people are staying in this small shop, it's too cramped. Is there still no other place? It would be best to separate and settle down, until everything is ready, then we can gather again and sneak into the Yan Wang Fu."

  Lakshen smiled and said, "There's a place, there's a place. This place is just for small people to get in touch with each other for transactions. Originally, we weren't going to stay here for long. Soon I'll arrange for my brothers to settle down separately."

  Xia Jun and Ximen Qing went to see Xie Chuanzhong, asking him to start using his trading channels to deliver goods. After returning to the Yue Lai Inn for more than an hour, Peng Ziyu also arrived, telling Xia Jun what she had seen and heard from her informants.

  Xia Yuandao said: "Wait, what's the name of that Mongolian who was sent down, is it that Han Chinese with the surname Dai?"

  Peng Ziqi said: "I don't know his name, but it's not him."

  Xia Cheno glanced at Ximen Qing, who stubbornly said: "Maybe his son has something else to do, so he asked someone else to take care of it..." When he said this, he also knew that the reason was too far-fetched and couldn't help but chuckle.

  Peng Ziqi continued: "I followed him all the way, taking note of where he settled those people, and then saw him go to an ironwork shop. What's strange is that he didn't just go to one ironwork shop, but sneaked around and brought back many things. I kept following him, asking my local friends to investigate the shops he had been to. As a result, I followed him as he wandered around half of Beiping City, and finally discovered that he also went to the Yanwang Fu, saying something to several young eunuchs who were buying vegetables on their way back, before returning to his small leather goods shop."

  "Yan Wang Fu?"

  Xia Liu and Xi Menqing furrowed their brows at the same time, Prince Yan's mansion? If there was really something going on, these ordinary people would be most worried about being involved with some powerful figures. If it was someone from a noble family, that would be even more troublesome. This person was sneaky, who knows whether he was plotting against Prince Yan's mansion or had some connection with them? Without figuring this out, they couldn't just blindly intervene, or things might go wrong and people could lose their heads without knowing how they died.

  At this time, someone outside the door said a few words, Xiahui and Xi Menqing didn't hear clearly. The voice was like singing, but also like speaking, with an unclear accent. Peng Ziyu heard it and immediately stood up saying: "Wait for me for a moment, I'll be back soon."

  Xia Bian and Ximen Qing sat quietly waiting, when suddenly Peng Zhiyi returned, holding a handful of things in his hand. He put them on the table with a clatter, and it turned out to be a pile of iron hooks, rings, nails, and sheets of different sizes. Ximen Qing asked curiously: "What's this?"

  "This is what Lakshen had made in seven different blacksmith shops..."

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