Be a master through ancient times

"My lord, no clues were found!"

When the soldiers came back to report, Fan Ju lost all his energy with just one sentence. Does this mean that what they just investigated was in vain?

"Tell me first, which families live nearby?" Chu Ci was also a little surprised by this result, but it wasn't too surprising. Judging by the cunning of a spy, it's normal not to leave clues near his home. .

The soldier looked at him and then at Fan Ju. Seeing that Fan Ju had no objection, he said, "Among the suspects, only storekeeper Wu, storekeeper Zheng, and Zhao Wharf live here. Check all three people nearby. After that, not a single sign was left."

"Have you searched the homes of the three of them?" Chu Ci asked.

The soldier shook his head: "Without the orders of the adults, we can't easily break into the people's homes and search, we can only inquire around."

"So did you find out anything?"

The soldier was about to shake his head when he suddenly remembered something: "When I went to inquire today, someone said that the wife of Zhao Wharf took her daughter and left in a carriage through the back door early yesterday morning. It was windy at that time, and he saw it when he opened the curtain. .”

As soon as Chu Ci heard it, he looked at Fan Ju, and Fan Ju was looking at him at the same time. Both of them were a little suspicious. The weather yesterday was not suitable for traveling at all. Why did he let his wife and daughter leave?Furthermore, travel requires the approval of the local government. When did he get this batch of slips?

This one is enough to make Zhao Kuan, who was originally a suspect, even more suspicious.Without Chu Ci's order, Fan Ju said: "Continue to investigate around the Zhao Mansion. It's best to send some good hands into the mansion to see if we can find any clues."

The soldier was about to carry out the execution, when Chu Ci added: "Then Zhao Kuan's hometown also sent people to investigate."

Fan Ju turned his head and asked thoughtfully: "Brother Chu, are you suspicious..." He remembered the Japanese who was secretly disguised as someone else by the water bandits at that time.

"That's right, I suspect that Zhao Kuan was transferred." Chu Ci said, besides being transferred, it was hard for him to imagine what conditions would make the richest man in a province sell his country to help the enemy country and become a spy.However, this inference needs to be based on the fact that Zhao Kuan is indeed a Japanese spy.

"Hurry up and send more people over there!" Fan Ju ordered.

Another night passed, and the people who searched Zhao Kuan's mansion had been back for a long time.They rummaged through Zhao Kuan's study and bedroom, and there was nothing but books and ledgers.There was no hidden compartment in his room either, but I don't know if it was really not there or it was too hidden so others didn't find it.

The people who investigated Zhao Kuan's hometown hadn't come back yet. Fan Ju had been waiting since the morning and didn't see them until the evening.

"How is it?" Fan Ju stepped over, "Have you found any problems?"

The soldier caught by him was sweating profusely, looking very tired, unable to speak, and could only reply him by shaking his head.

"Is there nothing?" Fan Ju grabbed another person and asked eagerly.

"My lord, we have investigated carefully. This Zhao Kuan is indeed the same as the person they grew up with. No matter in terms of description, voice, or even some subtle movements and expressions."

Fan Ju was a little discouraged, and he didn't say anything, when a sentence suddenly came from behind: "I heard that this Zhao Kuan is an orphan, and he was raised by the people around him one by one?"

This was what Chu Ci heard in that posthouse that day. At that time, he was still a little emotional when he heard that, but now he said it, he always felt a little inexplicably ironic.

The soldier was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Indeed, this Zhao Kuan is an orphan, and he was raised by the villagers in his village. So when Zhao Kuan got rich, he directly built a wharf in their county , all the villagers in their village can set up stalls on the dock at will, and no one will take their money."

"What about his parents? People from the village?"

The soldier shook his head: "His parents are not from this village, they were brought to the village by a shipwreck that year, when he was less than ten years old. I heard that his parents were in business, and they all died in that disaster , he was small and survived by staying on a piece of driftwood."

A ten-year-old child drifted near the village by himself?

"Then, without the help of his parents, how did he become the richest man?" Chu Ci felt that his experience was too bizarre.

"This is probably because he is lucky enough." The soldier told the things he inquired one by one, "It is said that Zhao Kuan has been a boatman since he was 15 years old, and went to sea with others to do business. Once, they Zhao Kuan risked his life to save the owner of the merchant ship, but he was slashed by the robbers and almost died."

"The master was grateful for his life-saving grace, so he promoted him all the way. When he was 20 years old, he was already in charge of three shops. His performance has always been valued by the Gao family. The master is very optimistic about him. So I married the young lady of the family to him. After that, Zhao Kuan worked harder, and every time he went to sea to do business, he always made a lot of money back, and he became more and more trusted."

"However, it was a tragic event that really made Zhao Kuan's status higher. The two young masters of the Gao family encountered a storm at sea, and they were all buried in the belly of the fish. Master Gao lost his two sons overnight, and he was so sad that he was sick. A few days later, he died in depression, and before he died, he only had time to hand over all the Gao family's property to Zhao Kuan for disposal, and then passed away."

Hearing this, Chu Ci felt more and more as if he was listening to a story told by Mr. Shu. Everything in the story was so coincidental, as if it was a pre-arranged script.

"Because Zhao Kuan always brought back a lot of rare things every time he went to sea, the Zhao family's business continued to rise steadily. After a few years, he finally became the richest man in Southern Fujian... When the local people mentioned him, they were full of admiration. People don't speak well of him." The implication is that from the results of the investigation, Zhao Kuan's identity does not seem to be suspicious at all.

But the more flawless his identity was, Chu Ci felt suspicious of him.Fan Ju didn't understand what was going on in his mind, he was really tired now.

At this time, news came from the navy camp that Governor Cailin had just arrived to mention the people. Marshal Zhu saw that they had no news to report back. He expected that they had no evidence to prove that they were related to the chart, so he waved his hand and let them go.

"Brother Chu, forget it, don't ask." Fan Ju waved the two soldiers out together, "Those people have already been taken away."

"Isn't the three-day period still here?"

"What's the use of those few hours, we can't find out at all. Those people will go to sea tomorrow, and they don't know when they will come back. Maybe by then, the war between Wei and Wa will be over." Fan Ju Somewhat dejected, but he cheered up immediately, the chart was still in their hands, since the whereabouts of the spies could not be found out, their actions were more concealed, hoping to wipe out all the Japanese on the island.

When Chu Ci heard that they were going to sea tomorrow, something flashed through his mind. He tried hard to think, and then caught the thought that had just passed away.

"Master Fan, do you know what kind of business they are in?"

Master Fan frowned and thought for a while, then said: "Basically, shopkeeper Wu is in the business of spices, and shopkeeper Hu is in the business of silk and satin... Zhao Wharf used to be in the business of Yurong pills, but now it seems It's a fur business. It is said that there is a place on the other side of the sea that is very cold, and the local people especially like those. Oh, and he also has some jewelry business."

Chu Ci asked: "It is not allowed to send food out now, have you checked the goods on their ship carefully?"

"I inspected it after I moved in that day, and found nothing wrong."

Chu Ci still had some doubts, he said, "Can I go to the pier to have a look?"

Fan Ju didn't understand what he wanted to do, now that the dust had settled, he didn't want to care about it anymore.But Chu Ci was invited by him, and he still wanted to help. He didn't want to pour cold water on them, so he asked someone to prepare the car and took Chu Ci to the pier himself.

At this time, several boats of the Zhao family were docked at the pier. These boats were much larger than the other boats parked beside them. Chu Ci stared at these boats for a long time, always feeling that something was wrong.There were some people standing on the boat, all staring warily at the boatman and others passing nearby, for fear that they would touch the priceless cargo on board.

After Fan Ju revealed his identity, the housekeeper of the Zhao family came out. He first looked at Fan Ju, and then his eyes fell on Chu Ci.

"You are? Chu Tixue?" The housekeeper asked tentatively. He only met Chu Ci a few times when he was discussing the business of Yurong Pills, but he never saw him again, and he didn't know if he had admitted the wrong person.

Chu Ci smiled at him: "Steward Zhao, long time no see, how is your master?"

Housekeeper Zhao also smiled: "Everything is fine for my master, he is on the boat now, please let Xiao Xiao report, and please come down and see him."

"No need, we can just go up, so as not to trouble him to go." Saying that, Chu Ci was about to go up.

"This... please tell me from Rong Xiao." Butler Zhao stopped him and said without any rejection.

"Bold, what is your identity, how dare you stop the court order?" Fan Ju cursed, and the soldiers behind him immediately drew their swords to face each other, and the atmosphere became tense for a while.

"Come east, let them come up." Zhao Kuan's voice suddenly came from above, upon hearing Steward Zhao's hand, he lowered his hands as a gesture of humility and invited them to board the boat.Fan Ju snorted angrily, and stepped on the pedals to the boat with Chu Ci.

"I don't know why the two adults came here? Could it be because of the thing that was lost at the plum blossom banquet? Why, haven't you found it yet?" Zhao Kuan's eyes flashed with vigilance when he saw Chu Ci, but he was quickly caught by him. After suppressing it, he turned to provoking Fan Ju with words.

Fan Ju's face immediately darkened, and he directly stated his intention.

"Didn't it be checked? However, since the two adults are worried, let's search again. Zhao has always done things with a clear conscience, so naturally he is not afraid of any inspection." Zhao Kuan was frank, as if they were villains. upset.

"Search for me, search carefully!"

"Yes!"

While the soldiers were searching, Zhao Kuan was not idle, and after stimulating Fan Ju, he focused on Chu Ci again.

"Zhao remembers that my lord is a student officer, right? Why, do you have to investigate the case when you are a student? When Zhao comes back some other day, he must go to the Department of Education and ask Master Qi to ask if he is like this."

"In the face of a national crisis, it doesn't matter who the official is. As long as it involves the safety of the country, even ordinary people can be angry. Naturally, I will not stand idly by. Although Mr. Zhao is a businessman, his loyalty should be the same. Yes, I wonder if you can understand Chu’s thinking?”

There was something in Chu Ci's words, Zhao Kuan hit a wall and finally closed his mouth.