Chapter 221: Missing

When Zhong Lanhua’s body was retrieved from the lake, Zhang Zhaodi went to see it and came back vomiting profusely.

Zhong Lanhua’s death was similar to her son’s, and everyone was talking about how she had a mental breakdown and couldn’t get over it, following her son in death.

Back when Jiang Yihui died, Zhong Lanhua had a mental breakdown. Although she gradually recovered, her mental state remained unstable, with occasional relapses. Now, suddenly afflicted again, chasing after her son in death was within everyone’s understanding.

The government officials investigated, and they concluded that she drowned with no possibility of foul play.

Jiang Yihuan disappeared.

The government officials wanted to question her but couldn’t find her. Her lovers also said they hadn’t seen her for several days.

Xiao Yanci vacated the house and left the town with the Wen Family.

Now, with the exam results announcement day approaching, it was normal for Xiao Yanci to head to the provincial city in advance.

Su Yaoguang got off the carriage, bidding farewell to Cui Rong inside. She was about to head back to Taoyao Square when she saw Zhou Wangshu talking to Feng Chaoyang in the corner.

She walked toward Zhou Wangshu.

Feng Chaoyang saw Su Yaoguang and greeted her with a smile, "Sister Yaoguang."

"What are you talking about?"

She seemed to have seen Feng Chaoyang making a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes fierce and dangerous, a stark contrast to his jovial appearance now.

Feng Chaoyang said, "Brother Zhou mentioned he’s going to the provincial city for the exam announcement. I told him there are bandits on the road lately, merciless killers, so he should hire an escort agency for safety."

"I see." Hearing Feng Chaoyang’s words, Su Yaoguang felt uneasy about Zhou Wangshu traveling alone to the provincial city. "Luckily, I have some big orders to deliver soon. I’ll have them speed up production and deliver the goods earlier. Then I’ll hire an escort agency to take us to the provincial city."

They’re not short on silver now; it’s crucial to spend where needed, prioritizing safety.

Zhou Wangshu signaled to Feng Chaoyang with his eyes.

Feng Chaoyang understood, bid farewell to Su Yaoguang, and turned to leave.

"Didn’t you say you weren’t going to take me to the provincial city?"

"How was I supposed to know things outside would get so chaotic? I have to deliver goods anyway, might as well do it ahead of schedule, killing two birds with one stone," Su Yaoguang said. "Wait for me five days, we’ll depart then. By the way, what do Zhong Chushan and Chen Buyu say? Will they go for the results?"

"Since they took the exam, of course, they should go check the results," Zhou Wangshu said. "We can travel together then."

"Alright."

Zhou Wangshu soaked in the bath tub, thinking about Feng Chaoyang’s words.

Feng Chaoyang’s people revealed the ’truth’ about Jiang Yihui’s death to Zhong Lanhua. With her personality, she would surely confront Xiao Yanci. Now Zhong Lanhua is dead, Jiang Yihuan is missing, and Xiao Yanci left town prematurely. These events clearly seem connected. Others might not know the details, but Zhou Wangshu had some guesses.

Zhong Lanhua’s death should be related to Xiao Yanci.

Having never gotten over her son’s death, and now he wasn’t her son-in-law anymore, she was even more aggressive in dealing with him.

Once someone provided her with evidence indicating suspicions surrounding her son’s death, she would definitely confront Xiao Yanci, regardless of how substantial that evidence was.

"Was it Xiao Yanci who’s too clever, or my people not skilled enough in tracking? We had them watching Xiao Yanci, yet he still managed to slip away," Zhou Wangshu swirled the water in the bath tub. "No matter, it’s good that he left, at least she won’t be in danger around him."

Xiao Yanci cannot be allowed to stay.

Only, once out of this town, dealing with him won’t be as easy.

Laughter echoed from outside, the loudest being from Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi. This mother-daughter pair truly shared many similarities.

Zhou Wangshu exited the bath tub, changed clothes and walked out, stopping a passing servant to ask, "What’s happening in the front yard, so lively?"

"Boss Lady Chun’e is back," the servant said. "The owner is very happy, said we’re going to have a feast at Jiang’s Restaurant today."

Zhou Wangshu understood.

For Chun’e’s affairs, he sent the best killers from Mingye Hall to keep an eye on things. If this couldn’t be accomplished, then Mingye Hall might as well cease operations.

"Wang Shu, Sister Chun’e is back." Seeing Zhou Wangshu, Su Yaoguang waved with a smile. "How come you washed your hair and didn’t dry it?"

Zhou Wangshu looked at the glamorous Chun’e and said, "Seems everything went smoothly. Did Boss Lady Chun’e become wealthy overnight?"

"I followed Yaoguang’s advice to transfer all the property to my name first. Once everything was settled, I reported to the government and handed all the evidence over to the authorities. With his previous crimes, the government directly sentenced him to death, execution after the autumn harvest. As for that woman, she begged me to keep their orphaned family, but I’m not running a charity, that’s impossible. I’ve suffered grievances for so many years while she enjoyed the good life with him. Why should I now be the fool? Saying the child is innocent, am I not innocent too?"

"You did the right thing, sometimes being overly kind makes you a target," Su Yaoguang said. "In the future, if you meet someone you like, you can still bring him in as a husband."

"That’s true, you have experience in this area, your advice is always sound." Chun’e winked in Zhou Wangshu’s direction.

Zhou Wangshu said, "I’ll arrange the escort agency matters, once it’s settled, we can head to the provincial city, right?"

"I’ve been busy with the goods these days, really haven’t had time to find an escort agency. If you’re free, I’ll leave this to you."

"Are you heading to the provincial city again?"

"The exam results are coming out, we must check them."

"Wang Shu, are you turning fifteen this year?" Chun’e looked at Zhou Wangshu. "Should be soon, right?"

Zhou Wangshu: "...Two months left."

He glanced at Su Yaoguang.

Su Yaoguang cleared her throat, changing the subject.

A few days later, Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu traveled with the escort agency to the provincial city.

They escorted a lot of cargo this time, making good use of resources.

Zhong Chushan and Chen Buyu initially didn’t plan to go to the provincial city for the exam results. To them, passing the scholar exam was already a stroke of luck brought by Zhou Wangshu, never expecting to become a scholar. With the little knowledge they possessed, passing so easily would make everyone think becoming a scholar was easy.

However, Father Zhong and Father Chen insisted they follow Zhou Wangshu, even saying they’d entrust them to Zhou Wangshu, letting them follow him in the official career path.

As for the family gambling house and dance house, they shouldn’t expect to inherit them. If they don’t pass as scholars, can’t become officials, they’ll have to turn to begging. They’d rather entrust their businesses to outsiders than leave them for them to manage.

This clearly left them with no retreat, focusing solely on the path pursued by Zhou Wangshu.