By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 246 Makes a Discovery

Wen Zongji remained at the Tongzhou branch office. Since arriving in Tongzhou, he had not left the branch office for even a moment.

Liu Chengyun used to keep track of Wen Zongji's whereabouts, but after being reprimanded by Huang Yecai, he stopped paying attention.

Judging from the time Wen Zongji spent in Yangzhou, he would leave Tongzhou in a few days.

Tongzhou Branch

Wen Zongji received a letter from Pei Rujing delivered by fast horse. Coincidentally, today was Pei Rujing's birthday.

In her letter, Pei Rujing mentioned that because Wen Zongji missed her birthday, she had to make it up to her by bringing back a gift that would satisfy her.

Then she told Wen Zongji about Zuo Mingxuan's wedding. Pei Rujing complained that it was too tiring to help others with their weddings. When it was Pei Shirong's wedding, she resolutely decided not to get involved.

After reading through several pages of rambling letter, Wen Zongji sighed deeply.

Having been away from Beijing for nearly two months, Wen Zongji missed Pei Rujing more and more.

This was also the first time he had ever experienced what it felt like to miss someone.

It wasn't pleasant, but I didn't reject it; in fact, I found it quite enjoyable.

Wen Zongji carefully put away Pei Rujing's letter and then wrote a reply to Pei Rujing.

He told Pei Rujing about some things that happened in Jiangnan, and also told her that he would probably have to stay away from home for a while longer before returning to the capital. He assured her that the gifts would be prepared and that she could rest assured.

Just as he finished writing the letter, Yu Jiacheng came in: "Sir, I sent someone to keep an eye on Liu Chengyun, and we found that his relationship with Huang Yecai is not actually very good."

Wen Zongji sealed the envelope: "Why do you say that?"

"Liu Chengyun and his other half would go to brothels to drink with their lovers. Our men overheard that Liu Chengyun would curse Huang Yecai when he was drunk."

"What are you cursing about?"

"They criticized Huang Yecai for being stingy and for treating him like a dog. He did so many things for him, but Huang Yecai not only gave him little in return, but also scolded him at the drop of a hat."

Yu Jiacheng said, "Sir, perhaps we can secretly arrest Liu Chengyun and interrogate him? I have a feeling that he knows a lot about Huang Yecai. That old fox Huang Yecai, even if we catch him, he might not confess anything. On the contrary, Liu Chengyun is a good breakthrough."

Wen Zongji pondered for a moment: "First, send someone to keep an eye on Liu Chengyun. Right now, finding Wu Laoliu is the most crucial thing."

He didn't forget that his purpose in coming to Tongzhou Prefecture was to investigate the dam breach last year; that was the key point.

As for Huang Yecai, we'll have to wait until he determines the cause of the dam breach before we can discuss it further.

Yu Jiacheng was somewhat disappointed, but he could only obey: "Alright."

Wen Zongji warned him: "This is Tongzhou City, after all, Huang Yecai's territory. It's okay to send people to keep an eye on Liu Chengyun, but you can't send people to monitor Huang Yecai."

Yu Jiacheng laughed and said, "Don't worry, sir, I'm not that reckless."

Even if he wanted to investigate Huang Yecai, he wouldn't dare to act rashly without Wen Zongji's instructions.

After all, conducting a private investigation of a prefect was not something someone without an official position could handle.

……

Ning'an City

This is a county town under the jurisdiction of Tongzhou. Located in the south of the Yangtze River, it is very prosperous, and many people come and go at the city gate every day.

Many brokers were watching the crowds coming and going at the city gate, looking for suitable targets.

At this moment, several simply dressed, burly men looking around came into the broker's view.

Those who reacted quickly had already run up to the group.

The others could only sigh in disappointment.

"Gentlemen, is this your first time visiting Ning'an City?"

The leader cautiously asked, "What's it to you?"

The broker smiled gently: "I know quite a few people and am very familiar with Ning'an City. What needs do you gentlemen have? I can help you."

The group exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and said, "We want to find a bricklayer to build a house."

"That's easy, I know a lot of bricklayers."

"It's not built here; you have to come back to our village."

The bricklayer asked in bewilderment, "Since it's being built in the village, why not find a bricklayer nearby instead of coming here?"

Hearing this, the burly man behind him muttered, "The bricklayers in the city are definitely better than those in the village. My brother is getting married soon."

The broker understood; they wanted to use the city's bricklayers as a gimmick to save face.

"How much money do those gentlemen plan to spend on building the houses?"

The leader extended one finger.

The broker stroked his chin: "Ten taels? It's a bit low, but there should be some bricklayers willing to take the job."

"It's one ounce—"

The broker was stunned, almost thinking he had misheard: "One tael? You think you can give me a beggar's money?"

"If the few of us pool our money, we can scrape together another two hundred coins. We don't need a very good bricklayer, just someone from the city will do."

The broker was speechless: "You might as well find a village bricklayer and pretend to be from the city."

Building a house isn't something that can be done in a day; with just one or two taels of silver, you simply can't find a good bricklayer.

But this group of people seemed to have something wrong with their minds; they only recognized the bricklayers in the city, and even said with a pained expression that they could add a brokerage fee for the broker.

The bricklayer was tempted, but unfortunately, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't imagine which bricklayer would go to the village to build a house for a tael of silver.

After all, this is a prosperous area in Jiangnan, and bricklayers are in high demand and have plenty of work; they can choose their clients.

There was no other way; the broker had to reluctantly give up this deal.

The other brokers' eyes lit up when they saw this, and they all came over to approach these people. After learning what they wanted, they turned and left.

A bunch of poor bastards, yet they have such high hopes.

Every departing broker harbors resentment in their heart.

Such eccentric people are truly rare.

As fewer and fewer people showed interest in them, the group's expressions grew increasingly grim, and they reiterated that they could increase the brokerage fee.

"Hmm... I do know a bricklayer who's willing to take this job."

"Really? That's great!"

"However, his leg was injured in the previous flood, making it difficult for him to walk and slowing down his work speed. He may take longer than an ordinary bricklayer."

"No problem, any bricklayer from the city will do."

The man's lips twitched.

These people are really persistent.

"Alright, I'll take you to see him. You can talk to him and see if you're satisfied."

"it is good."

The group then left with the broker.

The brokers nearby watched them leave, clicking their tongues in disbelief, "Will this deal really go through?"

"They're just poor bastards from the village. They want to save face but can't afford it, and they're so stubborn. I don't like dealing with people like that."

"Come on, you just went by too, okay?"

"I... I was just respecting the identity of the brokers and not letting go of any opportunity to make money."

"Pfft—you can talk, I'm ashamed of myself."

The brokers chatted and laughed, quickly forgetting about those few people, treating it as just a slightly bizarre little episode.

He then continued to keep an eye on the city gate, waiting for the next customer to appear.