The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 197 There is a clue

Hearing what Luo San Niang said, Lu Lingyue couldn't help but shudder.

"What you said is pretty scary."

Zhou Yurong usually seems quite normal, unlike what Luo Sanniang described.

"You don't believe me?" Luo San Niang raised an eyebrow. "Then we'll just have to wait and see."

Lu Lingyue and Luo Sanniang sat in the carriage, following Zhou Yurong back to the mansion.

Lu Lingyue pretended to be in a bad mood. Zhou Yurong coaxed her a few times, and only after Lu Lingyue felt better did she go to see Xiao Ran.

But no matter how much Xiao Ran made a fuss, Luo San Niang still stayed.

"It's so lively."

Shen Hanyu sat across from the tavern, watching Zhou Yurong lead the two away.

Miao Cui craned her neck to look out the window: "This Luo San Niang is quite capable. Even though County Princess Xiao has arrived, she still managed to get into the Guangning Marquis's mansion."

Shen Hanyu felt that Zhou Yurong kept Luo Sanniang around mostly for Lu Lingyue's sake, as Zhou Yurong still liked Lu Lingyue quite a bit at that time.

"Thankfully it worked. It wasn't for nothing that we held Xiao Ran back for a while."

If they can't hold on, the outcome could be very different.

"Let Xiao Ran worry about it for now. Has Zhou Yurong found anything?"

Miao Cui shook her head: "No news has come yet. The Earl of Guangning is cautious and meticulous, and he does things the same way. It's hard to find any fault with him."

Shen Hanyu sighed. She had to take it slow; she had just too many things to do.

"Let's go back."

After returning to the manor, Pei Du brought something over.

"It was sent from the Duke's residence, and they asked me to send you a copy as well."

"invitation?"

Shen Hanyu opened it and took a look; it was about Pei Xingzhi.

"Pei Xingzhi has been granted a minor official position in the court, and the Duke's mansion invited many people to celebrate."

However, Pei Du hadn't expected that they would send him an invitation.

Shen Hanyu put down the invitation, saying, "Something's definitely up to no good."

Pei Du also felt that Pei Mingjian's quick acquisition of an official position for Pei Xingzhi showed that he truly intended to cultivate Pei Xingzhi properly.

"I'm starting to understand the one you showed me before."

Upon hearing this, Shen Hanyu looked up and showed Pei Du the information that Shen Yanzhi had left behind. More people meant more help, and she trusted Pei Du.

“I’ve tried to string those words together into a few sentences. See if any of them match your idea.”

Pei Du studied it for quite a long time and carefully investigated the contents. It should be pretty much the same.

Shen Hanyu glanced at them; their thoughts were similar.

"There is only one person's name on this list, Lin Qiufeng, but Lin Qiufeng doesn't seem to have much of a role. The rest are just some place names."

Lin Qiufeng's physical condition is very poor now, and he is basically not lucid at all. He has written down everything he knows, but it is indeed of no use.

"Are all these place names from Lizhou?" Shen Hanyu asked.

Pei Du took out the copy that Shen Hanyu had made. "These things about Lizhou only have a few place names on them. The others are things I looked up later. They are all in Lizhou, but I don't know what these place names represent."

"I've studied it for a long time, but I feel it might not be able to form a complete sentence," Shen Hanyu finally said.

The information was trivial, but after Pei Du explained it, Shen Hanyu became even more certain.

"Due to the passage of time, many things about Lizhou have been lost. It will probably take a long time, and we will have to ask Princess Huaijiang for help."

Pei Du put everything away carefully; Shen Yanzhi's matter couldn't be revealed yet.

"We've got a lead now. Let's investigate slowly. It would be great if there were other names on this list."

Place names are not as intuitive as personal names, but besides Lin Qiufeng, the only other person on this list is Qi Liansheng, whom Shen Hanyu knows.

"The main problem is that we don't have enough information. Most of what we have here is related to Qi Liansheng."

Shen Hanyu blinked. She had considered investigating along Qi Liansheng's lines, but the problem remained: it took too long, and all the important things had been cleared away.

"Don't worry, I'm back now, and I can help out."

Shen Hanyu stopped talking about the matter and instead asked Pei Du, "What do you plan to do about the Duke's mansion? What are you going to do about that mother and son?"

Han Yueru and Pei Xingzhi are both prominent figures with prestigious statuses, and their problems cannot be easily resolved. If things are not handled properly, Pei Du will only get himself into trouble.

“The two of them aren’t in a hurry. The previous assassination attempts failed to find concrete evidence. Now I’m planning to find the people who helped Han Yueru first.”

Without her help, Han Yueru will definitely panic, and when she panics, she'll make more mistakes.

"Alright."

The two briefly discussed that they would attend the banquet at the Duke's mansion. Before going, Shen Hanyu inquired about where Pei Xingzhi was to take up his post.

"It's a clerical position, supposedly responsible for drafting documents. It's not a high-ranking position, but I don't know the specifics."

Miao Cui told Shen Hanyu everything she had found out. Shen Hanyu thought that Pei Xingzhi had been sent to the Hanlin Academy and that he was a colleague of Liang Siyu, but now it seemed that was not the case.

"He has only been back in Chang'an for a year and has not participated in the imperial examinations, so his official position must not be high, and the emperor would not allow it. So why hold a banquet to celebrate?"

Shen Hanyu fell silent. What was the Duke's mansion thinking? Could it be that this banquet was meant to publicly announce Pei Xingzhi as the heir?

What was it that made Pei Mingjian so determined about this sudden event?

“Miss, we can’t keep an eye on the Duke’s mansion. The Duke has a bad temper, and he’s also a martial artist. There’s really no other way but to let Young Master Pei investigate.”

Pei Du knew this, so Shen Hanyu was no longer worried.

On the day of the banquet, Pei Du came to pick up Shen Hanyu. "Today I have some things to do, and I plan to bring up the matter of divorce."

Shen Hanyu lifted the carriage curtain and saw the Yu family's carriage.

"The Yu family has also come."

Pei Du nodded. Naturally, his mother's family would come to support him. Pei Mingjian valued his reputation the most, and the Yu family wouldn't feel at ease if Pei Du came alone.

Upon arriving at the Duke's residence, Han Yueru heard that the Yu family had also sent people, and sensed that something was amiss.

"Why did the Yu family come here? We didn't invite them. Are they here to cause trouble?" Pei Xingzhi knew that the Yu family must have come for Pei Du. Could it be that they got the news today that Pei Mingjian had given up on Pei Du, so they came to help Pei Du return to the Duke's Mansion?

It's not impossible, Pei Xingzhi thought to himself.

When Shen Hanyu saw Old Master Yu, who was dressed in formal attire, he patted Pei Du on the shoulder.

"Good child, just do it. No matter what happens, the Yu family will support you."

Shen Hanyu also noticed that several elders of the Yu family had arrived.

"Since the Duke's mansion has no shame, we naturally won't give them any kindness either. Go, child."