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

Chapter 243: The Investigation Begins

Wen Zongji glanced at Yu Jiacheng: "Watch your tone!"

Yu Jiacheng lowered his eyes: "It's not that I don't know my place, but there's absolutely nothing about Prefect Huang that deserves my respect. He's like the old fox you're talking about, just getting by without thinking about the well-being of the people, only caring about his own position."

Wen Zongji said calmly, "As for Prefect Huang, the Ministry of Personnel will assess him... I need you to investigate something."

Yu Jiacheng said solemnly, "Please give your orders, sir."

"Go and investigate who the people were who assisted Xie Zixing, the then Vice Minister of Works, in building the dam four years ago. Find a few more and secretly bring them to Tongzhou City. I have something to ask them."

Yu Jiacheng's eyes immediately lit up: "I've heard of this case. I remember Xie Zixing committed suicide in prison out of fear of punishment. Could there be something more to this case?"

Wen Zongji: "When doing things, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

"……yes."

Yu Jiacheng had no choice but to suppress his curiosity.

"My lord, the backyard of the branch office is quite large. You can stay there without needing to stay at the post station. Nowhere else can you find a place to stay that you'd be comfortable in?"

Wen Zongji did not refuse: "Okay."

He would need to get information from the villagers who were building the dam, and this place would obviously be more convenient than the post station.

"I've already had the room prepared. Would you like to see if you're satisfied?"

Wen Zongji waved his hand: "No need, I'm not that precious. Just take out the account books and you can get back to work."

Yu Jiacheng was hoping that Wen Zongji would praise him, but Wen Zongji had no intention of going to see him at all.

……

Dinner was served at the branch office.

Yu Jiacheng comes from a merchant family and is the only son in the family. It can be said that as long as he doesn't have the idea of ​​starting his own business and squandering the huge family fortune, Yu Jiacheng will never lack money in his life.

That's why he said he lacked everything except money.

Yu Jiacheng was spoiled since childhood. Although he is very talkative in front of Wen Zongji, he is actually very picky and fastidious.

My family hasn't come with me to Tongzhou yet, but the cook came first.

They were afraid they wouldn't be able to get used to the food in Tongzhou.

Wen Zongji also benefited from this, enjoying the best meal he had had since leaving the capital.

Thinking of this, he realized he hadn't written to Pei Rujing yet, so he turned around and went back to his study to write to her.

Write down what happened in the past few days, emphasizing that he bought many gifts for Pei Rujing, which he will bring back to the capital, so that Pei Rujing can look forward to it.

He also apologized for missing Pei Rujing's birthday.

May is almost here, and Pei Rujing's birthday is on the eighth day of the fifth lunar month. Wen Zongji definitely won't be able to make it.

I can only buy more gifts as compensation later.

……

Capital

After attending Zuo Mingxuan's wedding, Pei Rujing returned to Yunguang Courtyard, feeling utterly exhausted and unwilling to move.

"Today is Zuo San's wedding, why am I so tired?"

Granny Feng chuckled, "Who told the county princess to say she's been through this herself and volunteer to help Miss Zuo with the arrangements?"

Pei Rujing patted her forehead: "I really know how to create trouble for myself. Luckily, it's over now."

Qinghe reminded her, "The Second Young Master's wedding is scheduled for July."

It's been about two months.

Pei Rujing wailed, "Husband, please come back soon, or let Second Brother torment you."

Granny Feng placed the tea in front of Pei Rujing: "Doesn't the county princess feel sorry for her son-in-law now?"

"It's all for my sake, but it's made my husband a little tired... However, seeing Zuo San's wedding today, I still feel a bit emotional. In the blink of an eye, we've all gotten married."

"I wonder if she'll still be able to leave the mansion as freely as before after she gets married."

Granny Feng said, "That depends on whether the Lady of Yong'an Marquis is open-minded or not."

Pei Rujing thought for a moment: "He seemed like a kind person today. Madam Zuo probably wouldn't choose a difficult mother-in-law for Zuo San."

Madam Zuo poured all her maternal love into Zuo Mingxuan. Her choice to marry into the Yong'an Marquis's family was certainly not just because she valued Fang Sichu; the personalities of the Yong'an Marquis and his wife must have also been taken into consideration.

The hot water was ready in no time.

Qinghe and the others helped Pei Rujing take a bath to relieve her fatigue.

After bathing, the maids wrung out Pei Rujing's hair. Pei Rujing sat in front of the glass mirror, looking at her clear face, and said with lowered eyes, "My husband has been gone for almost two months... He is still in Jiangnan. He definitely won't be able to come back for my birthday."

Granny Feng glanced at Pei Rujing's expression and said, "The young master is also doing this on official business."

"I know, but I'm not blaming him."

Pei Rujing pouted: "I just didn't expect that we wouldn't be able to celebrate our second birthday together after getting married."

She once thought they would spend every memorable day together.

As it turns out, there were too many unexpected factors.

Thinking this, Pei Rujing missed Wen Zongji even more.

Touching her half-dry hair, she said, "No need to dry it. Get me paper and pen; I need to write a letter to my husband."

She wanted to remind Wen Zongji that her birthday was approaching, so that he could think of a way to make it up to her.

That's why they're husband and wife.

We're thinking the same thing!

……

Yu Jiacheng's money was well spent; his informants were truly capable, bringing the villagers who had built the dam to the sub-bureau in just one day.

Looking at the villagers in front of him, who were hanging their heads and nervously avoiding his gaze, Wen Zongji did not try to get closer to them. He simply said, "I have something to ask you. If you answer well, I will not hesitate to reward you."

When the villagers heard there was a reward, their eyes lit up: "We will tell you everything we know, and we would never dare to deceive you, sir."

Wen Zongji asked, "When Lord Xie from the capital used the best stone to build the dam, did he personally oversee the construction?"

"No. Lord Xie has too many things to do. It was Lord Liu from the prefectural government who was in charge of supervising our dam construction."

"Yes, yes, it's Lord Liu who's supervising us."

Wen Zongji immediately asked, "Who is Lord Liu?"

Yu Jiacheng said, "They should be talking about Liu Chengyun from the prefectural government. He is the official in charge of water conservancy in the prefectural government. When Lord Xie came to Tongzhou to build the dam, it would have been Liu Chengyun who led the officials of the prefectural government to assist Lord Xie. It would have been most appropriate for him to supervise the work."

"Besides that, Liu Chengyun also had another identity: his sister was the favorite concubine of Prefect Huang."

Wen Zongji's eyes flickered slightly.

He never expected that Huang Yecai would be involved again.

At this moment, Wen Zongji was no longer as indifferent as before.

However, he still confirmed with the villagers, "Is it Liu Chengyun?"

"We don't know Lord Liu's name, we only know that he is related to the prefect."

That's it.