Chapter 295: Why Am I Not a Dog but a Wolf

Xiao Ningxun lowered his head and whispered to Tuan Tuan: "Tuan Tuan, help brother look, in this house, is there anything hidden, like books."

"Mm mm!" Tuan Tuan released Xiao Ningxun's hand, like a little squirrel that fell into a pile of dried fruit, and began darting through the messy courtyard, rummaging everywhere.

This one is good, this one is also not bad.

Tuan Tuan was thrilled, hopping and skipping.

Xiao Ningxun, Xiao Er and Lu Qi all followed behind her, indulgently, at a leisurely pace.

Xiao Ningxun: Tuan Tuan's habit of picking up trash really never leaves her wherever she goes.

Xiao Er: How cute is my miss!

Lu Qi: So Lord Master likes picking up trash the most, someday we must prepare a whole cart for her!

The party arrived at the study; the floor was covered with books, many of which had been trampled dirty and damaged.

Tuan Tuan stopped in front of a bookshelf.

The bookshelf was huge, standing against the wall, almost reaching the ceiling; the shelves were empty, books scattered all over the ground.

Tuan Tuan looked up, using hands and feet to climb upward.

Xiao Er hurried forward and lifted her down: "Miss, is the secret room here? Don't go up, I'll."

"Lu brother, you and I together, move this bookshelf."

"Alright!"

"No!" Tuan Tuan looked at them oddly, "I just wanted to go up and see if there were any good things left to pick up."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi: "......"

Xiao Ningxun smiled and said: "Tuan Tuan, keep going inside."

"Mm!" Tuan Tuan slipped from Xiao Er's arms to the ground, grabbed brother's hand, and went inside.

They entered the inner courtyard, which was even more chaotic, worse than the front hall.

The women's makeup boxes had been knocked over, rouge and powder mixed with broken porcelain shards littered the ground.

Tuan Tuan tiptoed, bent her head, carefully inspecting one by one.

Suddenly, she gingerly picked up a rouge box; its lid had fallen off, leaving only a box of rouge emitting a faint fragrance.

She raised the box and forcefully smashed it onto the ground.

"Pat!"

The box broke into two pieces, a copper key fell out.

Xiao Er quickly picked up the key and examined it closely: "Hidden so secretly, it must be for opening the secret room."

Xiao Ningxun bent down and hugged his younger sister: "Tuan Tuan is really amazing!"

Tuan Tuan laughed happily, looked up, frowned, raised a finger: "Why is only that little bird's beak open?"

The few people looked up.

On the beam, painted with floral and bird patterns, blossoms in full, orioles in flocks, yet only one little bird's beak was slightly open.

Lu Qi turned onto the beam, stared at that bird, and examined it closely; in the bird's beak, there was a very concealed lock hole.

"Key!"

Xiao Er tossed the key to him; he caught it in one hand, inserted the key, and gently turned it.

"Click."

A light sound.

Immediately, behind the embroidered bed, a clanking sound of gears turning came from the mechanism.

The wall behind the embroidered bed, which seemed to be one solid piece, slid inward, opening a gap wide enough for a person to slip sideways through, revealing a tiny secret room!

No one expected that the Qian family's secret room, not in the study, was actually behind the embroidered bed in this inner courtyard!

Xiao Er was the first to step into the secret room, took out a fire‑folding fan, lit a candle inside the room: "Third Young Master, come in."

The others walked in.

The secret room's furnishings were simple, only a table, a chair, and an iron cabinet.

The iron cabinet was unlocked; when opened, inside were neatly stacked more than ten thick account books and several letters.

Xiao Ningxun casually opened the topmost book, read only a few pages, and his face immediately turned completely grim.

It clearly recorded the dates, quantities, amounts, handlers of years of illicit salt trades, even detailed how the profit was divided among officials up and down!

It also involved the names of several officials in Jingcheng, shocking him.

Among them was an entry for hiring a wandering assassin to attack Luo Zhenyue.

Iron evidence like a mountain!

Xiao Ningxun said: "Put everything away, this time, see what that old thief still has to say!"

"Yes!"

Lu Qi and Xiao Er packed the account books from the iron cabinet together and took them out.

Xiao Ningxun sat at the table, flipping through the letters one by one.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted; in the corner of an envelope, there was a drawing of a Gu Worm!

Nether Summit!

He unfolded it; the letter was addressed to Qian Guangyuan, three pages long, basically saying that if one does not want the years of smuggling illicit salt to be exposed, one must use the smuggled salt accounts to purchase, in batches, high‑priced refined iron and Cold Star Sand, and send them to Jiangkuo Trading Firm.

So that's how it is!

Xiao Ningxun folded the letter and put it into his chest, not expecting that the illicit‑salt investigation had actually uncovered information about Nether Summit.

He looked up, glanced around the secret room: "Tuan Tuan?"

Xiao Er's voice came from outside: "Here!"

It must be that she's looking for her trash treasure again; Xiao Ningxun smiled and shook his head, walked out to take a look.

Tuan Tuan held a jewelry box, already full of the things she had picked up today.

Tuan Tuan was overjoyed, her little face glowing: "Third Brother! Look! I've picked up so much! Mother's embroidered pouch can't hold it all, so I found a box to put them in!"

Xiao Ningxun smiled and took the box from her arms: "Good! Brother will hold it for you; shall we go find your Ninth Brother?"

"Okay!" Tuan Tuan grabbed his hand, and the group walked toward the gate.

After a day of toil, as evening approached and the setting sun cast its glow, a dusky yellow hue spread over the Qian Fu.

Tuan Tuan took three steps back for every step forward, gazing at the courtyard full of "scraps," reluctant to leave.

The group returned to Wangjiang Lou and handed the ledgers and letters to Han Chengzong.

Han Chengzong only flipped through a few pages, then his face lit up with excitement; he rose and bowed deeply to Xiao Ran: "Your Highness! This is ironclad evidence! With this, the private salt corruption in Jiangzhou can be eradicated root and branch; on behalf of Jiangzhou's people, I thank Your Highness!"

Xiao Ran lightly supported him: "Official Han, no need for excessive courtesy; from now on, how to investigate, how to memorialize, how to rectify—everything is left entirely in your hands."

He paused, then said solemnly: "I have other pressing matters; I cannot intervene, so I will trouble Official Han to attend to it."

Han Chengzong's expression tightened: "Rest assured, Your Highness! I will devote all my strength to thoroughly investigate this case; all implicated personnel, regardless of rank, will be reported to the throne and punished without mercy!"

After the matter was settled, the group, with Tuan Tuan in tow, left Wangjiang Lou.

On the way back to the inn, Tuan Tuan kept looking up at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran lowered his head to check himself, seeing nothing unusual: "Little punk, why are you staring at me?"

"Ninth Brother, you're getting more and more imposing!"

Xiao Ran scratched the back of his head, embarrassed: "Really?"

"'Yeah!' Tuan Tuan nodded, then said, 'Next time we go to the Ghost Market, I'll also pick out a wolf mask for you, okay?'"

Xiao Ran readily agreed: "Okay!"

"'No way! Why am I either a dog or a wolf? I want a fox!'"

"'The fox belongs to Third Brother!'"

"'No! I want the fox! Otherwise, give me your cat mask!'"

"'No way!'"

Xiao Ningxun, Xiao Er, and Lu Qi listened to the two bickering, exchanged a glance, and shook their heads helplessly.

"The next morning, Xiao Ran asked: 'Third Young Master, where should we go to investigate today?'"