Chapter 423

Su Qiao felt something was off with Lu Hong; today he had come purely to test him.

"Someone come!"

Su Qiao sat in the chair for a while, then suddenly called out to the outside.

Sun Youxu, wearing a flying-fish robe and supporting a embroidered spring sword, hurriedly trotted in from outside the courtyard.

"Mr. Su!"

"Hmm, I have a task for you next. Arrange a carriage immediately, then take a few guards in plain clothes, leave from the guest house 700, head straight for the West Gate to exit the city, circle around twice outside, and return quickly!"

Su Qiao did not want to waste time; he had other matters ahead, so his instructions to Sun Youxu were crisp and decisive.

Hearing this, Sun Youxu nodded quickly and said, "Yes, subordinate understands, I will attend to it at once!"

The three guards, though their official ranks were not high, were smart and had brains.

Although they had many questions in their minds, they did not ask them out.

What Su Qiao should tell him, he would tell; what he should not know, he should not ask.

Clearly, this matter was not yet something he should know.

After Sun Youxu hurriedly left, Su Qiao sat in the chair, narrowed his eyes, and murmured in a low voice, "Let's see when you show your fox tail!"

Just as Su Qiao was pondering the remnants of the Bai Lianjiao.

Lu Hong, returning from the guest house to his residence, was likewise pondering Su Qiao.

Good heavens, Su Qiao, a Mao Touxiaozi only in his early twenties, possessed a level of composure cultivation equal to his own, and his vast knowledge left him dumbfounded.

He even knew more than him!

As for the little schemes in his mind, he had tried to draw out Su Qiao for a long time, but ended up learning nothing.

Precisely because of this, he felt even more certain of his own thoughts.

He could no longer think of using any clever stratagem against Su Qiao.

The risk was truly too great; it was easy to capsize!

277, Gaojiagang!

After returning, Lu Hong summoned the other three family heads.

Everyone gathered once again to discuss matters.

Of course, what they discussed was still how to strike at Su Qiao.

Su Qiao had arranged for Sun Youxu to take a carriage out of the city to draw attention, which was likewise noticed by the lookouts arranged by the various families and reported.

In fact, Su Qiao's arrangement was precisely to muddy the waters and draw the attention of the Bai Lianjiao remnants.

Now that Su Qiao had done this, the various families were somewhat confused.

"Is Su Qiao going out of the city to meet someone?"

"There must be something important; otherwise, he would not have left with such a clear objective."

"Should we have our people investigate thoroughly? If there really is something, it might even benefit our upcoming actions."

Still in the Lu family study, the several family heads finally had all their minds focused on one thing.

All were about striking at Su Qiao!

Listening to the several family heads discussing back and forth, Lu Hong felt there was some merit in it.

As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles!

What exactly Su Qiao went out of the city to do, they indeed needed to investigate thoroughly.

What if there was a way to deal with Su Qiao?

Following Su Qiao's instructions, Sun Youxu circled twice outside the West Gate, then leisurely returned.

When the carriage returned to the city again.

Lu Hong's people discovered it immediately and hurriedly reported it.

This time, Lu Hong and the others sent people to search outside the West Gate without hesitation to check the situation.

However, the people they sent searched for several circles but found no trace.

The more this happened, the more Lu Hong and the others became convinced that Su Qiao must have hidden a secret outside the city.

Otherwise, why would he have cleaned up the tracks so thoroughly? Why be so "careful"?

Sun Youxu returned to the guest house with the carriage and immediately went to report to Su Qiao.

"Did you discover anyone following you?"

Liu Rushi sat nearby, poured a pot of tea for Su Qiao, then quietly left.

When Su Qiao was handling official business in the study, she dared not disturb him.

Sun Youxu nodded then shook his head, saying, "At first, while inside the city, the brothers did discover people watching, but after exiting the city, they stopped following, seemingly worried we would discover them."

Hearing this, Su Qiao's eyes lit up; originally, he had just casually placed a piece to test the waters.

He did not expect someone really to lose their composure.

Su Qiao smiled and said, "They know your Embroidered Uniform Guard identity, so some hesitation is normal. For the next few days, go out every now and then, do not always use the West Gate; you must also use other gates. Let those in the shadows think we are deliberately confusing their vision to conceal something!"

"Subordinate understands!"

"Hmm, before going out each time, do not forget to make the necessary preparations. Especially if you discover hidden people in the shadows appearing, it is best not to sacrifice a pawn; find someone of sufficient weight to capture and bring back for interrogation!"

Su Qiao added this instruction.

He hesitated slightly; originally, he had just casually placed a piece to test the waters.

Who knew it would actually succeed; it truly lured the attention of those in the shadows.

But if they only catch small fry, that would truly be a waste.

There is a flaw, yet for Su Qiao to patch it is no easy task.

He is far too sensitive here; aside from a hundred or so Embroidered Uniform Guards under his command, he has no one else.

There are simply too few usable people!

Some might ask why not use the local Embroidered Uniform Guard and transfer Embroidered Uniform Guards here.

In fact, when Zhao Xifang and Su Qiao reported that several major families in Fuzhou were entangled with officials in the Fuzhou bureaucracy,

Su Qiao's heart was filled with caution.

Zhu Di had previously told Su Qiao that the people of the Bai Bai Lianjiao hid very deeply, and not in deep mountains and old forests, but rather concealed themselves among the common populace.

Since the officials in the Fuzhou bureaucracy were so easily swayed,

why would they not be swayed by the personnel of the Bai Bai Lianjiao?

The local Embroidered Uniform Guards were nothing more than Battalion Commanders, Vice Prefects, and the like; they were also local officials.

Who knew if there were people of the Bai Bai Lianjiao among these Embroidered Uniform Guards?

Su Qiao dared not gamble, at least not to gamble or probe recklessly.

He could only temporarily request personnel transfers from the Nanjing Prefecture, Jin Ling, while relying solely on the people he brought to conduct investigations.

Sun Youxu understood Su Qiao's meaning and immediately agreed.

Over the next few days, Su Qiao hid in the relay station, occasionally flipping through the Juan Sect, or chatting and playing mahjong with Zhu Di.

Sun Youxu, meanwhile, took the carriage out to wander again, luring those in the shadows to reveal themselves.

The Lu family and the other few families were initially extremely vigilant.

Mainly fearing discovery and capture, they sent out only small fry as expendable pawns.

Sun Youxu naturally discovered these small shrimp.

However, following Su Qiao's instructions, it was not worth capturing them individually.

For one, they knew too little and were useless, wasting the opportunity; for another, there was fear of stirring up the snake, and once they were alarmed, it would be hard to find them again!

So Sun Youxu did not disturb them.

Instead, he found a village, Gao Family Bay.

He stayed there for two or three hours and secretly stationed Embroidered Uniform Guards there.

By the time he returned to report to Su Qiao, the Lu family and the other four families had also received reports from their subordinates.

"Running to Gao Family Bay? What could possibly be there?"

"It seems someone important is hiding there; otherwise, why would they go out time and again?"

"Possible. Shall we send someone to probe the depths?"