Chapter 133

Three thousand taels of silver was not a small amount, so Tan Bazhang bargained: "One thousand taels at most."

Liu Shi shook his head: "This news is worth three thousand taels."

Tan Bazhang patted his face and sneered: "Understand your situation, see who you are in the hands of now!"

Su Jiuniang frowned, gave Liu Xiaolou a look, and made a gesture, indicating that she could pay this silver, but was rejected by Liu Xiaolou with a shake of his head.

Tiger-Headed Jiao simply pulled Liu Xiaolou to the side and came up with an idea: "Agree first, whether to give it or not is another matter."

Liu Xiaolou explained: "If we agree too readily, he will become suspicious and might hold something back. According to the rules of the road, as long as one is willing to bargain, it means they are truly agreeing. Although this Liu fellow hasn't entered cultivation, he should understand the rules."

Tiger-Headed Jiao nodded hesitantly: "There's such a rule?"

When the two returned, Tan Bazhang had already pressed the price down to fifteen hundred taels. Liu Xiaolou nodded at him, so Tan Bazhang agreed: "That's the price."

The quilt was unrolled, Liu Shi struggled to crawl out, pulled the cover back over Li Yi, and Tiger-Headed Jiao muttered: "A heartless person, why keep her?"

Liu Shi chuckled: "Wait until she gives birth to a son for me, then she will naturally be willing."

Tan Bazhang looked at Su Jiuniang: "Silver. Give five hundred taels first."

Su Jiuniang gasped, wiped her wrist, and took out three gold ingots, totaling thirty taels, and then took out a handful of gold beans and a piece of emerald jade, which together were worth about five hundred taels of silver.

Tiger-Headed Jiao rushed to pay, but Su Jiuniang firmly refused, so he had to sheepishly put away his few jade pendants.

Tan Bazhang threw the gold into the quilt: "Speak."

Liu Shi nodded and opened his mouth: "You go find Fengqiu in the manor, she must know. Whenever there are distinguished guests in the manor, she is usually called to accompany them to bed."

Tan Bazhang was dissatisfied: "Accompanying to bed doesn't mean she hears secrets."

Liu Shi said: "But she is good at painting, and she paints people very realistically! Last spring, the master received two guests. After the guests left, she was painting in the room, and I happened to run into it. I asked her what she was painting this for, and she said she wanted to paint all the distinguished guests she had served. These are all cultivation immortals, and she can take them out to look through when she gets old and loses her looks, which can pass the time."

Tan Bazhang still shook his head: "There are many guests going to the manor, still no way to check."

Liu Shi said: "Last year I was transferred to the town to patrol twice. Whenever I met strangers who were not from our Xikou Town, I had to question them, and those who were suspicious had to be reported. Whenever this happens, it usually indicates that precious and important spiritual materials will be brought in the next day."

Tan Bazhang stared into his eyes: "Which two days?"

Liu Shi answered: "The ninth of the third month, the twelfth of the seventh month."

"What if she didn't accompany them on those two occasions?"

"I can't say for the twelfth of the seventh month, but for the ninth of the third month, she and Jinxiu accompanied them, that is certain!"

Tan Bazhang pressed: "Where does this Fengqiu live?"

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Liu Shi said: "Southeast of the manor, I will draw it for you..." As he spoke, he broke a branch to use as a pen, cleared the weeds under his feet, and drew a simple map of the Yin family manor.

As a guard martial artist, he couldn't talk about painting skills, but he was very familiar with the Yin family manor. The 173 rooms, 12 large and small manor gates, 9 small roads inside the manor, 7 flower gardens, and 3 ponds were all clearly marked.

He pointed to a room in the southeast corner and said: "It's this courtyard. There are five maids like her. The master treats them very generously, and they can enter and leave the manor at will. They also have small courtyards in Xikou Town. I can't say when she is in the manor, so it's best if you also go to the house in Xikou Town. I can take you there tonight."

Tan Bazhang asked a few more questions, such as confirming whether the Yin family manor would open the manor protection array on weekdays, etc., before finally stopping the questioning and looking at Liu Xiaolou.

Liu Xiaolou immediately assigned tasks, letting Su Jiuniang guard Li Yi, while the others went to find this Fengqiu.

Su Jiuniang's heart suddenly thumped: "I'm going too!" She glanced at Tiger-Headed Jiao: "You stay and watch the person."

Tiger-Headed Jiao was so excited he almost shed tears: "I will definitely watch her well, I won't let her escape even a single hair!"

Taking advantage of the night, several people rushed to Xikou Town three miles away. Under the guidance of Liu Shi, they went straight into the house Fengqiu had set up. Fengqiu was not there tonight, making it even more convenient for them to search.

The house was not big, only one entrance and five rooms. Before long, they found a small wooden box, which indeed contained portraits of people, truly lifelike and vivid. Among them, there was even a relative of the Su family, a descendant of the Ouyang clan of Yuezhou whom Su Erniang married—Ouyang Yuancheng.

Seeing Ouyang Yuancheng's portrait, Su Jiuniang said bitterly: "Usually pretending to be a gentleman, but behind the scenes... you stinking men are all like this!" She took this portrait away.

Liu Xiaolou and Tan Bazhang looked at each other, both disapproving, but they didn't argue with her and continued to search.

There were more than forty portraits in the box, totaling thirteen people. Some people had more than one, indicating that Fengqiu had accompanied this person more than once. Although the people were the same, the portraits were different, with different expressions, clothing, and postures.

Soon, another portrait of Ouyang Yuancheng appeared. Su Jiuniang was naturally so angry that she scolded a few more times, and then took this one away too.

All the portraits were from the previous three years, and there were none from last year or this year, indicating that they should not have been put here and were likely still in the manor, so entering the manor was inevitable.

Liu Xiaolou still let Liu Shi lead the way into the manor. Liu Shi was a bit reluctant. He dared to come to Xikou Town, but he didn't have the guts to return to the manor. After Tan Bazhang gave him two shots of courage, Liu Shi finally gathered his courage and led the way into the manor.

It must be said that in doing anything, the effect of having an inside contact is excellent. The group sneaked in under the cover of darkness, avoided several traps and ambushes set in the manor, and soon arrived at their destination.

This courtyard was clean and tidy, and the lights in all the rooms were out, just as it was deep in the night.

Liu Shi pointed to the small two-room house in the middle: "It's here."

Su Jiuniang was a Foundation Establishment cultivator after all, and her hearing was excellent, so she immediately said: "The people inside are asleep. The two rooms on the left and the second room on the right are also asleep, and there is no one in the first room."

She reached out to support Liu Shi, which was a reminder to him that if he played any tricks, she could kill him immediately. Liu Shi naturally understood and didn't dare to move a bit.

Liu Xiaolou and Tan Bazhang were both old hands at this, skilled at entering houses, silently opened the door, and sneaked into the room.

This was inside the Yin family manor, and the danger was not comparable to keeping watch in the outer residence earlier. Su Jiuniang focused on perceiving everything around her, feeling both anxious and excited, her face flushed red.

Before long, Liu Xiaolou and Tan Bazhang both came out, closed the door again, nodded at Su Jiuniang, indicating they had succeeded, so the four of them climbed over the wall and sneaked out of the manor.

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