Chapter 201

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan exchanged a smile, "I said it, Elder Sister Meng would surely anticipate that we have a request."

She poured a cup of tea, placed it in front of Meng Dangni zi, and said,

"Originally we planned to enter the city tomorrow morning, do some leisurely shopping first, then visit Zhenbaoge."

"But now plans changed; we rushed over this afternoon."

Meng Dangni zi replied cheerfully, "What is it? I'll certainly help if I can."

Gu Xixi spoke of the recent stalking and peeping by the old bachelor.

"The old bachelor said he had only met once with the person who hired him."

"They instructed him to watch Jing Lan and seize an opportunity to kidnap her within ten days."

"If the old bachelor could take Jing Lan out of the village and deliver her unseen to Zhen Jade Workshop, he would receive a reward of one hundred taels of silver."

"This is no small matter," Meng Dangni zi said, her expression turning grave.

She looked at He Jinglan, as if something had occurred to her, and grew increasingly worried.

"You want to ask me about the details of Zhen Jade Workshop?"

Gu Xixi nodded, "Yes, I've heard Zhen Jade Workshop deals in jade wares and ornaments, a trade like Elder Sister Meng's; perhaps you know something about them."

He Jinglan also said, "All we know for sure is that they are aware of my identity and background."

"But are they ordinary kidnappers after money, or is there another motive……"

"I want to ascertain it regardless."

Meng Dangni zi said, "I only bought a batch of scrap materials from them last month for inlay work."

"The owner of Zhen Jade Workshop bears the surname Zhen, is over forty, and is not a local."

"The shop opened two years ago, but I have never heard any suspicious rumors about them."

"If one were to say this shop is colluding with the kidnappers, I would still be unable to figure it out."

"The old bachelor never saw their true appearance, only saying it was a middle‑aged man."

"With insufficient leads, reaching Zhen Jade Workshop has reached an impasse."

He Jinglan said, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained—let the old bachelor take me to Zhen Jade Workshop; I'll feign unconsciousness in a sack and prepare a dose of the poison Gu Xixi mixed."

"As soon as someone opens the sack, I'll give them a surprise."

"No!" Gu Xixi and Meng Dangni zi exclaimed in unison.

Meng Dangni zi said softly to He Jinglan, "We don't know the enemy's details; doing this is too dangerous."

He Jinglan replied, "It's fine; I still have my hidden guards at my side. I just need to summon them to stand guard outside with Xixi and An Qinghe."

"Never mind who they are; we just need to coordinate inside and out, catch them all, then interrogate!"

Meng Dangni zi still firmly objected, "That's still improper; if you're sent in alone and the other side is cunning, they could turn the tables on us."

"If we fail to rescue you in time and you come to harm, how would I answer to Chengping?"

He Jinglan blinked, somewhat dazed, "Cheng……Chengping?"

Gu Xixi whispered a reminder, "That's the one you know."

She laughed embarrassedly while looking at Meng Dangni zi, "In my haste I forgot to tell you—Meng Dangni zi is the elder sister of Meng Chengping."

He Jinglan: "……"

Seeing Meng Dangni zi gazing at her with a warm smile, He Jinglan's cheeks instantly flushed.

"Stupid Xixi, why didn't you tell me sooner."

Gu Xixi, aware of her fault, said, "Sorry, sorry; General Meng talked to you about his sister, I thought you knew."

Meng Dangni zi knew the young lady felt embarrassed, and considerately said, "Today is just our women's gathering; we won't mention those odious men."

She then turned back to the topic, "If the meeting place is Zhen Jade Workshop,"

"Based on my understanding, they are hardly ordinary bandits or tyrants."

Meng Dangni zi lifted her eyes to Gu Xixi and He Jinglan, "The Zhen family's resources are quite abundant; just from the jade wares and materials in their shop we can estimate roughly."

"Moreover, their business has been good these past two years."

"Lately I've heard no news of their cash flow being strained; they probably aren't short of money."

Gu Xixi frowned, "If they're not lacking money, then……"

She and He Jinglan almost simultaneously turned to look at each other, both eyes showing alarm.

"Not for profit, then it must be for some nefarious scheme."

Gu Xixi thought of the reason Master Liu had come to Huachi Du Cun.

"The news of Mu Nan Zhao's survival has not yet spread far and wide, so those people haven't come after Gu Xixi for the time being, but have instead fixed their sights on He Jinglan?!"

"After all, He Jinglan is the He family's eldest daughter, and the He family's new head, He Jinghui, will also be involved in this."

He Jinglan's face grim as she said, "The other day, a Shadow Guard delivered a family letter to me, saying that my brother has been very active in the court recently, impeaching several senior officials. An elder in the family wants me to write a letter to advise my brother to avoid offending people, but I ignored it."

Gu Xixi suddenly understood.

It appears He Jinghui has already begun to act in the open.

They must have already consulted with Mu Nan Zhao, Huo Jiang, and others, deciding how to cooperate.

Gu Xixi whispered, "It must be that some people have discovered Jing Lan's whereabouts and intend to use her as a bargaining chip to put pressure on Lord He."

At this moment, the three women all realized the situation was serious, far beyond what they had originally imagined.

After a moment, He Jinglan said, "This won't do; after dealing with that old bachelor today, they will surely have other tricks."

"I can fend off one attack, but can I fend off ten?"

"If we drive them to desperation, they'll implicate others as well."

Gu Xixi nodded, "Indeed, it's not the theft we fear, but the thief's lingering intent."

Meng Dangni zi pondered, "How can we resolve this once and for all? Otherwise, we should report to the authorities."

She herself quickly vetoed again, "No, without basis or evidence, the authorities cannot arrest people."

Reporting to the authorities would instead scare the snake and also cannot stop their secret dealings.

He Jinglan said, "Let's still use my method; let me go!"

Meng Dangni zi also insisted firmly, "No!"

She again said worriedly, "Just, since the big battle, no letters can get through to the military camp; otherwise we should let Chengping think of a way to protect you."

While the two were talking, Gu Xixi kept furrowing her brows in thought.

After a while, she calmly said, "We don't need to do anything; for now just observe."

Meng Dangni zi and He Jinglan were astonished.

He Jinglan said, "You didn't say we would deliberately sit in a conspicuous spot at the teahouse to lure the snake out?"

"Now it's confirmed they're not ordinary bandits; we cannot just stand by and do nothing."

"That Zhenyu Workshop is clearly someone's hidden post placed in Xi Bei; my personal life or death doesn't matter, but now we can't send messages; if those bad people are..."

Because Meng Dangni zi is present, the less one knows about the future chaos, the safer she is.

He Jinglan paused, then spoke indirectly, "What do we do about stabbing the Northwest Army in the back?"

At such a tense moment, Gu Xixi's lips curled into a relaxed faint smile.

"Jing Lan, you forgot, this Xi Bei is General Ho's Xi Bei."

"Even someone so narcissistic would have to admit that Xi Bei is completely under General Ho's control."

"So, Zhenyu Workshop...... maybe it's allowed to exist by someone."