The third elder's worry is justified. He is worried that Alan will investigate the rumors because of this incident. In fact, if they know how to stop, Alan will not find out. Unfortunately, the elders' decision is still too late.
One step forward.
Ah Lan's purpose for causing this incident was naturally not to be bored. Instead of letting the elders lead the way, he would have taken the initiative. And his original plan was to take advantage of this incident to expose the elders.
Conspiracy. Now that Butler Leng's family has been protected by his people for a long time, he certainly has no worries.
After the elders left, Uncle Ren also planned to go back to the antique shop. A-Lan asked Uncle Ren to stay and have dinner together before going back. It happened that he also wanted to go to the shop.
"Master, the elders won't suspect anything, right?" Uncle Ren asked.
There are no elders in the courtyard because the elders thought that after A Lan moved out of the courtyard, he would never go back to live there again. Until now, they had not arranged anyone in A Lan's courtyard because A Lan was too smart to live there.
It can't be hidden from Alan's eyes.
"They should just be worried now." Alan said with a smile.
"Worried?" Uncle Ren asked puzzledly.
"By the way, the elders are not holding on to this matter, are they?" Ayu also asked anxiously.
"With such a big thing happening in the tea garden, they will definitely be worried. Especially the third elder. He should be worried that when we investigate the tea garden, we will find out the rumors. In order to avoid suspicion at this time, they should find ways to suppress the rumors.
." A Lan said.
"The third elder is an old fox. He is worried that you will suspect that he did this thing this time." Uncle Ren said.
"What can't they do to get Ah Lan to hand over the master? This time, Ah Lan will strike first, otherwise do you think they will let this opportunity go?" Ayu said.
"As I said before, they may try to open another shop. Because the tea garden is very important to the Leng family, if something happens to the tea garden, the Leng family's business will suffer half of the loss. The third elder is not stupid, and of course he will not use the tea garden for business.
Bet." Alan said.
A-Lan paused and continued: "We don't have to do anything next. We will go to the backyard to see Yueyao every day, then go to my father's study to sit, and finally we can go shopping on West Street."
"Yes." Uncle Ren said.
After the meal, Ayu stayed in the mansion, while A-Lan and Uncle Ren left the Leng mansion and went to the antique shop. Of course, the news soon spread to the elder's mansion.
"Did they go to an antique shop?" the third elder said doubtfully.
"Yes, I saw the young master and Uncle Ren getting into the carriage with my own eyes. I followed them all the way, and the carriage only stopped when it reached the antique shop." said the servant who followed them.
"Did you see the young master and Ren Zi get off the carriage with your own eyes?" the second elder asked.
"Yes." The servant responded.
"You continue to guard and report back if anything happens." The great elder said.
After the three elders left Leng's Mansion, they all went to the Great Elder's Mansion. The three of them had just finished their meal and were sitting in the front hall drinking tea when they heard the news.
"Why did he go to the antique shop instead of investigating who stole the goods from the tea garden?" the elder said.
"Is it to count the goods?" the second elder asked.
"There is nothing to count in the antique shop, just those few things. How could such good things be placed in the shop? They have long been hidden in the Leng Mansion's warehouse." The third elder said.
The third elder is right. There is no comparison between the objects in the antique shop and the objects in the Leng family's warehouse. The Leng family will not throw very valuable things in the shop. Therefore, the objects in the antique shop are just like that.
There is nothing to count.
"Why are you going to the antique shop at this time?" asked the second elder.
"Alan has a habit of going to antique shops to discuss everything. I suspect that he has found a clue." The third elder said.
"After we left Leng Mansion, A-Lan stayed in the mansion and did not go out. I guess they went to the antique shop to find a solution." The second elder said.
The second elder didn't believe that A-Lan found the clue so quickly. He didn't go out to investigate at all. Where did the clue come from? Therefore, he believed that A-Lan and Uncle Ren went to the antique shop to discuss the matter.
"I hope he can find out who is targeting the Leng family as soon as possible. If he doesn't know clearly, it won't be too late for us to intervene in the investigation." The third elder said.
"Third brother, why do you want to help A-Lan?" the elder asked in confusion.
"Third brother is worried that A-Lan will suspect that we did it, and there will be no way to avoid an investigation. If the rumor is found out, wouldn't it be unfair?" the second elder explained.
"So that's the case, but the one who opposes the Leng family in the capital is nothing more than the Lin family. Although they have been at odds for so many years, they have only competed secretly. The Lin family has never made small moves behind the scenes. It is all an open and honest competition. Who is it?
?" said the third elder.
The three elders have been hoping that A-Lan can find out the results as soon as possible these days, and even the matter of Yueyao has been put aside. But three days have passed, and there is no news from A-Lan.
These three people couldn't sit still. After discussing in the Great Elder's Mansion, they went to Leng Mansion.
A-Lan was not in the mansion, but was drinking tea with A-Yu by the lake and enjoying the scenery. Because the people who were looking for news outside the Leng Mansion saw that A-Lan went to the Great Elder's Mansion after he went out, but when he arrived at the Great Elder's Mansion,
, the great elder and the other two elders are almost at Leng Mansion.
The great elder couldn't hold his breath. After sitting in the front hall for half an hour, he asked: "When will your young master come back and what did he do when he went out?"
The three elders originally thought that A-Lan had gone out early in the morning to investigate for clues. If they returned to A-Lan and A-Yu to play by the lake, they would have slapped the table in anger.
The housekeeper said respectfully: "Elder, how could I know where the young master went? But I saw him leaving with Ayu."
"I'm asking you when they will come back. What a coincidence that he is not in Leng Mansion." The great elder said.
"He didn't say when the young master will come back. The young master has come back very late every day these days. If the elder is not in a hurry, he can just sit here drinking tea and playing chess to pass the time and wait for him to come back," the housekeeper said.
The Great Elder looked around and saw that there was no one in the Leng Mansion, so he wanted to ask the Great Elder about Ah Lan's situation in the past few days, but as soon as he walked over, he was turned back by the third elder's warning look.
You must know that this is Leng Mansion. If anything happens, they cannot contact the housekeeper directly.
"Steward, you go down first, we will take care of ourselves." The third elder explained quickly.
"Yes." said the steward.
"Third brother, why can't you ask him?" the elder asked in a low voice.
Although the First Elder spoke in a suppressed voice, the Third Elder could hear the First Elder's dissatisfaction with him. So he said helplessly: "Brother, this is the Leng Mansion. We must be careful in what we say and do, in case we are discovered.
Woolen cloth?"
I don’t know if the great elder could listen. After hearing what the third elder said, he stopped talking and picked up the tea cup to drink tea.
lakeside
A-Lan received the news soon, poured herself a cup of tea, and said to A-Yu: "It's here again."
"Last time, you made it so clear. Do they still want to use Yueyao?" Ayu asked in confusion.
"I guess this time it may have something to do with the tea garden." A Lan said with a slight smile.
"Chayuan? What happened in the tea garden was obviously your own fault," Ayu said.
"The third elder is a little anxious after seeing that we have had no news for so many years. In fact, they are more anxious than us to find this group of thieves. Because they are worried that I will doubt them and find out other things." A Lan said.
"Are they afraid that the rumors will be exposed?" Ayu said.
"Besides the rumors, I'm afraid there are other things. Are there still no new clues about the bank?" A Lan said.
"I've been checking them these past few days, but unfortunately, nothing has been found, only things about the bank a few years ago," Ayu said.
It turns out that Ayu has not been idle these days, and has been checking the past affairs of the elders. Unfortunately, he did not find anything useful.
"The people at the bank just said that Mr. Leng went to save a large amount of money, but the person who went there was not Mr. Leng. Moreover, things passed so long that the people at the bank didn't even remember that person's appearance," A-Lan said.
"Do you think there's something wrong? Why did you mention this suddenly?" Ayu said.
"I sorted out all the accounts before and found that a sum of money from Jin Yuzhai was missing every year. Of course, it was before I took over the business. This kind of thing didn't happen about four or five years ago," A Lan said.
"According to what you said, if it is true, then the time is just right. The bank incident also happened four or five years ago. At that time, the clan leader was taking care of the business. And the clan members would occasionally get involved.
Come in with one foot. Wait, you mean, someone among them embezzled Jin Yuzhai's money." Ayu said.
"That's right." Alan said.
"Then I will check which elders have come into contact with Jin Yuzhai in the past few years." Ayu said.
"There is also the shopkeeper of Jin Yuzhai, he is very problematic." A Lan said.
"He must have been bribed by the elders, otherwise he wouldn't have discovered the problem with the accounts." Ayu said.
"It is certainly not easy to hide this from the clan leader. Tonight, I will study the account books carefully." A Lan said.
After the two of them finished talking, they returned to Leng's house. He didn't expect that the elder had not left Leng's house yet. He was afraid that he would not leave until he could wait for him today.
"Uncle Leng, ask someone to bring some pastries in." A Lan said.
"yes."
Seeing that A-Lan had finally come back, the great elder stood up and asked, "A-Lan, where have you been and why did you come back?"
"I went out to do some errands, but the three elders didn't tell me in advance when they came. If I knew you were coming, I wouldn't have gone out," A-Lan said.
"There is news about the tea garden." The third elder asked.
The third elder didn't care where A-Lan went, he only cared about whether the thief in the tea garden was found.
"There is no news yet. I have reported it secretly to the officials, who will deal with it in a low-key manner," A Lan said.
"Reporting to the official? Can't we hide this matter?" the third elder asked doubtfully.
He did not expect that A-Lan did not choose to investigate on her own, but reported it to the government. When something like this happened to the Leng family, she still did not want the government to get involved. What on earth was A-Lan thinking, and why did she choose to report it to the government?
"Hide it? Hidden it so much? Third Elder, so many people knew about it that day, and it seems that they can't hide it even if they don't report it to the official. Besides, I really have no clues, so I can only solve it by reporting it to the official." A Lan said.
"The Leng family has always been unwilling to deal with the government. How can you report it to the government? If you have difficulties, you can tell us. At least we can help you find a solution, not to mention that the tea garden is the Leng family's business." The third elder said angrily.
