The first elder's words were half right, because the third elder not only looked down on him, but also liked to take advantage of his impulses. Therefore, the first elder also offended many people in the clan, but on the contrary, the third elder had many people who admired him.
The first elder has always had a bad temper. Seeing this situation continue, the second elder was afraid that the first elder would lose control, so he hurriedly said: "Eldest brother, third brother, we are all one family, what are you doing? We are not discussing A-Lan now.
Is it something? Why are we still quarreling?"
The eldest elder turned away and still didn't speak. Of course, the third elder would not argue with the eldest elder, so he spoke first: "I apologize to the eldest brother. You are an elder brother and shouldn't talk to you like this. I am just discussing the matter, maybe
I'm too impatient and speaking too hastily, please don't take it to heart."
This was the first time that the third elder bowed his head to the first elder. Even the first elder did not expect that the third elder would actually admit his mistake to him. For a moment, he felt a little embarrassed and coughed lightly and said: "The second elder is right, we are a family."
People, it’s really not worth fighting for other people.”
"Actually, what I just said is correct. Maybe I think too much and make the lake tour too complicated," the third elder said.
Although the third elder said so, he was still scolding the first elder for being stupid in his heart. A Lan would not hesitate for no reason. Although the tea garden lost a few boxes of goods, it would affect future business. Such an important matter,
A Lan will not be so leisurely.
Inside Leng Mansion
Early the next morning, Ayu returned to Leng Mansion.
"Eat slowly, you haven't eaten anything all night?" A-Lan said, looking at A-Yu who was desperately trying to scoop rice into his mouth.
Ayu didn't have time to talk to Alan. It wasn't until after finishing the last bite that she said: "I left without eating at noon. The shopkeeper did have a problem. After closing the shop, I thought he would leave, but he left where he was."
In the shop, I took out another ledger from the secret door of the shop and sorted it out. I was afraid of alerting others, so I didn’t take the ledger away.”
After hearing this, A Lan said: "Well done, if the account book is touched, it will arouse the shopkeeper's suspicion. Let's go and have a look tonight. If the shopkeeper leaves, we will go in and have a look."
"Okay." Ayu said after taking a sip of tea.
"You should have a good rest first, and we will take action together when it's night," A Lan said.
Ayu fell down and fell asleep after entering the house. Alan did not disturb him. He went to the antique shop. When Uncle Ren saw Alan coming, he said: "The batch of tea has been delivered."
"Uncle Ren, thank you for your hard work. If it weren't for the inconvenience of the Leng Mansion, I wouldn't have let you be wronged in the shop." A Lan asked.
"What's wrong with this? The room in the backyard of the antique shop has the same furnishings as the room in Leng's Mansion. What's wrong with that? I think it's much more comfortable to talk than Leng's Mansion." Uncle Ren said.
"Ayu stayed at Jinyuzhai all night yesterday and found that the shopkeeper did not leave after closing the shop. The shopkeeper locked himself in the room, took out an account from the secret door and started sorting it out." A Lan said.
"It seems that the young master's suspicion is not wrong. There is indeed something wrong with the shopkeeper of Jin Yuzhai." Uncle Ren said.
"Recently, I sorted out the accounts in all the shops and found that there are indeed no problems. However, the elder's ambition is not new, so I missed the accounts from more than ten years ago. Thanks to the patriarch for taking care of the business,
Otherwise, we won’t even keep the account books,” A Lan said.
"Why did you suddenly suspect the shopkeeper of Jin Yuzhai?" Uncle Ren asked.
"Because I found that he had two ledgers, and the ledger he showed me was rearranged. Now it seems that he has a third ledger," said Alan.
"This old fox finally showed his true potential, but I don't know which elder he came into contact with." Uncle Ren asked.
"To say that the three elders have the deepest knowledge in the city, it is the third elder. The one who is so careful and thoughtful that no one can discover it, I think he is the most likely one," said A-Lan.
"You are right, the third elder is indeed capable of buying off the shopkeeper to control the Leng family's business. But, is he so satisfied with a small Jin Yu Zhai?" Uncle Ren said.
How could the third elder be interested in the little Jin Yuzhai because of his ambition? This is not only Uncle Ren's question, but also A Lan's question.
"He wants to control all the Leng family's business. I'm also very surprised as to why he would be interested in Jin Yuzhai. Looking at the accounts from ten years ago, it seems that he had contact with the manager of Jin Yuzhai after my grandfather passed away."
Alan said.
"Couldn't it be other elders?" Uncle Ren said.
It stands to reason that the third elder might not be interested in Jin Yuzhai. Could it be that the other elders did it? The reason why Uncle Ren is suspicious is that the other two elders should not have this ability.
"Whether it is the third elder or not, we still need to wait for the news about Ayu. Although I have the same idea as Uncle Ren, I always feel that other elders should not be able to hide it for so long." A Lan said.
"You are right, but no one can be sure about this kind of thing. Everything will have to wait for Ayu." Uncle Ren said.
"Tonight, I plan to go to Jinyu Zhai with Ayu." Alan said.
"I'll go with you." Uncle Ren said.
"No, it's just right for Ayu and I to go, but Uncle Ren still needs to stay here." A Lan said.
"Do you doubt the clerk in the antique shop?" Uncle Ren asked.
"Something happened to you, the shopkeeper was injured, and two of the shop assistants left. Are these all coincidences?" A-Lan said.
"The shopkeeper's injury was due to a slippery fall on the road when he went back that day. I don't know why the other two guys left. There are still two guys left. I've been observing these days and found nothing.
What's abnormal?" Uncle Ren said.
"The person with the problem may not necessarily be the clerk, but it may also be the shopkeeper." A Lan said.
"But I stayed in the shop all day. Even if they had problems, they couldn't do anything under my nose. After closing the shop, I couldn't find any clues." Uncle Ren said.
"After one day, you will reveal it to the shopkeeper and you won't stay at night." A Lan said.
"I understand. We want everyone to know that we are investigating the rumors. As long as I leave, it proves that there is no problem with the shop. The shopkeeper sees it in his eyes and will wait until I leave to take any action." Uncle Ren said.
.
"That's right, Ayu has been staying at the tea house these days, and I will go to several other big shops in person. I have been to Jinyu Zhai several times, and the shopkeeper's face is so loyal that you can't tell it at all.
He will plot against the Leng family secretly," A Lan said.
"I know the young master's intention. We all thought that no one would attack the antique shop. After all, they are very cautious in places where you often go in and out. But for this reason, the elders may deliberately arrange this." Uncle Ren said.
"You must be careful not to alert the shopkeeper. If he finds out that you suspect him, the clues will be cut off." A Lan said.
"Yes, don't worry, young master, I will be careful." Uncle Ren said.
"I'm going back first." Alan stood up and said.
A-Lan flew away from the antique shop because he and A-yu had already made an appointment to go to Jinyu Zhai, so he did not go back to Leng Mansion, but went directly to Jinyu Zhai.
A-Lan went up to the roof of Jinyu Zhai. A-Yu noticed that A-Lan was coming and flew down from the big tree nearby and landed next to A-Lan.
"The shopkeeper hasn't left yet. It seems that he may have to spend another night cleaning up." Ayu said.
A-Lan didn't say anything. He opened the tiles and looked into the study.
The shopkeeper was sorting out the account book. After calculating it with an abacus, he wrote it down in the account book. Then he took out a relatively neat account book and wrote something on it.
It was obvious that the account book that was taken out at the end was Jin Yuzhai's account book.
After the two of them looked at each other, they continued to peek.
Of course the shopkeeper didn't notice them. After writing four or five lines, he closed the book and put it away, and then left the study in a hurry.
The two of them waited until the shopkeeper left Jin Yuzhai before flying into the courtyard. They entered the study quietly, not even lighting the candle for fear of being discovered.
By the moonlight, they found the secret compartment where the account book was kept. After opening it, they found the account book with very messy records. Although the records on it were messy, they were exactly the same as the account book the shopkeeper showed them.
"What's going on? Are we overthinking it?" Ayu asked.
A-Lan was also a little confused, what was going on? She thought the shopkeeper was making false accounts, but she didn't expect that the shopkeeper just reorganized the messy contents in the ledger and wrote it down in a new notebook.
"It's really weird. What's the purpose of this? If there is really no problem, why does he need to sort it out secretly?" A Lan said.
"Shall we take the account book?" Ayu asked.
"You can't take it. If you take the account book away, it will alert the enemy." A Lan said.
"I don't believe it. There's nothing in the secret room." Ayu put his hand in and groped for a while and said.
"It seems that our thinking is too simple. If there is something wrong with the account book, why would he put it in the shop? I think the account book in question should have been taken away by him." A Lan said.
"However, after he returned home, he didn't take out any account books or anything like that. Because I had been guarding the shop, and he didn't live in the shop twice, so I followed him for a while when he went back.
After that, I didn’t go to the study room." Ayu said.
Since there was nothing wrong with the account book, the two of them returned to Leng Mansion dejectedly.
Ayu said: "Did we make a mistake in our investigation? It's not him who has problems with Jin Yuzhai?"
"Ayu, the shopkeeper is not wronged. He has been bribed since ten years ago. The account book in question cannot be placed in this place. After all, it is not safe here. Or is this account book not at home?"
Lan said.
"What? You mean he hid the account book?" Ayu said in surprise.
"Yes, I suspect that because something happened to the Leng family's tea garden, he seemed a little worried, so he even hid the account books." A Lan said.
"Should we follow him back and have a look?" Ayu said.
"If he is already vigilant, he will not leave us any clues. If we look for it again, we may find something. After the shop closes tomorrow, follow him and see if he goes to see you on the way back.
Who did he kill, or where did he go, or did he go back home directly?" A Lan said.
"Okay, that's what I had in mind. Anyway, we have already come in. Let's see what else we find." Ayu said.
"Master, there is a gap under the secret grid." Ayu said excitedly.
