178: Chapter 178 Refusal to Take Him Back

"What?"

Niu Er, whose name had been called, poked his head into the warehouse and was left dumbfounded.

The warehouse was completely empty; all one hundred thousand bolts of ordinary cloth had vanished into thin air.

"How is this possible?"

"Quick, go call the shopkeeper!"

The two shop assistants immediately ran toward the storefront in the front courtyard.

"Shopkeeper, this is bad!"

"What are you howling about!"

The cloth shopkeeper, who was busy brewing tea, reprimanded them with dissatisfaction.

"It's not that, Shopkeeper. We went to restock and discovered that all the cloth in the warehouse is gone!"

"Crash!"

The teacup hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

But the cloth shopkeeper could no longer care about such things and immediately ran toward the backyard.

When he saw the empty warehouse,

he immediately fainted.

A warehouse containing a full one hundred thousand bolts of ordinary cloth had been stolen; even killing him would not be enough to make up for his transgression.

Similarly, the grain shop under Mingjian Villa

also discovered that its stored grain had been stolen.

Other shops also discovered one after another that their stored supplies had been stolen.

Soon, this news reached the ears of Second Master Zhao Jianyu, the Zhao family member stationed in Lingzhou City.

He was Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng's younger brother.

After Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng inherited the position of Manor Master, he realized that his brother had little interest in martial arts, so he sent him to Lingzhou City to hold down the fort and manage all the shops in the city.

After his subordinates finished taking inventory,

and discovered that the stolen supplies and goods amounted to as much as seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver,

Second Master Zhao Jianyu's face turned black: "Investigate! Investigate this for me! To think someone dares to lay hands on my Mingjian Villa's property—once I find out who it is, I will personally chop off their hands!"

"Yes!"

Following Second Master Zhao Jianyu's order,

his subordinates immediately sprang into action and began investigating the shops that had been robbed.

"Second Master, should we notify the Manor Master?"

The steward reminded him cautiously.

Second Master Zhao Jianyu instinctively wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he realized that it wasn't just one or two shops that had been robbed; it was impossible to hide.

Therefore, he said: "Send a message by carrier pigeon immediately and tell my eldest brother the truth!"

"Yes!"

The steward accepted the order and left.

Less than fifteen minutes later,

the carrier pigeon landed at Mingjian Villa.

The old servant specifically tasked with watching the pigeons immediately reported it.

Then, he delivered the message to Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng.

Unfolding the note and seeing the contents written on it, Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng couldn't help but frown. Dozens of shops had been robbed in a single night, with losses reaching as high as seven or eight hundred thousand taels.

At this moment, the steward of the villa rushed over.

His expression was quite grave.

He bowed slightly and reported: "Reporting to the Manor Master, the chief stewards of the eight farms and two wineries have sent people to report that overnight, the grain in the granaries of the eight farms, as well as the wine stored in the wineries, have all vanished!"

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng's face darkened even further. He said indifferently: "Steward, I just received a message by carrier pigeon from my second brother. Dozens of shops in the city have had their supplies and goods stolen, with losses reaching nearly seven or eight hundred thousand taels.

Who do you think is targeting our Mingjian Villa?"

The steward's mind raced. Whether it was the grain in the farms, the wine in the wineries, or the supplies and goods in the major shops in the city, this was not something that a mere few people or even a few dozen people could steal in a single night.

Moreover, he had specifically asked about the farms and wineries, and no cart tracks had been left behind.

This meant that the other party did not use carts to transport the grain away.

Thinking of this, he said to Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng: "Manor Master, to be able to transport so many things in a single night, I fear they must have used a storage treasure with an immense storage space!"

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng nodded: "Your analysis makes sense. As far as I know, there are only three families in Lingzhou City that possess storage treasures with large capacities: the other Zhao family, the Mo family, and the Feng family.

Steward, which family do you think it is?"

The steward pondered again. After a long while, he looked up: "Manor Master, I think we can first rule out the Zhao family!"

"Why?" Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng asked.

The steward replied: "First of all, the current head of the Zhao family, Governor-General Zhao Tianqing, is the Governor of Lingzhou. He is an official figure. No matter how insidious and cunning he may be, he must still consider his own reputation. Therefore, it is impossible for their Zhao family to commit such an act of theft."

"What about the other two families?" Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng asked.

The steward continued his analysis: "The Mo family is possible, but it is unlikely because the Mo family also owns many shops in Lingzhou City. If they were to steal from us, once we suspected them, we could retaliate in kind. Plus, the Mo family has a good relationship with our Mingjian Villa, so they shouldn't do such a thing!"

"So that means the Feng family is the most suspicious?" Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng said.

The steward shook his head: "It's hard to say. The Feng family was originally a martial arts family, but in the last few decades, they have been keen on pursuing the path of civil officials. Civil officials care most about their reputation. If they were to acquire a reputation for theft, the reputations of the dozens of officials in the Feng family would all be affected!"

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng sneered: "According to you, none of the three families are suspicious. Then who could it be?"

The steward said: "Manor Master, actually, I think it should be an outside force!"

"Why?"

The chief steward said: "Our Mingjian Villa actually has quite a good relationship with the seven great Blood Refining families and the other nine top Sects in Lingzhou. As long as they want our High Grade divine weapons, they won't tear up their relationship with us.

Therefore, the possibility of it being a local force is small!"

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng also quite agreed with the steward's analysis: "Give the order to investigate the whereabouts of the stolen supplies with all our might. Besides that, do not let the major families in Lingzhou City off the hook either; investigate them thoroughly for me!"

"Yes!"

The steward accepted the order and left.

Not long after the steward left, another servant came to report that Zhao Yue had come to request an audience.

"Let him in!"

Before long, Zhao Yue arrived: "This subordinate greets the Manor Master."

"How is the investigation going?" Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng asked.

Zhao Yue immediately presented the intelligence he had gathered.

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng waved his hand, and the booklet landed in his hand. He silently began to flip through it.

After a while,

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng closed the booklet. In his heart, he was already ninety percent certain that this Chen Hu was the child he had abandoned all those years ago.

So, should he leave him be?

Or should he let him acknowledge his ancestors and return to the family?

"Ah Yue, you did very well this time. Go down and rest!"

"Yes, this subordinate will take his leave!"

After sending Zhao Yue away, Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng could not make up his mind for the moment.

He decided to go find his wife, Qin Shuangyu, to discuss it.

"Husband, why have you come?"

Seeing Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng arrive, a gentle smile immediately appeared on Qin Shuangyu's face.

In reality, her mood at the moment was quite terrible because Granny Long, whom she had sent out, had still not returned.

"Wife, I have come to find you because there is a matter I would like to discuss with you."

"Husband, let's sit down and talk."

"Alright!"

"Husband, have some tea!"

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng then said: "Wife, you are too polite. It is like this: I sent people to Linjiang Prefecture to investigate Chen Hu's background. He should be the child we accidentally lost all those years ago. Wife, do you think it is necessary for us to bring him back?"

"No, I do not agree!" Qin Shuangyu said, somewhat agitated.

Manor Master Zhao Jiansheng looked at her, waiting for her to provide an explanation.

"Husband, that child was abandoned by us voluntarily. If he finds out the truth, he will definitely resent us. This is equivalent to bringing back a root of disaster. Furthermore, we already have Lier, and we have already planned to cultivate Lier as our successor.

If he returns, what if he threatens Lier's position?"

If Chen Hu were just an ordinary person, or someone without talent,

she wouldn't mind bringing him back.

But it just so happens that this Chen Hu is ranked 22nd on the hidden dragon ranking. If he returns, he will definitely threaten Zhao Li's status.

Therefore, he must absolutely not be allowed to return.