Xu Yuan came out of the alley, circled around to the front gate of the residence, and looked up. A plaque with gold characters on a blue background hung above the entrance: Chen Manor.
After leaving Wangjing Ward, Xu Yuan found a teahouse in the city and casually asked around. He learned that Master Chen was a high-ranking official who had recently retired from the Southern Capital. He had once held a fourth-rank post!
Xu Yuan left the teahouse, his brows furrowing. A fourth-rank official from the Southern Capital? How did someone like that end up targeting me?
Was Master Qiao one of their lackeys?
And what exactly was this thing they were looking for?
The things he'd found in Qiao Zi'ang's study last time hadn't seemed suspicious at all...
As Xu Yuan walked back, he kept turning the matter over in his mind. Most of those things were still at home, so he'd have to go back and examine them carefully.
As soon as Xing Guolong left Master Chen's place, he hurried back to his base—a carriage and horse business in West City.
Several freight depots and carriage businesses operated in this part of the southwestern city. It was close to the main road and the docks, making it easy to come and go.
This carriage business belonged to the Chen Family.
Xing Guolong's men were all waiting there.
"Old Qian's been taken out of the game. Now it's our turn!" As soon as he said this, the eyes of his seven brothers lit up. "Our chance has come! Hahaha..."
Xing Guolong and his men had done more work for Master Chen than Old Qian's people, and they'd received more rewards, too.
But Master Chen clearly trusted Old Qian more, leaving all the important jobs to him. The