At this time, at the edge of the town, in a seemingly inconspicuous farmhouse, Qi Jingyi was drinking alone. He had purchased this place long ago as an occasional stopover.
Aside from him and his close guard Weng Ji, no one else knew about this place.
In front of him was food packed from the Baiwei Restaurant by Weng Ji, but he hadn’t taken a single bite. Truth be told, after becoming accustomed to the meals cooked by Yang Ruxin these past few days, he found the taste of these dishes somewhat off.
"Eighth Brother." Weng Ji appeared in front of Qi Jingyi without a sound, then leaned in to whisper something.
"Really?" Qi Jingyi couldn’t help but express a hint of surprise, then laughed, "That girl is quite thoughtful." Previously, Gu Yao had sent him a group of human traffickers, which led him to root out a trafficking ring, but he discovered there seemed to be an even larger organization behind it. Eliminating this one did nothing to shake the foundation of the others, so he had been investigating these days.
Illicit human trafficking was a serious crime in the Great Xuan Dynasty.
Lately, he had finally traced the leads back to Tian Geng, but surprisingly, Yang Ruxin had already had people watching him and even had someone become chummy with Tian Jialiang. Her progress was much faster than his.
Weng Ji nodded.
"Then... send two men to Gu Qingheng." Qi Jingrong paused for a moment before looking up, "Let him command them as he sees fit." Yang Ruxin did not send Qian Er, so she must be asking Gu Qingheng for men. He wasn’t clear on whether Gu Qingheng had enough men, but sending two was better to be safe than sorry. Moreover, since he was also involved in this affair, his people were the most appropriate for the task.
Weng Ji nodded vigorously and turned to dispatch the men.
"Wait, what about Yang Baihe?" Qi Jingyi suddenly called out to Weng Ji.
A twitch crossed Weng Ji’s mouth: "She’s still waiting outside the Shen Residence. Tenth Brother has been in the Shen Residence and hasn’t come out. We’d need someone inside to send word out to know the details."
Qi Jingyi nodded to show he understood.
This time, Weng Ji returned almost two hours later, by which time the sky had darkened.
Qi Jingyi had finished his drink, and the food remained untouched as he lay on the kang bed, lost in thought. Upon hearing Weng Ji’s voice, he looked up.
Weng Ji’s expression was somewhat odd.
"What happened?" Qi Jingyi’s brow furrowed slightly.
"Master, it’s..." Weng Ji seemed rather helpless, "A spy from the Shen Family sent a message out..."
Qi Jingyi’s eyes flickered: "What did Old Ten do to make you pull such a face?" he said, getting up to pour himself a cup of tea and drinking it slowly.
"Well... Tenth Brother slept with both Shen Yizhen and Shen Yila..."
Splutter! Qi Jingyi sprayed out the tea from his mouth.
Weng Ji instantly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the tea, and inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.
"What did you say?" Qi Jingyi hurriedly wiped his mouth, "Just in that short time, he slept with both?" There was a village girl waiting at the door, and he was sleeping with other girls inside. Should he compliment his younger brother for his good health?
Weng Ji nodded: "At first, it was Shen Yizhen who entered Tenth Brother’s room and didn’t come out for a long time. After that, such noises were heard..." He paused and his face suspiciously reddened, "Then Shen Yila also brought over ginseng soup and also didn’t leave afterward. Who knows what happened next, but suddenly the sisters started fighting, and then... the entire Shen Residence was stirred up..."