Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 477 - 248: The Embrace of Knowledge

Chapter 477: Chapter 248: The Embrace of Knowledge

What was thought to be a farce had truly become one.

However, to prevent any coded messages in this love letter, Shen scrutinized it closely and even sent people to investigate Jinse Pavilion to see if this Qing Niang existed.

In the end, it was confirmed to be nothing more than a disgusting love letter.

"I’ll ask you again, what are you doing in the pawnshop?"

Shen asked coldly.

Now freed, Lu Renjia snatched the envelope back, speaking irritably:

"I came to the pawnshop to pawn something, I plan to buy a gift for the woman I like, is there a problem with wanting to exchange it for some money?"

Seeing things take a turn, Yuan Anjiang, whose heart had been in his throat, finally relaxed and spoke, "Shen, I can vouch for these two, there’s no issue with them. If Shen doesn’t believe me, I can request the Dark Guard Department of the Liushan Division to investigate."

Shen furrowed his brow and nodded slightly, "Since Mr. Yuan is so certain, then there should be no issue."

He was still inclined to give face to Yuan Anjiang.

Moreover, there were no direct pieces of evidence at the moment tying these two to spies from Nanjin Country.

Turning to Lu Renjia, he advised, "However, I sincerely urge both of you, if you come across Jiang Mo, tell him to surrender himself as soon as possible. Qingzhou is now under lockdown; even if he had ten wings, he would find it hard to escape."

After speaking, he led his men away, escorting the shopkeeper and others out.

Dusting himself off, Lu Renjia said to Shan Dongchuan, who was preparing to leave, "Mr. Shan, are you disappointed?"

"Why do you say that?" Shan Dongchuan asked, puzzled.

Lu Renjia chuckled, "Although I’m just a lackey, I’ve been mixing in the big vat of the government for more than a decade and have seen all sorts of characters. I, Jia, can still discern who has a hidden agenda and who is forthright. You, Mr. Shan, are not forthright."

Shan Dongchuan smiled and said nothing, stepping out of the pawnshop.

Yuan Anjiang watched his retreating figure with a complex expression and sighed almost imperceptibly.

Turning to Lu Renjia, he asked, "Have you really not met Jiang Mo?"

Lu Renjia shook his head vigorously, smiling broadly, "Mr. Yuan, we really haven’t seen Jiang, we’re one of our own and wouldn’t lie to you. We were even planning to ask for your help. Oh right, did you see our superior?"

"I haven’t seen Li."

Yuan Anjiang shook his head and then added, "Lord Ran has vanished as well; perhaps they have gone to investigate something."

Hearing this, Lu Renjia looked somewhat disappointed.

Taking a deep breath, he clapped Zhang Yunwu’s sturdy shoulder and said, "No worries, with me and Zhang here, we will surely get to the bottom of things."

Yuan Anjiang smiled, "I’ve always felt sorry for Jiang Mo, thinking that his talent is wasted following you in Wind Thunder Hall. Now I see that some things are more precious than so-called talent. I understand why Jiang Mo does not wish to climb higher."

Hearing this, Lu Renjia’s potato-like face broke into a beaming smile, "Mr. Yuan, I want to climb up, I want to improve."

"With that face of yours, it’ll be tough to advance,"

Yuan Anjiang patted Lu Renjia’s shoulder lightly, shook his head with a sigh, and turned to leave.

----

Jiang Shouzhong was washing clothes.

The undergarment in his hands had been scrubbed back and forth countless times.

Of course, he had no special fetish for clothing.

It wasn’t like he would take a woman’s undergarment to his room and then come out later with the garment sporting two curved hairs.

He couldn’t do such things.

At most, before washing it, he would subconsciously sniff it —— merely wanting to sense the fragrance of knowledge from the female master’s clothing, nothing more.

As for what knowledge smells like, naturally, it has the scent of milk.

While washing the clothes, the rat demon finally returned.

Being away from the Zodiac Map for too long, the rat demon seemed much weaker.

"Master..."

"How did it go?" Jiang Shouzhong asked.

The rat demon reported in detail the events it had witnessed while tailing someone the night before.

Because the rat demon’s cultivation wasn’t very high, it had to keep its distance while following them and could easily be thrown off.

In the end, it still failed to keep up with the mysterious person disguised as Jiang Shouzhong.

Fortunately, the scene where the imposter met with Lu Renjia and Zhang Yunwu the previous night had been witnessed by the rat demon.

"Killing three birds with one stone,"

After hearing the rat demon’s account, Jiang Shouzhong laughed.

First, someone comes pretending to kidnap Liu Wuxu, framing him as a spy from Nanjin Country through her testimony.

Then they locate Lu Renjia and Zhang Yunwu.

While tricking the pair to do their bidding, they continued framing him, forcing him to show himself.

I have to say, this time the enemy is quite intelligent, coming up with all sorts of methods to deal with him.

"Master, should we give them a heads up?"

The rat demon asked.

Jiang Shouzhong pondered for a moment, and said softly with a chuckle:

"These people are underestimating Jia a bit too much. They really think this guy is a fool. No need to warn them, I believe they can handle it."

Jia is truly one who has climbed his way up from the bottom.

To be able to enter the Liushan Division with no background and low cultivation was based entirely on his own strength.

Don’t be fooled by his usual indiscretions and sycophantic ways; he is attentive and strong-willed.

Before joining the Liushan Division, he used to work in the county yamen, blending in among the commoners to solve cases, and later infiltrated a thieves’ guild as an undercover agent, rising from a lackey to Hall Master.

Even when the thieves’ guild was taken down in one fell swoop, no one suspected him.

This clearly showed his formidable professional capability.

Because of his looks and carefree demeanor, it was easy for others to underestimate him. Pretending to be Jiang Shouzhong to fool Lu Renjia this time was indeed a blunder due to a lack of preliminary research, turning into a farce.

After putting the rat demon back into the Zodiac Map, Jiang Shouzhong washed the clothes while he pondered.

The other party is now eager to smear him as a spy for Nanjin Country, one of the purposes being definitely to force the official internal guards to expose him as quickly as possible.

It indicates that these people are afraid of him hiding in the dark.

So the question arises, why are they so afraid of me? What kind of threat do I pose to them?

Moreover, as it seems now, that Liu Wuxu is definitely problematic.

It’s very likely that she’s in cahoots with the person who impersonated him, which is why they played out their little farce together, digging a trap step by step to frame him.

"It seems I need to have a deeper conversation with that Oiran."

Jiang Shouzhong thought quietly to himself.

As for that Zhang Fuwang, the so-called richest man in Qingzhou, something about him always makes me feel uncomfortable, and the way he looks at Liu Wuxu is a bit strange.

However, it also reveals the power behind the scenes.

The Liushan Division’s Shan Dongchuan, Jinse Pavilion’s Oiran Liu Wuxu, Qingzhou’s richest man Zhang Fuwang, and even the officials... It’s possible that all the well-known figures in Qingzhou might belong to the same organization.

What kind of force could compel so many formidable figures to work for it?

Jiang Shouzhong felt a sudden wave of pressure bearing down on him.

The enemy he’s facing this time is much more formidable than the Luo Family of the capital.

"Let me do the washing."

At some point, Dugu Luoxue appeared beside him.

Jiang Shouzhong came back to his senses, smiling as he gestured with his hand, "No need, Master, I’m not tired. If you have anything to wash, just give it to me."

"It’s ruined."

"What?"

"You’ve washed it to shreds."

"..."

Jiang Shouzhong looked at the undergarments in his hand that he had scrubbed to pieces, as if petrified.

He had been so absorbed in contemplating the case that he had forgotten to ease his strength.

After all, he is now considered a martial expert, and a moment of carelessness can cause destruction.

"It doesn’t matter, I’ll patch it up for you once it’s dry."

Jiang Shouzhong said with an embarrassed laugh.

Dugu Luoxue wasn’t angry, instead she insisted on him getting up.

With no choice, Jiang Shouzhong had to stand up and give up the stool.

Dugu Luoxue rolled up her sleeves, revealing her snow-white arms, and began the menial task of washing the clothes as she sat on the stool.

The mild sunlight casted a serene glow on her focused and peaceful profile, as if even the air around her was imbued with an added touch of grace and tranquility.

This woman exudes an air of calm and tranquility no matter what she does.

Jiang Shouzhong thought about returning to his room, but inadvertently looked down and caught his breath.

As it turned out, when a woman bent over to wash the clothes, her loose clothing unavoidably opened up; from his high vantage point, the snowy peaks of knowledge were nearly spilling out, smooth as creamy jade.

This is the embrace of knowledge.

Dugu Luoxue seemed to notice and turned her head towards him.

Seeing the man gazing into the sky, she asked, "What are you looking at?"

Jiang Shouzhong remarked emotionally, "The sun today is especially big, especially round."