The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 365 - Unexpected Sympathizers

At night, they came out of Uncle Wei's house, which was only a few steps away from Sun Mansion. The two brothers were too lazy to ride horses, so they handed over their respective mounts to their servants and chatted while walking on foot.

The content was naturally the ”timber business” that would be officially launched soon.

Through Jia Yingchun as the mediator, after several rounds of bargaining between the two parties, the general charter was finally concluded.

The capital of 100,000 taels of silver was raised by the Sun family and the profits earned were divided between the two families. However, all expenses incurred during this period were deducted from the profits that the Sun family should receive.

For such ”official” transactions, background relationships were the most valuable. That was to say, Wang Xifeng was a woman and not easy to show off. In addition, she has been a bit tight recently; otherwise, this transaction might not necessarily fall into the hands of the Sun family.

As for the candidates to be sent to the south, they have also been roughly determined. Cheng Rixing was the Sun family's main representative, assisted by Sun Xi, the Jinling-born son, and Liu An, the gatekeeper; Wang Xifeng, on the other hand, brought the maid Laiwang and two other trusted people into the business.

The fact that this deal would take two or three years to complete and that rolling profits would raise the total amount involved meant that some people would unavoidably become blinded by the silver.

So, to be on the safe side, Sun Shaozong prepared to deposit the principal in the hands of Jinling's accounts. Anyway, it was in Jiangnan, and once the business was settled, it was not too late to go to Jinling to disburse the silver.

“That's right.”

After discussing the details, Sun Shaozong added, "I am planning to borrow some good carpenter envoys from Feng Xin. After all, it was a timber business and there must always be a few knowledgeable followers.”

Sun Shaozong has been the business's leader since the beginning. Apart from being responsible for raising capital, his Big Brother rarely asked anything about the business. At this time, when he said this, he was even more happy to let it go.

And compared to this, he cared more about things around him.

For example…

“Erlang, didn’t you mention to me the new play arranged by Jiang Yuhan?”

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a moment, Sun Shaozong shook his head and said, "The scenes he rehearsed seemed to be mansion drama and the scene of the murder, and there was no chance for us to show our troop.”

“The entire Sun Mansion didn't show any appearance, so you naturally didn't have a chance to make an appearance.”

“Unfortunately, it's really a pity.”

Sun Shaozu sighed and pounded his chest, saying, "I thought it was just a blind performance in the palace, but I never expected it to be set up as a platform in the Prison God Temple. This great opportunity to become famous has been missed for nothing.”

Seeing his blowing beard and glaring appearance, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but smile. He quickly comforted him and said that in the future, Jiang Yuhan was planning to add or subtract this "Sun Public Case" based on the performance's response. At that time, he would be asked to add more parts to the play.

As they spoke, the two brothers had already arrived at the Sun Mansion.

After saying goodbye to his Big Brother, Sun Shaozong hurried to the backyard again. Just after crossing the Moon Gate, he heard someone chanting poems in the pavilion in the Northwest.

He followed the sound, and it turned out that Ruan Rong and Xiangling thought the room was too stuffy, so they took their son to enjoy the cool in the pavilion in the Northwest.

“Why don't you add two pots of ice to the room?”

Sun Shaozong strode over and said strangely, "Didn't I have someone prepare more last winter? Did it run out of it so quickly?”

“It's not a good thing to always use an ice basin to relieve heat.”

Ruan Rong got up from the recliner and pointed to her son in the nearby cradle, saying, "We adults are fine. Yi'er has a layer of red bumps on his back. I heard the doctor say it's some kind of eczema, and I'm afraid it's the reason for using an ice basin indiscriminately.”

The ice basin was still no better than air conditioning.

Sun Shaozong honestly and impolitely occupied the recliner, took advantage of the situation, and grabbed Ruan Rong by her lap. He also took a fan from the wet nurse's hand while driving the flies and mosquitoes away for his son. He smiled and said, "Actually, it's good to take a cool outside. Let's get a finer curtain tomorrow, and let's just spend the night outside.”

Upon hearing this, Xiangling on the side had a look of longing on her face. Seeing her starry eyes blinking and shining, it was likely that she was associated with some poetry again.

But Ruan Rong immediately shook her head and said, "It's better not. The cold dew is heavy in the second half of the night. Take a look at this young and pregnant woman. If she gets caught in the cold, what should we do?”

Upon hearing this, Xiangling touched her bulging belly and quickly nodded in response.

“That's right.”

Sun Shaozong suddenly remembered something and took out a square handkerchief from his sleeve pocket, stuffed it into Ruan Rong's hand, and said, "Today I received a lawsuit. Can you take a look at what's written on it?”

Sun Shaozong solved the case all day long, but it was the first time he brought back the ”complaint paper” for herself to see.

Therefore, Ruan Rong quickly shouted for Shiliu for the lanterns and looked at them word by word.

At first, there was nothing special about it, but it was just a cry of being forced by powerful relatives and almost becoming a plaything. Therefore, she hoped that Sun Shaozong could help her.

But as she read, the story suddenly turned and it became how she was intimidated by Sun Shaozong's heroic spirit after seeing him that day. After a long and unforgettable moment in her heart, it turned into a wisp of love, unable to be shaken, constantly chopped, and inexplicable.

Later, it was vaguely stated that if Sun Shaozong were willing to rescue her, she would be willing to commit herself without seeking fame.

After reading it, Ruan Rong couldn't help but wonder, "Which family is this Lady from? Isn’t it just a complaint letter? Why did she even give up her body?”

“I'm afraid the accusation is false; it's only true to put herself on it.”

Sun Shaozong recounted the whole story of the Third Lady You's grievances today and finally smiled and said, "I heard that the Second Lady You was the most timid. How could she write such a ”petition” for nothing?”

“In my opinion, even if this letter was not written by Second Sister You, it was the result of her repeated pressure.”

“The purpose is, of course, to hope that I can accept this and put in some effort in front of Brother Liu and match the two to achieve a successful marriage.”

He thought that after hearing these words, Ruan Rong would hate Third Sister You for her reckless matchmaking.

Unexpectedly, she remained silent for a while, but sighed with a faint sigh, "If a man had taken a fancy to a beautiful woman and put in a lot of tricks, it would have been just a romantic story. If we had taken a more proactive approach to a man, it would have been unacceptable.”

After a pause, she asked back, "Else, are you asking her to not look for another way out for her sister, but let her sister fall into the hands of Jia Zhen and Jia Rong's father and son, which is considered to abide by her duty?”

As a woman who dared to elope, Ruan Rong's perception of the Third Lady You was quite different from what Sun Shaozong had expected.

Sun Shaozong smacked her lips and hesitated. "So according to your wishes, I really should say a few good words to Brother Liu for her?”

“I didn't say that.”

Ruan Rong leaned back into Sun Shaozong's arms and whispered, "But it's probably a bit of a misdemeanor for Young Master Liu to often sleep in the flowers and stay in the willows. Besides, Young Master Liu once swore not to marry a woman of exceptional beauty. According to the Master's description, if that Third Sister You is truly worthy of her honor, she would be a good match for him.”

Wasn’t this the meaning of letting oneself speak up for the Third Lady You?

Sun Shaozong was speechless and couldn't help but probe, "Then how about the Second Lady You?”

Ruan Rong said nonchalantly, "If you like it, you can take it home. I won't be responsible for the sour and jealous work in the future.”

Since giving birth to her son, she seems to have become more ”magnanimous.”

As she spoke, she suddenly let out a sound and raised her head in disbelief, saying, “Didn't you say that you only saw the Second Lady You once in a hurry? How could you be so familiar with her temperament without even saying a word?”

Hmm…