The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 189 A Love Story Praised by Everyone

"Jiang Fengxiao might not even be alive anymore."

Li Huaijiang felt a headache coming on. If Jiang Fengxiao got involved, he would be considered a key figure to some extent. Jiang Fengxiao had previously done a lot of dirty work for Zhao Wanfu in the shadows.

"Given Zhao Xiang's personality, he will most likely eliminate the threat completely."

Shen Hanyu also felt that it would be difficult to find Jiang Fengxiao, so she looked at Lin Qiufeng.

"anything else?"

Lin Qiufeng slowly shook his head.

It seems we've reached our limit; we can't get any more information out of them.

Li Huaijiang sighed: "He's in my care. Now that we've made some progress, let's continue the investigation. I'll have people look for Jiang Fengxiao again. We need to find him alive or dead."

There was little Shen Hanyu could do to help with the search, so she decided to follow this lead and explore it slowly.

On her way back, Miao Cui overheard some customers at a roadside stall talking about something. She listened in and realized they were talking about Liang Ruochu and Pei Xingzhi.

"The Marquis of Anping's family and the Duke of the County's family have formed a marriage alliance. I heard that the Second Young Master Pei has long been in love with the Third Miss Liang. The two met before the Second Young Master Pei returned to Chang'an."

"Given Young Master Pei's status, he's quite a good match for Miss Liang. After all, we don't really know if he's actually a member of the Pei family."

"Whether he is of Pei family blood or not doesn't seem to matter anymore. The eldest young master Pei has been gone for so long and hasn't been seen at the Pei family. It seems he doesn't want to be the heir."

The group started to sing praises of the fabricated love story and discuss who, Pei Du or Pei Xingzhi, was the true heir to the Duke's mansion.

Everyone is now optimistic about Pei Xingzhi, because Pei Du hasn't made any moves.

"This rumor is spreading. The Third Miss has never left Chang'an, yet she met the Second Young Master Pei outside of Chang'an and fell in love with him for a long time."

Miao Cui told Shen Hanyu about this with a smile, and Shen Hanyu overheard a few words.

"Let them say what they want. It's nothing more than trying to make their reputation sound better and fool those who don't know the truth."

Some underhanded tricks; it seems Pei Xingzhi really cares about his reputation.

Now that Pei Du has returned, she no longer needs to worry about the Pei family's affairs.

The moment she returned to the residence, Shen Hanyu paused, as if she had sensed something was amiss.

"Did anything happen at the manor while I was away?"

Jin Chui is no longer here, and Miao Cui is going to stay with her, so she has chosen a new steward for the mansion, someone she can trust.

"Nothing's wrong."

The gatekeeper looked puzzled; they hadn't let any outsiders into their residence.

Shen Hanyu felt a little uneasy, so she kept her guard up and called the steward over after arriving at the room.

"Now, conduct a thorough investigation of everyone in the manor. Keep a low profile and don't let anyone notice."

Seeing Shen Hanyu's serious expression, the manager nodded.

"Girl, what's wrong?"

Shen Hanyu looked around and said, "Someone has moved things in the bedroom."

The person who came had been very careful, but some of her frequently used items were still slightly misplaced.

When she is not in the manor, no one is allowed to enter. She just asked the steward, and she has to be careful.

Miao Cui carefully checked the bedroom but found no one hiding there.

"Have the manor on high alert, and send a message to Young Master Pei."

She wasn't good at martial arts, so she had to ask Pei Du for help.

Miao Cui quickly sent a message through the gatekeeper and then transferred the guards to Shen Hanyu's bedroom.

Shen Hanyu appeared normal, but the atmosphere was noticeably more tense.

As dusk was falling, Pei Du arrived with his men.

"What happened?"

"My bedroom and study have been ransacked."

The person who rummaged through the items put them back in their original places. Shen Hanyu was prepared for this situation; she had put all the things Shen Yanzhi had left behind in a safe place.

"I was afraid they might launch a surprise attack, so I asked you to come and take a look."

If someone were to attack her in the middle of the night, Shen Hanyu might not be able to withstand it.

Pei Du carefully examined Shen Hanyu's side, then coordinated with the steward to check everyone in the mansion.

After confirming that there was no threat to Shen Hanyu, Pei Du still left the same people who had been with Shen Hanyu before to protect her safety.

"With these people around, you don't need to worry. Chang'an is under the emperor's nose, they won't dare to be so arrogant."

Shen Hanyu was more worried that they had come to search the place because they had discovered something.

With such a purposeful search, no one else besides those few people knew that Shen Hanyu had gone to Suzhou. What exactly were they looking for?

"Did you lose anything?" Pei Du asked again.

"No, everything is still there. They probably just didn't find what they were looking for, but I don't know what they were looking for either."

Shen Hanyu felt a moment of panic, just like when she first entered the room.

Seeing Shen Hanyu's unease, Pei Du thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll stay in the guest room tonight and see if anyone tries to sneak over."

Pei Du had just returned to Chang'an and had nothing much to do, so he had plenty of time.

"Have you finished dealing with things at the Duke's residence?"

Shen Hanyu did not refuse, but she still checked to see if the Pei family was still bothering Pei Du.

"After I told you last time, you were too embarrassed to come looking for me."

The clan elders had probably suffered a setback with Pei Xingzhi, which was why they hadn't bothered him.

Pei Du stayed in the guest room that night, and Shen Hanyu didn't see him sleeping too soundly.

"Miao Cui, what do you think they'll be looking for?"

Miao Cui, who was on night watch, was suddenly asked a question, and she replied matter-of-factly, "It must be the things that the young lady hid in the secret compartment."

Shen Hanyu didn't say anything more. She had felt the same way in the afternoon, but she also felt that it wasn't that simple.

She also learned a lot from Li Huaijiang.

Miao Cui frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Miss, perhaps they are not sure if you have the item, but just want to confirm it. If we act rashly against you, we might alert them."

Shen Hanyu nodded, a cold glint in her eyes: "You're right. They might just want to confirm if I have what they want. If not, they won't act rashly. If I do, they probably won't be so lenient from now on."

If it's Li Jing, then Li Jing really has eyes and ears everywhere. Where did she slip up?

Shen Hanyu tried to recall, but her mind was a complete mess. She closed her eyes. If her guess was right, no one should be coming tonight.

Tonight will be a good opportunity to verify her guess.

Miao Cui held a short dagger, ready to strike if anyone dared to approach.

After a peaceful night, Shen Hanyu looked haggard, and her guess was right.

This matter should also be reported to Li Huaijiang. Shen Hanyu is not stupid. Li Huaijiang's side has faster information and may be able to find some clues.