Chapter 289 The Terrifying Hua Lan
The Sheng family was digesting the news that Wang Ruofu brought back at home.

Not long after that, Yang Wenyuan entered the mansion with Changbai.

Although Yang Wenyuan went to Hongwenguan today, before entering the palace, he had already instructed Changqing to investigate what happened last night.

Therefore, when he and Changbai were on their way back in the carriage, he had already heard Changqing's account of what had happened last night.

After entering the Sheng Mansion.

Yang Wenyuan didn't know that Wang Ruofu had already received the news from Wang's relatives, so he told them the news he had heard.

Although they already knew the general idea, the Sheng family still appreciated Yang Wenyuan's kindness, so Sheng Hong thanked him repeatedly and even invited Yang Wenyuan to have dinner at his home.

After the banquet, Yang Wenyuan accompanied Hualan on the carriage back to the Marquis' Mansion.

For several days afterwards, there was no news about Rong Feiyan, who was kidnapped at the Lantern Festival, as if this person had disappeared out of thin air.

Only the increasingly frequent patrols on the streets and the additional palace guards made people realize that the situation was becoming increasingly serious.

"Has the second daughter of the Rong family still not been found?" In the side room of Zizeju, Hua Lan, with a bulging belly, asked as she gently helped Yang Wenyuan take off his official uniform.

"How can it be so easy? Even the emperor had a gloomy face during the court meeting today."

Yang Wenyuan shook his head, put on his regular clothes again, turned around and explained to Hua Lan:
"Besides, if we couldn't find it that night, even if we sent people to look for it later, it would probably be in vain."

Hua Lan raised her nose and whispered:
"This is different from what I saw and heard when I was a child with my father."

When she was a child, there were few children in her family and the relationship between her parents was harmonious, so she was very much loved by Sheng Hong.

And Sheng Hong didn't have many social engagements outside at that time, so he mostly stayed at home after work and was willing to play with her.

During this period, naturally, many words related to the case were said.

From her point of view, as long as the crime was committed in a densely populated area, there would definitely be some traces.

What’s more, we are now in Bian Jing, at the feet of the emperor.

So Hua Lan immediately asked doubtfully:

"The second young lady of the Rong family was lost at the Lantern Festival. There were so many people there, but no one saw her?"

Yang Wenyuan shrugged and replied:
"You said there were a lot of people, so there were a lot of people with many eyes. How could anyone see clearly or distinguish clearly? Even if they saw it, they would just think they were seeing it wrong."

There was one thing Yang Wenyuan had kept in his heart and hadn't said: even if someone saw the carriage, they would probably just pretend not to see it.

"But what about the thief? He couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere, right?"

Hua Lan asked again:

"Neighbors in Bianjing City all have guarantors, and travelers from other places also have travel permits. Everything is recorded. We should be able to catch the person no matter what, right?"

"That's for normal portals."

Seeing that Hualan was really curious, Yang Wenyuan thought that Hualan would inevitably be bored being alone at home, so he might as well let her exercise her brain through this matter.

So he didn't tell her the "answer", but started analyzing the current situation with Hualan.

Yang Wenyuan carefully helped Hua Lan sit down at the table and began to analyze in detail:

"What you said is a normal situation, which is not applicable now."

"Why isn't it applicable?" Hua Lan was also bored at home and finally had something to do to pass the time, so she immediately asked.

"Look."

Yang Wenyuan began to count on his fingers and analyze the matter with Hualan.

"First, that group of thieves was able to kidnap the princes and noble ladies in the street, and even with the official's order, they have not been found until now... Do you know what this means?"

Hua Lan rolled her eyes and said hesitantly:

"It means... it means that the gang of thieves is unique and powerful?"

"Ma'am! Great minds think alike!"

Yang Wenyuan immediately clapped his hands and praised Hualan. Hualan also showed joy on her face and felt very happy.

Yang Wenyuan waited for a while, until the smile on Hualan's voluptuous face faded a little, and then he continued to persuade her:

"Then Madam, you might as well think about it carefully. Now that we know that this group of thieves is very powerful, they kidnapped someone in the street, and the target was Rong Feiyan, the biological sister of Concubine Rong. Does this mean that this group of people came directly for Rong Feiyan with a clear purpose?"

"Even if there is no Lantern Festival, there will be some kind of outing poetry gathering or something like that later?"

Hua Lan nodded silently, and immediately followed Yang Wenyuan's line of thought and continued:
"So behind this group of thieves is a powerful high-ranking official?"

"Madam is right!"

Yang Wenyuan nodded happily, and then immediately responded:
"And they have to be more than just a noble family. They have to have enough loyal followers and a manor to hide their people. All these conditions are indispensable."

"Just like my home..."

Yang Wenyuan immediately pointed at himself and said to Hualan:
"For example, if I were asked to send someone to kidnap Rong Feiyan and make sure no clues were found, then..."

Yang Wenyuan shook his head and sighed:

“That requires a lot of thought.”

It's not impossible, it just takes some thought.

Moreover, the thieves acted a bit "roughly". If it was Yang Wenyuan who planned and took action, he would definitely be able to retreat without causing such a big fuss.

Of course, this is not absolute.

After all, the ultimate goals are different, and the means of action are also different. This time the momentum is so big, maybe the person behind the scenes did it intentionally. (Yang Wenyuan now assumes that he does not know the mastermind behind the scenes)

"But you are too proud of yourself, sir." Hua Lan immediately gave Yang Wenyuan a coquettish look.

She really didn't understand what Yang Wenyuan had to be proud of about this matter.

Could it be that he also wants to learn how to kidnap people in the street?
Yang Wenyuan: "Proud, you must be proud!"

But he couldn't show it in front of Hua Lan, so he had to put on a thoughtful expression and said slowly:

"I just don't know if this matter is directed at the second daughter of the Rong family, or at the Rong family itself."

Hua Lan was a little confused now.

Because after Yang Wenyuan's guidance and analysis, Hua Lan already understood that this matter must have been done by a powerful family.

Correspondingly, the Rong family has the concubine Rong who is favored by the emperor. Therefore, even though the Rong family's financial resources are still thin, he can still get people to support him. So he is also regarded as the number one figure in the city of Bianjing, and no one can look down on him.

Therefore, in Hualan's eyes, this was a clash between two giants in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The other party must have been targeting the Rong family, and Rong Feiyan must have been unfortunately sacrificed.

How can it be related to "coming for Rong Feiyan"?
Hualan looked confused and somewhat puzzled.

After all, Rong Feiyan is just a royal relative who is waiting to be married. Even if she behaves a little domineeringly on weekdays, she shouldn't cause such a big disaster, right?
Prince Yong and Princess Yong: That’s right, I am so unpredictable!
Yang Wenyuan: I was surprised too!

After all, although the Prince of Yong's Mansion can use this incident to show off its own power, fundamentally speaking, this matter still does more harm than good.

This behavior is no less than a direct challenge to the authority of the emperor. Therefore, Yang Wenyuan suspected that Prince Yong and Princess Yong really doted on Princess Jiacheng and would do anything for their daughter's happiness, and even took the opportunity to show off their own power...

This is probably just a byproduct...

Seeing Hua Lan's puzzled expression, Yang Wenyuan explained:

"Although this is unlikely, it is also an idea. I just put it forward for your consideration."

Hua Lan nodded.

There is some truth in this.

Anyway, after Yang Wenyuan got up early to report for work, he was bored at home, so he might as well think about the matter carefully and treat it as a way to pass the time.

Yang Wenyuan took a sip of the tea Cuichan had prepared and suggested:

"I see you've been interested in this matter these days. Why don't you think about it at home? Anyway, you can just talk about it in your room and not spread it to others."

"Yeah~!" Hua Lan nodded in response.

I guess this is what it means for a couple to be of one mind!

But it was only the next day.

Hualan handed in an answer that was enough to make Yang Wenyuan dumbfounded!
After dismissal, Yang Wenyuan went home as usual and first went to the side hall to change into plain clothes.

However, what was a little different from the past was that today Hua Lan did not accompany Yang Wenyuan to help him change his clothes. Instead, after taking a look at Yang Wenyuan who came in, she immediately went back to the house excitedly.

The joy on her pretty face made her look like a child who had scored full marks in an exam and went home with the test paper to ask for praise from her family.

Yang Wenyuan didn't care at first.

After all, there was no need for Hualan to help him change into official uniform, but he compromised because Hualan insisted.

"Now I think it was for the sake of the baby in her belly. After all, as time went by, Hualan's belly became more and more obvious."

However, Yang Wenyuan was soon dumbfounded.

"Sir, please follow me!"

Not long after, Hua Lan returned and took Yang Wenyuan to the small study in Zize Residence.

Yang Wenyuan was very happy, and secretly said in his heart:
"Could it be that Hualan has prepared some little surprise for me?"

As they are not yet an old married couple, Yang Wenyuan is naturally looking forward to what surprise Hualan has prepared.

"Ma'am, what...what is this?"

While waiting, Yang Wenyuan entered the small study and looked at Hua Lan holding a large piece of white paper in front of him with a puzzled expression.

This was originally a large piece of paper that he used to practice calligraphy, but now, the paper was densely covered with beautiful handwriting.

Previously, when Hualan was checking the accounts, she sat next to Yang Wenyuan most of the time, so Yang Wenyuan also recognized Hualan's handwriting.

And it was obvious that the handwriting on the large paper in front of him was very familiar to Yang Wenyuan.

It was clearly written by Hualan.

Silently taking the paper that Hua Lan handed over with joy, Yang Wenyuan only took a quick glance and realized that this was the result of Hua Lan's "thinking and thinking" after listening to his suggestion...

Not only is there character analysis on it, but there are also a lot of lines drawn on it. It can be said to be a complete intelligence analysis chart!
As the eldest lady of the Yang family, Hualan naturally had many channels to understand the relationships between the various families in Bianjing, and the Yang family mansion also kept a lot of related notes.

However, Hualan only had a cursory look at it at first, and only wanted to find out the closeness between the Yang family and other families, and would investigate in detail later when necessary.

And now...

Yang Wenyuan glanced at the desk beside him which was filled with letters.

Obviously, Hualan has done a lot of hard work for this.

Following Yang Wenyuan's gaze, Hua Lan naturally understood Yang Wenyuan's thoughts. Her pretty face immediately blushed and she said softly:
"Didn't you ask me to think about it yesterday? I thought that I didn't really understand it, so I looked for some to take a look at."

"Um……"

Yang Wenyuan lowered his head and looked at the analysis chart of the "Rong Feiyan Incident" that Hua Lan had hastily prepared, and was secretly shocked.

Sure enough, women will do anything to achieve their goals in a field where they will do anything to achieve their goals!
EMoreover, he is a natural genius when it comes to making strategies!
I just gave him a few simple suggestions, but Hua Lan gave him a long analysis report!

"Sir, can you take a look?"

Hua Lan cleared an area on the table as if presenting a treasure, spread out the analysis chart, led Yang Wenyuan to sit down, and asked with hope on her face.

What can Yang Wenyuan say?
Hualan's painstaking efforts were clearly visible before his eyes, and he could only savor them carefully to show his respect!

In Hualan's analysis, considering the power and past grudges, the Prince of Yong's Mansion is indeed one of the most suspicious families.

It's just that it didn't originate from Rong Feiyan, but because of the many conflicts between the Rong family and the Yongwang family in the past, and the Yongwang family's frequent private remarks that slandered and belittled the Rong family.

The process is inconsistent, but the results are close.

It turns out that we have reached the same destination!
Then a few days passed.

One day at noon, the streets should have been the busiest time, but due to the intensive patrols of the patrol battalion, there were not many people coming and going.

But after all, there were still people passing by.

And just then.

Suddenly, a horse-drawn carriage without any markings suddenly rushed out from an unknown alley, galloping all the way, attracting many onlookers.

This sudden scene naturally attracted the attention of the patrol camp.

"Where did this lunatic come from? How dare you ride a horse in the street? Get off quickly!"

The patrol battalion issued a warning immediately.

However, the coachman on the carriage seemed not to hear anything and just kept whipping the horse's butt without slowing down at all.

At this time, the patrol camp also saw clearly that the coachman on the carriage had a black scarf on his face.

This made the leading captain feel a chill in his heart, and he immediately ordered his soldiers to chase the carriage.

Although they were a patrol battalion, the city of Bianjing was under the feet of the emperor, and they could not ride on horses all the time while searching people, so the horses were led by people from behind. When they saw that something was not right, they immediately turned around and led the horses over.

Taking advantage of this gap, the galloping carriage had already run a short distance.

Logically speaking, the patrol battalion used military horses, so even if they were caught off guard at first, they should be able to catch up quickly after getting back on their horses.

But the result was somewhat different from what they expected.

The carriage was actually only slightly slower than theirs!

The captain was chasing after him all the way, cursing in his heart.

This is clearly using a good horse as a poor one!
This is really fucking how rich you are. I have never used such a good horse, and you actually use it to pull a cart!
What a shame!
When they finally got close, a figure suddenly appeared from the carriage.

(End of this chapter)