Ying Xi spoke for a long time, but noticed that Shu Yu remained silent.

She turned her head to look at Shu Yu, who was sitting inside the carriage, and asked curiously, "Miss, what’s wrong?"

Shu Yu leaned against the wall of the carriage, her eyes slightly closed, and said softly, "I suddenly thought of something."

"What is it?"

"Doesn’t the behavior of Jiang Kuanyu seem very similar to someone else’s?"

Ying Xi didn’t react at first, but after a moment, she suddenly raised her head, "Miss, are you referring to Deputy Head Escort Uncle Lin?"

"Yes, Jiang Kuanyu faked his death back then, and then his entire family left the Dongan Province, where they had lived for decades, under the pretext of returning home for a funeral. That Deputy Head Escort also faked his death, and his family also returned to the north under the pretext of leaving their sad place for a funeral."

Earlier, Shu Yu’s attention had been fixated on why the Deputy Head Escort would plot against Uncle Meng, believing that his target was merely the Xuanyuan Sword, possibly due to a personal grudge.

But just now, when she mentioned Jiang Kuanyu to the Tan Family, a sudden realization struck her, making her discover what she had previously overlooked.

Ying Xi tightened the reins involuntarily, her voice lowered to a whisper, "Miss, do you mean that the Deputy Head Escort might have connections with the black market?"

"Yes."

"But..." Ying Xi frowned, organizing her words before speaking, "But that black market was established by the Second Prince and Gong Qiu. If the Deputy Head Escort were truly one of their people, he should have informed Gong Qiu about Uncle Meng and Aunt Meng’s matters early on. Gong Qiu wouldn’t have taken ten years to find Aunt Meng."

Indeed, it was because Shu Yu initially fell into this line of thinking that she didn’t connect the Deputy Head Escort to the black market.

"But what if the Deputy Head Escort only joined the black market after Quansheng Escort Agency was burned down?"

Ying Xi suddenly realized, "Yes, he would have had the opportunity to connect with Gong Qiu at that time."

Shu Yu, resting her arms, watched as the carriage exited the city gates. Only then did she sit upright, "Let’s go home first. Once we’re back, I’ll write a letter to Yun, and someone will naturally investigate the matter."

Originally, there were three black markets similar to the one in Chenggu County in the entire Dasu.

One outside Chenggu County town, one near the capital, and the exact location of the other is still under investigation. It was precisely because this last one hadn’t been found that the Emperor spared the Second Prince’s life.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any progress so far.

She had heard Yun mention that the Emperor had indeed found a few black markets, but those were about the same scale as the ones in Jiangyuan County. Called black markets, they were actually just underground trading venues.

Many people knew about these, many participated, and even more sought rare finds.

Moreover, the black markets weren’t exclusively run by the Second Prince; those under his control were just diversions. Hence, if these gray-area trading venues were shut down, it would actually affect a lot of interests.

The Emperor faced many difficulties, and the investigation process had become exceptionally slow and challenging.

Shu Yu sighed and immediately started writing the letter upon her return.

This matter was related to the Deputy Head Escort, and since Meng Pei happened to be investigating his hometown, it was indeed necessary to give him a heads-up.

However, Shu Yu did not know Meng Pei’s exact location, so she could only write to Meng Yunzheng.

Not long after, Meng Yunzheng replied, saying that he had already informed Qi Lie, and they would send someone to investigate further. He assured her to rest easy and leave the following work to them.