Who had been in her room?
Wei Shuxuan summoned her inner vigilance and glanced around the room. But it was deathly quiet. She could even hear her own breathing.
She walked over and picked up the note weighted down by an inkstone. The characters were neat and forceful. It recorded the activities of Pan Leping and Jin Yan'er during the day.
This... should be the note left by Wei Wei for her, right?
Sitting down at the table, Wei Shuxuan began to carefully read what was written on the note.
Pan Leping went out early in the morning. He inspected several large silk stores and tea houses, checked the account books, and then left. He returned to the Pan Mansion for lunch at noon. In the afternoon, he went to Jin Yan'er's courtyard to accompany her. While Jin Yan'er took a nap, Pan Leping went to the study to deal with business matters. He stayed there for about an hour and then came out.
Jin Yan'er had nothing out of the ordinary. She basically stayed in her own courtyard, only occasionally going out for a walk, with Pan Leping accompanying her.
What puzzled Wei Shuxuan the most was that Pan Leping should have just taken over the work from Pan Anping. Could he have adapted so quickly? He didn't spend much time on business every day. Moreover, although some people came to discuss business with him, he always seemed very familiar with it and quickly reached an agreement with them.
She needed to find someone to confirm this. Speaking of finding someone, she quickly thought of a suitable candidate.
"Steward Wang."
Wei Shuxuan stopped Steward Wang, who was about to go to the study to check and tidy up. Steward Wang seemed to be stunned for a moment, then turned around. His wrinkled face showed a bright smile. "Young Master Wei, may I ask what you need from me?"
"Nothing. Didn't you say last time that I could come to you if I had any questions? I have some questions for you now." Wei Shuxuan leaned close to Steward Wang and whispered in his ear.
"Yes, that's right..." After all, the words were really spoken by him. It was too late to go back on his word now. Steward Wang raised his hand to wipe the sweat sliding down from his forehead.
"Let me ask you, is your Second Master good at doing business?" Wei Shuxuan asked him mysteriously.
Steward Wang didn't expect Wei Shuxuan to ask about Pan Leping. While he was surprised, he also heaved a sigh of relief. "The Second Master is indeed not very good at doing business. So the First Master didn't let him manage the shops, for fear that he would mess things up. He only gave him a nominal position as a supervisor, usually just supervising the people in the shops."
"So, is the relationship between your First Master and Second Master very bad?" Wei Shuxuan thought that she had been too eager to solve the case at that time and had ignored many clues that should have been noticed, which was why she had no idea at all.
"...Yes. The First Master didn't like the Second Master's attitude at all. He just muddled along. He would go to the Qingyi Tower to find girls every night. He was into both whoring and gambling."
This was very strange. From Steward Wang's appearance, he should not be lying. But the Pan Leping she saw every day now was not like this. It was very difficult for someone who was addicted to whoring and gambling to quit suddenly. It would take at least three months. But now, in just a few days, Pan Leping had stopped going to brothels and gambling houses?
Wei Wei would not lie to her. So the one who lied to her could only be "Pan Leping".
"Your Second Mistress's family background should not be from a scholarly family, right?" Wei Shuxuan looked around again and lowered her voice.
"No. The Second Mistress was from a brothel. The Second Master bought her from the brothel as his wife, saying that it was nice to have such a beautiful woman in the courtyard..."
"Ugh..." What a terrible man. Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but feel sorry for Jin Yan'er, who had such a husband.
"May I ask, Young Master Wei, is that all? I still have work to do."
"Okay, okay. You can go first."
Wei Shuxuan walked in the corridor. The wintersweet in the courtyard on one side was still blooming brightly. The north wind carried a faint fragrance of plum blossoms.
Now, she had a bold and amazing hypothesis. She wanted to discuss it with Xin Zizhao.
"Xin Zizhao, Xin Zizhao, are you in your room? I have something to discuss with you!" Wei Shuxuan knocked on Xin Zizhao's door.
The door opened with a "bang". Wei Shuxuan looked up and saw Xin Zizhao with a slightly gloomy face. She smiled apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. Let's go in and talk."
"What's the matter this time?"
"I just want to come and discuss something with you..."
At dinner time in the evening, Pan Leping stood up. Wei Shuxuan looked at Pan Leping sitting in the main seat. Suddenly, she had a feeling that the person in front of her was like Pan Anping. But they were twins. Twins looked alike...
"Everyone, good evening. I want to announce something here. My elder brother's body is not yet cold, but there is someone in our family who wants to take over our family's business while taking advantage of the chaos. Just today, because I discovered it in time, he didn't succeed in stealing our family's property deeds. He was also discovered by me. Now I'm going to drive this person out of our family!"
Wei Shuxuan looked back and saw two young and strong men holding Steward Wang. She was stunned. Remembering what had happened today, she realized that Steward Wang had been trying to steal something from the study at that time.
"So, now all the family's businesses will be fully under my charge. If anyone wants to cooperate with me, just come to me. I will give you a good price."
This tone was like that of a seasoned businessman. If it weren't for the fact that Pan Anping was said to be dead, she would really think that the person in front of her was Pan Anping.
Wei Shuxuan propped her chin up and thought boredly. She had told Xin Zizhao her thoughts today, but Xin Zizhao only said that she was being absurd. She didn't know whether he believed her or not.
"It's not that I don't believe you. But tell me, why would Pan Anping kill Pan Leping?"
This question stumped her. If she knew, she would have solved the case long ago. Why would she still need to discuss it with him?
Xin Zizhao slightly raised his eyes, and his side - vision fell on Wei Shuxuan. Seeing her absent - minded look, he guessed that she was still worried about the matter during the day.
Wei Shuxuan picked up her chopsticks. Just as she was about to pick up some food, a hand reached out. There was a jade thumb ring on the thumb. The ring looked a bit familiar...
"Sorry, Young Master Wei. You go first."
The familiar voice made Wei Shuxuan come back to her senses at once. She looked up and saw Pan Leping's slightly apologetic smile. Why did she always feel that there was something off about the person in front of her?