The servant of the Du residence did not expect that he would meet the key person in the brothel. The illusion was being performed on the stage, so he was not in the mood to watch. He spared no effort to spread the rumor, "You still don't believe me? No matter how high Shanghai Wan 'er's status is, or how talented she is, she is still a woman. Does she not want a man?
Zhang Changzong is a descendant of the prime minister, a descendant of an aristocratic family. He is a talented young man who knows everything about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He is also very beautiful. Otherwise, how could he have the reputation of 'Lianhua Liu Lang'? Zhang Changzong and Shanghai Wan 'er both live in the palace. They see each other day and night. Isn't it natural for them to fall in love with each other? "
The person next to him obviously did not believe his words. He laughed and said, "That's not possible, right? Don't talk nonsense. Isn't Zhang Changzong the Emperor's man? How could he dare to do such a thing behind the Emperor's back? "
The servant of the Du residence laughed and said, "Who doesn't do such things behind the Emperor's back? Who isn't afraid of being found out? But the lightning from the sky has stirred up the fire from the earth. Is it that easy to endure? Let me tell you another thing. A few days ago, Zhang Changzong secretly brought Shanghai Wan 'er to Xingjiao Temple to pray. They were seen by someone.
That Shangguan Wan 'er was already pregnant and had a big belly. They donated a large amount of money to the temple. The merit book clearly states: husband and wife! However, they both used aliases. Hey! Not only do they have an affair, but they also have a bastard child. Going to the temple to pray to the Buddha is to pray for their safety. "
The person next to him said doubtfully, "There is such a thing?"
Yang Fan's eyebrows slightly wrinkled. Gu Zhuting knew whose child Shanghai Wan 'er is pregnant with. When she heard that person speak nonsense and tarnish Wan' er's reputation, she couldn't help but be furious. But just as she took a step forward, her wrist was tightly grabbed by Yang Fan. He shook his head at her.
The servant of the Du residence proudly said, "Of course! Think about it, Zhang Changzong is the Emperor's favorite boy, right? Shangguan Wan'er is the emperor's most trusted aide, right? The Emperor hasn't even moved back to Chang 'an. Why did he send his most beloved man and most trusted confidant to Chang' an? "
As the servant of the Du residence said this, he sneakily looked around. Yang Fan had already turned his attention to the stage, as if he had not heard the servant's words. In fact, this Du Residence servant was deliberately putting on an act. He wasn't really afraid that others would hear him, he was simply afraid that others wouldn't hear him.
The servant pretended to be polite for a while before saying, "In this matter, it's clear that they deceived the Emperor. Shangguan Wan 'er is pregnant with Zhang Changzong's bastard child and her belly is getting bigger. She is afraid of being discovered by the Emperor, so she found an excuse to hide in Chang' an. Zhang Changzong is her adulterer, so how can she be at ease? Of course, she has to follow him. "
"No way, I heard that Zhang Changzong arrived in Chang 'an first."
"What's so strange about that? Is there anyone in this world more intimate than the person who sleeps with the same pillow? The Emperor must have promised Zhang Changzong first. When Zhang Changzong arrived in Chang 'an, as long as he said that he couldn't handle it alone, the Emperor would definitely send her most capable helper."
Yang Fan walked out of the crowd with a calm face. Gu Zhuting caught up with him and asked in a low voice, "Ah Lang?"
Her voice was faintly murderous. The servant's slander had aroused her murderous intent. She didn't care whether that person should be punished for his words or not. She was a member of the Yang family. No matter who it was, as long as they harmed the Yang family's reputation and interests, they would be her enemy. And her best solution was to turn the other party into a dead person.
Yang Fan understood what she meant. He shook his head gently and said, "This person isn't important. What's important is that these rumors are just random gossip spread by someone who has found some clues, or that someone has ulterior motives."
Gu Zhuting said, "Ah Lang, don't worry. I will find out."
Yang Fan said, "If there really is someone with ulterior motives, as long as you touch him, even if you find out the truth, it will alert the enemy. Don't touch him for now, just keep an eye on him. I want to know if there is someone behind him. If there is, who is this person and what is his purpose? "
Gu Zhuting nodded and quietly returned to the crowd.
When Yang Fan returned to the carriage, his heart suddenly became heavy. He didn't know how they were discovered just by going to Xing Jiao Xing. Could it be that someone had been monitoring their movements?
The rumors spread by this person were both true and false. Was it because he heard it from others, or was it because someone instructed him to do so? If this person wasn't the one who spread the rumors, then it would be extremely difficult for Ting 'er to find out who the real one was. If this was just a rumor, Yang Fan wouldn't care at all. He had already experienced the ability of ordinary people to make groundless accusations.
However, it was true that Wan 'er was pregnant. Wan' er fought with her life in front of the Empress to fight for a chance to live for her and the child. The condition for the Empress to let Wan 'er and the child go was that the news couldn't be leaked and it couldn't become a scandal. If this was the plan of someone with ulterior motives, then he would definitely take further action.
The Emperor did not care about the rumors and slander of the common people, and he would not have the opportunity to hear the rumors and slander of the common people. However, once this matter was proven to be the truth by the nobility, the only choice the Empress had was to use the blood of Wan'er and the child to wash away the humiliation the court had suffered. This matter was related to his woman and his child, so he didn't dare to be careless.
This time, Yang Fan was very lucky. Du Wentian had just sent someone to spread the news when he heard it with his own ears. Gu Zhuting secretly watched the servant of the Du Residence. With her skills and alertness, the servant of the Du Residence naturally couldn't discover her. He spread the news in the brothel for a while and then turned to another tavern.
This servant of the Du Residence was very diligent in the matters that the Young Master had asked him to do. Wherever he went, he would go to places where there were many people, find an excuse to strike up a conversation, and then lead the topic to the scandal between Zhang Changzong and Shangguan Wan 'er. Gu Zhuting followed him to two places and confirmed that this person wasn't just casually telling others about it. He was intentionally spreading the news. In other words, he was the one directly spreading the rumors. This made it much easier to investigate.
Gu Zhuting quietly watched him until he returned to the Du Residence. After confirming his identity, she hurriedly returned to the island in the center of the lake.
"The Du Clan of Fan Chuan?"
When Yang Fan heard Gu Zhuting reveal the other's identity, he couldn't help but feel surprised. The Du Clan of Fanchuan had no enmity with him. Moreover, his Succession Hall was closely cooperating with the Guanlong Family, and the Du Clan of Fanchuan was one of his important partners. What was the Du Clan's intention? Although the rumors didn't involve him, the head of the Du Clan, Du Jingting, was well aware of the relationship between him and Shangguan Wan 'er. It was also because of this relationship that he had won the trust and support of the aristocratic families in Guanlong. What was the Du Clan's intention in doing this?
Yang Fan's mind raced, but he still couldn't figure it out. At this moment, Gu Zhuting bitterly said, "It must be Princess Anle's doing. She was humiliated by Ah Lang in Chang 'an East Market, so she bears a grudge and wants to ruin …"
At this point, Gu Zhuting suddenly paused, feeling that her speculation wasn't correct. She muttered to herself, "No, if it's because Princess Anle bears a grudge against Ah Lang, she should have said that the adulterer was Ah Lang. Why did she link it to Zhang Changzong?"
Hearing this, Yang Fan found it a bit strange and asked, "The one who spread the rumors is the Du Clan of Fanchuan. What does it have to do with Princess Anle?"
Gu Zhuting curiously asked, "Does Ah Lang not know that the residence that Princess Anle and Royal Prince Gaoyang are living in is lent to them by the Du Clan?"
When Yang Fan heard this, he was also stunned. "You're saying that Princess An Le and her husband are living in the Du Residence, in that courtyard?"
Yang Fan didn't care about Wu Chongxun and his wife at all and had never thought of paying them a visit. Thus, he didn't even know where they lived. Gu Zhuting nodded in agreement. Yang Fan thought carefully and felt that this matter was more and more shrouded in mystery and unfathomable.
If Wu Chongxun and his wife were also involved, then what did this mean? He wasn't in the rumor, so it was obvious that he wasn't involved. Wan 'er lived in the inner court for a long time and kept a distance from all the other powers. She didn't have any major interests, so there wouldn't be anyone who couldn't wait to get rid of her. Could it be that the other party's real target was Zhang Changzong?
The more Yang Fan thought about it, the more he felt that this guess was the most reasonable. The Wu and Li families had long been afraid of the rise of the second Zhang. Because of Zhang Changzong's slander, the Emperor executed the Wu couple and Li Zhongrun. The conflict between the two families had completely intensified. Could it be that someone had discovered that Wan 'er was pregnant and wanted to use this as a pretext to get rid of the second Zhang?
Yang Fan's cleverness had led to his own downfall. He had overcomplicated a very simple grudge. However, he didn't know that the Du family didn't know anything about this at all. This matter was completely caused by the personal grudge of the Du family's young master, Du Wentian, and Princess Anle's jealousy.
Du Wentian didn't know of his true identity, and the Wu family didn't participate. This matter was actually a trick that a lecher and a narrow-minded woman had worked together to create.
However, because the person the lecher hated was Zhang Changzong, who had given the order to beat him, he carried out Princess Anle's orders with his own goods and made the matter even more complicated. The situation was too complicated, and there were too many coincidences. Therefore, even with Yang Fan's alertness, he couldn't guess the true reason.
Yang Fan suddenly remembered that Princess Anle had taken the liberty to visit Shanghai Wan 'er and aroused his wariness. He had sent people to monitor Princess Anle's every move. Now that he knew that Princess Anle was living in the Du residence, perhaps those spies would have some information. Yang Fan immediately sent Ren Wei over the people responsible for monitoring Princess Anle to ask them personally.
After receiving Yang Fan's orders, Ren Wei selected a total of four people from the Hall of Succession to be responsible for monitoring Princess Anle. These four people disguised themselves as peddlers and kept an eye on Princess Anle's residence every day. Every time Princess Anle left the residence, who she met and what she did, they all recorded it.
Very quickly, Ren Wei found the four people in charge of the spies and brought them to Yang Fan.
Yang Fan flipped through their records. He didn't expect that even the scene where Princess Anle met him by the Longqing Pond was recorded: "On the 27th of the fifth month, four quarters past ten, she met with the loyal general Yang Fan by the Longqing Pond. They talked for less than half an hour before both left in a huff, each expressing their displeasure."
Although Yang Fan had a lot on his mind, he couldn't help but laugh when he saw their official records. He carefully flipped through it again and didn't find anything special to pay attention to. He put down the book and said to the person, "Your records are quite detailed. Why did Anle stay in the Du residence? Didn't Liu Qiantian arrange a place for them to stay? "
This seemed strange to Yang Fan. Liu Qiantian was on the Empress's side and should be very close to the Wu family. However, he actually didn't arrange a place for Wu Chongxun and his wife. This didn't make any sense.
Yang Fan's question wasn't within the scope of the spies' mission. However, they had done some research and immediately answered, "Princess Anle wasn't satisfied with the accommodations arranged by the Liu residence. Therefore, she accepted the invitation of the Du family's young master, Du Wentian, to stay in the Du residence."
Yang Fan said, "Does the Wu family and the Du family have any relationship?" He didn't mention Princess Anle because Li Guo'er had lived in Fangzhou since she was young and hadn't returned to the capital for long. It was impossible for her to have any relationship with the Du family. Up until now, he still suspected that the Du family and the Wu family had some secret relationship.
The spy said, "I don't know if the Wu family and the Du family have any relationship. However, when Wu Chongxun and his wife arrived at the capital, they encountered a frightened horse at the Ten Miles Pavilion. It was the young master of the Du family, Du Wentian, who killed the frightened horse and saved the couple. He even got injured because of this. That's how they became friends."
The original head of the Succession Hall, Young Master Jiang, had always been aloof and cold. He hated his subordinates talking too much. Therefore, when the people of the Succession Hall saw him, they would often tremble with fear. They would only answer one question and answer two questions without daring to say anything more. However, Yang Fan was very friendly. The spy's nervousness gradually disappeared. He suddenly thought of an interesting story and couldn't help but blurt out,
"However, I heard from the servants of the Du residence that the young master of the Du family was actually injured the day before he welcomed Wu Chongxun and his wife. That day, he was harassing a woman at Xingjiao Temple and was beaten up. He wanted to cover up the injury on his face. That's why he created the frightened horse incident. "
Yang Fan was taken aback, and his eyes gradually lit up.
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