Chapter 362: Dirty and Stupid
After Ou Zanghua quietly returned to the capital from Tongzhou, the first place he went to was the Leopard House to report the progress of the work at the Imperial Farm to Emperor Zhengde.

After meeting Emperor Zhengde, without waiting for him to report his work, Emperor Zhengde spoke first: "Ou Qing, put the matter of the imperial farm aside for now. I will give it to you when there are more important matters."

As he said that, Boss Zhu winked at Zhang Yong, who understood what he meant and took out a written document and handed it to Ou Zanghua.

"This is the intelligence that the Jinyiwei has collected in the past two days." Emperor Zhengde pointed at the memorial and said coldly, "How dare these filthy and scoundrelly people fool me like this!"

Ou Zanghua was somewhat surprised. Although Emperor Zhengde was not a decent person, he could make the emperor of a country so angry that he called him a "filthy bastard", which obviously showed that he was extremely disappointed in some people.

He opened the letter in his hand and read it carefully.

The general content is that after a detailed investigation by the Jinyiwei, they concluded that Zhang Tai's death was an unfortunate accident.

It is the Grain Rain season, when all things come back to life. Snakes that have been dormant in winter are waking up one after another, and their aggressiveness is particularly strong during this period.

After a rigorous investigation, the Jinyiwei believed that Zhang Tai had accidentally disturbed the white-snake while traveling, which caused him to be bitten on the ankle and die from the poison.

Ou Zanghua was speechless after reading it. No wonder Emperor Zhengde was angry. This was too careless.

As long as Zhang Tai's incident happened in Yingtian Prefecture, he would be willing to believe what was written in this memorial.

But what happened to Zhang Tai happened in the capital!

What kind of white-knuckle snake can survive in an area where snow starts falling in mid-October?

Let’s take a look at the name of the person who submitted the memorial: Yu Yong, the deputy governor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Ou Zanghua thought for a while, then he remembered the face that had provoked him.

It turns out to be an enemy!

Then we have to take action.

So, Ou Zanghua bowed and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I think this person is not loyal enough and should not be entrusted with such an important task. The climate in the capital is very different from that in the south, and it is not a natural habitat for white-striped snakes. Unless someone deliberately migrated them from the warm south, it is impossible for these snakes to travel thousands of miles on their own and reach the capital."

"Ou Qing's idea is exactly the same as mine! These scoundrels are treating me like a fool!"

After hearing what Ou Zanghua said, Emperor Zhengde showed a gratified expression. He walked to Ou Zanghua and said seriously: "I let Sukhbaaru obey your orders. You must thoroughly investigate this matter and find out what kind of shameful activities those bastards are hiding."

"I obey your order." Ou Zanghua agreed. When he walked out of the Leopard House, he saw Sukhbaru and twenty Jinyiwei waiting for him at the door.

"Sir Ou, where are we going?" Sukhbaru asked.

Ou Zanghua hesitated for a moment, then slowly said: "Let's go to the Chengguo Mansion first and visit the eldest son. You can go with me, and the others don't have to go."

"Yes!" Sukhbaru responded like thunder, and then waved his hand. The Jinyiwei quickly dispersed and hid around the two men.

The two men came to the vicinity of Jiqingfang and saw two large stone lions squatting on the north side of the street, three gates with animal heads, and a dozen people in gorgeous hats and clothes sitting in front of the gates. The main gate was not open, and only the east and west corner gates had people entering and exiting.

There is a big plaque above the main gate with five big characters "帝成国府" inscribed on it.

When Ou Zanghua and Sukhbaru walked in, one of them stood up to greet them: "My two guests, I am Zhao Shanhe, the manager of Chengguo Mansion. May I ask if you have an invitation?"

Sukhbaru took out his badge and blocked Zhao Shanhe's eyes, and said coldly: "I am Sukhbaru, the captain of the Jinyiwei, and this is Lord Ou, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites and the secretary of the Zhanshi Mansion. We are here to visit the eldest son. You can either lead the way or don't block the way." "Please forgive me, my two guests. My eldest son caught a cold a few days ago and is bedridden."

Before Zhao Shanhe could finish, Sukhbaru interrupted without any hesitation, "Is he dead? If not, I want to see him today."

"My two guests, please follow me." Zhao Shanhe could hardly maintain his smile. When he turned around, he gestured to his companions beside him, and then took the two of them into Chengguo Mansion.

After the two entered the door, they were greeted by a range of green mountains blocking their way, creating the artistic conception of "a winding path leading to a secluded place", which increased the mystery and layering of the garden.

Going further in, you can see the corridors, as well as the combinations of pavilions, platforms, towers, terraces, and corridors everywhere. The layout is intricate yet orderly.

Ou Zanghua made a comparison secretly. He originally thought that his Ou Mansion was quite big, but now compared with the Chengguo Mansion, it was really a dwarf compared to a giant.

At the same time, a smart receptionist hurriedly ran to the door of the reception room. He was still catching his breath when he learned that Duke Cheng Zhu Fu was chatting and laughing with his close friends in the hall. He knew it would be inappropriate to disturb him rashly at this moment, so he went to the butler and whispered to him about the emergency.

The butler's face changed slightly when he heard this, but he quickly returned to normal and whispered, "Go inform the eldest master first, and I'll inform the master here."

"Yes!" The receptionist responded and turned to walk towards the courtyard where the eldest son Zhu Lin was.

The butler hesitated for a moment, and took the opportunity to add some tea and snacks to enter the hall. Sitting opposite Zhu Fu was a middle-aged man with a beautiful beard. This man was Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo, a descendant of Xu Da.

The housekeeper leaned close to Zhu Fu's ear and whispered, "Master, the Zhanshi of the Zhanshi Mansion and the Jinyiwei Qianhu have gone to visit the eldest son."

Zhu Fu's expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "It's just a small matter, don't worry about it, just let him go."

The housekeeper was shocked. Is the master giving up on the eldest son?
He didn't dare to think too much, so he just replied "Yes!" and walked out.

On the other side, Zhao Shanhe led Ou Zanghua and the other person and walked in circles in the garden.

Ou Zanghua had to remind him, "Manager Zhao, did you see that exquisite rockery? Stop lingering around. If you continue to linger like this, Captain Suhe will misunderstand your hospitality and he will be rude."

Zhao Shanhe heard this, glanced at the fierce Sukhbaru, and said quickly: "Guest, guest, don't worry, we are just ahead."

"Very good." Ou Zanghua nodded with a smile.

After the three of them walked for a while, Qian Hu finally couldn't help but correct him: "Master Ou, my name is Sukhbaru."

"This is not important."

???

After a while, the three of them came to a yard surrounded by bamboos. The color tone here was cool, which created a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

As soon as he entered, a girl with a waist as slender as a water snake came towards him. When she saw Zhao Shanhe, she asked, "How could you, Zhao Sanzi, bring someone in without informing us?"

"Miss Xiao Ji, who are these two?"

"Jinyiwei is doing business, little girls should not take over."

(End of this chapter)