I inherited my grandfather's Tang Dynasty assets.

Chapter 51: Details of Jiang Gui

"Take a look for yourself."

With a smile on his face, Li Chengqian handed the letter to Du He.

"Di Renjie? You actually went out of your way to find His Highness for him. This boy is the grandson of Di Xiaoxu, a man of unwavering integrity."

Du He was no stranger to this fourth-rank official, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

"After returning from the Shennong Temple that day, I had completely figured things out and had been looking for an opportunity to visit you again, but unfortunately, you had given me some instructions beforehand, so I never had the chance."

Unexpectedly, you suddenly arrived in Chang'an and even requested to meet me, Du He. How much do you know about Di Xiaoxu?

Everyone has seen the changes Li Chengqian has made in the past few days. Just yesterday, even his uncle Changsun Wuji, who hadn't paid attention to him for a long time, came and praised his recent behavior without reservation.

All of this made Li Chengqian very happy, and he became clearer about his future goals.

Du He thought for a while.

"Your Highness, I only know that this Lord Di Xiaoxu is not on the same side as the Prince of Wei. He is impartial in his actions and is very capable."

He was highly skilled at solving cases, having cracked many major cases during his time as Sima in Bingzhou. He was erudite and knowledgeable, and a close friend and classmate of the current Minister of Justice, Liu Dewei. He was a truly good official.

Du He had done some research on all officials in the court who reached the fifth rank, including Di Xiaoxu.

Li Chengqian understood what he meant. Di Xiaoxu was neither one of the King of Wei's men nor his men. To be precise, like Changsun Wuji, Cheng Yaojin, and others, he was currently a neutral party.

"Perfect timing. I have some matters I wish to consult with you, sir. Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity. As for the matters you mentioned in your letter, I will leave them to you to handle."

Du He nodded slowly. It was just a matter of asking Di Xiaoxu to agree to Di Renjie's request to assist in solving the Yang Wanli case. It wasn't a big deal, and in some ways, it was even a good thing for Di Renjie or the Di family.

Such a trivial matter doesn't require the Crown Prince's intervention; his personal involvement is sufficient.

That night, Chen Yue did not go to Pingkangfang again, but slept at Yunlai Inn.

"Seventh Sister, we'll head back to Zhongnan Mountain after lunch today."

Zhao Qimei was helping Chen Yue wash up and get dressed. Today was the ninth day of the month, and tomorrow was the day of the Shennong Festival. He had been in Chang'an for two days and felt that things were going well.

Fan Tao and Liu Boyan arrived at the inn early in the morning, returned the Crown Prince's Token to Chen Yue, and explained the details of the matter.

After listening, Chen Yue didn't say much. As long as the letter was delivered to Li Chengqian, that was enough. He then invited the two of them to sit down and have breakfast together.

"Lord Fan, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Fan Tao quickly put down his chopsticks and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Sir, there's no need for such politeness. Please feel free to speak your mind; I will certainly tell you everything I know."

Seeing that he was a little nervous, Chen Yue waved his hand.

"It's nothing serious, I'm just asking you about someone. Have you ever heard of Jiang Gui?"

"Jiang Gui?"

Fan Tao looked confused, with no recollection in his mind, but Liu Boyan's expression suddenly changed. Both of them saw it clearly, and Fan Tao immediately asked.

"Boyan, do you know this person?"

Liu Boyan didn't reply to him, and hesitated for a while before looking at Chen Yue and asking cautiously.

"The one you're referring to is the owner of Wanbaolou in Chongrenfang."

"Yes, you know him?"

"To be honest, Jiang Gui is my brother-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Fan Tao immediately slapped his forehead.

"I remember now, but is it your third brother-in-law?"

Liu Boyan nodded slightly, and then explained the situation to Chen Yue.

He was born into the Liu family of Chang'an, a family with a history of over a hundred years. To become a qualified aristocratic family, in addition to having extraordinary achievements in culture, someone in the family needed to hold an official position, and there also needed to be a certain amount of business support.

Only by developing in a three-pronged and integrated manner can a family prosper in the long run. This is also true for powerful families like the Five Clans and Seven Families. For example, the Zheng family was in the tea business, and the Wang family was in the grain business. They controlled the most profitable industries.

However, merchants had a low social status, so the aristocratic families did not bring them into the open. Instead, they controlled them through agents, such as commoners, household slaves, and peasants.

They used their aristocratic privileges to provide protection and lived together in harmony. Otherwise, how could those core aristocratic sons live such extravagant lives based solely on their salaries and rewards?

The Liu family was no exception. Their business mainly consisted of gold and silver artifacts, and they were quite famous not only in Chang'an but also throughout the Tang Dynasty, and were one of the imperial merchants.

The business was managed by his fifth uncle; the Chiang family's roots were in Huazhou.

Huazhou, Tongzhou, and Yongzhou were the surrounding areas of Chang'an, and they were all very close to each other, with highly developed commerce.

The Liu family of Chang'an and the Jiang family of Huazhou have been on good terms for generations, and they have frequently intermarried. The Jiang family also wanted to expand their business to Chang'an. The Jiang Gui that Chen Yue just mentioned is the husband of his third half-sister.

This man frequently travels between Chang'an and Huazhou, and is the Jiang family's main agent in Chang'an business. He is currently 32 years old.

"Your third brother-in-law? How did he acquire Wanbaolou? I remember the previous manager was a foreigner named Ang, and the owner behind him was an old gentleman surnamed Fei."

Chen Yue rubbed his nose and then asked a question.

Liu Boyan could sense that Chen Yue's tone was somewhat displeased, so he quickly spoke up.

"Boyan doesn't know either, why is the gentleman so interested in Wanbaolou?"

"You don't need to worry about that. After meeting the Crown Prince today, I will return to Zhongnan Mountain and then go back to Penglai tomorrow. I won't be able to come again until the first day of next month."

I'm giving you twenty days to investigate this matter thoroughly and find out how your third brother-in-law obtained Wanbaolou.

Wanbaolou is the property my grandfather left me, and I'm determined to take it back no matter what.

"Yes, sir, rest assured, Boyan will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly before your next return."

Liu Boyan dared not utter a word of objection and readily agreed.

Chen Yue mentioned in his letter that the time was three quarters past noon, which was yesterday at Yipinlou by the Qujiang River. Before that, he was going to Xuanpingfang to check on the condition of his own house.

So after breakfast, the two went their separate ways.

"Boyan, what exactly did you mean by what you just said, sir? Why are you so concerned about Wanbaolou?"

After returning to the government office, Fan Tao dismissed everyone else and took the initiative to ask a question.

Liu Boyan wore a bitter smile.

"I was just about to ask you that. Perfect timing, quickly find out about the previous owner of this building for me."

Chongrenfang is under the jurisdiction of Wannian County. Anyone who wants to do business in Chang'an must register at the government office. Liu Boyan had a strong intuition that if he didn't handle this matter well, he might anger Chen Yue.

Fan Tao understood the importance of this matter and immediately had someone bring over the files of Wanbaolou.

"Fei Xiang, from Tongzhou..."

The document details the situation of Wanbaolou, especially Fei Xiang, who, as the former behind-the-scenes owner of Wanbaolou, naturally deserves a thorough investigation.

He was from Tongzhou and came to Chang'an in the second year of the Zhenguan era. In the early third year of the Zhenguan era, he founded Wanbaolou. Due to his unique business methods at the time, it quickly became a hit in Chongrenfang.

His background is quite mysterious. He is just a businessman from out of town, yet he can sell several kinds of goods in his shop and keep a low profile in Chang'an, so much so that almost no one knows him.

In addition, they also found that Fei Xiang owns a large house in Xuanpingfang.