On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2234 How Wronged

Having resolved the matter of the banquet, Manager Yu's worries eased slightly. He looked at Yan Ruyu with a hint of anticipation in his voice: "Your Highness, to be honest, I've been having some concerns."

Look at this spice shop, closing down isn't a solution. If things continue like this, it probably won't last much longer.

Could you give me some advice on how to improve this business?

Yan Ruyu put down her teacup, her gaze gentle yet firm: "Manager Yu, don't worry. Wait a little longer, things will definitely get better."

She looked out at the deserted streets: "Youcheng's current predicament is only temporary. The people behind the scenes are stirring up trouble, simply trying to sow discord and disrupt Youcheng's stability."

As long as we find out the truth and find the culprit, everything will return to normal.

"Youcheng will surely return to its former bustling and prosperous state, and your spice shop will once again be thronged with customers."

Looking into Yan Ruyu's resolute eyes, Manager Yu's unease gradually dissipated. He nodded emphatically, "Alright! I believe the Princess's words!"

I'll wait a little longer, I'll definitely guard the shop well, and wait for Youcheng to return to its former glory.

As Yan Ruyu left Qian's shop, she gazed at the distant city gate with a deep look in her eyes.

Meanwhile, in a quiet courtyard on the outskirts of Shanghai, surrounded by green bamboo and with a babbling brook.

Mr. Mo sat at the stone table in the courtyard, holding a secret letter he had just taken from the leg of a flying pigeon, a cold smile playing on his lips.

The letter clearly described the current situation in Youcheng.

“Yan Ruyu, Huo Changhe…” Mr. Mo said in a low voice, “In Rongzhou, you ruined my important plans. This debt should be settled properly.”

The commotion in Youcheng was merely a small lesson for you, a return gift.

He picked up the cup of tea on the table, took a sip, and found the tea to be sweet and mellow, but it couldn't warm the coldness in his eyes: "The matter of Youcheng is not over yet."

The real challenges are yet to come. I'd like to see if you can weather the storm ahead.

The journey back to the Prince's Mansion from Qian's shop felt exceptionally heavy.

A temporary mourning hall was set up in the Prince's mansion, where the memorial tablet of the murdered guard was enshrined. The white candles in front of the tablet burned with a dim light, and the flickering flames cast long and short shadows all around.

Yan Ruyu helped Huo Changhe out of the car, her steps extremely light, as if afraid of disturbing this moment of peace.

The side courtyard was unusually quiet. Song Ping and a group of guards were standing by the mourning hall. When they saw the two enter, they quickly got up to greet them.

Song Ping's eyes were still red, and his voice was a little hoarse: "Your Highness, Your Highness."

Yan Ruyu nodded without saying a word, walked straight to the memorial tablet, picked up three incense sticks from the side, and bowed three times.

Wisps of smoke rose, carrying a faint sandalwood scent, filling the air.

Yan Ruyu inserted the incense into the incense burner, her gaze falling on the memorial tablet. The image of that young face, cleaned and bright, floated into her mind, yet lifeless.

"Don't worry, we will definitely find the culprit behind this and avenge you. We will never let you die with a grievance."

After the worship ceremony, the two walked along the gravel path towards the main courtyard in silence, each pondering the ins and outs of the matter.

When Huo Changhe reached the ginkgo tree in the center of the courtyard, he suddenly stopped.

Yan Ruyu noticed his pause and turned to look at him: "What's wrong?"

Huo Changhe did not answer immediately. He looked up at the sky, which was high and clear in autumn, with a few white clouds drifting slowly.

He pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on Yan Ruyu's face, his voice low and solemn: "Yu'er, do you remember? Who was the first to mention the deal with the man in black in the cave outside the city?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruyu's heart stirred, and she began to recall what he had said.

"It was that shop assistant who said it. He was the shop assistant at the Qian family's spice shop. When he implicated Manager Zhou, he insisted that Manager Zhou was colluding with the men in black in the cave outside the city, saying that the transaction would take place there."

“That’s right.” Huo Changhe nodded. “Then, Manager Zhou summoned the men in black.”

But what he said wasn't really a clue—he didn't know the identities of the men in black, nor what they looked like; he only said that one of them had a black tattoo, but he couldn't draw it.

We've deployed a significant number of people to follow this lead, but so far we haven't found anything.

He paused, recalling the scene when he went to the cave outside the city, his eyes becoming increasingly solemn: "I went to the cave outside the city myself, and there was nothing inside, only a piece of clothing with bloodstains remaining."

Moreover, the blood on it wasn't human blood.

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruyu felt as if something had struck her heart, and she instantly understood Huo Changhe's meaning.

Her expression changed slightly, and her eyes sharpened: "You mean, we seem to have obtained a lot of information, from the clerk's confession to Manager Zhou's confession, and the clues in the cave outside the city, but in reality, we haven't gotten any useful information."

Was all of this deliberately orchestrated to mislead us to go outside the city and distract us?

"Exactly." Huo Changhe nodded heavily, his tone tinged with frustration. "Where was our attention initially focused?"

Without thinking, Yan Ruyu blurted out, "In those three shops: Baixing Teahouse, Medicinal Cuisine Hall, and Fresh Goods Shop."

We should have focused our efforts on investigating these three shops and finding any connection between them.

“But with Manager Zhou and that shopkeeper making such a fuss, our attention has been completely diverted.” Huo Changhe frowned. “We’ll go outside the city to find the man in black and track down that elusive tattoo.”

Yan Ruyu followed his train of thought and became increasingly alarmed.

"Later, we arranged for a guard to disguise himself as Manager Zhou and take over Baixing Teahouse, hoping to use this as a breakthrough to find out who was behind it all."

Huo Changhe's voice lowered a few degrees: "But we never expected that this step was already in their calculations."

The guards had only been in charge for a short time when…

“He was killed.” Yan Ruyu picked up where he left off, her voice as cold as frost. “And before that, Zhou Zhenghang insisted that he had nothing to do with the fresh produce shop, trying to absolve himself of all responsibility.”

At the time, we thought he was the prime suspect, but the guards watching him didn't detect anything unusual. Now, looking back, that so-called 'absolute absence of abnormality' was probably just a deliberate act.

Yan Ruyu's face was ashen, and her eyes were churning with barely suppressed anger.

She recalled the forked scar on the guard's forehead and his pale, lifeless face. Guilt and anger mingled in her heart, almost overwhelming her.

“We were indeed tricked,” Yan Ruyu said, each word squeezed out from between her teeth. “The guard died so unjustly. The other party knew all along that he was an imposter.”

That forked scar was a blatant mockery, telling us that he had seen through the guard's deception all along!