Eunuch Yan was really surprised this time. He knew Hong Xinyuan's temper. If he could be so humble, something serious must have happened.
Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to make such an arrogant person bow his head.
He and Hong Xinyuan had worked together in Yangzhou for so many years, but they had never had any private friendship. Now that Hong Xinyuan came to him, he frowned and said, "Master Hong, I can't bear it. Please explain it clearly. I am confused... So early in the morning, what's going on?"
Hong Xinyuan looked anxious, and took a breath as he looked at Eunuch Yan: "Eunuch Yan, my daughter is missing!"
Eunuch Yan's eyes widened.
Of course he knew Hong Xinyuan's precious daughter. When he realized what was happening, he couldn't help but ask, "What? How could such a good person be missing?"
The Weaving Bureau is such a lucrative place. Those who can become officials in such a place either have powerful backers in the court or are close confidants of the emperor. Hong Xinyuan has both. The local government also has a very good relationship with their Weaving Bureau. How could his daughter be lost in Yangzhou
That's simply a fantasy.
"She got lost on the way to the capital." Hong Xinyuan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot: "Her mother is not in good health, and she has no sisters at home to accompany her, so my father-in-law suggested that I send my daughter to the capital so that she can be raised there. Just to prevent insecurity, I specially hired an escort agency to escort her all the way, but she still got lost..."
Eunuch Yan groaned, frowned, waved his hand and dismissed the young woman who was fiddling with his belt, and said solemnly: "This is really a big deal. Logically speaking, with your status, you have documents along the way, and the local authorities will take care of you. In addition, there are people from the escort agency protecting you. You can't get lost..."
He was somewhat suspicious. Didn't Hong Xinyuan know that something was wrong in the palace? For some reason, his godfather, Eunuch An, hadn't sent any letters recently. Was he thinking of taking advantage of the situation and framing him
He looked alert, and Hong Xinyuan couldn't help but shook his head bitterly: "I don't know either, anyway, this person was lost for no reason... Only when the housekeeper ran back to tell me did I dare to believe that the person was really lost. Now the people from the escort agency are on their way back..."
Eunuch Yan couldn't help but interrupt him: "What do the people from the escort agency eat? They don't have any clues either?"
"They also suffered heavy casualties, six or seven people died and more than a dozen were injured. In addition to the dead, a few people stayed in the local area to assist the government in the investigation. The others are preparing to rush back. According to them, the murderers did not kill everyone at the post station, but went straight to where they were, as if they had been prepared and their target was them." He said anxiously: "If these people only wanted money, it would be fine, but now they clearly have other plans, which makes this official really anxious."
Eunuch Yan understood a little: "Master Hong, you don't think it was me who did it, do you?"
"How could this be?" Hong Xinyuan waved his hands hastily, not caring to say anything else, and said directly: "I know that, Eunuch Yan, you have been busy dealing with things recently..."
This was a more euphemistic way of putting it. In fact, since there was no news from Eunuch An in the palace, Eunuch Yan didn't know how he should get his share of the orders from Japan, and there was no conflict between him and Hong Xinyuan.
After Hong Xinyuan finished speaking, he continued, "Since those criminals came directly for my daughter and knew my family very well, I suspect there was a thief in the weaving department."
He glanced at Eunuch Yan, and when he saw Eunuch Yan suddenly raise his eyes, he lowered his eyes and said, "I am worried that these people are here for the order of silk from Japan. With this order, the Weaving Bureau can make up for last year's deficit and pay back the money to the national treasury... One tenth of Yangzhou's tax revenue depends on it..."
Could it really be the work of political enemies
Eunuch Yan couldn't help but ask, "Master Hong, just tell me what you want."
"I know that Eunuch Yan has a wide network of contacts, and the prefect of Jinling is an old acquaintance of yours..." Hong Xinyuan lowered his voice: "Can you ask the prefect for help..."
Although he was fast at getting news and learned from his father-in-law that Eunuch An had fallen, he also knew that Emperor Longqing had not removed Eunuch Yan from his post and there had been no further movement. He didn't know what would happen to Eunuch Yan in the future, but at least nothing would happen to him in the near future.
Of course, Eunuch Yan’s network of contacts is still useful.
In the past, Eunuch Yan would definitely not be willing to help him.
But now... ..
After all, it was not a trivial matter, and Hong Xinyuan had also said that someone was probably targeting the Weaving Bureau. No matter how much they disagreed, their benefits in the Weaving Bureau were not fake, and both of them were not clean.
If someone really wants to deal with Hong Xinyuan, he will inevitably be implicated.
He figured this out, and thinking about Xu Anying, he immediately agreed: "What you said is really too much, Lord Hong. Since someone was lost near Jinling, Yingtian Prefecture will certainly do its best. It's unfortunate. I will write a letter and send it to you right away. Lord Hong, don't worry."
Hong Xinyuan looked pale and shook his head: "As a parent, how can I feel at ease knowing that my daughter is missing?"
This is true. A good girl is missing. She was a real rich girl with a bright future. But now after this loss, her reputation is ruined.
It was unclear whether she could be rescued or not. Even if she was rescued, life would never be the same again. Eunuch Yan sighed and said comforting words, "Master Hong, please be at ease. Things may not be that bad. It is possible that there were some money-grubbers along the way who saw your daughter's wealth and pomp and so targeted her. If this is the case, the government has some knowledge of these thieves and will definitely be able to find her."
But it is hard to say whether it can be found intact, because the one lost is a girl after all.
Hong Xinyuan nodded and said, "Thank you for your good wishes, father-in-law. I hope my daughter is fine... I already have some clues. Please write them down in the letter and ask Yingtianfu to follow the clues."
Since Hong Xinyuan had already agreed to help, Eunuch Yan was very clear about the principle of helping the Buddha as soon as possible, so there was no reason to refuse. He readily agreed and immediately asked someone to bring paper and pen to write down Hong Xinyuan's words. After sealing it, he gave it to his subordinates and instructed them in front of Hong Xinyuan: "Send it by express horse, and say it is a matter of utmost urgency. Tell the prefect to pay close attention to it."
Far water cannot quench near thirst. No matter how capable Xu Anying is, she cannot immediately reach Nanjing. Now that Eunuch Yan has agreed to help, Hong Xinyuan breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.