Chapter 247 Catching the Thief Personally

Chapter 247: Catching the Thief Myself

"After listening, he fully supported my decision, saying that the Night Dress Pavilion was very famous in the capital now, and only by making a big scene could I teach them a lesson, so their owner and Wang Sheng would give me a hefty payout."

"That's how the whole thing happened. I had no idea that the skincare products were stolen. Because he said his uncle was very wealthy, I thought he had gotten the silver from his uncle to buy me a gift."

"If I had known these things were of dubious origin, I would never have come to the capital to cause trouble!"

Widow Yang sniffled as she talked.

Village Head Qin looked pissed, his face full of frustration. "The villagers of Osmanthus Village have always been kind, simple, honest, and straightforward. How did our village produce such a disgraceful person like you?"

"Your husband's only been dead a little while, and you have two young children at home. How dare you bring home some random guy you picked up off the street? Aren't you afraid he'll con you out of your money and your virtue?"

Widow Yang hung her head and didn't dare say a word.

If Ji Yuntang had any lingering suspicions, now she was almost certain the person she had in mind was the same one Widow Yang mentioned.

She turned to Widow Yang and asked, "The man you mentioned—was his surname Zhu, with the single given name Mian?"

Widow Yang was taken aback, a look of shock on her face. "That can't be right! He wrote his name down as Zhu Tuli on the paper. I've been calling him Ali this whole time."

Ji Yuntang: "..."

Zhu Mian? Zhu Tuli?

So this was what she meant by being the most educated person in the village?

Confirmed—Widow Yang knew a few characters, but not many.

Wang Sheng said under his breath, "Princess, to be fair, it's not really her fault. Even back when Zhu Mian was at the cloth shop, he often wrote characters wrong and made plenty of silly mistakes. The shopkeeper scolded him for it many times."

By now, Widow Yang also realized something was off. She glanced at Ji Yuntang, then at Wang Sheng.

"Why do you all call him Zhu Mian? Do you know him?"

Ji Yuntang said lightly, "We crossed paths once."

Back then, Zhu Mian framed Wang Sheng for theft at the cloth shop, but it turned out he'd staged the whole thing to set Wang Sheng up, hoping Boss Zhu would drive Wang Sheng out of the shop.

Unexpectedly, Ji Yuntang happened to pass by, cleared Wang Sheng's name, and exposed Zhu Mian's ulterior motives, resulting in Zhu Mian being kicked out by Boss Zhu.

That was the reason Zhu Mian went from a well-off young master to a homeless wanderer.

He also held a grudge against both Ji Yuntang and Wang Sheng because of this.

Now it all made sense!

Wang Sheng looked at Widow Yang with great sympathy.

"Aunt Yang, you were most likely used."

He hadn't expected that scumbag Zhu Mian, even after being kicked out by Boss Zhu, still refused to mend his ways and went to steal from the Dingyuan General's Mansion.

Wasn't that like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet?

At that, Widow Yang gave a start.

"That can't be! I've got no quarrel with you. Why would he use me?"

Ji Yuntang raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Because you had the hots for him, and he had something to gain from you. You both got the wrong ideas about each other."

"When someone is drowsy and a pillow is handed to them, do you think they would refuse?"

Widow Yang couldn't believe Zhu Mian would use her. She still stubbornly insisted, "He said he would marry me."

Ji Yuntang snorted coldly. "Anyone can talk. Saying stuff is easy. If he could say that to you, he could say the same to others."

"Besides, he's penniless now and depends on you to support him. What do you think he could offer to marry you?"

Widow Yang fell silent instantly.

That made sense, but she still clung to her fantasies about Zhu Mian.

Ji Yuntang asked again, "Do you know where Zhu Mian is now?"

"When I left, he walked me to the door. I even asked him to look after my children at home. He should still be at my house now."

Because Zhu Mian was secretly hidden in her home and couldn't be seen in public, he usually rarely went out during the day.

For this reason, whenever Widow Yang asked Zhu Mian to help with farm work, he would say he had no status and it wasn't convenient to go out.

Although Widow Yang didn't have a husband, a lone man and woman living together would inevitably invite gossip from the villagers.

Over time, Widow Yang was basically raising Zhu Mian like a son.

He ate a lot and couldn't help with anything.

But this kind of thing—she had no one to turn to and just had to grin and bear it.

Suddenly, Wang Sheng said doubtfully, "Hang on, that's off. When I went to Aunt Yang's house today, all I saw were two kids crying because they were starving. I didn't see Zhu Mian at all."

Ji Yuntang's heart dropped. Realizing what was happening, she said, "Oh no! The children are in danger. We've got to go back right now!"

Widow Yang's expression shifted. She looked at Ji Yuntang in surprise, not getting why she said that.

Ji Yuntang couldn't be bothered to explain.

The reason she thought that was because she'd realized something crucial.

Zhu Mian used Widow Yang to cause trouble at the Night Dress Pavilion, which meant he'd set Widow Yang up to take the fall for him.

But now that his theft from the Dingyuan General's Mansion had been exposed, the general's people wouldn't let him off easy and would comb the whole city for him.

Given Zhu Mian's nature, would he just sit tight and wait for the cops to nab him?

No way.

And since he was carrying stolen goods, he couldn't get out of the capital anyway.

If he wanted to get off scot-free now, he would likely grab some weak person as a hostage.

Widow Yang's two kids were the perfect hostage choice.

With this in mind, Ji Yuntang immediately ordered, "Wang Sheng, go to the yamen first and have the constables search the whole city for Zhu Mian."

"This princess is heading to Osmanthus Village in person."

After saying this, Ji Yuntang looked at Widow Yang and said coldly, "If you don't want your two kids to be in danger, take me to Osmanthus Village."

Widow Yang didn't dare argue, only kept a grim expression and stayed silent.

Ji Yuntang paid her no mind, and got into the carriage to go with her to Osmanthus Village.

Before they had gone far, Pei Zhiyi quickly caught up and jumped onto the carriage.

"Princess Ye, I'll go with you."

"That thief actually stole from our Dingyuan General's mansion. I must capture him today."

Ji Yuntang said softly, "For such a matter, there's no need for Miss Pei to personally get involved. The city constables should have no trouble catching the thief."

Pei Zhiyi sat down beside Ji Yuntang, smiled at her and said, "Catching the thief myself is more challenging. I like it."

Her smile was very contagious, with a hint of warmth and friendliness, and Ji Yuntang couldn't help but return a smile.

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