PROOFREAD BY AFREANA

Chapter 43.2

An Ruochen glanced at Xie Gang sheepishly. With General Long and Lord Xie here, could her own decision be reliable?

“She’s imitating you.” Big Long said.

An Ruochen froze. That’s right! About the disappearance or risking her life. The pattern was the same as hers when she tried to win over the General to achieve her goal! Now that she thinks about it, it’s similar!

“Why?”

Big Long said: “One of the possibilities is she is implying that she and you are the same. Steward An, how can you describe yourself?”

“Smart and reliable.” An Ruochen quickly replied.

Xie Gang coughs lightly with his hand in a fist on his lips, obviously holding back laughter. General Long’s eyebrows were raised high.

An Ruochen righteously put on an innocent face. She was serious, ah! Wasn’t she?

“Steward An.” Big Long opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw her cute expression, he leaned back before saying, “A victim. Helpless, powerless.”

[You have the General as your backer. And I can only risk my life.]

An Ruochen remembered her former self when she desperately crawled out of the dog hole covered in scars, deciding that even if she needed to drag her crippled leg, she had to walk to the local government office and beat the drum of injustice.

Risk it all-the kind of determination that refuses to give up amidst desperation that she knows so well.

“I’ll go find her tomorrow.”

Big Long nodded: “Recruit her over and use her.”

“Recruit?” Is it like what Xu Matchmaker did, controlling her with her weaknesses and making her an informant?

“On the battlefield, when two armies face each other, they will send out candidates for battle depending on who is fighting for the other side. Whoever your opponent is, they already had a strategy. According to all the circumstances of Zhao Jiahua’s encounter with you, she has been planning for a long time and knows you quite well. There is a reason why she chose you. Didn’t she tell you that she was on your side? You must be calm, find out what she needs, and recruit her. You understand all these, just like you dealt with me and Xu Matchmaker dealt with those girls.”

An Ruochen’s face reddened: “When did I deal with the General?” Subconsciously, she hurriedly glanced at Xie Gang. How can you denigrate her like this in front of outsiders, no, in front of others?

“Well, then it is how I dealt with you.”

An Ruochen: “……” Choked! Completely unable to refute this. The General did deal with her, and she can feel it now!

The next day, An Ruochen, inspired by Big Long and having experienced what it means to be dealt with, went to Zhao Jiahua with great vigor.

Today, she must achieve something!

But An Ruochen never thought that after going there, not to mention success, she did not even see Zhao Jiahua’s face.

She ate a closed door.

The Liu Residence’s gatekeeper said Madam was frightened and distressed because of the young miss’ disappearance. After returning from the local government office, she fell ill and couldn’t meet any guests.

This lie was as good as An Zhifu’s claim that he was a good person.

An Ruochen didn’t fake her shocked expression. She was genuinely surprised that the calm and unruffled Zhao Jiahua yesterday had turned into a shrinking turtle today. Was she deliberately hiding from her, or had she lost her freedom? These reasons were beyond her expectations and not the outcome she expected. Oh, no! An Ruochen began to panic. She wouldn’t lose Zhao Jiahua, would she? She should have taken Zhao Jiahua back yesterday.

An Ruochen tried to calm down and looked concerned, asking about Zhao Jiahua’s condition, whether she had hired a doctor, etc. The gatekeeper replied that she had drunk the medicine, but Madam was bedridden and could not conveniently see the guests.

What to do? What should she do? Or, ask the General to send troops to break in? But since the other side dares to deal with her this way, they must have prepared.

An Ruochen stood at the door of Liu’s Residence. Her head went blank for a bit, then she asked, “What about Boss Liu? Can I see him for a moment?”

“Master is working in the restaurant. You must go to the restaurant.” The gatekeeper pointed to the south side of the residence, the Zhaofu restaurant.

 An Ruochen went to the Zhaofu Restaurant.

Liu Ze was indeed busy at the restaurant. When he saw An Ruochen, he politely said that many valuable customers came to the restaurant today, the shopkeeper alone could not manage them, and he had to help him. He thanked An Ruochen for her concern, as his wife was sick and his daughter was still missing.

The restaurant was indeed full of customers. All the staff ran back and forth, showing a busy scene. An Ruochen carefully observed Liu Ze, his eyes were right, and his face looked tired, like an ordinary man with a troubled family but still bracing himself to take care of business.

But because of Zhao Jiahua’s words and Big Long’s previous suggestion, An Ruochen had her suspicions about this man.

An Ruochen pondered over it for a moment and felt that now was not the time to reveal her suspicion to alarm Liu Ze. The fact that Zhao Jiahua pretended in front of Liu Ze must have been for a reason. Zhao Jiahua should have asked her to arrest Liu Ze instead of investigating him if she was really on her side and had evidence. Furthermore, Zhao Jiahua said that if she detained her, she would be unable to help them, and the undisclosed information would be gone.

[I am the clue. Remember every word I said.]

An Ruochen decided to trust Zhao Jiahua. At least at this stage, she was more inclined to believe her.

“I went to visit your residence. The gatekeeper said that your wife was sick and could not see guests. Boss Liu knows that your wife and I are quite close. My fourth sister is also missing. I have not found her yet. Last time when I met Yin’er by chance, I was very emotional. I didn’t expect that Yin’er would suffer from this disaster yesterday. I think I can help your wife to get out of her depression, which will be good for her recovery. Please give me a chance to meet your wife.”

When An Ruochen said this, she looked carefully at Liu Ze, not missing a single expression on his face.