Chapter 107
Seeing Wang Jin's stunned expression, Uncle Shan looked directly at him and said, "Although this pavilion seems to be the exclusive domain of Xiao Xiao and Xiao He, you must understand, young master... that Xiao Xiao and Xiao He were recruited by Zhao Xiang."
"!"
"Zhao Xiang has pushed all responsibility away. This is nothing more than telling the young master and telling others that everything in this pavilion has nothing to do with him. This way, young master, anything that happens to you in the pavilion will not be suspected to lead back to him. But young master... think about it, Xiao Xiao and Xiao He are orphans, they have been doing this kind of servant work since childhood, they have no backing. On their own, how could they possibly dare to treat you, young master, like this?"
Pausing for a moment, Uncle Shan continued, "The pavilion you live in, young master, was built by order of the city lord himself. The city lord has always cherished you, sending a great deal of silver here every month for the pavilion's expenses... But as you just saw, young master, that silver is not being used on you at all in this pavilion... Although those two gers use the fine things from the pavilion, they are not exactly adorned in gold and silver... That silver likely isn't sitting idle in the treasury either... So the whereabouts of that silver are very much worth looking into, young master."
Wang Jin frowned, pursed his lips and asked, "Uncle Shan, do you suspect that Zhao Xiang took that silver?"
Hearing this, Uncle Shan thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Young master, since we've spoken to this extent, I'll say it outright. I don't suspect him, I am certain it was him."
"?" Wang Jin was surprised, this old man was so sure.
Uncle Shan said, "Ever since that person was assigned by the city lord to care for you, young master, his clothes and accessories have become increasingly luxurious and exquisite... His food has also become more refined... He is a ger from the deputy city lord's family. The deputy city lord's family has two beastmen, their family absolutely could not afford such fine things for just one ger."
"..." It seemed this old man had been paying attention to that Zhao Xiang for a long time.
"Not only that." Uncle Shan moved closer to Wang Jin, lowering his voice, "You previously wanted to expose Xiao Xiao and Xiao He, those two domineering gers, before the city lord, but it was Zhao Xiang who persuaded you not to! He himself always emphasizes that matters of the pavilion have nothing to do with him, that he was only entrusted by the city lord to usually look after you a bit more, young master... If that's the case, then why did he stop you? And, think about it, if he truly considered you a friend, not only did he not protect you from those two gers who treated you so poorly, he even prevented you from seeking justice from the city lord!"
"!" Upon hearing Uncle Shan's words, a light flashed in Wang Jin's eyes, and he suddenly understood.
He finally knew why he always found that Zhao Xiang strange!
That Zhao Xiang appeared and immediately said he was his very good friend, then inquired after his well-being, sent medicine, sent clothes, and even promised to send fruit. In the face of those two gers' rudeness, he also spoke up for him, and instructed those two gers to do this and that for him, giving instructions extremely carefully, as if fearing those two would not take good care of him. Going through these events one by one, it really seemed as if they were the closest of friends, and his concern was so genuine...
But in reality, the medicinal herbs sent were mostly inferior, the clothes were rough to the touch, the fruit had yet to be seen, his speaking up amounted to nothing more than lightly scolding those two gers, and seemingly instructing them to work for him was actually just a way to make them withdraw early, preventing him from venting his anger on them...
If these things were done by an ordinary friend or a not very familiar ger, they might barely pass as normal.
But it was precisely that Zhao Xiang who kept emphasizing he was the original owner's best and closest friend. This hardly counted as being a best friend!
In his past life, Wang Jin had many advisors but almost no friends. Wang Jin who had never made friends might really have believed Zhao Xiang's superficial act. But the current Wang Jin had A-Mu in the Danmu tribe, A-Mu was a close friend who had gone through hardships with him...
Wang Jin hypothetically thought, if it had been A-Mu sitting beside him just now, when those two spoke to hurt him, A-Mu would have already retorted directly. When Xiao Xiao stepped forward to hit him, A-Mu would probably have already stood up to shield him...
Comparing them like this, Wang Jin's thoughts became increasingly clear...
Uncle Shan, seeing Wang Jin remain silent for a long time, thought he was unwilling to believe in Zhao Xiang's false affection. He seemed somewhat angered and said, "If you don't believe me, young master, you can go check right now whether Xiao Xiao and Xiao He really went to heat water for you!"
There was not only anger but also the pain of not being trusted in the old man's voice... Wang Jin quickly came back to his senses and said in a placating manner, "How could I not believe what you say, Uncle Shan."
Hearing this, Uncle Shan's expression eased considerably. Wang Jin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There's no need to go check. I will go bathe now."
He and Uncle Shan had been standing here for quite some time. If those two had really heated water for him, they should have come to find him long ago, but they had not... He believed they truly had not heated water for him...
Those two had clearly knelt to him earlier because of a look from Zhao Xiang, showing they obeyed Zhao Xiang's commands...
Their not heating water for him was surely tacitly approved by Zhao Xiang... Those things he went on and on instructing them to do in front of him were just for show, to earn his goodwill...
Recalling Zhao Xiang's appearance earlier... Wang Jin sneered.
The surface act was done so well that his father's concubines from his previous life would have been ashamed of themselves... No wonder the original owner had been deceived, trusting and relying on him...
This person was not comparable to any scheming person Wang Jin had encountered before...
However... Wang Jin still didn't quite understand.
No matter how good his surface act was, the fact that Xiao Xiao and Xiao He bullied the original owner remained unchanged. The original owner had been determined to ask his brother for help, what exactly did Zhao Xiang say to stop him?
Could he possibly have made it seem like Xiao Xiao and Xiao He were doing this for the original owner's own good, thus persuading the original owner not to seek help?
What kind of eloquence would that require to make the original owner believe that those who bullied him were actually helping him?
Wang Jin leaned on the edge of the bathtub, thinking rather absurdly...
"A-Yao, the city lord is extremely busy with affairs now. If you bother him with these trivial matters, will he really pay attention?"
"If you go, will the city lord think you can't even manage the servants assigned to care for you in your own pavilion? Will he... be very disappointed in you?"
"How about this, don't go for now. Try to manage them yourself? If it doesn't work, just let them have the pavilion, and you come stay with me. We can live together. This might seem like an inconvenience to you, but this way the city lord can focus on handling his affairs and won't be distracted because of you..."
His head suddenly throbbed with pain. A few images flashed through Wang Jin's mind, and some voices sounded in his ears.
He suddenly seemed to understand the reason the original owner was persuaded not to seek help from his brother...
Wang Jin rubbed his temples, sorting through the sudden fragments of memory that appeared in his mind...
He wanted to remember them in detail... but his brain felt like it was exploding with pain.
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