Chapter 348: Chapter 348: The Daughter Who Deeply Won His Heartl

After casting the bait, it takes some time for the fish to bite.

Before that, Wei Ruo had her own affairs to attend to.

Although the villas and shops were looked after by the nanny and the manager, freeing Wei Ruo from worry, there were still some matters that required Wei Ruo’s personal decisions.

Cuiping stood outside the room: “Miss, Master has returned today and is in the study in the front yard. He asked me to invite you over.”

Wei Ruo put down the brush in her hand, paused for a moment, and replied: “Wait a moment, I will be right there.”

Wei Ruo put the accounts away and then asked Xiumei to fetch the jar of Thyme.

Xiumei returned with the Thyme and asked, “Miss, what would Master want to discuss with you today?”

“He probably came back today due to the ambush encountered by the grain convoy. We should know why he is looking for me once we get there.” Wei Ruo speculated.

Xiumei nodded.

We Ruo, along with Xiumei, followed Cuiping to Wei Mingting’s study in the front yard.

In the study, Wei Mingting was seated at his desk, reading something with a serious expression. Mrs. Yun stood by his side, grinding ink for him.

Upon Wei Ruo’s entrance, Wei Mingting stopped what he was doing.

Seeing Xiumei behind Wei Ruo holding a jar of wine, Wei Mingting said: “I appreciate your good intentions, Ruoruo, but today is not a suitable day for drinking.”

Wei Mingting was a principled man who only touched alcohol when he could relax. Given the current situation in the military camp, he would not drink.

“This is the wine I promised you earlier, I just came to deliver it today.” Wei Ruo said.

“fust leave it here.” Wei Mingting said, “I called you here today because I wanted to hear your opinion on something.”

“Father, you must want to ask about the matters in the camp, but I don’t understand the affairs in the camp. Why would you consider asking my opinion?” Wei Ruo asked.

Wei Mingting was somewhat surprised and pleased at her response: “Ruoruo, you are indeed intelligent. I have not specified what the matter is, yet you have already figured it out.”

“The thing that would make you anxious must be related to the camp affairs. Besides, according to common sense, you should be in the military camp now. If you’re here at this moment, it must mean something has happened in the camp, and it is not a minor issue.”

“You’re right, something has happened in the camp that has troubled me greatly. I don’t know why I wanted to ask you, but I vaguely felt that maybe your intelligence could give me a different perspective. Ruoruo, you don’t need to be nervous, just express your opinion. It doesn’t matter whether you’re right or wrong. We are just having a casual conversation at home, regardless of right or wrong.” Wei Mingting said.

“Father, please speak.” Wei Ruo wanted to hear Wei Mingting’s view on the ambush of the grain caravan.

“During the last battle with the Japanese Pirates, I led a team to launch a flanking attack, but we were ambushed by the pirates halfway. We were caught off guard and nearly lost our lives.” Wei Mingting talked about how he was gravely injured in the previous battle.

Wei Ruo only knew that Wei Mingting had narrowly escaped death in the previous battle, but she didn’t know about this hidden information.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Yun looked surprised. Her husband had never mentioned this to her before.

Wei Mingting continued, “I initially thought that it was a mere accident, but recently, another incident occurred. After having a hard time securing a grain supply for the military camp, I thought that everything would be safe as the transport was within the city. However, the grain convoy was ambushed en route.”

“Father, do you have any suspects in mind?” Wei Ruo asked, cutting straight to the point.

The delight in Wei Mingting’s eyes was evident. His daughter was truly intelligent, immediately understanding his concerns.

“No.” Wei Mingting replied, “My concern is how to find this person. If this person is not eliminated, our upcoming battles with the Japanese Pirates will undoubtedly be challenging, and I don’t know how many soldiers will lose their lives because of it.”

“Father can discuss this with the Seventh Prince.” Wei Ruo suggested.

“Do you think I should go see the Seventh Prince?” Wei Mingting was somewhat surprised.

Wei Ruo nodded: “In the military camp, besides Father, the Seventh Prince would be the one above suspicion.”

Although Wei Ruo disliked Chu Lan, she couldn’t deny that he was the most likely innocent party.

Whether considering Chu Lan’s identity and interests or based on the original text’s description, Chu Lan was unlikely to be the one behind this incident.

“I remembered that last time Ruoruo said that our family should not interact too much with the Seventh Prince.” Wei Mingting added.

“It’s true that we shouldn’t interact too much with the Seventh Prince to avoid getting involved in court disputes, but this is a different matter. Father and the Seventh Prince are both in the military camp, and there’s a mole in there. You should both work together to root out the mole. This has nothing to do with taking sides or court disputes.” Wei Ruo explained.

Wei Mingting gazed at Wei Ruo, and the fog in his heart had somewhat lifted due to Wei Ruo’s explanations.

“What Ruoruo said makes a lot of sense.” Wei Mingting agreed with Wei Ruo’s judgement, “I should not be overly insistent in keeping my distance from the Seventh Prince. Special circumstances require special responses.”

Wei Ruo pondered for a moment and asked Wei Mingting: “Father, how many people knew about your plan to lead the flanking attack that day?”

“Not many.”

“Mainly who?”

“Only those of major general rank and above knew. I launched the operation immediately after the discussion and the soldiers underneath were unaware.”

Seeing that Wei Ruo had a serious expression after his answer, Wei Mingting asked: “Ruoruo, did you think of something?”

“Not at the moment.” Wei Ruo did not elaborate.

The related pieces of her plan were all set. Once the fish bit, the answer would be revealed.

“Alright, your father understands. Ruoruo, go back first. Your father needs to ponder on this a bit more.”

“Daughter takes her leave.”

Wei Ruo left the study. Afterwards, Mrs. Yun asked Wei Mingting, “My lord, is there really a traitor in the camp? Doesn’t this put you in great danger?”

“Don’t worry just yet. I will handle this matter. You just take care of the house.” Wei Mingting instructed.

“Yes, your concubine understands.” Mrs. Yun knew she couldn’t help with anything else, so her duty was to manage the household well to avoid giving her husband any concerns.

At this moment, Mrs. Yun felt somewhat relieved that her eldest daughter was intelligent and capable of helping her husband with his difficulties.

###

The next day at noon.

Wei Ruo, dressed as a man with Xiumei, went to Zuixian Residence at Fan Chengxu’s invitation.

Fan Chengxu had sought Xu Heyou, Wei Ruo’s male disguise, more than once recently, but Wei Ruo had been quite busy and kept putting him off until today when she finally had some free time.

When Wei Ruo entered the private room, she found that apart from Fan Chengxu, there was also a young gentleman she did not recognize.

“Is Fan having a guest? It seems I came at an inconvenient time.” Wei Ruo said.

Seeing Wei Ruo, Fan Chengxu’s eyes lit up: “Not at all, Brother Heyou, you’re right on time!”

Qi Zhen looked at Wei Ruo and laughed as he asked: “Is this the Xu Heyou that Brother Fan has been thinking about?”