Waiting for Liu Yunyan's family and Shi Ran, who was following him, had already gone far, and Zhang Yan took the rest of his entourage to settle the bill and leave the "Koufuju". Although they no longer have the heart to buy New Year's goods at this time, considering that there are still the coachmen in Zhang Zhili's mansion with them, if they rush back in such a hurry, their performance will seem somewhat abnormal - the coachman may not dare to question it face-to-face, but he may not tell others, especially Zhang Zhili, about these strange things after going back. Therefore, in order to avoid extraneous branches, although Zhang Yanzhu and the three of them were anxious, they could only act as if they were nothing, first made up an excuse and explained the reason for the departure of the subordinate surnamed Shi to the two coachmen seemingly inadvertently, and then patiently walked around the street for a while, bought a lot of New Year's things, and then ordered the coachman to go home.

After entering Zhang's mansion, Zhang Yan ordered Director Liu to inquire if Shi Ran had returned, but he got a negative answer. This made Zhang Yan feel a little strange, and at the same time, she also felt a little uneasy in her heart. According to her estimates, it has been more than an hour since Shi Ran left the "Koufuju" to follow Liu Yunyan's family, and the county seat of Luxian County is only so big, even if Liu Yunyan's family walked from one end of the city to the other side of the city, this Shi Ran should have come back a long time ago. But he hasn't come back yet, so it's likely that something happened halfway, either because Liu Yunyan discovered his traces, or because the spies of the "Dark Feather Hall" saw the flaws. If that's the case, what she, Zhang Yan, has to worry about is not whether Shi Ran can complete the task and whether she can save her life, but whether she and her subordinates in the Zhang Mansion can get out of the way.

Originally, according to the rules of "Feiyantang", if his secret spy or meticulous work went out to investigate or follow and did not return within the time limit, then all the personnel related to the secret spy or meticulous work must be transferred as soon as possible to avoid being caught by the enemy. But now Zhang Yan is in a dilemma. Let's go, I'm afraid that it will be difficult for my uncle Zhang Zhili to explain why he suddenly left Lu County, which was about to do a big job, when the New Year was approaching. Stay, she has to risk the destruction of herself and her men. Such a dilemma really made Zhang Yan a little undecided.

After some weighing and judging, out of consideration for completing the task and understanding of the abilities of his subordinates, Zhang Yan finally decided to take a risk and set the time of waiting for Shi Ran to come back early the next morning. If there is no news from Shi Ran by then, then she will either use her brother's sudden illness and serious illness, and her father-in-law will send a message asking her to return to the capital as soon as possible, or simply leave without saying goodbye and lead the rest of her subordinates to leave Luxian immediately and withdraw to Zhuozhou, which is controlled by the imperial court, to make plans again.

After making up his mind, Zhang Yan secretly sent several of his subordinates to check around Zhang Zhili's house, and reported back as soon as he found something unusual. He ordered the remaining men to make all preparations so that they could evacuate immediately if the situation changed. After arranging his subordinates, all Zhang Yan could do was wait.

As the minutes and seconds passed, seeing that Shi Ran still had no news coming, Zhang Yan's heart became more and more anxious and uneasy. It's just that although he was anxious and uneasy, he didn't show a trace of anxiety or uneasiness on his face, he was still so calm and calm, and he was still so generous and decent when he had dinner with Zhang Zhili's family. It was only when she returned to her group's quarters and asked the men who were checking on the situation around Zhang's mansion about the results of their inquiries that her concern for the current situation became apparent.

It's just that to Zhang Yan's disappointment, while these subordinates who went out to check brought her back a report that everything was normal around Zhang's mansion, there was no news about that Shi Ran, and this guy is still missing. However, disappointment is disappointment, at this time it is getting late, the city gate has been closed, and it is impossible for Zhang Yan to lead people to withdraw from the county seat of Luxian County - after all, this is someone else's territory, and she has no foundation here, except for the clan uncle Zhang Zhili's mansion, she and her subordinates have no other safe place to stay. Instead of blindly evacuating to attract the attention of the "Dark Feather Hall", which is still on high alert, it is better to stay in Zhang's Mansion and wait until tomorrow morning to make plans. …,

Just when Zhang Yan was almost losing confidence that Shi Ran would be able to return safely and began to plan for the worst, after dinner, in the name of watching the night view from the street, Director Liu, who personally brought a subordinate to check the situation outside, pushed the door in excitedly, and said to Zhang Yan who was frowning with a happy face: "Master of the Hall, Shi Ran's kid is back!" ”

"Send him in to see the master of the parishion." Although he was anxious to know the situation of Shi Ran's investigation, Zhang Yan did not show urgency, but commanded Gujing Bubo.

Director Liu agreed and turned around and went out, and after a while, he led Shi Ran into the house.

Seeing that Shi Ran, who came in with Director Liu, was full of excitement and joy, Zhang Yan concluded that he must have made great gains in following Liu Yunyan's family this time, and his heart became more down-to-earth. After the other party finished saluting, he asked, "Shi Ran, what did you gain from following the traitor Liu Yunyan's family this time?" Have you ever found out where he is hiding? ”

"Master of the Hall, this time his subordinates have made a great success in tracking the traitor Liu Yunyan. Not only did he find out where he was hiding, but he also discovered a big secret. Shi Ran replied confidently.

"Tell me, then, where is this damned traitor hiding now? What big secret have you discovered? Zhang Yan asked.

"Master Yu Hall, that traitor Liu Yunyan now lives in a small mansion on Huaishu Street in the north of Lu County. And the big secret that her subordinates said was about her husband. According to the information found by his subordinates, Liu Yunyan's current husband is not an ordinary businessman as he appears on the surface, but one of the 'Qingyuan' brothers that we are going to go north to explore with all our might. Shi Ran replied with a slight expression.

"Liu Yunyan's current husband is one of the 'Qingyuan' brothers? How is this possible? "Hearing that Liu Yunyan's husband was one of the 'Qingyuan' brothers, Zhang Yan was naturally stunned and couldn't believe it.

"My subordinates were also incredulous when they first discovered this secret, but it was true and there was no falsehood. The subordinates are willing to guarantee with the head of the Xiang Shang, and the husband of the traitor Liu Yunyan is indeed one of the brothers of 'Qingyuan'. Shi Ran replied with great certainty.

"Which of the 'Qingyuan' brothers is the traitor's husband? How did you find out who he was? Zhang Yan saw that Shi Ran was not lying, and immediately asked.

"The master of the hall, the husband of the traitor Liu Yunyan is Fan Wucheng, who is the fourteenth among the brothers of the 'Qingyuan' and is respected as the fourteenth master. His subordinates also followed him all the way and probed in many ways, judging his true identity based on what he saw and heard. Shi Ran bowed down and replied, and then began to tell Zhang Yan how he had followed and monitored Liu Yunyan and her husband for a whole afternoon, and discovered the true identity of his husband.