322 The Past
“Hello, sir.”
After all, this was his own business, and Fang Tianliu couldn’t always hide behind Zhao Zhan.
we’re from the Fang Yuan bodyguard agency. Fang Tianliu cupped his fists and bowed. “A month ago, my father was in charge of completing the task for you. Now that the goods have arrived, we’re here to survey customer satisfaction.”
“The Fang Yuan bodyguard agency is quite interesting.” Zhang Lingzhenlooked at the two of them with a kind expression. ‘I’ve dealt with bodyguard agencies so many times, but only yours have specially come over to ask about such a thing.”
“I don’t have any opinions about your bodyguard agency. It’s already very good for a small bodyguard agency to deliver things to me in one piece. I heard from your father that they didn’t lose any men on the way here. I can see that your father is a shrewd person.”
When Fang Tianliu heard about his father, he could not hide his emotions. “Yes, we’ve been running this agency for several generations. The people in charge of transporting the goods are professionals at it. Back then, my father even mentioned to me the token he received from you.”
Zhang Lingzhen was surprised.
“Really? I’ve never given your father a token.”
“But the person who handed the goods to us in Huai County said that we didn’t have a plate to prove that we didn’t receive the goods and forced us to compensate for it.”
“I understand.”
Zhang Lingzhen looked at them. “The two of you didn’t come here today to ask me if I’m satisfied with your bodyguard agency, isn’t it?”
Fang Tianliu’s heart skipped a beat.
“The two of you are here today to ask me for a token so that you can go back and report on your mission, right?”
Relieved, Fang Tianliu forced a smile. “Not exactly. To be honest, after we went back, we kept thinking about it and felt that we did something wrong.”
“We can’t find the person who gave us the goods. We came here today to ask if you know anything about the other party’s situation.”
It seemed that Zhang Lingzhen didn’t seem to be related to this matter.
It was still a mystery who had forced the Fang family into this state.
“I was just told to hand the things over to the people from your bodyguard agency.” Zhang Lingzhen thought for a while. “I have no other comment.”
Fang Tianliu’s expression changed.
Zhao Zhan quickly pulled him back. “Actually, we’ve come today to ask you about someone.
“Oh? Who do you want to know?”
Zhao Zhan’s eyes met Zhang Lingzhen’s, and he said word by word, “Zhang Lingshen.”
Zhang Lingzhen’s pupils widened.
He looked at Zhao Zhan with a gaze that seemed to have been quenched in ice. “Who are you?”
“I’m his old friend.”
Zhao Zhan’s true appearance was obscured by his beard.
Zhang Lingzhen put his hands behind his back and stared at Zhao Zhan’s face for a long time. “I don’t believe you.”
His words were strange.
Zhao Zhan’s expression did not change. “I met him in Wangshan Town more than a month ago.”
He described Zhang Lingshen’s appearance. “Speaking of which, I just realized that you kind of look like him, but he looked much younger than you.”
After a pause, Zhao Zhan sneered. “Of course, it might be because you’re not bothered by the secular world and have cut off all ties with one hand.”
Zhang Lingzhen gave him a deep look. “I believe you now.”
“To tell you the truth, that person is my younger brother from the same mother. However, I haven’t seen him in more than ten years.”
“You just said that you’re a hunter man. Your father must be an old acquaintance of that boy. You must be a descendant of the Zhao family, right?”
Zhao Zhan’s tone was full of mockery. “Did he tell you that?”
“Not really,” Zhang Lingzhen denied the accusations immediately. “Back then, we only heard that he had a classmate surnamed Zhao and that they were very close. The two of them even went to study abroad together. Forgive me if I overstepped.”
“You didn’t say anything wrong. My name is Zhao Zhan, and I’m indeed from the Zhao family. Since he hasn’t returned for many years, then I won’t ask anymore. However, about the matter that Fang Tianliu just asked, if this matter doesn’t involve the Zhang family, I hope you can tell us a thing or two about it.”
After Zhao Zhan finished speaking, he cupped his hands and bowed deeply.
Fang Tianliu also saluted with a serious face.
Zhang Lingzhen looked at the two young men hunched over in front of him and let out a long sigh. “I suppose I have no other choice. The other party’s surname is Lin, and he can do anything he wants in this area.”
“If your bodyguard agency suffered any losses and you cherish your life… Just let the matter go and you’ll live a better life.”
Fang Tianliu gritted his teeth.
“Fang Yuan bodyguard agency has been destroyed and I’m the only one left. I can’t let it go.”
He lost his family and lover all in the same week.
He was the only one left in this world.
“How could this be?” Zhang Lingzhen was unusually shocked. “Did they really do something like that? This matter truly has nothing to do with my Zhang family. I can assure you this.”
Zhang Lingzhen hurriedly ordered the servants to retrieve the things in the backyard.
“A month ago, it happened to be my family member’s birthday. I specially ordered people to find a piece of jade from Jiangnan.
“Because of the high value of this piece of jade, I entrusted the other party to find the best bodyguard agency and transport it here in perfect condition. After all, we did not want to delay transporting a birthday gift before the banquet.”
“This item was specially transported from Jiangnan, and they took great pains to transport it to Huai County first. It’s obvious that they took a detour.”
Fang Tianliu went through the route in his head as he spoke. “This means that they had long planned to harm the Fang family.”
“This is the letter I wrote to that person.”
This matter concerned the entire family, so Zhang Lingzhen couldn’t be ruthless enough to push them out.
“This is the contract that person bought for me when he was in Jiangnan. The seal on it is the other party’s private seal, and the one that sold me the item is the shopkeeper’s seal. I’ve told you everything I know.”
Fang Tianliu solemnly took the item and thanked him, “Thank you, for everything.”
A maidservant standing outside the door hurriedly came in, panting. “Taitai has woken up and is looking for her son. I can’t stop her. She’s already come to the front hall.”
Zhang Lingzhen hurriedly walked to the door. “Nonsense! Why didn’t you stop her? What if she gets injured?”
“Ling…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the weak and aged voice of a woman entered his ears.
Zhao Zhan’s footsteps were stopped by this sound, and he stood in the hall without moving.
“Shen…” Grandma Zhang said with a walking stick and a few servant girls around her. “I had a dream during my afternoon nap. I dreamed that Lingshen had returned. Did you secretly hide your brother somewhere?”
Zhang Lingzhen’s face was full of worry. “Mother, Lingshen hasn’t been back for a long time. I’ll help you back to your bed, you must be tired.”
“Don’t try to fool me.” Grandma Zhang avoided his hand and looked into the hall. “You’re clearly hiding someone in the front hall. It must be your brother who came back and you deliberately stopped him from seeing me.”
Zhang Lingzhen didn’t dare to stop her, for fear of hurting the old lady.
Grandma Zhang looked at Zhao Zhan, and the walking stick in her hand fell to the ground with a thudding sound.