Jiang Zhao decided that the four of them dispersed and went to the village to inquire. Even if they couldn't find out the whereabouts of Sanniang's family, they could at least know whether they left on their own or were taken away by others.

Jiang Zhao knocked on the door of the neighbor's house next door to Sanniang's house. The person who opened the door was an elderly man.

"Old man, do you know where the family living next door has gone?"

Jiang Zhao asked straight to the point.

"You said their family left half a month ago. I don't know where they went."

The old man said.

Jiang Zhao's mind was running fast, something suddenly occurred to him, and he asked: "Then do you know when their family moved here?"

The old man recalled it carefully in his mind for a while: "It seems to have been a month ago."

"That family is strange. They suddenly moved here a month ago, bought a field, and married a daughter-in-law less than half a month ago. They must be a wealthy family, but their family lives a very poor life."

Hearing the old man's answer, Jiang Zhao's heart sank.

One month ago, it was almost the time when she met Sanniang at the night market.

Later, Sanniang was rescued by Si Mubai, who then found out that Sanniang had a distant cousin who was a childhood friend.

It seemed that from the time they came out of Jingshui Tower to meeting Sanniang being beaten by her husband, then finding out that she had a distant cousin, and then the few of them living in Sanniang's house, it seemed that everything was planned.

But what are the people behind planning this against them?

Until now, Jiang Zhao has not felt that the person behind them did anything to hurt them.

After Jiang Zhao thanked the old man, he returned to the courtyard of Sanniang's house, where they agreed to gather in half an hour.

She moved a stool, blew the dust on it, and sat on it, thinking about what the person behind them wanted to do.

Half an hour later, the other three came back.

The three of them all talked about what they had learned about, and the general situation was the same as what Jiang Zhao had heard.

"Brother Xian, it seems you are right. Sanniang's family may have been instigated by someone to come close to us."

Simu Bai said in a deep voice.

He really couldn't accept that someone from such a kind and simple family could actually be pretending.

"Now that the waterwheel drawings have fallen into their hands, what will they do?"

Simu Bai suddenly thought that the waterwheel blueprint might very well fall into the hands of the person targeting them.

Jiang Zhao shook his head. She didn't even know who the person was targeting them, so how could she know what that person would do.

"But fortunately, in the drawings I drew for Jiuqi that day, in order to prevent others from plagiarizing, I didn't draw the key parts."

"Even if they make a waterwheel, it won't work."

Hearing Jiang Zhao say this, Si Mubai took a long breath.

Speaking of which, he was responsible for the current situation. He was the one who sent Sanniang to his distant cousin's house that day, and he was the one who brought Jiang Zhao to attend their wedding.

If he had been more careful when investigating, he would not have caused the situation today.

"Brother, this is all my fault."

Jiang Zhao shook his head: "What does this have to do with Brother Mubai? The person behind it wants to target us. Even if this incident hadn't happened, he would have caused other incidents."

"I just don't know what the person behind it wants to do, and why is he targeting us?"

"However, I think it won't be long before we know who the person behind it is. That person got the waterwheel blueprint and either used it to make a profit or to claim credit. No matter what, his identity will be exposed."

Si Mubai nodded: "In that case, let's go back first."

When leaving, Jiang Zhao went to the room and took away the money she had put under her pillow. This was all earned by her own hard work. Since they didn't want it, it would be better to put it back in her own pocket.

…

Zhen Guo Gongfu.

"The prince has summoned the famous carpenters in Huaijing City to the room these days. He hasn't gone out for a few days and doesn't know what he is doing?"

"It seems that Sanniang brought some drawings to the Crown Prince from outside that day, and the Crown Prince kept studying those drawings without thinking about anything."

"What are those drawings that can make the prince so fascinated?"

"I went in to deliver food to the Crown Prince and the others that day, and I happened to see it, which seemed to be a big circle. I don't know what it was used for."

"It must be a good thing for the prince to work so hard."

…

After finishing their work, several maids from the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion gathered together to chat.

"You guys are still lazy here, why don't you hurry up and get to work!"

A stern mother's voice sounded, scaring the little maids into scattering immediately.

In the courtyard of the Crown Prince, Jing Huarong held a few drawings and looked at the small waterwheel model that several carpenters had jointly made on the table.

He used his hand to turn the waterwheel, but no matter how he turned it, the waterwheel returned to its original state and had no ability to turn at all.

If you want the waterwheel to turn, you can only rely on human power.

Originally, such a waterwheel could be used, but several carpenters saw that these drawings were incomplete, resulting in the waterwheel missing several parts.

Otherwise, as long as you pour a little water on the water truck, the water truck can easily start turning.

These days, all Jing Huarong's thoughts and time are placed on this waterwheel.

He wanted to prevent Jiang Zhao from participating in the palace examination that day, but the risk of taking action against Jiang Zhao was too high. In addition, he got the waterwheel blueprint, so he let Jiang Zhao go.

But after several days of research, they still couldn't figure out what parts were missing from the waterwheel.

Finally, after several consecutive days of failure, and knowing that he was not among the top three in the imperial examination today, he was called over by his grandfather to give him a scolding.

Jing Huarong finally broke out. He threw the drawings on the table and said angrily.

"After all these days, I still haven't figured out what parts are missing from this waterwheel. What's the point of me raising a bunch of trash like you?"

He was not among the top three in the imperial examination, so he urgently needed to take this waterwheel to the emperor to claim credit.

Only the top three candidates in the palace examination will be awarded official positions on the spot, while the candidates who follow the palace examination need to queue up.

After all, there are so many scholars in the Tianyu Dynasty, but there are only so many official positions in the court, and hereditary replacement has already taken up most of the official positions.

Although he is the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo, he still has his father above him. It is not known how long it will take until he is hereditary and replaced.

Moreover, the Zhenguo Government also needs a civil servant to stabilize his position in the court.

The carpenters were so frightened by Jing Huarong's roar that they all knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, spare your life, Your Majesty, please spare your life——"

"The drawings of this waterwheel are too avant-garde and sophisticated. I'm not very good at it, so I hope the prince will spare my life."

Jing Huarong didn't want to hear their explanation and said impatiently.

"I will give you three more days. If after three days, I cannot see the complete waterwheel, you will no longer have to hold your head around your neck!"


Chapter completed!