Hu Jia was also puzzled as to why no one brought up the lost key, but after a moment's thought, he understood. They probably feared he would feel guilty and deliberately downplayed the loss of the key.
However, Hu Jia knew that the key was not something that could be easily lost.
After all, it was clear from the memo that the key was very important, although they did not yet know what it was for.
Based on the memo, Hu Jia analyzed and speculated that the loss of the key was not the work of the monkey man.
The reason was also clearly stated, and Sixth Master and the Dao Ren were the suspects.
However, this had not yet been verified.
Hu Jia knew that the possibility of retrieving the key was almost nil, and it was likely that when the key reappeared, it would be the time of Sixth Master's downfall. Lu Qingqing and Ouyang Wen's inaction were probably for the same reason.
But Hu Jia was unwilling to be the one who waited; he wanted to take the initiative.
Didn't Mou Chun Ya give Hu Jia a list before? It recorded all the people who had a good relationship with Mou Ji Xuan back then.
Although most of them were nicknames, Hu Jia still found one or two of them.
Among these two, one named Tang De Ke caught his attention.
Tang De Ke, who used to hang out with Mou Ji Xuan, later joined the "Dao Ren Organization" and was mainly involved in collecting protection fees, holding a somewhat significant position.
Hu Jia wanted to cultivate him into an informant. He didn't expect much sensational news from this person, but often a few words could reveal the essence of a matter.
After all, they knew very little about the real Dao Ren Organization at the moment.
And this Tang De Ke, even if he was just collecting protection fees, was often the type of person who was well-informed and less likely to attract attention.
Hu Jia had initially thought that Tang De Ke would remain loyal to his gang and had planned to get closer to him by mentioning Mou Ji Xuan's name.
To his surprise, the other party waved his hand impatiently, "With me, don't talk about anything other than money."
Hu Jia rejoiced, "Decisive!"
However, he remained outwardly calm, "Money is not a problem, the problem is whether you can get the information I need?"
Tang De Ke glanced at Hu Jia, "Would you ask a beggar to inquire about matters of the Golden Palace?"
Hu Jia smiled. It seemed Tang De Ke was a perceptive person. His implication was that if it was within his capabilities, he would do business for money. If it was beyond his capabilities, don't bother him, otherwise, it would be your own fault for being foolish.
"There is a restaurant on Zhongyi Road, I want to know its purpose." Hu Jia took out a stack of money from his pocket and gently pushed it towards Tang De Ke.
"Heh heh, Mr. Hu, that's a joke. There are so many restaurants on Zhongyi Road, which one do you want me to investigate?" Tang De Ke just glanced at the wad of bills without touching it.
"I think you should know which one I mean," Hu Jia said with a smile.
"Heh heh." Tang De Ke chuckled, reached out, and took the money.
In fact, Hu Jia and his companions had already gathered most of the information about the restaurant on Zhongyi Road. It was a contact point for the Dao Ren organization, possibly involved in mission assignments and secret meetings.
The reason Hu Jia assigned this task to Tang De Ke was to test him. Firstly, to see if the information Tang De Ke returned matched his own understanding, which would determine whether their cooperation would continue. Secondly, what if there was an unexpected bonus?
Afterward, Hu Jia and Tang De Ke chatted a bit about Mou Ji Xuan, but Tang De Ke had little valuable information to offer, so they dropped the subject.
...
In the afternoon, Lu Qingqing and Hu Jia, carrying fruits and pastries, knocked on the door of old Mr. Xie Hong.
When Lu Qingqing explained their purpose, Xie Hong did not hold back.
"You mean, they asked you to interpret a poem?" Hu Jia was very surprised. If he hadn't known that the person in front of him was a renowned private tutor, he would have thought he was joking.
When did the Dao Ren become so fond of academic pursuits?
"I heard they also found fruit farmers and Feng Shui masters. Are they also going to interpret poems?" Lu Qingqing also found it absurd.
"No, no, no." Xie Hong repeatedly waved his hands. The fruit farmers were there to guess fruits, and the Feng Shui masters were there to guess terrain.
Uh...
Lu Qingqing and Hu Jia exchanged glances. They understood every word, but when put together, they couldn't make sense of it.
Are the Dao Ren planning to take over an orchard and are looking for auspicious land?
"May I ask, what poem did they ask Old Xie to interpret?" Hu Jia asked.
"Pah!" Xie Hong spat, "What poem? I don't know which young brat blindly wrote it."
Seeing that Lu Qingqing and Hu Jia did not respond, Xie Hong concealed his embarrassment. "Really, it's not that this old man is talking nonsense. Listen to this, what is this trying to describe?"
"The Prefect of Pearls can also be infatuated, ten years of fruit bearing in the courtyard. Listen, what are these two lines describing? A person or a plant? Not only is the theme unclear, but where is the aesthetic beauty in these two sentences?"
What?
Hu Jia and Lu Qingqing were greatly shocked.
Lu Qingqing was surprised that the secret code she and Mou Chun Ya had exchanged had somehow fallen into the hands of the Dao Ren.
What shocked Hu Jia was that the Dao Ren were also trying to decipher the code left by his father.
Years ago, he had heard these two lines from Feng Si's mouth, and he had tried to decipher them but had always failed. What exactly did these two sentences mean? What did they represent, where should they be used, or what secret did they hide?
Most importantly, his father had left a total of four sentences, and there was no news of the other two.
Now, what was the purpose of the Dao Ren publicly seeking people to decipher these two sentences?
No one knew.
Fortunately, Xie Hong was still lost in his own world and did not notice the change in Hu and Lu's expressions.
"What is Old Xie's opinion on these two sentences?" Hu Jia asked.
"No particular opinion. It's either about a person or a plant. It's just that 'in the courtyard' is difficult to understand. It should be a location," Old Xie said.
Hu Jia agreed with Xie Hong's thoughts. The first line with "Prefect" clearly referred to a person, and the second line "ten years of fruit bearing" referred to a plant.
Hu Jia stroked his chin, then got up to bid farewell to Xie Hong.
This sudden departure made Lu Qingqing feel it was impolite, but she couldn't say much in front of an outsider.
As soon as they left Xie Hong's house, Lu Qingqing started to complain.
But Hu Jia just smiled, "You, you don't use your brain. Since Xie Hong has completed his task, there's no need for us to disturb his rest."
"Task? What task?"
"To relay a message for Sixth Master."
Hu Jia said that since the Dao Ren valued these two sentences so much, why would they let them leak out? Unless it was their intention.
Given the capabilities of the Dao Ren, they couldn't possibly not know that Xie Hong was Lu Duo Bao's teacher. Why did they specifically invite him to interpret the poem? Because they knew that if Lu Qingqing wanted to inquire about the poem, she would definitely go to him.
"If my guess is correct, the poems others saw were not these two. Xie Hong's task was to bring these two sentences to my ears and point out key elements such as the person, plant, and location."
Hu Jia's words completely confused Lu Qingqing.
"But why would they do this?"
"Perhaps Sixth Master believes that I know who the 'Prefect of Pearls' is and what plant 'ten years of fruit bearing' refers to," Hu Jia said.