Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2836 Master Qingsong 54.0
Upon hearing this, Jin Miaomiao couldn't help but click her tongue, her face full of disdain.

"Hmm?" Song Yaojia couldn't help but laugh as she looked at her. "What commotion have you caused this time? What's that expression trying to convey?"

"I simply think this merchant is extremely shameless and bullies others by taking advantage of their power."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"The bronze tripod was originally a gift from the royal family to the Shang family. Logically speaking, after receiving it, they should have been involved in the entire process of placing it in their ancestral tomb. Even if they didn't go personally, they should have sent capable people to do so. But they were quite arrogant and entrusted everything to the She family. And then, when something went wrong, they wanted to hold others accountable?" Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes and said, "The She family certainly bears some responsibility, but isn't the Shang family the greater responsibility? Isn't the Shang family just arrogant and domineering because they are the maternal family of the late Empress Dowager?"

“It’s not entirely arrogance. Actually, they’re just trying to gain the upper hand.” Shen Cha sneered. “They’re very guilty because the bronze cauldron is missing. They’re afraid that the late emperor and the late empress dowager will punish them, so they’re in a hurry to find someone to take the blame for them.”

"Is the She family the scapegoat?"

“It’s obvious.” Shen Cha raised an eyebrow. “They probably know a little about the She family’s background, but not much. For example, they probably don’t know much about their secret military training. So, they didn’t take the She family seriously, thinking that the late Empress Dowager and the Emperor’s uncle wouldn’t offend them because of a cousin. What a pity.” She sighed softly and looked at Shen Haolin. “This cousin is much more important than the maternal family.”

"Hmm!" Shen Haolin nodded. "Actually, Emperor Taizong intended to transform the She family's old troops into a second Eagle King Army, but," he shook his head slightly, "there hasn't been any particularly significant progress over the years. Although the She family has cultivated quite a few talented generals, very few can stand alone. In addition, the serious injury to my cousin from the She family has further delayed the resurgence of the old troops. I'm afraid this is the real reason why my uncle and the late Empress Dowager are so furious, especially my uncle."

"I don't know about that." Song Yaojia chuckled. "However, the merchant wasn't really unreasonable. Seeing that his cousin She was so badly injured, he was still arranging to capture the real culprit and retrieve the bronze cauldron, so he stopped mentioning his own little schemes."

"Didn't he come with a secret imperial decree?"

"Yes, but he didn't know the contents of the secret edict until the old subordinates of the She family took over Yangzhou Prefecture. The She family cousin, despite his illness, held a large army and controlled Yangzhou Prefecture perfectly. Only then did he realize the truth." Song Yaojia smiled bitterly. "Not only the merchants, but the entire Yangzhou government was shocked. They never expected that such a small escort agency would hold such great power."

"A true master doesn't reveal their abilities, and a master who reveals their abilities isn't a true master." Jin Miaomiao clicked her tongue twice. "However, has the bronze cauldron been found? Where are the people? Those thugs aren't really important; what's important is the Gong family and the Ma family who are plotting behind the scenes."

"After the Gong and Ma families took the cauldron, they were not in a hurry to leave Yangzhou. They knew that with such a big disturbance, the city gates would be under martial law, and if they left the city at this time, they would definitely be caught. So, they stayed in their villas, thinking that as long as they did not go out, they would definitely escape this calamity. It would not be too late to leave after the storm had passed, since they had already obtained the goods."

“From the time the She family ran into trouble to the time they received the secret decree to take over Yangzhou Prefecture, there should have been two or three days. How come they didn’t even think about fleeing?” Shen Cha frowned slightly. “That doesn’t make sense!”

“Because they needed to verify its authenticity.” Song Yaojia sighed. “They’ve never seen a real bronze cauldron before and were worried they’d stolen a fake, so they wanted to stay in Yangzhou to verify it. This process is said to be very complicated and takes a long time, which is why it was delayed. When they finally got the result they wanted, they found that Yangzhou was now under lockdown, so they decided to stay and observe the situation. However, when they went out into the streets, they noticed many familiar faces among the Yangzhou garrison soldiers. They were people from the escort agency they had investigated before, and these people were all wearing soft armor and commanding the Yangzhou garrison soldiers.”

"The Gong and Ma families must be terrified, right?" "Indeed." Song Yaojia sneered. "Furthermore, they became even more anxious after learning that the bronze cauldron they stole was a gift from the emperor."

"Wait a minute." Jin Miaomiao blinked and asked, "Your Highness, the people from the Gong family and the Ma family who came to Yangzhou this time weren't actually very important, right?"

“It’s just the periphery, not the core, so what you’re worried about won’t happen.” Song Yaojia waved her hand and said, “After the She family took over Yangzhou Prefecture, in addition to strictly controlling the city gates, they also searched every household.”

"Search?" Jin Miaomiao sighed. "Actually, they've had their target for a long time, haven't they?"

"Of course, even though the She family of Liuzhou has fallen on hard times, they still have considerable strength."

“That’s not all.” Shen Cha thought for a moment. “The foundation of the She family in Liuzhou is scouts. They have their own set of methods for tracking and monitoring everything. Once they get involved, no one can escape.” She raised an eyebrow slightly. “I remember there was a record that She Nanqi once found the enemy’s important grain supply site by relying on a little bit of incense smoke. He burned it down, causing the enemy to be defeated without a fight.”

"The battle that made me famous."

“Brother is right. She Nanqi became famous because of this battle, and the She family has since been known as the ‘dog-sniff’ family.” Shen Cha nodded. “Anyone who goes to the She family and has any smell on them will not escape the noses of the She family.”

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia snapped her fingers. “On the very night the incident happened, my cousin from the She family arranged for people to track down those who smelled of pear blossoms. He said that these people all had this scent, and it lingered for a long time. Logically speaking, people who engage in murder, robbery, and trafficking wouldn’t use incense. The only possibility is that their residence uses this kind of incense, and in very large quantities. As long as we follow this clue, we will definitely find them. While waiting for his secret decree to take over Yangzhou Prefecture, the person has already been identified.”

"The villas of the Gong and Ma families?"

“That’s right!” Song Yaojia smiled. “In order not to alert the enemy, the She family has not made any moves against them. They have just been quietly surrounding them, and not very tightly. They know that as long as the city gates are not closed, they can’t escape. So, as soon as they have the manpower, they can arrest them at any time.”

"Caught red-handed, right?" Seeing Song Yaojia nod, Shen Cha sighed. "What about Cousin She? Is he really dead from his injuries?"

“His injuries were indeed very serious, but as long as he had taken good care of himself, he wouldn’t have died. Unfortunately, given the circumstances in Yangzhou at the time, it was impossible for him to have proper care. As a result, he had repeated high fevers that would subside, and his wounds could not be reduced in swelling or heal. In the end,” he shook his head slightly, “when the news reached the palace, his uncle and the late Empress Dowager were furious and ordered all the perpetrators in the case to be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public.”

(End of this chapter)