Chosen One, how did I end up as the villain?

"Swish"

The package was torn open.

All that could be heard was a "whoosh" sound.

Silver ingots, mixed with banknotes, were scattered all over the ground.

It was worth several hundred taels, not including the banknotes.

"Look, that young master was right, it really is silver, and quite a lot of it."

"It seems this person is indeed a merchant, not a thief at all."

"Someone is going to embarrass themselves. They were so confident just now, but now it's all a blunder."

"A rough man is a rough man. He has no ability but tries to act tough. He really thinks he's someone important."

"Ha ha"

The group laughed as they talked.

But the laughter sounded particularly grating to the tattooed man's ears.

"Shut up, all of you!"

"How could it be silver? There must be something else."

As he spoke, he looked unwillingly at the gray cloth in his hand that was being used as a wrapping, but it was already empty inside.

Everyone looked on with disdain upon seeing this.

"He arrested the wrong person and doesn't even dare to admit it. What kind of man is he?"

"Get lost, if you're incompetent, don't embarrass yourself in public."

"Yeah, get out of here. You dare yell at us? Who do you think you are?"

"Get out!"

The tattooed man, his face alternating between pale and flushed, looked at Qin Huaiyu and said:

"Kid, you did this on purpose."

"That's right!"

Qin Huaiyu stepped forward, placed his hand on the big man's shoulder, and then squeezed it hard.

The tattooed man's eyes widened in shock. He felt a sharp pain coming from his shoulder, as if his bones had shattered.

"You, you..."

Qin Huaiyu smiled coldly, "I'll teach you a lesson. Don't think you're so capable. You're nothing but rubbish."

After saying that, he released his grip.

Even the most naive tattooed man would realize he'd kicked a hornet's nest; this young man was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

He didn't care about saving face anymore; he clenched his buttocks and ran away as fast as he could.

The burly men who were with him dared not utter a word and hurriedly followed him out.

This action, of course, drew another round of laughter from those present.

The middle-aged man was the only exception; he didn't care what had happened and was only concerned with collecting his money.

Soon, the farce ended, and the scene quieted down again.

Liu Man, still completely clueless, asked:

"Brother Ba, what do you think of this thief?"

Qin Huaiyu didn't hide anything and said directly:

"I don't have much of an opinion, but I feel that the shop owner's intentions are quite profound."

"What do you mean?" Liu Man asked, puzzled.

"The maid's words don't make sense; this case shouldn't stand."

Forehead?

Liu Man was stunned. "How is that possible? If it's theft, there must be someone doing it. How could it be fake?"

Qin Huaiyu shook his head without answering; he was pondering a very unrealistic answer.

Directed and acted by himself...

However, the clues in the conversation contain obvious logical errors.

Large quantities of jewelry are clearly designed to entice people to carry them, but there are fundamental problems with the way they are presented.

A few pieces of jewelry are fine, but how do you do wholesale in large quantities?

This reasoning is invalid.

Now that all assumptions are invalid, we can only go by the literal meaning.

Qin Huaiyu thought about what the little girl had said, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

Could it be...?

This shop owner is truly ingenious.

He smiled, and a sentence inexplicably came to mind.

After eliminating all possibilities, the only remaining truth, however improbable, is the truth we seek.

Interesting, interesting!

"Brother Ba, what are you laughing at?" Liu Man frowned. He was already trying to figure things out, and he was still laughing.

"It's nothing."

Qin Huaiyu composed himself. "Perhaps I already know who the real thief is."

Liu Man was startled. Not only him, but Yan Chong and the two women beside him also showed surprise.

Just then, another person stepped out from the crowd.

He was tall and straight, wearing a black robe with white patterns, a tight-fitting body, and an iron belt around his waist with interlocking rings. A badge hung on his waist, with "Command" in the front and "Martial" in the back. He was clearly an official.

This person was quite handsome, with arched eyebrows, sharp eyes, and fair skin, looking very young.

Qin Huaiyu had noticed him long ago. This man was not like an ordinary official; he had a sharp and murderous aura about him.

"Who is he?"

Yan Chong looked at it and said, "I've never seen it before; it doesn't seem to be from Jian'an."

Seemingly noticing their gazes, the young man turned his head and glanced at them.

By sheer coincidence, our eyes met.

An indescribable atmosphere unconsciously spread.

It seems to be targeting, yet it also seems to be exploring...

Fortunately, this process did not last long, and the young man turned his head to look at the platform.

"Young lady, according to your shopkeeper, the thief must be at the scene now?"

Qing'er smiled politely and replied:

"Young master, the thief is right here."

The young man nodded and said:

"Catch the thief and recover the stolen goods. This thief stole a large amount of jewelry and hasn't returned it yet, which shows he's no ordinary person. He must be either mentally strong or fearless."

"Therefore, the stolen goods must have been very well hidden. If they were not wrapped up, then they must have been hidden somewhere."

"May we search that young lady?"

Qing'er shook her head. "No, the upstairs of Qingfengfang is full of guests. Wouldn't doing this spoil their fun? Wouldn't that be ruining our reputation?"

"But if we don't do this, how can we investigate? Experienced yamen runners always need to conduct searches, but you're not allowing it. Is the brothel owner deliberately making things difficult, or is this all just a play you've put on?" the young man questioned.

Interesting. This guy is not bad; he can guess that it's a self-directed and self-acted drama. However, it's still far from the truth, Qin Huaiyu thought to himself.

This statement caused a stir at the scene.