The Prodigal Son

Counterfeit money case?

Mandrill?

Hearing Qin Yu's words, the group suddenly felt a chill.

Qi Dachui's eyes widened, and he asked in astonishment, "Thirteenth Young Master, are you saying that the counterfeit money was made by a mountain demon?"

"..."

Upon hearing Qi Dachui's question, the others all looked over with exasperated expressions.

His comprehension ability is truly quite peculiar.

Qin Yu paused, then smiled and nodded: "If the so-called mandrill is just a person in disguise, then your statement makes sense! Da Chui, take a few men to the nearby post station and inquire about the rumors surrounding the mandrill from the merchants!"

"Um."

Qi Dachui nodded and immediately led a few people to the nearby post station.

Watching Qi Dachui and his men leave, Nan Que'er couldn't help but give Qin Yu a coquettish smile: "Just keep spoiling him!"

"What he said is actually possible!"

Qin Yu laughed heartily.

After pondering for a moment, Ruan Zhi slowly said, "If that's the case, the mountain demon might be a person in disguise, just to keep people away from Huai County and prevent their counterfeit coin production site from being discovered!"

Lu Si stroked his chin, analyzing to himself, "So that means the counterfeit coin production site is most likely in Huai County, not Zilang County?"

"That's certainly possible!"

Qin Yu nodded and said, "I'm thinking, are they making counterfeit copper coins in Huai County and then circulating them in Zilang County? That way, if someone investigates, they'll investigate in Zilang County first. Once they get wind of it, they can quickly destroy their hideout and evade investigation!"

Listening to Qin Yu's analysis, the others couldn't help but nod slightly.

That's certainly possible!

Huai County has a small population and is considered an unlucky place. Coupled with all sorts of messy rumors, it is indeed a suitable place to hide and make counterfeit copper coins.

"If that's the case, why don't they take the counterfeit money to Longshan County to speed up its circulation and exchange?"

At this point, Di Rong raised another question.

Qin Yu thought for a moment and replied, "I suspect these people might have some concerns! The prefectural city is different from the county town; there are definitely more worldly people in the prefectural city who can easily identify counterfeit coins! Also, it's not very convenient to bring a large number of counterfeit coins from Huai County to Longshan Prefectural City; they'd easily be questioned..."

"That makes sense!"

Ruan Zhi nodded and said, "Zilang County is right next to Huai County. Bringing a large amount of money into Zilang County is definitely much easier than bringing it into Longshan County!"

"Yes!" Nan Que'er nodded in agreement, reminding him, "Don't forget, Chen Bao and the others exchanged those copper coins and silver in a town in Zilang County! It's definitely easier to take the money to a town!"

The group analyzed and discussed the situation simultaneously.

The more they discussed it, the more they felt that the den of counterfeit copper coins was likely hidden in Huai County!

The time when the mandrill legends appeared may have been the time when those people started making counterfeit copper coins!

A short while later, Qi Dachui returned with his men and told Qin Yu the news they had gathered.

The mandrill is said to have appeared in Huai County at the end of the year before last.

Huai County has always been considered an ominous place, and many people firmly believe in the rumors about mandrills.

Some say those mandrills have blue faces and fangs, human legs, but sharp claws on their hands.

Some say that the mandrill is half-human and half-tiger, incredibly strong, and moves like the wind, appearing and disappearing without a trace.

Some people say that these mandrills can fly, look like giant bats, and come out at night to look for food, with a particular fondness for eating the hearts of young women and children.

Some even swear they've witnessed mandrills eating people, and can describe the bloody scene in detail...

It is said that at the end of last year, in order to dispel the rumors, the Huai County government specially organized a group of people to travel from Huai County to Longshan County.

As a result, they encountered a mountain demon halfway there. More than half of the people were eaten by the mountain demon, and the rest were either scared to death or went insane. Even the magistrate of Huai County was so frightened that he fell seriously ill and was bedridden...

Those people spoke with such conviction that they didn't know whether it was true or false.

Anyway, right now, out of a hundred businessmen, I estimate only a very few who are looking for death would dare to go that way!

Upon hearing the news brought back by Qi Dachui, Qin Yu couldn't help but feel a dark expression on his face.

He knew without investigating that more than 80 percent of these rumors were false and fabricated!

Whether it was a deliberate fabrication or simply a misconception, remains unknown.

"How about we take a look at Huai County while we're there?"

Lu Sixing hurriedly said, "If we crack the counterfeit copper coin case, it will definitely be a great achievement!"

"Where are you going!"

Nan Que'er widened her eyes and glared fiercely at Lü Si. "Someone already wanted to assassinate him, and you still encouraged him to go to that ominous place? Even the Crown Prince was assassinated there. Are you afraid he won't die?"

"I……"

Lu Si's face stiffened, and he curled his lip in disdain. "What kind of bullshit ominous place is this? It's all that bastard Zhao Yi's fault!"

He didn't believe in any ominous place!

Wasn't Huai County perfectly fine before the Crown Prince was assassinated?

The ominous place arose because the crown prince was assassinated by Zhao Yi's men in Huai County.

It wasn't because it was an ominous place that the crown prince was assassinated!

Upon hearing this, Nan Que'er immediately raised her hand and made a needle-sticking motion.

Lu Si shrank back and nimbly hid behind Di Rong.

"Alright!"

Qin Yu stopped Nan Que'er, "Pei Du is leading a team to investigate this matter, so let's leave it alone for now!"

"Given the capabilities of the Baojing Division, if our suspicions are correct, they should be able to trace things back to Huai County very quickly!"

"Let's go to Jiangning Prefecture first and investigate Sun Min's case!"

"If Pei Du and his men don't find anything in Huai County, we'll turn back and investigate!"

Anyway, Huai County is not far from Jiangning Prefecture.

Now that someone is investigating, there's no need for them to make a fuss.

Speculation is just speculation; it may be correct, or it may be that they are overthinking it.

Let's see what Pei Du and his team's investigation results are!

There's no need to worry too much as long as counterfeit copper coins don't circulate widely.

Right now, we need to investigate Sun Min's case first, and then reorganize the salt administration.

Finally, let's talk about the case of the counterfeit copper coins.

Since Qin Yu had made his decision, no one else said anything more.

After resting, they set off again.

Along the way, Qin Yu slowed down a bit, and when he occasionally encountered a larger caravan, he would take the initiative to chat with the caravan members and subtly inquire about some things.

During our conversation, we didn't learn much about the smuggled salt trade, but we did learn some things about the officialdom in Haizhou.

Cats have their ways, and dogs have theirs.

Officials of all ranks in Haizhou had their own ways of making money.

In any case, in the eyes of those businessmen, all officials are corrupt!

However, most of these officials, both high and low, understood the principle of not exhausting resources and allowed these merchants to make a profit. Therefore, even though they were exploited at every level, the merchants were still willing to travel to and from Haizhou.

In addition, the security along this important freight route from Guangde Prefecture through Wantuo County into Fangzhou is quite good.

There are very few reports of people being robbed on this road.

This is also a major reason why these merchants are willing to travel to Haizhou...