The Prodigal Son

With no more reservations, Fu Mingzhu simply confessed everything at once.

Corruption among officials in Fangzhou mainly stems from several sources.

First and foremost, it has to be salt!

Some came from smuggled salt, while others profited from official salt.

Another issue is freight transportation in Fangzhou.

They levied excessive taxes on merchants, or withheld tax revenue, etc.

In any case, officials of all ranks have their own ways of making money.

Furthermore, some officials also engage in business, even running brothels and pleasure boats.

Because he hasn't been involved for very long, there are still many things he doesn't know.

In Jiangning Prefecture, there are also a few upright and incorruptible people, but most of them are ostracized.

However, he was certain of one thing: Sun Min did not plunder money from ordinary people, and he strictly ordered officials at all levels in Fangzhou not to exploit the people.

Previously, a county magistrate in Fangzhou was executed by Sun Min himself for extorting money from the people.

In addition, Sun Min strictly forbids anyone from coveting the granary; anyone who dares to violate this rule will be caught and executed!

Over the years, Sun Min has done a lot of good things in Fangzhou.

For example, building water conservancy projects and dredging waterways.

It was precisely because of these reasons that, despite embezzling a great deal of silver, Sun Min still enjoyed a very good reputation in Fangzhou.

Some people even called him Sun Qingtian (Sun the Upright Official).

No sooner had Fu Mingzhu finished speaking than Lü Si hurriedly asked, "Has Sun Min had any dealings with Shi Yi?"

"Of course."

Fu Mingzhu replied, "Shi Yi is the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang; how could they not have dealings?"

"I'm not talking about official dealings!" Lü Si shook his head. "I mean, do they have any shady dealings or anything like that? Or do they have any past conflicts?"

"Does Young Master Lü suspect that Lord Sun's death is related to Lord Shi?"

Fu Mingzhu finally realized what was happening.

"Yes, yes!"

Lü Si nodded repeatedly.

"this……"

Fu Mingzhu thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "In my humble opinion, this matter has nothing to do with Lord Shi!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Si immediately became displeased. "You're not Shi Yi, how do you know?"

"I suspect that Sun Min possessed evidence of Shi Yi's extensive collusion with salt merchants to sell smuggled salt. Therefore, Shi Yi used Jia Dequan to eliminate Sun Min, and then sent someone to drug Madam Sun and her daughter, burning them to death!"

"Most of Lady Sun's will was written by Shi Yi's men, with the aim of instilling panic and coercing the court's will..."

Lu Si continued to explain his analysis, leaving Fu Mingzhu speechless. He then cast a questioning glance at Qin Yu.

What did the historians do to offend this man?

Qin Yu smiled and didn't bother to say anything more.

Only after Lü Si finished speaking did Fu Mingzhu chuckle dryly and say, "Young Master Lü's analysis isn't entirely impossible..."

"Then send people to investigate along this line!" Lu Si ordered.

"well!"

Fu Mingzhu reluctantly agreed, then looked at Qin Yu ingratiatingly: "This humble official will take the lead in writing a letter of apology and hand over all the embezzled silver."

"Um!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, "This is no big deal for you. You have a good opportunity to redeem yourself! Don't worry, if you handle this well, His Majesty might even reward you!"

"Thank you very much, Lord Qin!"

Fu Mingzhu felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. "If there's nothing else, sir, may I return to my duties?"

Go!

Qin Yu waved his hand and then reminded him, "Lu Si is not available to show his face for the time being. Don't let anyone know that he's in Fangzhou!"

"Yes! This humble official takes his leave!"

Fu Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

I've finally gotten through this hurdle!

Fortunately, Sun Min and those officials in Fangzhou had ostracized him for so long.

Otherwise, this hurdle would definitely not be so easy to overcome.

Watching Fu Mingzhu leave, Lü Si looked at Qin Yu smugly: "How about that? I told you you had your moments of reliance on me, didn't I?"

"You've really shown off your skills!"

Qin Yu glanced at Bai Lüsi, then asked with interest, "Didn't all of your father's disciples go to the Liangjiang region to seize power?"

"Are these things still important now?"

Lu Si curled his lip. "You should hurry up and investigate Sun Min's matter! Anyway, I think the Shi family is behind it! If you ask me, we should just storm into the Shi family's house, arrest everyone, and interrogate them. We'll find out the truth soon enough!"

"Alright, you can take the troops then!"

Qin Yu readily agreed.

Lu Si hesitated slightly, then turned his face away. "I'm not a commander!"

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled, "You are the reincarnation of the Martial Star, having slain over 150 people in battle!"

"Get lost!"

Lu Si looked slightly embarrassed and changed the subject, saying, "When will I be able to appear openly and legitimately?"

Qin Yu: "You got a beating, your butt's bleeding from all that beating, you need at least a month to recover, right? Can't you even calculate the time?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Si felt a surge of frustration and began cursing again: "To hell with them! It's all the Shi family's fault!"

Looking at the resentful Lü Si, Qin Yu couldn't help but shake his head and smile, while silently pondering in his heart.

Where should we begin to break through the case of Sun Min's murder?

……

Over the next two days, Qin Yu not only interrogated Jia Dequan's family members and those who witnessed Sun Min's murder, but also conducted extensive interviews in Fangzhou.

This includes the pleasure boat that Jia Dequan knew about the night before his death, and the Wangjiang Terrace where Sun Min and Jia Dequan were both murdered.

All signs indicate that Sun Min wanted to get rid of Jia Dequan and sever ties with the salt smuggling case, but Jia Dequan retaliated by killing him.

There is absolutely no doubt about it!

Faced with this result, if it weren't for the cross he found in that white circle, he probably would have wavered!

Compared to Qin Yu, Lü Si, though unaware of the matter of the cross mark, remained extremely resolute.

However, he firmly believed that this matter was related to historians.

In the past two days, under Fu Mingzhu's leadership, many officials have also submitted letters of repentance, confessing their crimes.

However, those who voluntarily confessed generally did not hold high-ranking official positions.

It was nothing more than some corruption cases involving relatively small sums of money and issues related to personal private lives. In addition, a few people confessed to abusing their power, embezzling from their own positions, and colluding with unscrupulous businessmen to seize the property of their competitors.

These things are neither major nor minor.

But compared to the case of Sun Min's murder and the counterfeit money case, these are nothing. Qin Yu has already ordered people to verify and investigate them.

In the carriage, Qin Yu put down the two letters of apology he had just received that morning and closed his eyes wearily.

Nan Que'er sat with him in the carriage.

Looking at Qin Yu's exhausted face, she felt a pang of heartache, but there was nothing she could do to help. All she could do was reach out and gently take his hand in hers.

Others might not know, but surely she, the person sharing her bed, knows?

Since disembarking at the quarry dock, he hasn't been able to get a good night's sleep, as there are endless things to deal with every day.

All sorts of big and small matters left him exhausted.

It's not physical exhaustion, it's mental exhaustion!

Many times, even when he closes his eyes, he is still thinking.

Qin Yu held Nan Que'er's soft hand, but his mind was constantly pondering the details of Sun Min's murder case.

He tried to find a flaw in the case to prove that there was something fishy about it.

Just as Qin Yu was lost in thought, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

Immediately afterwards, the carriage also stopped.

Qin Yu opened his eyes and lifted the carriage curtain. Just as he was about to ask a question, Qi Dachui came over.

"Thirteenth Young Master, someone is blocking the road, crying out for justice!"