The Prodigal Son

Hearing Qin Yu dare to bring up the Empress Dowager, Lü Si was immediately displeased.

"Are you out of your mind? Does the Empress Dowager really need to go through all this trouble to kill a governor?"

Lu Si glared at Qin Yu, who had suddenly frozen in shock, his eyes wide: "You dare to doubt the Empress Dowager? Why don't you go and say that to her?"

You bastard!

His aunt was so good to him!

How dare he have the audacity to doubt his aunt?

His aunt should give him a good beating, see if he dares to doubt again!

"Not the Empress Dowager!"

Ding Che's pupils constricted sharply, and he said with a frosty expression, "It's the Crown Prince's Tai!"

"Get the hell out of here!" Lu Si blurted out, "The Crown Prince has been dead for so many years, and he can still..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Lü Si suddenly froze.

Crown Prince!

If this really is an unfinished character "太" (tài), then things are in big trouble!

All those bullshit cases—the smuggled salt case, the counterfeit copper coin case, and the murder of Sun Min—have to step aside!

After a long while, Lü Si finally snapped out of his daze, swallowed hard, and gently tugged at Qin Yu, who was still deep in thought: "I just had a sudden idea, you...you better not scare me..."

He was just bored and accidentally discovered this trace.

He was so eager to destroy the Shi family that the first thing that came to mind was the character "Shi" in their name!

He didn't even consider the word "too"!

"If this isn't a cross, then it's very likely a 'too' character!"

Qin Yu snapped out of his thoughts, his expression unusually cold: "If Sun Min is related to the Crown Prince's assassination, then it's perfectly reasonable for someone to want to silence him! Besides, Xinpu isn't far from Huai County, where the Crown Prince was assassinated..."

He didn't know whether his guess was right or wrong.

However, if we connect these things together, it's hard not to suspect that Sun Min was involved in the assassination of the crown prince.

Ding Che nodded in deep agreement and said in a deep voice, "If Lord Qin's guess is correct, it's not hard to understand why the late emperor couldn't find direct evidence that Zhao Yi had sent someone to assassinate the Crown Prince! Because it wasn't Zhao Yi's people who did it!"

With this suspicion emerging, many of the doubts surrounding the assassination of the crown prince seem to be explained!

It should be noted that after the Crown Prince was assassinated in Huai County, the entire Baojing Division was mobilized and investigated Huai County for three whole months.

As a result, they couldn't find any evidence that directly pointed to Zhao Yi.

The late emperor directly ordered the imprisonment and interrogation of numerous officials, but no officials were found to be involved in the Crown Prince's case.

Later, Zhao Yi's men, unable to withstand the torture, admitted that Zhao Yi had sent someone to assassinate the crown prince, but that was all they admitted was that the incident had happened.

But the person who directly carried out the attack has never been found!

Looking back now, Zhao Yi may indeed have had this idea and even put it into action.

But the person who actually took action was very likely not one of Zhao Yi's men!

Hearing what the two said, Lü Si felt that Qin Yu's guess seemed to make some sense, and he immediately became uneasy.

"Should we report this to the Empress Dowager immediately?"

Lu Si asked with a worried expression.

"Don't report it yet!"

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "This is just our guess. We'll talk about it again once we're more or less certain!"

"right!"

Ding Che nodded slightly, then said to Qin Yu, "My injuries have almost healed. This is such a big matter, I must personally go to Xinpu County to investigate it thoroughly!"

"Can!"

Qin Yu nodded. "Find a way to contact Pei Du and investigate together! Also, our suspicions must not be revealed to any outsiders!"

Things seem to be getting much bigger!

Regardless of whether your guess is right or wrong, you must investigate thoroughly!

"yes!"

Ding Che immediately accepted the order and left.

Watching Ding Che leave, Qin Yu turned to look at the absent-minded Lü Si, "You might really be going to make a big contribution this time!"

If Lü Si hadn't been spouting nonsense, he definitely wouldn't have mistaken that cross for an unfinished character "太".

"I'd rather not have this credit."

There was not a trace of a smile on Lü Si's face, only endless worry.

Why?

Qin Yu asked with great interest.

"Are you stupid?!"

Lu Sibai glanced at Qin Yu, his worry deepening. "So many years have passed since what happened to the Crown Prince. Aunt has finally recovered. Bringing up the old story now is like reopening her wounds and making her suffer all over again."

Qin Yu was surprised, then patted Lü Si on the shoulder: "The Empress Dowager didn't spoil you for nothing!"

……

That afternoon, the governor's mansion welcomed another guest.

Ginger porcelain!

Upon learning of Jiang Ci's visit, Qin Yu was combining and sorting out the cases of the Crown Prince's assassination and Sun Min's murder.

This analysis made him even more convinced that there was an inevitable connection between the two cases.

When Qin Yu arrived at the front hall, Nan Que'er was sitting there talking with Jiang Ci.

Jiang Ci wore a winter cheongsam with a white cloak draped over her back, looking radiant and charming.

Upon seeing Qin Yu approaching, Jiang Ci quickly stood up and gracefully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Lord Qin."

Qin Yu nodded and smiled, feigning ignorance, "What brings Miss Jiang here?"

Jiang Ci knew Qin Yu was feigning ignorance, but instead of exposing him, she gave him a playful smile. "Does Lord Qin want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Qin Yu sat down and smiled, "Let's tell the truth!"

Jiang Ci smiled and bluntly stated, "I'm here to use connections!"

Ha ha!

She was quite direct.

Qin Yu smiled, then asked with great interest, "And what about lies?"

Jiang Ci smiled and replied, "I was taking care of some business in Taozhou when a business friend of mine received an urgent message from Lord Shi, asking him to come to Jiangning Prefecture! I heard that Lord Qin was also in Jiangning Prefecture, so I shamelessly came along to join in the fun."

Qin Yu chuckled in surprise, teasingly saying, "Your lie is indeed a bit too convincing!"

"I think so too."

Jiang Ci smiled and said, "In front of someone as intelligent as Lord Qin, I think it's better to be direct."

"right!"

Qin Yu nodded and smiled. "So, do you want to become a salt merchant yourself, or do it with your business friend?"

"Together!"

Jiang Ci answered directly, "Although the Jiang family has some business connections here, there are still some shortcomings. It would definitely be better to cooperate with someone familiar with the situation here! Besides, I have to be in the capital most of the time, so there definitely needs to be a reliable person to keep an eye on things here..."

She wanted to become a salt merchant.

However, they couldn't abandon the Jiang family's well-established porcelain business just because they were salt merchants.

Qin Yu pondered silently for a moment, then said seriously, "To tell you the truth, there will indeed be several vacant positions for salt merchants this time, and they will need to be filled! However, I must make this clear to you: being a salt merchant is not an easy job! A slight mistake can cost you your head!"

"I understand!"

Jiang Ci nodded gently: "Don't worry, Lord Qin, we will definitely abide by the rules! To be honest, Lord Qin, what we value is not the money the salt merchants earn, but more so their connections and channels..."

As she spoke, Jiang Ci bluntly stated her purpose.

Once you become a salt merchant, you're bound to have close contact with other salt merchants.

In this way, she could expand many porcelain distribution channels for the Jiang family.

This is the most crucial interest for her and the Jiang family...