The Prodigal Son

Soon, Qin Yu and Lü Si met Pei Du, who had rushed over overnight.

"How's the investigation going?"

Upon seeing Pei Du, Qin Yu couldn't wait to ask him anything.

"The case of counterfeit copper coins has been solved."

Pei Du replied, "This counterfeit coin case isn't as complicated as we thought. It's just a bunch of reckless fools courting death..."

According to their investigation, the case of counterfeit copper coins was actually quite simple.

It is said that a hunter from Huai County accidentally discovered an easily mined copper mine deep in Nanping, and then joined forces with a group of people to make fake copper coins.

They dared not use the counterfeit copper coins in Huai County, so they took them to the neighboring Zilang County.

To avoid being discovered, they would wear animal skins and impersonate wild beasts, mandrills, and other monsters, causing many merchants to be afraid to travel to Huai County.

"this one?"

Qin Yu stared at Pei Du in disbelief. "A bunch of rabble could make counterfeit copper coins so realistic they'd be indistinguishable from the real thing?"

This just doesn't sound realistic!

If this person weren't Pei Du, one would doubt whether he had actually investigated properly.

Or perhaps, someone found a scapegoat to fool them.

Speaking of this, Pei Du was both amused and exasperated: "There are two key people involved. They used to work at the Haizhou Mint for a long time, but they were also affected by the aftermath of the Crown Prince's assassination and were expelled from the mint..."

Even if such people were no longer in the mint, they should still be subject to strict control by the imperial court.

However, Haizhou was in chaos at that time, and a large number of officials were missing, which led to procedural oversights, and they were not under control.

Later, they returned to their hometown.

Originally, they just farmed and occasionally went into the mountains to set traps, hoping to catch some prey.

It was because of the accidental discovery of a copper mine that they came up with the idea of ​​making counterfeit copper coins.

"no……"

Lu Si was somewhat confused. "They've already discovered copper mines? Why are they still making counterfeit copper coins? Wouldn't it be better to just make real copper coins?"

"They can make fine coin molds, but their copper smelting skills are lacking."

Pei Du explained, "It's very difficult for them to smelt qualified copper. If a coin were made entirely of copper, they wouldn't even be able to recoup their costs! That's why they added impurities like iron and lead in between..."

The reason why those counterfeit copper coins did not circulate in large quantities can be summed up in one simple way: they were made in small quantities!

They knew, of course, that this was a matter of life and death, and dared not expand the scale too much.

They could only keep improving their techniques in the hope of minting more coins.

By the time they were caught, the group's coin-making skills were already quite advanced, and their copper smelting techniques had also improved considerably.

If given another year or two, they probably could actually make real copper coins!

By the time they were caught, they had made less than 10,000 strings of cash in total.

Hearing Pei Du's words, Qin Yu and Lü Si couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

So this is what happened after all?

They had previously thought that the government of Huai County or Zilang County was also involved!

"Alright, that's enough now that this matter has been investigated!"

Qin Yu had no time to deal with this matter anymore and hurriedly asked, "Have you made contact with Ding Che and the others?"

"We've made contact!"

Upon hearing this, Pei Du's expression suddenly turned serious. "Based on our current findings, your guess should be correct!"

"What?"

Lu Si suddenly cried out in surprise, staring blankly at Pei Du.

Although they had made some guesses before, guesses are just guesses.

Now that Pei Du has said this, he must have found evidence that can corroborate Qin Yu's guess!

Qin Yu's heart was pounding, and he asked in a low voice, "What did you find?"

Pei Du said in a deep voice, "When we were tracing the copper mine, we unexpectedly discovered traces of large-scale logging near a mountain stream deep in Nanping Mountain! After much searching, we finally found a mine pit nearby that was mostly buried..."

Judging from the surrounding traces, the mine should not have been more than ten years old.

Initially, the mine pit should have been well covered up.

However, after years of rain soaking, some of the soil that buried the mine pit has settled down, exposing the pit.

They excavated the mine pit, digging a small hole to enter the pit.

However, a severe collapse occurred inside the mine, preventing them from reaching the deepest part of the mine.

However, on the outer side, they found a large number of skeletons.

They were all killed with a single blow!

They were probably killed and their bodies thrown into the mine to be buried together.

Based on the degree of decomposition of the remains, it should coincide with the time when the mine was buried.

Preliminary assessment suggests that this occurred eight years ago when the Crown Prince was assassinated!

If nothing unexpected happens, there should still be many people buried in the deepest part of the mine.

Meanwhile, Ding Che and his team also discovered that during Sun Min's tenure as magistrate of Xinpu County, many people went missing in the mountainous areas below Xinpu County.

Many of them involved entire families going missing together!

After the report was filed with the authorities, the investigation concluded that those people had betrayed their country and fled to the State of Chu via the Pingjiang River.

Those mountain people were afraid of being branded as traitors and their accomplices, so they dared not speak out.

Among the remains they found in the mine were those of women, the elderly, and even children!

In addition, during the years Sun Min lived, many fishing villages near Pingjiang in Xinpu had people who fell into the river while fishing and were swept away by the current, never to be seen alive or dead!

As a result, rumors of water ghosts circulated there.

Later, after learning the news, Sun Min borrowed official boats from the county town to strengthen patrols on the Pingjiang River. He also rescued several fishermen who had fallen into the water. Every year, Sun Min distributed grain to fishermen who had lost their breadwinners in the name of the government and helped them find other ways to make a living.

Because of Sun Min's series of actions, he still enjoys a very good reputation in Xinpu County to this day.

However, in the eyes of the people of Baojingsi, there was a fatal flaw in the story of the fisherman falling into the water and being swept away!

There are very few eyewitness accounts of fishermen falling into the river and being swept away!

Many of these cases were based on speculation by people living along the Pingjiang River...

Upon hearing this, Qin Yu understood. "In other words, those missing people were actually secretly taken to the depths of Nanping Mountain to mine!"

"right!"

Pei Du nodded emphatically, "If the Crown Prince wasn't assassinated by someone sent by Zhao Yi, then it's most likely related to this deep mountain mine! I suspect the Crown Prince got wind of it, and someone, fearing exposure, had no choice but to take the risk of assassinating him..."

Lu Si clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth as he said, "Sun Min definitely didn't have the ability to assassinate the Crown Prince back then! The real culprit must be the one who silenced Sun Min!"

"right!"

Qin Yu nodded in agreement, but then frowned: "However, I have a question."

"I have a question too!"

Pei Du picked up the thread, "When I came to Jiangning Prefecture, I kept thinking, since the mastermind could even assassinate the Crown Prince, it means that their power is extremely large! If such a large power wants to silence Sun Min, why not do it sooner, instead of waiting until the court is about to investigate Sun Min?"

"I have the same question!"

Qin Yu frowned deeply. "I'm wondering if there's something deeper hidden behind this?"