The Prodigal Son

At noon, Qin Yu invited Jiang Ci to have lunch at the prefectural governor's residence.

During the meal, he also learned about the progress on their side from Jiang Ci.

With Qin Yu protecting them and Shi Yi, the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang, personally overseeing the matter, their affairs proceeded smoothly.

In less than half a month, they have taken over more than 80% of Ge Songtao's original channels.

In light of Ge Songtao's situation, they also established rules for the small salt merchants below them.

What you shouldn't touch, you absolutely must not touch!

If they are caught, they will not show favoritism!

These days, she and the Xuan family have spent a lot of money to acquire all fifty-odd boats of various sizes from Ge Songtao!

Nan Que'er asked in surprise, "Isn't the Xuan family tea merchants? They should have quite a few ships of their own, right? How come they took them all?"

"Now, both tea merchants and salt merchants want to continue in this business."

Jiang Ci smiled, then sighed, "Originally, the Xuan family patriarch wanted to hand over the official salt business to his eldest son, allowing Sister Xuan to focus on the tea business in the south. It was only through Lord Qin's influence that Sister Xuan and I managed to persuade the patriarch to abandon this idea..."

The official salt business was highly profitable with low risk, and it was basically a guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood. The Xuan family all had their eyes on this lucrative business.

The old man was biased and, acting as the head of the family, wanted to hand over this lucrative opportunity to Xuan Cailing's eldest brother.

Because of this, the Xuan family almost united to put pressure on Xuan Cailing.

She and Xuan Cailing were furious and declared on the spot that if Xuan Cailing was not allowed to be in charge of the official salt business, they would come to Qin Yu and ask him to select another salt merchant!

This forced the Xuan family to compromise.

Hearing Jiang Ci's words, Qin Yu couldn't help but shake his head, "Short-sighted!"

"yes!"

Jiang Ci nodded in deep agreement, "They haven't even gotten the official salt business off the ground yet, and they're already thinking about reaping the benefits. If we don't bring up Lord Qin, we'll end up doing all the work for someone else!"

Qin Yu thought for a moment, "Here's what we'll do: when we get to Jiuyi Prefecture, I'll visit the Xuan family! I guarantee he won't dare to have any more of those shady ideas!"

"Excellent! One word from Lord Qin is far more effective than a hundred from us!"

Jiang Ci was overjoyed and looked at Qin Yu with eyes full of spring, "We don't know how to thank you for helping us so much."

"It's too formal to say such things."

Qin Yu waved his hand, "Look, I didn't say thank you when I asked for your help! It wasn't a big deal, and I also hope that the salt administration in Taozhou can transition smoothly, so let's not be too polite!"

"Since you've put it that way, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Jiang Ci raised her glass. "Can I at least offer you a toast?"

"Don't be polite with him!"

Nan Que'er also picked up her wine glass, smiling as she said, "That's just how he is. The more you try to be polite to him, the more distant he becomes!"

"Uh-huh."

Jiang Ci nodded repeatedly, then smiled and said to Qin Yu, "Then I can be more casual from now on, please don't say I'm being rude."

"Order whatever you like."

Qin Yu laughed heartily and put his arm around Nan Que'er. "Make yourself at home, I'm too lazy to keep up appearances! It's tiring to always be so formal!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu planted a kiss on Nan Que'er's cheek.

Nan Que'er pinched him shyly, then looked at Jiang Ci with embarrassment, "Look, this is his true nature."

"That's true to his nature."

Jiang Ci smiled, her envy undisguised. "People like him, who hold such high positions yet still act so freely, are truly rare!"

"Don't praise him."

Nan Que'er giggled, "Even His Majesty said that he is the kind of person who can't stand being praised! If you keep praising him, he'll get all cocky."

Jiang Ci maintained a smile on her face, silently took a sip of wine, but sighed inwardly.

The wine is sweet!

My heart is bitter...

……

In the afternoon, Nan Que'er and Jiang Ci went for a stroll in the city, while Qin Yu called Lü Si, Zeng Guan, and Ding Che to his room.

Qin Yu kept the conversation brief and told the three of them the information he had obtained from Jiang Ci.

"A historian! It must be a historian!"

No sooner had Qin Yu finished speaking than Lü Si gritted his teeth and made a firm judgment, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

The real culprit is in the three prefectures of Wanbao, Shifo, and Yunhuai.

Who else but historians could it be?

The Shi family was incredibly wealthy, so they must have worried that others would covet their money.

It's entirely possible that they secretly train assassins or highly skilled individuals!

He couldn't think of anyone other than historians!

At this moment, Lü Si's hatred for the Shi family reached its peak.

Previously, he had doubted the Shi family about everything, and at most he thought about giving them a good beating.

But now, all he wants is to confiscate the property of the Shi family and exterminate their clan!

Do not!

It wasn't just about confiscating property and exterminating the entire family!

It means the extermination of nine generations of their family!

"Historians are indeed worthy of suspicion!"

Zeng Guan frowned deeply. "However, based on this alone, I'm afraid we can't definitively say it's a historian!"

"That's easy!"

Guo Yang's face was icy cold: "We secretly arrested Shi Wang; a thorough interrogation will reveal the truth!"

"Steward Guo, I'm afraid that won't work."

Zeng Guan shook his head slightly. "This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Even if the Shi family did it, Shi Wang wouldn't dare to admit it!"

Torture?

Compared to the punishment of killing nine generations of one's family, what is torture?

Once this is acknowledged, not only will Shi Wang not survive, but everyone in the Shi family, including all the collateral branches, will not live!

If Shi Wang were even slightly sane, he would rather die than admit it.

"Whether he talks or not is not up to him!"

A violent aura suddenly erupted from Guo Yang, like a ferocious beast from the primordial era.

"This is a last resort. We still have many other areas to investigate, so we don't need to take this step for now!"

Qin Yu stopped Guo Yang, saying, "After all, Emperor Gao made a promise to the Shi family. If the court wants to take action against the Shi family, it must have solid evidence. We can't let people think that His Majesty is after the Shi family's money, trying to smear them or force a confession through torture! Although we need to investigate the case, we must also consider His Majesty's and the court's reputation. We must make them die with a clear conscience!"

"..."

Guo Yang opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Alright, I'll immediately take men to Yunhuai to investigate!"

Zeng Guan picked up the thread, "Based on our investigation over this period, it should be easy to find out if someone has purchased large quantities of horse beans! We can also trace those iron shovels and pickaxes; even if they don't have any markings, the iron material varies from place to place..."

They can investigate items such as shoes and clothing fragments found on the body!

These things are actually all regional in nature.

Once the scope is narrowed down, the investigation is not as difficult as you might imagine.

The reason they hadn't found any clear leads before was probably because they were investigating in the wrong direction.

The investigation should not have been conducted in Taozhou!

The investigation is being conducted in Ningzhou!

"good!"

Qin Yu nodded emphatically, "Then tomorrow I will also use the pretext of rectifying officialdom and inspecting salt affairs, and head to Yunhuai via Taozhou! You will focus your investigation on Yunhuai and its surrounding areas, while we will also conduct secret investigations along the way! Everything must be done in secrecy, and we must not alert the enemy!"

"Um!"

Zeng Guan nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes...