The Prodigal Son

On the very day Qin Yu moved into the governor's mansion, he received numerous letters of apology.

Even if many officials wanted to conceal it, they dared not.

After all, everyone knows that Qin Yu traced his investigation all the way up to Jiuyi Prefecture from the bottom up.

Even if they don't confess, the officials below them have probably already sold them out.

Moreover, many things are like pulling up a radish and bringing out the mud along with it.

Everyone here serves as an official in Jiuyi Prefecture, and everyone knows to some extent who is honest and who is corrupt.

Even if they don't confess, someone will take advantage of this excellent opportunity to expose them.

In this situation, almost no one dares to gamble.

Qin Yu was numb to these letters of apology, and simply flipped through them casually.

The situation in Taozhou is slightly better than in Fangzhou.

Of course, it's only slightly better; it's still rotten.

Nan Que'er put down the letter of apology in her hand, raised her pretty face, and asked, "Tell me, is this the case in every prefecture of Da Ning?"

"I guess so!"

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled to himself, "Isn't there a saying? 'No official is without corruption!'"

The assertion that "no official is without corruption" is perhaps too arbitrary.

However, those who are honest and upright only make up a very small percentage.

Power is a breeding ground for corruption.

People in power may be able to maintain their original intentions at the beginning, but they are inevitably corrupted over time.

Just like Fu Mingzhu.

He wanted to get involved to gather evidence of those people's corruption, but in the end, he was corrupted by beauty and became an accomplice of Sun Min and others.

Nan Que'er nodded gently, then asked with great interest, "Do you think His Majesty knows about the situation down there?"

Qin Yu smiled calmly, "She definitely knew, but she probably didn't expect the situation to be this serious."

"When you return to the capital and report the situation to her, she'll probably be furious again."

Nan Que'er chuckled and teased, "At that time, I'm afraid even you, my favored minister, will have to put out the fire!"

Qin Yu pouted, "I actually wanted her to put out the fire for me!"

Upon hearing this, Nan Que'er immediately raised her slender hand and gently drew circles on his chest, staring at Qin Yu with a mischievous look: "You're no longer satisfied with just having Qingyi and me put out your fire, so you've set your sights on that one?"

"I……"

Qin Yu's face darkened. He then pulled Nan Que'er over and slapped her on the buttocks. Meeting Nan Que'er's resentful gaze, he said, "What are you thinking! Now I understand what that even darker thing Song Xiang was talking about!"

"What is it?"

Nan Que'er, forgetting about flirting with Qin Yu, asked questions with great curiosity.

"I feel like His Majesty has tricked me!"

Qin Yu shook his head and sighed.

"Huh? Scheming?"

Nan Que'er, puzzled, frowned and asked, "How did she scheme against you?"

"To call it scheming might be a bit inappropriate; perhaps this is what Chancellor Song meant by politics!"

Qin Yu gave a bitter smile to himself: "She wants to make me a lone minister!"

"A loyal subject?"

Nan Que'er frowned deeply. "What do you mean? What good will it do her to make you a loyal subject?"

Qin Yu explained, "My reform of the salt administration will inevitably affect the interests of countless people, especially the civil service! When I become a lone official, she will be my biggest backer. Only by clinging tightly to her can I remain unmoved in the political vortex!"

Is that so?

Nan Que'er frowned even more deeply.

She felt that Qin Yu's words made some sense, but something seemed off.

But she couldn't figure out what was wrong for the time being.

After racking her brains for a while without success, Nan Que'er asked worriedly, "Then are you still going to deal with those officials?"

"If the situation is not very serious, we will not take any action for the time being."

Qin Yu pondered, "Let them live in fear and anxiety for a while, let them taste the bitterness of torment! By the time we finish our most important task, the imperial examinations held by the court should be almost over, then we can deal with it slowly!"

Nan Que'er tilted her head, looking puzzled, and asked, "Didn't you say His Majesty wanted to make you a loyal subject? Why are you doing something so offensive?"

"Are you stupid?!"

Qin Yu gently patted Nan Que'er, "I'm caught in the middle between His Majesty and those people. I've already dealt with so many people and touched the interests of so many others! If I stop now, won't I end up pleasing neither side?"

Open the bow without turning back the arrow!

Since we've started, we might as well see it through to the end!

Whether someone is a loyal subject or not is not up to the female demon to decide; it is up to him to decide!

Isn't it all about profit?

I can touch those people's interests, and I can also give them benefits!

……

For the next few days, Qin Yu stayed in Jiuyi Prefecture under the guise of rectifying officialdom.

As time went on, Zeng Guan and Guo Yang's men continued to send back messages.

Guo Yang's people have already found the two merchants who supplied the Shi family with soybeans back then.

Two years before the prince's assassination, the amount of soybeans that historians purchased from the two companies increased dramatically.

In the past, the total amount of soybeans they purchased from the two companies each year was about 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).

However, in those two years, the amount of soybeans purchased by the Shi family suddenly increased to about 14,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).

The historians maintained this procurement volume for a year after the crown prince's assassination.

It wasn't until Zhao Luan ascended the throne and the Empress Dowager began ruling from behind the curtain that the quantity dropped back to around 10,000 shi. Later, due to internal and external troubles in Daming and rising grain prices, the Shi family's business was likely affected, and their purchases of soybeans gradually decreased to around 5,000 shi.

In the past two years, the planting area of ​​wild soybeans in Taozhou has expanded considerably, the price of wild soybeans has dropped somewhat, and the Shi family has increased the quantity of wild soybeans they purchase.

The price has remained stable at around 8,000 koku for the past two years.

Zeng Guan also traced the murderer's shoes by their material and eventually found a female shoemaker who had worked for the Shi family many years ago.

In the past, they would produce many exquisite shoes every year, and they were always too busy to keep up.

But after the assassination attempt on the crown prince, their work suddenly became much less.

In addition, they also found that in the two years following the assassination of the crown prince, a large sheep farmer in Yunhuai, who had no trouble selling his sheep, experienced a serious oversupply of sheep, and two fishmongers also sold far fewer fish.

All indications suggest that before the Crown Prince was assassinated, the historians must have spent a lot of money to support a group of assassins numbering over a thousand.

These people eat well, dress well, and probably have meat with every meal.

It is very likely that they suffered heavy losses after the assassination attempt on the crown prince, which led to a reduction in their expenditures in this area.

Besides these, there is also a great deal of evidence pointing to historians.

Currently, the Shi family is highly suspected, to the point where they can be arrested directly.

However, Qin Yu's investigation into the Xuan family's side yielded little result.

Based on the current investigation results, the Xuan family is just an ordinary merchant family. The Xuan family also has some of the problems that exist in most large merchants, but it is not involved in the Crown Prince case.

"Let's forget about the Xuan family for now!"

Lu Si's face was grim, and he said through gritted teeth, "Isn't Shi Yi going to throw a full-month celebration for his eldest grandson? Let's go too, and give the Shi family a big surprise!"

Hearing Lü Si's words, Qin Yu suddenly slapped Lü Si on the shoulder: "Hey, you really are a genius!"

Correct!

Let's take advantage of this time and wipe out the entire Shi family!

However, the Shi family has been operating in Yunhuai for many years, so we must make a meticulous plan to wipe out the Shi family and their associates in one fell swoop!

Just as Qin Yu was pondering how to make the arrangements, Qin Xiong led a member of the Baojing Division carrying a bundle in quickly...