Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Five days later, the luxurious passenger ship with a price of 5,000 shi (a unit of weight) and the flag of an official ship set sail for the south.

Xue Wei's men set off together this time, including Yuan Renjing, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, Gao Yuanli and Yuan Mao, two Supervising Secretaries of the Court of Judicial Review, and twenty judges.

The large ship was a multi-story vessel with three decks. The first deck housed Xue Wei, three officials, and twenty soldiers from the Dali Temple. The second deck was mostly occupied by women, including two female masters, their maids, and female guards, totaling more than ten people. The third deck contained various bags and packages of luggage.

As for the crew cabin, supply depot, kitchen, freshwater tank, and many other functional cabins, they are all located in the lower deck.

Inside the first-floor council chamber, Xue Wei was discussing the case with three officials.

Xue Wei slowly said to the three of them, "The 20,000 catties of crude silver were transported by Liu Bao, the deputy mining supervisor of Chenzhou. Unfortunately, Liu Bao passed away three years ago. I have reviewed all the information and found that we only have one clue: the escorting soldiers were the local soldiers of Chenzhou, about a hundred men, who also came to Luoyang by boat. But there are many suspicious things about this."

First of all, the person who delivered the crude silver was Liu Bao, and it is clearly written in the record that 20,000 catties of silver were delivered, but what was delivered was grass-like lead. Why didn't Liu Bao notice that the silver had turned into lead blocks?

The second strange thing is that the ships transporting this batch of crude silver were also cargo ships from Chenzhou, a total of three thousand-stone cargo ships. We need to see these three ships with our own eyes to know how the silver was swapped.

Yuan Mao asked, "What if they were switched at the Shaofu Temple?"

Xue Wei shook his head. "This possibility was ruled out three days ago. We found the 600 catties of raw materials that were embezzled when they were put into storage. They were still lead ingots, not crude silver. There were no problems after they were landed. So the problem was still in the transportation and delivery process. But we still can't rule out that Wu Chengsi tampered with them from the outside. It is very likely that he switched them."

Yuan Mao asked, "If it really was Wu Chengsi who did it, where and how would he have made his move?"

Yuan Renjing pondered for a moment and said, "There are many possibilities. For example, when the goods were shipped from Chenzhou, they were actually made of grass-jointed lead, so they were switched at the source. They could also have been switched along the way. With a distance of nearly two thousand miles, there are too many opportunities for switching."

Xue Wei nodded. "This case is very difficult to investigate. Six years have passed, and there are no witnesses or evidence left. The only way is to list out all the possibilities and eliminate them one by one. The one that cannot be eliminated in the end is the truth."

I've already ruled out the possibility of the silver being switched after landing. This batch of crude silver was taken over by the Plum Blossom Guard after landing. The Plum Blossom Guard is responsible for everything from unloading to storage, and they have detailed records. Getting the Plum Blossom Guard to cooperate in stealing the silver is too difficult; intercepting it en route would be much easier.

.........

Inside the cabin on the second floor, two women were also discussing the case, as if they were playing a murder mystery game. Both of them were very interested. They were lying on the comfortable couch, eating snacks, drinking tea, and discussing the case. There were too many possibilities that Yuan Min had not solved the case.

Dugu Jiao decisively drew her conclusion: the boatman was killed, the escorting soldiers were killed, everyone was fake, even the escorting officials were fake.

.........

At the bow of the boat, Yuan Renjing and Xue Wei stood side by side. Xue Wei gazed at the water and said, "Wu Chengsi is very likely the mastermind behind it all. He embezzled 20,000 taels of silver before it was put into the treasury, and then made up false accounts to cover it up. In the end, it turned into the case of the disappearance of 300,000 taels of official silver."

"If that's the case, it's a perfect plan. Wu Chengsi himself is mediocre; he can't come up with this plan. But he has brilliant advisors who will plan and execute everything for him, but they will also destroy all evidence."

"The wind leaves a trace, and the wild geese leave a sound. No matter how they try to cover it up, there will always be traces."

Yuan Renjing nodded and said, "The Commandant is right. In fact, I think the biggest question is why they would use white lead to counterfeit it? Since they don't check it after it's put into storage, wouldn't it have been better to use scrap copper, iron, or stone?"

Xue Wei nodded. "There are only two steps to pass the inspection with white lead: the delivery inspection and the shipping inspection. So your suspicion is correct. It is very likely that the goods were fake when they were shipped. They know that the Shaofu Temple does not inspect the goods upon receipt. So by the time the Shaofu Temple discovers that the goods are white lead, many steps have already passed, and they often cannot suspect that the goods were faked when they were shipped."

Yuan Renjing laughed and said, "Maybe it's just like the Shaofu Temple. The 20,000 taels of silver have long since disappeared. In order to appease the imperial court, the silver mines have been counterfeiting and sending silver with white lead."

"This is very likely, which means that our decision to investigate the case in Chenzhou was absolutely correct."

........

The entire ship was made of nanmu wood, a type of wood used only on large ocean-going vessels and rarely on inland waterway vessels, which were generally made of pine or beech wood.

Yuan Min actually bought a five-thousand-stone ocean-going cargo ship. It was a brand-new ship of extremely high quality, with cabin bulkheads made of nanmu wood, providing excellent sound insulation.

Yuan Min's cabin was not much different from the fourth floor of Mingyue Tower, except that it was a little smaller. The floor was carpeted, and all kinds of furniture and facilities were complete. A corridor connected the various functional cabins together.

There were originally two such cabins. The other one was prepared for Xue Wei, but it has now been occupied by Dugu Jiao, along with her maids and female guards. Xue Wei can only live with Yuan Min.

Even Yuan Mao didn't get to enjoy the treatment on the second floor. For some reason, Dugu Jiao wouldn't allow him to live on the second floor and forced him to live on the first floor. The two of them could only be together when they ate.

Xue Wei and Yuan Min each had their own cabin, but their cabins were connected by a small doorway. However, the latch was on Yuan Min's side, so she had the upper hand. She could enter Xue Wei's cabin anytime, but Xue Wei could only enter her cabin from the inside.

Around noon, Xue Wei came up from the first floor and went straight to the dining cabin. Only Dugu Jiao was eating in the dining cabin, but Yuan Min was not there. His food had already been prepared.

Xue Wei felt a little strange. This lunchtime was usually reserved for him and Yuan Min, so why was Dugu Jiao also eating at this time?

Xue Wei sat down and asked, "Where's Yuan Min? Has she eaten?"

"She was a little seasick and went back to her cabin."

Dugu Jiao's eyes flickered, and she seemed somewhat absent-minded. Xue Wei noticed this and immediately sped up his eating, perhaps feeling pressured by his presence.

Xue Wei finished his meal in a few bites, put the plate in the storage area, and turned to leave.

Just then, a pair of hands wrapped around his waist from behind, and Xue Wei froze.

"I just wanted to hug you, that's all!" Dugu Jiao whispered, pressing her face against his back.

"Miss Dugu, this is not right. Please let me go, okay?"

"Call me Ah Jiao, Xue Wei. You know what? I actually came out to see you."

Xue Wei was startled and gently pried her hand away. He turned around and took a step back. The scene in front of him almost made his nose bleed.

Dugu Jiao wore only a thin, gossamer-like gauze dress, with no undergarments underneath. Under the midday sun, it looked as if she wasn't wearing any clothes at all.

Xue Wei's face flushed instantly, and he took a step back. "Miss Dugu, this isn't right..."

Dugu Jiao stared at him intently with her large eyes. "Don't you like it? Last time at Amin's birthday party, you kept staring at my chest. Do you think I didn't know?"

"Stop! Stop!"

Xue Wei sensed that things had taken a turn for the worse. He said solemnly, "You are Yuan Mao's fiancée, and Amin is your best friend. What you're doing makes me very embarrassed, Miss Dugu. I don't want to say anything harsh, but... I like girls who have boundaries, and I like girls who are a little conservative. Don't do this again next time, or we won't even be able to be friends anymore."

Dugu Jiao covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Don't overthink it. I just like you, it's not like I want to marry you. I just wanted to test you for Amin. Well, you passed."

Xue Wei glared at her irritably, then turned and walked away quickly.

Dugu Jiao chuckled, "You're all talk and no action. Fine, I won't show you next time."