Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Forty miles south of Fengmingdu, nestled beside a wild water chestnut pond, lies a small fishing village with only a dozen or so households.

Behind the village lies a narrow waterway, its banks overgrown with reeds taller than a person.

At the end of the waterway is a naturally formed small bay, surrounded on three sides by low hills, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

The twelve grain ships belonging to the Cui family were moored in the bay.

Ji San squatted on the shore, watching his men work.

More than eighty members of the Cold Abyss Alliance were divided into several teams.

A team poured the rice from the Cui family's sacks into new bags, which were printed with the words "Pujitang Grain Store".

The other team bundled the empty sacks from the Cui family that had been replaced into bundles, piled them up to the side, and covered them with tarpaulin.

The work was done quickly, but 20,000 shi of grain was no small amount.

Although changing bags and packaging doesn't require much brainpower, the sheer volume of work makes it incredibly demanding.

One of the guys came over, wiping his sweat.

"Third Master, news has come from outside that the Jiangnan camp has dispatched two thousand troops to search the Fengming Ferry area. They should be able to find this area by tomorrow."

Ji San stood up and patted the dirt off his trousers.

"No rush. Master Gu has arranged for Prince Qi to provide backup, so the people from the Jiangnan camp won't be able to find this area."

"So when will our luck change?"

Ji San glanced into the lake bay.

"Change all the bags first. Then, follow the instructions of the caregiver and head west to the next location."

"Find a few brothers and throw all those empty sacks from the Cui family all the way north."

……

at the same time.

The soldiers in the Jiangnan camp searched for a whole day but couldn't find any river bandits.

Instead, they encountered the King of Qi, who was traveling incognito, on the way!

Those twelve grain ships seemed to have vanished into thin air; neither the ships nor the planks could be seen.

Wu De was having a headache in the government office when his personal guards rushed in.

"Governor! His Highness Prince Qi has arrived in Lingzhou with a troop of Dragon Scale Guards! They've just entered the city!"

Wu De jumped up from his chair.

"What?! The King of Qi? What's he doing in Lingzhou again?"

"It was said that he was ordered to inspect the military affairs of various prefectures in Jiangnan."

Wu De's face turned green.

The King of Qi is here to inspect military affairs? And of all times, at this crucial juncture?

This is clearly someone who came to supervise his suppression of bandits.

Wu De straightened his official hat in front of the bronze mirror, wiped the oil and sweat from his face with a handkerchief, and hurried off to greet them.

Lingzhou Inn.

Xiao Jue changed into casual clothes and sat by the window on the second floor, drinking tea with his legs crossed.

When Wu De was led upstairs by the guards, Xiao Jue didn't even turn his head, his eyes fixed on the street scene outside the window, and casually asked a question.

"Governor Wu, have the bandits been caught?"

Sweat beaded on Wu De's forehead as he bowed and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Your Highness, I have mobilized two thousand soldiers for a full-scale search. However, those bandits are very cunning, and for the time being..."

Xiao Jue glanced at him and raised his hand to interrupt his report.

"I was ordered to inspect military affairs. I happened to come across this case."

"The robbery of grain on the official road has attracted the attention of the entire nation. If I do not resolve this matter during my inspection tour, I will be unable to report back to His Majesty in the capital."

"Bring me your search deployment map. I want to see where your troops have been deployed."

Wu De reluctantly sent his personal guards to retrieve the deployment map.

After reading it, Xiao Jue pondered for a moment and pointed in several directions.

Have you checked the area north of Fengming Ferry?

"The waterways are too dense, with many hidden channels; we haven't found that side yet."

"Then focus your search on the north. Also, bring over the group from the west as well. There's no need for the bandits to run west; the west is by land, and twelve ships can't travel that way."

Wu De could only nod in agreement.

His troops were redeployed by Xiao Jue with just a few words, and the main force of two thousand men was led to the waters north of Fengming Ferry.

Two days passed quickly, and Wu De naturally did not find the bandits.

However, the King of Qi was determined not to let the matter go and insisted on investigating the incident of the "grain caravan being robbed" on the official road a few days ago.

Therefore, Wu De had no choice but to mobilize more soldiers from the main camp to go out and pretend to search for bandits.

In fact, the soldiers who were sent out all knew that there were no bandits.

It's all just their Jiangnan camp "crying wolf".

They looted Pujitang's grain a few days ago, and it's currently stored in their Jiangnan camp warehouse.

Meanwhile, in Anning County, Lingzhou.

Night fell, and the gates of the county town had just been locked.

Outside the walls of the Cui family's granary, stood hundreds of masked men.

They carried broadswords in their hands and had strips of cloth tied around their feet, yet they made no sound.

The man in the lead raised his chin, and the men on either side quickly dispersed and circled around to the back wall of the granary.

The guards on night watch heard the commotion and belatedly realized what was happening.

Just as I opened my mouth to shout, someone covered my mouth from behind.

The whole process was clean, efficient, and silent.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the iron lock on the granary gate was pried open.

More than twenty guards from the Cui family were disarmed, their hands and feet were tied with hemp rope, and their mouths were stuffed with rags. They were made to sit in a row against the wall, one after another.

Ji San stepped into the granary and glanced up.

The warehouse was packed full.

Bags of grain were piled up under the roof beams, and the air was filled with the distinctive, musty smell of grain.

The sacks were all printed with the logo of Cui Family Grain Store.

Ji San turned around and waved to the people behind him.

"Get started. As before, replace all the bags in the three rows on the north side. Leave the rest untouched."

The hundred or so subordinates of the Cold Abyss Alliance split into two groups.

A group of people brought in empty sacks of Pujitang that had been prepared in advance through the back door.

Another group of people started to open the burlap sacks belonging to the Cui family, pour the rice into new sacks, and then put the new sacks back in their original places.

They were doing physically demanding work, but no one said a word.

The only sounds were the rustling of grain being poured and the dull thud of sacks hitting the ground.

As dawn broke, the three rows of grain stacks on the north side of the granary had all been replaced with brand-new burlap sacks printed with the words "Pujitang Grain Store".

The rest of the old bags from the Cui family remained untouched, appearing from a distance as if they had never been touched.

The news of the occupation of the Anning County granary reached the Cui residence at 9:00 AM.

Upon hearing the news, Cui Ming slammed his teacup down on the table.

"What? The Anning County granary was looted? There were 400,000 shi of grain stored inside!"

Cui Yuan sat in the grand chair, the veins on his neck bulging.

His fingers gripped the armrest tightly, his anger barely contained.

The 20,000 shi of grain at Fengming Ferry were robbed, and despite the large number of troops dispatched by the Jiangnan Grand Camp, not a single clue was found.

I initially thought those bandits were just trying to make money by robbing grain to resell.

Who would have thought they would be so audacious as to target the Cui family's granary in Lingzhou?

"I'm going to find Wu De right away!" Cui Ming turned and walked out.

"etc!"

Cui Yuan, his face dark, called out to Cui Ming.

"Have someone draft a formal complaint, and while the Prince of Qi is on his southern tour of the military camp, formally demand that the imperial court investigate thoroughly! We must restore justice to the Cui family!"

"good!"

Cui Ming immediately took care of it.

The news quickly reached the guesthouse where the King of Qi was staying.

Xiao Jue was sitting by the window, wiping his personal ornaments with a fine silk handkerchief.

After listening to Cui Ming's indignant plea, he sheathed his sword and slowly stood up.

"The Cui family are imperial merchants! This matter must be thoroughly investigated! Let's go, I'll go and see for myself."