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

The Dragon Scale Guards were already waiting outside the door, and Wu De led five hundred soldiers behind them.

Cui Ming followed closely behind.

When the group arrived at the entrance of the Anning County granary, the sun was already setting.

The granary gate was wide open, and four soldiers stood at the entrance.

Wu De stopped his horse in front, about to dismount and inspect the scene.

Suddenly, seven or eight young men dressed in indigo short khakis ran up a side path.

The leader was a young man in his early twenties, with the name "Pujitang" embroidered on his chest, and he was holding a rolled-up petition in his arms.

When he saw the King of Qi, his legs went weak and he knelt down with a thud.

"Your Highness! I am the station manager of the Pujitang Lingjiang Logistics Station! We beg Your Highness to grant us your request!"

Xiao Jue dismounted and glanced at the waiter.

"What happened?"

The man opened the legal document in his pocket and held it above his head with both hands.

"Your Highness! We, your humble servants, are collecting grain throughout Lingzhou at the request of the Puji Hall headquarters."

Two weeks ago, I bought a batch of grain from individual farmers, packed it all into burlap sacks from Pujitang, and prepared to transport it to the logistics station for shipment to Kyoto.

"A few days ago, we encountered bandits on the main road! Without saying a word, they stole all our grain!"

"I reported this to the county government, but they said they couldn't handle it. That batch of grain cost a huge sum, and I can't explain it to the owner. I have no choice but to come to Your Highness to seek justice!"

"But some people just said that our batch of grain is in this granary!"

"What?!"

Cui Ming angrily rushed forward from the back of the group, seemingly bowing to King Qi to explain.

"Your Highness! This is absolutely impossible!"

"Our Cui family was the one robbed by bandits; this is a slander by Pujitang!"

Wu De listened from the side, his eyelids twitching ominously.

He was an observer, and his mind was much calmer than Cui Ming's.

The staff at Pujitang wouldn't have submitted the complaint without being certain of their abilities!

This matter is somewhat strange.

He turned his head to look at the granary gate, then at the Pujitang shop assistant kneeling on the ground.

With a quick thought, he tried to stop Cui Ming from arguing with Pujitang.

"Hey, I'm telling you, Second Master Cui!"

"Your Cui family's granaries are still intact, and there are no bandits nearby. This must be a misunderstanding."

Wu De winked at Cui Ming.

Cui Ming was slightly taken aback and quickly shut up.

After calming down a bit, it became clear that something was wrong.

So he went along with it and changed his tune.

"Ah... since the granary is alright..."

"Hey! You can't say that."

Xiao Jue interrupted Cui Ming.

He looked away from the petition and towards the granary.

They acted as if they were upholding justice and determined to get to the bottom of the case and restore fairness to the Cui family.

"Since we're already at the granary entrance, let's go in and take stock of the losses."

"Pujitang has already filed a lawsuit right at your doorstep, Cui family. Shouldn't you prove your innocence in front of the people?"

After saying that, before Wu De could speak again, Xiao Jue lifted his foot and walked into the granary courtyard.

The Dragon Scale Guards lined up on both sides, following behind King Qi.

Wu De and Cui Ming exchanged a glance, sweat beading on their foreheads, feeling somewhat uncertain.

A group of people walked into the grain storage compound.

Because the courtyard had just been hijacked by bandits, there were no guards in front of the warehouse.

To preserve the evidence, the Cui family kept the guards tied up in a row.

They were brought before King Qi, and each of them looked like a victim.

Xiao Jue glanced at the group of Cui family guards and asked impartially:

"When did the bandits leave?"

The guards answered in unison, "They just left less than an hour ago."

"Did they steal any grain?"

"They definitely stole it! They even stole our oxcart!"

"oh?"

Xiao Jue frowned, pinching his chin with a look of confusion.

"These bandits came to rob us without even bringing grain wagons?"

The guards shook their heads in unison, trying to prove how great their losses were.

"They came in carrying knives and scaled the wall! Besides, Anning County isn't very big; if they had brought oxcarts or horse-drawn carts, we would have been alert and attentive!"

Xiao Jue nodded, then turned to Wu De and said, "In that case, let's open the gate and inspect the grain! Let's see how much the bandits took."

With things having come to this point, Cui Ming could only nervously order someone to open the warehouse door.

The group entered the granary.

The warehouse was filled with grain sacks bearing the Cui family's mark.

Wu De and Cui Ming exchanged a glance and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Next, all they need to do is point out where the grain was lost.

Before the two could even feel a surge of joy, they froze on the spot.

"Your Highness! Look ahead!"

One of the Dragon Scale Guards pointed to the three rows of grain stacks to the north.

There, stacks of grain stretched from the ground all the way to the beam, each sack bearing five clear characters in black ink: Pujitang Grain Store.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Cui Ming ran forward in disbelief, reached out and touched the grain bags of Pujitang, and broke out in a cold sweat.

He turned back in horror to look at the King of Qi.

"Your Highness! This is a setup! Puji Hall is in cahoots with those robbers!"

"It must be them! They robbed our granaries, then hid their grain inside, and then framed us for stealing their grain!"

The staff of Pujitang were not to be outdone, and they all stood up to Cui Ming with their necks stiff.

"You're talking nonsense! We've been waiting outside the county government office to submit our petitions; everyone on the street saw it!"

"It's because your Cui family's granary was looted, and the people came to watch early this morning. That's when someone came to tell us that they saw our grain in your Cui family's granary!"

Xiao Jue was not in a hurry to make a judgment.

He walked with his hands behind his back to the row of grain stacks on the north side and reached out to touch the writing on the burlap sacks.

He then carefully checked the knot and seal on the bag's opening. The red wax seal of Pujitang was intact, and it still bore the stamp of Pujitang Lingjiang Station.

He turned and glanced at Wu De.

"Governor Wu, come and take a look. The Cui family guards just said that the robbers came empty-handed."

"So, why is Pujitang's grain found in the Cui family's granary?"

Wu De reluctantly walked over, caught in a dilemma.

"Ah, this...this is a bit strange..."

Xiao Jue did not wait for his reply.

He turned around, glanced at the Dragon Scale Guards and the soldiers Wu De had brought, and raised his hand.

"There are many suspicious points in this case. I was ordered to inspect military affairs, and today I happen to come across this matter, so I have no choice but to intervene."

"Effective immediately, all grain in the Cui family's Anning granary is to be sealed off, and not a single grain is to be touched."

"I will make a decision after I have investigated how the grain from the Cui family and the grain from Puji Hall were mixed together."

"Anyone who dares to open the seal and take grain without authorization will be punished as colluding with bandits and disobeying imperial orders."

The Dragon Scale Guards responded in unison and immediately dispatched two teams to guard the front and back gates of the granary.

Cui Ming felt as if he had been struck by lightning!

The Cui family had just reached an agreement with the Ministry of Revenue, preparing to sell grain to the imperial court at an unprecedentedly high price and control grain prices.

Before this deal even went through, why did they seal off one of their grain warehouses?!