Chapter 24 Chapter 24 [VIP]

Chapter 24

Lan Zhizhou thought that the Cui family would fall, but he never thought that the fire would burn himself.

The position of prefect changes every three years. His term of office expired this year, and he could have retired. But the blame lies with his wife, who wanted to make another fortune before leaving Yangzhou.

Got into trouble.

Before they died, the Cui family wanted to bite him and drag him down with them, insisting that the prefecture was involved in the business of the pawnshop. Isn't this slander? All the evidence was before him, and he had no way to defend himself. Only the Qian family could prove his innocence. These shops, farms and banknotes were all the engagement money given to his son by the Cui family, not hush money.

Qi Niangzi knew best that the Qian family had once promised money for her family's marriage.

Lan Mingquan was like seeing a savior, and wanted to drag Qian Tong in with him, and then explain to Wang Zhao that the prefecture was innocent.

Qian Tong stepped aside and said humbly, "Your Excellency is too kind. I'm just the daughter of a merchant. How can the prefect trust my words?"

Lan Mingquan was stunned and looked up at the girl in front of him. She was aloof and calm, with no ridicule in her eyes and no desire to lend a helping hand.

In the past, everyone in the Qian family, from the head of the family to the servants, was eager to establish a relationship with him as the prefect. Even this seventh lady had come to the mansion to curry favor with his wife and children.

They couldn't help but regret that if they had chosen the seventh lady of the Qian family, this situation would not have happened today.

It was too late to say anything. Lan Zhizhou lowered his posture and said, "Seventh Lady, considering that we have gotten along well over the years, please clarify this to the Lord for me."

"I'm afraid Your Excellency doesn't know the situation." Qian Tongchao looked inside. "I can barely protect myself, so how can I be qualified to clarify things for Your Excellency?"

A familiar voice came in, and Song Yunzhi, who was behind the screen, raised his eyes from the file in his hand, handed the file to Wang Zhao, and winked at him.

Wang Zhao took it, walked around the screen, went to the main hall outside, and said to the guards, "Please come in, Miss Qi."

Qian Tong had been to the prefectural government before, but this was her first time in court. The hall was spacious and deep, with a solemn atmosphere. As soon as one entered, one could feel an invisible oppression. She was not a criminal, so she should not have to kneel.

"Bang——" the gavel suddenly fell.

Well, she kneels.

Qian Tong knelt down and saluted, "Your humble servant Qian Tong greets you, sir."

Wang Zhao had heard of her a long time ago.

She had put a curse on Prince Song and forced him to become the son-in-law of the Qian family. These two things alone were enough to punish her with death, but without the prince's permission, he didn't dare to make the decision on his own.

He just wanted to shock her a little, then said, "Get up."

"Thank you, sir."

Wang Zhao originally thought that a woman who could commit such a bold crime must have a cunning face, but when the girl in front of him raised her head, what came into his sight was an extremely pure face.

With the innocence of a young girl on her face, she asked him nervously, "Sir Wang, have I done anything wrong?"

Wang Zhao quickly came to his senses, "It's not a crime for now, but there are a few things I need to ask Miss Qi in person."

During the few moments when Wang Zhao paused, Song Yunzhi, who was sitting behind the screen, knew that he had been deceived by her appearance. He had already anticipated that he might not be able to cope with it today.

Outside, Wang Zhao had already begun interrogating, "Seventh Lady, do you know anything about the Cui family case?"

Qian Tong nodded, "I heard about it."

Wang Zhao asked, "Seventh Lady, do you know what crime the Cui family committed?"

Qian Tong was stunned. "Didn't the pawnbrokers harm the people? The news has spread like wildfire. I commend you for your wisdom and for giving justice to the people."

Seeing a layer of confusion covering her innocent little face, if she hadn't introduced herself as Qian Qi Niangzi, Wang Zhao would have really suspected that he had called the wrong person. Suppressing his doubts, he continued to ask, "Was it Qian Qi Niangzi who first discovered the evil deeds of Cui Jiaya?"

Qian Tong nodded. "Yes, I went with my uncle to close the pawnshop and happened to run into the second son of the Cui family doing evil. My uncle, with a sense of justice, risked his life to save him. You should have seen him, my Lord. He is the one who gave you the indenture..."

Of course he had seen it.

Hearing her repeatedly call him "son-in-law," Wang Zhao's eyelids twitched, and he changed the subject. "As far as I know, before the pawnbroker incident broke out, Miss Qi went to the restaurant to find the eldest son of the Cui family and took the initiative to ask for the pawnbroker's contract. Miss Qi already knew about the Cui family's crimes." His voice was slow and sharp, "Why didn't you report it?"

Qian Tong looked aggrieved. "Sir, don't you know that the former great-grandmother of the Cui family was the eldest lady of my Qian family? If I report this without any evidence, wouldn't that cause trouble for my elder sister?"

He continued, "I'm not the only one who knows about the Cui family's crimes. A month ago, a man from the pawnshop crawled out of the door covered in blood. Many people in Yangzhou witnessed this. Lord Lan even sent people to investigate. Didn't he tell you, Lord?"

, finally got a little serious, "Why did you suddenly intervene again?"

"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by adults. The Cui family is too bullying. They beat my son-in-law. Adults, please tell me that this bullying has come to my family. I will go and find trouble with the second son of the Cui family. My original intention was to make his business closed down. Who knew that the second son of the Cui family was secretly doing something like this?"

"Such a heinous act, but I have done my best to rescue someone. If Your Excellency is specifically rewarding me for this, there is no need. The Qian family has been stationed in Yangzhou for a hundred years. For the people here, every blade of grass and every tree is their home. There are..."

What a sharp tongue you have.

Wang Zhao was suddenly speechless.

"As for the reward, it's naturally not small..." Wang Zhao went straight to the point and asked, "Did you know that the Cui family is smuggling?"

As soon as the words fell, the eyes of the girl opposite widened. "Smuggling, the Cui family is actually smuggling? I really didn't know..."

Song Yunzhi could imagine that acting face even with his eyes closed.

Wang Zhao snorted coldly, "I encountered your Qian family's fishing boat at sea. I don't need to explain what happened that night. I'm sure Miss Qi knows."

Qian Tong was silent.

"Why aren't you talking?"

"Since you have said so, my Lord, you must have heard about the tragedy of our Qian family's eldest lady. No one in the Qian family will forget it. The eldest lady was killed by Master Cui. If he had not been buried alive with me, I would have killed him..."

She gnashed her teeth, her eyes filled with hatred, the innocence she had just shown gone. Wang Zhao was stunned, not knowing what he was asking. He followed the list prepared by Prince Song and interrogated her, "Seven days ago, the night the eldest son of the Cui family fled, where were you?"

Qian Tong: "On the way to find my sister."

Wang Zhao: "Did you go to the sea?"

"No."

Wang Zhao: "When will the lady come back?"

Qian Tong: "Medical clinic."

Wang Zhao: "Who's injured?"

"My lady," she said, "if you don't believe me, you can confront my uncle. He took care of me all night, wiped my sweat, gave me medicine, and slept with me all night..."

Before Wang Zhao could be shocked, a sudden noise was heard behind the screen.

It was like my foot accidentally kicked the corner of the table.

Qian Tong was stunned for a moment before realizing there was someone behind the screen. Curious, he stretched his head to take a closer look when he heard a cough. Then, a slightly hoarse voice came from behind, "The four major families each have a family code. The Park family is the sea lion, the Lu family is the shuttle, the Cui family is the tiger, and the Qian family is the ingot. Only you, Miss Qian Qi, are a copper coin."

"In that case, Madam Qian, could you explain the meaning of the copper coin signal on the sea that day?"

His voice was low and he spoke with some effort, which sounded very strange, but no one paid attention to his voice at this time. Instead, they were focused by his words.

Qian Tong craned her neck to look inside, wishing she could break in and see who was hiding inside. But she didn't dare. She whispered to Wang Zhao, "Who is this?"

"I'm an official from Kyoto," Wang Zhao said. "When the lord asks you questions, answer them. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

Qian Tong retracted his neck and answered honestly, "I gave the signal flare to the Qian family's eldest lady. Before the Cui family's incident, I went to the Cui family and persuaded the eldest lady to return home. Just in case, I gave her a signal flare."

Song Yunzhi knew that she had thousands of excuses to get away.

But he was not in a hurry. He asked slowly, "I will ask you again. In the vast ocean, how did Seventh Lady's people find the eldest lady? If Seventh Lady uses this coincidence trick to fool me again, I will have no choice but to keep Seventh Lady here today until you think carefully before answering."

Compared to Wang Zhao's interrogation, the words of the adult inside were obviously much sharper.

The prefectural government is no longer the same as before.

Now that people have arrived, it's not so easy to go back. Qian Tong glanced at the light coming in from outside the door, was silent for a while, and then explained: "I left a spy on the Cui family's cargo ship."

Wang Zhao was stunned and immediately asked, "Where is the person? Is he alive?"

“Alive.”

There was actually someone alive on the Cui family's ship. This was great news. This meant there was progress in the Cui family's smuggling case. Wang Zhao hurriedly asked, "Seventh Lady, could you bring the person over?"

Qian Tong nodded and said, "Let me go back to pick him up. Whatever the lord wants to ask, I promise I will tell him everything." After she finished speaking, she turned around and left.

"Wait." The person behind the screen suddenly spoke.

Qian Tong had to stop.

"I have another question for you, Miss Seven. The Cui family's cargo ship reached the Yellow Sea Strait five days ago, and the eldest son of the Cui family returned to the fleet five days later. The strait takes at least a day and a half to sail from the city. After the Cui family's cargo ship left the alley, no other ships went there. Even if there were spies from the Qian family on the Cui family's ship, how did they pass the message to the Qian family?"

The ice in his mouth melted, chilling his voice as well. "Or is it that the one who told Seventh Lady about the Cui family's whereabouts wasn't a spy at all, but the Park family?"

The hall was empty, and his low, long voice echoed on the walls, making people feel numb in their chests. The smile on Qian Tong's face gradually disappeared.

The person behind the screen continued, "The eldest son of the Pu family left Yangzhou two years ago and moved to Haizhou. On the surface, he seemed to have severed ties with your Qian family, but in fact, he had been secretly keeping in touch with your Seventh Lady."

"As for the reason, it's because you, Miss Qian, have a history with the eldest son of the Pu family. Given your friendship, if Miss Qian Qi wants to kill someone, why would the eldest son of the Pu family let him stay overnight?"

Song Yunzhi had never figured out the connection, but after receiving information from the spy, everything became clear. He revealed the truth: "The one who blew up the Cui family's ship was not Cui Wanzhong, but you, Qian Qi Niang, and the eldest son of the Park family."

He said, "Master Qian, am I right?"