Yangzhou Twenty-One

A new day had begun, and she was being interrogated by three divisions, clearly sleep deprived. Of course, two of them knew the truth, but they had all framed her to avoid responsibility.

Humph, men are really unreliable!

"Little Caixin~ You are the only one who loves me the most~" Aruo leaned over and hugged Caixin's arm, rubbing it with emotion.

Cai Xin smiled and was about to speak when another cold light shot down from above. Her heart trembled and she looked over timidly. Qin Shuang, sitting in the main seat, had a pair of frosty eyes, without any emotion, but it made Cai Xin unconsciously sit away from Aruo, shrinking to reduce her presence.

The isolated and helpless Aruo glared at Qi Shaozhen who couldn't control his wife, and the other party gave her a helpless smile in return.

He is henpecked, so don't bother him unless necessary.

"Don't look at it. You'll have to take responsibility for your own stupid actions." Qin Shuang calmed the others down before slowly looking at Aruo. After all, this girl had never been afraid of anyone, so she didn't expect to be intimidated. "How many times have I told you not to get involved with Su Zirui? But you did, and you involved so many people."

If Luo Ziran knew it was A'ruo who saved Su Zirui, she'd be so desperate she'd want to eat her heart out. Qin Shuang had been dealing with officials a lot lately due to the salt administration, so she'd naturally been exposed to a lot of turmoil. Worst of all, if A'ruo hadn't saved him, then perhaps none of this would have happened. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but worry.

"I've already told you. I was in Beijing looking for clues with Su Feng, uh, Lord Su, and we had our paths crossed. Later, we left Beijing and thought we would never see each other again. But we met again when a case happened in the opera troupe. Qin Zhi pressured me into his hands for a deal... and then, I saved him before." Aruo had told the truth a long time ago. The main reason why Qin Shuang was so angry now was because of the recent turmoil.

But even if we take a step back and say that her interaction with Su Zirui already existed before Qin Shuang's warning, she couldn't be considered disobedient.

When Qin Zhi heard his name, he looked up hurriedly, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Qin Shuang had no intention of pursuing the matter any further.

"I know that when the Ministry of Justice was investigating official silver in Sizhou, it followed the clues and found the military pay in the northwest, but these are all solid evidences, and he was just investigating diligently. Now the issue of military pay is being investigated by the Dali Temple and others, and it has little to do with him..." Aruo pursed his lips and said impartially.

Who would have thought that the theft of 100,000 taels of disaster relief silver was just a move by Luo Yin to make up for the misappropriated military pay, and even the appearance of the fake Fang Shouren was to launder the misappropriated military pay and circulate it in the market.

The laundered funds flowed to Jiangnan for lending, and the huge interest payments made people greedy. Unfortunately, a general in the Zhenyuan Army was injured, and the military supplies were found to be cheap and crude, which led to an investigation. To prevent any incident, the Luo family ordered the Luo Yin to fill the gap in military pay within a short period of time.

But Luo Yin had already invested heavily in lending, so where could he find the funds to operate? With time running out, he resorted to a desperate move, targeting disaster relief funds. Leveraging the Qin family's salt permit connections, he evacuated the government silver. Unexpectedly, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice to secretly investigate, leading to the case being uncovered in Sizhou. The old fox, Su Qing, and his son, somehow tracked the case down to the northwest.

In desperation, Luo Yin secretly ordered local Sizhou personnel to assassinate the Ministry of Justice official, which only played into Su Zirui's desire to continue his secret investigation, thus losing both the wife and the army. The Luo family quickly staged an attack by a traitor within the Zhenyuan Army, forcing Luo Yin to withdraw and preventing the Zhenyuan Army from investigating the military pay issue.

Luo Ziran then requested to investigate the salt administration and went south to intercept the various attempts to target the missing officials of the Ministry of Justice, thus reversing the disadvantage. Unfortunately, Su Zirui had planned this all along and had hidden himself in the dark, using the name of the salt administration to investigate the loan.

These were analyzed by Qin Shuang and Qi Shaozhen. After listening to them, Aruo felt that these officials were indeed lunatics with brains, and they took ten steps at a time.

"Is it because he did all this? He's not someone you can truly befriend." Judging from the events in Sizhou and Yangzhou, this man is not only scheming and capable, but also a sharp yet unyielding blade. Su Qing certainly didn't intend to rip his relationship off or risk his only son's life, yet Su Zirui did just that. Even from their brief encounter, Qin Shuang sensed he wasn't a simple person, and possessed a somewhat mischievous nature, with a multitude of ulterior motives.

"He's so good at playing in the officialdom, and he's still so young. It's clear how cunning he is."

"But, it's his father who is so good at it. Doesn't he rely on connections? Although I think he has a good brain." Aruba blinked his big eyes and said weakly.

"Do you...know how terrifying this guy is?" Qin Shuang was helpless with this naive sister. "Silly girl, he was the runner-up in the last two years."

She has brains, a strong backing, and knows how to hide her edge. Although her Aruo has been in the underworld for several years, she has always behaved well and interacted with ordinary people. At most, she was deceived and encountered some bad guys, which was a bit thrilling. Her ideas and schemes were no match for this man.

"There is such a thing?" Aruo and Caixin looked at each other. They had never heard of this?

"Otherwise, how do you think he could have joined the army in the northwest first and then transferred to a civil servant so smoothly? Moreover, in just over six years, he was promoted to the position of Left Vice Minister of one of the six ministries." Qi Shaozhen couldn't help but give a reminder to the two silly-looking girls.

"Isn't it all thanks to Dad?" Both the actor Zhang and Minister Chen in the prison cell emphasized this.

"Silly fellow, he has connections in the court, but after returning from the northwest, he was also officially appointed through the imperial examination. However, the third place winner of that session was Han Hanlin, a man of stunning appearance who was admired by the emperor. With a single sentence, "Han Lang moved my heart," he was immediately noticed by the emperor's favorite princess, and their emotional entanglement became famous for a time. The first place winner was a direct descendant of the Qi family, a century-old aristocratic family. He was a rare doer in the family. After passing the imperial examination, he volunteered to be sent out to other places and achieved remarkable political achievements. In comparison, Su Zirui was considered to be quite ordinary. Apart from being called one of the Four Sons of the Capital, he was also rumored to be the living Yama." Although Qin Shuang was in Jiangnan, she was well aware of the news in the capital. She even thought that the Su family father and son had taken the exam with their sight set on that session. Both father and son were powerful ministers, and it would be a taboo for the emperor to easily become a taboo. However, Su Qinghan's family rose to prominence, and Su Zirui was not inconspicuous among these celebrities, but he got all the benefits, which was just right.

"This is simply the wrong time... He is such a good person." Aruo felt aggrieved for no reason and felt sorry for him.

Qin Shuang glared at her unhappily. It was because of this that the Su family father and son seemed to be very shrewd!

Aruo knew what Qin Shuang was thinking, but... She lowered her head and stroked her wrist, which still seemed to have his warmth. She had clearly disliked him at first, and when they were in Sizhou, she had thought he was a failure, with a weird temper and a bit of a crazy personality, but...

When he collapsed before her, vulnerable, she saved him without hesitation. During their time in Yangzhou, she'd felt him gradually soften, a softening that left her feeling somewhat bewildered. She wasn't an inexperienced woman; her heart fluttering wasn't because his face was handsome enough to satisfy her taste.

"But Shuangshuang," Aruo looked up at Qin Shuang and said softly, "He is a very good person and a trustworthy person."

His goodness is not only due to his ability and family background, but also because he is a good person.

When he was in the capital, he knew there was danger, but he took the first step to place her there. When he was in Sizhou, he knew she was in trouble, but he still chose her over the official silver. Now, no matter how busy he was, he still accompanied her in her troubles, even though he knew she had Yiyuan and Qin Zhi to help her.

He was very good. Sometimes, even when she heard Qin Shuang and other officials discussing his achievements and attributing them to his father, Su Qing, she felt a little unhappy. It was not worth it for him. His efforts and brilliance should not be overshadowed by his father.

In those eyes, as dark as the night sky, there was trust and pity, as well as confusion and a slight sadness. Qin Shuang had been through it all, so she naturally understood what such a look in a girl's eyes meant. Her heart trembled, and then she remembered the night before. She turned her head and glared fiercely at Qi Shaozhen, who had opened his fan to cover his face.

"Okay... Zhenzhen, so you knew it all along!" Not only did he notice it long ago, but he also let his sister fall into it? Qin Shuang gritted his teeth and smiled brightly, "You are so polite. Even I, your bedmate, don't know your plan..."

Qi Shaozhen coughed lightly twice, then calmly grabbed his wife's slender hand that was pinching his waist, "Dear, this matter... I can explain it."

He was wronged. His junior sister was no ordinary boudoir girl. She was extremely defensive, lacking any sense of belonging or interest in the world. He had appeared during the Lantern Festival, but had already arrived in Sizhou. The formation at Longyin Mountain was triggered, and he witnessed his junior sister's collapse, and also saw with his own eyes how the ruthless man protected her. Initially, he was just observing, but only after he had safely placed the girl amidst the chaos and danger did Qi Shaozhen begin to harbor this idea.

Wouldn't it be better if Aruo could have something to care about in this world?

Aruo didn't know what Qin Shuang and his wife were arguing about, but she could feel that Qin Shuang's anger had shifted to her senior brother, and she felt relieved.

Several masters were holding a meeting in Xiyi Hall with gloomy faces. The servants did not dare to come in to disturb them, and could only peek in from time to time.

Cai Xin saw it and walked out lightly and considerately.

It turned out to be a messenger. After bowing and thanking him, she walked back to the main hall. The envelope in her hand was white. Cai Xin felt an inexplicable chill down her spine. She subconsciously turned around and glanced at the sky. "Strange, there's no wind."

"Where did the letter come from?" Xiyi Hall had become a contest between Qin Shuang and his wife. Qin Zhi stretched and pulled Aruo to go back.

"I don't know, your letter." Cai Xin handed the letter over.

Qin Zhi tore open the envelope neatly and looked through it carefully. Aruo hadn't slept enough since returning from the ghost market and was yawning repeatedly. Cai Xin pointed at the dark circles under her eyes in amusement.

"Go back and sleep for a while. I'll have someone send lunch to your yard." Cai Xin pulled her and said with a smile.

Aruo just nodded, but saw Qin Zhi's face change drastically, his eyes widened in disbelief, and the hand holding the letter trembled slightly. "What's wrong?"

She reached out curiously, but the letter was held tightly by Qin Zhi. Aruo looked up at him.

Qin Zhi's eyes were complicated, a mixture of disbelief, shock, and sadness. He opened his lips, but it took him a long time to speak.

His voice was low and hoarse, as if his throat was blocked.

"Xiao Man...is dead."