In Fanyang, Lu Qin, the head of the Lu family, had already received a letter from the magistrate of Yuanshi County.

"What is it that makes you so troubled, Master?"

The butler, seeing Lu Qing's furrowed brows after reading the letter, couldn't help but ask a question.

"Take a look!"

After speaking, Lu Qin handed the letter from the magistrate of Yuanshi County to the steward.

"this...."

After the butler looked at the letter, a look of worry appeared on his face.

"Who do you think is secretly protecting Li Ru? Could it be the Emperor?"

Lu Qing looked at the butler with some unease.

"Probably. Besides the emperor, who else would go to such lengths to protect a mere county magistrate?"

The butler also spoke with some uncertainty.

"Could it be that our affair has been discovered?" Lu Qing couldn't help but show a hint of panic on his face.

The steward shook his head. "It shouldn't be. If those people betrayed the head of the family, the government shouldn't have remained silent."

The steward then continued, "The Emperor must have other motives for secretly sending people to protect Li Ru!"

Lu Qing couldn't help but ask, "Other purposes? What purposes?"

After pondering for a moment, the steward said, "Colluding with the Xiongnu and selling refined iron are crimes that can be considered treason. Yet Li Ru only received the charge of exile. If it weren't for the Emperor's intervention, I doubt anyone would believe it!"

Lu Qing looked at the steward with some doubt, "You mean, the Emperor suspects Li Ru's case?"

The steward smiled. "That should be the case. However, they have done it flawlessly. Even if the emperor suspects something, it will be difficult to find out the truth unless the emperor can capture the Left Wise King of the Xiongnu and bring him to Luoyang for interrogation!"

Lu Qing smiled and nodded, "That's true. I suppose the Emperor wants to protect Li Ru and then find a way to overturn his case. After all, a poor scholar whom he personally promoted has committed treason, which is undoubtedly a loss of face for the Emperor. Naturally, he will want to get revenge!"

The steward nodded and said softly, "That's right. In the Emperor's eyes, Li Ru's case is no longer important. What's important is to clear Li Ru's name."

"Indeed! It seems the Emperor has a wise advisor by his side! He is so well-versed in the ways of politics."

Recalling his previous failure to sow discord within the palace, Lu Qing couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that achieving his desired outcome this time would be equally difficult.

Lu Qing then asked, "Is there any news from Luoyang?"

The steward said slowly, "I have already sent people over, and they should be taking action by now. If nothing unexpected happens, Liu Yan will be appointed as the governor of Liangzhou without much problem, so please rest assured, Master!"

Lu Qing nodded in relief. "Okay! Also, send a message to Beigong Boyu and Gaoling, telling them to find a way to incite chaos among the Juyan tribe. We can't be the only ones putting in the effort while they're just waiting to reap the rewards!"

"promise!"

Lu Qing then waved his hand, and the steward bowed and withdrew.

Not long after the butler left, Lu Qing got up and went to the study. He then moved the bookshelf, revealing a secret passage, and went down the steps.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Lu Qing reached the end of the secret passage and came to the hidden door. Lu Qing pulled a thin rope in front of the door.

Soon a sliver of light appeared, and the hidden door slowly opened. Lu Qing stepped inside.

It turned out that this secret passage led directly to the study of another residence next to the Lu family mansion. Inside the study, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant sat at his desk, clearly having been waiting for a long time.

The two residences are situated back to back, each facing a different street. Unless viewed from above, it would be difficult for the average person to connect the two mansions.

Lu Qing sat down opposite the man, frowning as he asked, "What are you doing here again?"

The man said in a deep voice, "Our chieftain said that the tribe is in dire need of salt and refined iron. We hope you can think of a way to help!"

"What can I do? This is Jizhou, not Bingzhou or Youzhou. Besides, didn't we secretly transport a batch over here before?"

Lu Qing snorted coldly, staring at the other party. These barbarians from the grasslands were far too greedy. It was fine once or twice, but if they did this too often, they would inevitably slip up. If they were exposed, the Lu family would be destroyed in an instant.

"We've fought several battles and suffered heavy losses. As long as you can get it, that's fine. As for the rest, we'll figure something out."

The man seemed to ignore Lu Qing's appearance.

Lu Qing snorted coldly, "Hmph~ If I can't get them, the Southern Xiongnu and Southern Wuhuan have plenty. Why don't you go and rob them!"

The man's lips curled up slightly. Although Lu Qing seemed to have rejected him, she did not leave, which meant that Lu Qing was not unable to obtain it, but rather wanted to raise the price.

Then the man took out a wooden box and pushed it in front of Lu Qing.

"Here is a thousand taels of gold, as a small gift! If the people can obtain salt and refined iron, we are willing to increase the price by 30% on top of the original price, how about it?"

After listening to the man's words, Lu Qing opened the wooden box and smiled as he looked at the box full of bright orange gold.

"make a deal!"

The man then said, "Once everything is ready, we can transport it directly to Youbeiping!"

"Youbeiping? Do you have a passage over there?"

Lu Qing looked at the other person with some doubt, because that was the territory of the Wuhuan people to the north.

"There's no need for Patriarch Lu to worry about those things. You just need to prepare the salt and refined iron!"

The man smiled but did not answer Lu Qing's question.

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to answer, Lu Qing did not ask further. Instead, he looked at the other party and asked, "How many do you want this time?"

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