Chapter 109 Mayi: My family's case reversal depends on this.

—And then there's Ajiu, who has never mentioned his past; he must also have a story that no one knows.

The wind is blowing through the window, it's so cold. Guan Ye pulled her collar tighter and said in a deep voice, "Tell me what you're investigating. If you don't tell the truth, you're delaying your own important business."

Xiao Ma flicked up a copper coin and caught it steadily. He clenched his fist and said, "You guessed right. There's a different one mixed in here, the one next to the skeletons in the mine. It's a pity it's mixed in with the others..." Xiao Ma stared at Guan Ye, who seemed to be deep in thought. "You really can find it? Guan Ye, you're not kidding me, are you?"

Guan Ye cursed Xiao Ma inwardly. Who had the time to lie to someone so late at night? Guan Ye looked through the copper coins and even brought them close to her nose to smell them. Xiao Ma sat cross-legged on the ground and couldn't help but sniff as well. They say that seeing an object reminds you of someone, and it seemed that she could smell a bit of her father's stinky feet.

“Copper, iron, and silver, lead…” Guan Ye sniffed as she spoke, “And…and…”

"Seventy percent copper, twoty percent iron, and onety percent lead, tin, and silver combined," Xiao Ma slowly said. "In counterfeit copper coins, copper only accounts for sixty percent. I don't know what was used to replace the missing onety percent."

Guan Ye pondered for a moment, "It can't be silver. Silver is more valuable than copper. It's not counterfeiting copper coins. It's opening a charity. It's lead. Lead is not much different from copper. It must be it."

Xiao Ma was stunned. He held his breath, not daring to interrupt Guan Ye. Guan Ye was well-versed in ancient books and had been taught by Pei Chu. She knew about iron ore and casting techniques. Xiao Ma had long seen that she was not simple. If he wanted to find someone who could help him, Guan Ye was the only one in Rongdu.

For coins of the same size, lead is heavier than copper. If lead is used to replace 10% of the brass, then counterfeit copper coins will be heavier than genuine ones. As long as you know the secret of the ingredients, it is not difficult to find the fakes. The difficulty lies in the fact that copper coins are too small and light, and it is quite difficult to find one in a pile. However, although it is difficult, it is not impossible.

There were thirty-six copper coins on the ground. Guan Ye divided them into two groups of eighteen coins each. Xiao Ma suddenly understood and was completely impressed by Guan Ye. Before Guan Ye could even open her mouth, Xiao Ma had already brought out the steelyard balance and presented it to Guan Ye with both hands.

"You're not entirely stupid," Guan Ye said without even lifting her eyelids. "Why don't you do it?"

Xiao Ma waved his hand, "Master Guan, you come here, I'll remember."

Guan Ye smiled, her lips curving into dimples. What she was going to do was divide and conquer: weigh each batch of copper coins, set aside the lighter batch, and then divide the eighteen coins into nine batches. Repeat this process, weighing even numbers and leaving one to be determined. When the even numbers are equal, the heavier fake copper coin will only have one left.

Guan Ye's eyes fell on the copper coin. Seeing that Xiao Ma was standing there motionless, she called out, "The thing you've been longing for is right on the ground. Why aren't you picking it up?"

Xiao Ma sat with his knees drawn up, his face showing some distress. "Who were the skeletons in the mine... and why are there these fake copper coins..."

Guan Ye glanced at Xiao Ma in surprise. "How do you know these counterfeit copper coins? Only the Salt and Iron Bureau and the mint know the proportions of the copper coins. How do you know? Could it be..." Guan Ye swallowed hard. "Xiao Ma, is your family's injustice related to these counterfeit copper coins?"

Now that things have come to this, there's no need to hide it anymore. Xiao Ma gave a soft "hmm," his brow furrowed with worry.

Guan Ye rubbed her head. She had sneaked into the warehouse at night to find something to do, but she hadn't expected to stumble upon such a big deal. She should have just gone back to sleep. Now, she had no choice but to get involved, and she had to help to the end.

"People from the Salt and Iron Bureau..." Guan Ye sized up Xiao Ma. She had long noticed the air of nobility about him, especially when he first went with Pei Bi to exchange silver. Xiao Ma had deliberately worn brand-new brocade robes, exuding an arrogant air, making him look exactly like a young nobleman from some wealthy family as he walked through the capital. Among the swordsmen, only Xiao Ma could pull off such an air. "No, you don't look like someone from an official family."

"Why doesn't it look like it?" Xiao Ma straightened his back and raised his head.

“I’ve seen people like Song Mian after the emperor’s lineage before. You’re different from him.” Guan Ye thought for a moment, then said, “You’re not from the Salt and Iron Bureau… and you still know so much. I understand.” Guan Ye raised her voice and pointed at Xiao Ma, “Your family owns a mint.”

Xiao Ma's expression changed slightly; he neither said yes nor no.

She had actually guessed it herself. She didn't know if she was too smart or if Xiao Ma was too naive. Seeing Xiao Ma's stiff expression, Guan Ye knew she had touched a sore spot. After a moment of silence, Guan Ye said softly, "Your name is Xiao Ma, and your surname is Ma. More than ten years ago, there was a well-established mint in Rongdu. What is your relationship with Mayi?"

Mayi. Little Ma hadn't heard that name mentioned in a long time. "He's my grandfather, how do you know him?"

Of course, it was also my father who said that during sleepless nights, my father and mother would recall the old days in Rongdu. My father had too many regrets about leaving the city in a hurry. He regretted not being able to tell Tianhufang, not being able to take his master Deng Bo with him, and not being able to say goodbye to Ma Yi, the old master of the mint. My father said that the house where he got married was chosen by the old master of the Ma family, and the deposit was also given by the old master. My father wanted to return the money to him, but the old master of the Ma family refused to accept it, saying that it should be regarded as a wedding gift for him.

It was much later that Father heard about the Ma family case. Upon learning of Ma Yi's execution, Father stood in the countryside, gazing towards Rongdu for a long time. Father said he absolutely refused to believe that Old Master Ma would counterfeit coins, just as he absolutely refused to believe that Tianhu Workshop was behind the blood crossbow case. Father couldn't understand how things could suddenly turn so upside down when they were living a perfectly good life. This didn't make sense to him.

My father spent his whole life trying to figure out where the problem lay, and he remained a confused man until his death.

The little horse in front of them was actually a descendant of their father's old friend. Their eyes met, and both of them had mixed expressions. They sat there on the ground, stunned, and fell into an awkward silence.

“Guan Ye.” Xiao Ma broke the silence. “You know my grandfather and you know how to use water to test objects. Since it’s not something taught in books, it must have been taught to you orally. You can guess my background. Why don’t I guess yours?”

"They even had a competition?" Guan Ye glanced at Xiao Ma out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't even born when her parents left the city. No one outside knew if the Guan family had any children, or if they were boys or girls. She had been very cautious the whole way and hadn't given herself away at all. Guan Ye was also curious about how much Xiao Ma could figure out.

Xiao Ma scrutinized Guan Ye's familiar face. "My father taught me how to use water to test objects. Back then, the young lady of Tianhu Fang demonstrated it to my grandfather at my home, and my father remembered it after watching it. Lu Chaoge of Tianhu Fang..." Xiao Ma's eyes flickered slightly, "It seems you have no connection with her."

"Why can't we relate to this?" Guan Ye asked back.

“She is the young lady of Tianhu Workshop, a genius blacksmith, and one of the most outstanding female swordsmen in the world.” Xiao Ma insisted on turning the tables, “As for you, you’re still a little lacking.”

Xiao Ma held up his finger and gestured, then continued, "Lu Chaoge has a younger brother named Lu Xiaojun. He was only a few years old when the Tianhu Workshop incident happened, and he died. It had nothing to do with you, since you don't have the surname Lu... Father said that there was a pretty skilled blacksmith at Tianhu Workshop named... named..." Xiao Ma scratched his head and frowned, thinking hard, "What was his name again... It seems his reputation isn't that great, I've forgotten."

"Guan Xiaotian." Guan Ye was waiting for Xiao Ma to announce her father's name, but Xiao Ma had forgotten. She couldn't help but take off her clothes and saw the triumphant look in Xiao Ma's eyes. She simply stopped hiding it. Guan Xiaotian was the number one blacksmith in the world. Guan Ye was Guan Xiaotian's daughter.

“It’s him.” Xiao Ma clapped his hands together and pointed at Guan Ye. “The entire Tianhufang family was wiped out, except for one person who disappeared. He escaped with his family before Rongdu was sealed off. Father said that person was Guan Xiaotian. You, Guan Ye, are the descendant of a fugitive.”

Guan Ye, not to be outdone, pointed at Xiao Ma and said, "Beheading in Mayi means exile of family members. Refugees are not pardoned and their descendants are forbidden from leaving the place of exile for generations. Xiao Ma, you are a descendant of refugees, so how come you're in Rongdu?"

The two looked at each other for a moment and then burst into laughter. Although they had lived under the same roof for a long time, revealing their identities today felt like getting to know each other all over again. Looking at each other's familiar yet unfamiliar faces, they felt an indescribable sense of kinship.

"Your father." A question lingered on Guan Ye's lips for a long time, "How did you come to talk about my father?"

Xiao Ma immediately said, "He said that the Blood Crossbow Case wasn't something an ordinary person could commit; it required not only courage but also skill. Over 130 people from Tianhufang were beheaded, yet Guan Xiaotian was the only one who escaped. Guan Xiaotian was one of the few with that kind of ability..."

"It wasn't my dad who did it," Guan Ye interrupted Xiao Ma, her eyes blazing with anger.

Xiao Ma raised his eyebrows slightly and slowly continued, "I haven't finished yet. Guan Xiaotian has the ability, but not the guts."

How dare you say your father has no guts? Guan Ye was about to jump up and down again. No, you must have both guts and wisdom. Your father will be unable to clear his name even if he jumps into the Yellow River. Let's see what kind of nonsense Xiao Ma can come up with.

"Father said that Guan Xiao was born big and rough, but he was very gentle. Even Dou Niang from West Street didn't dare to say anything. He was the complete opposite. Don't be fooled by my father's scholarly appearance. He fell in love with my mother at first sight when he went to Jiangnan and immediately proposed marriage." Xiao Ma recalled the past, and his eyebrows unconsciously relaxed. It was as if he had returned to the time when his parents were still alive, and the three of them squeezed into the quilt, dreaming of a fortune that they could never finish eating in ten lifetimes.

“Your father was an honest man,” Xiao Ma said from the bottom of his heart. “My father was glad that he was able to escape Rongdu and did not lose his life in vain. As long as people are alive, there is hope. If everyone had died at Caishikou, it would have confirmed the injustice of the Blood Crossbow Incident. Guan Ye, you are not only Guan Xiaotian’s daughter, but also a descendant of Tianhufang. I am so glad that you are still alive.”

Guan Ye's eyes welled up with tears, and she pressed the back of her hand to the damp spot. Xiao Ma asked softly again, "Your father mentioned my grandfather, what did he say?"

Guan Ye blinked and tears fell. When her father learned of Mayi's death, more than half a year had passed since Mayi was beheaded. Because they had been on the road the whole time, they had been hiding and running away from their destinations, so they were completely unaware of what had happened in Rongdu.

My father mentioned Mayi. He said that Old Master Ma was a rare good man. He would never believe that Mayi had forged counterfeit copper coins. My father sighed, saying that one hardship after another had come. The bloody crossbow case had not yet subsided, and now the counterfeit copper coin case had destroyed the Ma family. Fortunately, the counterfeit copper coin case did not cause a bloodbath like the bloody crossbow case. It was said that Mayi surrendered himself to the authorities and confessed everything, thus quelling the storm with one life.

"What a good man!" Father knelt and kowtowed in the direction of Rongdu. "He would rather die than be a burden to others."

Xiao Ma listened intently. He had never met his grandfather, but hearing the lamentations about his grandfather's passing from others filled him with a surge of emotion.

Guan Ye pointed to the fake copper coin that Xiao Ma was clutching tightly, "This is... the fake copper coin that caused your family's ruin back then."

Xiao Ma nodded, opened his hands and looked deeply, "There were originally some, but now there's only this one left. My family's case is on its way to overturn the verdict."

"Seventy percent copper, reduced to sixty percent. Where did the ten percent of brass that was skimmed off go?" Guan Ye wondered. "Didn't your father tell you?"

Xiao Ma nodded, then shook his head. "If he had known, would he still have been exiled to Lingnan? My father was a scholar. He had no interest in the mint. He only wanted to enjoy life with my mother. Perhaps it was because he knew nothing about it that he was not implicated. But my father said that although he did not know the reason, he dared to guarantee with his life that my grandfather would never risk his entire family to do such a heinous thing."

"You're so determined to stay in Rongdu, is it also to overturn the case?" Guan Ye's eyes showed admiration. Compared to her own wretched existence, Xiao Ma's image suddenly became much taller. Look at him investigating old cases in the middle of the night, while she actually had the nerve to be all lovey-dovey with A Jiu.

Xiao Ma's face flushed slightly. "If I can't clear my name, I don't deserve to be a human being."

Guan Ye blushed furiously, inwardly slapping herself. Guan Ye, you really... don't deserve to be a human being.

One-tenth of the weight is brass... one-tenth... Guan Ye weighed the coins in her hand, her hand acting as a scale. A copper coin weighed about four or five qian (a unit of weight), and a string of one thousand coins weighed about seven or eight jin (another unit of weight). One-tenth of the weight is brass, which means less than a jin of brass was deducted...

Seeing Guan Ye pondering as she weighed the copper coins, Xiao Ma moved closer to her. "What are you thinking about?"

"Do you know how many counterfeit copper coins were minted back then?"