Chapter 233 What audacity!

If it were just Liu Taofang alone, or young masters from other aristocratic families in Shuzhou gathered together...

Chen Yi probably wouldn't think much of it.

But it was precisely Liu Taofang and Mr. Ling Chuan who forced him to be cautious.

It's worth noting that both of these individuals come from very impressive family backgrounds.

Liu Taofang was the son of Liu Hong, the Left Provincial Governor of Shuzhou, and Zhu Lingchuan was the younger brother of Zhu Hao, the Deputy Commander of the Shuzhou Military Command.

Moreover, Liu Hong controlled the money, grain, and taxes of Shu Prefecture, while Zhu Hao managed the salt and iron industries in Shu Prefecture. They were both in a position of great power and had no shortage of money and grain.

If we also include certain people from the Provincial Surveillance Commission, it means that behind those people stand the three most powerful departments in Shu Prefecture.

How could Chen Yi not have doubts when such a group of people got together and discussed things related to "corn"?

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Yi quietly sneaked into the Lin residence and followed the middle-aged man's footsteps.

It was late at night, and all was quiet.

The house, however, was brightly lit.

You can see that there is a guard every ten steps from the front yard to the back yard.

The defenses were even more stringent, especially outside the backyard.

Dozens of guards dressed in short blue shirts and carrying long swords surrounded the backyard.

"Do respectable businessmen need so many guards?"

Even Baicaotang, which earns tens of thousands of taels of silver a month, only has a little over a hundred guards.

"This number only includes the Tianshan Sect disciples who have just obtained the status of guards."

The more this was the case, the more certain Chen Yi became that this place was not simple.

After a brief investigation.

He then used the shadows to his advantage and bypassed the guards one by one.

With his current cultivation level and Dao realm, it would be difficult for ordinary mid-to-third-grade martial artists to find his whereabouts.

Moreover, he also possesses the highly accomplished [Martial Arts Step] skill.

Soon, Chen Yi arrived at the backyard and hid in a corner with lush flowers and trees.

He looked around, and his eyes immediately gleamed.

He used his aura-gazing technique to detect the presence of people in the backyard rooms.

In total, there were dozens of people.

Most of them were maids with no martial arts skills, while a small number were the owners of the house.

At this moment, the middle-aged man did not return to his room to rest, but instead sat alone in the study.

Through the candlelight illuminating the silhouette of the windowsill, Chen Yi could vaguely see that he seemed to be writing something at his desk.

Just as he was about to get up and go over, he heard some sounds coming from inside the main room.

"Green Willow, bring me the ginseng soup you've cooked. I'll give it to the master to help him recover."

"yes."

Then, Chen Yi saw a middle-aged woman wearing a silk coat push open the study door while carrying a bowl.

"Master, it's late and cold. Have a bowl of ginseng soup to nourish yourself."

"Let's leave it for now."

"Master, what brings Lord Liu's son, Mr. Lingchuan, and Lord Ye from the Provincial Surveillance Commission tonight? Why are you so concerned?"

"Business matters."

"Is there anything my younger brother can do for you, sir?"

The middle-aged man paused upon hearing this, and said in an unpleasant tone, "I know that Madam cares about her family, but your brother is truly hopeless."

“Last time I told him to find some trustworthy people to spread the word, but instead he went and found some local scoundrels, which almost ruined everything.”

"If anyone finds out that I was the one who deliberately slandered General Jinghong behind her back, my family and your relatives will all lose our heads."

"Please forgive me, sir. My younger brother is not well-educated and lacks experience. He still needs more training."

"Hardship? Haven't I given him enough opportunities?"

"Madam, there's no need to discuss this further. Please go back and rest."

A moment of silence.

The woman spoke again, "Sir, please remember to drink that bowl of ginseng soup while it's hot."

"knew……"

Seeing the middle-aged woman leave the study, Chen Yi waited a moment before quietly sneaking over.

It can be confirmed that this man surnamed Lin is one of those "big spenders".

—The last time someone spread rumors to slander Xiao Jinghong, apart from the time they burned down the summer grain crops in the three towns, it couldn't have been anything else.

After about three breaths, Chen Yi quickly arrived at the study door and quietly pushed it open a crack to peek inside.

To everyone's surprise, the middle-aged man remained motionless, leaning back in his chair.

Chen Yi let out a soft exclamation, then entered the study. After closing the door, he moved closer and used his Qi-observation technique to investigate the middle-aged man's condition.

Two streams of black energy were seen entwined within his body.

A stream flows upwards from the bottom, extending from the five internal organs to the Yintang acupoint.

A force from top to bottom eroded his internal organs, leaving them riddled with holes.

To put it bluntly—this person is practically dead.

Chen Yi glanced around and his gaze fell on the empty bowl on the table. He immediately realized that the man had been poisoned.

"Why did they have to kill them now of all times?"

Chen Yi frowned and immediately smashed several wolf-hair brushes.

He took out several slightly thinner bamboo needles and quickly inserted them into several key acupoints on the middle-aged man's body.

He then circulated his true energy to control the needles, dispelling most of the deadly poison in the middle-aged man's body, and then simply repaired his heart meridian.

It took him about fifteen minutes to revive him.

"I finally found someone who knows the truth, I can't let you die like this."

Chen Yi muttered to himself, then raised his finger and gently touched the center of his forehead, "Wake up."

As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes and looked at him with a face as pale as paper.

A moment later, a hint of anger appeared on his pale face, and his lips trembled as he cried out, "She, how dare she..."

However, with his body now riddled with wounds, he was so weak that even his voice was feeble.

Chen Yi knew perfectly well who he was talking about, and leisurely pulled up a chair and sat down beside him, saying:

"You don't have much time, so save your energy."

He did save the person's life, but that doesn't mean the person is cured.

If it weren't for his profound medical skills and the fact that the middle-aged man hadn't been poisoned for very long, he would never have been able to revive him.

The poison was so potent that it corroded most of a person's internal organs within just a few breaths.

The middle-aged man was also aware of his own situation. After looking at him for a while, he suddenly sighed and said, "Thank you."

Chen Yi shook his head slightly and said, "Let's have something more substantial as a thank you gift."

"Answer a few questions for me, and I'll let you leave your last words."

He paused, staring at the middle-aged man, and said, "I'm sure you don't want your hard-earned business to just disappear like this, do you?"

Although Chen Yi was unsure whether the poison was from that lady, he knew that someone as audacious as the person before him would not be willing to die like this.

A moment of silence.

The middle-aged man nodded slowly and said "okay" in a low voice.

Chen Yi wasn't surprised by his choice and asked directly, "Tell me about tonight's events."

"What are you discussing with Liu Hong's son and Mr. Ling Chuan?"

The middle-aged man seemed surprised that he knew this, and after a pause, he replied, "Trade."

"Young Master Liu owns many fertile fields and hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain, so he wants me to help him."

"So that's why you're manipulating grain prices?"

The middle-aged man was taken aback. "You, how did you know?"

Chen Yi thought to himself, "As expected," and said, "I came to find you not unprepared."

The middle-aged man thought about it and agreed, then continued, "Young Master Liu needs too much money, and the price of ordinary grain cannot meet his needs, so I came up with this idea."

"What method?"

"Are they setting fire to the summer grain crops in the three towns to create a food shortage? Or are they taking advantage of the Xiao family's large-scale grain purchase to drastically raise prices?"

"You, you..."

Seeing the middle-aged man's appearance, Chen Yi knew he had guessed correctly.

These people are really after money.

Their plan was simple.

The summer grain in the three towns was burned. Regardless of whether it was the Xiao family who stole it, the Dingyuan Army needed a large amount of grain.

This will inevitably lead to an increase in grain prices in Shuzhou.

At that time, Liu Taofang can take the opportunity to sell off his stored grain.

This time is no different—Old Master Xiao was punished by the Emperor and needs to replenish the grain supply of Tiebi Town.

These people took the opportunity to raise prices, most likely hoping to get the old man to buy grain at a high price.

They could even go further and, after the public outcry, pin the blame on the Xiao family.

Such scheming is undeniably vicious.

Having figured everything out, Chen Yi asked in a cold tone, "Did you burn down the granary in the East Market yourselves?"

The middle-aged man was even more surprised: "The granary was burned down?"

"You didn't do it?"

"No, no, the East Market has a storage of 100,000 shi of grain. How could I possibly do such a thing?"

It seems there's another reason behind what happened in the East Market.

Chen Yi secretly noted it down and continued to ask, "Mr. Ling Chuan, are you here to sell grain as well?"

The middle-aged man shook his head: "No, he isn't."

"Mr. Lingchuan's elder brother, Lord Zhu Hao, has a batch of ironware. He has come to ask me to complete a transaction with the bandit king, King Landu, of Vaishsa Kingdom."

Bandit King, Lando King... a bandit?

Chen Yi frowned slightly; this was the second time he had heard this name.

The last time, he heard it from Lou Yuxue, when the White Tiger Guard's Golden Banner Officer General Xing said he wanted to contact this person.

He just didn't expect that this King Randhu was not a king or nobleman of Vaishsa, but a bandit leader.

What was the White Tiger Guard doing contacting him?

However, now is not the time to investigate this matter, so Chen Yi simply said:

“Selling ironware to other countries is a serious crime of treason.”

The middle-aged man nodded with a bitter expression. "I'm just a businessman. I'm only interested in making money. I don't care about anything else."

Chen Yi was well aware of this, and snorted, "One last question: have you had any other reasons for targeting the Xiao family on several occasions?"

"No, no, we just happened to be there, and it just so happens that our actions will cause grain prices to rise faster."

"That's all?"

The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly, coughed a few times, and said weakly, "We are only after money and have no intention of harming the Xiao family..."

How could Chen Yi not know whether it was harmful or not?

The reason these people approached the Xiao family was simple—the Xiao family was in decline and refused to associate with them.

Even if someone else were in the Xiao family's position, they would still act without hesitation.

Thinking of this, Chen Yi gave him a deep look and said, "You have half an hour to make your final arrangements."

After saying that, he got up and started to walk out.

However, when he suddenly caught sight of the papers spread out on the table, he paused and picked them up.

What I saw was not the Great Wei script, but lines of strangely written characters.

"Is this the language of Vashyapa?"

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, wanting to take it back, but seeing Chen Yi holding on tightly, he nodded helplessly: "Yes."

"Written for King Lando?"

"yes……"

Chen Yi hummed in agreement, put the papers away, and left the study.

The middle-aged man watched him disappear, a desolate expression appearing on his face.

"Don't blame me, sigh..."

"I'm about to die, how can I care about anything else?"

Before he could finish speaking, he used all his strength to sweep everything off the table, screaming desperately as he did so.

"Someone come here!"

"Lin Huai, Lin Cheng, come quick!!"

In an instant, several guards arrived at the backyard and rushed anxiously toward the study.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

“Oh no, it’s my wife who’s ruined me. Arrest her, arrest her and her whole family.”

"I want them dead!"

The people in the other rooms also came out to check the situation when they heard the noise.

Only the middle-aged woman in the main room sat slumped on the bed in disbelief, muttering to herself.

"No, sir, sir, it wasn't me..."

Not long after, the middle-aged man's voice came from inside the study: "Go and fetch my son..."

Chen Yi listened quietly for a moment, then slipped away.

The counterattack of a dying man is bound to be bloody.

But what does this have to do with him?

Fortunately, someone poisoned that middle-aged man; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to extract anything from him tonight.

Not long after.

Chen Yi returned to Chunhe Garden, changed out of his night clothes, and stood calmly by the window, looking at the bright moon in the night sky.

Tonight's trip was truly beyond his expectations.

I thought it was just a trivial, lively matter, but I never imagined it would lead to so many other things.

He never expected that those so-called "big spenders" would have such audacity—to burn down the grain supplies of three towns for money!

You must know that if such a thing is exposed, it will inevitably lead to your death.

Not only will the entire Lin family die, but Liu Taofang, Zhu Lingchuan, and everyone else in their families will also die.

"Merchants are driven by profit, and sometimes they are even bolder than kings and nobles who hold military power."

"What's more, Liu Hong and Zhu Hao are standing behind them?"

"But what roles do those two play in all of this?"

"It's hard to say about Liu Hong for now, but Zhu Hao is definitely guilty of heinous crimes."

The phrase "bold and reckless" is insufficient to describe someone who dares to sell ironware to bandits in Vaishsa.

After a moment's thought, a cold glint appeared on Chen Yi's face.

"The Provincial Administration Commission, the Military Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and perhaps some powerful families they've recruited..."

"Such behemoths are unlikely to be dealt with using ordinary methods."

Killing them would indeed solve the problem once and for all.

However, by doing so, Chen Yi could not predict the future situation of Shu Prefecture.

This might lead to changes in the imperial court or other prefectures.

That would probably make the Xiao family's situation even worse.

Thinking about this...

Chen Yi took a deep breath, and his expression gradually calmed down.

"Whether they are demons and monsters or evil spirits, they have all started to show their faces now."

"The rest..."

...

at the same time.

Inside a house about twenty miles from the Xiao family's residence, Liu Lang was looking with great interest at the study not far away.

Originally, he was so stimulated by Chen Yi's mastery of the sword technique that his mind was in turmoil.

Little did he know that when he returned to the Liu family home with Liu Taofang, he would see Liu Hong waiting in the courtyard.

What surprised Liu Lang even more was that Liu Hong slapped Liu Taofang twice the moment he saw him.

By this point, nearly half an hour had passed.

Liu Hong was still whipping Liu Taofang in the study, shouting and cursing as he did so.

"How dare you!"

"Who gave you permission to contact the Lin's Chamber of Commerce?"

Do you know the background of the Lin Family Chamber of Commerce?

"They are from the Jizhou Merchant Guild. Are you trying to kill me by associating with them?"

As Liu Lang listened to Liu Hong's furious curses and Liu Taofang's pleas for mercy, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

The Lin Clan Chamber of Commerce and the Jizhou Trading Company are no match for the "filial piety and loving father" before our eyes.

Liu Hong, unaware that someone was watching him, continued cursing:

"Tell me, what have you been doing with Lin Huai'an all this time?!"

"My child, my child won't..."

Snap!

(End of this chapter)