After the two left, a person dressed in casual clothes quickly entered.

However, the boss was knowledgeable and immediately recognized him as a soldier officer.

Unlike before, now as long as he hasn't done anything wrong, he has nothing to be afraid of. The waiter next to him immediately served the plainclothes soldier a cup of tea.

"It's so cold outside, please warm yourself up, sir."

After taking a sip of hot tea, the soldier knew that his identity had probably been recognized by the boss, and he was too lazy to beat around the bush.

"What did that girl buy just now?"

"They bought all the Yan Yu brocade, nothing else."

"Oh, right, they also asked me where I could buy the 'Qi Si Feng Deng' (a type of lantern), and I told them it was at the Ministry of Industry's exhibition."

"Is there anything else you would like to ask, sir?"

The boss smiled broadly.

The soldier took out a small piece of silver, about the size of a fingertip, and placed it on the table; it was only half a cent.

But I'm grateful for the boss's cooperation.

As Xiao Yuanshuang sat in her carriage, she pondered the arrangements for tonight's palace banquet.

Then a maid reported, "Princess, this road ahead is surrounded by soldiers. We can't get through. Should we wait or take a detour back to the palace?"

Xiao Yuanshuang lifted the curtain and saw Qi Yuan riding a tall horse in the distance.

Accompanying him was a man with half-gray hair, dressed in official robes, but not in the manner of an official.

This Qing Kingdom is strange in every way.

"Go and see what happened."

"yes."

This shop is located at the end of Changle Street. Although the shop is not large, Changle Street is one of the most prosperous streets in Beijing.

The monthly market and the annual lantern festival are both held here.

At this moment, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered outside the officers and soldiers.

"Where is your boss?" Qi Yuan glanced around.

The shop assistant stammered, "The boss...the boss isn't here..."

Oh.

Qi Yuan swung his whip.

"The shop was sealed off, and all people and items inside were left untouched."

"The accounts have been seized."

“I need to find out who has ever bought anything from your store since it opened.”

"As for your employer, hehe, he may run away but he can't hide. Once I find the land deeds and documents from the authorities, he will naturally be rewarded."

The well-trained soldiers behind him quickly dispersed and rushed into the shop.

The lead shop assistant immediately became agitated upon seeing this, shouting, "Sir! Sir! You're shutting down the shop without even giving us an explanation?"

The young maidservant watching the commotion in the crowd also pursed her lips.

yes.

The officials of Qing Kingdom are truly domineering and unreasonable.

Qi Yuan smirked, jumped off his horse, and used his whip to lift the young waiter's chin.

"Sir? You're calling me sir?"

"Looks like he's not from the capital."

“Your shop has been open for a while now. I’ve patrolled the city at least twice. You don’t recognize me.”

At this moment, the onlookers suddenly realized what was going on.

"That's right! Lord Qi always rides a tall horse on patrol. The common people may not recognize him, but this street is a key patrol area."

"Everyone in the shops on this street knows Lord Qi."

"This fellow doesn't recognize Lord Qi; there's definitely something wrong with him!"

"Lord Qi is truly remarkable."

"This is definitely no small matter. Didn't you see that even the Imperial Advisor came along..."

Imperial Advisor?

The maid looked at Li Xuanji and silently memorized his appearance.

After they had everyone under control, Qi Yuan and Li Xuanji went into the shop to check.

Sure enough, they found the chestnuts among a row of spice jars.

Li Xuanji, holding the jar, asked the kitchen worker, "Do you know what this is?"

"No...I don't know, the owner only said it was spices."

The men were sweating profusely; they had realized that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they had probably committed a crime...

Qi Yuan tightened his grip on the whip. "Take them all back."

At the same time, he made up his mind to conduct another screening of the people in the city before the New Year. If the poisonous millet seeds from Yun Kingdom could sneak in, who knows what else might have infiltrated as well.

Furthermore, the inspection of carriages and horses at the city gates should be strengthened.

Most importantly, continue investigating along this line; if we can find anything related to the Yun Kingdom...

The maidservant brought the latest news to Xiao Yuanshuang.

"The Imperial Advisor..."

The image of the half-silver-haired man flashed through Xiao Yuanshuang's mind.

Qi Yuan and Li Xuanji, seemingly tireless, went back and began interrogating people. When they saw the land deeds retrieved from the Ministry of Revenue, both of them frowned.

The owner of this shop turned out to be a family member of the Minister of Personnel.

Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow.

interesting.

He reported this to Li Xuanji, who immediately laughed.

"That old guy Zhang Yuqing couldn't possibly have made such an obvious mistake; someone must have framed him."

Li Xuanji was quite certain that Zhang Yuqing, being so cunning, had paid a price that was beyond what ordinary people could achieve to become the Minister of Personnel.

Moreover, since the Emperor Emeritus personally selected him, Zhang Yuqing would never do such a thing.

As for Zhang Yuqing's family...

That's even less likely.

Because Zhang Yuqing's family has a story that outsiders don't know.

Choosing Zhang Yuqing's family members to frame him was a mistake.

Li Xuanji's laughter left Qi Yuan completely bewildered.

After a brief discussion, the two decided to report to His Majesty first.

The poisoning case has made progress, but when it comes to Zhang Yuqing's family, it's a different story altogether.

Murong Yue didn't know what was wrong with her, but she felt that human kind of exhaustion, so she simply stayed in bed and slept all afternoon.

Ah Hao was so frightened that he would sneak in to check on things every now and then.

Only when I could hear His Majesty's steady breathing did I feel relieved.

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