Xue Zhongfu's face was solemn as he inserted the grain inspector into the rice bag and brought out a handful of crystal clear rice grains.
In the candlelight, the rice grains gleamed with a faint luster, obviously the new rice harvested in the spring.
He looked around and saw that the entire granary was filled with sacks printed with "Dacheng Rice Shop", each of which was filled to the brim.
"Mother, this is all new rice." Xue Zhongfu's tone revealed an unconcealable surprise. "Moreover, the quantity is huge. A rough estimate is at least two thousand dan."
Hong Yingrong stood there, scanning everything in the warehouse with her sharp eyes.
Thoughts surged in her mind. She knew very well that Tianzhuang had never had any cooperation with Dacheng Rice Shop.
After careful calculation by Jiang Shuxiu, it was impossible for the spring harvest to be more than 2,000 dan of grain.
"There must be something wrong here!" Hong Yingrong's voice was cold and firm. She turned to Xue Zhongfu and said, "Second Brother, immediately send someone to investigate the background of Dacheng Rice Shop and whether there is any unknown transaction between them and our farm."
"Now that something like this has happened at the farm in the west of the city, I'm afraid there are also loopholes at the farm in the south of the city. Now that the enemy has been alerted here, I wonder if the news has been received there? You should also send someone to investigate immediately."
"Yes, mother, I understand!"
Xue Zhongfu nodded in agreement and immediately turned around to arrange the investigation.
Hong Yingrong stayed in the warehouse and continued to examine the bags of rice.
There must be a huge secret hidden behind this, and Zhao Wu and Lai Sheng are just pawns in it.
The night deepened, but the farm of Xingyuan Marquis was still brightly lit.
A group of old, weak, women and children gathered in front of the warehouse at this moment, with sad faces, claiming that they had important matters to petition the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion.
Their faces were filled with helplessness and expectation, as if they had placed all their hopes on Hong Yingrong, whom they were about to meet.
Zhou Jin was walking in front. When she just returned to the farm today, she was treated rudely by Zhao Wu and was almost beaten. Later, she took advantage of the chaos to hide and escaped the disaster.
Now seeing that old lady Hong Yingrong has come to the village to eradicate evil, and thinking that the old lady can uphold justice for herself and her daughter Xiaohe, she will naturally help other farmers who have been bullied.
"Madam, please save our daughter!" A woman knelt down in front of Hong Yingrong, tears streaming down her wrinkled face.
Hong Yingrong's heart tightened, and she asked Nanny Zhao to quickly help the old woman up. She said softly, "If you have any grievances, just tell us. The Marquis' Mansion will definitely seek justice for you."
As people spoke, Hong Yingrong gradually realized that Zhao Wu and Lai Sheng's evil deeds were heinous. They not only oppressed the tenants, but also wantonly abused innocent girls.
Among those girls who were abused, some were even forcibly taken away by Lai Sheng because their family’s harvest was insufficient, and their whereabouts are still unknown.
"These beasts!" Hong Yingrong cursed angrily, her eyes flashing with a cold light.
She turned to Zhou Jin and said, "Take everyone back first and wait patiently for news. Even if I have to dig three feet underground, I will find the person for you and seek justice for you."
Her voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable power.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jin and the other women and children expressed their gratitude.
Everyone knew that with the support of the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion, their daughter might still have a chance of survival, so they kowtowed to express their gratitude and then left the warehouse silently.
Seeing that it was already late at night, Nanny Zhao calculated that it was already midnight, and the city gate must have been closed.
She turned to Hong Yingrong, her tone full of concern, "Old Madam, it's so late, why don't you go to the side rooms in the courtyard to rest? I've had the other ladies who came with you clean up the place, and I'm afraid you won't be able to handle a sleepless night."
Upon hearing this, Xue Zhongfu hurried forward, his voice filled with anxiety, "Mother, what Madam Zhao said is absolutely right. Please go to the side room and rest for a while. I will make all the arrangements properly."
He had now divided his troops into two groups. One group rushed to the farm in the south of the city to guard the granary there tightly; the other group dispersed to the nearby official roads to search for the traces of Zhao Wu and Lai Sheng.
Hong Yingrong shook her head, a hint of confusion between her brows.
There always seemed to be a link in this whole thing that she couldn't figure out, and this link was precisely the key to solving all the mysteries.
Seeing this, Madam Zhao softly consoled her, "Madam, the rice in the granary is still there. It's always a good thing. More rice is always better than less."
"More is always better than less." These words were like a flash of lightning, breaking through the fog in Hong Yingrong's heart.
She suddenly realized that the crux of the problem was the extra food.
The Marquis' Mansion has not acquired any new land in recent years, so this year's grain harvest should be a certainty.
So where did this extra warehouse of grain come from?
Several thousand dan of grain is not a small amount. It is impossible for Jiang Shuxiu and the accountant not to have records. That is...
"Substituting one thing for another?" Hong Yingrong blurted out in astonishment, with a glimmer of understanding in her eyes.
When Xue Zhongfu heard his mother's words, his heart moved.
As an official of the Ministry of Works, he supervised the construction of the imperial city for many years and was no stranger to the methods of substituting one thing for another and embezzling money during the project.
At this moment, he quickly grasped the deep meaning of his mother's words and began to figure out the mystery behind them.
The mother and son's eyes met at the same time, and their thoughts coincided.
"Orphanage!"
The mother and son shouted in unison, their voices echoing in the night sky, revealing shock and understanding.
If I am not mistaken, the extra spring rice in this warehouse should be relief food shipped to the orphanage at the border.
A few years ago, His Majesty Li Longze intended to close the orphanage at the border and sent the homeless children to work as errand boys in the local copper mine.
The old Marquis Xue Yonghuai had a bit of kindness in his heart, so he pleaded with His Majesty to let the Xingyuan Marquisate take on the responsibility of providing food aid to the orphanage until the children came of age, and then the local government would assign them labor.
The old marquis fought on the battlefield all year round, hoping to accumulate merit for the descendants of the Xue family.
When His Majesty heard this proposal, he immediately agreed, but stipulated that the grain shipped to the border every year must be strictly counted by the Ministry of War before it can be released.
The person in charge of the selection this time was Feng Shaoying, the lieutenant general of the Ministry of War, who had a close personal relationship with Xue Yuanchu, the eldest son of the Marquis's Mansion.
Although Xue Zhongfu was not directly involved in the affairs of the mansion, he was aware of this matter.
He wondered in his heart, could it be that his elder brother Xue Yuanchu was also involved?
But he didn't say it out loud, and seeing his mother's expression, he also looked uneasy.
"Mother, the grain convoy bound for the orphanage at the border set off three days ago. If we send someone to chase them now, we should be able to catch up within three or four days."
"I'll select two trusted guards who are skilled in riding, and a few strong horses, and have them set out immediately to investigate the situation. We can't jump to conclusions yet."
Hong Yingrong's worries gradually grew. She had thought of what Xue Zhongfu had thought of. Now she just had to wait for the city gate to open tomorrow morning and then let Zhao Bai go find Xue Yuanchu.
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