"What are you panicking about? Close the door first!"
The middle-aged man's face was calm. He gently put down the book in his hand and said calmly, "You are also the head of our Bai family. Can you be more steady and not panic about everything?"
The second in command quickly closed the door and said, "Brother, it's not that I'm not cautious, but this is the first time our Bai family has encountered such a strange thing since its founding."
"What is it?"
Seeing the second in command’s serious expression, the middle-aged man frowned.
"We have a team of escorts who were escorting a batch of supplies to Canglang Lake ten days ago, but they haven't returned yet."
"In the past, a round trip to Beidi would only take three to five days at most. This is very abnormal!"
"So, I hurriedly sent people to investigate, but there was no result. I had no choice but to report to Big Brother."
The second in command hurriedly told the story.
"Um?"
The middle-aged man's eyes flashed, "Could it be that the Northern Di Tartars deliberately detained them and didn't let them come back?"
"Timur has been doing business with us for so long, there's no reason for him to do this!"
The second-in-command shook his head. "Besides, he said he needed more salt and iron. If we detain our men, who will get it for him?"
"That's true!"
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, "Could it be that something unexpected happened on the way and he was detained by the border troops?"
"This time, Timur was in a hurry, so Lao Huang and the others took our secret route instead of the other route Zhong Dahu suggested."
The second in command shook his head like a rattle, but he felt a little uneasy in his heart.
This second manager was Bai Shouren, who had previously led the Bai family caravan to Canglang Lake to smuggle salt and iron for the Tartars.
The middle-aged man who was talking to him was his elder brother, the head of the Bai family in Shuozhou, Bai Shoujing!
At that time, the Tatar captain Timur even paid Bai Shouren extra money to inquire about Zhao Muyun.
After Bai Shouren came back, he easily learned the news about Zhao Muyun from Zhong Dahu.
He immediately conducted a comprehensive investigation based on this information and had a general understanding of Zhao Muyun's personal situation and family information.
So he went out of the customs again and informed Timur in time.
Timur was overjoyed and paid the extra money, then proposed to spend 30% more to let Bai Shouren send another batch of salt and iron.
Bai Shouren was unwilling to give Zhong Dahu any more benefits this time, so he did not take Zhong Dahu's reminder seriously.
He told the escort officer Lao Huang, who was transporting the salt and iron, not to go through the Douziling Beacon Tower this time, but to continue through the secret passage in Heituo Mountain.
But after Old Huang and his group left, they never came back.
After waiting for more than ten days, Bai Shouren realized that something was wrong and sent people to investigate, but to no avail.
"That's strange. Could it be that they stole the supplies?"
Bai Shoujing stood up, a hint of cruelty flashing in his eyes.
"Brother, this is even more impossible. Old Huang and his family are all in Shuozhou City. If they dare to do this, their entire family will be killed."
Bai Shouren continued to shake his head.
Old Huang is Bai Shouren's brother-in-law. If he really embezzled money from his employer, Bai Shouren would be in big trouble.
Seeing Bai Shouren's repeated denials, Bai Shoujing, despite his good manners, became furious and immediately shouted:
"It's neither this nor that. If you can't figure it out, keep investigating! What's the point of coming back to tell me?"
"Brother, calm down!"
Bai Shouren quickly apologized, "I will definitely send more people to investigate. The reason I came to tell you about this is to prepare you for it."
"Isn't it just that a team of escorts is missing? What should we be on guard against?"
Bai Shoujing said impatiently, "We've been in Shuozhou for so many years and spent so much money. We have people everywhere. We're all in this together. Who dares to overturn the table?"
"Someone is coming upstairs!" Bai Shouren lowered his voice and pointed to the roof.
"Jinyang?"
"No, it's the capital!"
"The capital? What do you mean?"
My own bodyguard is missing, and someone else has come from the capital. Could it be possible?
Bai Shoujing suddenly became serious.
"A few days ago, I came back from Beidi and passed by Zhong Dahu in Jingbian Military Town. I got a message that the Imperial Court's Minister of War had appeared in Jingbian Military Town not long ago."
Bai Shouren briefly recounted what he had learned from Zhong Dahu about the Minister of War and the encounter with the Tartars.
"I've heard Lord Sun talk about the battle at Black Camel Mountain, but I never heard him mention Lord Fan, the Minister of War, from beginning to end. I wonder if he didn't know Lord Fan was coming or if he deliberately didn't tell me."
Bai Shoujing stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.
"I heard that Captain Yang of the Zhechoufu is a student of Lord Fan. So, Lord Sun probably didn't know Lord Fan was coming. And Zhong Dahu, a centurion, must have been warned by Captain Yang not to tell anyone about Lord Fan's appearance at the border."
Bai Shouren thought for a while and analyzed.
"So, Lord Fan came to Shuozhou secretly, and Lord Sun, the second-in-command of Zhechou Mansion, was kept in the dark. So, could it be that the higher-ups have noticed what happened between us and Lord Sun?"
"It's possible!" Bai Shouren suddenly became nervous.
Once people from higher up come to investigate the smuggling of salt and iron, their backers in Shuozhou and Jinyang will definitely ruthlessly abandon them.
This is a capital crime.
Bai Shoujing frowned, took a deep breath, and then his eyes lit up: "Second brother, this is a serious matter. We must find the missing Old Huang! Alive or dead! We must not let them fall into the hands of those above us."
Bai Shouren nodded immediately: "I understand!"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com