With a loud thud, the sound of a heavy object falling drew the attention of Jiang Yimian and the other person.
Stared at by two cold gazes, Judge Li was a little embarrassed. He scratched his head, chuckled twice, and was about to bend down to pick up the incense burner from the ground. "I didn't hold it properly, I didn't hold it properly."
He never expected that such a small incense burner would be so heavy, and he slipped and dropped it on the ground.
Lu Cijian quickly shouted, "Don't move!"
Judge Li was startled and immediately withdrew his hand, standing still. He asked nervously, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this incense burner?"
Lu Cijian didn't speak, but took a few steps forward, squatted down, and looked under the table.
The once clean ground was now covered with incense ash, and where the ash extended, there was a faint footprint that could only be seen against the light.
If the incense burner hadn't fallen to the ground, he probably wouldn't have noticed the footprint.
Judge Li stared at the incense ash on the ground and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Lu Cijian didn't speak, but reached out and pushed the wall inside the table hard. Instantly, three thin cracks appeared in the wall that was originally tightly fitted to the side.
The next second, a small door appeared under the table, big enough for one person to pass through.
Judge Li stared in astonishment, then quickly ordered someone to move the heavy table, exclaiming in surprise, "There's actually a secret passage here!"
He had just led his men to search several rooms, but found nothing.
Unexpectedly, Lu Cijian noticed something amiss here.
Jiang Yimian raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Lord Lu is indeed impressive."
Lu Cijian could only shake his head helplessly.
As the group of people entered the narrow, dark door with tinderboxes, the pitch-black passage was instantly illuminated, revealing a long staircase beneath their feet.
Jiang Yimian was about to follow him down when Lu Cijian stopped her, saying, "I'll go down. You wait for me here. We can't be left alone outside."
Judge Li looked at the two of them and said with a smile, "Sir, you and Miss Jiang can stay outside. I'll go down with them. It looks like there's a cellar in here, but I don't know what's inside."
With that, he followed them inside.
No girl and an adult would go out and risk their lives together. Even if there were any real danger, they should protect each other.
This is the savior of all the people of Qingnan.
Jiang Yimian stared at Lu Cijian's serious expression and said with a smile, "What, are you worried about danger here? I'll be fine. You should worry about them instead."
Compared to the group led by Li Tongpan, it would be safer for her and Lu Cijian to go down there; who knows who would protect whom.
Lu Cijian was taken aback, seemingly realizing the problem as well. Just as he was about to follow, he heard Li Tongpan's exclamation from below, "Lord Lu, Miss Jiang, come and see!"
The two exchanged a glance and quickly entered through the hidden door.
The stairs beneath my feet were a bit narrow, but thankfully not long.
As soon as the two went down the stairs, they saw many large boxes placed in the room, which was illuminated by tinderboxes.
Those large boxes were enormous, stacked one on top of the other, almost filling the entire room.
It looked somewhat eerie in the dim light.
Lu Cijian frowned and said, "Open the box."
Several constables responded, stepped forward, cut the lock on top, and opened the box.
After seeing what was inside the box, everyone gasped in surprise.
Inside the box were neatly arranged all kinds of weapons, including swords, spears, halberds, and other weapons that would be used on the battlefield.
It is obvious that the weapons are all new, as if they were made not long ago and have not been used by anyone yet.
Judge Li was so shocked he couldn't speak. He quickly stepped forward and opened several more boxes, which were filled with all kinds of weapons.
He exclaimed incredulously, "This... so many weapons! More than the Yuncheng Prefecture armory! What is Zhou Shiwen planning to do? Rebel?"
When he found Xu Changli's trail, he saw the house deeds in the yamen. The owner of the house had died a few years ago, and the house had been changed hands several times before finally ending up in the hands of the yamen.
Because the house was dilapidated, Zhou Shiwen had previously said he would renovate it and sell it. He never expected that it would end up as his warehouse, where he would dare to store so many weapons.
This man not only embezzled the imperial disaster relief funds and oppressed the people, but also harbored treacherous intentions. Fortunately, he is already dead; otherwise, who knows what trouble he might have caused in the future.
Jiang Yimian and Lu Cijian exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Li Tongpan was unaware of the person behind Zhou Shiwen, but they were clear that these things had nothing to do with Zhou Shiwen at all. If there was any connection, it was that they provided the King of Chu with a secret hiding place.
If it weren't for the severe flooding in Qingnan, which prompted the Censorate to send Lu Cijian, and their successful capture of Qi Shang, they wouldn't have discovered the weapons here.
It's likely that the King of Chu's men successfully took the items away long ago, and no one knows anything about what happened here.
Looking at the weapons, Judge Li said indignantly, "That scoundrel Zhou Shiwen has hoarded so many weapons; I wonder what he's planning to do with them."
"These weapons seem to be of decent craftsmanship; they could be used by the garrison troops of Yuncheng Prefecture."
The weapons used by these city defenders were still those transported from the Licheng Armory several years ago. Since they had little use, they hadn't been replaced in recent years.
Lu Cijian said calmly, "This weapon is unusable."
Before Judge Li could ask why, Lu Cijian stepped forward, picked up a knife, and slashed at the wall several times.
In an instant, the seemingly sharp and sturdy broadsword broke into two pieces.
Everyone in the room stared wide-eyed at the broken broadsword on the ground in disbelief.
Jiang Yimian was also somewhat surprised. At first, she thought that the King of Chu was hoarding these weapons for a future rebellion, but now that she saw how fragile the weapons were, she wondered how the King of Chu could possibly use such weapons to rebel.
Isn't this just sending your own people to their deaths?
In a place like the battlefield, where weapons are not handy, there is nothing you can do but wait to die.
Judge Li also asked incredulously, "What, what does this mean? What is Zhou Shiwen planning to do with so many weapons that break at the slightest touch?"
It looks no different from a normal weapon, and could even be considered a good knife, but it breaks after being chopped a few times.
If they went to the battlefield, not all of them would die under the enemy's blade.
Lu Cijian didn't speak, only saying, "Take the things back to the yamen."
He thought that he would be lucky to rescue Wei Jinghai and cure the flood in Qingnan, but he never expected that the King of Chu would give him such a generous gift.
These items must have been weapons that were moved from the mine.
The King of Chu probably intended this for Wei Jinghai's men, perhaps because the mines were gone, and a major investigation by the Ministry of Works made them afraid to do anything underhanded in the Ordnance Bureau.
This resulted in all these things ending up in my hands, and I could only temporarily store them in Qingnan.
Now, it has fallen into his hands.
The King of Chu probably never imagined that they would find these things.
Now that we have this evidence, although it may not be enough to bring down the King of Chu, it will at least give us an opportunity to cleanse the Imperial Arsenal and several armories in the Great Jin Dynasty.
This will prevent the King of Chu from having another opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
