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Xu Shi'an thought that she was going to the pearl farm on a whim, but he never expected that she would actually go. He was so scared that he held onto the pillar and refused to leave.

"County Lord, I really can't take you with me. If anything happens to you, the Marquis will kill me!"

Song Jin didn't understand why he, a prince, was so cowardly.

Who in the world would dare not give the prince some face?

Even if he had average authority among the princes, he shouldn't have fallen into such depravity.

"Your Highness, you knew that the pearl farm was illegal, why didn't you report it?"

If other people reported it, they would be stopped halfway. If it was the prince, wouldn't it be much easier?

Xu Shi'an knew what it meant, but as a young lady, how could she know how serious it was?

Just say he is timid.

"County Lord, you should think of other ways..."

Song Jin interrupted him loudly: "His Highness the Ninth Prince said he would help me, gave me a tip about the pearl farm and then hesitated. How can I help the Moon Picking Tower solve this problem if I don't go there in person?"

Xu Shi'an slapped his forehead in frustration and said in a disappointed tone, "Does the county lord really want to go in?"

Song Jin nodded.

"Ah!" Xu Shi'an blinked and closed his eyes, looking ready to go. "I'll take the county lord in, but the county lord must listen to me and not act on his own. Come out immediately after you've finished your investigation."

"good."

Xu Shi'an's idea was to let her disguise herself as a pearl merchant, trade with the pearl farm, and then take the opportunity to find a chance to investigate.

He wasn't sure how long he could keep the secret this way.

Because of his mother's family connections, he often helped her people to run the pearl diving business on both sides, and they became familiar with each other after a while.

The boss of the pearl mining farm is a mysterious figure, and most of the time it is the manager who comes forward to negotiate.

The salty smell of sea water floats around.

Manager Tian looked at the two of them and asked, "Who did His Highness the Ninth Prince bring with him this time?"

Xu Shi'an laughed and introduced Song Jin to him, "This is Madam Ye An, she specializes in the sale of pearls. She was out of stock recently, so she asked me to meet Manager Tian."

Manager Tian: "Really? Then how many pearls does Madam Ye An want to buy from me?"

Song Jin made a gesture.

"Five hundred?"

Song Jin shook his head and said two words calmly: "Five thousand."

Manager Tian paused as he stroked his beard. "Five thousand? Madam Ye An is trying to help me, right?"

Song Jin chuckled, "Manager Tian, ​​you are joking. These five thousand pearls are just the first step for me to snatch the business from Zhaiyue Tower. I think Manager Tian has also heard about what happened at Zhaiyue Tower this morning. Now everyone is trying to take advantage of the opportunity to snatch customers from Zhaiyue Tower. Naturally, I am not willing to fall behind."

"So that's how it is..." Manager Tian seemed to be thinking about something. "My lady, you should know that five thousand is not a small amount. I can't afford so much at once... How about this, my lady, you can stay with me for a few days, and I will send people out to sea to collect pearls?"

Song Jin pretended to be hesitant, "How long is a few days? I don't have many pearls in my hand, at least give them to me before I use them all up."

Manager Tian was confident, "Three days."

Song Jin and Xu Shi'an looked at each other.

"Okay, then I will wait for three days, and then I will hand over the goods and the money."

"no problem!"

Manager Tian arranged for someone to take them to their accommodation.

When passing by the place where the pearl divers gathered, I suddenly heard the sound of beating and scolding coming from there.

Song Jin paused, and Xu Shi'an hurriedly stopped.

He whispered, "What's wrong?"

Song Jin looked at that place and said, "Manager Tian, ​​are all the pearl divers treated so harshly here?"

Pearl divers were a type of slave and had no personal freedom, but Sheng An had clear rules prohibiting harsh punishment of his slaves.

These pearl divers are being whipped right now, and if word gets out it won't be good for the pearl farms.

Manager Tian winked at the person beside him.

The man immediately rushed forward to stop them, and after a while he dispersed the crowd and went to work. As for the pearl diver who was being whipped on the ground, no one paid any attention to her.

As if she knew who saved her, the pearl-diving girl accurately locked onto Song Jin's direction and kowtowed to her in gratitude.

Manager Tian stepped forward to stop her and said, "Madam Ye An, shall we go?"

Song Jin nodded and followed him away.

Xu Shi'an glanced at the poor pearl diver and said casually, "My lady, it's better for you to stay out of this."

"Your Highness is right," Song Jin deliberately raised his voice, "The pearl mining field is naturally not my responsibility, but your Majesty strictly prohibits harsh punishment of slaves, and I am also thinking about Manager Tian. If someone with ulterior motives spreads it, my business will not be able to be completed."

Manager Tian's gloomy expression improved slightly, and he smiled and said, "Madam Ye An, you are worrying too much. The people in the pearl mining field are very tight-lipped and will never spread any bad news. Madam, just rest assured, I will definitely deliver the goods to you in three days."

Song Jin pursed his lips and smiled, like a blooming lotus on the lakeside.

It is dazzling in the gloomy pearling fields.

Manager Tian was dazed for a moment by her beauty.

"Oh, I forgot to tell Manager Tian that I also want 500 light pink pearls of top quality. I believe Manager Tian can satisfy you."

Manager Tian nodded dazedly: "...No problem!"

Xu Shi'an looked at the two of them in shock.

This, this, this... Is Song Jin using her beauty to seduce Manager Tian?

Song Jin heard a slight gasp and turned his head to look at him, "What's wrong with His Highness the Ninth Prince?"

Xu Shi'an shook his head repeatedly.

Beauty can mislead people, but it really does not deceive me!

*

It's late at night and everything is quiet.

After sitting in the room for an hour, Song Jin tiptoed out.

Although she promised not to act on her own, she couldn't just sit there and wait. She had to at least get a clear picture of the situation in the pearl farm first.

The pearling grounds have a large number of clams and are fed with seawater, so the air has a strong smell of seawater.

Song Jin had never been to the seaside and was not used to the smell.

She frowned, avoided the patrolmen, and walked along the eaves.

Even if she was discovered, she could use the excuse of being lost.

Song Jin was looking at the pearl-diving tools hanging out to dry, and while he was still deep in thought, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow passing by.

Upon closer inspection, it was the pearl diver who was beaten during the day.

Song Jin followed immediately, but because he was unfamiliar with the place, he got lost even more after a while.

Looking at the darkness around him, Song Jin stopped for a moment, then turned around and left along the way he came.

The next day, Song Jin was called out by Xu Shi'an.

"What does Your Highness the Ninth Prince want from me?"

Xu Shi'an led her to a certain place. "Manager Tian has prepared 500 pearls. He doesn't have the light pink pearls you want at the moment, so he wants you to take a look first. Once you confirm that there is no problem, he will start arranging people to go to the sea to collect pearls."

Song Jin didn't understand pearl diving, but judging from the lifeless expressions on the faces of those pearl-diving slaves, it was probably not a simple task.

Walking into the front hall, a box of pearls was carried up.

Manager Tian invited her to come forward and take a look.

Song Jin took a quick look and found that they were of excellent quality and each one was worth thousands of gold.

She smiled and said, "I trust Manager Tian to do his job."

Manager Tian was in a good mood and raised his hand to ask people to carry the things down.

"How has Manager Tian prepared for the pearl divers?"

Manager Tian pointed at a group of people outside the yard and said, "Those are them. The pearl farm doesn't have that many pearls reserved. We only trade the freshest pearls. Anyone who comes here to buy pearls has to wait for a while."

He was exaggerating in disguise about the good quality and freshness of his pearls.

Song Jin looked at the group of people outside the yard and suddenly discovered that the pearl diver he had followed last night was also among them.

She looked away without changing her expression, "Okay, then I'll wait for good news from Manager Tian."

After checking the pearl divers one by one, Manager Tian arranged for someone to take them out to sea.

It takes a whole day to go from Sheng'an to the coast and back.

When Song Jin looked over, the pearl-diving girl was no longer among the pearl-diving slaves.

"What is the county lord looking at?"

Xu Shi'an followed her line of sight and looked over there.

"Nothing." Song Jin closed his eyes with a normal expression.

The pearl divers have already set out. Manager Tian repeatedly assured them that the goods would be delivered on time and asked them to go back to their rooms and wait.

With the Ninth Prince's status as a leader, the people at the pearl farm dared not treat them lightly.

Song Jin thought of the pearl-diving girl and found an excuse to separate from Xu Shi'an.

After a while, she stopped in a secluded yard.

The pearl diver walked out cautiously, looking around, and saw vigilance in her eyes.

"Who are you?"

The pearl diver was relieved after confirming that there was no one else around. "Madam Ye An, I have no bad intentions towards you. It was you who followed me last night, right? I know that Madam Ye An did not come here to buy pearls..."

Song Jin raised his eyebrows slightly: "It turns out that you tried to get rid of me last night, but how do you know that I didn't come here to buy pearls?"

The pearl diver was silent for a few breaths, then she mustered up the courage to speak: "Your eyes...are different from theirs."

There were many merchants coming and going in the pearl mining field, and she would always meet them inadvertently a few times. Those merchants had greed and a determination to win in their eyes, and never took them, the pearl mining slaves, seriously.

In the pearl mining farm, the lives of pearl divers are like those of animals, at the mercy of others.

"I overheard what Manager Tian said this morning. He said that the most famous Zhaiyue Tower was closed down by the Ministry of Justice because of Zhenzhu's murder. I guess Madam Ye An came here to investigate Zhenzhu's case, right?"

The pearl diver took a deep breath and said, "It's inconvenient for Madam Ye An to act here. I can help you find evidence!"

Song Jin looked at her differently, "Conditions."

"Give me the documents to release the slaves."

The lion really opened his mouth.

Song Jin marveled at her brain. Was she sure that only she could do these things?

The pearl-digger was afraid that she would go back on her word, so he quickly said, "I know that it's a bit hard for Madam Ye An to release the slaves, but Madam Ye An wants to investigate the pearl-digger field, and it's inconvenient for her to do so with her status. I can help you, as long as you give me the release document!"

She spoke clearly and analyzed the pros and cons of each sentence.

The businessman's mind made Song Jin have other ideas about her.

"What's your name?"

"I am an orphan. I gave myself a name, Ah Wu."

Song Jin thought for a moment and agreed to her request: "Okay, as long as you help me find evidence, I will give you a document to release the slave."

Ah Wu's eyes suddenly filled with tears, and he bowed to her solemnly with a choked voice: "Thank you, my lady!"

Ah Wu didn't dare to stay here any longer, so he quickly expressed his gratitude and left.

Song Jin deliberately took a detour, and when Xu Xian came to look for her, she pretended to be lost.

"Don't scare me again, Lord!"

Xu Shi'an was very nervous, fearing that her identity would be discovered by Manager Tian, ​​which would be very troublesome.

In order to prevent her from getting lost, Xu Shi'an personally sent her back.

In the yard, Manager Tian and his men blocked the door.

Seeing the two of them coming back, Manager Tian smiled and said, "His Highness the Ninth Prince is back."

His inquiring gaze fell on Song Jin.

He smiled with an ambiguous meaning: "Your Highness the Ninth Prince and I are close friends, so it's hard for Your Highness to deceive me... Is this the Lord of Junning County, or is it me?"