062

Manager Tian and the people from the pearl farm surrounded them.

Although Xu Shi'an was timid, he unexpectedly stood up at this moment.

"What does Manager Tian mean?"

Manager Tian sneered, "Ninth Prince, I respect you because of the business cooperation between your mother's family and me. Now you are bringing outsiders to destroy my pearl farm, which is wrong for you."

Xu Shi'an froze and tried to find an excuse for himself, "The county lord only said he was here to buy pearls, how could he be considered to be here to destroy your pearl farm?"

Pretending to understand while being confused.

Manager Tian didn't want to waste his breath with a coward. "Junning County Lord, I also know about the matter of Zhaiyue Tower. I advise you not to set your sights on the Pearl Farm. If you offend the owner, no one will be happy."

Song Jin had been in business for many years and had heard enough of his harmless threats when he was in Qingzhou.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"What Manager Tian said is true. Business people value mutual consent. Manager Tian manages such a large pearl farm, so he should know more than me, right?" Song Jin's tone suddenly changed, "You helped others to seize the Moon Picking Tower, so it's your fault."

Sheng'an's only pearl mining site should not be biased towards any side.

In order to reduce the tragedy of pearl divers, the emperor stipulated that only one pearl mining farm was allowed in each city, and the government had to conduct regular inspections to ensure that the farms would not abuse their power for personal gain.

Now in Sheng'an, they dared to do things right under the emperor's nose.

Song Jin's thoughts became more complex. "Or maybe Manager Tian did something behind your boss's back that he didn't know about?"

Manager Tian's face turned dark. "The county lord has a sharp tongue. I won't argue with you. Just pretend that I haven't seen you two these days. Goodbye!"

The thugs felt his gaze and walked forward expressionlessly, urging them to leave.

The courage Xu Shi'an had just gathered had long been used up.

Seeing that Manager Tian did not investigate the matter further, he grabbed Song Jin's sleeve and left without saying a word.

Manager Tian behind him smiled arrogantly.

*

Leaving the pearl farm, the air becomes much fresher.

Xu Shi'an loosened his hand, his cheeks flushed for no reason, and he avoided her gaze, "You, you don't go to the pearl farm anymore!"

Song Jin shook his head: "No, there must be something wrong with the pearl farm. If we let them continue to engage in unscrupulous business, who knows how many people will be harmed."

Xu Shi'an opened his mouth.

He didn't understand why Song Jin wanted to get involved in this, it was obvious that this had nothing to do with her.

Zhaiyue Tower has stood in Sheng'an for many years, and it cannot be brought down by such a small murder case.

He didn't even dare to offend the boss behind the pearl farm.

He admitted that he was a coward, but he just wanted to survive in the struggle for imperial power.

After a moment of silence, Xu Xian turned his head and said, "I won't help you anymore. You should take care of yourself from now on."

The thin back looked somewhat desolate.

Song Jin thought about his experiences in his previous life.

Being born into a royal family is a terrible thing in itself.

Among all the princes, although the Ninth Prince did not live as miserably as the Eldest Princess, he was also an ignored existence.

His mother was born into a merchant family and the way she gave birth to him was not glorious. The emperor took into consideration the father-son relationship and did not investigate the matter thoroughly.

He also helped himself today, and Song Jin hopes to help him change the outcome.

"Your Highness the Ninth Prince!"

Xu Xian thought she was still determined to help him, "I already told you I won't--"

"Is Your Highness happy?"

"What?" Xu Shi'an was stunned.

Song Jin looked at him from afar, "Although you live a carefree life, everyone in the world looks down on you. You are in the royal family, and being weak will only make others more powerful. In the end, you won't even be able to protect the people you care about."

Just like he couldn’t protect his mother in his previous life.

Xu Xian'an seemed to be provoked, his eyes suddenly turned red, and he shouted back with a choked voice: "What do you know! I have no power and no influence, and I don't live in a cowardly way, so I let them hurt the people I care about!"

The cool breeze brushed my cheeks.

The tears in the corners of my eyes were about to fall.

Xu Xian turned his eyes away fiercely and wiped his face casually, "I will just pretend that I didn't hear what you said today. If it weren't for the Marquis asking me to help you, maybe we wouldn't even know this scene..."

"Your Highness," Song Jin sighed, "Your Highness thinks I don't understand, but I've also experienced the death of someone I care about, and I couldn't do anything. That's why I have to work hard to stand up and make everyone dare not look down on me. If I can do it, I believe Your Highness can do it too."

"In my opinion, His Majesty the Ninth Prince has never been a coward. Didn't you stand up to protect me just now?"

Xu Shi'an looked dazed.

Is he really not a coward?

Just now...just now I stood up because I was in a hurry...

When he came to his senses, Song Jin had already walked away.

Her words of affirmation kept revolving in my mind.

For the first time, Xu Xian'an's perception of himself changed.

Maybe he could stand up too?

*

After parting, Song Jin rubbed his forehead.

She has tried her best to persuade him, but whether Xu Shi'an can do it depends on himself.

I hope he doesn't repeat the same mistakes he made in his previous life.

Come to think of it, it seemed like she hadn't been back to the Marquis' Mansion for two days.

But she asked Qingwu to leave a message, so there shouldn't be any problem.

Song Jin felt a little more at ease. He looked up and saw Zhan Lin leading a group of people coming out from the direction of the pearl mining field.

Originally, she was still wondering why Manager Tian had discovered her identity. It seemed that Zhan Lin went to the pearl farm and said something that exposed her identity.

Song Jin stood there thinking, watching him approaching him, and made a decision secretly.

"Minister Zhan, please stay."

Zhan Lin stood still and raised his chin, "Lord of Junning County, I just happened to be looking for you."

He raised his hand, and everyone behind him left.

Invite Song Jin to the teahouse for a chat.

Zhan Lin obviously had no intention of beating around the bush with her, and went straight to the point: "Did the county lord go to the pearl farm?"

Song Jin nodded, "If Minister Zhan hadn't gone, I would still be there."

This matter was indeed his fault.

When Zhan Lin realized that he had said the wrong thing in front of Manager Tian, ​​there was nothing he could do.

He just didn't expect that a young lady would dare to enter the pearl mining field alone.

After all, he had heard about the dirty dealings in the pearl mining farm, and he guessed that the boss just turned a blind eye to it.

"Well," Zhan Lin tried to change the subject, "Did the county lord find anything in there?"

"No." Song Jin's eyes were full of resentment. "Without Minister Zhan's behavior, my current plan would be much smoother. Regardless..."

"But what?" Zhan Lin asked.

"I have a contact inside, and I need Minister Zhan to help me solve a problem."

Zhan Lin patted his chest and said, "Go ahead, County Lord."

After a while, Zhan Lin relaxed his brows and said, "A document to release the slaves. As long as the pearl-diving girl can find evidence, I can help her get it."

If there is someone to help, things will be much easier.

Many feasible methods flashed through his mind, and Zhan Lin couldn't wait to go back and discuss with others. He confirmed the plan with Song Jin again and hurried back.

Now we can only wait for Ah Wu to find the evidence.

"Oh, there's one more thing," Zhan Lin suddenly appeared, "The storekeeper Qin is very stubborn. I accidentally caught her and put her in jail, but she wanted to go on her own. No matter how the jailer tried to persuade her, she refused to move and insisted on competing for a cell with the death row prisoners."

Song Jin: ...

This really sounds like something Qin Wan would do.

Song Jin Fu'e means that he must have gone to persuade.

Whether to persuade or not is not up to her to decide.

*

Inside the cell, candles flickered and a foul smell filled every corner.

There were still traces of dried blood at the place of execution.

Song Jin followed the jailer to see Qin Wan.

Meet another person unexpectedly.

"Lord Zhao?"

Zhao Wuan was standing outside the cell, talking to Qin Wan who was sitting inside. When they heard her voice, they both turned to look at her.

Qin Wan got up excitedly, "My dear! You finally came to see me. I thought you had forgotten me!"

Having said that, he did not forget to wink at her.

Not a bit of fear.

Song Jin laughed. Why did she think Qin Wan would be scared here?

"Shopkeeper Qin looks good?"

"No way~" Qin Wan pouted and immediately burst into tears, "Young lady, you don't know how big the rats here are! They are as big as a palm! I have never seen such a big one in my life, and it almost bit my skirt..."

Qin Wan's little mouth kept talking.

If Song Jin hadn't heard some of it from Zhan Lin, he would have really been fooled by her.

Song Jin pretended to comfort her and turned to look at Zhao Wuan: "Why is Lord Zhao here too?"

Zhao Wuan coughed and said, "Come and see Shopkeeper Qin."

An ambiguous look lingered between the two of them.

Qin Wan seemed unaware and grabbed her hand to ask how the investigation was going.

She picked out the key points about the pearl farm and Qin Wan was so angry that her teeth were itching.

"I knew it. Someone from the pearl farm must have done something wrong!"

How could someone she trained do something so cruel and murderous? This was simply damaging her reputation. If this got out, she would be laughed to death by Song Qin's family!

Zhao Wuan pondered: "The owner of the pearl farm...what kind of status can make them not be afraid of the prince?"

An ordinary identity certainly cannot suppress it.

Among the powerful people in Sheng'an, there are only a handful who can achieve this.

Song Jin also knew the plot of his previous life, and he eliminated even more people.

If we eliminate these factors one by one, the answer becomes clear.

The powerful ones among the princes.

Qin Wan looked at her and asked, "Who do you think it is, young lady?"

Song Jin pondered, "On the day when Manager Qin was taken away, I saw the Fifth Prince in the opposite building. After talking to him, I found that he was very suspicious."

Qin Wan narrowed her eyes and began to recall the fifth prince in her heart.

Zhao Wuan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly interrupted and said, "Leave this matter to me."

The two were surprised, "You?!"

Zhao Wuan nodded under their suspicious gazes: "The Fifth Emperor tried to capture me a few days ago, so I took this opportunity to test him."

Song Jin frowned: "After my contact with him, I can feel that the Fifth Prince is not a good person. You must be careful when you meet him."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it."

"Don't come back half dead again." Qin Wan glanced at him, her words particularly venomous.

Is there something wrong between these two people?

Monk Erzhang of Song Jin was completely confused.

Zhao Wuan looked at her lovingly and smiled, "I won't die. I'm no longer the same person I was before. They don't dare to touch me easily."

Qin Wan said nothing, just looked at him awkwardly, and finally just said "oh" softly.

Song Jin: ???