Xue Shen held his sword, the tip pointing directly at Cai Wenxuan's throat.
Cai Wenxuan was intimidated by his imposing manner and knelt down with a thud: "Your Highness, spare my life!"
Xue Shen slowly sheathed his sword, flicked the blade with his finger, and said leisurely, "I was able to save you from the Xu brothers, so naturally I can make you disappear without a trace. And there's someone else to take the blame. Do you understand?"
Cai Wenxuan prostrated himself on the ground, drenched in cold sweat.
He naturally understood that although the King of Qin had sent someone disguised as a "servant of the Cai family" to take him away from Tatar Mountain, no one from the governor's office had ever come looking for him. Even if the King of Qin killed him now, and the court sent people to investigate, they would only trace it back to the Xu brothers.
The Xu family became the perfect scapegoat. Even the imperial court was unaware of the gold mine in Tatar Mountain. The Prince of Qin only needed to deceive the court officials to seize the gold mine for himself.
Realizing this, cold sweat dripped from Cai Wenxuan's forehead, and he finally realized that his previous image of being easily deceived and obsessed with beauty was all an illusion. The current appearance of him with his sinister eyes and terrifying aura was the real King of Qin.
He was filled with remorse, but it was too late for regrets.
"Your Highness is wise and powerful, and must already know of the serious crimes committed by the Xu family. Your subject is willing to serve Your Highness and thoroughly investigate the crimes of the Xu family."
Xue Shen nodded, quite satisfied with his pragmatism, and said, "Granted."
*
Meanwhile, Xu Dalang had already returned home and reported to his father that he had failed to kill Cai Wenxuan.
After listening, Xu's father asked, "Are you sure those were people arranged by Cai Wenxuan?"
Xu Dalang shook his head, puzzled, "The other party claimed to be a servant of the Cai family. Besides the Cai family, who else would happen to come looking for someone so conveniently?"
Xu's father thought more deeply. He said, "That servant's arrival was too coincidental. Even if Cai Wenxuan made arrangements in advance, your invitation to Sanlang's residence for drinks was a last-minute suggestion. How could the person Cai Wenxuan arranged have known in advance and arrived in time?"
After being prompted by him, Xu Dalang also realized the strangeness of the matter: "Besides Cai Wenxuan, who else has such great ability?"
"Who else in Xizhou City has the ability to save Cai Wenxuan?" Xu's father snorted: "Naturally, only the Prince of Qin."
Although he was based in the northwest, he was not indifferent to the capital. The name of the King of Qin had long been known along with the defeated and scattered remnants of the Northern Rong army. The rumors circulating among the common people were even more exaggerated, almost describing the King of Qin as a god with three heads and six arms and immense strength.
When Xu's father heard this, he thought it was just an exaggeration. Later, when he saw that after the King of Qin arrived in Xizhou City, he spent his days either inspecting the military camp outside the city or spending time with his mistress, he became even more convinced that the rumors were mostly exaggerated.
The King of Qin may indeed have some ability to repel the Northern Rong, but he is still a young man, and he is also bewitched by beauty. Even when he goes on official business, he does not forget to bring a beautiful woman with him. Such a person is not worth worrying about.
But today's events made him suddenly realize that those rumors might not be exaggerated.
The actions of the King of Qin after arriving in Xizhou were probably intentional, merely a smokescreen to deceive them.
Thinking of this, Xu's father's expression turned serious: "If those two are really Qin King's men, then Qin King probably already knows about the gold mine in Tatar Mountain and has his eye on it."
Upon hearing this, Xu Dalang's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "If it really is the King of Qin, we might not be able to—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xu's father raised his hand to interrupt him.
Xu's father's face hardened, and he said, "So what if he's the Prince of Qin? In the end, he's just a greenhorn. He's also a thorn in the Emperor's side. If he dies outside, the Emperor won't blame him; he'll probably be grateful."
Xu Dalang listened to his words and gradually came to his senses. He swallowed hard, still somewhat incredulous: "Father means—"
Xu's father's face was fierce: "As a subject, one should naturally share the burdens of one's ruler. The King of Qin only brought 50,000 troops to Xizhou this time, while the Xu family has 100,000 troops at their disposal. This Northwest region is the Xu family's territory."
Upon hearing this, Xu Dalang's expression changed, and he asked, "When does Father plan to make his move?"
Xu's father said, "Everything needs a reason. Since the Prince of Qin was ordered to wipe out the remnants of the Northern Rong army, and there is no silence on the battlefield, it is not surprising that he died at the hands of the Northern Rong remnants. Tell your second son to secretly contact the Tubo side and send 10,000 men disguised as Northern Rong remnants to lure the Prince of Qin to the Tamu Mountain area."
The complex terrain of the Tamu Mountain area made it an ideal burial site for the King of Qin.
*
Intimidated by Xue Shen's power, Cai Wenxuan revealed everything about the gold mine in Tatar Mountain and his dealings with the Xu family, spilling the beans from a bamboo tube.
"That gold mine has been in operation for three years, yielding a total of over one million taels of gold..."
"The miners working in the mines are all soldiers from the garrison. Under the pretext of suppressing bandits, the Xu family transferred the garrison's troops to Tatar Mountain. Whether through coercion or bribery, there haven't been any troubles in recent years. However, with so many people involved, news inevitably leaks out sometimes. Officials throughout Xizhou City, as well as influential families in the city, all have some vague knowledge of it. But the Xu family wields immense power in Xizhou, and with the promise of substantial rewards, these people tend to turn a blind eye..."
Even though Xue Shen had seen many audacious people over the years, he still raised an eyebrow when he heard that Cai Wenxuan and the Xu family had illegally mined over a million taels of gold in the past three years. After a long while, he sneered, "You guys are certainly bold, millions of taels of gold..."
Cai Wenxuan bowed, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and explained tremblingly, "I have an agreement with the Xu family to split the newly mined gold mine 50/50. After deducting the gold lost and spent, there are still more than 400,000 taels left in my family's cellar. I am willing to offer it all to Your Highness, and only ask that Your Highness show leniency."
Cai Wenxuan was a smart man. After realizing that Xue Shen was not someone who could be easily fooled, he simply cut his losses and tried to save himself by exchanging more than 400,000 taels of gold for Xue Shen.
If it were anyone else, they might have agreed. But Xue Shen was no ordinary person; from the very beginning when he set up the scheme, he had no intention of letting Cai Wenxuan go.
Over the years, Cai Wenxuan and the Xu family have colluded and conspired together. Countless people who stood in their way have died unjustly. According to the laws of the Great Wei Dynasty, Cai Wenxuan could even endure the punishment of being torn apart by chariots.
However, at this moment he still needed to use Cai Wenxuan to uproot the Xu family, so he did not make any promises, but said ambiguously, "That depends on how you perform."
Upon hearing this, Cai Wenxuan was overjoyed, thinking that Xue Shen had agreed, and naturally he did his best to expose the Xu family's secrets.
Just as the two were discussing matters, Shen Youying was helped in by a maid.
Upon seeing her, Xue Shen quickly stood up and personally helped her to her seat, asking, "Zhao Zhao, what brings you here?"
Shen Youying took the invitation from Bai Luo and showed it to him: "Madam Xu has sent an invitation requesting an audience."
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