Chapter 50 I've Heard That One Has Connections to Heaven
Jiang Yu suspected that Kong Wenjie, the former transport commissioner of Jiangzhou, was involved in the smuggling of salt, and now her guess has been confirmed. So, what is her other guess?
Did the Prince of Lingnan participate? Or was the Prince of Lingnan the mastermind?
She had a lot on her mind, but she didn't show it on her face. She then asked the boat captain, "Has Kong Wenjie come online?"
The boat captain shook his head. "I don't know. I receive notices to collect salt every now and then, but I don't know anything else."
Jiang Yu didn't speak, her eyes calmly watching him, but the boat captain felt immense pressure.
"I've told you everything I know, and I really don't know anything else." The boat captain looked at Jiang Yu in fear, unsure if Jiang Yu would use other methods on him.
After a while, Jiang Yu said, "That's it. Take him away and exchange him for Young Master Chen."
The boatman's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground. Two burly men dragged him to the cell. A short while later, they brought Chen Guangming over.
He was trembling like a leaf, and knelt on the ground saying, "Did the boat captain tell you everything? I... I don't know, no, no... I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything."
Jiang Yu hadn't expected that the young master Chen, as the master, wouldn't even need to interrogate her before demanding a confession. She said, "Then tell me."
"I... what did I say?" Young Master Chen looked completely bewildered.
Jiang Yu: "...Didn't you say that?"
Young Master Chen looked somewhat speechless. "Go ahead and ask. How am I supposed to know what to say if you don't ask me?"
Jiang Yu: "......"
Okay, maybe he's just bad at summarizing and generalizing. Or maybe he's just acting.
"Do you know the King of Lingnan?" Jiang Yu asked.
Young Master Chen blinked and said, "I've met him before, but he doesn't know me."
Jiang Yu: "Where have you seen him before?"
Young Master Chen: "Once when I came to the capital, the Prince of Lingnan seemed to be paying homage to the Emperor. I only caught a glimpse of him from afar."
I glanced at it; I guess I've seen it before?
It should be counted.
Jiang Yu couldn't tell if this young master Chen was genuinely ignorant or just pretending. She leaned back in her chair and just stared at him. Young master Chen felt uneasy under her gaze.
“At that time, the King of Lingnan was surrounded by many guards, and I didn’t dare to get close,” Young Master Chen said cautiously, looking at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu carefully observed his micro-expressions and subtle body movements, but couldn't find a trace of pretense. This person was either truly ignorant or exceptionally intelligent.
"How long have you been smuggling salt?" Jiang Yu asked.
"Two years," Young Master Chen answered readily. "The year before last, my uncle, who was formerly the Jiangzhou Transport Commissioner, said he wanted to invest in our family's ship."
I was quite angry at the time. Our family's boat was so profitable, why should he be a shareholder? But my dad agreed anyway, and later I found out that the boat carried smuggled salt.
"How much profit can you make from smuggling salt?" Jiang Yu asked.
“I don’t know about that,” Young Master Chen said. “Once the salt arrives at a certain place, there are people specifically assigned to receive it, and what happens after that is no longer our concern.”
Jiang Yu: "Where have you used your smuggled salt?"
Young Master Chen: "Shangjing, Yingzhou, Liuzhou..."
As Jiang Yu listened to him describe each location, she grew increasingly alarmed, as it covered almost the entire Daqian region.
"Everyone who receives the goods in each place knows, right?" Jiang Yu asked again.
Young Master Chen: "I know."
Jiang Yu: "Just say it all."
Young Master Chen readily named everyone from each place, so smoothly that Jiang Yu even suspected he was using fake names. However, whether it was true or false could be easily verified.
"Who told you to design the plan to sell the ship to my father?" Jiang Yu asked again.
Young Master Chen shrank back and said, "My uncle got into trouble, and my family was implicated. Someone told us that if we sold the boat to the heir of the Duke of Chu, it would help our family get through this crisis. My father agreed."
"Who is that person?" Jiang Yu asked.
Young Master Chen: "Blue Peony, the madam of the Dream Pavilion."
Jiang Yu: "You actually believe what a madam says?"
Young Master Chen quickly said, "Although Qimeng Tower has not been open for long, many of the people who go there are powerful and influential figures from the capital. Moreover, I have heard that the person behind Lan Mudan is even more extraordinary."
Jiang Yu listened to his words in silence for a while, then asked, "How is it not simple?"
Young Master Chen: "I've heard that you have connections everywhere."
Jiang Yu: "You've seen it?"
Young Master Chen shook his head, "How could I possibly have seen it? I've only heard about it."
Jiang Yu nodded knowingly and asked, "Why are you being so cooperative?"
Young Master Chen knelt on the ground and said, "If I don't cooperate, you will definitely torture me. I will definitely talk out if I can't stand the torture, so I might as well just tell you."
Jiang Yu: "..."
Okay, that's very clear-headed.
Jiang Yu couldn't find any flaws in him at first, so she had him taken away and brought up the madam, Lan Mudan.
Lan Mudan is in her thirties, with delicate features and a slender figure; she must have been a beauty in her youth.
She knelt down seductively and said, "Since Miss has captured me, I have nothing to say. Just give me a straight answer, Miss."
"Do you know me?" Jiang Yu asked.
Lan Mudan was taken aback. "What are you saying? You are a young lady from a respectable family, while I am a madam of a brothel. How could I possibly know you?"
Jiang Yu laughed: "You don't know me, yet you call me Miss?"
Lan Mudan realized her mistake and lowered her head without saying a word.
"What's your relationship with Jiang Jiarong?" Jiang Yu asked.
Blue Peony remained silent with her head down, determined to endure the situation.
“No one can do things perfectly,” Jiang Yu said. “As long as you do something, you will definitely leave a trace. Tell me, if I follow the lines between you and Jiang Jiarong, what will I find out?”
Lan Mudan clasped her hands together, looked up at Jiang Yu, and said, "You don't need to do this. Just use whatever methods you have."
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, then said to the two burly men standing to the side, "In that case, let's begin."
The two burly men responded, each picking up a whip and lashing Lan Mudan's body. In no time, her body was almost entirely covered in welts, including her once exquisite face.
However, Blue Peony did not utter a sound.
Jiang Yu knew she had truly met her match this time. Continuing the fight like this wouldn't achieve anything, so she waved for the two burly men to stop.
Lan Mudan lay on the ground, covered in blood, seemingly lifeless. Jiang Yu knelt down in front of her, noticing her eyelashes tremble slightly, and said with a smile:
"I know you're not afraid of death, but you'll always have something you're afraid of. We'll talk again once I find it."
Lan Mudan opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Yu, saying, "Young Miss is indeed extraordinary."
"Hmm, it seems you not only know me, but you also understand me very well," Jiang Yu said.
Lan Mudan closed her eyes and stopped speaking. Jiang Yu stood up and said, "Keep a close eye on the three of them. There can't be any accidents."
"Yes," the two burly men replied in voices as clear as bells.
Jiang Yu stood up and walked out, followed closely by Xia He and Butler Li.
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