Guo Cheng assigned someone to deliver a letter to Cheng Ying, and discussed with Qin Huaiyuan how to hide the silver. Everyone in the courtyard quickly got busy.
After leaving Yitie Village, Gu Yun entered Tingfeng Forest. Seeing that no one was chasing him, he knew that Qin Huaiyuan and others must be in a hurry to transfer the new silver and the silver water in the courtyard. He didn't know whether it would be too late for them to arrive by the time the people he and Ziqi arranged arrived.
Gu Yun was extremely anxious. This was a good opportunity to overthrow Cheng Ying. He originally thought that Qin Huaiyuan was the mastermind, but he didn't expect that Cheng Ying was really behind this. Ever since Cheng Ying became the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department and approved documents on behalf of the emperor, many court officials have defected to him. The Imperial Household Department is like another cabinet. Cheng Ying has more power than Shen Tian. He is a very treacherous villain.
Most of the Taoist priests who made elixirs for the emperor were recommended by Cheng Ying. The reason why Emperor Mingzheng was so absorbed in Taoist rituals and fasting and not caring about state affairs was because of Cheng Ying.
Gu Yun galloped all the way with his light Kung Fu, and met Liu Ziqi's men three or four miles outside the city.
"Zi Qi, hurry, go to the iron smelting village next to Tingfeng Forest." Gu Yun said hurriedly without saying anything more.
Upon hearing this, Liu Ziqi hurriedly took his men to the Iron Smelting Village.
"It is indeed Cheng Ying's work. The Iron-Smelting Village is full of Cheng Ying's people. They melted the official silver into molten silver and cast new silver. The silver has not yet been transported away and is all in the home of the head of the Iron-Smelting Village." Gu Yun said to Liu Ziqi on the road.
Liu Ziqi asked, "Is Qin Huaiyuan here too?"
Gu Yun nodded, "He is Cheng Ying's man, and he has been hiding very well all these years. If I am exposed, I think they will transfer the silver. The people in the Iron Smelting Village are good at fighting, and their martial arts skills are not inferior to mine. I almost couldn't get away just now."
He glanced at the soldiers following behind him and urged, "Hurry up."
The soldiers quickened their pace, and in about a quarter of an hour they arrived at the Iron Smelting Village behind Tingfeng Forest. The village was brightly lit, and as they reached the entrance of the village, many villagers suddenly rushed out from all directions and stopped them. Among them were women and children, who hugged their thighs, sat on the ground, and cried and blocked their way.
Knowing that these people were trying to delay time, Gu Yunsu showed his nameplate of Wucheng Bingmasi with a cold face and said loudly, "Officials are investigating the case. If you dare to make trouble again, you will be punished as a serious criminal!"
The voice did not help these villagers. Some even cried out, "The officials are killing people! Is there any justice in the world? The people at the foot of this imperial city have no way to survive!"
Gu Yun frowned and said in a cold voice, "Go ahead, anyone who dares to make trouble again will deserve to be killed!"
The soldiers immediately pushed aside the villagers who were blocking the road, and followed Gu Yun to the gate of Zheng Guocheng's house in Yetie Village.
Gu Yun stepped forward and kicked the door open. There were many shirtless villagers working in the yard. Among them were some who had attacked Gu Yun before, and they couldn't help but lower their heads with a guilty conscience.
"Fence the yard and don't let even a fly out!" Gu Yun ordered in a cold voice.
One team of soldiers surrounded the entire yard, and another team of soldiers followed Gu Yun and Liu Ziqi into the yard.
Guo Cheng hurried out of the house, looking surprised, "Sir, what are you doing? Our Guo family has been making a living by smelting iron for generations, and we have never committed any crime. Why are you mobilizing so many troops?"
Gu Yun sneered. This Guo Cheng was really good at acting. He had just fought, but he could still act properly. He was worthy of being Cheng Ying's subordinate.
"Why are you pretending? We just had a fight, so save your breath." Gu Yun asked sarcastically, "Where's Qin Huaiyuan? Tell him to get out!"
Guo Cheng looked confused, as if he didn't understand what Gu Yun was saying at all. He said in a trembling voice, "Who is Qin Huaiyuan? I really don't understand what you are saying."
Gu Yun was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so he ordered people to search and led them into the room with the furnace.
Two quarters of an hour ago, the bubbling silver liquid in the furnace had disappeared, replaced by unsmelted iron ore, and the mold for casting new silver in the room had disappeared.
Gu Yun and Liu Ziqi looked at each other. They both knew that the things had been moved away, but it was impossible to transport them out of the Iron Smelting Village in such a short time. Moreover, there was a furnace of molten silver, which was not easy to carry.
"Search! Dig deep into the ground to find the new silver and silver water!"
After Gu Yun gave the order, all the soldiers began to search around the yard.
"Sir, what are you looking for? The furnace in my yard has always been made of cast iron, so where would there be silver water? Whose nonsense did you listen to? Silver casting has always been under the control of the imperial court. For ordinary people like us, it is a capital crime. How dare we do that?" Guo Cheng defended himself.
Gu Yun looked around the room, then turned to look at Guo Cheng, "If you like acting so much, just keep acting. Ordinary people don't know how to fight."
As soon as these words came out, Guo Cheng's face changed slightly, and he said unnaturally, "Of course I don't know martial arts."
"That's good." Gu Yun ordered, "Come here, take him into custody!"
Two soldiers came forward and handcuffed Guo Cheng's arms. Guo Cheng subconsciously tried to break free, but he restrained himself and obediently let the soldiers hold him.
Liu Ziqi and Gu Yun both searched the house. After a while, the soldier who had searched the house came back and reported, "Young Marquis, we searched the whole house, but we didn't find what you were looking for."
Gu Yun frowned, "Be more careful and check if there are any secret rooms or cellars with mechanisms."
Hearing the noise, the soldiers searched the yard and the house again. This time, they moved all the objects in the corners and the house, but still found nothing.
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