Chapter 738 Robbed
Wei Lan was wrongly accused, which caused a rift between her and Bai Dingfeng. The couple ignored each other and traveled on the road, stopping frequently and having to catch up at night. Even so, they arrived in Licheng several days later than expected.
Upon arriving in Licheng, the caravan transporting the cloth was already waiting at the scene.
"Something terrible has happened! Our cloth has been stolen by bandits!"
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) went to Bai Dingfeng to complain that they had taken a shortcut to transport the fabric, but unexpectedly encountered a group of people on the way. The other party were all skilled martial artists, and their skills were extraordinary. They had come specifically to rob the fabric.
"They kidnapped them?"
Bai Dingfeng was incredulous and hurriedly asked, "Are they bandits or...?"
"They should be bandits, but they don't seem like it."
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was unsure of the situation. His group was missing limbs, and only he and a few of his less seriously injured brothers were able to reach Licheng to deliver the message.
The group had a clear objective: they came straight for the military supplies, looted them, and left.
The enemy showed no mercy, and most of their side suffered casualties.
"How is that possible?"
Bai Dingfeng stroked his chin. He could make up for the lost 30,000 taels of military supplies, but what worried him was the background of this group of people.
Could he be one of the King of Luo's men?
No, Bai Dingfeng ruled out Luo Wang almost instantly. The war in the Northwest was intense, and with the loss of the border city, Luo Wang was already overwhelmed and unlikely to be distracted by military supplies.
Before Qin Cheng could even make a move, what exactly was the other party's purpose? To find out, Bai Dingfeng approached Bai Youran, and the two siblings whispered among themselves behind Wei Lan's back.
"Brother, you look so tired. Are you exhausted from the journey?"
Bai Youran asked the question knowing the answer already, feeling quite pleased with herself.
"Yes, I've been traveling day and night lately, and I'm quite tired."
Bai Dingfeng awkwardly changed the subject, then asked, "When you were buying cloth in Cangzhou, did you notice anything amiss?"
"No."
Bai Youran was extremely shocked when she heard that the military supplies had been stolen.
She was indeed in charge of purchasing, but the subsequent packing, inspection, and transportation by the escort team were all handled by the Wei family.
The robbery of the caravan was due to the Wei family's poor handling of the situation; it would be best to have Wei Lan make up for the loss.
"Brother, you don't suspect there's a mole among us, do you?"
Apart from Li Ruoshuang accompanying the caravan, along with the female members of the caravan, there were no other suspicious individuals.
Bai Youran was certain that such a major event as robbing military supplies had nothing to do with Li Ruoshuang. The Li family was not short of money, as evidenced by the considerable dowry left by Li Ruoxue.
Bai Dingfeng remained silent; he did indeed suspect that someone had tipped him off.
“Our goal is quite ambitious; anyone who's interested can figure it out by asking around.”
Besides, robbing military supplies is a serious crime. What would the other party be after?
"I have doubts about Lin Yuesha."
Bai Dingfeng spoke his mind, saying that he had excluded Lin Yuesha all along, but strangely, Lin Yuesha had silently acquiesced. "Lin Yuesha and Xu Da are close, so why is she so indifferent to the military supplies sent to the Northwest?"
"Brother, you're being too suspicious."
Bai Youran clicked her tongue, finding it more plausible that the Wei family had stolen the military supplies and resold them than that she suspected Lin Yuesha.
Fighting on the battlefield is a man's job; a woman only needs to marry a good man and dress up beautifully every day.
Besides, Lin Yuesha was chosen by the ladies to accompany us this time, so there's no need to frame someone for the lost supplies.
After the group arrived in Licheng, they did not make any further purchases for a long time. Only then did Lin Yuesha learn that the military supplies had been robbed.
"Could it be that the group that was following us earlier wasn't from the Wei family?"
Lin Yuesha was baffled. Why did the other party choose to act on the road from Cangzhou to Licheng instead of making a move in Qincheng?
"That group is still around."
Qingxing whispered that the master and servants had just gone out for a stroll, and the people who were following them were the same group from Cangzhou. The fact that they were so synchronized meant that they must have known about their itinerary in advance.
"Who exactly looted the military supplies?"
Lin Yuesha thought it over and over and suspected that it was related to Li Ruoshuang. The only unexpected thing in Cangzhou was Li Ruoshuang.
Something unusual must be going on; I just don't know who's behind Li Ruoshuang.
"Thanks to your resourcefulness, Miss, for changing the fabric in advance, those idiot robbers only managed to steal nothing, hahaha!"
Qingxing laughed heartily at first, but after she finished laughing, she frowned. She didn't know how to deal with the loss of military supplies. Bai Dingfeng would only be more careful. It was unlikely that they could use the same methods to exchange goods again.
"Miss, Miss Bai requests that you come to her room to discuss this."
The group settled in the inn. Lin Yuesha went out to familiarize herself with the market for medicinal herbs, and was summoned by Bai Youran as soon as she returned.
Lin Yuesha hurriedly went to the next room and found Bai Dingfeng and Wei Lan there as well.
The couple was giving each other the cold shoulder, sitting far apart and acting like businessmen.
"Cough cough."
Wei Lan cleared her throat, looked up at Lin Yuesha arrogantly, and said, "Lin Yuesha, you must have heard the news that our goods have been stolen by bandits."
"Yes, I heard about it."
Lin Yuesha sighed, "Bad luck, and people's hearts have changed. That fabric is for making cotton-padded clothes for the soldiers in the Northwest in winter. How are we going to explain this to the young ladies when we return to the capital?"
Wei Lan lowered her eyes, thinking to herself, "That depends on whether you can get back to the capital."
"The money we allocated for purchasing military supplies was allocated in advance. This time, we were robbed, so we had to use our own money to make up for it. Otherwise, the soldiers in the Northwest will run out of winter clothing again. We can't let the soldiers suffer from lack of food and clothing while they are fighting on the front lines!"
Wei Lan spoke with righteous indignation, but Lin Yuesha raised her eyebrows. She had a premonition that what Wei Lan was about to say would be quite shameless.
Seemingly to match Lin Yuesha's thoughts, Wei Lan said, "I heard that you raised more than 40,000 taels of silver with your opera troupe in Cangzhou. You can take it out and make up for it."
Bai Youran was taken aback. Wei Lan and Lin Yuesha had a grudge, so she asked her to act as a mediator and call Lin Yuesha over to discuss the matter. Unexpectedly, it wasn't a discussion, but rather a scapegoat.
"What did you say before the trip, Wei Lan? You said that the itinerary would be arranged by you and that you would be responsible for finding a caravan to transport the goods."
Lin Yuesha slammed her hand on the table and stood up. She could squeeze a soft persimmon, but this was too much to do. So Wei Lan got all the fame and benefits, but she had to bear all the risks? No way!
"Don't think I'm naive. I sign contracts with the caravan before transporting goods, and whoever loses the goods is responsible for compensation. Why are you targeting me? Did I hire the caravan? Did I rob the military supplies?"
Admittedly, Lin Yuesha had money, including nearly 100,000 taels of silver brought from the capital. She also wanted to establish a good reputation for herself and did not want to benefit others.
"Lin Yuesha, you are truly cruel!"
Wei Lan covered her chest with her hand and said emotionally, "Many members of the escort team died or were injured while transporting the cloth. How can you have the nerve to make them pay compensation?"
"So, you're going to pay for it."
Lin Yuesha remained unmoved. Forgive her for not being able to empathize; there's no easy way to live these days, and every profession has its rules that no one can change.
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