58 Chapter 058
◎A cornered dog will jump over the wall◎
When in Anlu, King Liang was in a high position and commanded a large army. In the absence of evidence, Xie Mingzhuo had to act cautiously.
But in Fuliang, the power of the Jinyiwei was enough for her to act with impunity.
Based on Ma Qiang's confession, the Jinyiwei could directly send people to arrest the inspector of pottery, Yan Dong, and torture him to interrogate him about the inside story of the Sun and Moon Sect.
However, after Ma Qiang was exposed, how could the Sun and Moon Sect behind him sit idly by and wait for death?
There must be spies from the Sun and Moon Cult in the house. Whether they want to do something desperate or delay and run away, now is the most appropriate time.
"Sir Meng, my master invites you all to the garden for tea. Please come and enjoy the meal." The butler's voice came from outside the door.
Xie Mingzhuo: "It would be disrespectful to refuse."
When they reached the garden gate, they ran into Lou Kun and Li Ping'er. Li Ping'er held Lou Kun's arm and snuggled up to him.
"Master Meng, did you sleep well last night?"
Xie Mingzhuo said indifferently, "Not bad."
"Ping'er has lived in the dust and seen many high-ranking officials, but I have never heard that women can also become officials. If I had known this earlier, I would have taken the exam and become an official."
Most women who have fallen into prostitution would want to keep this secret in their stomachs for the rest of their lives. However, Li Ping'er never took it seriously and did not care about other people's opinions at all. Her determination was extraordinary.
Xie Mingzhuo said arrogantly: "You won't pass the exam."
"I believe my talent is no less than others, but I just have no connections. Sir Meng, please teach me how to become a prestigious Jinyiwei."
Li Ping'er faced her rudeness without any change in expression, even her breathing and heartbeat were as steady as usual, and she continued to speak to herself.
"First, a distinguished family background."
"And the second one?"
"A distinguished family background."
Li Ping'er still smiled: "...Is there a third one?"
"Or a distinguished family background."
“…”
She chuckled, "Master Meng is such a jokester. If you don't want to tell me, just say it directly. I understand. Why do you have to make fun of me?"
"Boss Lou is still waiting in the garden. I'll go ahead." Xie Mingzhuo said no more.
Jiang Qing followed closely behind and whispered to Feng Caiyu, "What the Master said is indeed the truth."
It’s just that the word “most” should be added before this illustrious family background.
Lou He brewed tea in the pavilion. The tea was top-quality, and so were the tea sets. As the autumn breeze blew, the fragrance of the tea drifted in the air, refreshing the heart.
"My Lords, please."
Xie Mingzhuo and the other three sat down, with Xu Qinglang and Lang Qing standing behind them.
"I heard that Lord Meng particularly loves Keemun black tea, so today I will serve you black tea. I hope you all will have good luck."
Xie Mingzhuo said politely, "Thank you, Boss Lou."
There were only five round stools placed next to the stone table in the pavilion. Lou He did not prepare any for Lou Kun and Li Ping'er at all, and treated them as air.
Li Ping'er didn't care at all and went straight into the pavilion. She sat down next to the beauty that came with the pavilion and did not forget to greet her: "Lou Lang, come quickly."
Everyone: “…”
If such a shameless person were to live in the future, he would definitely become the company's top salesperson.
Xie Mingzhuo couldn't help but let his thoughts wander while drinking tea.
"Master Meng, how does it taste?"
"Fresh, mellow, and rich, with a sweet aftertaste." Xie Mingzhuo put down the teacup. "What's Mr. Lou's favorite tea?"
Lou He stroked his beard and smiled: "I like Longjing the most, but the one I drink the most is our local Lushan Yunwu."
“The tea from my hometown is naturally different from that from anywhere else.”
"Yes, it's not just tea, porcelain is the same." Lou He stroked the blue-and-white glazed teacup as if caressing his own child. "I've been dealing with porcelain for most of my life. I've worked in every kiln in Fuliang County. Every time I see them transform from plain clay into exquisite porcelain, I'm filled with joy."
“It’s human nature.”
"Not everyone cherishes them," Lou He looked at Xie Mingzhuo gravely, "just like not everyone can appreciate the sweetness of this tea."
Xie Mingzhuo lowered his eyes. "So you strive to become the largest porcelain merchant in Fuliang, firing more exquisite porcelain, hoping that more and more people will love it."
"Yes and no."
"oh?"
Lou He sighed, "I don't have such lofty ideals. Porcelain is both a passion and a business to me. I just want to do what I can."
"Boss Lou, I don't have time for your charades. Just say what you want to say."
Xie Mingzhuo knew very well that Lou He had set up this scheme just to gain some sympathy points for himself and the Lou family.
"Haha, Lord Meng is a man of few words." Lou He stopped pretending and went straight to the point, "Lord Meng, do you know anything about 'officials colluding with the people to burn things'?"
Xie Mingzhuo: “I’ve heard a little bit about it.”
In recent years, due to financial difficulties, the official kilns were unable to produce porcelain, so the court introduced a policy to have the official kilns complete the blank-making process and then fire it in private kilns.
This move saved costs for official kilns, but at the same time brought a huge burden to private kilns.
The owners and workers of the private kilns were overwhelmed, but no one dared to complain, because the official kilns produced tribute porcelain, which was to be sent to the capital and presented to the emperor.
However, often for every successful tribute porcelain fired, nine hundred and ninety-nine defective products would be destroyed.
These defective products could not be distributed among the people and had to be smashed and buried on the spot.
So much manpower and resources were wasted, and in the end only one piece was produced. Every time the kiln workers saw it, their hearts bleed.
The same is true for Louhe.
"To this end, I devoted myself to researching firing techniques, improving kilns, and increasing the probability of successful firing. I also recruited a large number of porcelain painters to improve their painting skills and innovate the types of porcelain paintings. I also treated the kiln workers who toiled day and night well and gave them higher salaries."
Xie Mingzhuo couldn't help but admire him: "You did it."
"Yes, I did it." Lou He sighed and changed the subject, "But it also fostered greed in some people."
The success rate of tribute porcelain has increased, and the annual quota stipulated by the court can be easily completed. So what should be done with the remaining time?
Continue to improve your skills? Not really.
Lou He suddenly stood up, knelt in front of Xie Mingzhuo, and leaned over and said, "Master Meng, Lou He is guilty."
"What are you doing?" Li Ping'er suddenly said, "Lou Lang, why don't you help your father up?"
Lou Kun stood up.
"If you still recognize me as your father, just stand there and don't move." Lou He shouted at him sternly.
Lou Kun stopped.
Xie Mingzhuo was calm and composed: "What crime have you committed?"
"Lou has been illegally selling tribute porcelain, a crime that is unforgivable. I surrender myself today only to seek mercy. My son, Lou Kun, was unaware of this. He is naturally gifted in porcelain, surpassing me even more than I was. After I am executed, my son will inherit the firing techniques I have learned throughout my life. I hope the court will spare my son's life in consideration of our Lou family's dedication to producing tribute porcelain."
Xie Mingzhuo raised an eyebrow. "How dare you, a businessman, sell tribute porcelain privately? Is there someone who is instructing you?"
"The pottery supervisor is in severe winter!"
"But when I was at Xunyang Post, I met Lou Shaodong, not Boss Lou. The Postmaster said Lou Shaodong was looking for high-quality clay. It seems that looking for clay was fake, and the real purpose was to privately sell tribute porcelain."
Lou He explained, "Selling tribute porcelain privately is safer the fewer people who know about it. The criminals always packed it carefully and lied to my son that it was just ordinary porcelain, so he didn't know it."
"He was the one selling the porcelain. It passed through his hands. How could he not see it?"
"The porcelain was not made by him, but by two of his followers. They are Yan Dong's men, and they are just using my son as a cover."
Xie Mingzhuo refused to accept this. "The truth will only be known after an interrogation in the Imperial Prison. Captain Yun, take the Lou family father and son to…"
A thin needle suddenly pierced her neck. She dodged it swiftly and turned around to see Li Ping'er running out of the pavilion with Lou Kun.
Yang Yunkai and Jiang Qing ran after them, but were stopped by a servant who suddenly appeared. The two tried their best to kill the servant, but Li Ping'er and Lou Kun had already disappeared.
The incident happened so quickly that the other servants had not yet reacted, but they saw another servant outside the pavilion, holding a dagger, suddenly rushing towards Xie Mingzhuo's back.
"Be careful—"
"Bang!"
With a gunshot, the servant who attacked by surprise fell to the ground instantly, with a bloody hole on his forehead.
Xie Mingzhuo retracted his exquisite hand cannon and glanced at Lou He: "Boss Lou's house is leaking like a sieve."
He is really loyal. In order to delay time, he did not hesitate to expose his identity and assassinate her.
If "Meng Qianshi" really died in the Lou family, Yun Qianhu and others would definitely be in a state of panic and would not have paid much attention to hunting down Li Ping'er and others.
Lou He laughed at himself: "I am ashamed."
He knew that the Lou family had spies, but he didn't know there were so many.
After a deep conversation with his son that night, they both agreed that this was an opportunity.
No matter which path you choose, you will die in the end, so you might as well choose a path that is true to your conscience.
They avoided the eyes and ears of their family and informed Xie Mingzhuo, which led to today's heroic act of self-sacrifice.
"Notify the Imperial Guards, seal off the building, post arrest warrants, and arrest Yan Dong."
Xu Qinglang and Lang Qing were stunned, their minds still lingering on the thrilling scene just now.
Lady Meng seemed to have a spirit behind her. Before the evil cult's spies got close to her, she had already taken out her pistol, turned around and shot the other person dead.
Dodging the needle was just as neat and tidy.
So awesome!
Yang Yunkai was also impressed. When he made the plan, he thought the risk was too great and did not agree with the princess taking the risk.
But as a subject, you can only obey orders.
The scene where the spies were killed instantly by the hand cannon also made him feel overwhelmed with emotion. Firstly, he was moved by the princess's cleverness, and secondly, he was moved by the exquisiteness of the hand cannon.
When he returned to Beijing, he shamelessly asked for mercy and asked the emperor to reward him with such a pistol.
Xie Mingzhuo looked at Lou He and said, "Boss Lou, you and your servants need to go to the Jinyiwei Yamen."
Lou He readily agreed.
There is no place safer than the Jinyiwei Yamen now.
"Xu Zhixiu, as Lou Kun's bedmate, is also suspected of colluding with the gang. Take him with you."
"yes!"
The Lou family's house was no longer habitable, so several people came to the house that had been prepared earlier and rested temporarily.
"Sir, why did Lou Shaodong escape with the bandits?" Lang Qing couldn't figure it out.
Isn't this an even greater crime?
Xie Mingzhuo replied vaguely: "He has his choice."
In a secret hideout in the south of the city, Li Ping'er and Lou Kun knocked on the door. The door quickly opened and the two figures quickly disappeared.
"Why did you bring him here?" the person in the room asked with a frown.
Li Ping'er: "Something happened to the Lou family. We can't stay here for long. The Jinyiwei will find us sooner or later. Please help us get out of the city."
"You can leave the city, but you haven't told me why you want to take him with you."
Li Ping'er said calmly, "Lou He has surrendered himself, and the Lou family will inevitably die. If we don't take him with us, who will make money in the future? Relying on the little tricks he uses to deceive the ignorant people? Besides, he hasn't betrayed us yet. With his son in our hands, he might keep his mouth shut."
"I understand." The man looked at Lou Kun again, "But why is he willing to follow you?"
"Loulang, why do you think so?" Li Ping'er asked with a sweet smile.
Lou Kun: "Because I am more shameless than my father, and I am more afraid of death than him."
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