Xu Yixing didn't know what specific method Lu Anyuan used, but she had already made arrangements everywhere, so those guys shouldn't suffer.
Who knew that before Lu Anyuan could come up with his "clever plan", Chen Yue arrived first.
"Sir Shen, are you here to see me?" Lu Anyuan did not return from court today. He did not know why he tripped up. And Shen Yue had to choose this time to come. He was really causing trouble!
This was the first time Xu Yixing saw Chen Yue. He saw that he had a straight figure. Although he was only middle-aged, his eyebrows, beard and hair were already gray, and he looked older than his father.
"Greetings to the Seventh Prince's wife. I am not here for no reason today. I have a case to consult with Your Highness."
Chen Yue spoke so directly, without any of the cautiousness that other officials showed towards the royal family. Xu Yixing really admired him from the bottom of his heart.
"Please take a seat. Tea is served. Please ask." Since the other party spoke so directly, Xu Yixing didn't need to exchange pleasantries.
"Thank you very much. There is a rice shop in the east of the capital called Ten Pecks of Rice. Does Your Highness know where it is?"
"I know. That's my business."
Chen Yue was delighted. It was not uncommon for officials to engage in business, but it was rare to see someone as unrestrained as the Seventh Prince's wife who broke the law. She was somewhat similar to Xu Laosha, and they were indeed father and daughter.
"Since you admit it, it's easy to deal with. The night before yesterday, Mr. Zhao from the yamen received a tip-off that someone was trading illegal salt outside the city, so he led his men to round up and suppress them. Who do you think this person is?"
Xu Yixing smiled. "Your Excellency, there's no need to beat around the bush. I already know the truth. The clerk is indeed an employee of my shop, but the business is not mine. I'm sure you've already asked Shopkeeper Ge about this, but he doesn't know anything about it. How can I possibly know what those clerks are thinking without him knowing?"
Chen Yue's expression was odd, a mixture of disdain and regret. He pulled a piece of paper from his official robes and handed it to Xu Yixing. "Shopkeeper Ge has confessed. You were the one who ordered the illegal salt trade. It's written in black on this paper, with a red handprint. Please review it."
"Bullshit!" Xu Yixing slammed the table. Is this Shopkeeper Ge mentally ill? I've told him to answer truthfully, so what is he doing?
Chen Yue didn't care about her angry look. After all, the confession was already there. Although he couldn't directly take the princess to prison for interrogation, he would deal with it if he handed her over to the emperor.
"Sir Shen, I wonder if your Jingzhao Prefecture was forced to confess?"
"How dare you!" Shen Yue was also furious. He was most afraid of innocent people's lives being taken. This shopkeeper Ge confessed without being tortured. How could it be called torture? "Don't think that just because you are the prince's consort, you can slander me at will. I am a fourth-rank official after all. You can't suppress me just by relying on your status!"
"Hmph, Lord Shen's ability to confuse right and wrong is truly remarkable, as he was able to uncover things that didn't exist." Xu Yixing provoked Chen Yue. She really didn't believe that Chen Yue would confess under torture, but she couldn't just accept it.
"You!" Chen Yue flicked his sleeves, turned around and left without giving Xu Yixing any face.
"Sir! I want to confront Manager Ge in court. If something wasn't done, it's not done. No matter how you fabricate evidence, it's all in vain."
What what what? Shen Yue was so angry that he was jumping up and down. Are all members of the Xu family so unreasonable? I forged evidence, what a joke!
"Hmph, unfortunately, the prisoner has committed suicide in prison." Shen Yue became angry when he talked about this. He had already signed the confession, but this morning he received a report that Manager Ge was killed in prison. Otherwise, he would not have had to go through this trip.
Xu Yixing understood that if it wasn't Shen Yue who did it, then someone must have bribed or induced Manager Ge to confess, and then killed him to silence him.
"That's really strange. Lord Shen just got the confession and the person died. What a coincidence."
"Aren't you killing people to silence them because you're afraid the truth will be exposed?" This is what is called tit-for-tat.
Chen Yue knew that he would not gain anything by coming to the Seventh Prince's Mansion today, but the witness was dead and he had to come. He did not expect that the prince's wife would have such a unreasonable and unreasonable personality, just like his father!
"You're kidding. Since you've already got his confession, what's the point of me killing him? If I was afraid he'd expose me, I should have killed him before you caught him."
Chen Yue said nothing. This was true, but he was a judge and evidence was king. Ever since he started investigating the shops in the capital, he had encountered the greatest resistance from the Seventh Prince's wife. Now that he had finally obtained "conclusive evidence", how could he give up?
Xu Yixing saw that Shen Yue had calmed down a bit, and continued: "Your Excellency, you came here today simply because the witness was silenced. You had no choice but to come. Otherwise, you could have directly reported to His Majesty and he would have made the decision, right?
But I also want to remind you that what you see is not necessarily true. I heard that the people and goods your master captured only weighed three stones in total.
My Lord, the price of salt in the capital is 20 wen per dou. If it is privately-owned salt, it can only be sold for 10 to 15 wen at most to have a market. Three stone of salt only makes 30 dou, and if all is sold, it will only make 450 wen. My good Lord, do I really need this little money?
"Perhaps you accepted this smuggled salt in order to transport it to places where the price is higher. As far as I know, the barbarians in the southern border can sell a bushel of salt for three hundred coins or more. Besides, who knows if you only have these three stones?"
Regarding the amount of illegal salt, Chen Yue always felt that if this was done by the Seventh Prince's wife, then there must be a large amount of illegal salt in her hands.
"Come on, sir. Even if you don't know everything about my family's assets, you should have some idea of them. To be frank, even if I do something risky, there should be a corresponding reward. Since you have interrogated Manager Ge, did he tell me where the rest of the salt is hidden?"
Chen Yue was silent, somewhat regretting that he had not gone with Master Zhao that day, as he might have discovered more.
"Never mind. I will get to the bottom of this matter. Your Highness, there is no need to be so aggressive."
Chen Yue bowed and left the main hall, but was bumped into by Lu Anyuan who was coming in at the door.
Lu Anyuan's eyes were red, and he casually handed a memorial to Shen Yue. While rubbing his eyes, he spoke for Xu Yixing and said what she had not finished: "Master Shen, look, everyone in the capital is likely to smuggle salt, but we are the only ones who won't."
Chen Yue opened the memorial and his face changed color. "When was this memorial issued?"
"As the emperor just said when he asked us to discuss something in the study, I heard you were visiting the mansion, so I brought this memorial back to save you the trouble. How do you think?"
Chen Yue read the memorial again from beginning to end and handed it back with both hands: "This case is indeed unusual. I will investigate and give you a reply."
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