Chapter 252 Something's Wrong
"I heard you and your fifth brother did some good deeds today?"
"Yes, yes, brother, let me tell you something... It's like this..."
Sheng Sheng blah blah recounted the whole story to Xie Yunchuan, who praised her, saying, "Hmm, you two are both great."
"Hehe, it's mainly because of Fifth Brother. Brother, you don't know, Fifth Brother was so handsome when he said those words. Magistrate Cao's face turned green."
At this point, Sheng Sheng remembered the important matter of the day and said, "Brother, there might be something wrong with that Magistrate Cao."
Xie Yunchuan didn't seem too surprised. After sitting down, he even had the leisure to instruct Zijuan to prepare a late-night snack.
She asked in a puzzled tone, "Brother, don't you find it strange?"
"I realized this possibility when I went to the Grand Canal Transport Office with the Crown Prince today."
"Um?"
Sheng Sheng tilted her head, listening attentively to Xie Yunchuan's words.
"The Director of the Grand Canal Transport Office is Cao Guanghu's cousin."
Today, Xie Yunchuan and Xie Yunyang disguised themselves as merchants from Jiangnan and pretended to go to the Grand Canal Office to learn about the rules of the Haijin Grand Canal.
Given their disguised identities, they naturally couldn't meet the person in charge of the Grand Canal Transport Office.
They were greeted by a junior manager.
All transport ships departing from Haijin need to be registered with the Grand Canal Transport Office, and each office has a limited number of ships that can be used for canal transport.
Since some members of Xie Yunyang's family were merchants, Xie Yunyang naturally knew how to exploit loopholes. For example, some merchants in small places would bribe the local people in charge of registering ships in order to get more kickbacks. By not registering the ships, they could send more ships to transport goods, thus making more profit.
However, the place in Haijin responsible for registering ships is different from other places. It is jointly supervised by the canal transport office and the prefect. In other places, the prefect is usually in charge of this matter. In Haijin, it is necessary to go through not only the canal transport office but also the county magistrate.
Xie Yunchuan and his companion pretended to want to do so, and only gave the junior manager a small amount of money to "ask for advice," after which the junior manager revealed the information.
It turns out that the head of the Grand Canal Transport Office was actually the son of Madam Cao's younger brother. He was an illegitimate child, and no one outside knew that Cao Guanghu had this relationship with him. Therefore, the Grand Canal Transport Office and the county magistrate's office had very secretive dealings.
The junior manager even "thoughtfully" told Xie Yunchuan that as long as the money arrived, he would guarantee his family's boat would have no obstacles.
Sheng Sheng was speechless. He hadn't expected there to be such a connection. It seemed that Cao Guanghu must have been embezzling money behind the scenes, and he was doing it with the director of the Grand Canal Transport Office.
Xie Yunchuan nodded: "That's right. I just went for a casual stroll today, but I didn't expect to actually find something."
A giggle escaped her lips: "Brother, did you and the Crown Prince really just take a casual stroll?"
I don't know which two people planned this last night, saying that it wouldn't be for nothing, and they dutifully ran out early this morning.
Xie Yunchuan lightly tapped her on the head: "Who are you laughing at?"
Sheng Sheng covered her head and stuck out her tongue, changing the subject: "Brother, what should we do? We're going back to Shanglin Hunting Grounds tomorrow. How about we sneak over to the magistrate's office now and try to steal some evidence tonight? Like account books or tax books?"
Xie Yunchuan raised an eyebrow: "You know quite a lot. How did you find out?"
"Hehe, that's how it's written in storybooks. A brave and upright girl obtains crucial evidence from the bad guys, giving the prince a huge boost, and then the two of them gradually..."
Sheng Sheng got more and more excited as she spoke, but was interrupted by Xie Yunchuan giving her a flick on the forehead when she got to the point.
"oops!"
She clutched her forehead, saying, "It hurts so much."
"Serves you right." Xie Yunchuan said coldly, "How old are you? You're watching this stuff all day. You're not allowed to watch it anymore, it's all been confiscated."
"ah!?"
The little dumpling cried out in pain, but Xie Yunchuan ignored it and added, "You're not allowed to watch with Xie Yunqi either."
At such a young age, they're already reading these things. This little dumpling is at a time when she's curious about the world. What if she gets influenced by these stories and actually falls for some young boy?
Xie Yunchuan pinched his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and sent the little dumpling back for a late-night snack.
"Eat your food and go to bed early, okay?"
"oh."
The little girl walked back to her room in a sullen mood. Zijuan brought over a small bowl of chicken soup wontons and, seeing her downcast, comforted her, "Princess, come and have a bowl of wontons. The soup is so delicious."
"good."
The little dumpling decided to channel her grief into her appetite. She figured her brother was just saying it; how could he really stop her from reading the storybook?
Now that she doesn't have to go to the Wenhua Hall to study or read storybooks to pass the time, she can't stay in the palace to learn and start her education forever.
The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. So, the little dumpling went from eating wontons with a bitter expression to eating them with great joy.
The following day, after a three-day trip to Haijin, the group bid farewell to Shen Jiaqing and returned to Shanglin Weichang.
At first, Sheng Sheng was puzzled as to why they didn't resolve Cao Guanghu's matter before leaving. Then Xie Yunchuan leisurely told her, "Being too hasty will only alert the enemy. Sometimes, boiling a frog in lukewarm water can catch a bigger fish."
Xie Yunyang, who was standing to the side, laughed and nodded repeatedly: "Second Brother is speaking more and more elegantly now. I have to learn from him."
Sheng Sheng seemed to understand but not quite; in any case, she knew that Xie Yunchuan must have something on the matter, so she didn't bother to care anymore.
There have been quite a few incidents in Shanglin Weichang lately, and quite a few people have been injured.
As soon as the group arrived at Shanglin Hunting Ground, Sheng Sheng rushed over to visit Xiao Quanzi.
Seeing that Xiao Quanzi was doing well and his injuries were healing well, he didn't linger and went to find Li Manyan without stopping.
When Shengsheng arrived, Li Manyan was just about to go out for a walk with Xie Yunjia. Upon seeing Shengsheng, she exclaimed in surprise, "Second Princess, you're back?"
"Yes, that's right." Sheng Sheng smiled and asked, "Where are you going, Sister Yan Yan? How are you feeling? Can you go out now? Will it affect your health?"
The four questions came in quick succession, leaving Li Manyan unsure which one to answer first.
Li Manyan smiled and answered her one by one: "The eldest princess invited me to take a walk by the river, and I was just about to go find her. I'm feeling much better now. The imperial physician said my injuries weren't very serious, mostly external injuries. After resting for a few days, I can go out now. The imperial physician also said that going out for walks and breathing fresh air will help with recovery."
Sheng Sheng let out an "Oh" and nodded, "I see."
As the two were talking, Xie Yunjia, who had been waiting for everyone to return to the hunting grounds, also came over. Seeing the little dumpling there, she said with a hint of jealousy, "Oh, I knew you heartless little dumpling were here. The first person you wanted to see after you came back wasn't me!"
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