Chapter 184 Overturning the Truth: You Are Not a Resident of Canglang Island
Qian Rong rubbed the back of his hands, thinking he had to wake the young master up quickly. Although Qian Rong had never asked much, he was not blind. The swordsman named Xiao Ma had a lot of contact with the young master and his sister. The last few times he came to the money house, he was either in the young master's room or in the rarely visited hall. Each time he would stay there for a while before leaving. Not only Xiao Ma, but also a girl in red. Qian Rong remembered that the young master called her Guan Ye.
And then… Qian Rong remembered that a few days ago, the young master suddenly asked him to prepare a carriage, instructing him to choose the most reliable driver, pay him a sufficient fee, and after the job was done, to go somewhere else and never return to Rongdu. The carriage was to be parked at Fengqi Mountain outside the city, and someone would meet the driver… The young master’s expression was serious, and Qian Rong felt something was off at that time. He was an old man from Gongcheng Money House, loyal and never made a mistake, and his word was known to be impeccable. He did whatever the master said. Qian Rong had watched the young master grow up. The Mei family had a pure family tradition and upheld the principle of keeping one's promises. Whatever the master asked him to do was definitely right.
Qian Rong didn't know who the carriage had taken away. Luo Yichen said... the swordsman from Xingguo Ward escaped... could it be...?
Qian Rong dared not think too much about it. Just as he was about to return to the courtyard, he vaguely sensed footsteps approaching from afar. The footsteps were hurried, as if something had happened. Could it be that Luo Yichen had left something behind and turned back? Qian Rong turned around and looked towards the street corner. It wasn't Luo Yichen, but a man and a woman running towards the money shop. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, they were just following the owner's rules and opening for business every day. Qian Rong had been managing the Mei family for many years, and he had never actually done many transactions on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Guests are guests, and we must not neglect them. Qian Rong composed himself, straightened his newly made crimson robe, adjusted the gilded crown binding his hair, and greeted the person at the street corner with a smile. As the figure gradually became clearer, Qian Rong could not believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes hard and stared intently at the person, his dry lips moving once, then again.
"Xingguofang...something really happened!?" Mei Xiaojing covered her mouth as soon as she said it.
Mu Chenbi raised her phoenix-feather eyelashes and asked, "You guessed that something would happen in Xingguo Ward?"
"I was just talking nonsense." Mei Xiaoqing's pretty face fell, and she turned her head away, not daring to look at him.
Mei Shiyu's face was paler than the fur coat he was wearing. He silently gripped the jade clasp pendant at his waist, rubbing it vigorously with his thumb without uttering a word.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Mei Xiaojing asked Guan Ye, "Have all the swordsmen in the neighborhood... escaped?"
Guan Ye raised her eyelids. "You're asking about Xiao Ma?"
"No... I mean..." Mei Xiaoqing realized she had given herself away again and hurriedly looked to her cousin for help.
Guan Ye sneered, "Of course you wouldn't ask Xiao Ma. Xiao Ma... he should have left Rongdu a long time ago."
Mei Shiyu gestured for his cousin to stop talking, coughed softly, and propped himself up. "Guan Ye, just say what you want to say. Xiao Jing is too young to answer, so just ask me."
"Young Master Mei," Guan Ye looked at his pale face, "Has Xiao Ma already been sent away? Where did he go?"
"Cousin," Mei Xiaoqing called out softly to Mei Shiyu.
Mei Shiyu shook his head and said, "Xingguo Ward has suffered a disaster, and Miss Guan should be on the list of those who fled. It's already a miracle that we didn't report it to the authorities. Why are you questioning me with every sentence? Xiao Ma? He's a swordsman from Xingguo Ward. What does that have to do with my Mei family?"
Guan Ye knew, of course, that the Mei siblings were wary of Mu Chenbi's presence, which was why they repeatedly denied any connection between their family and Xiao Ma's disappearance. Just as Guan Ye was about to say something, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside, and swallowed her words.
"Master..." Qian Rong pushed open the door and said, "I have already had someone find out."
"Speak," Mei Shiyu said with a stern face.
Qian Rong stopped catching his breath. "The Rongdu Bureau has already posted notices and arrest warrants. The notices say that Xingguo Ward smuggled people on Canglang Island and also harbored serious criminals of the imperial court. And, and..."
"What else?" Mei Xiaojing pressed.
Qian Rong's old face twitched. "Using living people as sacrifices in the furnace to melt meteors and forge a sword, this sword is malevolent and bewitching, a crime akin to regicide. Xingguofang has committed an unforgivable crime, and the entire family... shall be executed."
Smuggling people, harboring serious criminals, sacrificing living people to forge evil swords... crimes equivalent to regicide, the entire family shall be executed.
Mu Chenbi looked at Guan Ye in shock. He knew that Guan Ye must know what Xingguo Fang had done wrong, but the words written on the notice were shocking. Mu Chenbi knew that the matter was serious, but he never thought that the crime was so serious. It was equivalent to regicide... regicide!? Mu Chenbi's heart sank. With such a crime, not to mention the people in Xingguo Fang, I'm afraid that the lives of those left on Canglang Island would be in danger.
Seeing that the others were dumbfounded, Qian Rong swallowed and continued, "The wanted poster has portraits of three people on it. I heard they are all swordsmen from Xingguo Ward. One has thick eyebrows and big eyes, one has a handsome face, and the other one is someone my subordinate recognizes... Xiao Ma, the Xiao Ma who came to our money shop. Xiao Ma's portrait says his name is Ma Lin, he is... he is..." Qian Rong stammered, not daring to continue.
"Who is Ma Lin?" Mu Chenbi had already guessed the general idea.
"The Ma Family Mint." Qian Rong collapsed to the ground. "He is Ma Lin, the grandson of Old Master Ma."
“Ma Lin.” Mu Chenbi remembered this swordsman named Xiao Ma. He had presented his sword to the emperor, and Xiao Ma had defeated Lou Cangyu to protect Xingguo Fang. This man had a refined appearance and elegant manners; he didn't look like a swordsman, but rather like a young master from a noble family. His swordsmanship was slightly inferior to his opponent's, but his moves were clever, he fought with extreme patience, and he possessed an indomitable tenacity, which allowed him to narrowly defeat his opponent in an unfavorable situation and preserve Xingguo Fang's reputation. Mu Chenbi had a deep impression of that battle and had even thought about having the opportunity to befriend this swordsman. He never imagined that he was actually… a descendant of the Ma family of the mint.
Mu Chenbi suddenly realized, "It seems... even after twenty years, the Ma family and the Mei family still maintain contact. Ma Lin also visited his old friend, the Mei family, when he returned to Rongdu with Xingguo Fang?"
Qian Rong was so frightened that his face turned pale. He knelt down and said, "Your Highness, please investigate. Xiao Ma came to my family's money shop to deposit and withdraw silver for Xingguo Fang. Our young master only just learned of his true identity. Gongcheng Money Shop was also kept in the dark. This matter has nothing to do with the Mei family or Gongcheng Money Shop."
Mu Chenbi didn't look at him, but stared at Mei Shiyu, whose expression was clear, and said, "Did I ask you? I want to hear what Young Master Mei has to say."
"Manager Qian, you may leave now," Mei Shiyu said calmly.
"Young Master..." Qian Rong cried out, prostrating himself on the ground. Seeing Mei Shiyu's resolute expression, he had no choice but to get up and leave the hall.
The hall doors were tightly shut. Mei Shiyu faced Mu Chenbi's interrogation head-on, his deep-set eyes gleaming with a sharp light, not giving an inch. "If I told Your Highness that when I sought an audience with you for the counterfeit copper coins, I was unaware that Ma Lin had already arrived in Rongdu, would Your Highness believe me?"
"Of course I believe you," Mu Chenbi replied without hesitation.
Mei Xiaojing opened her almond-shaped eyes wide, as if she couldn't believe Mu Chenbi's answer.
“When I was young, I told my father that the descendants of the Ma family would crawl back to Rongdu, but when Ma Lin appeared before me, I was still greatly shocked. What kind of belief could allow a young man to escape the bitter land of exile? How did he end up in Xingguo Ward and eventually return to the capital city…” Mei Shiyu’s eyes reddened. “Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, I am willing to guarantee with the century-old foundation of the Mei family that the Ma family is innocent in the case of counterfeit copper coins. Does Your Highness believe me?”
Mu Chenbi parted her lips slightly, the word "believe" stuck in her throat, but she didn't say it. "You also said that there is no solid evidence, only speculation... You can't even convince me, how can you convince the Three Judicial Offices? How can you convince the Emperor?"
"There is evidence." Guan Ye, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly choked up.
"Guan Ye?" Mei Xiaojing heard her clearly. "Speak louder! Say you have evidence?"
Guan Ye wiped away her overflowing tears. "There's evidence. The fake copper coin case has another hidden secret. The missing brass... the missing brass from that furnace has been found."
“Father also said that the key to this case lies in the missing brass.” Mei Shiyu leaned forward. “Where is the brass?”
Guan Ye glanced at Mu Chenbi. Although she couldn't see through everything yet, she vaguely knew that this matter was no small thing. If she investigated further, it would definitely uncover more unknown and mysterious past events, involving the lives of hundreds of people in Xingguo Ward and Gongcheng Money Shop. Mu Chenbi's pure heart was genuine, but was he willing to stand up for people and things that had nothing to do with him, and what he might be fighting against... was perhaps a power above him...
Mu Chenbi is the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, a figure second only to the emperor in the Jin Kingdom. He can ascend to the throne in a few years without doing anything. What kind of fate will he face if he does something wrong or does something improper?
Mei Xiaojing noticed the conflict in Guan Ye's eyes and suddenly spread her arms to shield Mu Chenbi. "Why should we tell you? If it weren't for you... the shadow guards wouldn't have come to the bank..."
"Xiao Jing, don't be rude!" Mei Shiyu clutched his chest and coughed violently.
Xingguo Ward was scattered, some arrested, some fled; the Mei Family Bank was also on the verge of collapse. Ajiu had disappeared without a trace in the palace. Stepping out of the Mei Family Bank, she had no idea what awaited her… Mu Chenbi before her… perhaps he was everyone’s last hope…
"Guan Ye, you don't believe me..."
“The Tomb Guards,” Guan Ye interrupted Mu Chenbi, “the missing brass was in the Tomb Guards’ weapons… It was already smelted by Xingguo Workshop before the New Year, and there were more than 500 jin of brass left over. That was the amount that the Ma family had just lost. Because the construction period was not yet over, a lot more brass inexplicably appeared. I guessed that something was wrong and planned to wait until after the New Year to discuss it with the workshop owner before making any further plans… Who knew… that disaster would suddenly happen last night.”
Guan Ye burst into tears again as she spoke, “Harboring a serious criminal? The court knew long ago that Xiao Ma was hiding in Xingguo Ward, so why did it only come out now? Using a human sacrifice to forge the furnace? When Cui Guoshi came to Canglang Island, he predicted that the Heavenly Furnace could not melt meteorite and could not forge the Meteor Sword. If it could forge the Meteor Sword, it must have used other secret techniques. But why was he still willing to take the Meteor Sword with him to report for duty? All of this is just… wanting to return to the capital from Xingguo Ward and plot something else.”
Mei Shiyu's deep eyes narrowed, and he suddenly tilted his head back to the sky, laughing maniacally, "What a scheme to plan everything... Even a dead piece can be brought back to life, resurrected and then killed again, never to be overthrown. What a scheme to plan everything! Even if my father were to be resurrected, I would cry out in despair!"
"The brass is at the Xingguofang foundry!?" Mu Chenbi exclaimed in a low voice.
Guan Ye shook her head bitterly, "It was there before, but it must be gone now. Cui Jin and the Eagle Guards ransacked Xingguo Ward. The brass is related to an old case from many years ago, how could it still be in the ward?"
Mu Chenbi pondered for a long time before raising his phoenix-feathered eyelashes and saying, "I know that Ma Lin's grandfather, Ma Yi, the patriarch of the Ma family, took the blame for the serious crime of counterfeiting copper coins... This case is no small matter; the extermination of the entire clan is not impossible. In this light, Ma Yi knew the truth; he knew where the brass went... Father said that Ma Yi voluntarily surrendered himself, and although we don't know what he said, the Three Judicial Offices sentenced him to death, thus saving the Ma family's descendants..."
“Grandpa Ma made a deal with the person behind the scenes. He was willing to take the secret of the brass to his grave in exchange for his family’s survival,” Guan Ye said. “Xiao Ma originally thought that his grandfather wanted the Ma family’s descendants to clear the family’s name. It wasn’t until the shadow guards from Gongcheng Money House appeared that Xiao Ma realized his grandfather’s expectation was for him to take the family’s wealth and leave Rongdu, going as far away as possible. Even he couldn’t stand up to the heroes of Mayi. How could Xiao Ma do it? Even with Young Master Mei’s help, we still couldn’t do it.”
Guan Ye looked at Mei Shiyu as she spoke, "Young Master Mei, am I right?"
“Guan Ye… Xiao Ma has nowhere else to go, don’t blame him.” Mei Shiyu stopped coughing, looked at Guan Ye deeply, and didn’t say anything more.
“Xingguo Ward smuggling people… harboring serious criminals…” Mu Chenbi murmured, then suddenly looked up at Guan Ye, his dark eyes scanning down to fix on Guan Ye’s clenched hands. “Xingguo Ward can’t melt stone, can’t forge swords, so who forged the Meteor Sword? Guan Ye, how did you do it? Unless… you, like Xiao Ma, aren’t a resident of Canglang Island… you are too…”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
