Chapter 9 Wangcai (There is actually another chapter after Chapter 8 above, but I missed it.
Not good. These people were guilty after all. When they sensed something was wrong, they were about to flee. But then they shot arrows one after another, hitting the servant and the bearded man in the legs and elbows, blocking their escape. Then the officers, Ruo Zhao and others jumped out one after another.
After a while of chaos, all the people were captured, including the people who were responsible for surveillance and the people in the village.
Xiao Li was already trembling with fear, not daring to speak. The man with the mustache was also stunned, accusing Xiao Li of bringing people here. Xiao Li had no way to refute, but was just confused until he saw the woman he had just mentioned arrive here.
The carriage arrived, but beside it was a fine horse, and the young man on the horse was particularly attractive, but he pulled the reins and, after Yan Siqing got off the carriage, said, "Madam, you have connections all over Yancheng. You are truly amazing. Even if everyone in this village is the same and keeps silent about the hidden ship, it won't stop you from finding it here."
The one in charge is the government, representing the imperial court. If they were to oppose it, it would be tantamount to rebellion. However, to capture all the relevant people, such as a village, it would take time to dispatch the garrison. The fact that it was done so quickly can only mean that Yan Siqing made a big move and mobilized the laborers of the grain store, and did not plan to search all the suspicious places extensively. Instead, he planned to take a shortcut to find someone behind the scenes, at least someone who was hiding deeper than Chen Tongqing and knew more about the situation.
Is this person one of the managers?
Xu Chou?
Ruozhao took a look at the servant's face and remembered that the servant Deli beside Xu Chou did not look like this. At the door at that time, the servant helped Xu Chou to look at Yan Yiqing with hostility. They saw it clearly.
That little boy...
The man was caught and pressed into the mud of the reed marsh. The master and servant looked at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Li knew he was doomed, lowered his head and was about to cry, "Manager..."
Zhang Diao knew the situation was hopeless. He turned back to Yan Siqing and said, "Boss, did you and Manager Xu have a plan ahead of time to feign discord so I could deflect the blame and frame him? And now I'm the one who exposed myself? Or did you suspect I had ulterior motives?"
Yan Siqing suspected that there was a traitor among the stewards, and this suspicion was not difficult to understand.
Because although Shen Tongqing is a member of the Shen family, he is from a side branch and had long been removed from the core management by the Zhou family. He was not involved in the family's shipping business, not to mention the spice business that Yan Yiqing had reached with Chang'an Yuguifang, which was even more confidential. After much thought, it was only the managers who had problems and colluded with others to leak the inside story, and then cooperated inside and outside to call in other traitors on the ship and take control of the ship.
Yan Siqing: "I've been in charge of too many things and never paid attention to you before."
Zhang Diao: “….”
His face turned redder and redder, and he felt angry and helpless.
Jiang Hui raised the corner of his mouth slightly and glanced at her again, but thinking about what he had just said and how she didn't respond, he ignored the unpresentable thing and lowered the corner of his mouth again.
Zhang Diao was furious and couldn't help but ask, "Just because I pointed out something wrong with Xu Chou, do you think there's something wrong with me? But he did erase my suggestion, so isn't it him who's at fault?"
Yan Siqing: "He erased your proposal because you were already exposed before you jumped out. Do you think I asked the guards to find you managers separately, inform you of the details, and ask you to think about the suspicious places just to prevent you from wasting my time?"
What? Isn't it?
Zhang Diao suddenly realized - she wanted to let the traitor among the stewards know that something was wrong so that he could send someone out to pass on the message. In fact, in addition to the guards, there were also people watching. Which steward secretly sent someone out to do something would be exposed, and there would be spies tracking him. At that time, Zhang Diao had already surfaced, and Yan Siqing and Xu Chou had secretly made a plan...
"So you were deliberately quarreling with him to make me let my guard down!"
"But I've already sent Xiao Li out, why are you..."
Zhang Diao suddenly realized again!
But He Zhihong had already arrived and was about to speak.
"Then shouldn't you go and tell the traitor in the narrow city canal transport to hide more carefully?"
Before the County Magistrate, surnamed He, could get close to Yan Siqing and speak, Jiang Hui interrupted, pulled the reins again, and led his horse a step forward to block He Zhihong, saying, "Such a conspiracy involves local officials, and even Lord He has to rush over to deal with it on time. Aren't you ashamed?"
Zhang Diao was speechless.
He Zhihong, blocked by the horses and looked down upon by a merchant, was also choked. However, he suppressed his fear and anger towards Yu Guifang, a company with a formidable background in Chang'an, and could only pretend not to understand. "Mr. Jiang, you are too polite. I don't deserve it. This is just what I should do."
Ruozhao and the others curled their lips. They needed Yan Siqing to understand and arrange everything, and they would only do anything after the dust settled.
It’s a pity that Madam Yan Shao doesn’t seem to see the shrewd calculations behind the integrity and openness of this minor official.
The little devil shouted, "How do you know it's Narrow City? Did you hear us talking just now?!"
He and the man with the mustache were as surprised as if they had seen a ghost. After all, although the place was reserved for everyone, they were not talking loudly enough to be heard by these people, not to mention that this man had arrived later.
Jiang Hui saw that Yan Siqing had no reaction to their conversation, and had no interest in continuing to tell the truth to Xiao Li and others, but he was not in a hurry to settle the situation. Should he leave early and delay time?
He thought for a moment and took the initiative to say, "Such a large ship, sailing at night and through secluded waterways, is bound to pass through the Canal Gate. Once it enters the country, it will inevitably be encountered by the canal inspection boats. If the Yancheng Canal Transport didn't see it, then there must be something fishy going on in the other city's Canal Transport Office. However, most coastal areas have smooth water transportation, and even small families have small boats to fish for a living. After all, it's a water town. Once a large ship approaches, how can the people nearby not know about it? Unless the people in that area can keep their mouths shut - if you count carefully, there is a village in your Yancheng that is full of clan members."
"Young Madam, this place is called Lord Lin's Hometown, right?"
He was a foreigner, but he knew the place in great detail. Yet he pretended to be a stranger and asked questions. In Zhang Diao's opinion, this was really hateful.
It's hypocrisy.
Yan Siqing didn't want to pay attention, but since this person deliberately addressed him, he could only reply, "Yes, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Hui, polite but quiet, dismounted the moment the other man dismounted from the carriage. His steps were so graceful that he didn't even bother stepping on the muddy ground. He followed closely beside her, not far away. "Young Madam, have you guessed that there's trouble in Narrow City? Or perhaps you have a grudge against the people in the village where Lord Lin is from?"
It would have been better if he didn't ask. Once he asked, most of the people present, especially those from Yancheng, had strange expressions on their faces and looked back and forth between him and Yan Siqing.
The expressions of these people would have been fine, but Jiang Hui actually saw embarrassment on Yan Siqing's usually calm and dignified face.
Although it was only for a moment and was quickly covered up, he still noticed it - the look in her eyes when she glanced at him was full of annoyance.
It seemed as if she was blaming him for deliberately causing trouble.
Should he know this?
What's that?
Jiang Hui was surprised, but he didn't try to provoke him any further, intending to just let it go for now. Yan Siqing, however, was always good at smoothing things over, and simply said calmly, "My ancestors from Lord Lin's hometown are from the same clan as Lord Lin, the Grand Commander of Narrow City. We had some grievances in the past."
The "I" she is talking about is an individual.
She only takes matters into her own hands when she encounters disaster.
Instead of the Shen family she had talked about before, she tacitly accepted that all her years of hard work, glory and wealth belonged to her husband, and they would never be the same from then on.
Jiang Hui was able to taste some of this subtle difference.
His character is more than just good, and his friendship is more than worth betraying.
How could that hidden jade be so worthy of such a reward?
Jiang Hui felt very confused and even annoyed as to why he had such thoughts.
If he wasn't pretending, out of the arrogance that has been present in royal families for generations, he would have thought: It's none of his business if people of lower rank decide on their own marriages.
So he quickly put aside these distracting thoughts and casually said, "It must be their fault."
Does this person really not know?
Yan Siqing originally thought that this person came with secrets from the past and had done a thorough investigation, knowing everything about her, including the dirty deeds between her and the father and son of Lin An, the general of Narrow City, so he asked questions knowingly to humiliate her.
Now it seems that this person is unaware of the situation and asked Zhang Diao unintentionally. The result is...
Yan Siqing said nothing more, and Zhang Diao had already sent people to inform the traitor in the grain transport in Narrow City, which meant that both sides had been sold out by him. Knowing that he had no way to survive, he was like a frost-bitten vegetable seedling and confessed everything he could.
"We are now in the sea outside of Narrow City. Let the captain, Chen Zhao, Wang Wu and others on the ship use the water to drug the people. After drugging them, we will take control of the ship and then change the course to Narrow City. We will pass through the Narrow City waterway and enter the reed ferry at Lin Gong's hometown, which is adjacent to the border between the two cities. Because the Narrow City canal and Linjia Village have been informed, they will not be exposed."
"After the success, the ship was here, and the spice cargo inside was removed and moved to the cellars under the village. Each household hid some, and then moved it out little by little using small boats. They could be brought by water or land, and then sold."
What a detailed plan, every avenue has been considered, and an entire village has been mobilized... No wonder it is so difficult to investigate and guard against.
A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake, and a local snake cannot suppress a local clan.
The others were furious. Liu Er was furious. He Zhihong angrily accused them of being accomplices to the evil and proposed to file a complaint with the court. "This Linjia Village is so rotten. It must be related to Lin Chenguang, the son of General Lin. This guy is really despicable..."
Yan Siqing had just been looking at the hull and the several boatmen who were pinned down. After observing the hull for a while, he said, "Why are you modifying this ship? I don't think you have a shipping business, so what are you going to do with all this money and manpower?"
Spices are precious and valuable, and there will be profits no matter how they are sold, but it would not be worth it if the money was used to build or modify ships.
The boat is the most expensive thing.
Zhang Diao lowered his head, his body trembling as he said, "I want to sell it to merchants from other places and make a bigger profit..."
In fact, Yan Siqing was still a little wary of General Lin’s family. What he just asked was: What did the Lin family do with the boat?
Because it is impossible to convict the son of a city general based on just one word.
The Shen family is now just a merchant family.
But Ruoqin was very casual and said, "Sell it to the merchants in their narrow city? Is a great general so short of money?"
Zhang Diao: "We don't know about this, we just do as you say... Madam, we really have no ill will towards you, we are just temporarily fascinated by wealth, so..."
The clues have been found, and Yan Siqing, who had been distractedly observing the hull, no longer had the energy to deal with this matter. He just took another look at the ship.
"More than that."
"Don't you want to use this ship to bypass the grain transport inspection in Yancheng and sneak into other places, preferably transporting something that is expressly prohibited by the imperial court? If it is discovered, since the ship is still registered under my Shen family's name, it will be a capital crime under my imperial law, with all property confiscated and the entire clan exterminated. And my Shen family is just a merchant family, and I am a widow engaged in business. Even if I have been wronged in many ways, I have no way to appeal. What can I do?"
Especially since the loss of contact with the ship had not been settled before and it concerned the business reputation, the Shen family naturally could not report it casually. In fact, it happened only in the past two days. If it were not for the incident with the tenants, Yan Yiqing would have acted decisively and followed the clues to find the ship so quickly. The Shen family and she would have been finished.
Now we have only found the source of the culprit.
But as soon as she learned that Zhang Diao's men were heading towards Xiacheng Canal, she knew what was going on.
Yan Siqing did not mention Lin An and his son, but in just a few words he pointed out the malicious intentions of the person behind the scenes towards the ship.
There was no cleverness or trickery behind this viciousness, it was simply because there was an iron rule that made it possible - the Lin family was an official in the court, while the Shen family was no longer one.
There is no end to the mutual protection among officials.
No one had expected this, and their expressions changed drastically as they suddenly realized something.
How dare a mere general be so arrogant?!
Ruo Zhao and others looked at each other in confusion.
For some reason, the thought of this young lady who was courteous to everyone being bullied and framed by others, and of Ruo Zhao and the others who had been praised for their bravery several times, made them inexplicably angry.
It is obvious that their true positions are also opposite.
They subconsciously wanted to say something, but seeing the indifferent expression on their own prince's face, they could only shut up, and the latter...
Jiang Hui: "It seems that the young lady is in big trouble, so we should not disturb her."
Does this mean to stay away?
This is normal. Even if Chang'an Yuguifang has a powerful background, it is only a major customer of the Shen family. How could it use its connections to deal with a general for her?
Business is business.
Yan Siqing said, "Mr. Jiang's guards are very capable. I feel guilty for helping him several times. Regarding the spice business, I will definitely complete the order and will not delay Yuguifang's affairs. Mr. Jiang can report to the higher-ups. I dare not waste your time."
Jiang Hui: "Are you thanking them while driving them away?"
Ruo Zhao and Ruo Qin both turned to look at their own prince.
Yan Siqing: “…”
How could this person... be so reckless and frivolous, and speak so bluntly.
I don't wait for you to deny it.
Jiang Hui: "I agree. Then give me two more boxes of silver ingots and I'll leave right away."
Yan Siqing could no longer maintain her dignity and wondered why this man was so difficult to please.
Full of yin and yang.
The hateful thing is that he was right.
She was just chasing people away.
"Mr. Jiang, you're worrying too much. You're a distinguished guest, and I can't even welcome you enough. How can I continue to defile you with money and other things?"
"Today has been quite smooth sailing. Investigating the case is the government's responsibility, so I'll trouble County Magistrate He to preside over it. As for Mr. Jiang, since you're new to Yancheng, my Shen family has never hosted a banquet for you. If you don't mind, how about we get together at Fanxiang Tower today?"
"I hope County Magistrate He will come and visit us when he is free..."
She turned her head to look at He Zhihong and also extended an invitation.
He Zhihong: "Madam, you are too polite. This is my job. If you two do not mind interrupting me, I will definitely be there."
Jiang Hui glanced at the familiar etiquette between the two people. It seemed thorough, but it was indeed very outstanding in the eyes of outsiders.
He didn't know about the other scandals of this young lady in the past.
He came all the way to the coast to do serious business. Why would he care about other people's love affairs? How could there be as many private secrets as in Chang'an?
He is too lazy to eat.
But when I first arrived in Yancheng, I heard people whispering about these two people in several teahouses.
There was no way to avoid it, so Jiang Hui could see the trick and sneered faintly.
"I appreciate your kindness, madam. Unfortunately, the higher-ups are in a hurry, so we have to hurry back."
"So, I'm busy."
Ruo Zhao and the other man both felt that their young master seemed too picky and eccentric in front of the young lady. He was like a devil who wanted to make the lady unhappy in every way he could.
Could it be that he was feeling uneasy about the relationship between the prince and the young lady's mother? Was he feeling a little dissatisfied?
Not really. Before this, he was only criticizing his own father and was not picky about the innocent mother and daughter.
The two of them were thinking in a complicated way. They looked at Yan Siqing, worried that she would be upset. However, she was stunned for a moment, and her expression rippled slightly, but it disappeared quickly. She just smiled and said, "That's a pity. I won't delay your important business."
Jiang Hui closed his eyes slightly and snorted softly.
"But I still need to confirm one thing. Although a lot of these spices were found in the village cellar, some were eventually transported away. How are you going to make up for it? Should we ask them to compensate us?"
He was so cautious and attentive, just like a real perfume dealer, or like he really came from Yuguifang.
If Yan Siqing hadn't had some experience from her mother's family and predicted that the other party was from the powerful and wealthy in Chang'an, she would have been fooled. She uttered softly with her red lips: "Inventory."
These two simple words represent the prudence and composure accumulated over the years by those who accomplish great things.
Jiang Hui was stunned.
When the wind blows, the reeds sway slowly, the light from the sky falls on the water, and golden scales leap on the tips of the reeds. Behind her, Yan Siqing, with her long and loose sleeves and graceful figure, seems to be melting into this velvety light.
"Sir, I'm a businessman and I have to take care of my customers. If there are any mistakes, it will be very troublesome to worry about them later. It's better to accumulate some rare goods over time and fill the orders first to avoid the consequences, and then investigate the cause later."
"This time, even if we can't find the ship and lose all the spices, I can still make up for it."
Her demeanor, tone, and choice of words were all very considerate. She embodied the essence of a businessman who takes the overall situation into consideration and cherishes his own interests. She also kept a low profile and was extremely considerate to everyone.
Just based on this frankness, who would not praise the young lady of the Shen family for being comprehensive and a virtuous wife who can manage the household?
But in Jiang Hui's view, it was abrupt and annoying.
She seemed to really treat herself as a member of Chang'an Yuguifang?
No, although he had only met this person a few times, he deeply believed that she was extremely intelligent. His ferocious performance on the outside would at most make her feel that he was difficult to please, but she would not easily gain his trust. However, she still cooperated.
Is she afraid of offending herself?
Not really. She should have been covering up the mistake in case she was really from Yuguifang and was her big customer.
This is not only the sharpness and consideration of a businessman seeking long-term benefits, but also the caution she has honed over the years in difficult situations.
It’s really amazing.
It is indeed hard work.
Knowing that it would be so hard, why didn't you remarry or go back to your parents' home? Both options are much better than now.
She is so talented and precious that she can live well anywhere. She should even be treated as precious and allowed to do whatever she wants.
It could only be because she loved her late husband so deeply, and the deeper the love, the deeper the blame, so she did not want to leave her husband's family who were in dire straits at that time.
Why did he think of this again?
Boring!
How boring!
He stared at her for a few seconds, his lips corners pulled down, making it clear that he was unhappy. He didn't say anything, just stared at her.
Not only did others feel something was wrong, even Yan Siqing noticed it. He thought that he had offended this young man again and was secretly thinking about how to respond.
Jiang Hui suddenly raised his eyebrows, raised his hand, and whistled to his lips.
The horse that was taking a walk in the distance came running over by itself, clattering past him, its mane fluttering. A young man who was riding the horse with one hand was already on top and pulling the reins.
In the dusk light, Mr. Jiang's eyes inevitably swept over other people. Even the county magistrate felt that these people he looked at were insignificant animals rooted in a remote town.
This spice master seemed to be disgusted with the smell on his body. He looked down at the horse with disgust and swept his gaze straight over.
He just stared at the only beautiful lady who was not frightened away by the sudden galloping of the horse.
Yan Siqing was indeed not frightened, but just frowned slightly and glanced at the extremely handsome horse that was staring at him curiously.
The horse was majestic, unlike its owner who was ferocious and sharp. It looked at her with gentleness and kindness.
The head came closer.
"Madam..." Liu'er and the guards were worried, thinking that the horse was going to hurt someone, so they wanted to stop it.
The owner of the horse leaned over, bent his long legs and thin waist, stretched out his long arms, pressed and patted the horse, as if he knew that the horse had no ill intentions, but did not allow it to offend anyone.
"Wangcai, don't move."
Prosperity?
Yan Siqing's eyebrows moved slightly, and there seemed to be ripples of smile. Jiang Hui, who had been watching her, noticed this ripple, but saw that she quickly suppressed it, and the ripples were lighter than the dignified and quiet autumn water in the pool.
The horse's head didn't move, but the man moved closer and closer, and a strong aura was hard to ignore.
Young men are always full of vigor wherever they go.
Yan Siqing's eyes moved slightly, and this time he took a step back.
This person suddenly called her coldly.
"lady."
She tilted her head slightly, almost looking at the person who was leaning over.
Jiang Hui: "This young master thinks that Yancheng is a place where only sparrows can live, and you should be in Chang'an."
Where is Yancheng and where is Chang'an?
In this world, there are fewer ways for women to migrate than for sparrows.
It's just that little way.
His meaning was not very clear and seemed a little strange. Others were still pondering it, but Yan Siqing felt that this person seemed to have been deliberately offending him, and he was not someone of higher rank like Lin Chenguang who was willing to trample on him.
If it wasn't a mean tease, it was a reference to the incident that nearly wiped out his entire family.
He wants to go to Chang'an to deal with this case himself?
Are his political enemies behind this?
The waves in his heart surged almost violently, and the tragic deaths of most of the family members flashed by. Among them, the loving face of his biological father was split open by a knife, and blood splattered three feet.
The scorching heat melted the ice and her heart was warmed by the fishy and rotten smell she smelled when she woke up and was pulled out of the pile of dead bodies by her uncle.
There was a hint of darkness in Yan Siqing's eyes. The autumn water swallowed up the fallen leaves, and only the autumn wind was blowing on the surface.
Should he go to Chang'an for revenge, or live peacefully in Yancheng?
"I appreciate Mr. Jiang's kindness. My business in Yancheng is not stable yet, and I don't have enough energy to pursue the big market of Chang'an. If I can stay at peace, it would be good to be a sparrow in this life."
Yan Siqing didn't have much ambition to begin with. He was busy developing business in various cities in Yancheng. He was down-to-earth and willing to give up his own interests. He would rather make small profits but sell a lot. His words were very sincere.
The corners of Jiang Hui's mouth turned down, and he looked almost cold.
"Really? That's good too. It will also help Madam and Master Shen to show their deep love. Such loyalty and righteousness is admirable."
Yan Siqing was stunned, but agreed.
Jiang Hui turned his eyes away, now feeling a bit impatient like a young man in his early twenties, and called out to Ruo Zhao and the other man in a low and stern voice.
"Aren't you leaving yet?"
The two men came to their senses, quickly mounted their horses, pulled the reins and galloped away. The fierce wind blew up the reed fragments like a scraper.
Just left like that.
Yan Siqing then breathed a sigh of relief and no longer looked at the dark shadow walking away in the dusk.
"Yes."
We had asked the government to intervene before, but now that the situation is clear, it is impossible to let the Shen family take charge of the investigation. We have to entrust the sovereignty to the government.
Officials of the narrow city, the general, the Lin family.
It was indeed beyond the Shen family's ability to deal with him, unless they took the same risk as before and asked her uncle to help them suppress that devil Lin Chenguang...
But now, I can’t.
Yan Siqing thought of the situation on her mother's side and her uncle who was now walking on thin ice, and she didn't want to implicate them any further.
We can only think about it in the long run.
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