Chapter 375 Cashmere Business
Lin Qinghua colluded with officials from the Songfeng County Government and interfered in a civil case. This was discovered by the Censorate, who wanted to bring him back to Beijing for interrogation.
I thought that the Censorate had already gone to the Qili County Court and got the whole story of the case from Jiang Feng. There was no need for me to appear in court, so they didn't tell me.
Song Liyun frowned slightly: She had sent a message to Lin Qingyuan a month ago, asking him to pay attention to the safety of his life and property.
But I didn't expect that the Lin Mansion would be completely confiscated and sealed off, and even taken back to the capital...
Oh no, Lin Qingyuan will definitely be taken away too!
Song Liyun's face changed. Just as she was about to open her mouth to tell him about Lin Qingyuan, she saw the people she had left outside being brought in by the Wan family's servants.
Fang Zheng first saluted Wan Daguanshi and Wan Yanming, then walked over to Song Liyun and whispered, "Young Madam, I just arrived outside the Lin Mansion and saw that the palace soldiers were surrounding the house, so I didn't go forward.
I went to Ruzhu Pavilion as you instructed, and everything is normal there. I left a code message for the shopkeeper, asking Master Lin to meet at the Tianzi Elegant Seat in Guixiang Tower at 5:00 PM.
Song Liyun nodded. As long as there was no movement in Ruzhu Pavilion and Lao Lu and several other guards were there, Lin Qingyuan should be fine.
While the two were talking, Manager Wan and Wan Yanming were sitting nearby.
This kind of whispering behavior was a bit rude, but the uncle and nephew of the Wan family were tactful. One drank tea, the other appreciated the tea, and both turned away.
Fang Zheng said this and stepped back to wait for instructions.
Song Liyun asked him to go down and rest. The news had already spread, and now they could only wait and see whether Lin Qingyuan would show up at 5:00 p.m.
However, she still had to ask Manager Wan about the situation at the Lin Mansion.
When they were in the Dilu grassland, Lin Qingyuan mentioned his family affairs, but there were many obscure points in it and he spoke vaguely. Song Liyun didn't want to ask a man about his family affairs.
"Uncle Wan, our business this time is related to Lin Qingyuan from the Lin Mansion. Do you know anything about him?"
Song Liyun did not mention the closure of the Lin Mansion, but instead asked about Lin Qingyuan's character.
When Manager Wan heard Lin Qingyuan's name, his brows instantly twisted into knots.
Song Liyun had asked this person before, and all he knew of Lin Qingyuan was a playboy who did not work properly.
But if he asked again now, given Song Liyun's temper, he would definitely find something strange.
Steward Wan thought for a moment and stopped talking about the inner chambers of the Lin Mansion. Instead, he said, "The Lin family has decent official careers, but good financial luck. They're also a major merchant family in Pingyang Prefecture. Furthermore, since marrying into the imperial merchant Qi family, they've taken on some business selling grain to the Dilu grasslands, and now they're thriving."
Song Liyun frowned when she heard this: No wonder Lin Qingyuan said that food could be transported in the future, this means he has connections and resources, and we can't abandon this person.
The steward Wan then told what he knew about the relationship between the Qi family, the imperial merchant, and the nobles in the capital, and finally said: "I heard that before the late emperor passed away, Concubine Qin was very honored and favored, and her family also benefited from it.
Although the Qi family was only cousins of the imperial concubine, they also obtained the title of imperial merchant.
Because the Qi family was responsible for collecting rare treasures for the nobles in the palace, they had the privilege of leaving Xishi Pass and entering the grasslands."
He paused for a few breaths before continuing, "Actually, the Qi family's relatives took the opportunity to smuggle grain, tobacco, and alcohol.
Some say these caravans even carry refined iron and people. Of course, this is just a rumor, no one has ever seen it with their own eyes.
In other words, those who witnessed it are already dead.
After saying this, Wan Da Guanshi said seriously, "Miss Song, you are close to the guards. You must know these things, but you can't know them all. It's better to pretend you don't know them."
Song Liyun's palms tightened: the sale of grain and salt was a tacit agreement reached by both parties, and there was no problem in trafficking them secretly. The Di tribe had also sent many horses to the Wu Dynasty.
However, only fine iron is a strategic material, and even the Wu Dynasty has a clear ban on private possession, but the Qi family dares to sell it privately.
As for the population... it is not something that the Qi family can cover up on its own. It is hard to say that there are no border troops who have had their pay withheld and are trying to find a way out on their own who are involved.
Now Manager Wan reminded her not to tell anyone and bring trouble.
Song Liyun was full of thoughts at the moment, and according to her previous thinking, she might have just ignored it.
The Qi family is a royal merchant family, and they have no evidence and are backed by the Imperial Dowager Consort. Even Luo Lun is powerless, not to mention her being a mere daughter of a military household.
But now...
Song Liyun thought of the ceremony of returning slaves on the grassland, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
Whether it's the Imperial Dowager Consort or the Duke of Anguo, these are the concerns of the nobles in the capital.
Now that the Wuda tribe wants to send back the slaves, it will definitely cause an uproar.
The most panicked ones should be the human traffickers, and they will show up soon.
She snorted twice and said, "Uncle Wan, don't worry. I know the seriousness of the matter. I can't tell anyone about things without evidence."
Wan Daguanshi interrupted her and said, "Even if you have evidence, you can't say it. Captain Luo is just a garrison. If you make a mistake, he can't guarantee your safety."
Song Liyun smiled and said, "Uncle Wan is right. This is a serious matter. I won't cause trouble for Captain Luo."
Manager Wan never knew which Di tribe Song Liyun was connected to, and only thought that she mainly relied on the Suijin Guards.
Captain Luo's ability is limited. If other garrisons and passes have transactions with the grassland tribes, he will be powerless to save the situation and may even bring about his own death.
Of course Song Liyun would not go to Captain Luo. She was only concerned about the Lin Mansion being sealed and whether Lin Qingyuan could escape.
Putting aside the matter of the Lin Mansion, Song Liyun directly talked about wanting to expand the fur business and send wool to the southeast.
The southeast has a large population and limited land, and the rural textile industry is well developed. The weavers usually use silk as raw material and have a set of mature techniques and tools to spin fine yarn, which is sold to various parts of the Wu Dynasty. Even the grasslands can be seen with the traces of Tiancan yarn.
Song Liyun wanted to send the cleaned and combed cashmere to the local weavers so that they could spin it into fine wool yarn, weave it into cloth, and then cut it into clothes.
This was also reminded to her by the piece of light cloud gauze that Wan Yanming gave her.
Originally, she wanted the Wuda tribe to spin wool yarn and weave it into cloth, but the grassland style is rough. They can make exquisite carpets with wool and knead cashmere blankets, but they are not good at weaving.
The dyeing and craftsmanship of the wool yarn spun by Madam Wu Ya were far inferior to the light cloud gauze sent by Wan Yanming.
Song Liyun thought that cashmere was harder to come by than silk that could be farmed on a large scale. If it was sold to the southeast road, it was like soft gold, but if it was spun into yarn, it would be a huge loss.
Hearing Song Liyun say that she wanted to sell wool, Wan Yanming was not overjoyed, but frowned slightly: "What Miss Song said about cashmere being precious is indeed true. A piece of cashmere cloth is several times more expensive than silk.
There is just one problem: if you open a special spinning house, the tools inside will have to be modified, and the weaver will have to experiment for a while. It will take at least a year and a half to see any results, so you can't just try it casually.
Miss Song, how much cashmere can you get, and can you guarantee a sufficient supply?
When talking about his own business, Wan Yanming also became serious. He was worried that if he didn't make enough preparations, the cashmere would be out of stock.
After all, it is not easy to travel from Pingyang Prefecture to Southeast Road due to the long distance.
Good things should be eaten bite by bite!
The luggage drawings that Song Liyun had sent earlier were enough for several years of sales, so it would be too hasty to ask for this cashmere.
Song Liyun smiled calmly: "Don't worry, Mr. Wan, I can send you 200 kilograms of cashmere and 1,000 kilograms of wool, enough for you to spin for a year."
Wan Yanming was shocked. It was okay to count furs in thousands of pieces, but when did wool and cashmere start to be counted in hundreds of kilograms?
(End of this chapter)
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