An Shuyi thought about it and agreed. "Then let's wait and see. I just want to see what happens to the magistrate's family. How about we go to the magistrate's house tonight?"
"Alright, let's go check on Magistrate Liu's family and see if they've discovered the missing silver." Since killing the few people who entered the village that night, Magistrate Liu's family hasn't sent anyone else.
Perhaps they can't find a skilled assassin, or perhaps they've discovered their money is missing and are busy searching for it.
And their guess was right. The Liu family waited all night, but the assassin did not return. At dawn, the magistrate decided to go to the escort agency to see if the people there were taking the money but not doing their job. But before he could go, he discovered that the silver in the secret room was missing.
The secret room was in his study, and the silver was placed there so that he could check it frequently. But when he checked it every day, he found that all the silver was gone, and even the letters were missing. He was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.
These letters were correspondence between him and Lord Wu. If they were discovered, he would be finished. Not only would he be finished, but his family and even his nine generations of relatives would be wiped out. But he couldn't understand why anyone would discover the secret room in the study and be able to move the things inside overnight.
However, he could not write to Lord Wu at this time, so he sent someone to deliver a letter to his eldest daughter in the Crown Prince's residence, asking her to inquire whether the letters had been delivered to other officials or presented to the Emperor.
On the fourth day after the letter was sent out, the servant who had delivered the message to his daughter returned anxiously, saying that the Emperor had learned of his and Lord Wu's secret silver minting and had sent officials to investigate.
Magistrate Liu collapsed to the ground, his worries of the past few days confirmed. He got up and told the women and children in his household to pack their belongings and escape quickly. But before he could get there, Minister Chen had already surrounded the county government office with his men.
Minister Chen waved his hand and ordered, "Go in and search. Don't let any clue slip by. Whether it's a man, a woman, or a child, bring them all to the front."
The soldiers then went in to search, and the women, children, and maids inside were all driven out. In an instant, the county government office was in an uproar, with people crying and shouting. The Liu family was also forced to kneel on the ground.
Soon, a lot of official silver, gold and silver treasures, and letters that were found were carried out of the room. Even if the letters that were not presented to the prince were not included, these things alone were enough to execute Magistrate Liu and his family.
Seeing that the official silver and letters had been found, Magistrate Liu looked utterly dejected. He knew that no matter who it was this time, they couldn't save his family.
The same thing happened in Baiyun City. Prefect Wu and his family were surrounded by Imperial Censor Liu and his soldiers, and a lot of official silver, gold and silver treasures, as well as letters, were quickly found.
Imperial Censor Liu accepted the letter handed to him by the soldiers. After reading it, he was shocked. He knew it would be like this. But thinking of the women and children at home, he secretly hid the letter in his clothes when no one was watching.
Your Majesty, it's not that this old minister is disloyal, but I simply dare not gamble with the lives of my family. My family consists of hundreds of people; if these things were presented, so many lives would be lost.
"Arrest them and take them to the capital. Put the women and children in jail and await the Emperor's judgment." After saying this, Imperial Censor Liu jumped onto his horse and took Prefect Wu and the other officials involved in the matter with him.
When An Shuyi and Xia Hua arrived at night, they saw soldiers guarding outside the county government office before they even got close to it, and the office was sealed off.
"Huahua, are the officials under the emperor really that efficient? It's only been five or six days, and the Liu family has already been sealed off. It seems that the Liu family has also been arrested."
It's a pity she didn't get to see the investigation of Magistrate Liu's family; otherwise, she could have watched the spectacle. If Magistrate Liu knew that his family's downfall was all because of her daughter and the assassins he sent, would he regret it?
“This isn’t early. We’ve been delayed on the way. Otherwise, it would have been faster. Should we go check on things in the prison? Magistrate Liu is being escorted to the capital. The rest of the people in this mansion won’t be taken there,” Xia Hua asked.
“Go!” An Shuyi nodded heavily. She had to go and see what would become of Magistrate Liu’s daughter. The more miserable she was, the happier she would be.
"Let's go then, be careful," Xia Hua instructed, then carefully avoided the soldiers and headed towards the magistrate's prison. There were guards outside, and to ensure her safe entry, she took out a packet of pills from the warehouse.
This is a sleeping potion that Xiao Wu researched. It was originally meant for Shu Shu, but it would take up a slot if it were kept with her. I was afraid of mixing it up with other things, so I put it with her.
He took out a pill and threw it at the prison gate. The pill exploded and turned into smoke, and soon the soldiers guarding outside fell to the ground.
"Hurry up, this medicine will only last for an incense stick at most!" Xia Hua said, and the two went inside. There was a long staircase leading down to the prison, where Magistrate Liu and his family, along with their maids and servants, were imprisoned. When they came in, everyone looked at them in surprise, not expecting that even with soldiers guarding the outside, people could still get in.
"It's you?" Liu Yiyi looked at them, her face full of surprise.
Her father had already sent assassins, so why are these two women still alive? Did those assassins really take the money and not do the job?
But her father had clearly said that the assassin might not have returned yet, since killing takes time, so she waited patiently. Unexpectedly, after several days, instead of the two women being killed, their house was surrounded and many things were found during the search.
She only found out today that her family had so much silver, but her mother said she didn't know either. Her father was also taken to the capital today, and they were waiting for the emperor's judgment. She didn't know what her father had done.
An Shuyi walked over and said, "Miss Liu, you're surprised to see us, aren't you? I didn't expect us to be alive. You must be disappointed. But the assassins your father sent were really useless; they were killed by us in no time."
"Look at you now, you're so pathetic. You're nothing like the arrogant and domineering person you were a few days ago. I wonder if there are rats in this prison at night. But there probably are. I saw a lot of them when I came in."
"By the way, where are your gold and silver jewelry? Why aren't you wearing them? Without your gold and silver jewelry, you don't look good at all. You're all dirty and pitiful."
Liu Yiyi stomped her feet in anger, "You're the pathetic one! You're just two widows who received the Emperor's title. Otherwise, who knows how long you would have lived? You just wait and see how I kill you when my father comes back."
“I’m thirty-seven today, I’ve lived longer than you no matter what. You’re about to die, yet you’re still so arrogant. Well, I’ll wait and see. But I bet you won’t live to see your old man’s come back, because he’s about to die, and so are you.”
After An Shuyi finished speaking, she turned her head and said, "Huahua, give me a packet of itching powder." This stuff isn't fatal, but it's the most torturous thing.
Xia Hua took a packet of medicine powder from her bosom—actually from the warehouse—and handed it to him, saying, "Be careful, don't get it on yourself."
If you get even a tiny bit of this stuff on you, it will cause unbearable itching, making you want to scratch your skin raw.
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