Chapter 466: The Matter is Exposed

He had of course washed up, except for the bloodshot eyes. The county magistrate sat down, and the servant immediately served hot tea.

He sipped it, put down the cup, and then asked the two: "What's the matter, running to me so early."

Wealthy Merchant Li said angrily: "That Tu guy actually went to the Crown Prince's special envoy to submit a note to report us."

The county magistrate didn't care: "This little thing in the township isn't worth the Crown Prince's special envoy's attention, you are overthinking." With their little tricks, how could the superiors care? Country bumpkins are country bumpkins, they can't hold their breath for a little thing.

Wealthy Merchant Wang suddenly switched topics: "The mineral deposits in the porcupine territory, who did you assign them to, my lord?"

The Bai Shi County Magistrate was stunned: "What kind of talk is this, where are there mineral deposits in the porcupine territory?"

Wealthy Merchant Li was holding a belly full of anger: "That Crown Prince's special envoy went into the mountain to see the porcupine nest today and brought back a lot of mineral powder to my Shuojin Hall for identification. That is Shi Luo; there might be a mineral vein near the pig nest!"

The Bai Shi County Magistrate looked blank: "Shi Luo? Never heard of it, is it very important?"

"This was identified by Mr. Lu, the medicine ape I hired at a high price at Shuojin Hall. Shi Luo is the essence of mountain ranges. One thousand mountain ranges might not produce a vein of Stone Blood ore. You say it's precious or not?"

"What is this thing specifically used for?"

"Many folk remedies must use it, and it's also used for casting magic treasures." Wealthy Merchant Li lowered his voice again. "It is said that this is also an immortality medicine, or rather, the medicine primer for longevity medicine."

The Bai Shi County Magistrate hissed.

Immortality medicine is a legend of the Beijia Nation, spread vaguely and ambiguously among the people, and only upper-level figures know its authenticity. But anything that can be related to it must be very precious!

"Is it really taken from Mount Yulun?" The Bai Shi County Magistrate thought deeper. "Could it be that this special envoy brought it himself?"

"Oh, let's send someone into the mountain to take a look, won't we know?" Wealthy Merchant Li sighed. "This nest of porcupines died inexplicably. At first, it was said they were crushed to death by avalanches and falling rocks, but the special envoy said it didn't look like it. Look, is it possible that someone wanted to occupy the Shi Luo mine, so they killed them?"

Wealthy Merchant Wang continued: "That nest of porcupines died more than half a year ago. It's very likely that the culprit has also been stealing Shi Luo ore there for more than half a year. This, this... my lord, you must manage it!"

"No one applied for mining here!" The Bai Shi County Magistrate was annoyed. "If I approved it, would you not know?"

In the countryside, such news spreads faster than anything; it's too hard to cover it up.

Wealthy Merchant Li didn't sleep all night, thinking about this matter, and the bloodshot eyes were heavier than anyone else's. Seeing it was time to bring out his ideological crystallization, he coughed hard to clear his throat: "My lord, the only one who can dig and chisel in the porcupine territory without attracting attention, I think, is the Wan family!"

The Bai Shi County Magistrate was stunned: "The Wan family? The Wan family that repairs lakes and builds dams?"

"Mount Yulun is usually not visited by anyone, only their group is clanging and digging. Isn't it easy to use the banner of digging a lake to go into the mountain to mine?" Wealthy Merchant Li glared at Wealthy Merchant Wang, who understood and helped: "The progress of opening the lake is lagging. Originally, it was said that it would be completed by the end of this year, but the Wan family insisted that the geology is loose, pushing it to next summer."

"Exactly. My medicine ape Mr. Lu said that the reserves of the Stone Blood vein are very limited, not like copper and iron where you can't finish digging if you encounter a rich vein. I see it will be next summer, the Wan family will have dug up all the Stone Blood, and then fill the mine pit, heh, god knows and ghost knows!"

Wealthy Merchant Wang sneered: "They are making a fortune in silence, why should we, who work hard to do business and sell medicine, take the blame for them? It's not appropriate, too inappropriate!"

They were all wealthy merchants dealing in medicinal herbs locally, but the Wan family was not. Now the Wan family had reached into this field to rake in money, but wanted them to take the blame? How could there be such a good thing! His jurisdiction actually produced Stone Blood? The Bai Shi County Magistrate was first shocked, and then displeased. But he was a man who sought stability, so he nodded: "I will immediately send someone into the mountain to check, everything will wait until the evidence is solid. You all calm down, and this matter must not be spread!"

Both wealthy merchants said they knew.

No one noticed that a crow was standing on the eaves outside, tilting its head when it heard this.

This evening, the people sent by the Bai Shi County Magistrate finally returned from Mount Yulun and really brought him a little powder: Shi Luo powder scraped from the porcupine nest.

This person also secretly spied on the Wan family's lake-building project and found that although this group of craftsmen was also clanging and digging in the giant cave, they occasionally dug out small pieces of dark red ore, and the foreman would run over to collect them.

The Bai Shi County Magistrate was furious and sent police to summon Wealthy Merchant Wan.

Unexpectedly, the police returned quickly, not finding the person, but holding a letter: "My lord, Wan Xianneng has already been interrogated by the special envoy, both legs have been broken, and he has just invited a doctor to treat..."

The Bai Shi County Magistrate was shocked: "What, the special envoy has already looked for the one surnamed Wan?" He snatched the letter from the police's hand. "This was left by the special envoy?"

"Yes. The special envoy grabbed a steward of the Wan family and has already gone to Shuanglu Town."

The Bai Shi County Magistrate opened the letter and looked at it, and his hands shook. After reading the hundred or so words, he was sweating profusely.

In fact, early this morning, He Lingchuan led Jiao Yu to break into the Wan family's mansion.

The crow had been monitoring at night, so he knew very well that Wealthy Merchant Wan was at home.

Wealthy Merchant Wan was having breakfast, and before he put down his chopsticks, he saw a fierce tiger rush in, staring like a tiger watching its prey.

A person followed the fierce tiger in, standing with his hands behind his back, looking at him and smiling: "Wan Xianneng, your matter is exposed."

With a 'clatter', the chopsticks fell to the ground.

Knowing the identity of the visitor, the steward, servants, and guards didn't dare to step forward. He Lingchuan said to Wealthy Merchant Wan: "Wan Xianneng, how did that nest of porcupines in Mount Yulun die? Do you want to confess voluntarily, or do you want to eat a round of torture first?"

Wealthy Merchant Wan had cold sweat dripping from his forehead, but knowing that confessing was also a dead end, he secretly gritted his teeth and said: "Special Envoy, I don't know what's going on! Those families who have grudges with the porcupine demons, you saw them at the banquet the day before yesterday; I am not among them!"

He Lingchuan didn't talk nonsense with him either, looking at Jiao Yu: "General Jiao?" He didn't dare to let General Ling go up, fearing that the Drill-Wind Beast would accidentally trample the person to death.

Jiao Yu didn't answer either, and rushed into the room directly.

Screams, pleas for mercy, and wails were endless.

The fierce tiger did this and that to Wealthy Merchant Wan, ouch... He Lingchuan covered his face, unable to bear watching, and turned to the dumbfounded Wan family servants: "During my investigation, whoever steps out of the Wan family will be treated as an accomplice of Wan Xianneng and will be skinned!"

The servants were silent as cicadas in winter.

There were a few guards inside who originally thought it was embarrassing to take the master's salary for nothing and were still trying to show off, but when they saw three more tall sheep walk in, they immediately gave up the idea.

The people do not fight with the officials; this is a lesson branded in the bones.

The scene in the room was quite bloody, so He Lingchuan had to move a chair and wait in the courtyard.

Not long after, the goshawk circling in the air suddenly swooped down.

Screams of humans also sounded in the west.

Not long after, a man was driven in, staggering, with several bloody holes in his shoulders.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he knelt before He Lingchuan and cried: "My lord, I was just following orders!"

The goshawk landed on the branch behind He Lingchuan: "I saw this person secretly pick up a bundle in the air, wanting to slip out of the Wan family from the back door."

He Lingchuan asked the Wan mansion steward: "Who is this?"

"This is the master's head steward, surnamed Lu."

He Lingchuan asked the steward Lu a few questions, then walked to the front of the room and knocked on the door: "Wan Xianneng, your steward Lu is about to confess. If you confess after him, I guarantee you will suffer double the bitterness."

As soon as the words fell, Wealthy Merchant Wan's crying came from inside: "I'll say, I'll say! Please stop!"

Jiao Yu's methods were too fierce, and he finally couldn't hold on anymore.

"In Zhitian Township, the medicinal herb business is too hard to do, so I switched to opening mountains, building bridges, and mining. Unexpectedly, the flood last summer washed away the bridge I built, and the villagers determined that I was unreliable, and this business also took a turn for the worse," Wealthy Merchant Wan said, feeling bitter in his heart. "At this time, someone reported that a Stone Blood vein was discovered on Mount Yulun. I knew Stone Blood was valuable, but that mountain head wasn't mine. Coincidentally, coincidentally, my nephew specializes in teaching mountain monsters and wild monsters a lesson, so I asked him to help me scare this group of porcupines... I really didn't want to kill them!"

"How did your nephew do it?"

"I don't know," Wealthy Merchant Wan said with a blank face. "Not long after I asked him, he came back and told me it was done. When the snow melted the following spring, that nest of porcupines was indeed discovered dead in the nest cave."

"After they died, the resistance to opening the lake and digging the dam was gone. The county magistrate handed this job to me, and I took the opportunity to, to..."

Went to mine.

"Looking at it this way, you have little connection to this matter?"

"Not much, really not much. I really didn't want to kill that nest of porcupines; the one who killed them wasn't me!"

He Lingchuan asked him again: "You only did this kind of heartless thing once?"

"Just once, just this once!"

"Oh? But steward Lu didn't say so." He Lingchuan pulled steward Lu in front of him. "You just told me that Wealthy Merchant Wan asked you to run to Shuanglu Town several times?"

"Nine, nine times!" Steward Lu saw Wealthy Merchant Wan's miserable state and didn't dare to lie. He was just a worker, receiving a meager salary, so why sell his life for an unscrupulous boss? "Including this trip yesterday!"

"So Wealthy Merchant Wan didn't just contact his nephew?"

"Not just that," steward Lu said immediately. "He always asked me to send blood beads to Shuanglu Town!"

As soon as the two words "blood beads" came out, Wan Xianneng swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

It's over, even this was confessed.

"What exactly is that blood bead?"

Steward Lu lowered his head: "It's a red round bead, about the size of a pellet. I don't know the specific function and origin. I just followed orders!"

He Lingchuan glanced at Wan Xianneng and said gloomily: "After he finishes saying what he should say, you will be useless too."

Wan Xianneng's sweat flowed to his chin, and he suddenly gritted his teeth: "My lord, investigating this will do you and the Crown Prince no good!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 467 =====

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