Chapter 349

He got up, prepared to wash his face and brush his teeth, and eat breakfast.

Liu Rushi smiled, brought in a bowl of porridge, and said:

"There are quite a few rumors circulating outside about Young Master."

With Qing'er's help, Su Qiao washed his face and rinsed his mouth; hearing Liu Rushi's words, he felt somewhat puzzled.

"About me? What about me? I have been busy in the Ministry of Works this entire time and haven't gone out at all."

"What's being said outside concerns Qian Qianyi. Qian Qianyi has been imprisoned; it is said that corruption and bribery during his time in court were discovered."

Qian Qianyi?

603

Su Qiao was stunned, recalling when Liu Rushi first entered Jingcheng.

That wretched old man who opposed Su Qiao at Yi Hong Lou.

"Didn't he return to Jin Ling?"

Su Qiao had originally intended to take action against him, but who knew that old man was particularly cowardly.

The very next morning, he hurriedly left Jingcheng and returned to Jin Ling.

Su Qiao hadn't even had time to deal with him.

Why has he been imprisoned now?

"What exactly is the situation?"

Su Qiao's impression of that old fellow was extremely poor; one could even say they were enemies.

Liu Rushi then patiently explained the matter to Su Qiao.

It turned out that Qian Qianyi was old in body but not in heart.

Earlier, when Su Qiao said his heart was quite lecherous, he hadn't been wrong at all!

Since suffering a setback in Jingcheng, Qian Qianyi had fled back to Jin Ling in a disgraceful, 狼狈 manner.

At first, he hid in Jin Ling for a while, not daring to show his face.

He feared Su Qiao would not let him go and would still come after him.

After waiting a few days and finding nothing happened, his previously dormant heart became active again.

Restless and eager to act!

Liu Rushi was no longer his target, so he switched to pursuing another courtesan.

Qian Qianyi himself possessed considerable talent, his status and position were not bad, and he had also embezzled quite a bit of Qian Cai while in court, so he had money.

His only flaw was that he was old.

But was that a problem?

It was absolutely not a problem!

What women in the brothels wanted was the hope of jumping out of the fire pit.

Moreover, under Qian Qianyi the old ruffian's empty promises and sweet talk, few could escape.

Within a few days, he spent tens of thousands of taels of silver to buy the freedom of a courtesan and bring her home as a concubine.

If no one had been watching him before, it would have been fine.

At most, some who disapproved or were jealous would have spoken a few words behind his back, and that would have passed.

But!

Back when Su Qiao was at Yi Hong Lou, Zhu Youjian had gone there as well.

He also witnessed Qian Qianyi's shameless behavior.

He specifically instructed the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate him thoroughly.

And so, once the Embroidered Uniform Guard set their sights on him, he suddenly began spending silver lavishly, tens of thousands of taels at a time.

Wasn't arresting him simple then?

Soon, Qian Qianyi was finished; his household was searched and confiscated, and he was thrown into the Embroidered Uniform Guard's prison for interrogation.

Strictly speaking, Su Qiao should not have been implicated.

The previous conflict with Su Qiao occurred in Jingcheng, while this incident happened in Jin Ling.

They were separated by a vast distance; most people would not make the connection.

However, since Qian Qianyi was imprisoned, his relatives would certainly try to help rescue him.

They spent a lot of money to inquire about the situation and ended up learning about Su Qiao.

Normally, Qian Qianyi had no serious feuds with anyone.

He went to Jingcheng once, clashed with Su Qiao, and then fled back to Jin Ling in disgrace.

Naturally, Su Qiao's name was noted by those with ulterior motives.

Moreover, Su Qiao wielded considerable influence in court; virtually all officials in court knew him.

When Qian Qianyi's family came to Jingcheng seeking help, Su Qiao's name spread further.

"Sigh, I thought it was something important. Since he went in for embezzlement, it is only right; there is no need to concern ourselves with him."

Having roughly understood the situation, Su Qiao waved his hand, showing no concern.

Liu Rushi was still somewhat worried. "But what if they come knocking?"

"Rest assured, they won't. Even if they do come knocking, it doesn't matter; just call the local authorities."

"Very well! Then this concubine understands."

With Su Qiao's words, she felt reassured.

Bang bang bang...

Su Qiao had just changed into a green scholar's robe under Liu Rushi's assistance.

Noisy sounds came from outside.

The steward ran into the courtyard shouting, "Master, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has arrived!"

Ordinary families would tremble in their legs at the sight of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, terrified to death.

However, the servants and underlings here at Su Qiao's place had seen them many times.

Every time they came to invite their own Master, so they were used to it and not so afraid.

Su Qiao paused for a moment; he still had to go to the Ministry of Works today to check if the ships and their rudders were working properly.

Why has the Embroidered Uniform Guard come?

Could something else have happened?

Su Qiao straightened his clothes, came out of the room, and asked, "Where are they?"

"Outside, they look quite urgent."

"Hmm, let's go see!"

Eh, this time Wang Chengen came personally!

Su Qiao stared at him in surprise, "Why did Eunuch Wang come along today? Has something major happened?"

"Mr. Su, Your Majesty is looking for you. The matter is not big, but not small either; let's talk on the way."

"Good!"

Su Qiao has already grown accustomed to it.

If Zhu Youjian could go a whole month without summoning him, that would truly be the sun rising from the west.

Getting into the carriage, Su Qiao did not stand on ceremony with Wang Chengen; he sat down and immediately asked:

"What is going on this time?"

"Ah, it's a problem with the garrisons in Fujian and the Jiang-Zhe region."

Sitting close together in the carriage, and having known each other for quite some time, their conversation was slightly more casual.

Hearing this, Su Qiao asked with some confusion:

"Wasn't the problem of the southeastern garrisons handed over to Grand Secretary Sun? Grand Secretary Sun should have already arrived in Jiangnan by now; could it be that he still cannot solve it?"

Wang Chengen shook his head, "If it were just a simple garrison problem, that would be one thing. I don't know what's going on, but the soldiers and officers of these garrisons are already old, weak, sick, and disabled, yet the commanders have now become strange too, constantly yawning and needing to smoke a black, pasty medicine..."

Whoosh!

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Su Qiao's forehead!

Why did this sound so familiar to him?

It seems opium is exactly like this!