Chapter 428

However, he had only been exposed for a short time, merely two months.

Even so, he was already addicted; the smoke rings were black.

Yet his speech was very logical, and his energy was far superior to that of other wealthy merchants before.

Moreover, through his narration, Su Qiao had roughly grasped the situation.

Half a month ago, he had encountered that priest.

The meeting was somewhat melodramatic; he had been smoking opium for a month and a half and was already addicted.

When he met that priest, he accidentally saw the priest trading opium with someone.

Although the quantity was not large, he could absolutely not ignore that familiar scent.

He had always purchased it from Lester before, but the price was too high.

Even though he was moderately wealthy, he was unwilling to throw away tens of taels at a time, nearly hundreds of taels every month.

So his heart stirred, and he found this priest and started chatting with him.

Under his initiative to make friends, the two quickly became acquainted.

And the priest also brought out opium and recommended it to him.

The price was even a bit cheaper than at Lester's.

Although it was still very expensive, he tried it simply and found the quality was the same.

Since there was a cheaper option with the same quality, why not buy the cheaper one?

So he bought a half-month supply from the priest.

After listening, Su Qiao blinked his eyes; what could he say?

Praise him as a clever little rascal?

Don't be ridiculous!

"Do you know where that priest lives?"

"I know, I know, right at..."

"Sun Youxu, take people!"

"Yes!"

After Sun Youxu left, Su Qiao said to Li Fu: "You have only just become addicted; the harm is not deep yet, far better than theirs. As long as you grit your teeth and quit, your body will recover in time. You are also a victim, and you did not aid the wicked by dragging others into the fire pit. This official will not punish you..."

"Thank you, my lord, thank you, my lord!"

Hearing that he could still recover, Li Fu was so happy he almost cried.

He thought he was finished.

"Alright, you may go down now!"

The attendant nearby naturally led him away.

The issue with the wealthy merchant was temporarily resolved; next came Lester, who had been kneeling there all along.

At this moment, Liu Minghe, Zhao Hui, and He Yunyi sitting in the main hall also more or less understood what Zhu Youjian had sent Su Qiao to do.

If Su Qiao had not come to handle it personally, they really would not have taken this matter seriously.

Who could have known this thing was such a terrifying slow-acting poison?

The imperial court had issued an imperial edict several months ago ordering them to investigate thoroughly.

As a result, they did nothing.

Now that this special envoy Su Qiao had arrived, it had been only half a month, and the investigation was already complete.

What is this?

Each of them worried that Su Qiao would seek trouble with them.

Indeed, the evidence was in Su Qiao's hands, and each of them was extremely guilty.

They squirmed on their chairs, none daring to speak out of turn.

They feared offending Su Qiao's temper.

"Shall we continue the interrogation then?"

Su Qiao took a sip of tea and turned to ask Liu Minghe and the others.

Although his official rank was the highest, regardless, they were occupying their Viceroy Yamen.

They would have to deal with each other in the future; he had to give them some face.

Upon hearing this, Liu Minghe and the others waved their hands repeatedly. "Su my lord's trial is fair; we, your subordinates, admire it. We will just listen; it is up to you, Su my lord, to make the decision."

Now their compromising secrets were in Su Qiao's hands; how could they dare to interrupt casually?

Seeing they had nothing to say, Su Qiao glanced with a questioning look at Zhu Di beside him.

Zhu Di raised his chin, indicating Lester below.

Clearly, Zhu Di was also interested in this Frank.

Since everyone had no objections, Su Qiao continued the interrogation.

This time it was Lester.

Crack!

Su Qiao struck the gavel, startling everyone.

Of course, this included Lester below.

"Lester, come, do you have anything you wish to say?"

Su Qiao did not follow the usual routine and asked Lester directly.

Lester raised his head; within his blue eyes seemed to be concealed many emotions.

"This humble one does not know what to say."

Su Qiao raised an eyebrow slightly. "Don't know what to say, fine then. Looks like this official will have to question you personally. So this official asks you—is this opium yours?"

"Yes!"

"Where did it come from?"

"Bought it from Europe, then brought it over by ship."

"Then do you know its harmful effects?"

"I do."

"If you know, why still bring it here to sell?"

"Because I wanted to make money."

……

This Lester seemed to have transformed into an honest little gentleman, answering meekly and obediently whatever was asked, almost without any concealment.

But the more it was like this, the more Su Qiao felt something fishy was going on—he just hadn't found it yet!

"Based on this official's understanding, this opium should also be selling briskly back in your country, in short supply, right? Then why not sell it there, instead of traveling all this way to sell it in Great Ming?"

"Because…"

Before Lester could finish, Su Qiao cut him off. "Don't tell this official something about high profits here. The price here is indeed much higher than back home, but you still have to bear considerable risks along the way, plus Qian Cai. Working it out, this official did a quick calculation and found the profit hasn't reached that kind of tenfold or hundredfold level!"

At this moment, Lester's expression finally changed.

Even if it was only an instant of change, it still did not escape the eyes of everyone present!

"You seem very surprised. These are things this official could determine with a detailed investigation. Your earlier eager answers were actually all to cover up, to cover up your true purpose. This official is truly very curious."

Su Qiao narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at Lester's blue-green pupils.

Lester felt as if a chill emanated from Su Qiao's body, and he couldn't help but dodge Su Qiao's gaze.

Liu Ming and the others, including Zhu Di, also noticed something was off at this moment.

Especially after Su Qiao said Lester had some other special purpose hidden, their expressions grew even more Solemn.

"My lord, I am a citizen of Portugal, not a person of Great Ming. I only came here to do business and sell things. This thing may indeed have a certain danger, but Great Ming has no law that strictly prohibits opium…"

After a brief internal adjustment, Lester immediately revealed his sharp edge, beginning to try to seize the initiative.

If he were facing other officials, like the Prefect of Fuzhou—Liu Ming sitting to the side—he might really have been given the chance.

Yet what he faced was Su Qiao!.

283, Cheng De!

Su Qiao has never liked playing by the usual tricks.

Lester's words, laden with threat, Su Qiao simply did not take to heart.

"What you said is useless. Setting aside whether your country of Portugal would go to war with Great Ming over one person, even if they could come—do you think they'd dare go to war with Great Ming after sailing for over half a year to get here?"