Chapter 141: The Scapegoat

Five or six days passed in succession, and the manpower and molds that Wang Jie promised to find were all fully prepared.

Ma Laoliu rolled up his sleeves and set to work with a will.

Because this place was adjacent to a blacksmith shop, the noise and temperature were already very high during the day, so no one noticed the group casting silver in the back.

They first melted the silver and copper, then poured it into the prepared molds according to a ratio of eight parts silver to two parts copper.

After it cooled and solidified, there were rows of perfectly round Silver Dollars.

Early this morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Ma Laoliu climbed out of bed. He first fetched a basin of clear water, wiped his face haphazardly, and then paced over to the workshop specifically built for making Silver Dollars.

Inside, it was pitch black, and a foul, scorched smell drifted about.

Ma Laoliu lit a candle, and with the help of the candlelight, the outline of the workshop was revealed in an instant. This house covered an area of about thirty square meters, with three massive stoves and melting furnaces in the center.

On both sides, more than ten wooden tables were neatly arranged, with the molds specifically for making Silver Dollars laid flat on top.

Above, the Silver Dollars made last night reflected the candlelight, emitting a strange glow in the darkness.

Ma Laoliu seemed to smell a faint fragrance of Silver Dollars.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, took two steps in one, stood before the table, picked up two Silver Dollars, and kissed them heavily.

"Damn it, the Silver Dollars I make myself smell so good; now I, old Ma, can also become a 'master'." Muttering to himself, Ma Laoliu grinned, his mind beginning to fantasize about the future.

First, marry two big-bottomed wives, build three large tile-roofed houses, and then have two children.

Use the remaining money to do business.

Finish this one job and then quit, from now on being a law-abiding subject.

Just as he was fantasizing, outside the courtyard, a team of Brocade Guard scouts quietly arrived at this location.

The leading School Officer in black boots scanned his men, took out a portrait prepared in advance, and ordered: "Remember, except for the person in the portrait, leave no one else alive."

"Understood." The group memorized Ma Laoliu's appearance and then nodded in agreement.

"Wang San, you lot take some men to the back; don't let anyone escape."

"Yes."

Following the issuance of the orders, a team of Brocade Guards snuck into the courtyard like ghosts.

At this time, the Artisans responsible for manufacturing the Silver Dollars were still fast asleep, completely unaware that danger had arrived.

Seven or eight Brocade Guards came to a mud-brick house, took a look inside, and seeing that they were still asleep, exchanged glances.

The man near the door suddenly raised his foot and kicked the door open.

Seven or eight Brocade Guards rushed in together, and the sleeping Artisans were instantly startled awake.

Before they could speak, they were met only by bright, gleaming steel sabers.

These Brocade Guards were all well-trained and had long been familiar with this kind of work; in just a few seconds, these Artisans had their throats slit.

To make it look more realistic, they also deliberately messed up the room.

They disguised this place as a scene of a struggle.

Looking at the mess on the ground, the leading School Officer nodded and ordered: "Go, send a signal to Thousand-Household Han and the others, saying that the violent bandits resisted desperately, we were forced to fight back, and only captured one living person."

"As you command." A scout cupped his hands and left, and the leading School Officer took the opportunity to leave the shack and come to the small workshop.

Inside the workshop, Ma Laoliu knelt on the ground, his body already trembling like chaff.

While kowtowing violently to the ground, he cried and begged for mercy: "Military master, spare my life... military master, spare my life, I was just passing by here, I was just passing by here."

"Raise your head." The School Officer shouted with a cold face.

Ma Laoliu slowly raised his head, looking at him with a trembling body.

The School Officer grinned and said: "Looking at you, you don't seem like a heinous person. How about this, tell me what you know. If you confess what you know, your crime will be much lighter."

"Ah, yes, yes." Ma Laoliu, like a drowning person grabbing the last straw, nodded repeatedly.

The black-booted School Officer gave a look to his men, and that person took out paper and pen, then questioned him one by one.

Ma Laoliu, not caring about anything else at this moment, spilled the beans like bamboo pouring out beans. After speaking, he even bit his finger and pressed his blood fingerprint on it.

"Military master, is this okay?"

"It's okay, it's okay." The black-booted School Officer had a look of joy on his face.

This document not only confessed the mastermind of this place but also confessed two or three other locations of fake Silver Dollars he knew about.

He had pulled out the radish and brought out a large patch of mud. "Then can this little one go?" Ma Laoliu asked tremblingly.

"Go? Go where?" The black-booted School Officer suddenly knitted his brows and scolded with a dark face, "You unruly people, not walking the right path, actually daring to do this kind of head-lopping business. Since I have caught you today, I naturally must bring you to justice."

"Wang San!"

"This little one is here." A scout cupped his hands and stepped out.

"Tie this guy up for me, escort him back to the prison, and wait until all these lawless people are rounded up before punishing them together."

The black-booted School Officer shouted angrily, and several scouts pressed forward together, pinned Ma Laoliu to the ground, and dragged him away.

Ma Laoliu twisted his body and begged in a hoarse voice: "Military master... military master, you can't arrest me, you can't arrest me!"

"Take him away."

The black-booted School Officer waved his hand, and several people blocked Ma Laoliu's mouth and dragged him away.

After a short while, rapid footsteps sounded outside the courtyard again, and Han San led a Member of the Ministry from the Ministry of Justice inside.

Once inside, a pungent smell of blood entered their nostrils.

Han San frowned, summoned the black-booted School Officer, and asked: "What's going on?"

The black-booted School Officer understood, and repeated the excuse prepared in advance.

Han San clicked his tongue after hearing it, looked at the Member of the Ministry, and said: "Brother Zhao, I'm really sorry, we only caught one living person; the rest of the bandits are dead."

"You take the people, but I must take half of the Silver Dollars and molds here, otherwise I won't be able to report back."

That Member of the Ministry was too lazy to dwell on this matter and only stated his own demands.

Seeing him so sensible, Han San was naturally happy to do a favor: "That goes without saying, you pick the things inside first, and after you pick, I'll pick."

The two divided up the area, and after a busy half-day, the things inside were swept clean.

Returning to the interrogation room of the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison, Han San took out the indictment, gave the list of names and locations on it a rough scan, and couldn't help but sigh, "Now, we finally have something to report back with."

"Ai Neng."

"The small one is here." The black-booted School Officer who had previously coerced the confession cupped his fists and replied.

"Go, make arrests according to the list above, and remember, keep them alive if you can this time. Let them implicate others; if they implicate someone they shouldn't, you know what to do," Han San instructed.

"The small one understands." Ai Neng smiled, copied a list, and led his men away.

Han San also felt a wave of warmth in his heart; he picked up the confession, sneered inwardly, and headed straight for Wang Jie's home.

Wang Jie received him, and after the two sat down in the living room, Wang Jie complained first, "Third Master, you were really ruthless this time. We agreed that accomplices would be dealt with leniently, so why did you slit all their throats?"

"You don't know a damn thing." Han San glared at him and added, "I'm helping you. Do you know what 'too many people, too many mouths' means? Besides, it wasn't just us handling this; there were officials from the Ministry of Justice. If one of them spotted something fishy, we'd all be implicated."

As he spoke, he took out the confession paper and slapped it on the table.

"Take a look."

Wang Jie took it and looked; his name was on it too.

His face instantly flushed red, and looking at Han San, he argued excitedly, "Third Master, what is the meaning of this? This brat is purely making false accusations! You know I only got those things to help you. Otherwise, even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare do such a thing."

"I know you don't have that kind of courage, but those rotten maggots at the Ministry of Justice don't know that," Han San said, letting out a long sigh and looking up at the ceiling. "You don't know, but Zhao Wen from the Ministry of Justice is insisting on not letting you go."

"He even said he checked your background. Tell me, what could I say?"

Could it be that he already knows everything?

Wang Jie's heart skipped a beat. If the people from the Ministry of Justice followed the trail and investigated, and really found something, he would be in deep trouble.

Thinking of this, he suppressed his panic, slowly turned his head toward Han San, and said in a low voice, "Third Master, I haven't given you little in the way of tribute over these past two years. You should know best what kind of person I am."

"Indeed." Han San picked up the teacup on his left, moistened his lips, then set it back on the table with a 'bang' and smiled. "I know best what kind of person you are, otherwise I wouldn't have come to save you."

"Many thanks, Third Master," Wang Jie hurriedly flattered him.

"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to thank me. This matter of yours can be big or small, it all depends on how you handle it," Han San waved his hand to interrupt him.

"What does Third Master mean?"

"We're both thousand-year-old foxes, so stop playing dumb with me."

"Oh, my Third Master, this time I've really lost both my wife and my soldiers."

(End of chapter)