NCCnovel Chapter 431 Liar
Chapter 431 Liar
Shen Shuyi remembered that because the border war was tense that year, Emperor Qianwu not only mobilized 30,000 new troops, but also dispatched 30,000 young and strong men from the Lion Army and the Divine Sword Army.
After the New Year, a group of 60,000 troops returned to Yancheng with Jiang Yanhu, causing quite a stir.
It is not easy for a large army to move around, but it is convenient for them to bring back a lot of food and military supplies as supplements.
It happened that Jiangnan was hit by a flood that year, so Shen Shuyi speculated that Jiang Yanhu's army was most likely responsible for transporting official silver for disaster relief.
However, Shen Shuyi had no idea how things developed later.
"Then does Miss Shen know the places that must be passed from the capital to the Jiangnan area?" Xie Jingchi asked again.
Shen Shuyi said without hesitation: "Li Cheng."
Licheng can also be said to be the hometown of the Chai family. Chai Zhi's daughter, Concubine Li, was born here. In addition, she was beautiful and pretty, so Emperor Qianwu bestowed the character "Li" on her.
There are more than a dozen capitals in the Jiangnan area. The place where official silver for disaster relief is transported is different each time, but no matter what, Licheng is a must-pass place.
Otherwise, neither the water route nor the mountain road is reliable.
Xie Jingchi chuckled, with a hint of approval in his eyes: "In addition to a brother, Concubine Rou also has a younger brother who is an imperial merchant. Does Miss Shen know about this?"
Shen Shuyi said slowly: "Most of these people come from the border markets around Yancheng and trade with Luo and Jin countries."
She knew everything Xie Jingchi said, but what Shen Shuyi could never figure out was how Xiao Heyu managed to put such a large sum of money into his own pocket.
Xie Jingchi said nothing more, threw a purse to Shen Shuyi, and said in a deep voice: "This is to pay for Miss Shen's medicine."
Shen Shuyi took it, looked at him, and didn't ask any more questions.
Xie Jingchi also did not avoid it and looked directly at her. His narrow and long phoenix eyes were so deep that it was impossible to see through his thoughts.
They looked at each other, each with their own thoughts, seemingly saying nothing, yet seeming to have said a lot.
That’s right, Xie Jingchi has said enough.
The secrets of the court were not something a girl like her could easily know. As for Xie Jingchi's position, it was even more impossible for him to tell her too much.
"Thank you very much, sir." After a while, Shen Shuyi spoke with a smile and turned to say goodbye.
Xie Jingchi stood there, holding the two prescriptions in his hands. He weighed them, looked at Qin Xin beside him, and asked calmly, "What medicine did she prescribe?"
Qin Xin smiled bitterly: How is that possible?
Facing Xie Jingchi's deep gaze, Qin Xin gritted her teeth and said, "Ms. Lian... Miss Lian Qiao is worthy of it..."
Miss Shen did make two sets of medicine herself, but...she sent them to the Zhao siblings.
Of course, is this something she can say?
Xie Jingchi sneered, and said with dissatisfaction, "Liar."
*
After Shen Shuyi returned to the tent, he immediately spread out the map again.
It seems that her guess was correct. Jiang Yanhu's death must be closely related to the official silver for the flood in Jiangnan, otherwise Xie Jingchi would not have mentioned that the border guards were not allowed to return to the capital without an imperial edict.
"Yuping, go ask your uncle about Concubine Rou's brother."
"Yes."
After saying that, Shen Shuyi stared at the map and analyzed it carefully.
Xie Jingchi meant that the official silver for disaster relief would be escorted by border guards along the way, passing through Licheng and transported to the south of the Yangtze River.
But what does this have to do with Huangshang and Yancheng?
Perhaps, silver flowed into Yancheng from Jiangnan, and was then brought back from Yancheng by the imperial merchants...
Shen Shuyi thought of Yao Huiyan's words. The official silver for disaster relief, at least on the surface, was to be sent to Jiangnan. Therefore, there should be two batches of silver, one to Jiangnan and the other to Yancheng.
Shen Shuyi held her cheek with her jade hands, and couldn't help but think of the day when Chai Bin chased her and Xie Jingchi relentlessly. What he asked was exactly where the silver was hidden.
If the official silver was divided into two, Chai Bin would not have asked this question.
That meant that there was something wrong with the silver being shipped to Jiangnan, so they were worried that it would fall into Xie Jingchi's hands and become evidence of his crime, so they pursued him relentlessly.
Shen Shuyi deduced repeatedly and unraveled the mystery, and gradually sorted out his thoughts.
After a while, she seemed to suddenly remember something and took out the silver ingot that Xie Jingchi gave her.
Shen Shuyi weighed the ten-liang silver ingot in his hand and played with it for a while.
There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this silver.
Could it be that she was overthinking?
Seeing that Shen Qinghuan and Shen Meiru were not there, Shen Shuyi called Qin Xin and whispered, "Get it open."
Qin Xin was stunned for a moment and put the silver ingot in her arms.
Soon, Qin Xin returned to the tent with the split silver ingot.
The ingot cracked, which was almost the same as Shen Shuyi expected. Although the weight of the silver was not bad, the inner wall of the silver was a lump of iron.
Shen Shuyi looked carefully and found that out of the ten taels of silver, iron tuo accounted for nearly nine taels.
Rather than saying that the inner wall is hollowed out, it would be more accurate to say that the iron is coated with a layer of silver.
Shen Shuyi's heart sank slightly. So, the official silver shipped to Jiangnan for disaster relief was actually fake. According to this calculation, the entire Jiangnan area should be controlled by Xiao Heyu.
The floods cannot be completely resolved every year, so the imperial court can allocate funds for disaster relief every year.
With the disaster relief funds allocated every year, Xiao Heyu would have a large sum of money in his pocket every year, and he would be able to win over more court officials.
Just calculating in this way, of the millions of taels of official silver used for disaster relief each year, less than a few hundred thousand taels actually reached the hands of the people.
Looking at the "official silver" in his hand, Shen Shuyi felt a lump in his chest.
It turns out that man-made disasters are more terrifying than natural disasters.
Xiao Heyu is a prince and enjoys everything, but he is still greedy and puts countless people in dire straits. It is really hateful!
Shen Shuyi just felt a blockage in his heart, and his face looked a little cold.
Not long after, Jinzhu came in from outside the tent and whispered, "Miss, thank you for sending someone to deliver the message, sir."
Shen Shuyi retracted his thoughts: "What did you say?"
Jinzhu: "She said the medicine was too bitter."
Shen Shuyi: "..."
Shen Shuyi rubbed his brows in pain, knowing that this matter involved too many people. Once it was investigated thoroughly, it would surely cause a bloody storm in the court.
So, Xie Jingchi couldn't be impatient, and neither could she.
"Go to the imperial kitchen and buy him a string of candied haws. Tell him that only those who endure hardships can become successful people." Shen Shuyi said.
Jinzhu paused and continued, "Master Xie also said... that he had boiled the medicine too much this time, and he hoped that the young lady would boil it well and send it to him next time."
Shen Shuyi looked at the broken pieces of official silver on the map and said, "Please have someone ask him if he wants me to arrange his funeral affairs as well."
Jinzhu: “Uh…”
At this time, Qin Xin came in hurriedly and said in a deep voice: "Miss, Aunt Chenxiang beside the Queen Mother came and said that the Queen Mother summoned you."
Shen Shuyi threw the official silver on the table into the brazier, stood up and said, "Change your clothes first."
It is not easy to meet the Queen Mother. She has no one to rely on, so she should seize every opportunity.
As soon as the words fell, several maids began to get busy.
"Just wear that light blue skirt, comb your hair into a bun, and wear a phoenix hairpin." Shen Shuyi recalled the Queen Mother's preferences and spoke in a deep voice.