The Rebirth of the Deposed Empress

Chapter 144 Oh no!

As Hua Jingqian expected, Xiao Liqiu arrived in Longcheng the next day.

After he arrived in Longcheng, he did not send anyone to inform Xu Shangming immediately, but hid his identity and searched around in Longcheng.

If Xu Shangming had not received Hua Jingqian's reminder and arranged people to observe carefully at the city gate in advance, he would probably not have known that a high-ranking official had come to his small place.

All we know is that Han Bing became a bandit and robbed the grain sent by the imperial court to Beimoguan, but we don't know why Han Bing was assassinated on the way back to Beijing. So Xiao Liqiu would make private visits to every place he went to to see if he could find any clues.

He was particularly concerned about things related to rice, flour, grain, oil, etc. He was worried that Han Bing might have robbed other merchants and thus might have caused murder.

After letting the accompanying guards disperse, Xiao Liqiu casually strolled around the shops on the street, and then sent his followers to question the shop owners.

"Excuse me, shopkeeper, has the supply of rice, flour, grain and oil in Longcheng always been stable? Have the big merchants above suddenly said that there is not enough goods and have to pay more?"

If the goods are robbed, resulting in a shortage of supply, the merchants will definitely increase the price in order to make more money.

But the shopkeepers all shook their heads.

"I've never heard of such a thing. Although our Longcheng is small, it is well connected and there are many merchants coming and going. Who cares if you buy from someone else? Who would want it if the price is increased?"

After listening to the report from his followers, Xiao Liqiu nodded. It seemed that Longcheng was just like the previous places, and no clues could be found.

"In that case, let's hurry up and go to the next place before it gets dark. We shouldn't stay here any longer."

"Yes, Lord Xiao."

Xu Shangming was still in the mansion, wondering whether Xiao Liqiu had found out anything while wandering around the streets, when he received the news that Xiao Liqiu had already left the city gate.

"Did you see clearly? Xiao Liqiu is really gone."

"Your Excellency, I saw with my own eyes that Lord Xiao left Longcheng in a carriage."

After sending his men away, Xu Shangming breathed a sigh of relief and said to Hua Jingqian in a happy mood:

"Good, good! Your Excellency, we can rest assured now!"

Hua Jingqian had not expected that Xiao Liqiu was so unworthy of being reused. He had thought of using Xu Shangming to get rid of Xiao Liqiu, so as to eliminate future troubles and satisfy Ye Chuji's wishes.

But Xiao Liqiu really managed to escape. That’s all.

As for Ye Chuji, I’ll look for another opportunity later.

"In that case, I won't bother you anymore, Master Xu."

Xu Shangming was in a very good mood at the moment and was in a great mood to drink and have fun. He immediately tried to persuade him to stay:

"Don't worry, my Lord, there is a new group of dancers in this city, their figures and faces are really amazing!"

"Since it is not easy for the Minister to come here, I will invite all the dancers tonight. It will not be too late for the Minister to leave after enjoying the singing and dancing."

For the sake of fame in the capital, Hua Jingqian rarely has such opportunities to entertain himself, so he can't help but be tempted.

"Then do as Lord Xu says."

On the other side, Hua Jingqian and Xu Shangming were having fun drinking and having a good time, while on this side, Xiao Liqiu, who had already left Longcheng and was sitting in a carriage heading north, suddenly stopped the coachman.

"Turn around and go back to Longcheng."

Xiao He, the follower who had been following him, was somewhat puzzled:

"Sir, why is this?"

"There's something wrong in Longcheng. We did it during the day just to make them let down their guard. Now we will sneak into the city under the cover of night and catch them off guard."

Yesterday, the people Ye Buhuo sent to Longcheng to investigate Hua Jingqian finally brought back news that Hua Jingqian had colluded with Longcheng officials to resell private salt.

After learning about this from Ye Buhuo, Hua Wuke finally figured out why Ye Chuji would entrust such an important matter to Hua Jingqian.

"So, Ye Chuji used this incident to lure Hua Jingqian to Longcheng to rob and kill Lord Xiao?"

Ye Buhuo nodded. Ye Chuji's trick of killing someone with a borrowed knife was quite good. Even if there was blood, it would not splash on him.

That night, a note appeared in Xiao Liqiu's room.

Xiao Liqiu took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Xiao He. Xiao He unfolded the paper and it clearly read: Xu Shangming and Hua Jingqian were contrabandly selling salt in Longcheng.

"Someone threw a dart into my room last night. Whether the news is true or not, we have to investigate."

While Xu Shangming was holding a banquet at the Xu Mansion, inviting officials of all ranks in Longcheng to join in the fun, Xiao Liqiu went straight to the home of Lin Hai, the salt official of Longcheng.

As soon as he got off the carriage, Xiao He showed the imperial order given by the emperor, which frightened the doorman so much that he hurried in to ask his master for instructions.

Lin Hai was also invited by Xu Shangming and was not at home at the moment. Only his wife came out to greet him.

Seeing two rows of guards lined up neatly at the door, Mrs. Lin felt a little nervous and hurried to greet them.

"I didn't know that you two had come from so far away, and I'm sorry for not welcoming you."

Xiao Liqiu waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, and then asked Mrs. Lin to take them to Lin Hai's study.

Lin Hai never told his wife what he had done, so Mrs. Lin had no idea what was in the study. Seeing this big shot from the capital coming with an imperial decree, she did not dare to be negligent and quickly led the way.

After entering the mansion and turning twice, Mrs. Lin stopped in front of a house.

"My Lords, this is it."

As soon as the two entered the study, Mrs. Lin gave the butler a look, indicating that he should quickly inform Lin Hai of the happenings in the mansion.

As a result, the Lin Mansion was surrounded tightly by the guards brought by Xiao Liqiu, and there was no way to send anyone to deliver the letter.

So when Lin Hai returned to his mansion after a night of fun, what he saw was a group of guards with swords surrounding his house.

Lin Hai was a little slow to react. He looked at the housekeeper waiting for him at the door and asked blankly:

"How is this going?"

The housekeeper told him about Xiao Liqiu's sudden visit last night. When he heard that Xiao Liqiu went to his study, he was suddenly awakened.

Oops!

He quickly ran to the study, and as soon as he entered the room he saw Xiao Liqiu sitting behind the desk with two account books in front of him.

One was for the court to see, and the other was kept by himself just in case.

Meeting Xiao Liqiu's cold gaze, Lin Hai's legs went weak and he knelt down.

When the news of the siege of the Lin Mansion reached Xu Shangming's ears, he was suddenly awakened from his hangover by Xiao Liqiu's sudden action.

He quickly called Hua Jingqian to go to the Lin Mansion. When they were halfway there, they learned that Lin Hai had been taken to the court. The two of them hurried to the yamen again.

As soon as Xu Shangming entered the court, he saw Xiao Liqiu, who had clearly left Longcheng yesterday, sitting in the seat that originally belonged to him in the court.