Although Zhu Yijun wanted to see Hai Rui, now was not the time to see Hai Rui. He had to wait for the situation to blow over. After all, he could not really use Hai Rui and be sentenced to death for embezzlement.
If he really did that, the Daming officials would be roped to death one by one.
Then, he would not be the Daming emperor, but the biggest rebel of the Daming.
While Zhu Yijun was in a dilemma, in a restaurant in Hangzhou, a group of people were drinking merrily. There were many women accompanying them. The person sitting at the head of the table was Chen Lin, who was unemployed at home.
Chen Lin was born in the 11th year of Jiajing. He was 50 years old this year, but he looked very young.
He had a lion's nose, a square mouth, and a wide forehead. He looked very imposing and looked quite imposing sitting there.
Right now, Chen Zhao was dressed like a rich man. He sat there and chatted happily with the people at the same table.
On the second floor of the brothel, a few people stood at the railing and glanced at Chen Lin. Then they said to the people beside them, "He's Chen Lin?
Did you get the wrong person?
Let me tell you, this is an assignment from the higher-ups. If you mess it up, you won't be able to keep your life. "
"Don't worry," the person said hurriedly. "Many people here know him. He'll definitely do well."
"I've already had people drug the wine at their table," the person said hurriedly. "They'll all be drunk later. Then, you can just take him away and leave the others to us."
Not long later, the drug seemed to take effect. The people at the table fainted one after another.
A few people came down from the second floor and took Chen Zhao away quietly.
When they were outside, they tied up Chen Lin's hands and feet and stuffed him into the carriage. Then, they drove the carriage away.
From beginning to end, no one paid attention to Chen Lin's followers or the other people in the brothel.
Hejian Prefecture, Cangzhou.
"Did he confess?"
Inside a room in the Zhou family's courtyard, Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi put down the teacup in their hands and asked, "Did he confess?"
"Sir, this Zhou Feng is a tough nut to crack. He said that the salt was legal and that it was stored by the Qian family of Hejian Prefecture." The Imperial Bodyguard who came in said with a gloomy face, "He won't admit that he sold salt."
The two of them knew that Zhou Feng wouldn't admit it so easily, but they didn't expect Zhou Feng to bring up the Hejian Prefecture's Qian Family.
Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi were very annoyed. They sent people to investigate the Qian Family of Hejian Prefecture and found that it was not easy to deal with them.
Although on the surface, the Qian family of Hejian Prefecture was only the in-laws of Marquis Xining's mansion.
The current Marquis Madam of the Xining Marquis came from the Qian Family of Hejian Prefecture.
But in reality, the Qian Clan's salt permits all came from Marquis Xining's estate. So this matter was clear. Rather than saying that Marquis Xining's estate was supporting the Qian Clan, it was better to say that the Qian Clan was Marquis Xining's people.
Their purpose was very simple: to earn money for Marquis Xining's estate.
Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi were naturally not afraid of Marquis Xining's estate. They knew the importance of this matter and also knew who ordered them to do this.
The key was that Marquis Xining's estate had enough salt permits. The salt was a problem for the Zhou Clan, but it was not a problem for the Qian Clan of Hejian Prefecture.
If they couldn't prove that the Zhou Clan's salt was illegal, then the two of them would be in big trouble.
Xing Shangzhi's face was gloomy. Now that they couldn't get Zhou Feng's statement and he refused to tell his superiors, the matter was troublesome.
"What about the people from the inner factories?"
Xing Shangzhi looked at Wang Zhong and said angrily, "They said it was foolproof and that they could do whatever they wanted, but now?
Now that things have come to this, we can't kill Zhou Feng! "
Just as Wang Zhong was about to speak, Sun Piyang walked in with Cao Yikui and Wang Yongji.
Sun Piyang looked at the two of them expressionlessly and said directly, "There are already people saying that you asked the Zhou Clan for three hundred thousand taels of silver in order to extort money.
"The Zhou Clan refused, so you directly arrested the Zhou Clan's people and framed them with the crime of selling illegal salt. Your goal is to confiscate the Zhou Clan's property.
The public is furious, and Cangzhou Zhizhou Yao Renji is already preparing to submit a petition to the imperial court.
"Hejian Prefecture probably won't ignore this matter. If you can't handle this matter, you will have to answer to the emperor yourself."
In reality, Sun Piyang wasn't really afraid. He was just here to be a bystander. Plus, the people were arrested by Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi, so he naturally wouldn't be implicated.
Although there would be some responsibility, it wouldn't be a big deal when it came to dealing with it.
It would be fine if he was demoted, but there would be many people who would help him get promoted back.
Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi also looked depressed. What was this? If they didn't deal with it, it would definitely cause a ruckus and the people below would probably be in chaos.
After all, there were people who instigated it. Whether it was the Qian Clan of Hejian Prefecture or Cangzhou Zhizhou Yao Renji, they wouldn't let go of this opportunity.
Now, Sun Piyang was clearly trying to push the blame onto the two of them.
Although the two of them felt wronged, they couldn't say it out loud. In their hearts, they were cursing the people from the inner factory for being unreliable.
Hearing that they were extorting money, Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi weren't surprised at all. These people often used this method to extort money. The key was that this method was effective.
Whether it was real or not, the others would definitely be afraid.
What if it was real?
Coupled with the salt merchants adding fuel to the fire, the capital would probably be in chaos.
Sun Piyang left, but Cao Yikui stayed behind. He glanced at Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi and said directly, "The two of you, the head of the inner factory in Hejian Prefecture will be here tonight. Come with me to meet him!"
"I just wanted to see this sneaky fellow!" Xing Shangzhi said through gritted teeth.
At night, in the Cangzhou Imperial Envoy Residence, the three of them sat quietly in a room and waited. The drums struck three. The Imperial Bodyguard opened the door and a fat man walked in. Seeing the three of them, he smiled and cupped his hands. "Head of the inner factory in Hejian Prefecture, Liu An, greets Eunuch Wang, Qianhu Xing, and Imperial Messenger Cao!"
When the three of them saw the person who came in, they were all stunned. This person was actually the fake Zhou Cang.
On the way to Cangzhou, when the three of them intercepted salt, they had seen this person. After obtaining the real Zhou Cang, this fake Zhou Cang was taken away by the people from the inner factory. They didn't expect that this fake Zhou Cang was actually the head of the inner factory in Hejian Prefecture.
"There was a reason for the previous incident. I hope the three of you can forgive me!"
Liu An smiled and cupped his hands at the three of them. Then, he said, "I know what happened. Our inner factory has long been prepared. This method is called 'manipulating public opinion to pressure' in the inner factory. We already have a plan to deal with it."