Sighing, Qi Ying glanced at Pigeon.
Pigeon said helplessly, "Eunuch Chang doesn't trust us very much."
?
Pigeon chuckled and said, "I think it's not that Eunuch Chang doesn't trust us, but he doesn't want us to interfere too much in this matter."
Pigeon rubbed her chin as she spoke.
As the commander of the Bird Department of the Inner Factory, Qi Ying naturally wasn't stupid.
When Pigeon said that, he immediately understood.
"Yes!"
Qi Ying nodded and said, "I'm afraid Eunuch Chang has already arranged for people from Dongchang. Then let's let Eunuch Chang do the work!"
Pigeon said, "Except for Xi Que, let our people stay put for now."
"Sir, if there's a mistake, I'm afraid it'll cause trouble for the factory manager!"
Pigeon said hesitantly.
Qi Ying said with a smile, "Don't look down on our Eunuch Chang of Dongchang. Not to mention you, even our factory manager is suppressed by Eunuch Chang.
Don't say that he's favored by the emperor. This Eunuch Chang isn't an idiot who doesn't know anything just because he's favored by the emperor. "
?
Pigeon nodded repeatedly. "Of course, of course!"
That wasn't the case.
Pigeon was lying. In fact, no one dared to look down on Zhang Jing. These factory guards knew that Eunuch Chang's methods and strategies weren't something an ordinary person could compare to.
Lovely Spring Brothel.
As the largest brothel in Yangzhou, it was brightly lit at night with cars and people coming and going. It was quite lively.
In the back courtyard, a woman in her thirties sat in front of a stone table under a tree. She picked up a wine glass from the table and poured herself a glass of wine.
As the mother of Lovely Spring Brothel, Xi Que's status was very high.
Lovely Spring Brothel was a large brothel with seven or eight mothers. However, Xi Que had a trump card called the dancer.
This female dancer was not only a heaven-toppling beauty, she was also proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In addition, she was also a good dancer, especially her sword dance, which was known as the best in Yangzhou.
Now that she was one of the top three girls in the Lovely Spring Brothel, Xi Que's status naturally rose along with her.
"Mother Liu, Master Li is here again!"
Just as Xi Que raised her wine cup, the servant girl walked in and spoke respectfully.
Thinking of this Master Li, Xi Que felt a headache. Speaking of which, this Master Li was also a wealthy family in Yangzhou.
His family owned dozens of shops, and he used to be a prefectural magistrate, but Wanli was dismissed seven years ago.
Although he was no longer an official, he had saved up some money and could be considered a regular customer of Lovely Spring Brothel.
Three years ago, when Xi Que brought the dancer to Lovely Spring Courtyard, this Master Li somehow fell in love with Xi Que.
Normally, men liked young girls, and in Yangzhou, they preferred girls in their teens. A woman in her thirties like Xi Que was basically called an old maid.
Although Xi Que was mature and seductive, no one really had their eyes on her.
However, this Master Li was not like this. For three years, he kept pestering Xi Que, wanting to marry her.
Moreover, he didn't want to marry her as a concubine, but as a second wife. This caused quite a commotion.
Looking at the servant girl, Xi Que waved her hand and said: "I don't want to see him, just say that I'm not feeling well today!"
In fact, Xi Que had a good impression of this Master Li. Although he wanted to be a second wife, at her age, being a second wife wasn't a big deal.
In addition, Master Li was considered a wealthy man in Yangzhou. If he was willing to marry an old maid from a brothel as a second wife, then it meant that he really liked her.
However, Xi Que knew that if she didn't finish her task, she wouldn't be able to back out!
Xi Que was very clear about what kind of yamen the inner court was. It was easy to enter, but difficult to leave!
"Greetings, Lord Xi Que!"
After the servant girl turned around and left, a man in black jumped down from the tree and arrived in front of Xi Que. He respectfully knelt on one knee and said: "Lord Commander asked this lowly officer to pass a message to verify the authenticity of the register and get the letter as soon as possible."
"I understand." Xi Que nodded her head and said: "I will let someone meet with Yunniang."
After the subordinate left, Xi Que let out a sigh. She didn't know if she could apply for retirement after this task was completed.
Others didn't know, but Xi Que knew very clearly that this task was very important to the inner court.
After the inner court's people came to Yangzhou, they had been making arrangements for three to four years.
Since the establishment of the Bird Division, they had been eyeing Yangzhou.
If this task was completed, perhaps she could really apply for retirement.
Yangzhou Transportation Yamen.
Yan Huaiyuan sat in his study. The study was dark and there was no electric light. Yan Huaiyuan just sat there.
The Imperial Envoy had been in Yangzhou for three days. However, in these three days, the Imperial Envoy didn't summon any officials and didn't go out to investigate. It made people unable to guess what he was doing.
Right now, the matter in Yangzhou could be triggered at any moment. However, no one knew where it would start.
"Master, the news has been spread!" The old butler walked in from outside and lit an oil lamp. Then, he came to Yan Huaiyuan's side and said.
"Okay, go and rest first!" Yan Huaiyuan nodded and opened his mouth.
Watching the old butler leave, Yan Huaiyuan sighed. He didn't know if what he did was right or wrong.
The news of the name list being released was a fuse!
However, when he thought of the faces of the Qi family and the Yangzhou officials, Yan Huaiyuan was unwilling.
For Yan Huaiyuan, he didn't want to die with such a sullen crime.
The name list was real, but it was only in South Zhili. It wasn't all of Jiangnan.
The capital and Nanjing didn't have it, but Yan Huaiyuan wanted to make it bigger.
Only in this way would the list attract attention and make people want to get it.
With this name list, Yan Huaiyuan believed that people would definitely come looking for him.
Right now, Yan Huaiyuan no longer pinned his hopes on the Qi family and the Yangzhou officials. These people wanted to use him as a scapegoat. He couldn't trust them at all.
Who asked the Yangzhou Transportation Commissioner to bear the brunt? If he became the Yangzhou Prefectural Magistrate, Yan Huaiyuan wouldn't be so passive.
The fish that Yan Huaiyuan wanted to fish was the imperial envoy, or the eunuch Zhang Jing of the Dongchang Factory.
After pondering for a few days, Yan Huaiyuan felt that if he wanted to live, his hope was on Zhang Jing.
With the name list in his hand as a proof of allegiance, he could turn to Zhang Jing. Not to mention anything else, it wouldn't be a problem to keep his life.
Even being banished to the army was better than dying like this. At least he could protect the Qi family and his wife and children.
"Eunuch Chang, don't let me down!"
Yan Huaiyuan said with a sigh.
Qi family, Qi Heng's study.
"Is the news reliable?"
Qi Heng glanced at the person who came to report and asked in a low voice.
Ever since Scarface's death, Qi Heng had been busy dispatching people over the past few days. At the same time, he wanted to find out who killed Scarface.
He already knew what happened from Yangzhou Prefectural Magistrate Qin Hewen. Someone killed Scarface and his subordinates.
These people were like poisonous snakes in the dark. If he didn't find them, Qi Heng would feel uneasy.
The person who came to report was a man in his thirties. His name was Han San. He used to be a small leader of the Japanese pirates. He had dozens of brothers under him.
After being annihilated by the imperial court, he escaped with his brothers.
In the past few years, he had been working for Qi Heng. He was vicious and merciless, even worse than Scarface.
After Scarface died, Qi Heng immediately went to find Han San.
"Master, it's accurate!"
Han San nodded and said: "The news was spread by Yan Huaiyuan's old housekeeper. According to him, this name list was used by Yan Huaiyuan to save his life.
This name list not only has a name list, but also an account book. "
"It records all the salt production and transport matters in the years since Yan Huaiyuan recognized Yangzhou's transport envoy."
Qi Heng's face darkened. This name list was going to kill him. After pondering for a moment, Qi Heng said in a low voice: "Find it. Have someone find this account book for me. Inform Mother Zhang. Have Yunniang work harder."
"Also, make preparations. If it doesn't work, have Yan Huaiyuan die. At that time, the dead can't testify. Who can do anything to me?"
Han San nodded and said: "Yes, Master!" After saying this, Han San turned around and left.
Yangzhou Prefectural Yamen, back hall.
Qin Hewen was drinking wine. Accompanying him was his concubine, Qian Shi.
Although the food and wine on the table was very sumptuous, Qin Hewen had no intention of eating.
Helplessly sighing, Qin Hewen said to Qian Shi: "There's still no news from the Qi family?
What does Qi Heng eat! "
Qian Shi was also sent over by Qi Heng after Qin Hewen came to Yangzhou.
Different from Yan Huaiyuan's actions in the dark, Qin Hewen's side had always been brazen.
In Daming, bribing an official was not a big deal. Even if you were found out, you would only be demoted. There was nothing to be afraid of.
Qin Hewen and Qi Heng did not take it seriously. If it wasn't for Yan Huaiyuan's position as Yangzhou's transport envoy being too sensitive, they would have done the same thing.
Qian Shi put down the chopsticks in her hand and said softly: "Master, you know Master Qi's ability. This time, nothing will happen."
Looking at his previous life, Qin Hewen said in a bad mood: "What do you know? In the Hejian Prefecture case, what happened to the officials? They were beheaded!
Their entire families were banished!
I am the Yangzhou Prefectural Yamen, I bear the brunt! "
"Tell Qi Heng for me. If he can't handle it, then don't blame me for not considering our past relationship!"
At this time, Qin Hewen couldn't care about anything else. He could only care about his own life first.
Qin Hewen had already thought about it. If he really couldn't handle it, he would go and ask for forgiveness from the imperial envoy.
As for the crime, of course, he would push it all to Qi Heng and Yan Huaiyuan.
He was only the Yangzhou Prefectural Yamen. He didn't get involved in the salt case. It was nothing more than accepting Qi Heng's money.
The officials of the Hejian Prefecture resisted to the end. If he cooperated with the imperial court, he might be able to keep his life.
Even if he was banished to the army, it was better than being beheaded. Thinking about this, Qin Hewen thought of a person.
After glancing at Qian Shi, Qin Hewen turned around and walked outside.
Seeing the housekeeper outside the door, Qin Hewen gave him a look.