amaotonovel Chapter 439 News from Jiangnan
Chapter 439 News from Jiangnan
The capital city is a very special place for Wei Ling.
Here are his best times and his most painful memories.
He was born and raised here, and his body and mind were broken in this prosperous place.
He looked at Su Jixiang with extremely gentle eyes.
If he hadn't met Su Jixiang, he probably wouldn't be here now.
He will be buried with his parents and family in the mountains and forests of the north.
It was she who picked herself up and pieced together his shattered will, giving him the courage, strength and hope to live again.
He originally wanted to take his wife back to the capital to see the world, but when he really came back, the good memories did not seem to resurface, and life brought him and Su Jixiang a mess.
"If I didn't have you, I don't know what I would do." Wei Ling sighed softly, his fingers gently running through Su Jixiang's soft hair.
"Okay, stop overthinking. Life is just a pile of unpleasant things. We just need to solve problems as they arise," Su Jixiang said softly. "I'm really happy to be back in the capital. When I was in the palace, it was rare for me to walk the streets of the capital. This time, I finally got to do it."
In fact, she had a good relationship with the eunuch in charge, and sometimes she could even sneak out with the eunuchs who were in charge of purchasing goods.
But I was very restricted at that time. The time I had to leave the palace was limited, and I was always in a hurry. It was not as comfortable and casual as it is now.
"Madam, Lushui is back." Guihua's voice came from outside.
"Come up." Su Jixiang pushed Wei Ling away, straightened his clothes and sat down.
Soon, the curtain of the carriage opened and Lu Shui jumped in.
"Madam, I've tracked down the beggar and have captured him and handed him over to the secret guards," Lu Shui said. "Our initial information is that he accepted bribes from a maid and was asked to come here to stir up trouble. The secret guards will continue questioning him to see if they can find out where the maid who gave the money is from."
"Probably nothing will be found," Su Jixiang said with a smile, unfazed. "At least we know someone's behind this. Perhaps we can get more clues from Ruan's mother. She's in the Jingzhao Yin Mansion right now, so let's wait until she comes out."
"Yes. I'll be in charge of investigating this matter. You don't have to worry about it anymore." Wei Ling nodded and said, "It seems that there is nothing else to be found from that beggar."
"Oh, Madam, I just received news from Jiangnan," Lu Shui said to Su Jixiang. "You previously instructed our fleet to monitor developments in Jiangnan. A few days ago, someone approached our fleet, asking us to help transport a shipment of goods to a port near the capital. Manager Xu took the lead, but he felt something was amiss, so he sent back the news."
"Oh? Tell me about it?" Su Jixiang became interested. She glanced at Wei Ling and sat up straight.
Su Jixiang's current fleet has already started some business in Jiangnan. Although the shipping in Jiangnan is controlled by the Cao Gang, Xu Mo listened to Su Jixiang's advice and the first thing he did when he went to Jiangnan was to personally visit the people of the Cao Gang. Through his introduction, he got to know the leader of the Cao Gang.
If you want to engage in shipping in Jiangnan, you must have a good relationship with the Cao Gang. Otherwise, the waterways in Jiangnan will basically be blocked. The people from the Cao Gang will create all kinds of troubles for you, big and small, not only delaying your shipping, but even capsizing your ship.
Xu Mo is capable and smart, so he quickly established a good relationship with the leader of the Cao Gang. He also promised that he would give the leader an additional commission for every order of the fleet in the future. This commission would not be counted on the Cao Gang but only on the leader himself.
Although the leader of the Cao Gang controlled the entire Jiangnan shipping industry, he had a large group of people to support, so what he could get was limited. The money given to him by Su Jixiang's fleet was not from public accounts, so the Cao Gang turned a blind eye to this fleet.
As long as the Cao Gang members don't come to cause trouble on the waterways in the south of the Yangtze River, other sporadic water bandits and bullies will not be able to make a difference and will not be able to show up in public.
"What did Manager Xu discover?" Su Jixiang asked.
"Manager Xu said the cargo listed on the shipping documents they filled out included fresh produce, local specialties, rice, and other items from Jiangnan," Lu Shui said. "And the terms they offered were very generous. Manager Xu set the price, and they refused to bargain. Furthermore, the cargo was handled and secured by their own people, so there was no need for our fleet to intervene."
"Oh?" Su Jixiang smiled slightly. "Is there such a good thing? You know, our fleet provides many free services to compete for business. We can set the price, but we don't even need to help with the service. That means there's something wrong. Maybe the batch of goods is not the same as the one in the original!"
"Yes, Manager Xu thought so too. So even though he accepted the order, he also kept a close eye on their crew," Lu Shui said. "After they loaded the cargo onto the ship, they kept very tight surveillance. Manager Xu tried to investigate several times but was stopped. However, Manager Xu discovered dead rats on the bottom of the boat. He had his men bring a few back for inspection, and they found they had died from eating some of the food being transported!"
"Is there poison in the food?" Su Jixiang frowned slightly.
"It's a mixture of saltpeter and sulfur powder!" Lu Shui said. "The mice died when they ate it."
"Who is the owner of the goods?" Wei Ling suddenly asked.
"Steward Xu also sent the name." Lu Shui held the note sent back by Xu Mo in both hands. "Steward Xu is also checking. He asked the Marquis and his wife to help see if they recognize him."
Wei Ling took the note, opened it, took a look, and shook his head, "I really don't recognize this name."
Su Jixiang leaned over to take a look and saw the name written on it was Huo Min.
"I'll have someone check it out." Wei Ling put the note away and said.
"Do you know where the goods are being shipped to?" Su Jixiang asked, "How many days will it take for them to arrive?"
"It's been transported to Jiuqu Town. It's only sixty miles from the capital," Lushui said. "Based on the speed at which Manager Xu delivers messages, they should reach Jiuqu Town in about seven days."
"There's saltpeter and sulfur powder in the grain?" Su Jixiang frowned and whispered, "Then there's a lot of flour in the grain?"
"Yes, Madam, that's a brilliant guess." Lu Shui nodded. "Manager Xu discovered traces of flour in the mouse's fur. Manager Xu also said that the men saw white powder falling out of the bags while they were transporting the goods. It seems the sacks used to pay for the shipping fee were mostly flour."