novelaction Chapter 1050 Exchanging Secrets
Chapter 1050 Exchanging Secrets
"I know where the money came from!" Cui Ling said excitedly, even stopping his meal to stand up and pace back and forth in the room. He clapped his hands and nodded emphatically, saying, "That's right, that's exactly it!"
"What exactly happened?" Madam Cui asked, frowning.
Cui Ling waved his hand excitedly, "Don't worry about it, I have my own plans. It seems that His Majesty will not only not punish me this time, but I can also make amends for my mistakes."
He muttered to himself, "That old fox Qian is really something. He's hidden himself so well. He managed to do such a big thing without making a sound. I was wondering why Qian Yu suddenly returned to the capital from the south and was transferred to Hebei without a word. So that's how it was arranged!"
Previously, when His Majesty ordered him to secretly investigate the whereabouts of the treasure map, he sent out many people, but they only got vague clues and no concrete results. Several times, he not only wasted a lot of manpower, material resources and money, but also got disappointed.
Over time, the idea of the rebel king's treasure map became a myth and a distant dream. His Majesty stopped paying attention to it, and the matter was left unresolved.
It turns out it's true, and it's most likely in Hebei!
Although Cui Ling had not witnessed firsthand how much wealth the rebel king had left behind, he could imagine it was an enormous sum.
Just think about how much silver that the powerful families in the north had accumulated over generations, along with the national treasury, had all been looted.
Even someone as uninterested in money as him would probably be tempted by this fortune.
Madam Cui and her son exchanged glances. They saw Cui Ling laughing, talking to himself, and occasionally slamming his hand on the table, clearly very excited. They wondered what he was planning. Seeing that he remained silent, lost in his own thoughts, Madam Cui didn't ask any further questions. She wiped her mouth and stood up, saying, "I'll take He'er to the palace to visit Rong'er later. I'll probably be back a little late today."
"Go ahead, go ahead!" Cui Ling waved his hand.
He was plotting how to use this matter to maximize his own benefits.
The current inference is correct, but strong evidence is still lacking. If the Qian family denies it to the death and turns around and accuses him, he may get into even more trouble.
"Hmm, it seems we still need to send someone to Hebei. No matter how shrewd Qian Yu is, he will eventually slip up a little bit."
"Sir, there's news!" At that moment, a subordinate suddenly knocked on the door, wanting to report something.
"Come in!"
The door creaked open.
After his subordinate entered, he reported in a low voice: "Sir, we have investigated all the farmers and merchants in the vicinity that you asked us to investigate yesterday afternoon. This afternoon, we have found out who encountered the last person who died in the grove."
Upon hearing this, Cui Ling raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue.
The subordinate continued to report: "That group of people came to the capital from the vicinity of Jinling in the south to do business. They were a small group of cloth merchants. After they found the silver notes on the dead man in the grove, they turned back and rested in the county town ahead. After suddenly becoming rich, they couldn't contain themselves and went to the best brothel in town last night to have fun. They were very high-profile and we caught them all on the first try."
However, one thing is certain: when we arrived, these people had already been fighting amongst themselves over the division of the spoils. An old man and another older man had already left, injured, and their fate was unknown. We chased them along the main road for over a hundred li without finding them, so we withdrew. Now we'll see if we should continue the pursuit.
"Could it be them?" Cui Ling muttered to himself.
Then he looked up and asked, "Did you find out if there were any special circumstances before the person in the grove died?"
“Those people were all ordinary people who couldn’t be scared. Our men did a quick interrogation and they all confessed. It’s said that before he died, he gave one of them a key and told them to deliver it to Grand Tutor Qian’s mansion in the capital. That’s all.”
Where are the keys?
"Uh, we haven't found the key yet. The person who took the key is one of the two who left before their internal strife. That's why I rushed back to ask you, sir, whether we should continue the pursuit."
Upon hearing this, Cui Ling narrowed his eyes, stood up, and said sternly, "Of course we must pursue them. This key is of utmost importance. Sending more people out is fine. Search along the official road; at most, we'll end up in Jinling. These people do business together as a clan, and they have wives, children, and elderly parents at home. No matter what happens outside, they will always return home in the end. While you are searching, also send a few people to Jinling to keep watch. Report any news immediately."
"Yes, sir!" The subordinate turned and left after receiving the order.
Cui Ling sat alone at the table and couldn't help but chuckle softly: "It's true that Heaven hasn't forsaken me. Now let's see how your Qian family defends themselves in front of the Emperor!"
As he laughed, the movement aggravated his wound, and Cui Ling clutched his chest and coughed again.
Just as I was about to take a sip of tea to soothe my throat, the butler came over to report: "Master, there is a letter for you."
"Come in!" Cui Ling said unhurriedly.
After receiving the letter, he frowned and asked the steward, "Why is there no signature? Who sent it?"
"The messenger said that after you read the letter, you will understand who sent it."
"So mysterious!" Cui Ling said as he unfolded the letter, and his expression changed drastically after reading it.
He then crumpled the letter into a ball, gritted his teeth, and slammed his fist on the table: "You Qian family, you actually pulled this trick on me!"
"Master..." The butler, sensing something was amiss, asked in a low voice, "Is something wrong?"
Cui Ling snapped out of her daze and realized she had been too out of line. She softened her tone and said, "It's nothing. Didn't the Qian family send an invitation to our mansion a couple of days ago? Send someone to the Qian family to reply and tell them that I'm free tonight and we can meet at Qingzhu Pavilion."
"Yes!" The butler quickly left.
Cui Ling curled his lips into a cold smile. Under normal circumstances, he might have really been caught by the Qian family, but things were different now. He now also had leverage over the Qian family, and it was a huge one at that.
Let's see if the Qian family dares to go all out and die together with him for the sake of a daughter. Heh, Cui Ling has killed countless people on the battlefield and finally got to where he is today. How could he be so easily manipulated!
Hmph, it's still too early to tell who will emerge victorious!
At worst, it's a secret exchange, and no one loses out!
The Qian family's plans today are likely doomed to fail.