Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1374

To be honest, if the Crown Prince hadn't instructed him not to make too much of a fuss and to wait for the Emperor's arrangements, Mao Xiang would have already arrested and interrogated people.

Two mere vice ministers? As the emperor's personal guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guards should not hesitate to arrest even a duke!

On the other side, Wei Wu was not surprised at all after hearing Mao Xiang's answer, after all, they were old acquaintances.

So after Mao Xiang finished speaking, he simply nodded and then continued:

"We think the same way, but since those two guys dared to do this, they probably already had a plan in mind. We probably won't find anything useful."

At this point, Wei Wu frowned and pondered for a moment before turning to Mao Xiang and speaking again:

"Old Mao, if we can't find anything out of them, we need to prepare a backup plan. We should dig a hole and see if they'll fall into it on their own!"

Upon hearing this, Mao Xiang glanced at Wei Wu with some doubt. Knowing that Wei Wu wouldn't speak without reason, he simply asked directly.

"how do you want to do it?"

"It's simple: seal off the fire site, forbid anyone from getting close, and then accidentally let the news leak out, letting people outside know that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has found an important clue!"

Hearing this, Mao Xiang roughly guessed part of Wei Wu's thoughts, so he asked a question.

"Are you trying to create anxiety with fake news, forcing them to act desperately and expose their true colors?"

"Yes, but not entirely!"

Wei Wu nodded, but then shook his head. Seeing Mao Xiang's confusion, he explained:

"After releasing the news, we must send someone with a keen mind and good skills to protect them secretly. We absolutely cannot let anything happen to them!"

"Even if these two hear rumors, they probably won't act rashly. After all, when it comes to their lives, everyone will be more cautious."

"I did intend to create anxiety, but this anxiety wasn't directed at Qian Jinguang and Mai Zhide, but at the people behind them!"

At this point, Wei Wu reached up and rubbed his brow, letting his furrowed brows relax, before continuing:

"This money shop case involves all the money shops in the entire Ming Dynasty. It is definitely not something that just two vice ministers of the Ministry of Works could have done."

“There must be others hiding in the shadows. What I need to do is make these people anxious and make them feel that Qian Jinguang and Mai Zhide have been exposed.”

"In this way, those people will definitely take some action to avoid being implicated, and the most likely thing they will do is to completely eliminate these two hidden dangers!"

"But don't let those two get away either; you can make use of this thing."

As he spoke, Wei Wu pointed to the corner of the wall, where the oil bucket he had just spilled most of the ink on was located.

"By slightly faking the burn marks and adding some mercury residue, we might be able to trick someone into revealing something."

In fact, Wei Wu's idea was very simple: to have Mao Xiang use this method to test those two guys.

If their guesses are correct, then once Mao Xiang reveals the matter of mercury, the two of them will definitely react strangely.

However, if they guessed wrong, Qian Jinguang and Mai Zhide would react calmly, even with some doubt.

As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mao Xiang had investigated countless cases and seen countless people. He could see through even the slightest reaction.

While this method may not necessarily convict the two individuals, it can at least yield some information.

For example, to determine whether the guess about mercury is correct. If it is correct, then continue to investigate along this line of thought.

Even if we guess wrong, it doesn't matter. We can just consider it as eliminating a wrong option and saving time by avoiding wasting manpower and resources on it.

However, Wei Wu was unaware that Qian Jinguang had some understanding of the properties of mercury, which was why he came up with this method to have Mao Xiang try it.