“You know what you’re doing. That’s all that matters. You’ll handle these matters yourself; you have my full discretion! If any of you are ever exposed, anyone who sees your faces must…”
Shao Bowen made a throat-slitting gesture at this point!
“Rest assured, sir, I understand!”
“Good!”
————————————————————
While Shao Bowen was busily preparing for his next move, Yuan Xingchi received a pigeon post from Han Mo.
“Sir, has something happened?”
Seeing Yuan Xingchi’s darkened expression, the coachman asked in a low voice.
“Something has happened in Mengzhou!”
“Mengzhou?”
Hearing Yuan Xingchi’s words, the coachman didn’t react for a long time. They didn’t seem to have any arrangements in Mengzhou.
“Don’t you remember? Isn’t our son-in-law’s father serving as the Judicial Assistant in Mengzhou City?”
Yuan Xingchi rubbed his temples, which were starting to ache, as he said this.
“What could possibly happen to a Judicial Assistant?”
The coachman looked at Yuan Xingchi with confusion.
It was a sinecure, responsible for handling documents, with practically no real power.
There was no access to secrets, and no way to illicitly gain money.
Such a position was completely insignificant in official circles, and even the coachman couldn’t fathom what could go wrong.
Moreover, Han Mo’s father, Han Rui, was, after all, a member of the Han family, and his son was currently the most talented scholar in the Great Song dynasty.
Although Han Mo’s current status was not high, in the eyes of outsiders, he was now a favored figure before the Emperor and Prince Xin.
From any perspective, local officials wouldn’t have any reason to target an unremarkable fellow like Han Rui.
“The new Prefect of Mengzhou, Huang Qianshan, has framed the Judicial Assistant for the deficit in the treasury!”
“What?”
After hearing his words, the coachman nearly jumped out of his skin.
That was too absurd!
To withdraw anything from the treasury, one not only needed official documents but also the Prefect’s official seal.
Let alone whether Han Rui had the ability to do so, based on their current understanding, Han Rui was, to put it mildly, cautious, or to put it bluntly, timid as a rabbit. Would anyone believe that such a person would do such a thing?
“Your son-in-law wants us to take care of him? I’ll go prepare the carriage now!”
“Prepare what carriage?”
Yuan Xingchi glared at him impatiently, seeing his impulsive behavior.
“But we can’t just let this matter go, can we? We can’t pretend we don’t know anything, can we?”
“Don’t get agitated. Let me finish speaking! I’ll write a letter, and you can send someone to deliver it to Manager Zhe’s residence!”
“Right, right, I was a bit hasty. To deal with this scoundrel, a handwritten letter from Grand Commandant Liang would be enough! It’s inconvenient for us to visit directly, but it’s no problem to find Manager Zhe.”
Giving him another glare, Yuan Xingchi didn’t even bother to speak.
“When will you ever change your impetuous nature? Why does it act up like this every time something happens?”
Yuan Xingchi said casually as he wrote the letter.
“I… I was just a little anxious…”
The coachman scratched his head sheepishly as he spoke.
“This matter is definitely not as simple as it appears. If you were the new Prefect of Mengzhou, you could easily find an insignificant clerk with no background to be a scapegoat for such an act. Why pick a scion of a prominent family?”
“Then, according to you, someone is pulling the strings from behind the scenes?”
The coachman’s eyes widened.
“Of course. It can be said that Lord Han has suffered an unwarranted disaster. If I’m not mistaken, the person playing this game is currently in Bianliang City, and Huang Qianshan is merely a pawn!”
“Then what are we to do now…”
“Our son-in-law’s intention is to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots. Since the other party dares to reveal themselves, we have no need to be polite. Let them also see clearly that the current son-in-law is not a lump of dough that anyone can knead at will!”
Yuan Xingchi couldn’t help but reveal a cold smile at this point.
With the establishment of the Cuju General Association, the Zhe family’s influence in Bianliang City had risen another notch.
Even though the country was at war and the national treasury was not abundant, the money sent to the imperial palace from the Cuju General Association alone reached millions of guan each month.
The Chinese people’s gambling nature was truly revealed in its entirety by the Cuju General Association.
Even though the weather in Bianliang City was very cold at this time, on every match day, even the nobles would disregard the chill and personally attend the matches.
With the connection of a group of princes, dukes, and imperial clan members, one could imagine how powerful the Cuju General Association was.
Ever since that damned eunuch Li Yan had fallen, no one had dared to cause trouble for the Cuju General Association for a long time.
Using such a vast network, it might be difficult to do other things, but if it was just to gather information, it was incredibly simple.
“Alright, you deliver the letter now. Don’t say or do anything else. Have Manager Zhe investigate the matter thoroughly as soon as possible! After you get it from him, take this item to the Ministry of Personnel and find Minister Nie!”
Yuan Xingchi spoke while taking out another token from his sleeve.
“But if we mobilize the resources of the Ministry of Personnel, won’t the other party also receive the news quickly…”
The coachman was stunned as he looked at the token Yuan Xingchi handed over.
“Your brain isn’t completely useless, but think about it again!”
Seeing that he could think of this level, Yuan Xingchi was somewhat comforted.
“Sir means to stir up the grass to startle the snake, and then lure the snake out of its hole?”
“Exactly! Mengzhou is not far from Xiangzhou. When Master wrote to us, he had already sent people to send a message back to Xiangzhou. With both methods employed, we won’t be unable to find this fellow!”
Yuan Xingchi spoke with killing intent flashing in his eyes.
He had been operating in Bianliang City for so long, yet he hadn’t realized that a new demon had appeared in Bianliang City. This was truly his oversight!
“Yes!”
After receiving the item from Yuan Xingchi, the coachman responded with a sound and quickly hurried out.
After the coachman left, Yuan Xingchi sank into thought again, rapidly flashing through familiar faces in his mind, wondering who was playing such a trick at this time.