Fifty miles east of the city is an abandoned dock.
When Ye Chengguan and his people arrived here, there was no trace of anyone.
The police searched around and discovered that this place was a hidden iron ore mine.
"Sir, the people in this mine seem to have just been evacuated."
The officers found some mining equipment that had not yet been packed away. Ye Chengkuan inspected a few pieces at random, thinking of the old man who was assassinated, and combined with the recent findings of Zhuo's private sale of ironware, rice grains to the North Country.
I probably have an idea of what's going on.
"Immediately report this matter to the Chief Envoy and request more manpower to seal the mine."
Ye Chengguan gave instructions to his subordinates and did not put his mind on the mine anymore.
Obviously, the owner of the mine has taken precautions, and now the only way to find out who is behind the mine is through the assassins.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but secretly admire Qi Hua Rujin's wisdom. Under such circumstances, she could still think of using the old man who had died to make a fuss.
Leaving some people to look after the mine, he personally took the rest of the people around, but after asking several families, no one had heard that this abandoned wharf was actually an ore mining site.
Thinking of what happened in Mount Paektu, he ordered people to check around to see if there were any missing persons. The result also disappointed him. No one was missing from any house.
He immediately concluded that the mining craftsmen should be sent from elsewhere.
He kept running around until dawn, and when he saw the people from the provincial government arriving at the mine, he led them back to the government office.
It was already three o'clock in the morning, and the courtyard of the Imperial Household Office was filled with officials of all sizes. Even the Chief Envoy came over in person.
But without exception, no one was summoned by Prince Ning.
Seeing Ye Chengguan's return, the chief envoy stepped forward with relief and asked: "How is it, Mr. Ye, what did you find out?"
Ye Chengguan looked at his expectant colleagues and slowly shook his head.
"What about the assassin last night?"
The chief envoy frowned and became extremely uneasy.
"The assassin last night did not come for His Highness."
Ye Chengguan looked at Hua Rujin who was coming out of the yamen, and said in detail: "Xiaguan found a hidden iron ore mining ground fifty miles east of the city. Maybe someone escaped from there.
This led to the assassins chasing him."
"What happened to the people who escaped?"
Another official asked anxiously.
"It's nothing serious."
Hua Rujin hurriedly stepped forward and replied calmly: "I just suffered some minor injuries. I will be able to accept the official interrogation after one more day of rest."
"That couldn't be better."
The chief envoy nodded happily: "Master Ye, you must do your best to investigate this matter. Someone is secretly exploiting iron ore under the nose of our provincial government. You simply don't care about the imperial court."
Some officials couldn't bear it anymore and urged: "Master Fantai, since someone has escaped from the mine, he should be brought to trial immediately and the truth should be found out as soon as possible to avoid long nights and nightmares."
Hua Rujin glanced secretly at the official who was speaking, not knowing whether he was really concerned about the case or whether he wanted to confirm whether the old man was dead.
If he were to interrogate the old man at this time, he would be exposed.
And looking at Ye Chengguan's face, she guessed that he didn't make much gains last night, and now he could only rely on the old man's body to lure the snake out of the hole.
Ye Chengkui understood this and hurriedly said to the chief envoy: "Master Fantai, this matter is of great importance. Before the conspiracy behind the mine is understood, in order to ensure the safety of the witnesses, it is not appropriate to interrogate in public."
At this time, Zhu Zhiye also walked out of the government office, looked at the noisy officials in the yard, and shouted impatiently: "Everyone, please step aside. The old man was frightened last night and needs to rest."
King Ning opened his mouth, but no one dared to stay here any longer. The Chief Envoy led his subordinates to bow their hands and bowed their hands, and then exited the Imperial Envoy's residence in an orderly manner.
After the yard was clear, Zhu Zhiye quickly walked to Hua Rujin, smiled and asked for credit: "How is it, little Hua'er, my performance is OK?"
"certainly."
Hua Rujin smiled indifferently at him, then looked back at Ye Chenggui, who shook his head in despair: "All the miners in the mine have been moved away."
"Since they have been transferred long ago, these people still want to silence the old man. I am afraid that the old man must know some other secrets."
Hua Rujin comforted her softly: "Sir, don't worry, the assassin will definitely come again tonight."
Then he told him to rest in the Yamen for a while, and then he went to Mu's house.
Seeing Mu Ran, she asked bluntly: "Last time, Mr. Mu said that Zhuo Fan was not born insane. Is there any basis for this?"
"Zhuo Fan is the only bloodline of the second wife of the Zhuo family. He was in charge of many affairs of the Zhuo family during his lifetime. How could he be insane?"
Mu Ran said firmly, fearing that she would be suspicious, and continued to explain: "I once heard someone mention that the Zhuo family has been very close to Prince Fu in recent years. Prince Fu needs to take away a large amount of money from the Zhuo family every year, and it is not a matter of this amount."
It is Zhuo Fan who is responsible for the accounts, and I heard that some people saw him going to Zhuangzi outside the city to take care of things."
"If King Fu really colludes with the Zhuo family to do shady things, then no outsider can interfere with these things. I'm afraid even the third brother Fu Wang of the Zhuo family won't be able to trust him. The second brother is the descendant of Concubine Zhuo, so King Fu will naturally take important matters into consideration.
Leave the matter to the second room."
Hua Rujin once again thought of the private mine discovered in the east of the city. If the Zhuo family was behind this, Zhuo Fan must be involved.
Thinking of this, she suddenly had an idea in her mind: "As long as it is found out that Zhuo Fan was personally involved in a major event, it will be enough to prove that he is not guilty of madness."
Mu Ran was anxious to rescue his cousin and couldn't wait to ask: "Miss Hua, what do you need me to do?"
Hua Rujin smiled and shook her head: "You don't need to do anything, just wait for the result quietly."
After telling Mu Ran, he hurriedly left Mu's house.
In the Zhuo family's mansion, Third Master Zhuo was feeling lucky to have solved a difficult matter. He was leisurely sipping tea in the yard when he suddenly saw the housekeeper walking in with a solemn expression.
"What happened again?"
Mr. Zhuo glared at the housekeeper coldly.
"Third Master, something serious has happened."
The housekeeper bit the bullet and reported the truth: "The iron mine Mr. Fan operates in the east of the city has been sealed off by the government."
"iron ore?"
Mr. Zhuo was so frightened that he spit out all his tea: "I heard rumors earlier that Fan'er was digging iron mines privately. He really dared to do such a bold thing. It would be a serious crime to destroy the nine tribes."
"Third Master, this is not the Young Master's idea. His Royal Highness Prince Fu needed a lot of money, so he asked the Young Master to do it."
The housekeeper looked bitter: "A few days ago, the young master was killed by that little bitch of the Tang family. The management of the mine became looser, so someone took the opportunity to escape. When I found out last night, that person had already escaped from the mine.
, even though we sent people to kidnap the man, they arrived a step too late after all, and he had already been rescued by His Highness Prince Ning and the newly appointed inspector."
"this"
Mr. Zhuo's face turned livid and he was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
"Third Master, you have to think of something. Those miners have all seen the young master. If they expose the young master, not only will the young master's madness be hidden, but the mining of iron ore will also implicate the entire industry.
The Zhuo family."
At this point, the housekeeper had no choice but to put all his hopes on the head of the third house, and begged earnestly: "The old lady has said that the third master must suppress this matter no matter what."
"What else can we do, the only way is to arrange manpower to find a way to get rid of that person as soon as possible."
For a while, Master Zhuo couldn't think of any better way.
"Why don't you discuss it with Governor Luo first?"
The housekeeper was a little worried and asked in a low voice.
"If he knew that you were doing such stupid things without telling him, he would first destroy the Zhuo family."
Thinking of Luo Chuhuai's warning, Third Master Zhuo's scalp felt numb. How could he dare to mention the matter to him again? He quickly urged: "Go and prepare manpower quickly to solve this problem as soon as possible."