Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2237 Much the same 27.0

"This young lady has a really bad temper. Haven't you heard that people in the Xiao family have bad tempers? She throws things all the time, which doesn't seem like a member of the Xiao family." Jin Jing raised his eyebrows slightly, "But it's hard to say. Our Master Xiao Fengqi doesn't look like a person with a bad temper, but he did something shocking and directly destroyed his own family. Although some of the foundation has been preserved, most of the vitality has been damaged. If you want to return to the heyday of the Xiao family, it will probably take many years. It's just that." He looked at Yan Bo, "Didn't they say that Miss Xiao spent a lot of money? This amount of money is only enough to buy tea sets, not that much, right?"

"Saying that they bought tea sets is just a metaphor. They certainly won't spend all of it on this, but a large sum of money is definitely worth it." Yan Bo didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and patted Jin Jing. "If it was you, or anyone of you, who saw that account book and saw the difference, you would probably be as angry as this." He sighed and continued, "According to what the Second Master said, they only looked at the accounts in the last ten years, and there is a difference of ten thousand taels of gold compared to what Miss Xiao has." He looked at the child with wide eyes, spread his hands, and said, "Don't disbelieve it, it's like this."

"The person in charge of purchasing in the Xiao family is really bold!" Jin Jing touched his chin, snorted coldly, and said, "No wonder Miss Xiao was furious. This is ten thousand taels of gold! However, this is not our focus. Did the seniors find anything else?"

"Xiao Jing hit the nail on the head. I have found out about it." Yan Bo smiled. "In addition to the official salt, the Yao family also has salt from other places."

"From somewhere else?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. She didn't know much about the salt administration and didn't understand what Yan Bo meant. "Salt has always been in the hands of the government. Apart from official salt, where else can he get salt?"

"Xiaocha has never lived in Jiangnan, so she doesn't know this." Qin Zheng looked at Shen Cha and smiled, "Let me ask you a question. Do you know where the government's salt comes from?"

Shen Cha had a bewildered look on his face. He looked at this, then that, and shook his head slightly.

"I really don't know much about this. Do my brother and Xiaotian know?"

"There are salt mines and salt fields in Jiangnan. Logically, these should be controlled by the government, but," Jin Jing sighed, "the salt fields and salt mines we can really control are only a small part of all the salt mines and salt fields. Most of the unknown salt mines and salt fields are controlled by the clans in Jiangnan." He looked at Qin Zheng, "I know that my uncle's family has never been involved in the salt business, but the Qin family also has salt mines and salt fields, right?"

"That's true." Qin Zheng smiled at Jin Jing. "The Qin family's salt mine and salt field are nominally owned by the Qin family, but in fact they do not belong to the Qin family, but to the royal family."

"Royal?" Jin Jing was stunned. "What does this mean?"

"I know this." Xue Ruitian raised his hand. "The salt used in the palace, royal relatives, and important ministers' residences all comes from the Qin family's salt mines and salt fields. The Qin family keeps a small portion for themselves, and the rest are tribute." He smiled at Qin Zheng. "The Qin family is an imperial merchant. On the surface, they specialize in silk, but in fact, salt is their main business."

"That's right." Qin Zheng nodded. "I remember when I was a kid, my family's business encountered several crises, all aimed at the title of imperial merchant. My father once told my mother that they were just busying around, and they couldn't get to the point after working for a long time." He sighed softly. "Many Jiangnan clans have their own salt fields, which are not under the control of the government, nor are they in their hands."

"Salt mines and salt fields." Shen Cha thought for a moment and looked at Qin Zheng. "They should be quite large, right? The salt produced each year is not only for their own consumption, but also for the royal family. The remaining salt should be quite a lot, which is more than enough, right?"

"Yes!" Qin Zheng nodded, "So, they had evil intentions. After all, official salt is still very rare. Most of the private salt on the market slips out from this kind of private salt field, so the Yao family should not be surprised. However, the Yao family should not have their own salt fields, but a few families with close relations with the Yao family." "But, as far as I know, Jiangning Prefecture does not have salt mines, so..." Shen Haolin frowned slightly, "They found out the salt mines of other prefectures in Jiangnan from here, right?"

"That's right." Yan Bo nodded and sneered, "Although the whole process was very difficult, and we encountered some dangers and assassinations in the middle, we were able to escape danger in time."

"Miss Xiao initially just wanted to investigate the traitor in her family, but why did she start investigating the smuggled salt? She didn't doubt Second Grandfather's investigation at all?" Shen Cha frowned slightly, "Surely not?"

"Second Master just said that Miss Xiao knew that the salt was not obtained legally and the cost was lower than what was written in the account book. She was so angry that she said she wanted to investigate with them and go home to settle the accounts after everything was investigated."

"That's a good reason." Shen Cha nodded. "How long did it take them to find out all this?"

"In about four months, there was indeed a big disturbance in the Jiangnan officialdom." Yan Bo chuckled, "It's just that the Second Master didn't show up. After all, he is indeed an idle prince who has never taken on any responsibilities, so it's not convenient for him to show up. He mainly went to Liu Shibo's side. But everyone who should know knows that the most important person at the core of this salt administration case is the Second Master, but no one mentioned him by name."

"Although Uncle Yan didn't explain it in detail, just think about it and you will know how thrilling this process is." Shen Cha sighed softly, "Miss Xiao and Second Grandpa have been through thick and thin together. When did Second Grandpa know that she was a girl?"

"Before leaving Jiangning Mansion, all the sentences that needed to be passed were passed, all the things that needed to be dealt with were dealt with, and the results that everyone wanted were seen, so a banquet was set up." Yan Bo chuckled, "As a result, the two of them got drunk and started to pour out their hearts to each other. Miss Xiao said she wanted to tell Second Master the truth, saying that she was actually a girl, but she pretended to be a boy just to make it easier to go out."

"We've been together for four months. Even if Second Grandpa is slow, he would have noticed it, right?" Jin Miaomiao tilted her head and looked at Yan Bo. "He should have known it a long time ago."

"Even if he didn't know, Senior knew. He had almost guessed it in the second month that Miss Xiao stayed at the inn. However, because the salt administration case in Jiangning Prefecture was too complicated, it was inconvenient to expose it even if he knew it. It was not until everything was settled that they confessed to each other." Yan Bo thought of the expression on Second Master Jiang's face when he talked about this, smiled lightly, and said, "Second Master knew that Miss Xiao was worried about her family's affairs, so he suggested that if she was not in a hurry to go back, she could play with him for two days. After all, since she was here, it would be a bit regretful if she went back without seeing the beautiful mountain scenery in the Central Plains."

"I guess this is what Miss Xiao is thinking, right? Now that we are here, it won't be a wasted trip to see what Da Xia is like."

"Yes!" Yan Bo sighed softly, "Your second grandfather's bumpy love journey has officially begun."