Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2320 It Turns Out to be Hidden Here 16.0

Shen Cha slept until the afternoon, and when she woke up, it was almost noon.

She slowly opened her eyes and used her hands to block the dazzling sunlight coming through the bed curtains. Thinking back to what happened in the morning, she couldn't help but chuckle. Her brother really had good intentions.

When she was dealing with official documents and reports in the morning, she didn't focus on the food. She didn't expect her brother to tamper with her porridge in order to let her sleep well. She didn't know what the medicine Jin Miaomiao was researching this time was. It seemed to be different from ordinary tranquilizers. She didn't fall asleep immediately after drinking it. This was a big improvement.

"Boss, are you awake?" Merlin, who had been guarding beside him, felt the movement on the bed and quickly lifted the bed curtain to take a look. Seeing Shen Cha looking at him in confusion, he couldn't help but smile, "Did you sleep well?"

"Why are you here?"

"The Duke and the Marquis asked me to watch you. I don't know when you will wake up, so I have been guarding here. But don't worry, when you are asleep, everything is normal and nothing will happen."

"Are the people in the caravan and shops in the dungeon behaving themselves?"

"As for the caravan, they know they are doomed, so they are quite obedient. But the people in the shop have been shouting that they are innocent and that they were cheated. They asked us to make a decision for them."

"Cheated?" Shen Cha sneered, slowly sat up from the bed, took the tea handed over by Merlin, took a sip, and said, "They really dare to say such unscrupulous words. We had people seal up their shop and search their home before, but what was the result?"

"It's a long story. Who would have thought that these seemingly honest businessmen would be so deceitful." Merlin sat down beside Shen Cha's bed and took her empty teacup. "Do you want to drink more?"

"I don't want to drink anymore." Shen Cha shook her head gently. "Tell me in detail, what does this kind of deception mean? Since you have already found out, why didn't anyone report it?"

"We haven't finished the investigation yet. Everything is in progress. Boss, if you don't ask, we will wait until the investigation is completed. Otherwise, it would be too long-winded to come and report again and again."

"Yeah!" Shen Cha nodded and took a cushion and put it behind his head. "Tell me, what's going on?"

"The brothers of the Shadow Camp were ordered to seal up the shops and houses of those people and found many contracts. They were not only reselling funeral objects, but also colluding with other people to defraud those foreign merchants."

"Cheating the merchants? What does that mean? They mark up worthless things and sell them to the merchants at high prices?"

"That's about it." Merlin nodded. "Boss, you know that the Hu merchants like our Daxia's things very much. As long as they are exquisite, they are willing to pay a high price for them. You also know that the Hu merchants are more or less not short of money, and they are always very generous. If it weren't for our dynasty's restrictions on salt and tea, they would have bought out our salt and tea long ago."

"I know this. The silk merchants in Jiangnan have always been the biggest target of the Hu merchants. Their silk is simply in short supply and most of it has been bought by the Hu merchants."

"Yes, that is to say, there is no restriction on silk." Merlin nodded. "These bosses teamed up to make a lot of fakes, all of which were imitations of the antiques they collected. On the one hand, they sold the real ones to some collectors in Daxia at too high a price, and on the other hand, they sold the fakes as real ones to foreign merchants at high prices, making huge profits from it."

"Businessmen pursue profits, especially unscrupulous ones. It's nothing strange." Shen Cha thought for a while, "But where did they get so many so-called rare treasures? These things are hard to come by. I asked Mr. Xiao about this. He has some experience in this area. He said that for businesses like this, they can only make a living for three years after they close for business."

"That's right, they are the same. For many years, they haven't met a big customer like the Qinglian Sect who can sell by the box, so they thought of blackmailing them with counterfeit goods."

"I'm afraid they have used this method more than once or twice, but this time the merchants were not afraid of their throwing tantrums and exposed their true colors, so they became angry and embarrassed."

"What the boss said is true. They said it themselves. I didn't expect that there would be some nosy people among the onlookers who actually came to report to the police."

"They have done it themselves, how dare they say they are wronged?"

"Their argument is that they didn't harm the Daxia people, nor did they cause them any losses, so they are wronged."

"I have to say, they are quite good at talking, but it's a pity that they are just making up stories." Shen Cha sneered, "People come to us to do business, so we have to guarantee their basic rights. All business should not be based on fraud."

"We said the same thing, but they didn't think they were wrong and accused us of not standing up for our own people."

"Since they are so stubborn, let's lock them up and see whether their words are more stubborn or the stone slabs of the cell are harder."

"Boss, do you mean to lock them up forever as long as they don't sincerely admit their mistakes?" Seeing Shen Cha nod, Merlin smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll pass on the boss's order."

Shen Cha hummed, glanced at Merlin, and hooked her finger at her.

"What's wrong? Ouch!" Merlin covered his forehead which was hit by a flick, "Boss, what are you doing!"

"Tell me the truth, who came up with the idea of ​​drugging me?"

"Who else could have come up with this idea? Boss, you're asking even though you already know the answer!" Merlin sat beside Shen Cha's bed and smiled at her. "Except for the Duke, who else would have the guts to do such a thing?"

"Really? I think you all are quite courageous."

"That's different. If the Duke did it, you wouldn't say anything. But it's different for us. We might get retaliated against, right?" Merlin saw Shen Cha staring at him, and he laughed dryly twice, saying, "Doesn't the Duke feel sorry for you? You've been staying in the old house or the small warehouse for several days without eating, drinking or sleeping. He feels bad just watching you. Moreover, the Duke said that if he persuaded you to have a good sleep, you would definitely perfunctorily get by."

"Wait, wait!" Shen Cha interrupted Merlin, "Explain to me what you mean by perfunctory and muddled through. How did I do that?"

"I didn't say that, it was the Duke who said that. You said yes, but you didn't really mean to do it." Merlin raised his eyebrows at Shen Cha, "This is not the first time you've done something like this, right? The Duke doesn't talk nonsense, does he?"

Shen Cha didn't say anything, but just touched his nose to cover up his guilt and a little embarrassment.

"The Duke predicted your behavior, so he didn't bother to persuade you. He directly asked Sister Miaomiao for some tranquilizers and put them in your porridge so that you could have a good sleep. He also said that you might blame him after you wake up, but he doesn't care."

"My brother felt sorry for me because I was too tired during this period, so he asked me to have a good rest. Why should I blame him?" Shen Cha smiled, shook his head gently, rubbed his forehead with his hand, and said, "Even if you did this, I would not blame you for it." "Really?"

"Yeah!" Shen Cha sighed, "I know that I have been a little impatient recently. I want to find the things they left here as soon as possible, so I have neglected many things. And I also know that when I get busy, I can't listen to other people's advice and dissuasion. This is my problem, not my brother's or yours. It's just that..."

"Just what?"

"This medicine is not very good. It can indeed make people fall asleep, but they will have a headache when they wake up. Miaomiao still needs to improve it." Shen Cha rubbed his eyebrows. "By the way, you stay here with me, what about my brothers?"

"The Duke and the Marquis have both gone to the camp. Today is the first day of the new formation drill. They are worried, so they want to go over and keep an eye on it personally."

"I know this." Shen Cha thought for a moment, "The Shadow Battalion also participated in this new formation drill. What do you think?"

"Because it's the first day, the running-in is not very good. When changing the formation, although it's not so chaotic, it's not very smooth." Merlin looked at Shen Cha and said, "The Duke, the Marquis and several generals are not very satisfied."

"It's the first day of a new formation, this is inevitable. All formations require more practice to be mastered, and we can't rush it." Shen Cha touched his chin, "This matter can't be rushed. I believe my brother, Xiaotian and the generals know what's going on. Moreover, the new formation itself is not mature, and adjustments need to be made during the running-in process."

"What the boss said is right. The Duke also said so. Anyway, we have experience in this matter, so there is no need to rush."

Shen Cha raised an eyebrow, asked Merlin to pour another cup of tea, took two sips, and said, "Did you show the plan yesterday to your second brother? What did your second brother say?"

"Want to hear the truth?"

"Of course, whether it's good or bad, just say it directly."

"Ahem." Merlin cleared his throat and said, "It's too rotten and too crude. Anyone can see through it at a glance."

"This evaluation is really merciless, but it's something that Second Brother can say." Shen Cha smiled helplessly, "I know it's rough, so I let Second Brother read it. What I wrote yesterday in a daze can't be counted at all."

"My second brother said the same thing. He said it was obvious that the plan was not well thought out. The intention was good, but it was a completely bad plan."

"Since my second brother has completely rejected this plan, then this task is given to him. Does he have any mature and not crude plans for me?"

"Second brother really guessed your idea completely. He said he needed to think it over carefully. So, when I came back, he hadn't made up his mind yet." Merlin smiled, "But if he had an idea and had it figured out, he would have come directly to the eldest brother."

"Well, that's fine. Let's wait for his good news!" Shen Cha lifted the quilt. "I'm recovered. Let's get ready to wash up!"

Merlin responded, stood up and prepared toiletries for Shen Cha, and also prepared some clothes for her.

"Why are you changing clothes again? Are you not going to change?" Shen Cha looked at herself and said, "I just changed this morning."

"I changed it this morning, and now it's wrinkled after all your sleep. Are you going to go out like this?" Merlin rolled his eyes helplessly and said, "Pay attention to your image, okay? We are generals after all!"

"Got it. I'll listen to you. Let's change!"

Shen Cha smiled helplessly, got out of bed, washed her face and rinsed her mouth, tied up her loose hair again, changed into the clothes Merlin prepared for her, and tidied herself up a little in front of the mirror.

"Let's go to the camp and have a meal!"

"Oh!" Merlin ran two steps and said, "Aren't we going to see our second brother first?"

"There's no rush to see my second brother. Didn't you just say that he would come to see us when he made up his mind?" Shen Cha walked out of the house, stretched his waist, looked in the direction of Wuding Marquis's Mansion, and asked, "What's the situation at the Marquis' Mansion?"

"Master Qi went out for a stroll with the Third Master and the old lady. Master Xiao seemed to have caught a cold yesterday and felt a little uncomfortable this morning. He took some medicine and fell asleep in the room. He should not have woken up yet." Meilin looked at Shen Cha's face. "Sister Miaomiao checked it out. It's nothing serious. It should be caused by overwork. He will be fine after a few days of good sleep."

"He seemed to be in good spirits yesterday, but I didn't expect him to be sick all of a sudden."

"This Master Xiao also has trouble eating and sleeping because he has something on his mind. He was busy dealing with the Xiao family's affairs some time ago, and he probably didn't get much rest. After coming to our place, you were busy looking for those things, and he was busy flipping through Sanskrit books. He also didn't sleep for nights. No matter how Master Qi and the Third Master persuaded him, it was useless. He just laughed and did what he had to do. Speaking of which, from this point of view, you two are quite similar. You both don't care about yourselves."

Shen Cha didn't say anything, just smiled. If they were not such people, they would have died long ago.

When the two men arrived at the main camp, they happened to catch the meal time of the Fire Camp. Several servants of the Fire Camp passed by them carrying several large pots and went towards the commander's tent.

When they passed by them, the aroma of food wafted over them, and both of them couldn't help swallowing.

"Today's meal smells so good, it tastes like pilaf, with a strong smell of mutton fat. It would be a shame if I didn't have a bite!" Merlin raised his eyebrows at Shen Cha, "Let's go quickly, or else those little guys will snatch it all away."

"Why rush? They've already seen us, so they'll definitely leave a portion for us."

Shen Cha smiled at Merlin, nodded to the teams of soldiers who saluted as they passed by her, and asked them about their opinions on the new formation. After collecting some real ideas, she took Merlin and slowly walked towards the main tent.

(End of this chapter)