Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 491: Strange and Difficult to Understand
"Zhong Huai, your grandfather has passed away. It is an old matter and I have no intention of pursuing it. But since the Bai family is your maternal family, and now someone is involved in the smuggling of salt, I cannot cover it up. Only if you make an attack, then I can plead for you and leave some bloodline for the Bai family. As for my safety, you don't have to worry. We are now on the canal and there will be no danger." Zhao Ceying said.

After Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne, he did not appoint Zhao Ceying as the crown prince. At this time, Zhao Ceying had no intention of rebelling, but he also knew the importance of preparing for a rainy day.

Moreover, he already knew how to win people's hearts. Even if he had no other intentions, he would give face to Gu Tingye when he learned that the Bai family was involved in smuggling salt.

Let Gu Tingye take down the Bai family first, firstly because Gu Tingye is familiar with the Bai family, and secondly because it is to do Gu Tingye a favor.

Gu Tingye was silent for a while and said, "Your Highness, the Bai family is guilty and should be punished. How can they be pardoned because of me? Your Highness should send someone else to do this."

Although the Bai family is his maternal family, he has no feelings for other members of the Bai family, not to mention that people from the second and third branches had once attempted to assassinate him.

He had already done his best by letting the Bai brothers go.

The Bai family has committed a serious mistake this time. Even if they are held accountable, the entire family will not be executed. As long as the entire family is not wiped out, he doesn't bother to care.

"Zhong Huai!" Zhao Ceying looked at Gu Tingye seriously and said, "Leaving some bloodline for the Bai family is secondary. I asked you to go because I trust you. You don't have to worry about your father. I am the mastermind of this thorough investigation of the salt affairs. You are going there on my orders. Even if something happens, I will not blame you." Zhao Ceying said.

"this…"

Gu Tingye did have concerns in this regard. After all, he was responsible for leading the troops to protect Zhao Ceying, and he could not afford any accidents.

But since Zhao Ceying had already said so, he could only obey.

"Your Highness, I will rush to Yangzhou first. Your Highness can slow down. Don't rush to Yangzhou without any news from me." Gu Tingye said.

Now it was only two or three days' journey from Yangzhou. If he changed to a smaller boat, he would definitely be faster than Zhao Ceying and his men.

But for such a short distance, the speed can only be limited.

He was really worried about Zhao Ceying going ashore when he couldn't get back in time.

"Well, I understand. Time is running out, you should leave now. By the way, let Ziqian go with you." Zhao Ceying said, "Ziqian is always quick-witted. If there is any emergency, you can listen to his advice."

"Yes!" Gu Tingye replied.

After Gu Tingye left the cabin, he went to find Li An.

At this time, Li An had not gone to bed, but was thinking about what would happen tonight.

This matter was full of weirdness, but because of limited information, he didn't know the problem for a while.

"Zi Qian!"

Gu Tingye's voice interrupted Li An's thoughts.

Li An got out of bed and opened the door: "Zhong Huai, what's wrong?"

Gu Tingye recounted Zhao Ceying's arrangements and said, "Hurry up and get ready. We'll leave soon."

"I understand. However, once we leave, the safety of His Highness Prince Huan will no longer be guaranteed. I will leave the pillar behind to protect His Highness." Li An said.

"I have the same idea, but it depends on your Highness's opinion." Gu Tingye said.

"Let me pack up and then we'll go see His Highness." Li An said.

"Okay!" Gu Tingye nodded.

Li An packed up simply, called Zhuzi and Gu Tingye and went out.

When Zhao Ceying was found and told, he did not refuse.

He had seen Shizhu's martial arts when he suppressed the rebellion, and afterwards his father wanted him to join the army.

Because Shizhu was a little stupid, they gave up.

The stone pillars protected him, and his safety was greatly increased, so there was naturally no reason for him to refuse.

Li An told Zhuzi to follow Zhao Ceying's instructions, and then said goodbye with Gu Tingye.

The two men boarded a small boat, accompanied by only a dozen guards, and traveled in the dark.

It is called a small boat only compared to the big ship we took before.

This type of boat can carry dozens of people and travel much faster than a large ship.

Standing at the bow, looking at the dark river surface and listening to the occasional chirping of insects on both sides of the river, Li An smiled and said, "Zhong Huai, do you think it would be dangerous if we go to Yangzhou first?"

"Why are you scared?" Gu Tingye said with a smile.

"No, how do you think the danger of participating in the reform compares to this? I'm not afraid of this danger." Li An shook his head and said, "I just think we have to be careful. Once we are discovered, they may not dare to assassinate us, but our purpose will be exposed, and it will be difficult to complete His Highness's orders."

"If you say so, investigating the salt business is more dangerous than reforming the law. In court struggles, people are more restrained, assassination is rarely used, and neither side will kill the other. When the new policy led by Grand Chancellor Fan failed, most of those who participated in the new policy were simply demoted.

But it's different to investigate the salt business. Not to mention the officials, even the salt merchants are vicious and can do anything. As far as I know, many salt merchants also have merchant ships to go out to sea for business. If they are forced into a corner, they will not care about their status. At most, they will go out to sea. "Gu Tingye shook his head.

"That's right." Li An nodded.

He remembered that in history, Su Shi was attacked by the reformists at the time and almost lost his life because he opposed Wang Anshi's reform.

At that time, the reformists had the support of the emperor and were extremely powerful.

Even so, Su Shi was only demoted in the end.

It is said that businessmen make money through harmony, but in reality, businessmen show no mercy when they really fight.

On the contrary, in the officialdom, no matter how they fight secretly, they will always be harmonious on the surface.

The officialdom of the Song Dynasty was very fond of leaving a way out and would not put anyone to death.

Even if someone wants to do it, there are many people who will help and plead for it.

Of course, this refers to the fights between civil servants. If it is a fight between civil servants and military officers, the civil servants will show no mercy.

"But you are right, we have to be careful when we get to Yangzhou. It's dark and windy at night, so go to bed early. Let's travel overnight and we should be able to reach Yangzhou tomorrow evening." Gu Tingye said.

"Yeah!" Li An nodded.

…………

Gu Tingye’s estimation was correct, and they arrived in Yangzhou in the evening of the next day.

In order not to attract attention, when they were about to reach Yangzhou Pier, Gu Tingye let the boat dock and let some people get off.

At this time, the advantages of the small boat are reflected.

The large ship they were on did not dock at the pier, so they needed to choose a docking location early when they rested at night.

The draft is relatively deep, and if you don't find a place with deep water, you will easily run aground.

Small boats don’t have to worry so much and can just dock whenever they want.

When they arrived at Yangzhou Wharf, only Li An, Gu Tingye and two guards were left.

He hadn't been back to Yangzhou for a long time, but the Yangzhou wharf was still as lively as when he left.

Gu Tingye sent someone to hire a carriage, and when he saw Li An looking around, he asked in confusion, "What are you looking for?"

"Haha, I smell a familiar smell." Li An saw a stall from afar and walked over.

The stall was run by a couple, selling braised meat and offal.

When Li An saw the couple, he suddenly seemed to see his parents who used to set up a stall here.

So many years have passed in a flash.

"What would you like to order, sir?"

The male stall owner was in his thirties, with dark skin. He wanted to greet Li An when he saw him, but stopped immediately after seeing what he was wearing. Seeing that Li An was reluctant to leave and was staring at the stall, he mustered up the courage to speak.

Li An came back to his senses and smiled, "Give me two pounds of braised meat."

"Okay!" the man responded happily.

Braised pork is not easy to sell at the dock. After all, it is not far from Yangzhou City. People who have been traveling long distance and want to have a good meal will go to Yangzhou City.

But he could still sell some every day, so he did some.

Ang Lee bought two kilograms, so there wasn't much left.

The man spoke to his wife, and she skillfully weighed and cut the meat, then wrapped it in oil paper and handed it to Li An.

"My dear, the total is thirty cents," said the man.

How much did you sell that year?

Li An was a little confused for a moment, it seemed to be more expensive than this.

However, he has already made the recipe of the braised pork public, so now he can only go for the strategy of small profits but quick turnover.

Li An touched it and suddenly felt a little embarrassed, as he seemed to have forgotten to take his purse when he left.

"Boom!"

A piece of silver fell into the money box on the stall.

"keep the change."

After Gu Tingye finished speaking, he looked at Li An and said, "Let's go."

Li An nodded, and the two of them left the stall amid the thanks from the stall owner and his wife.

After getting on the carriage, Li An opened the meat wrapped in oil paper and said, "Do you want to eat it?"

Gu Tingye picked up a piece of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and said vaguely: "It's not as delicious as what your family made back then."

"Haha, that's for sure. After all, I made this thing." Li An smiled and took a bite. The taste was indeed average.

"I suddenly remembered that your family is from Yangzhou. No one should recognize me. You have to be careful. Although people in Yangzhou may not know that you are traveling with them, they can guess it when you suddenly appear in Yangzhou." Gu Tingye said.

Although he had been to Yangzhou, he had caused quite a stir.

But he was only fifteen years old at that time. Now so much time has passed, his appearance has changed a lot, and almost no one can recognize him.

Ang Lee is different. He is from Yangzhou and passed the imperial examination. I guess many people know Ang Lee's name when it is mentioned.

Of course, I haven't seen it many times.

But Li An has family in Yangzhou, so maybe he could meet them.

"I've thought about this problem. After we enter the city, we can go directly to the inn. There is no need for me to stay at home. If it really doesn't work, we can just disguise ourselves." Li An said.

In Yangzhou, only his brother and sister-in-law, nephews and nieces, and the servants in the house knew him.

The chance of encountering it is not very high, but you still have to be careful.

"Zhong Huai, have you thought about how to check it?" Li An asked.

"Just capture them and interrogate them." Gu Tingye said.

"Not right." Li An shook his head and said, "Zhong Huai, I've thought about it carefully, there's something wrong with this."

"What's the problem?" Gu Tingye looked at Li An in confusion.

"As far as I know, all salt merchants and private salt should be related. It is not a question of whether the salt merchants do it or not, but the officials will force them to do it," said Li An.

Gu Tingye nodded. Salt merchants could only buy salt from the court and open salt shops after purchasing salt permits.

If salt merchants do not participate, private salt cannot be sold at all. Otherwise, the imperial court only needs to investigate the owners behind the salt shops.

His grandfather left him a number of salt factories, so he naturally knew about them.

"Then the question is, Old Master Bai shouldn't have handed the smuggling salt business over to you, right?" Li An asked.

"Of course not." Gu Tingye frowned and said, "Do you doubt me?"

"You're overthinking it." Li An shook his head and said, "Zhong Huai, think about it. Your grandfather didn't give you the private salt business, but almost all the salt factories in Yangzhou are yours. So how do you sell the private salt in Yangzhou? Yangzhou is a big city that needs a lot of salt every year. It doesn't make sense for those people to give up, right?"

"Do you mean to check the other salt shops?" Gu Tingye asked.

"No." Li An said, "I'm checking your salt shop."

"Mine?" Gu Tingye was stunned and asked in surprise: "You mean they used the salt shop to sell private salt?"

"That's right!" Li An said, "Think about it, the brothers of the Bai family should not be able to contact the salt merchants. And most of the salt shops in Yangzhou belong to you. Those people just need to stop issuing you salt permits, and then your salt shop will not be able to operate. But they didn't do that, most likely because of your identity."

"But they can't give up such an important place as Yangzhou. Either someone opens some new salt shops, or you use your salt shops to sell.

If it is the former, the Bai brothers will not be very useful, but if it is the latter, they will be very useful."

"I'll send someone to check it out right away." Gu Tingye finally understood what Li An meant and quickly lifted the car curtain and gave a few instructions.

This matter is very simple. Just check whether there are any new salt shops opened in Yangzhou in recent years and you will find out.

If not, it is the Bai brothers who are selling private salt through the salt shop under his name.

It is not difficult for the Bai brothers to do this.

The owner of the salt shop who managed Gu Tingye was still a member of the Bai family.

The Bai brothers used to help Old Master Bai manage the business. Although the family business was inherited by Gu Tingye, they still had some status in the eyes of those managers.

Even if there aren't any, they can be bribed with money. Gu Tingye has not been in Yangzhou in these years. How could these managers not have ulterior motives?

After the two men entered the city and found an inn, they had just checked in when the people who went to investigate came back.

"Zi Qian, you are right. There haven't been many new salt shops in Yangzhou in recent years." Gu Tingye said.

"What are you going to do next?" Li An asked.

"There's no rush for those managers. Let's find the Bai brothers first." Gu Tingye said.

Li An nodded, there was nothing wrong with Gu Tingye’s plan.

As long as those in charge catch them and interrogate them, there is no need to worry that they will not confess.

The most urgent task is to find the Bai brothers first.

Only they can possibly obtain the identity and evidence of the person behind this.

The Bai brothers have been staying in Yangzhou all these years, but after investigation it was found that the Bai brothers had run away and their whereabouts are now unknown.

Upon hearing the news, Li An and Gu Tingye were stunned.

After the collision that night, the people on that ship realized something was wrong and immediately jumped into the water.

Although we didn't catch all of them, a few got away.

But they rushed to Yangzhou overnight as soon as possible, so it was impossible for the Bai brothers to know the news so early.

(End of this chapter)