Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Since ancient times, salt and iron have been state monopolies.

Illicitly trading salt was equivalent to taking money directly from the national treasury, a capital offense.

Therefore, finding salt smugglers was no easy task.

The earliest lead Peach Blossom County had on private salt came from information coaxed out of salted fish merchants.

Following those connections upwards eventually led to the big salt traffickers.

These salt smugglers were highly vigilant; negotiations stalled for a while, and in the end, Fang Zheng personally stepped in, “inviting” them to the county office for discussions.

The salt smugglers, seeing that Fang Zheng, a dignified county magistrate, was so skilled in this “business,” were persuaded to cooperate.

This illustrates how thorny the matter was.

Upon Xie Xian's return to the Wind and Flower House, countless merchants eagerly sought meetings with him.

Everyone knew that Shopkeeper Xie was now working with Fang Zheng, so they were particularly enthusiastic.

Xie Xian responded to each of them, visiting door to door with gifts.

Firstly, to foster good relationships for future use.

Secondly, to subtly gather information, as these merchants owned vast lands and employed many farmers, leading to a high consumption of salt.

Although buying government salt wasn't financially straining for them,

the price still had a pervasive impact; even the wealthy were affected, especially merchants who were meticulous and constantly weighing costs.

It was like wealthy people arguing over a few dollars for parking fees.

If these merchants had a cheaper option, they certainly wouldn't want to buy the expensive one.

Moreover, the risk was mostly borne by the salt smugglers; buyers faced little risk, and if something happened, a bribe could smooth things over.

Besides Xie Xian, the others were in the city, going through streets and alleys, openly and secretly searching for traces of salt smugglers.

Thus, seven days passed without any success.

The group gathered again in the reception room, their spirits somewhat weary.

However, Xie Xian appeared radiant.

“Gentlemen, any gains today?”

Everyone shook their heads, and Zhou Tie dejectedly said:

“I didn’t expect salt smugglers to be so hard to find. The brothers have practically turned the city upside down, but we haven’t even found a hair.”

“Old Xie, how about we go to the salt-producing region? It's pointless to keep delaying here.”

The others nodded in agreement.

But Qian Desheng remained silent.

He had been running around quite a bit these past few days, and although he was old and frail, he had arrived in Peach Blossom County later than the others.

For the princess, and for himself, he should give it his all. Useless people are disliked everywhere.

He had been in Peach Blossom County for some time and understood Fang Zheng to some extent.

This lord was a man of sentiment; if he could achieve something this time, he could look forward to better days.

Seeing his silence, Xie Xian asked, “Steward Qian, what do you think?”

Qian Desheng nodded first, then gathered his thoughts and said, “I think something is wrong.”

“Although salt smuggling has always been a key target of the court, the huge profits involved have always made it impossible to eradicate completely.”

“It's the same everywhere, just with different scales.”

“Jianjiang was originally prosperous, and although it suffered a disaster, it has attracted many newcomers.”

“So many impoverished people provide a good opportunity for salt smugglers, but... how is it possible that we can't even find one?”

“Then there are only two possibilities: Jianjiang's salt smugglers are all under the control of one person, or the source has been cut off.”

“Therefore, I also agree to leave here and go directly to the salt-producing region.”

“But we don't have the proper status... it's too difficult to get anything done.”

Xie Xian nodded and said, “Indeed, you make sense.”

“Actually, we do have status. Before I left, the master gave me the official seal and his private seal, but it's best not to use them lightly.”

“I did discover five suspicious people at the Wind and Flower House. I've written down their information; let's take a look.”

With that, Xie Xian picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it around.

“The five people on this list are regulars at the Wind and Flower House.”

“They are neither locals, nor do they seem to have any occupation. They never discuss business in the house.”

“Besides eating, drinking, and having fun, the most important thing at our Wind and Flower House is exchanging business opportunities. There are almost no exceptions besides these five.”

“Let's observe them for a few more days, and if we don't gain anything, we'll leave immediately.”

Qian Desheng carefully examined the list and asked, “The information recorded here is quite detailed.”

“Two of them came from Haiyuan City. According to the map, that's an important salt-producing area, right? How did the maids and servants in the house know that?”

Xie Xian smiled slightly: “When the Wind and Flower House was first established, all the people were carefully selected and meticulously trained!”

“Not only are they efficient, but they can also read and write.”

“The courtesans in our house would be considered top-tier in any brothel in the city, and they have seen countless people, so it's not difficult to get this kind of information.”

Qian Desheng's expression suddenly turned somewhat dim.

This brothel is really something. Back when I was in charge of the Eastern Depot, I didn't have this much fun. Comparing people is really infuriating...

“Let's set a limit of five days. Have the brothers follow them. If there's no news after five days, we'll leave.”

“Meeting adjourned!”

.........

Three days later, at a tea stall in the city.

The tea stall was set up very simply, out of harmony with the surrounding environment. The banner at the entrance read [Cleansing and Detoxifying Tea]

Xie Xian and Zhou Tie sat in the tea stall, speechless.

He had just visited a wealthy household that morning, and he hadn't walked far on the road when he saw Zhou Tie wandering alone in the street.

Since they had met, they decided to have a cup of tea together at the tea stall.

After the waiter served the tea, Zhou Tie immediately downed a bowl.

Xie Xian looked him up and down and asked, “Why are you alone? Any gains?”

Zhou Tie shook his head: “The guy I was following is a human trafficker, staking out the school outside the city. I just came out of his house.”

Xie Xian raised his eyebrows: “Killed him?”

“Cut off his tongue and severed his tendons. The others are tied up and left in the house. That guy has two boxes of silver at home, too heavy to carry, going back to find the brothers to take it.”

“Old Xie, I don't see any results waiting like this. Why don't we pack up and leave early tomorrow?”

Xie Xian sighed: “Don't rush, you've already eliminated one person on your side, Zhao Lie has also eliminated one person, let's wait two more days.”

“I didn’t expect… investigating a salt smuggler to be so difficult. It’s really鬼了 (lit. haunted, used as an intensifier).

“We didn't have this much trouble buying salt in our county, did we?”

While the two were talking, the owner of the tea stall pricked up his ears, glancing over from time to time.

After thinking for a long time, he mustered his courage, carrying a plate of peanuts over.

He moved between the two, looking at Xie Xian and whispering, “May I ask, are you Xie Xian, Shopkeeper Xie?”

Xie Xian was taken aback and looked at the tea stall owner.

His smile was slightly lewd, and his large yellow teeth looked a little off-putting...

Xie Xian twitched the corner of his mouth and replied, “That's right, Shopkeeper, you are...?”

Upon hearing that it was indeed him, the shopkeeper quickly stepped back and respectfully bowed!

“I am Chen Siwu, greetings Shopkeeper Xie!”