Chapter 121 (1/2)



121 Locked in suspect (1)

When the officials of the Ministry of Justice heard eunuch Liu’s words, they thought that he was making things difficult for Xu Qi ‘an. They gloated and decided that if Xu Qi’ an said anything wrong, they would immediately criticize him and embarrass him.

Scholars were actually very good at fighting, but not in martial arts.

The officials and constables of the magistrate’s office had a wait-and-see attitude. They didn’t care what kind of clues this impetuous Gong could give. However, they were surprised to find that the Prefectural magistrate was no longer in a daze. He stopped slightly and actually put on a posture of listening attentively.

Lu Qing whispered,”have you forgotten?” Xu Qi ‘an, the Xu Qi’ an from the tax and silver case.”

After her reminder, everyone in the house suddenly came to their senses and remembered Xu Qi ‘an.

No wonder the name sounded familiar. It turned out that he was the quick-handed person who turned the tide in the tax silver case and solved the mystery of the fake silver.

Well, it was now the gong for the night watchman.

No wonder His Majesty appointed him as the Chief Executive Officer of the Yamen … At this time, the officials of the Magistrate Court finally came to their senses.

“There are indeed some gains!” Xu Qi ‘an nodded.

He didn’t want to say it at first, because the Ministry of Justice and the government were competitors. There was no reason to share the clues with this group of dogs.

However, when he noticed the young eunuch taking notes and the unreserved communication between the Ministry of Justice and the government office, Xu Qi ‘an suddenly realized that this might be an opportunity for him to show off.

He wanted to show it to the Emperor.

Unsurprisingly, this transcript was to be handed over to the Emperor for perusal. Think about it, after Emperor Yuan jing finished reading the transcript, he found that the Ministry of Justice and the government office were actively discussing and giving clues to solve the case, but the night watchman was silent.

What would he think?

Although sharing the information was a bit of a loss, the credit was already written on the paper.

“I have a few questions regarding Constable Lu’s speculation.” Xu Qi ‘an and the others looked over and said in an orderly manner, ”

I went to sang Bo this morning to check. If we want to blow up the entire mountain river temple and the high platform, we will need a huge amount of gunpowder.

“Yes, what’s the problem?” Lu Qing had also gone to sang Bo to investigate the scene.

“Here’s the problem. You just said that gunpowder is a strategic material that the Imperial court places great importance on, and all kinds of security and anti-theft measures are very strict and complete. It’s already very difficult to smuggle out these gunpowder, let alone erase the corresponding traces.” Xu Qi ‘an said, ”

“What kind of person do you think can do this?”

“The Minister of Works, or the two vice ministers,” Lu Qing hesitated.

The crowd was taken aback, and even the young eunuch, who had his head lowered to record, paused.

Xu Qi ‘an nodded. if it’s the Minister of Works and the two vice ministers, then everything makes sense. With their means and abilities, it’s not impossible for them to bribe the Imperial Guards, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of Rites. However, isn’t this too stupid?”

Lu Qing frowned and said.”you mean …”

Xu Qi ‘an said,”smuggling gunpowder of such a scale, no matter how clean it is, it won’t be able to withstand investigation.” I believe that those who can become ministers and vice ministers can’t be so stupid.”

“Since it’s not them, then where else can provide so much gunpowder besides the Ministry of Works?” Lu Qing nodded.

“Is it possible that they were transported in from outside the city?” Xu Qi ‘an asked.

Lu Qing shook his head. let’s not talk about the outer city first. The inner city has to collect an entrance tax. The soldiers guarding the city will check the goods. It was even more impossible in the Imperial City. Gunpowder was such an obvious thing, how could they smuggle it? Unless they’re transporting raw materials and not gunpowder …”

Lu Qing and Xu Qi ‘an continued their reasoning as if there was no one else around. There was no room for anyone else to interrupt. Eunuch Liu was not in a hurry and listened patiently.

The young eunuch in charge of recording the statement wrote faster and faster.

It was not gunpowder but raw materials. Among the raw materials for gunpowder, neither sulfur nor charcoal were precious. Especially in winter, the capital consumed a lot of charcoal … But saltpeter was strictly controlled in Da Feng … Xu Qi ‘an, who was deep in thought, suddenly had a flash of lightning.

saltpeter mine?! His eyes widened as he stared at Lu Qing.

The pretty face of the female Constable was stunned for a moment, then she understood and exclaimed, ” saltpeter mine!!

Both of their faces were filled with shock. On the other side, song tingfeng and Zhu guangxiao looked at each other, their expressions changing slightly.

The four of them had personally explored the great Yellow Mountain and found saltpeter there.

Lu Qing calmed down from his shock, and all kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind.”If it’s really them, then what’s up with the nine missing people?”

“It’s simple,” Xu Qi ‘an said slowly,”we’re going to frame him!”