Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 155 Clues to a Secret Society (First Update)
Zhao Wenhua truly knelt down.

His biggest worry was that the recipe for Baihua Wine would be leaked.

How to transform the unpalatable poppy into a medicinal wine that combines the essence of a hundred flowers with the spirit of heaven and earth was a secret he cherished dearly.

As for addictive properties...

Such a good thing, it's only natural that you'd want to drink more after you've had it.

What's wrong with someone like Yan Shifan, who wanted to go to Biyutang again after visiting it?
But now, because of the Hundred Flowers Wine, it's somehow connected to this secret society. How can this be allowed?

Seeing that the other party was completely panicked, and thinking that he himself had almost been forced to drink the Hundred Flowers Wine, Yan Shifan showed no sympathy whatsoever and directly rebuked him: "Since you have no intention of harming anyone, then go to the imperial prison and explain yourself clearly. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has been investigating that secret society for a long time, and they certainly won't wrong you!"

Zhao Wenhua felt dizzy and knew that begging for mercy was useless. He quickly came up with a plan and said, "I've been used! I'm willing to help the Yixin Society track down the whereabouts of the secret society. I hope the leader will give me a chance!"

"Just you?"

Yan Shifan scoffed at it.

Haiyue raised her hand to stop his mockery, staring at Zhao Wenhua: "Where exactly did you get your formula?"

"I'm not lying, it really was given to me by a merchant from Southeast Asia!"

Zhao Wenhua was not lying. He had boasted about it to many relatives and friends before, and it was too late to change his story: "Later, the ingredients were too scarce, so we asked a wandering Taoist priest to improve them so that we could brew in large quantities."

What benefits did the Southeast Asian merchants receive?

He sold me a batch of black incense for more than the price of gold.

"What benefits did the wandering Taoist priest receive?"

“I gave him one hundred taels of gold.”

"How generous of you!"

Yan Shifan grew increasingly indignant upon hearing this.

This guy is really rich!
Zhao Wenhua's family was undoubtedly extremely wealthy, and his extravagance was outrageous. His downfall in history was due to the fact that when he was the Minister of Works, he misappropriated the rare timber intended for the construction of the Jiajing Emperor's palace and used it to build his own magnificent private residence. To be honest, even the Yan family father and son, who were already greedy enough, would not have done such a thing.

Haiyue pointed out the suspicious point: "You've been selling Baihua Wine to Sun Heihu for at least a year. How much money did you make from it? Was it far more than a hundred taels of gold?"

Zhao Wenhua opened his mouth, but was speechless.

Yan Shifan chimed in, "If that wandering Taoist priest really has such abilities, able to improve the recipe so you can brew and sell wine, why doesn't he do the business himself? Is he stupid? Taoist priests are better at currying favor with the powerful than anyone else!"

This is by no means unfounded.

Compared to Buddhist temples that readily accept offerings from all directions, Taoist priests preferred to sell elixirs and magical arts to the powerful and wealthy. In the case of Li Fuda, Marquis Guo Xun of Wuding was initially bribed with elixirs and recommended Li Fuda to serve as the commander of Taiyuan.

If the wandering Taoist priest truly possessed such abilities, there was indeed no need for him to let someone else benefit from a hen that lays golden eggs for a mere hundred taels of gold.

Zhao Wenhua said in a trembling voice, "I...I didn't think of that...What harm could this medicinal wine possibly cause?"

"You should have realized its harmful effects when you discovered its strong addictive properties, but you still continued to sell it, and eventually you were banished from the capital, right?"

Yan Shifan sneered: "You went to great lengths to sell wine, making those people addicted. Once you leave the capital, the secret society will naturally take over the group you controlled with Baihua Wine! Even if it's exposed later, the court will only trace it back to you, Zhao Wenhua. Heh! What a brilliant tactic!"

Zhao Wenhua turned pale upon hearing this.

Haiyue nodded slightly.

That is certainly not impossible.

First, have someone else weave a net, then drive away the original owner who was lying on it and take their place.

This achieves maximum concealment.

If Zhao Wenhua is like this, Li Shaoting may also be like this.

Haiyue pointed to the table: "Write down the list of buyers."

"Yes Yes!"

In the past, Zhao Wenhua would have been extremely unwilling, as the list of buyers was a valuable resource. But at this moment, compared to the risk of going to the imperial prison, it was nothing. He quickly stepped forward.

Yan Shifan, watching from the side, clicked his tongue and said, "Truly encompassing all walks of life!"

It's one thing for Sun Heihu to be a local tyrant in the Southern Prison, but there were more than ten officials above him in the Six Ministries, all of whom held key positions. In addition, there were many people from the common people, and even a brothel owner from Pitiao Hutong was spotted.

Haiyue commented after reading it: "People from all walks of life can be very useful in important matters. We shouldn't underestimate such connections!"

Zhao Wenhua dared not utter a sound.

His real purpose was this: not only to acquire wealth, but also to build a network of connections among the lower classes through the sale of Baihua Wine, thus paving the way for his career advancement.

After he finished writing, Haiyue looked at the still-wet ink on the list and silently counted the number of people: "There are forty-three people on it. How often does each person drink a bottle of 'Hundred Flowers Brew'?"

Zhao Wenhua said, "It will take anywhere from ten days to a month. We'll send one bottle over each time, and they can store it and drink it slowly. They can't finish it all at once." Haiyue said, "So, the amount they drink varies depending on their level of dependence?"

Zhao Wenhua wiped away cold sweat: "Yes...yes..."

"Are the buyers who are most dependent on this service completely unable to leave?"

"It's not that I can't live without it at all... It's just that when they heard I was leaving the capital, they offered a lot of money to buy the formula, but I refused..."

What are your plans?

"I'm not selling it anymore. As long as I have this formula, I can sell it anywhere... Of course! I'm absolutely not selling it now!"

Hearing this person's assurance, Haiyue said in a deep voice, "You can choose not to sell, but these people who are already addicted cannot choose not to buy! Once you leave the capital, who can immediately fill this void?"

Zhao Wenhua was stunned: "This...how would I know?"

Yan Shifan understood and immediately said, "I'm not asking you to guess who the stranger is, but among the people you know, who can quickly fill your position?"

Zhao Wenhua said slowly, "My page, Yanzhou, knows about me. He's the one who delivers wine sometimes..."

Haiyue and Yan Shifan exchanged a glance. When they were waiting outside the South Prison earlier, they had seen the pageboy Yanzhou rush out, probably to fetch the Hundred Flowers Wine.

“But Yanzhou will be leaving the capital with me, and the other servants will no longer be able to continue selling wine here…”

Zhao Wenhua pondered for a moment: "The only places that can directly take over this business are breweries!"

Yan Shifan narrowed his eyes: "Are there taverns that specialize in catering to this?"

Zhao Wenhua honestly replied, "To keep the recipe a secret, I specifically found a small distillery. Initially, I did some of the steps myself, but later I handed them over to a few servants to supervise..."

Unlike the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty had strict restrictions on brewing. Through legal monopolies, high taxes, and strict supervision, the Song Dynasty imposed the strictest restrictions on the brewing industry in history. Even officials could not brew wine privately unless it was for their own personal consumption.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, a "limited alcohol order" was implemented, prohibiting local officials and ordinary people from brewing alcohol privately, with severe penalties for violators. However, the purpose of this order was to save food and stabilize society. After all, the country needed to recuperate after the war, and food was the lifeblood that could not be wasted.

Since the 27th year of the Hongwu reign, the imperial court has allowed private individuals to open taverns and brew their own wine. Since then, the brewing industry has flourished and taverns have sprung up everywhere. If Zhao Wenhua wanted to find a small winery to brew Baihua wine, as long as he paid enough money and sent someone to keep an eye on it, there would be no problem at all.

Yan Shifan's spirits lifted at this point: "Mingwei, there's probably something wrong with this distillery. Even if it's not a secret society's hideout, there might be thieves lurking there! Let's go ask Lu Wenfu to come and arrest them!"

Haiyue shook her head: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard cannot be touched."

This wasn't because he was worried about the credit being shared, but because Lu Bing had told him before that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had made no progress in their investigation of the secret society.

It wasn't that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was incompetent; it was probably that the secret society had been planning this all along. Once he asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard for help, any action they took would likely alert them, causing them to lose their leads and come up empty-handed!

Moreover, the tavern is too obvious a target. Given the secrecy of secret societies, the possibility of them hiding there is extremely low. After all, if something happens, the location will definitely be shut down.

Thinking of this, Haiyue boldly made a process of elimination: "Besides the servants who came out of the city with you and this winery that helps you brew Hundred Flowers Wine, who else could have contact with the buyers who regularly drink Hundred Flowers Wine?"

Zhao Wenhua pondered deeply, then shook his head after a moment: "No... I handled this very discreetly... uh, it's not that I knew something was amiss beforehand, but selling wine doesn't have a good reputation, and I didn't want others to know. I only gave wine to friends and colleagues as gifts..."

Yan Shifan glared at him fiercely again: "Mingwei, let's send him to the imperial prison! Once he's there, I guarantee he'll remember everything!"

Zhao Wenhua was filled with resentment at this person's embellishment and stopped pleading. He earnestly said, "I will do my best to cooperate with the leader to capture the thief. I will do anything!"

Haiyue ignored their argument, paused for a moment, and then looked back at the list: "Do these buyers who drink the Hundred Flowers Wine know each other?"

Zhao Wenhua said, "The clerks and runners of the Six Ministries may have dealings with me, but I probably don't know the others..."

"Since we don't know each other, then something is strange!"

Haiyue said, "You are different from Li Shaoting. Li Shaoting is an imperial physician who can come into contact with patients and knows who needs 'Gastrodia Powder' to suppress their pain. But you are the head of the Ministry of Justice. How did you find these buyers from all walks of life and know that they are all suffering from pain and have this need?"

Without hesitation, Zhao Wenhua immediately replied, "I found it in the case files. The case files reveal all aspects of life, especially the hardships people face. I was able to contact and understand all the buyers of Baihua Brew through the case files before I could sell them the wine!"

Haiyue raised an eyebrow: "You figured this out yourself?"

Zhao Wenhua honestly replied, "No! It was an old official from the Ministry of Justice who taught me!"

Haiyue asked, "Have we met this person before?"

Zhao Wenhua shook his head: "I won't see him anymore, he passed away from a serious illness."

When did he die?

Haiyue rephrased her question: "Was it after you used his method to screen out customers who needed 'Hundred Flowers Wine'? Or before that, did he die of illness?"

Zhao Wenhua paused, his expression changing: "It was indeed after the sale of Hundred Flowers Wine was on track. This person also knows about this list..."

"But because the person has passed away, you won't be on guard at all and won't suspect that he will take over your buyer's business entirely, right?"

Haiyue stood up: "Let's go! Go to the Ministry of Justice and investigate this person. Perhaps the clues to a secret society will begin with this unknown old official!"

(End of this chapter)