Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 190 is fine too.
Jia Chuan scrutinized Mu Guang and said, "What good will it do? It has to be done by the Duke of Qian himself. Isn't Mu Lian his own daughter? He's abandoned her for so many years, neglecting her. Has he forgotten about her? That can't be. Doesn't someone come to ask about the situation every month? What do they ask? I heard Mu Lian say that they're asking if the Herb Gathering Bureau is doing anything unusual. Why can't we tell the Emperor? The more you try to hide it, the more the Emperor will overthink! You must pass this on to the Duke of Qian. The Emperor is a wise ruler and will understand the Duke of Qian's good intentions. You must remember that this case is specifically targeting the Duke of Qian's family. If we don't seize the opportunity, it will only make the Emperor more suspicious."

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Mu Guang hurriedly asked, "Could you explain in more detail?"

Jia Chuan stared at Mu Guang for a long time, making Mu Guang very uncomfortable, before Jia Chuan finally spoke: "Let's send someone else. You're not good enough. Don't take offense, but I'm doing this for your own good. This matter is of great importance. Logically, the Duke of Qian should have sent someone as soon as he received the news. I don't know whether he'll come to Kaifeng or Beijing. When this person arrives, you should tell him exactly what I said. If you can't remember, you can bring him to see me no matter where I am."

Mu Guang was indeed displeased, and even showed it on his face, but he still had his rationality and could persuade himself not to talk nonsense, but that was all.

So, Mu Guang stood up, cupped his hands in a fist salute, turned around, opened the door, and left with his men, afraid that if he made a sound, he would not be well received.

Jia Chuan didn't move. The people the Mu family placed in the capital were mainly for relaying messages at any time. Logically speaking, they should be quite intelligent. Was it because he hadn't explained things clearly?
Jia Chuan certainly didn't expect that his praise of Mu Lian would cause Mu Guang to misunderstand. After that, Mu Guang would think about everything he heard in conjunction with this point, so he naturally couldn't understand Jia Chuan's meaning in time. When he returned and calmed down, he would understand that if he really wanted to protect the Duke of Qian's mansion, he had to protect Mu Lian first.

The method to protect Mu Lian was quite simple: truthfully explain to the Emperor Mu Lian's purpose in staying at the herb-gathering bureau, praise your daughter's wit and bravery, and then talk about your own guilt towards your child. With some descriptions from Jia Chuan, Mu Lian would not only be able to save her life, but she would also be fine. However, the Duke of Qian's mansion might have to relinquish some of its power, since Mu Lian failed to discover the problem in time.

But if the Duke of Qian's mansion fails to protect Mu Lian, and Jia Chuan only adds fuel to the fire, what would Zhu Zhanji think?
Jia Chuan wouldn't hide how Mu Lian got to the herb-gathering bureau. If the Duke of Qian's family tried to deny it, it would only increase Zhu Zhanji's suspicions. If they admitted it, they might lose their jobs... which wasn't impossible. This was also a way to show loyalty to the emperor, and for the Duke of Qian's family, it would be the least damaging. As for how others viewed the Mu family... Jia Chuan didn't know if the Duke of Qian cared, and whether Zhu Zhanji would accept this way of showing loyalty.

Therefore, Jia Chuan made two preparations. First, if the Duke of Qian's mansion protected Mu Lian, she could feel the warmth of her family and be taken away by the Mu family. If he could get some praise for Mu Lian from Zhu Zhanji, perhaps Mu Lian's marriage would change for the better after she returned. Second, if the Duke of Qian's mansion was not protected, Jia Chuan would try his best to get Mu Lian out of the Mu family's control, just like he took away Dong Yuanyuan. Since he didn't care about her life or death, there was no need for her to stay in the Mu family in the future. Otherwise, even if she returned, there would be no good outcome.

Mu Lian was indeed a bit headstrong. It's possible that he went to great lengths to save Mu Lian's life and escaped any punishment, only to lose his life upon returning to Yunnan.

His team did indeed need a medical worker, and Jia Chuan was confident he could persuade Zhu Zhanji.

Therefore, Jia Chuan made both preparations, but Mu Guang was not perceptive and kept talking without getting it right. So they waited for the person in charge to arrive before making any further decisions.

Jia Chuan realized that Mu Guang hadn't asked Mu Lian what she had done, which meant that Mu Guang already knew. He could only say that Mu Lian came to Kaifeng on her own because he wanted him to change Mu Lian's testimony and completely remove the Duke of Qian's mansion from the picture. In other words, they wanted to give up on Mu Lian.

Jia Chuan sighed, got up and went out of the house. Tang Hu was standing under the eaves, with Dong Yuanyuan standing next to him, while Mu Lian stood angrily at the gate of the courtyard.

“I watched him and didn’t let him do it,” Dong Yuanyuan said.

Jia Chuan smiled and said, "Yuanyuan is the most sensible." Then, his smile faded as he looked at Tang Hu, whose face was gloomy, and said, "You're already this old, and you're not as sensible as a little girl."

"Why keep someone like that around?"

"Don't you understand the principle of 'when beating a dog, consider its owner'?"

After asking the question in confusion, Jia Chuan waved to Mu Lian, who quickly walked towards him, and the group went inside.

"What's the point of you chasing after me? Can't you understand what I meant just now?"

Mu Lian said urgently, "I just want to know how my brother is doing now."

"Does he know? If he did, would he tell you? He was here before I came back, didn't you come to see him?"

"I, I, I'm a little scared. He came so suddenly. I hesitated for a moment, and then you came back."

Jia Chuan sighed and said, "I can't advise you on anything else, but remember this: even if you were in Yunnan, let alone far away, you couldn't protect your brother. In other words, he doesn't need your protection. All the men in the Mu family have a place to stay. The man who came today isn't even your own brother, yet he has such a good job. If your brother were successful, why would you need to worry about him? You've done everything you can for the Duke of Qian's mansion. You should think more about yourself."

"What do I have to think about? When the officials from the capital arrive, they'll send me to prison and kill me in the fall."

Tang Hu frowned, and Dong Yuanyuan quickly said, "I told you a long time ago, your brother would never let you get killed. Why don't you believe me?"

Jia Chuan looked at Tang Hu and said, "You should talk to her and tell her not to think about dying all the time. I'll go interrogate the people who were arrested at the pharmacy that day. Where's Shunzi?"

"I'm in the west wing with Uncle Zheng," Dong Yuanyuan said.

"Yuanyuan, go and call Gao Yuntian back. We don't know if that guy is skilled in martial arts. Even though he's tied up, we've left him to his own devices for two days. If he manages to break free, Shunzi and I will be in trouble..."

Dong Yuanyuan quickly ran out of the house.

Jia Chuan was about to go out to find the west wing when Mu Lian said, "I'll go find Duo Duo."

Tang Hu pulled Mu Lian aside and said, "He said he wants me to persuade you."

"Let go! You don't need to persuade me!"

You have to listen to what he says.

"I won't let go!"

Jia Chuan was at his wit's end. He turned to Jia Chuan and said, "If she doesn't want to, then just forget about it."

Tang Hu let go, and Mu Lian stormed off in a huff.

Jia Chuan shook his head and said, "You see, she's not willing. I'll find you a better one when we get back to the capital."

"also."

Tang Hu's reaction surprised Jia Chuan for a moment, then he thought, "Everyone has a head, and they all look different."

……

The man the pharmacy brought back that day was named Su Wen, but no one in Kaifeng knew his name; he was simply called Boss Su. Su Wen hadn't expected to be arrested. Just as Jia Chuan had predicted, he felt that it was best to stay in Kaifeng as long as no one could find his hiding place, and he could also get information from the movements of the people in the herb-gathering bureau.

But as expected, something unexpected happened. Not only was he arrested, but even Anu, whom he had carefully nurtured, left him. So after Su Wen was arrested, he began to go on a hunger strike. He knew that he was going to die sooner or later, and there was no need to implicate his family before he died. Although he hadn't thought he would be arrested, he had made preparations for what would happen if he was. What they had no shortage of was poison.

If Jia Chuan hadn't thought of this and ordered Gao Yuntian to remove his chin, he would have committed suicide by poison. He is currently bound, but if torture is used, there might be a chance to untie the ropes. If the ropes can be untied, he can neither fight back nor escape, but he can kill himself.

No one informed Jia Chuan about Su Wen's hunger strike. When Jia Chuan finally saw Su Wen, he found her tied up and lying on the ground, looking as weak as a dying man. Jia Chuan sighed. Gao Yuntian picked up the guards, intending to reprimand them, but Jia Chuan stopped him.

Jia Chuan sat down on a chair in the room and said calmly, "Whether he eats or not is not important."

Su Wen opened her eyes, glanced at Jia Chuan, and then closed them again.

Tang Hu also came, but Su Wen had never seen Tang Hu before he was captured. Once Tang Hu entered the city, he was met by someone who took him directly to the herb-gathering bureau. When Tang Hu was captured by Liu Ji, Su Wen was already in Kaifeng. When the two were on the same side, neither of them knew the other.

At that moment, Su Wen caught a glimpse of a tall man out of the corner of his eye, and knew that this tall man was the one who had beheaded Anu that day. Although he had been tied up and left aside, his eyes were not blindfolded, and he was facing the right direction. He had witnessed the entire process of Anu's murder. If he hadn't been so hungry that he could barely breathe, his fear would have been fully expressed; it was an involuntary fear.

Shouldn't it be hatred? No, Su Wen knew Anu's bloodthirstiness and cruelty. The person who could cut off Awen's head could only make him afraid; he had no right to hate.

Su Wen felt that he had already let go of worldly affairs, and he had no strength to react to any storms, just waiting for a sudden drop of suffering to plunge him into darkness...

"Who are you to Liu Ji?"

But just from the young man's casual question, Su Wen trembled uncontrollably, and he opened his eyes in horror to look at Jia Chuan.

“Your death is useless. I know who your master is,” Jia Chuan asked gently.

Su Wen had initially felt his heartbeat was slow, but after those two sentences, he immediately felt his heartbeat quicken, so fast that his whole body was trembling.

"I don't know your name, I'll just call you Boss Su. It doesn't matter if your surname is Su or not. Just go to Yangzhou and ask who has such a monstrous follower. I imagine the people you've offended won't let your family be safe and sound."

"How...how did you know..."

"Why can't you just run your business properly? You've done too many unethical things and now you think you're something special. Do you think you can even touch the affairs of the court? Are you tired of living? This is the first time I've ever seen someone who's never conquered or defended a country, but after putting on the hat of a commercial empire, thinks they can command the world! What does it matter to you whether the capital is moved or not? Will earning less stop you from bullying men and women or from having children? You have more money than you could spend in several lifetimes, you're exploiting loopholes in the court, corrupting officials, and cheating the poor, isn't that enough? You insist that everything be done your way, and if that doesn't work, you'll just step in and throw the world into chaos? Come on, try moving now and let me see."

Su Wen stared at Jia Chuan with his mouth agape. He didn't know what he was thinking, nor did he fully understand what Jia Chuan was saying. He instinctively tried to move, but found that he really couldn't move at all.

"Give him a sip of water," Jia Chuan said.

The guards quickly went to get it done.

A bowl of water was quickly brought over. Gao Yuntian took it, and Tang Hu also wanted to take it, but Gao Yuntian said with disdain, "You have no sense of restraint. If you strangle him again, Jia Chuan will want him to live a few more days and suffer more."

Tang Hu agreed and stepped aside.

Su Wen heard this. He didn't want to drink, but he had no choice but to let Gao Yuntian force-feed him.

After drinking a bowl of water, Su Wen coughed several times, feeling quite exhausted.

"How can you leave peacefully without subjecting you to torture? How many people have you exploited? How many people have suffered hunger and cold? You've taken all the benefits that the people earned by risking their lives, and you still have the nerve to think there's something wrong with the court? The real problem is that the court allows you to live!"

Su Wen took a deep breath and, with great courage, asked again, "How do you know, how do you know Liu Ji?"

Tang Hu strode up to Su Wen, bent down, lifted him up from the ground, and roared, "I told you!"

With his hands and feet bound, and Tang Hu so roughly lifting him from the ground, Su Wen felt a wave of dizziness. He had personally witnessed Tang Hu cut off Anu's head, and he had a natural fear of Tang Hu. Especially when he saw Tang Hu's face up close, and those fierce eyes, Su Wen blurted out, "I'll talk!"

Petty people fear power but not virtue.

Jia Chuan had heard this phrase before in his previous life, but he couldn't remember who said it. He just felt that it was the perfect description of Su Wen at this moment. A lot of his words were not as effective as Tang Hu's single shout.

Jia Chuan shook his head and told Shunzi to prepare the statement.

……

With Tang Hu attentively guarding Su Wen's side, Jia Chuan's questions went very smoothly.

In fact, Su Wen's psychological defenses had already collapsed after Jia Chuan mentioned Liu Ji's name. When he was arrested at the pharmacy, he knew that the government already knew about the drug trial. However, there had been no news from the Prince of Zhou, the Prince of Han, or the Duke of Qian that they wanted. Obviously, they were not following the path they had laid out. But at that time, he still had a glimmer of hope, which was that no one knew who was really cooperating with Zhou Cheng.

Even those henchmen who frequently came and went from Kaifeng were all beggars, ruffians, and porters he recruited from the Suzhou-Songjiang area. After being trained by Anu, the rest of them came to Kaifeng with him a year ago. The fake Shunzi was Su Wen's nephew, and the pharmacy was opened two and a half years ago, employing locals...

No one knew Liu Ji, so no one knew Su Wen's family. Su Wen felt that as long as Liu Ji died, his family would be safe.

Over the past two days, he has reviewed the entire plan several times and felt that no one would know his identity, so he is content to wait for death.

Unfortunately, from the moment they killed Zhou Cheng, nothing went according to their plan.

……

(End of this chapter)