Dugong

Chapter 120 Acting vigorously and resolutely
Kang Gonggong had spent most of his life in the castration room, and had handled countless eunuchs. Even standing still, he exuded a chilling aura.

Having been ordered to interrogate Shunxing Trading Company, a confession was delivered shortly afterward.

The inscription on the document states that the owner colluded with officials such as Prefect Wen and Magistrate Xue to obtain salt permits for counties like Yangchang, which were then sold at high prices with the profits split 50/50.

"Eunuch Kang is amazing; he got the information so quickly."

Li Ping'an pressed down the confession and sighed, "It's a pity this isn't the confession we wanted. I'll trouble Eunuch Kang to continue the interrogation!"

Half an hour after leaving, Eunuch Kang returned with a new confession.

In addition to colluding with officials, Shunxing Trading Company also colluded with the Salt Gang, framing and assassinating its peers, and jointly selling smuggled salt, among other things.

"retrial!"

"As ordered."

Kang Gonggong wiped the blood from his hands, bowed and withdrew. Soon after, another shrill scream came from outside the door.

Li Ping'an glanced at the group of officials, all of whom were pale as paper and trembling with fear. He ordered, "Xiao Chenzi, go and find a few doctors. We can't let anyone die before our case is solved!"

"Godfather, I understand."

Xiao Chenzi is one of the eighteen outstanding individuals. He recently took over the position of the junior leader. He is intelligent, quick-witted, and efficient.

Before the doctor arrived, Eunuch Kang delivered a new confession.

"Your Excellency, we were too heavy-handed and accidentally killed a few people."

"It doesn't matter, we'll all die sooner or later."

Li Ping'an took the half of the crimson confession, which was stained with the blood of countless people and was sticky and wet.

According to the shopkeeper, the officials in the prefecture and the salt gang were backed by powerful families in Jiangnan. They had to hand over 70% of their profits, otherwise they would not be able to obtain salt permits.

"That's more like it. Only someone with a powerful family backing them would dare to assassinate the imperial envoy!"

Li Ping'an handed the three confessions to Magistrate Xue and asked, "Lord Xue, do you think our investigation was correct?"

Judge Xue's vision went black, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy.

"Please spare my life, eunuch, please spare my life..."

Li Ping'an sneered, "Look, Lord Xue isn't refuting anything, he's just begging for mercy. We've found out the truth!"

The eunuchs immediately burst into laughter, praising the governor and their godfather for their brilliance.

The laughter was shrill and piercing, like that of a night owl. The already shaky officials of the prefecture were so frightened that they all knelt down with a thud.

Li Ping'an raised his hand to stop them, saying, "My family is kind-hearted, so we can give you a second chance to clear your name."

Upon hearing this, Judge Xue, disregarding the blood streaming down his forehead, crawled on his knees to Eunuch An's side, saying, "Eunuch An, please tell me, this humble servant will certainly heed your advice."

Li Ping'an kicked Xue Tong several times, saying that this kind of corrupt official, who still wore tattered robes and lived in a dilapidated government office, was far less honest than Minister Qian.

"We have received definite information that the Wang, Zheng, and Li families are the traitors who assassinated Prince Qi and the Imperial Envoy. Does Magistrate Xue have any evidence?"

Judge Xue kowtowed repeatedly: "There is evidence, there must be evidence."

Li Ping'an looked at the other officials: "And you?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Everyone agreed readily. In this life-or-death situation, they couldn't care less about any so-called noble family prestige.

"very good."

Li Ping'an said, "And those like Prefect Wen who weren't here today, they must be colluding with the traitors, so don't let them come back."

Judge Xue and the others went from shock to joy. They were innocent, all their superiors were dead, and they were about to be promoted and fill vacancies.

"Thank you, Eunuch An. I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."

Li Ping'an waved his hand: "Go do your work. Our family needs solid evidence and an ironclad case. If the case is overturned, you won't get away with it."

"I understand."

Judge Xue and his associates had been colluding with their superiors for years and were naturally aware of their crimes. Now that they had a chance to clear their names, they were determined to seize it.

Not long after.

Screams and pleas for mercy came from outside again.

That night, all seven salt merchants confessed, saying that they were instructed by the Wang, Zheng, and Li families to collude with several other salt merchants who had not submitted a written confession to hire skilled members of the salt gang to assassinate the Prince of Qi and the imperial envoy.

The search yielded secret correspondence between salt merchants and prominent families and salt gangs, providing irrefutable evidence.

Li Ping'an angrily said, "Assassinating members of the royal family and imperial envoys is no different from treason! I must quell the rebellion for His Majesty!"

Little Yu asked, "Godfather, which family should we settle first?"

"Of course it's the Li family!"

Li Ping'an had already thought this through carefully. He thought the Li family was weak and easy to bully, and they were also the closest to Sanqing Mountain, so he cursed and swore.

"What kind of social class do you belong to, with the same surname as ours?"

……

a few days later.

A procession of carriages hurriedly arrived outside Taizhou City, led by Prefect Wen, whose face was thin and whose expression was haggard.

Ever since receiving the message from the prefectural city, I've been rushing back with bated breath.

Xiao Huizi was also in the car and comforted him, "Don't worry, Lord Wen. I'll put in a good word for you with my godfather, and you'll be able to rest easy."

"Thank you very much, Eunuch Hui. I am deeply grateful."

Knowing that eunuchs liked money, Prefect Wen took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and stuffed them into Xiao Huizi's hand. As the governor of this important salt tax region of the dynasty, he had no shortage of silver.

The carriage entered the city smoothly. Just as Prefect Wen was wondering why there were no civilians at the gate, dozens of fierce soldiers suddenly surrounded him.

An old eunuch on horseback ahead shouted in a shrill voice: "It has been confirmed that you colluded with the Salt Gang to assassinate the Imperial Envoy. You shall be arrested in accordance with the law."

Prefect Wen's face turned ashen, and he hurriedly begged Xiao Huizi for help: "Eunuch Hui, this humble official..."

"Lord Wen, confessing your crimes will save you some suffering!"

Xiao Huizi used her light-footed skills to jump off the carriage and greeted the old eunuch: "Eunuch You, it's been a long time."

Eunuch You was once the adopted grandson of Eunuch Chu, and now works under Eunuch Xia. He is outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds with the younger generation, such as Xiao Yuzi and Xiao Huizi.

However, in front of outsiders, he still said with a forced smile, "Eunuch Hui, the Governor is waiting for you at the government office."

"Eunuch You is busy, let's go pay our respects to our godfather first."

Xiao Huizi walked briskly and disappeared into the street in the blink of an eye, having long forgotten the kind words she had just promised. That traitor had nothing to do with her family.

He rushed into the government office like a gust of wind, and knelt down with a thud as soon as he entered the main hall. He used his inner energy to propel himself forward until he reached his godfather.

"My son greets his godfather."

Xiao Huizi's eyes were filled with tears, her shoulders and chest were stained red with blood, and her face was pale as if she had been seriously injured.

Li Ping'an nodded and said, "Stand up and speak. What's going on with the small group?"

"Godfather, you must do justice for your child..."

Xiao Huizi knelt on the ground, sobbing as she recounted how she had been ambushed by the Salt Gang and how her small group, in order to cover her retreat, had unfortunately fallen into an ambush and been killed.

Li Ping'an's eyes reddened slightly as he listened. He didn't expose Xiao Huizi's desertion at the last minute, and even slapped the little team member, telling his brother to cover the rear.

“I am leading my troops south to avenge my godson! Xiao Huizi, you will lead 500 garrison troops as the vanguard and head to Guanyun County first.”

Xiao Huizi kowtowed and said, "Thank you, godfather. I will definitely avenge my brother."

Li Ping'an instructed, "Xiao Yu, you stay at the government office to interrogate the criminals and recover the stolen silver."

Little Yu's eyes gleamed red; this was a top-notch, lucrative position. He kowtowed and said, "Godfather, rest assured, I will not miss a single tael of silver."

"Eunuch Xia, thoroughly investigate all members of the Li family. If you take action, kill them all to prevent any future trouble."

"As ordered."

"Young Master, I'll give you five more days to gather the troops. We don't want the old, weak, sick, or disabled; we need at least five thousand strong men!"

"As ordered."

Zhao Lian bowed and accepted the order. He pondered how to recruit Xue Tongpan and other officials' relatives and servants. Only after personally getting his hands dirty with the blood of the Li family's nine generations did he dare not have any disloyal thoughts.

(End of this chapter)