A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 88 The truth comes out, suspect Li Weizhou?
The journey was uneventful, with neither wind nor sunshine.

It took Li Weizhou most of the day to get home amidst the winter clouds.

Qingzhou City is still the same Qingzhou City.

However, Qingzhou City may have also experienced a snowstorm in the past few days, and the snow on the city gate tower was blown into a crooked and piled up like a punk rocker.

Li Weizhou rode his horse into the city, encountering several people who greeted him along the way...

"Li Sanlang, why are you back so soon? Didn't you say you were going to be gone for a month, and that Silang would take you to meet some important people?"

County Commandant He Chong, accompanied by two constables, was heading somewhere when he saw Li Weizhou and asked him with a smile.

His smile carried a hint of mockery and amusement.

Li Weizhou never told jokes. He bowed slightly on his horse and replied, "His Highness the Prince of Qi knew that my aunt was in poor health, so he gave my uncle a precious ginseng. I was worried that it would get lost, so I came back first."

As for ginseng, seven ounces is considered ginseng, and eight ounces is considered a treasure.

Most ginseng that is a hundred years old is less than eight taels, while only those that are three hundred years old are mostly over eight taels.

In other words, any ginseng plant weighing eight ounces or less has transcended the category of herbal ginseng and become a precious medicinal ginseng.

It's not a matter of tens of thousands of taels of silver. Even an ordinary official like County Magistrate He wouldn't have anywhere to buy it, no one would sell it to an "ordinary person" like him, because he's not worthy.

Upon hearing Li Weizhou's words, He Chong, a figure of considerable influence in Qingzhou City, was speechless for a moment and could only watch helplessly as Li Weizhou bowed once more and strode away.

Even the constables behind He Chong couldn't bear it anymore and comforted him, saying, "Sir, this isn't Li Laohu's skill, nor is it his family's ability. It's because Li's fourth son has latched onto Princess Qi's coattails that she gave it to him. This isn't real skill! All the Li family members know how to do is suck up to their daughters and live off women!"

He Chong felt even more heartbroken upon hearing this. He slapped the constable on the head and cursed, "You're really good at comforting people! But you're right, the Li family only knows how to rely on women! Bah!"

He spurred his horse and rode out of the city, cursing under his breath.

The entire north gate of Qingzhou City was filled with a sour smell...

……

"elder brother!!"

Xi Mei, who was playing with her two nephews in the courtyard of the Li family's old house, was overjoyed to see Li Weizhou suddenly return and rushed over to him.

Seeing that her steps looked somewhat familiar, Li Weizhou blinked and was pleasantly surprised: she was actually walking the Seven Star Steps so smoothly!
Xi Mei threw herself into her brother's arms and hugged him tightly, grinning happily: "Brother, didn't you say you were going to be gone for a month?"

Li Weizhou stroked his little sister's head, nodded to the Li family members who had rushed out upon hearing the news, and then said, "Si Lang suddenly had to return to Shen Du on official business. It was pointless for me to stay there alone, so I decided to come back by myself. I didn't want to bother Si Lang."

Aunt Cao was deeply moved and said, "Besides brothers, who else would be so heartfelt in caring for their brother? Sanlang, are you hungry? Let your second sister-in-law make you some noodles!"

Guo laughed angrily, "I'm such a bad sister-in-law! Fine, I'll make him a bowl of sour soup noodles so he'll know how sour I feel!"

Everyone laughed. Li Delong looked Li Weizhou up and down and asked, "Fourth brother was in such a hurry to return to the capital that he didn't settle you in beforehand?"

Li Weizhou said cheerfully, "It's fine, but I don't want to stay any longer."

Madam Cao pressed, "Third Brother, when will Fourth Brother return?"

Li Weizhou shook his head and said, "I don't know. Aunt, Silang is busy with important matters, so let's not rush him."

He didn't even mention the ten-day deadline Li Changning had mentioned, because if he didn't return in ten days, it would make the Li family very uneasy.

Cao nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, no one can rush us."

Now she's increasingly pleased with this son-in-law from her husband's family; what a good boy! So sensible!
Li Weizhou asked the little girl in his arms, "Have you had fun these past few days?"

The eldest sister-in-law, Luo, spoke up for her younger sister-in-law, saying, "What are you playing? We invited that Miss Yue'er to our house to teach us standing meditation and some kind of weird body movements. She's sprained her ankle several times already."

Cao smiled and comforted her, "Things have been much better since yesterday. Li Huan and Li Rui can't catch their little aunt anymore."

Xi Mei looked up at her brother and said with a grin, "Master also praised me for practicing very well... But Master left yesterday too, he went to the horse market. When my martial arts are more advanced, I'll go with you, brother!"

Li Weizhou laughed upon hearing this, and said gently, "Just practice for fun, don't overwork yourself or you won't grow tall. Brother isn't in a hurry, I don't plan to go for another ten or eight years, it's too cold there, I'll just have someone else do the work later."

Everyone else was fine, but Li Huan was so envious that tears almost fell from her eyes. She choked out, "Auntie, Uncle is so good to you! Uncle is the best adult I've ever met!!"

He started reading the day after his birthday last year. Before he could even finish smiling happily the day before, his mother forced him to start memorizing and practicing calligraphy every day. This year, he didn't even stop for a single day on his birthday.

Although Li Rui, who is a year younger than him, has not yet begun this kind of life, he has already foreseen his not-too-distant future, so he leaned on his brother and wept together.

Xi Mei showed no sympathy whatsoever, and even smiled brightly as she lectured her two nephews, saying, "I practice martial arts diligently so that I can protect my brother in the future, so I don't feel tired at all. Li Huan and Li Rui, as long as you understand why you are learning, you won't be afraid of being tired."

The adults were overjoyed, and Li Huan was also moved, nodding and weeping, "I know, my mother told me a long time ago that she wanted to ask for an official title for me. She said there was no hope for my father..."

Li Weizhou burst into laughter, and Luo's face turned bright red.

Li Changping still felt sorry for his wife. While urging Li Weizhou to come inside, he kicked his son.

After the group entered the main room, Li Weizhou opened the cloth bag behind him and separated the gifts from the Qi Prince's Mansion, saying, "These are gifts from the grandson of the Qi Prince to my uncle and aunt. The remaining fox fur and ginseng were gifts from others. Second sister-in-law, please keep them as well."

The immortal herb was a gift from the Qi King's palace, while the ginseng was a gift from the Green Fox King's tent.

Just in case, I won't use any of the money I earned last night for the time being.

He was certain that someone would come to check on it later...

……

Just as the Li family was celebrating, the riots that had been barely quelled during the day were reignited at the horse market, more than 200 miles away, that night.

Because the truth has come out!

The Xiong tribe accidentally discovered fake immortal grass and fake gold, causing a great disturbance.

Meanwhile, the Shangqing Palace discovered counterfeit ginseng. Already facing bad luck this year, the Shangqing Palace felt as if the sky had fallen and immediately reported the matter to the Imperial Punishment Department, protesting the blatant disrespect. The other palaces, upon inspecting their storerooms, were equally distraught, then erupted in fury!
The Prince of Jin's residence has become the target of public criticism!

Inside the Green Fox King's tent, Tuoba Tuya calmly watched as the tribal artisan elder turned the red pearl in his hand. After a while, the old man, his back hunched, said, "Princess, it's genuine, it's top-grade."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Tuya nodded, and after a moment of silence, asked, "If we were to make a move, how much grain and how many cattle and sheep could we obtain in return?"

After pondering for a long time, the old man said, "If that Han merchant no longer has such red pearls, then the eight pearls in the princess's possession can be exchanged for 50,000 cattle, because they are unparalleled in the world. But if they still have them, it's hard to say. In any case, they are all extremely rare treasures. When the royal tax collector comes to collect taxes next year, the princess can use these red pearls to offset a year's livestock tax."

Tuoba Yun jumped up excitedly, his feelings toward the Han people improving even more.

If someone only deceives others but not the Green Fox King's camp, then they're not a bad person, but a truly good person! Even better!!

Tuoba Tuya frowned slightly and said to Bijachi, the official in charge of the royal tent's finances, "Go and find eight low-grade red pearls and some inferior immortal herbs. You take Tuoba Yun to the gate of the Prince of Jin's mansion and go and cause trouble with the Black Bear King's Tent, the Red Wolf King's Tent, and the Azure Eagle King's Tent."

Tuoba Yun was taken aback upon hearing this, and asked somewhat unhappily, "Sister, we weren't tricked!"

Tuoba Tuya said calmly, "That's why we must protect that person's kindness."

Seeing that Tuoba Yun still looked confused, she shook her head and said, "Go do it first, and we'll talk about it when you get back."

Tuoba Yun obediently followed the royal officials and guards as they walked out. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned back to Tuoba Tuya with an excited expression, and cried out in a shrill voice, "Sister, could it be...?"

"Shut up!"

Tuoba Tuya rebuked in a deep voice, "Don't make wild guesses!"

Tuoba Yun shuddered, her expression hardening, then she blinked and slowly said, "I understand, sister. I will never talk nonsense again."

After the group left the royal tent, Tuoba Tuya lowered her eyes, looking at the rare red pearl she had never seen before in her hand. She then took out the little lion and gently stroked it with her slender, white fingers, as white as mare's milk...

It was yet another treasure she had never seen before. How many treasures in this world could she not have seen?
Yesterday, during the long conversation between Tuoba Yun and the Han man named Li Weizhou, Tuoba Yun prayed that he would no longer have to pay livestock taxes to the royal court and that so many cattle, sheep and horses would not be taken away. And the idea that the Han man named Li Weizhou gave Tuoba Yun was to use useless jewels to offset the taxes.

Thinking back to those few times our eyes met... what a handsome and intelligent man.

"Cough, cough, cough."

After clearing her throat twice, Tuoba Tuya frowned slightly, suppressing her thoughts. Her delicate face, which had been somewhat gentle, became serious again, and her gaze seemed to penetrate the royal tent, looking south.

That woman in the Imperial Execution Department is truly terrifying.

Even with the old ghosts of the Prince of Jin's mansion gone, she was able to overpower the Shaman of the Shaman Palace, who was at the eighth level, while still having the strength to force her back and injure her.

Although this person was ten years older than her and had cultivated for ten more years, his terrifying skill was still truly astonishing.

Ten years from now, Tuoba Tuya is confident that she can catch up with this person's current pace, but by then, just how much more skillful will this female head of the Imperial Punishment Bureau be?
If two Grand Secretaries of the Imperial Punishment Bureau were to appear at the same time, the Donghu would be in grave danger...

However, such a talented and beautiful woman must surely ascend to the gate of immortality, right?
Actually, she wanted to go too, but...

It's not good that the younger brother is left unattended.

Sigh, Tuoba Tuya stared blankly at the red pearl in her hand.

……

The air outside the gate of the Prince of Jin's villa was thick with sultry odor.

A bunch of Donghu Tartars neither fought nor cursed, they just made a scene, and damn it, they cried and made a scene!
Holding a torch, surrounded by a bunch of tattered immortal grass, he invited passersby to try it and see how much of a rip-off these useless things, which are even less useful than sheep testicles, really are!
This is a very difficult situation...

It would be easier to resort to violence; at worst, everyone could have another match, and the loser would just have to accept their bad luck.

But these people stopped using the dirty tricks and started using underhanded ones.

It can't be called underhanded, it's just that they talk the talk but don't walk the walk, which is really unbearable for the Daqian side.

It's important to know that the Horse Market wasn't just attended by the Daqian and Donghu kingdoms; wealthy merchants from the Xihu kingdoms and even caravans from the Nanzhao kingdom also participated.

They are only prohibited from trading ginseng and immortal herbs, but they will not miss out on other luxury goods.

This is terrible... I've really lost face!
Regardless of the era, the Central Plains dynasties always valued face and always emphasized being upright and honorable.

It's incredibly shameful that such a large-scale fraud case has occurred at the World Expo!

The Imperial Criminal Investigation Department, which was stationed in the central compound, remained silent. The other royal family responsible for supervising this year's grand market, the Chu Royal Family, was also apathetic, not only ignoring trivial matters but also suffering heavy losses from being cheated.

Inside the Prince of Jin's residence, the Prince of Jin wished he could crawl back into his mother's womb and pretend he had never been born.

Compared to the Prince of Jin, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead with a white cloth over his head, the Prince of Jin's heir was able to hold on, though his face was equally pale.

His anxious eyes, sharp as knives, swept over the two stewards and two shopkeepers kneeling on the ground. He then turned to the chief clerk of the Prince's mansion and asked, "Who exactly is framing our Prince's mansion? To be implicated by so many other mansions, sects, and royal tents at the same time—it can't be a simple force. The involvement of both Hu and Han people suggests there must be clues to be found!"

"Investigate! Find out which family is colluding with the Donghu to try and destroy my Prince Jin's mansion! Investigate and see which family has recently had the closest ties with the Donghu!"

Upon hearing this, the chief clerk of the Prince's residence hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Highness, we've already investigated, but with so many people, it's really difficult to investigate. Each family has done business with the Eastern Hu King's tent in previous years, and some of them have close ties. If we go to their door to ask, they might think the Prince's residence is shirking responsibility and trying to shift the blame onto them. However… there is one special case, because this person has a great entanglement with the Prince's residence, and yesterday he went to the Green Fox King's tent. I heard they have a close relationship, so he's quite suspicious…"

"A huge entanglement? Who? Tell me quickly, who is it? At this critical juncture, let's find someone first!"

The Prince of Jin, in his thirties, had a short beard and used to pride himself on his elegance, but now his face looked even more ferocious.

Nobles value dignity, but the Prince of Jin's mansion, already a laughingstock among the eight princes, will likely find it even harder to hold its head high in the future.

How could he possibly swallow this insult?

But right now, the first priority is to find a scapegoat to shift the blame.

Otherwise, even if we sold the Prince of Jin's mansion, we still couldn't afford to pay off such a huge deficit!
The Chief Secretary of the Prince of Jin hurriedly said, "He is a guest of the Prince of Qi's villa, but he only stays in a very remote and humble courtyard, almost outside the main palace. He is a commoner from Qingzhou City named Li Weizhou. The day before yesterday, someone saw him meeting with the young prince and princess of the Qinghu King's tent. Yesterday, he even stayed in their tent all day, and then something happened last night. He left early this morning, supposedly returning to Qingzhou City. Is he feeling guilty? Moreover, this Li Weizhou happens to have a grudge against our royal family..."

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Jin's eyes lit up. What an excellent suspect!
……

PS: 8,000 words updated. Coincidentally, today's average daily subscription also reached 8,000. I'd appreciate some monthly votes, everyone!
(End of this chapter)