The strongest warrior of the Great Qian Dynasty

"You bastard, you made me get framed. If I get over this, I'll show you what I'm made of."

Li Qingshan cursed angrily.

He did not give up hope.

He bent two fingers and gently tapped the table, repeatedly examining it.

When signing the contract, why did Chen Liang take the initiative to suggest that his ex-partner find a middleman to witness the signing?

This is completely unnecessary.

Logically, the middleman would definitely help with the authentication, wouldn't that be an extra layer of insurance for Wang Yuanfeng?

Did Qin Ligong play any other role besides being a witness in this transaction?

Li Qingshan sipped his bitter tea, racking his brains, carefully considering and boldly hypothesizing.

At the same time, write down the first suspicious point.

Why won't Chen Liang sell?

Soon, Li Qingshan thought of another possibility, which seemed more likely.

That means Wang Yuanfeng was set up and tricked!

Li Qingshan put himself in Chen Liang's shoes.

"If I were Chen Liang, and I had a Five-Leaf Fetal Fruit plant, although it wasn't the real thing, it was a fake so convincingly it could be mistaken for the real thing... Now I want to use this fake to make money, what should I do?"

"Go sell it to an individual or family. Something worth around ten thousand taels can only fetch nine thousand five hundred taels of silver at most. Moreover, it will cause endless trouble. If we meet again in the future, even if I pay back double, they might still try to kill me."

"Therefore, selling to the dead is the best!"

"Coincidentally, the managers of the major businesses under the Changning Marquis's residence frequently die!"

"Being clever as I am, it didn't take long for me to come up with a solution."

"I won't sell it. I'll pledge it to the Changning Marquis's business, and then deliberately let the manager discover it's a fake. The manager will most likely smash the fake in a fit of rage. Then I'll go to their door with the pledge agreement to redeem it, and they'll have to compensate me for the price of a genuine Five-Leaf Embryo Fruit, and that's the price for a slow sale—ten thousand five hundred taels. That's not unreasonable, is it?!"

"If the goods are destroyed, regardless of whether the shopkeeper lives or dies, the Marquis of Changning's mansion will have to compensate!"

"Hmm, this method works... but I need someone to tip me off and confirm that the counterfeit goods have been destroyed."

Boom!

Li Qingshan bent two fingers and slammed them heavily on the counter, causing the tea to slosh.

This possibility is definitely not small!

If Qin Ligong and Chen Liang knew each other beforehand, this was very likely a carefully planned scheme by the two of them.

Qin Ligong's role was not that of a witness at all; he was clearly a messenger.

"In fact, the mastermind behind this deal is very likely Qin Ligong, because Qin Ligong knows his predecessor's interpersonal relationships, and if Wang Yuanfeng needs to find a middleman, he will definitely go through him."

Li Qingshan took out the Fetal Essence Fruit again and examined it carefully.

The surface of the round, plump red fruit has two tiny dark spots.

Imperfections make things more natural and authentic.

It's easier to fool expert appraisers.

But at this moment, Li Qingshan thought of another use for these two minor flaws.

Let the essence of the fruit flow!

They deliberately let Wang Yuanfeng realize early on that the Five-Leaf Fetal Fruit was a fake.

After staring for a long time, Li Qingshan indeed saw a wisp of light blue spiritual energy emanating from the smaller dark spot.

"If it really is a setup, Chen Liang must still be in Lin'an City."

"That's enough time, I can still be saved!"

Li Qingshan didn't have to put in much effort; he naturally came up with a way to break the deadlock, which was the secret technique he had just bought.

Forgery techniques!

If you fabricate, I'll fabricate too!

You make a fake to cheat me, so I'll make a fake to turn the tables on you. I'll smash one in front of the informant and wait for you to come and redeem the other fake.

A glint flashed in Li Qing's eyes, and he immediately picked up his pen and wrote down some materials needed to counterfeit the Five-Leaf Fetal Essence Fruit.

"Ziming, go and prepare all these things for me. I need them right away."

"Yes, shopkeeper."

Wu Ziming took the list, collected twenty taels from the accounting office, and quickly left.

……

Tianyi Pavilion.

Qin Ligong was sitting on a stone bench in the backyard, leisurely sipping his tea.

Across the stone table sat a young man in fine clothes, looking anxious and restless.

It was Chen Liang.

Seeing that he was restless, Qin Ligong smiled faintly and said, "Brother Chen, there's no need to worry."

Chen Liang clapped his hands and said, "Brother Qin, how can I not be anxious? Shuiyun Pavilion has a new manager!"

"That's precisely why you don't need to rush!"

Qin Ligong smiled.

Chen Liang was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "Oh, what do you mean by that?"

Qin Ligong chuckled and said, "To be honest, I received news that Wang Yuanfeng has discovered that the Fetal Essence Fruit is a fake, which is why he went to ask Steward Wang Biao to transfer him away."

Chen Liang slapped his thigh, overjoyed, and exclaimed, "Oh my, does that mean our plan is about to succeed?"

"good!"

Qin Ligong smiled and nodded, saying, "Let's just wait for the new manager of Shuiyun Pavilion to send someone to complain to me, the middleman, and then we can wait to collect the money."

The two looked at each other and smiled, then burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"Manager, the new manager of Shuiyun Pavilion has sent Wu Ziming to see you."

At this moment, the servant came to report.

Qin Ligong glanced at Wu Ziming with a smile: "What a coincidence, here you are!"

"Brother Qin's plan is brilliant and flawless; I am completely convinced."

After saying that, Wu Ziming quickly stood up and said, "Then I'll go inside and hide for a while."

Qin Ligong extended his hand and said, "Brother Wu, please go ahead."

After Wu Ziming hid, Qin Ligong had his servant bring Wu Ziming inside.

"Manager Qin, our new manager requests your presence," the servant said respectfully.

Qin Ligong nodded: "Lead the way, I'd like to get to know your new manager."

Not long after.

Wu Ziming then led Qin Ligong back to Shuiyun Pavilion.

Along the way, Qin Ligong inquired about Li Qingshan's situation from Wu Ziming. Upon hearing that Li Qingshan had offended Wang Biao, Qin Ligong felt relieved.

Isn't this the scapegoat that Wang Biao found?

Pitiful!

Li Qingshan is in deep trouble.

Qin Ligong had no pity whatsoever, because he was the one who designed this whole scheme.

"Brother Qin, Brother Qin!"

You really have to lend your brother a hand!

As soon as Qin Ligong entered the door, Li Qingshan ran over with tears streaming down his face and grabbed Qin Ligong's hand, refusing to let go.

With acting skills like this, he deserves an Oscar!

Qin Ligong found it amusing, but remained outwardly composed: "Oh dear, oh dear, Brother Li, what's wrong? Why are you crying so bitterly?"

"What's wrong? Tell me slowly."

"If I can help, I will definitely help you. After all, we are all working for the Marquis's mansion."

Qin Ligong's acting was also quite good, conveying a sense of shared sorrow.

Li Qingshan feigned gratitude and took out the fake Five-Leaf Fetal Fruit.

"Brother Qin, weren't you the middleman when my former manager acquired this Fetal Essence Fruit?"

"But...it's fake!"

Li Qingshan wiped away his tears: "Now look what's happened! Wang Yuanfeng ran away, and I'm left to take the blame!"

"What? It's fake!"

Brother Qin was shocked and slammed his hand on the table, jumping to his feet.

"How is this possible? Wang Yuanfeng and I were there to examine and authenticate the item. How could it be fake?"

Tsk tsk.

With acting skills like that, he deserves an Oscar.

Li Qingshan watched his performance and clicked his tongue in admiration.