After a while, a person who looked like a physician came to attend to Li Gui's wounds. They applied some black herbal medicine and bandaged his wounds. Li Gui felt the medicine had a strange smell and was powerful, causing a burning sensation that made him wince in pain. He asked, "What kind of lousy medicine is this? Why does it hurt so much when applied?"
The physician replied, "Endure it. Do you expect to be comfortable when being treated here? Is the medicine I used any different from what the Emperor gets? You should count yourself lucky."
As the pain intensified, Li Gui began to feel faint and started muttering to himself, "No, something's wrong with this medicine, something's wrong."
Some time later, in his hazy vision, Li Gui saw a small officer entering to check on him. The officer looked shifty and secretive, glancing around to ensure no one else was present. Then, he mixed a small packet of powder into some water and forced Li Gui to drink it. He said, "Here, drink this medicine, and you'll feel better."
In an instant, Li Gui seemed to realize that this person had been sent to silence him. He immediately shook his head and refused to drink, "I won't drink it! This is poison! I know you want to kill me with it! You—how dare you send someone to the prison cell?! You—"
Before he could finish, the small officer forcefully poured the medicine down his throat and hurriedly ran out.
Li Gui finally felt desperate and in agony, shouting, "Help! I'll talk! I'll confess everything! They were ruthless, and I won't be merciful either! I'll tell you everything!"
Zhao Lanzhi, Xiaohu, and the others heard the commotion and came in. They looked down at Li Gui from above, and he appeared like a panting stray dog. "I'll talk. I'm dying, but they won't live either! I'll tell you everything!"
Li Gui then proceeded to reveal that in Luoyang City, the daily volume of illegal salt trade ranged from five hundred sheng to at least two hundred and thirty.
The entire buying, inspecting of the goods, and transactions were conducted on the large boat of Qianduan Pavilion.
Two people were involved in the process—himself and Madame Zhang, the old owner of the Qianduan Pavilion.
When new clients arrived, they had to pay ten ingots of gold as a guarantee or entrance fee. In other words, without that amount, they couldn't engage in the illegal salt trade.
After that, they had to make reservations one day in advance for the daily supply. What they ordered today would be available the next day.
Once the transaction was complete, the payment was settled immediately.
As the dying salt smuggler Li Gui confessed the entire network of the illegal salt trade in Luoyang City to Zhao Lanzhi, the large boat of Qianduan Pavilion slowly set sail again on the canal. It was a lively and bustling scene with snow, moon, flowers, and fervent secret trading among the guests.
Why did the illegal salt trade have to be conducted at Qianduan Pavilion? Hehe, there were two advantages!
First, it made money laundering convenient as the profits from illegal salt could be blended into the legitimate businesses of wine, food, and entertainment on the boat. Moreover, the ladies could help attract clients.
Second, Qianduan Pavilion sailed on the canal every night. What could be a better way to conceal the transportation of illegal salt?
On the spacious deck, the dancing girls accompanied the drinkers, and under the bright moon, the Qianduan Pavilion released several small boats, each filled with bags of salt. The successful smugglers sailed away, fully loaded, and quickly departed.
Zhao Lanzhi couldn't help but feel shocked by the revelation. He lifted Li Gui and pulled him closer, asking, "Who's the big boss behind you?"
Li Gui replied, "I've never seen them. If you really want to find evidence, you'll have to go to Qianduan Pavilion again. Ah, it hurts so much! They used such vicious drugs on me! I can't stand it anymore! Please, end my suffering with a quick death!"
Zhao Lanzhi threw Li Gui down and looked at him disdainfully, saying, "Endure it for a bit. Strong medicine heals quickly. Besides, you still have to be my witness!"
Suddenly, Li Gui realized that he had been played, shouting, "Yes, it was you! You tricked me?! I wasn't poisoned?!"
Zhao Lanzhi smiled, "How else would you have told the truth? Thank you for finally confessing. According to what you said, I do need to go and investigate Qianduan Pavilion again!"
Li Gui grinned, partly relieved that he had escaped death, and partly annoyed at being toyed with by Zhao Lanzhi, "Clever! I've been in this business for so many years, but I never thought I'd fall into your hands! Hmph, so what if you found out? What can you do by investigating Qianduan Pavilion? I doubt a small constable like you can handle such a big game!"
Zhao Lanzhi, with genuine interest, asked, "Oh? Why do you say that?"
Li Gui gritted his teeth, "You're just a military man! Think about it carefully. In such a large-scale illegal salt trade, who can handle that much money without drawing attention? It must be high-ranking officials or even royal family members! Do you think you can compete with them? Haha, don't make a fool of yourself!"
Zhao Lanzhi didn't say anything more. He thought Li Gui might be right. Illegal salt production and trade were severe crimes in the eyes of the court. Even a small amount of involvement could lead to a death sentence. Who could dare to engage in such a large-scale smuggling operation using a big boat? How far-reaching were the hands behind this?
Well, enough of these thoughts. It was pointless to overthink. He was just a constable, an investigator; his duty was to solve the case. No matter how deep the water was, he had to find the truth!
Thinking this, Zhao Lanzhi realized that he might have to visit Qianduan Pavilion again. But before that, he needed to see one more person.
In the Ye Residence, a new young dark boy felt that the person called "Young Master" was oddly cute but always seemed anxious and irritable. That day, the Young Master left early in the morning and returned home in the afternoon with a bad expression, as if he had suffered a great deal of grievance outside. The young boy finished feeding the horses and had nothing else to do, so he followed the Young Master to see what was going on. He followed him to the back garden and then to a black door of the cellar. The Young Master was about to enter, but he stopped the young boy outside and said, "You can't come in here, and no one is allowed to enter. Understand?" The young boy nodded.
"Go find Xia Shu and help him prepare a horse and carriage," the Young Master ordered.
The young boy nodded again.
After the Young Master entered the cellar, he stood at the door for a while before leaving. He thought, 'What did he go in there for?'
Inside the cellar, Yuan An recounted to the man everything that happened between Zhao Lanzhi and Young Master Xianya at the teahouse. The man listened attentively without falling asleep this time, rubbing fragrant skincare oil on his hands as he listened quietly. Afterward, he asked Yuan An, "Show me the hairpin left by the deceased again."
Yuan An handed it to him and said, "This time, I was careful not to give this piece of evidence to the constable."
The man examined the hairpin closely from top to bottom, "Right, right."
Yuan An asked, "What do you mean by 'right'?"
The man said, "The thing that Young Master Xianya said is reasonable. This hairpin looks too ordinary. Would anyone, especially a person with taste, give such a gift to their lover? Who would use it to fix their hair? However, the style of this hairpin is somewhat strange. Look here, and here, it's uneven. I see it's more like a..."
Yuan'an anxiously asked, "Like a what?"
"A key!"
Yuan'an was stunned, "Ah?"
The man smiled, "I see. You've finally found this evidence, so let's see which door it fits!"
~Thank You for Reading, Please Comment Below~
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