RPAGF Chapter 391 Prince Ning's Trouble
Chapter 391 Prince Ning's Trouble
Zhu Lao Er said, "Of course I'm not willing. I was originally thinking of going back to Yuncheng to find the Yuncheng Chamber of Commerce or the Xie family steward to see if there was any way to help me."
"But unexpectedly, before they even left the city gates of Yanyudu, a major incident occurred there. A large number of merchants and common people rebelled, parading through the streets holding signs that demanded a reduction in taxes that were too heavy."
Si Muyan frowned: "Rebellion? When did this happen?"
Zhu Lao Er said, "More than twenty days ago."
The journey from Yanyu Ferry to Kyoto takes about eleven or twelve days, but it took Zhu Lao Er twice as long, which shows that he suffered a lot on the way.
Si Muyan murmured, "I have never heard of any rebellion at Yanyu Ferry. Could it be that the news hasn't spread to the capital?"
Zhu Lao Er hurriedly shook his head: "No, it's not that the news hasn't spread to the capital, it's that this news hasn't even reached Yanyu Ferry. Local officials suppressed it, and it's said that the Grand Canal Governor directly ordered the cover-up of the truth. The relevant merchants have all been arrested, the ringleaders have already lost their heads, and the rest have all signed a death pact, absolutely forbidding anyone from spreading it outside."
Si Muyan's eyelids twitched. She never imagined that such a thing could happen under the peaceful and prosperous Great Zhou Dynasty.
That Grand Canal Transport Commissioner is incredibly audacious.
Zhu Lao Er's voice was somewhat low: "As for merchants from other places, no matter how well they do business... kill them without exception."
Si Muyan was shocked: "Kill them all? How dare they? Then you..."
Zhu Lao Er said with a mournful face, "Those people are extremely powerful. They have arrested many people, and many others have escaped. But they said that they all had household registration when they entered the city. They said that if they lost their lives, that would be fine, but the people from the canal transport would chase them back to their hometowns and kill their entire families."
"They're incredibly audacious. Do they think they can cover up everything?"
Although we live in a peaceful and prosperous era, it is inevitable to encounter misfortune when traveling. It is perfectly normal for merchants to run into trouble on their journeys.
The officials at Yanyu Ferry knew this all too well. If a merchant from out of town died at Yanyu Ferry, the secret wouldn't be revealed; they'd only say it was an accident. But if the merchant escaped, they'd have to be tracked down to his hometown.
Zhu Lao Er trembled: "Miss, I escaped, but not because I was afraid of death. I was carrying the hopes of those merchants and common people I had only known for a few days. They learned that I had the backing of the Marquis's mansion and did everything they could to send me out, begging me... not to solve their predicament, but only to ensure peace on our future trade routes."
He recalled the resolute looks in the eyes of those merchants and couldn't help but shed tears.
Si Muyan told him to rest well, but she herself didn't know what to do.
Should I go to the palace to file a complaint with the emperor? But I have no evidence at all. Can I really win?
The next morning, Si Muyan was preparing to return to the capital when her second sister arrived early in the morning.
She had been busy with a small case in the outskirts of Beijing for half the night, which was a learning experience, so she wasn't too tired. Now that she was done, she thought it was close to the estate, so she came to visit her parents, older sister, and Xiaoxia.
But then she noticed the dark circles under Si Muyan's eyes and was startled: "Big sister, did you steal something yesterday?"
With something on her mind, and thinking that her second sister was at the Dali Temple and was very familiar with officials from all sides, Si Muyan asked, "Second sister, do you know who the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner is?"
"Lord Zhou, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, I know him. My elder sister is perfectly fine, why are you asking about him?"
Si Muyan recounted everything that had happened to Zhu Lao Er, and then said with difficulty, "I want to go to the palace to file a complaint with the emperor, and I must bring down the officials of Yanyu Ferry and the Grand Canal Governor. But without evidence, if they dare to do this, they will definitely have a follow-up plan. I'm afraid that if I do this, I might alert them, and then you will all be in trouble as well."
My younger sister is in the palace, so there's no need to worry, but they are all outside the palace.
The second sister pondered for a moment, then went out to call her attendant: "Go and see if His Highness Prince Ning has returned yet. If not, invite him over for a chat."
Si Muyan asked in surprise, "Didn't you say it was a minor case? Why is His Highness Prince Ning here?"
The second sister felt a little uncomfortable and said in a low voice, "He... always follows me around when he has nothing to do... I'm not used to it."
Although this was not the time for jokes, a few words still floated into Si Muyan's mind.
She tried to escape, but he chased after her; she couldn't escape even if she had wings.
You forgot me and left, what do you regret?
……
No, no, no, now is not the time to think about these things. The most important thing is to resolve the matter of Yanyu Ferry.
After Prince Ning arrived, Si Muyan asked Zhu Lao Er to come and see him, and told him everything about Yanyu Ferry.
"I can guarantee that what Brother Zhu said is not a lie. In other words, the officials in charge of Yanyu Ferry and the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner are all parasites of the imperial court. For at least all those years under their jurisdiction, all the merchants suffered terribly. And since it is a transportation hub, there will definitely be merchants coming and going. The high taxes will be included in the cost and imposed on the people, and the people suffer as well."
Prince Ning frowned: "And if this is true, so many lives have been lost; they have committed a grave crime."
The second sister said, "But if they acted carefully, and almost a month has passed since then, and we have no evidence, if we report it rashly, it may not have a good outcome."
Prince Ning looked at her approvingly: "It seems you have made great progress in the Dali Temple. You used to be quite impulsive and always thought that right and wrong were fixed. Now you also understand that everything should be based on evidence."
Seeing that his second sister seemed displeased, he changed the subject and said, "Lord Zhou, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, is His Highness the Crown Prince's man."
Si Muyan's heart tightened. The Emperor only had one son, the Crown Prince. If Lord Zhou was oppressing the people and increasing the grain transport tax, thus enriching His Highness the Crown Prince, then the Crown Prince would surely intervene on behalf of his subordinate. And by tearing off the Crown Prince's ugly veil, they were going against the future Emperor.
This……
Prince Ning stood up: "There is a case that needs to be investigated. I will make an excuse to go out and go to Yanyu Ferry to try to obtain evidence."
The second sister nervously stood up as well: "Lord Zhou is the Crown Prince's man, so by doing this, aren't you going against the Crown Prince?"
"One should perform one's duties in one's position. As the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I should do things for the common people."
Prince Ning quickly went to Yanyu Ferry; it was a secret operation, and not many people knew about it. Si Muyan was also busy; she sent Laiqian to Yuncheng herself, only telling people that Zhu Lao Er was missing, which would also protect the others in the down jacket workshop.
At the end of August, Prince Ning did not return, but news came that he had encountered bandits while on official business, was shot by an arrow and fell into a deep abyss, and his fate was unknown.
When the second sister received the news, she was devastated, as if struck by lightning. She hugged her maid and wept bitterly.
“It’s all my fault. I made him investigate the case. If he hadn’t known about it, he wouldn’t have died.”
Feng Zizhou had long since recovered and was continuing his duties at the Dali Temple. When he received news that Prince Ning was likely dead, he immediately thought of his second sister and rushed to the Si family to find her. Only then did he learn that Prince Ning had actually gone elsewhere and had encountered an accident there.