HLnovel Chapter 247 Behind the Sinking into the River (Part 2)
Chapter 247 Behind the Sinking into the River (Part 2)
After taking a shower, Lu Zhiyuan sat down at her desk, picked up a pen, and wrote two names on a piece of paper: He Zhennan and He Yanxi.
He Zhennan, thirty-one years old, was a bookseller by trade and renowned for his erudition. The Emperor, showing great respect for talent, invited him to serve in the court, but He Zhennan politely declined. He Zhennan's reason for refusing was: there are many people who serve the Emperor and the court; the Emperor doesn't need another He Zhennan, and the court certainly doesn't need another Lord He. However, the common people lack a Shopkeeper He, a Mr. He.
He Zhennan was an extremely special bookseller. He not only made money selling books, but he also ran a private school, teaching children from poor families for free. His sister, He Yanxi, married Zhou Xu, the Vice Minister of Rites. The Zhou family was also in business, with operations spanning several neighboring countries.
After a moment's thought, Lu Zhiyuan drew a straight line between He Zhennan and He Yanxi, and another straight line between He Zhennan and Zhou Xu and the Zhou family.
When the Crown Prince entered, Lu Zhiyuan was staring blankly at those straight lines. He held the brush upside down and drew an ink line on his chin.
"What are you looking at so intently, A-Yuan?" The Crown Prince snatched the brush from her hand: "You've painted it on your face."
Have it?
Lu Zhiyuan wiped her face, making her look even more like a little kitten.
The Crown Prince suppressed a laugh, first wiping her fingers, then carefully removing the ink from her face. His gaze fell on those names, and he let out a soft exclamation, pointing at Zhou Xu and saying, "It was this Lord Zhou who helped the Minister with the arrangements on our wedding day. He is a peaceful and steady person, and I would like to promote him."
Lu Zhiyuan moved the paper closer to him and pointed at Zhou Xu, saying, "Does Crown Prince Brother understand him?"
The Crown Prince lowered his head and sighed softly, "Walls have ears, A-Yuan should still call me husband."
The intense heat and ambiguous tone made Lu Zhiyuan's cheeks flush suddenly. Since leaving the capital, her feelings for the Crown Prince seemed to have changed. The same distance, the same words—which hadn't seemed out of place in the palace, nor in the Eastern Palace, but had made her blush slightly in the inn.
She steadied herself, looked up, and deliberately called out in a coquettish tone, "My husband—"
The prince's face flushed, and his ears turned bright red in an instant.
"Husband, what's wrong? Your ears are so red. Did you catch a cold at night?"
Lu Zhiyuan reached out her hand, but the Crown Prince quickly dodged and rubbed his ear with his hand.
"Perhaps he left in a hurry and his temper flared up." The Crown Prince said, "Does A-Yuan still want to know about this Minister Zhou?"
"Yes!" Lu Zhiyuan rested her chin on her hand and blinked her eyes.
A fifteen-year-old girl is at the prime of her innocent and carefree life.
The crown prince couldn't resist pinching her cheek. She's a little underweight; she needs more time to grow.
In Beiliang, merchants were at the very bottom of the social hierarchy, considered scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. For a merchant to pass the imperial examinations was even more difficult than for a farmer. The Zhou family had been merchants for generations, yet none of them had entered officialdom; their business was confined to the border regions. They transported Beiliang's abundant silk, tea, and porcelain to Nan Chu, Xi Shu, or even more distant foreign lands, exchanging them for local specialties. These included wholesale goods from Nan Chu, rare medicinal herbs, and even beautiful women from Nan Chu.
Many of the beauties in the slave market in the capital were brought in through the Zhou family.
"Does the imperial court not care about the buying and selling of people?"
“It doesn’t count as human trafficking,” the Crown Prince said. “The Zhou family has proper documents. The court has clear regulations on slaves, and any buying and selling within those regulations is legal. For example, the daughters of disgraced officials, or the slaves sold from official families, these people usually don’t enter the slave markets in the capital or other places through government intermediaries, but are transported and circulated through the Zhou family’s caravans. The Zhou family profits, and the profits are approved by the local government and the court. There are also relevant documents for the foreign women brought back by the Zhou family.”
Lu Zhiyuan had never been involved in this area before and was unaware that human trafficking involved so much.
“The Xie family and the Lu family’s businesses are all conventional businesses, so it’s understandable that A-Yuan doesn’t understand them.”
"Where did you learn all this, my husband? It's like comparing apples and oranges; even I, a businessman, don't know this, how could you possibly know?"
"It was just a coincidence." The Crown Prince pinched her nose. "For our wedding, the officials involved must be thoroughly investigated to prevent any mishaps before or after the wedding. The Ministry of Rites recommended Zhou Xu. The list had just been sent to me when a memorial impeaching the Minister of Rites arrived. The memorial mentioned the Zhou family's human trafficking activities. To be on the safe side, I had someone investigate."
"Has the Zhou family done anything wrong?"
“The evidence shows that the Zhou family has done nothing wrong,” the Crown Prince said. “Zhou Xu was able to become the Vice Minister of Rites through his own hard work. Before he took office, no one knew that he was paid by the Zhou family.”
Lu Zhiyuan circled Zhou Xu's and He Yanxi's names.
"Have you investigated Zhou Xu's wife, He Yanxi?"
"Of course, we must investigate." The Crown Prince picked up his pen and circled He Yanxi's name next to He Zhennan's: "He Yanxi is He Zhennan's sister! He Zhennan is a bookseller, and the Zhou family's business also involves books. He Zhennan took his sister to a banquet hosted by the Zhou family, and Madam Zhou took a liking to He Yanxi at first sight. She acted as matchmaker, arranging for her to marry her son, Zhou Xu. At that time, Zhou Xu was already working in the Ministry of Rites, but Zhou Xu, being from a merchant family, was not well-liked in official circles, and no official was willing to marry their daughter to him. A merchant's son marrying a merchant's daughter, it can be considered a match made in heaven."
“Since my husband investigated He Yanxi, he should have also investigated He Zhennan.” Lu Zhiyuan circled He Zhennan’s name again: “Is this He Zhennan involved in the Zhou family’s human trafficking?”
“Judging from the evidence, there is no connection!” The Crown Prince leaned down, turned his head, and looked at Lu Zhiyuan: “Madam went to the Zhang family to investigate the Liu family’s affairs, how did the investigation lead to He Zhennan and his sister and the Zhou family? As far as I know, the Zhou family and the He siblings have no connection with the affairs of Chunfeng Town.”
“I suspect…” Lu Zhiyuan pinched her ear: “I suspect that the He siblings are He Niannian’s children! Those children who were sacrificed were not really sacrificed, but were sold through the Zhou family’s channels.”
"According to Madam, this Black Lady's way of taking revenge on Spring Breeze Town is by selling their descendants?"
The crown prince frowned, feeling that this guess was somewhat far-fetched.
Just then, Zuo Yi returned. He had come back to the capital to investigate the He family, and his investigation led him to He Zhennan. He Zhennan's biological parents were unknown; he was raised by his uncle. His uncle had been a servant in the He family, but was dismissed by the He family steward before the death of Master He. Strangely, this servant, dismissed from the He family, had acquired two properties with the steward's help: a bookstore and an inconspicuous little house. The little house was located on the back street of the former He family mansion, only three steps away from the courtyard wall.
Upon inspecting the site, Zuo Yi discovered something unusual about the ground, suspecting there might be a passage underneath. However, both the old He family residence and the small house had changed hands, making a detailed investigation impossible for the time being.