vstars Chapter 398 Questions
Chapter 398 Questions
"How much do you know about these situations? Besides Haitian City, are other nearby cities facing the same predicament?"
Tell us everything you know, and then we'll decide how to proceed.
Chu Junting's expression was solemn. Before coming, he only thought that some corrupt officials were lining their own pockets during the disaster relief efforts, but he never expected that the situation would be far more serious than he had imagined.
These wealthy businessmen, in their quest for riches, resorted to coercion and bribery, committing all sorts of evil deeds. Unless their demands were met, one could not even save their life.
The Zhao Qingyuan family serves as a cautionary tale.
Zhao Qingyuan, now free from any worries, immediately revealed everything he knew.
"As far as I know, it's not just Haitian City, but several nearby cities are like this. However, some of these cities are involved in collusion between officials and merchants, so their situations should be different from mine."
As Zhao Qingyuan wrote down all the names, Chu Junting and Gu Huaixu saw it and made their own judgments.
“I have met the magistrate of Huaiyang City. He is a good official who is dedicated to serving the people. But I heard not long ago that he fell seriously ill and has been bedridden ever since. I suspect that he was also coerced.”
Zhao Qingyuan's expression was complicated as he tentatively asked, "Your Highness, I just saw that the girl's abilities are extraordinary. Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. I wonder if she could save him?"
"Just tell us everything you know, and we'll handle it," Chu Junting said.
"Yes."
Zhao Qingyuan has been working diligently all these years and knows the situation in Haitian City like the back of his hand. He has also made a list of all the wealthy merchants, except for the Jiang family head.
"As far as you know, is there anyone else behind these people?" Gu Huaixu asked.
Although these wealthy businessmen are quite capable of colluding together, he felt that they might not have the ability to pull off such a major operation with such unusual methods.
After all, being discovered would mean certain death by beheading.
Money is important, but it's useless if you have money but don't have the life to spend it.
"I only know that there must be someone behind them, but I've thought about it for a long time and I really can't figure out who it could be. Perhaps the Jiang family head knows."
I've had quite a few dealings with him over the years. He's the richest man in Haitan City, and while he's always been arrogant, he's not brainless. So, the people behind him must be extraordinary.
However, getting that information out of him won't be easy.
Zhao Qingyuan fell into thought. He had tried to probe the person behind the scenes more than once before, but unfortunately, he had never been able to find out who was behind it.
Whenever the topic is mentioned, the Jiang family head and the others become extremely cautious.
Chu Junting's lips curled into a cold smile. "How difficult could it be?"
Zhao Qingyuan was slightly taken aback. He recalled the prestige of the King of Chu over the years, and realized that even the most difficult words would become easy to get out of the King of Chu.
Gu Huaixu looked at Chu Junting and said, "Let's split up. You go to the Jiang family and ask about the results, while I'll investigate further in the vicinity."
The person behind this must have made many arrangements before we arrived; resolving this matter will definitely be more difficult than we initially anticipated.
“Okay,” Chu Junting replied.
At the same time, Song Ruozhen also performed a divination for her father.
"Fifth Sister, how is Father now? Should we go there immediately?"
Both Song Jingshen and Song Zhiyu were concerned about their father's safety, but they did not expect the situation in Haitian City to be so complicated, even worse than they had imagined.
"We will hold back for now. Father's position has changed, but he is safe in his current location."
Song Ruozhen's clear eyes showed a hint of surprise. When she had her fortune told in the capital, her father's situation was somewhat dangerous, but after arriving in Yangcheng, the situation had improved.
It seems that Father has discovered the danger and found a safe place.
"Perhaps... we don't need to look for our father; he will come to us."
Upon hearing this, both Song Zhiyu and his companion were filled with astonishment. "What does this mean? Does Father know we're here?"
"My father naturally doesn't know. If I'm not mistaken, he is probably also investigating the flood, which is why he approached us."
Song Ruozhen pondered for a moment before speaking, "Father's current location is no longer at the border, but closer to where we are. I don't think it's a coincidence."
"So, Father's injuries have healed?" Song Zhiyu asked in surprise. If that were true, it would be great news.
Song Jingshen was not so optimistic. "Could it be that he was forced to leave? Father almost lost his life on the battlefield this time. I think he must have been framed!"
The people who framed him know he's still alive, so they're searching for him everywhere.
Song Ruozhen also felt that this was very likely. When she thought about finding someone, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind: Could it be related to Ling Jia Dalang?
From the moment she first saw Ling Qian'er, she felt that there was something wrong with this woman, but she had never met the other members of the Ling family and had no way of judging.
Over the years, the Ling family had been based in Pingyang City until recently when they returned to the capital. From Chu Junting, she learned that the Ling family had made Pingyang City their territory.
His recall just happened to coincide with a flood in Pingyang City, which was quite a coincidence.
Not only that, but the eldest son of the Ling family had not returned to the capital for a long time. The Ling family was worried that something had happened to him, so they specially sent Ling Qian'er back to look for him.
Although the words sounded nice, she felt it was just a pretext. She suspected that Ling's eldest son had been delayed by something, and the Ling family was worried that the emperor would blame them, so they fabricated a story that he was in danger.
The timing is so coincidental, it might not be unrelated!
Looking at Song Ruozhen's reaction, Song Jingshen felt that she seemed to have guessed something, but she wasn't sure, so she didn't tell them directly.
"Now that Father is safe for the time being, we can rest assured. It would be wonderful if he could come directly to Haitian City to meet us!"
"The events that happen in Haitian City and even the surrounding cities are being manipulated behind the scenes by someone with considerable influence. The trouble we're facing is far greater than we imagined."
If Father was truly involved, perhaps he uncovered the person behind it all, and the danger he foresaw earlier was simply that this person was hunting him down.
Song Ruozhen analyzed the current possibilities. According to her original judgment, there must have been something fishy about the last battle.
Everyone usually praises Song Lin for his exceptional combat talent.
Over the years, we have won many battles, big and small, but this time we suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, the Ling family led the team to victory at the crucial moment!
Lin Zhiyue also made a great contribution in this process. He brought back the news and informed the Ling family of everything, which is why the Ling family forced their team to rush there and finally won the victory!
After this incident, apart from Lin Zhiyue and Song Yanzhou who returned safely, all the other generals died in this battle.
In fact, after this incident, the Song family had their suspicions, and Gu Ruyan asked everyone she met about the situation.
Unfortunately, few people returned, and not much useful information could be obtained.