28: Baihe River flood, disaster relief in Baiyin

Tianquan Division.

Inside the main hall.

Lin Qinghuang took out an account book and carefully flipped through it.

“Hmm?”

She found one page folded, and she immediately opened it to examine.

In the Forty-ninth Year of Tianqi, Winter Solstice, Baihe County suffered from a flood, and the Second Prince brought three hundred thousand taels of silver for disaster relief.

“Forty-ninth Year of Tianqi, Winter Solstice, Second Prince, three hundred thousand taels of silver...”

When Lin Qinghuang saw this, her gaze sharpened.

The Forty-ninth Year of Tianqi was exactly three years ago, and it was also Winter Solstice, precisely when the Lin family was annihilated.

She immediately got up and walked to a bookshelf nearby, took out a scroll from it, and opened it to take a look.

“In the Forty-ninth Year of Tianqi, the Baihe River dam collapsed. The Second Prince was ordered to be transferred to the Ministry of Works to oversee the dam's construction, bringing three hundred thousand taels of disaster relief silver to Baihe County.”

Lin Qinghuang continued reading below.

“During this period, three hundred thousand taels of silver mysteriously disappeared. Three days later, the Second Prince recovered the silver, and the disaster relief concluded perfectly. Baihe County Magistrate Zhang Zai assisted the Second Prince in completing the disaster relief and was promoted to Ministry of Works Vice Minister.”

She put down the scroll and again took out an old account book from her sleeve.

This was the account book from the eve of the Lin family's demise, and she had always carried it with her, hoping to find some clues from it.

She opened the account book and found the accounts from the Forty-ninth Year of Tianqi.

There was one peculiar entry: the Lin family expended three hundred thousand taels of silver, but there was no reason for this expenditure, and even the handwriting was different from other entries, as if someone else had added it.

She put away the account book.

Lin Qinghuang mused, “Another setup. This is to make me continue investigating the Second Prince.”

If it were just a normal expenditure, Zhang Zai, as the Ministry of Works Vice Minister, wouldn't have regarded an account book so highly.

Clearly, there's a big problem with this entry. The three hundred thousand taels of silver for disaster relief disappeared, and three days later, the silver was recovered.

Coincidentally, the Lin family also expended three hundred thousand taels of silver at that time. How could there be such a coincidence?

What is the connection between the three hundred thousand taels of silver expended by the Lin family and the three hundred thousand taels of silver later recovered by the Second Prince?

Is it the same sum of money?

The appearance of this account entry once again uses her as a tool. This is to make her continue investigating the Second Prince.

“Lu Zhao...”

Lin Qinghuang understood that this person must know more. Zhang Yun wanting to burn Lu Zhao to death was likely Zhang Zai's arrangement, intended to silence him.

“Reporting to Commander Lin, Lu Zhao bit his tongue and committed suicide.”

Zhang Long quickly entered the main hall.

“How decisive.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Qinghuang merely frowned slightly.

“What about Zhang Yun? Did she say anything?”

Lin Qinghuang asked.

Zhang Long shook his head and said, “Zhang Yun said that killing Lu Zhao was Zhang Zai’s arrangement. She didn’t know the true reason behind it. Zhang Zai only told her that he wanted to take her to Tianqi City and couldn’t keep a small guard like Lu Zhao as a burden.”

“Heh heh!”

Lin Qinghuang let out a cold laugh.

“Reporting to Commander Lin, just now my subordinate saw someone outside claiming to be from the palace. She said the tea at Zilan Teahouse is very delicious and specifically sent you some.”

Zhao Hu quickly entered and handed a piece of Xuan paper to Lin Qinghuang.

“Oh?”

Lin Qinghuang took the Xuan paper, opened it, and saw a small piece of tea cake inside. The tea cake's aroma was very strong.

“This scent...”

Lin Qinghuang sniffed lightly, feeling as if she had smelled this scent somewhere before. She closed her eyes and quickly recalled in her mind.

A moment later.

She opened her eyes and said in a deep voice, “tianqi gold tea! There seemed to be this scent in Zhang Zai’s room before, but I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

“tianqi gold tea? Wasn’t this tea banned from sale ten years ago?”

Zhao Hu asked in surprise.

“tianqi gold tea, once popular, with a rich aroma that countless officials and nobles loved. Although it is openly banned from sale, there will definitely be people who take risks. You two immediately go to Zilan Teahouse and investigate. If they are indeed selling this tea, then take them all down.”

Lin Qinghuang said coldly.

“Understood!”

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu immediately departed.

Lin Qinghuang looked at the tea cake in her hand and murmured, “Before, I was still curious what kind of poison Lu Zhao used to kill Zhang Zai and Xu Pan that even silver needles couldn’t detect. Now it seems, it’s undoubtedly this golden tea.”

If it were ordinary wine, would Zhang Zai even bother to look at it if Lu Zhao gave it to him?

Only this precious golden tea would make Zhang Zai eager to brew and taste it.

How expensive is golden tea?

Especially after it was banned from sale, the private price must be even higher. Lu Zhao, a mere guard, naturally wouldn't be qualified to obtain such golden tea.

The cases of Zhang Zai and Xu Pan are merely the surface; many people are involved behind them.

“Oh! What are you thinking about, Qinghuang? Are you thinking of me?”

Xie Weilou entered the main hall with a smile.

Lin Qinghuang glanced at Xie Weilou and said, “Do you want to know what’s in that account book?”

“I don’t want to know.”

Xie Weilou sat down lazily to the side.

Lin Qinghuang said indifferently, “Three years ago, the Second Prince went to Baihe for disaster relief, carrying three hundred thousand taels of silver for disaster relief. The silver mysteriously disappeared, and three days later, he recovered it. Coincidentally, the Lin family also expended three hundred thousand taels of silver at that time.”

“I don’t understand. Things involving numbers give me the biggest headache.”

Xie Weilou shook his head.

As he expected, the cases of Zhang Zai and Xu Pan were a setup by someone, intended to push Lin Qinghuang to continue investigating the Second Prince.

This person could be the First Prince, or the Third Prince, or possibly other princes.

If it were the First Prince, giving the tea cake to Lu Zhao, and Lu Zhao harming the two, would be killing two birds with one stone. It would allow Lin Qinghuang to investigate the Second Prince and also follow the tea cake to investigate the Third Prince.

If it were the Third Prince, and he was the one selling the tea cake, his purpose in giving the tea cake to Lu Zhao would be to add fuel to the fire, making Lin Qinghuang investigate the Second Prince more deeply.

If it were other princes, this scheme would be to make the three princes fight amongst themselves, thereby profiting from their conflict.

Regardless of the situation, the Second Prince is the target of investigation.

In the current situation, Xie Weilou is more inclined to believe the First Prince is orchestrating everything. After all, that tea cake placed in Xu Pan's room was itself a flaw.

If the Third Prince were to do all this, he certainly wouldn't leave behind his own handle.

Regarding this, Xie Weilou also stirred things up, deliberately having Seven Nights Snow's people disguise themselves as palace staff to give the tea cake to Lin Qinghuang. Just one step could make several princes suspicious.

From the Third Prince's perspective, Zilan Teahouse being investigated and suffering heavy losses would make him suspect whether the First Prince or other princes were scheming against him.

From the First Prince's perspective, the deaths of Zhang Zai and Xu Pan, coupled with Zilan Teahouse selling golden tea, would allow him to impeach the Third Prince.

However, Zilan Teahouse selling golden tea, and the palace staff giving the information to Lin Qinghuang, would also make the First Prince somewhat confused.

Assuming the First Prince is the mastermind, he deliberately had Lu Zhao leave a small tea cake in Xu Pan's room, intending to scheme against the Third Prince.

However, now that this news has come from the palace, the Third Prince will likely suspect him first. This would be directly antagonizing the Third Prince, which is certainly not cost-effective.

One must know that the outcome of this golden tea matter would be completely different if Lin Qinghuang investigated it herself versus if the palace staff provided the information.

At such a moment, would the First Prince also suspect that someone else is scheming behind the scenes, aiming to make the three princes fight amongst themselves?

So, is there a very deeply hidden prince behind all this, watching from the sidelines?