Chapter 99 Calamity of Imprisonment!
All rich merchants’ looks completely changed when they heard what Qingshang had said.
Qingshang sneered to a higher degree after seeing this and continued, “As for the first source, these embroidery works were sold a month ago. However, the landlord has already denied it. Therefore, there is only the second possibility. These embroidery works were from the apprentices of our embroidery workshop!”
“We have never delivered works of apprentices. This rule was made by the feudal official, so even the workshop owner can’t change it.”
Jia An stepped forward with a smile. He looked at them so coldly that the sight almost froze them to death and said, “I would like to ask you a question. Where did you steal these inferior embroidery works? We destroy apprentices’ embroidery works from the embroidery workshop of the Qinghe Provincial Office every day. It seems that I really need to carefully investigate it.”
“You… Don’t talk nonsense!”
The leader of the rich merchants stammered for a long time, and could not utter one complete sentence. He finally said in exasperation, “Nice shot! Let’s wait and see!”
Seeing the rich merchants hurriedly leave like stray dogs, cheers echoed in the back hall of the embroidery workshop immediately.
“Yeah! We win!”
“Our workshop owner is remarkable. She quickly had the problem solved.”
“It is wonderful that we can prove our innocence!”
“There must be a spy in the embroidery workshop. I would skin her alive if I could know who she is.”
“…”
Jia An told the crowd to continue their work with a smile. Then he walked to Su Li and said with guilt, “Workshop owner, I lost your face.”
“Never mind. After all, you are unfamiliar with the embroidery.” Su Li waved her hand and said, “The outflow of apprentice works to the market is something serious. You must carefully investigate it. Don’t let anyone involved get away.”
“Yes!”
Jia An slightly bent down. Su Li fully convinced him in the end.
It turned out that the former workshop owner did not choose a new owner arbitrarily. He had thought that Su Li certainly would act with confusion when she met with such a problem, and that he would be the only person to solve it. Unexpectedly, the fact was completely different from what he had imagined, and she comforted him.
Then Jia An smiled bitterly.
After Su Li left the embroidery workshop, she immediately hurried to the Linli Building instead of returning to the school.
“Find out Gong Xiangjun’s current situation immediately.”
“Qu Qingning, prepare the herbs in the list. I will refine herbs in the night.”
“Fang Yuan, find out whether or not there are officers and men of the supervisor of officials in the Jin Family. Don’t be found out. The Jin Family has seniors.”
The seniors of the Linli Building almost all left after receiving the orders.
Su Li stood on the roof and looked far to the southern town. Her eyes flickered. It was hard to know what she was thinking.
“Su Li, I bought all that can be purchased and stole the rest that can’t be purchased. Have a check.”
Qu Qingning rushed in hurriedly and put a large package in front of Su Li. After glancing at the package, Su Li carried it into the underground adytum. Then she became silent.
At the same time, Yan Hongxiu holding the slivery bow sneaked off to the martial arts field. But she still didn’t see Su Li and couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Would she have to wait for another month to see her immortal master? It was too long…
“Caressing it for days makes me feel like an idiot.”
Yan Hongxiu muttered to herself. But she still put it on her back and then practiced the archery with a regular bow.
Yan Shixun secretly looked at her and felt more and more confused. His daughter had been far more enthusiastic in practicing the archery these days unexpectedly and she even carried the bow all day long. He was so puzzled by the oddity of her behavior that he had stealthily followed her for days. But he couldn’t find anything special.
He surely couldn’t know what Yan Hongxiu was thinking.
“Forget it! Forget it! Let her be mischievous in the last year. She has greatly been influenced by Ziye…”
Yan Shixun’s eyes lost their glow when he thought of Ziye. He thought, “Ziye, the martial arts circle is far more complicated than you have imagined. You will understand my good intentions when you become older. The circle… is not for the common.”
Late at night, the starlight became dimmer.
Squeak…
The wooden door of the underground adytum was opened. The flavor of herbs could be faintly smelled. Su Li walked out with a weary look. What she had refined today severely affected her mind.
“Are you all right?”
Fang Yuan had never seen Su Li with such an expression, so he couldn’t help but asking her.
Su Li glanced at him and said while putting a bottle of white powder in his hand, “You probably have already found out the whereabouts of Butler Jin. After the day breaks, if I… you…”
Fang Yuan’s look slightly changed when he heard what she had said. He clenched the bottle and asked, “Is there no other way?”
Su Li smiled freely to answer, “Then will you come up with a better solution?”
Fang Yuan instantly became silent. After a while, he put away the bottle and said calmly, “I will do it by myself if what you said doesn’t work.”
Su Li didn’t answer him anymore. She turned to Qu Qingning and gave him a letter, “Send this letter to Yan Ziye in secret. I believe he will know what to do after seeing the letter. By the way, what about Heidan and others’ intelligence?”
Qu Qingning instantly said in bewilderment after hearing that, “Su Li, how do you know Gong Xiangjun was suffering from a serious disease? Did you poison her?”
Su Li couldn’t help but shake her head and said, “Even Yin Xuetong is smarter than you. I really don’t know the reason why she fell in love with you.”
“You!” Qu Qingning stared at her and said angrily, “Forget it. I will ask Xuetong.”
Fang Yuan felt helpless. How could she crack a joke at this critical time?
…
After the day broke, Su Li returned to the courtyard of the school. Mammy Li, who just woke up, saw Su Li sitting in the central room. She instantly asked, “Miss, why do you get up so early?”
Su Li lowered her head and tidied her clothes. Then she said calmly, “I don’t want to be too embarrassed.”
“What?” Mammy Li said with a confused look.
Suddenly —
Boom!!
The wooden door of the yard was opened by tremendous force and fell on the ground into two pieces. Then a group of officers and men with swords in their hands aggressively rushed in. They immediately surrounded Su Li when they saw her.
“Workshop Owner Su, the Supervisory Division suspects that you have ganged up with embroidery merchants to rake in profits! The supervisor of officials ordered that you should be put into prison from today and wait for further investigation!”
Mammy Li slightly trembled after hearing that. She was about to argue with the incomers, but they put a sword on her neck. She didn’t dare to move.
It seemed that Su Li hadn’t seen the swords. She said coldly, “What they said yesterday is merely slander. I am the owner of the embroidery workshop, which means that I have the same status as the supervisor of officials and the satrap. How dare you to arrest me without sufficient proofs! You are not afraid that the satrap will report to officials in Yunjing, are you?”
The leader’s look slightly changed after hearing that. But he immediately sneered, “Workshop Owner Su, you are too serious. We just want you to cooperate with the investigation! If you have any grievance, you certainly could explain to the supervisor of officials! Take her away.”
Then two men tried to press Su Li’s hands.
Su Li angrily flung off their hands. She said angrily, “How dare you! I will walk by myself! I’d like to know how the supervisor of officials will slander an innocent person!”
The leader ridiculed her in heart. He had never seen anybody who could walk out safe and sound after being put into the prison of the Supervisory Division.
But he remained polite ostensibly and said, “Then Workshop Owner Su, please.”
The officers and men of the Supervisory Division directly took Su Li from the entrance door of the school, which immediately caused a great disturbance in the entire Qinghe Town.
“What? Su Li was arrested by the Supervisory Division?”
Wen Ruomin was so angry that she patted the table. Then she asked anxiously, “When did that happen? Damn it! The Jin Family took action as soon as Sister Gong was ill. They are truly well-informed. I must go to the Satrap’s Mansion. Su Li will be all right.”
The Linli Building immediately got the news because they had sent an informer in advance. Fang Yuan and Qu Qingning couldn’t help but slightly shake. They immediately did what Su Li had asked at the same time.
“Su Li was arrested? By the Jin Family?”
Yan Hongxiu was eating the breakfast when she heard the unexpected news. She was almost choked to death.
“Miss, I also just heard of it. Su Li will be all right, right?”
Huan anxiously asked. Although that little lecturer seemed to be very strict, the miss’s temperament and embroidery skills had greatly been improved. How could such a good lecturer do bad things?
“I will tell my father about it!”
Yan Hongxiu ran out with the bow on her back before she finished eating the breakfast. Although she had said that she was fed up with Su Li, she started to panic when she heard that Su Li was arrested by the vicious Jin Family.
“Su Li, hold on!”
Yan Hongxiu didn’t find her father when she came to his yard. She was told by the butler that her father had already gone to the Supervisory Division to ask for a reason.
Meanwhile, Yan Ziye didn’t get worried when he got the news. Although the trouble for the embroidery workshop was unfavorable to the Yan Family, he couldn’t help based on his status and abilities. He didn’t want to make trouble for his father.
“Whirr!”
Suddenly, a dart was shot into the study and nailed in front of Yan Ziye. It was less than one inch from his hand.
“Who are you?”
Yan Ziye became nervous and immediately jumped out of the window. But he couldn’t find anyone after looking around. Then he returned to the study and took down the dart. His look immediately changed after seeing the content of the scrip.
“Ms. Li…”
Yan Ziye’s breath immediately changed from helplessness to confidence after seeing the small characters in the scrip. Then he immediately burned it.
He had never thought Ms. Li would involve in it. He certainly could make much trouble for the Jin Family as long as he acted according to the plan and stop the Jin Family getting the embroidery workshop!
“Father, let me help you this time!” Yan Ziye went out with confidence when he thought about this.
In the mansion of the Supervisory Division, Yan Shixun was sullenly looking at the head of the Jin Family, Jin Zhentian who wore the robe of the supervisor of officials.
“Jin Zhentian, you have gone too far this time. How dare you to arrest the workshop owner without any evidence. Do you truly believe that you own the entire Qinghe Province?”
The event about the Tiger Village and Wu Lin had already made his endurance reach its limit. He was extremely shocked by what happened to the workshop owner. If Jin Zhentian couldn’t give him a reasonable explanation, he definitely wouldn’t scruple to start a fighting directly.
He would never balk even if that had meant the loss at both sides!
However, Jin Zhentian smiled and said, “Satrap Yan, rest assured! I am acting according to the rules. Yesterday, a group of rich merchants vented their grievance to me. They said the embroidery workshop had taken a lot of their silver. They were kicked out when they went to the embroidery workshop to argue. And they showed me the inferior embroidery works. Since there were both the human testimony and material evidence, I certainly have no choice but to invite Embroidery Owner Su here for a thorough investigation.”
Yan Shixun’s eyebrows puckered after hearing that and he said, “Jin Zhentian! You should know the regulations of the Supervisory Division better than me. We can’t obtain a confession by means of torture. You have arrested Su Li without further investigation. Have you respected the regulations of the Dahan Country?”
“Satrap Yan, I disagreed with you. Workshop Owner Su is also a paramount and powerful person. If I had arrested her after conducting an investigation, wouldn’t the information be leaked out easily?
Jin Zhentian beamed with happiness. He looked exactly like a smiling tiger.
“Rules are dead, but people are living. So I have to make such an unwise decision, arresting her first. However, Satrap Yan, please be assured. I will take good care of Workshop Owner Su. I promise that she will be safe and sound during the investigation. If Satrap Yan can prove that Su Li is innocent, I will immediately let her go.”
Yan Shixun’s face was livid with anger. He couldn’t help but snort after they looked at each other for a while. Then he went off in a huff. It made no sense that he continued to waste time here since Jin Zhentian had made adequate preparation. At present, he could only hope that the so-called rich merchants hadn’t gone very far.
Looking at the blue sky and bright sun, Yan Shixun deeply sighed after walking out of the Supervisory Division.
“Workshop Owner Su, I… I am afraid that I can’t save you this time!”