Chapter 18 Major Discovery
"My Lord, what do you think? Does it taste different?"

“It’s pretty much the same.”

After Ximen Qing finished speaking, he pulled Manager Li aside and started to complain to him.

"I was really drugged at the time. Manager, you are also a man. Any normal man with a turban would not do that to Wang Po."

"How could I not know the difficulties of the great official?"

Manager Li patted his hand and said, "But the government requires evidence. You can't just accuse good people. Wu Da sold thousands of buns in two days, and no customer said there was anything wrong. How can your example make sense? By the way, did you drink tea at that time?"

“There are drinks.”

"Isn't that okay?"

After some reasoning by Manager Li, he actually pointed the finger back at Wang Po.

Ximen Qing was stunned and muttered to himself, "Although that old fellow is hateful, he would not go so far as to pull out the teeth of a tiger and plot against me."

"There are always exceptions to everything. Your Excellency should think about the aftermath."

"Although I don't have a good reputation, I don't want people to gossip about me. Can you handle this more cleanly?"

Ximen Qing took out the wooden box again and also gave his bottom line requirements.

This time, Manager Li generously embraced her and said, "I just said that the Prime Minister will not wrongly accuse a good person. Since the Master is so sincere, he will definitely clear your name."

“Hopefully soon.”

"In that case, I will go back and report immediately. Whether it succeeds or not, I know the rules."

Manager Li patted the wooden box, implying that he would return the money if the job was not done well. Ximen Qing then sent him out of the house.

When the two of them walked out the door, it was already dark.

As Ximen Qing said goodbye and turned around, Manager Li suddenly called him from behind.

"With your intelligence, you shouldn't be deceived by Wang Po, but why do you believe that Wu Dutou is trying to harm you?"

"The manager is not an outsider, so I won't hide it. A few days ago, when the snow first fell, at this time, Wu Dutou came to my herbal medicine shop and bought two bottles of aphrodisiacs, so I am so sure."

Manager Li was startled when he heard this, and quickly asked, "Since he took office, Wudutou has been eating and living with the soldiers and archers. What's the point of him buying aphrodisiacs? The master didn't recognize the wrong person, did he?"

"My shopkeeper has a very good eye, there is no way he would make a mistake. As for what Wu Song did with it, I don't know. Maybe..."

Ximen Qing fell in love with Pan Jinlian. Since he learned that Wu Song had an affair with her, he couldn't help but regard him as an enemy. At this time, he still had doubts about Wu Song.

"Haha, got it. Wait for my good news."

Manager Li smiled leisurely, then left in a hurry, leaving Ximen Qing frowning in the wind.

Is there really something wrong with the tea?

I was fine while drinking tea for a while, but I lost my mind after eating a bun. It must be the bun that had problems.

Or is it dosage related?

"The Tiger Goes Down the Mountain" and "The Brave Woman" are new products bought from Tokyo. Should I find someone to try them again?
Manager Li brought the wooden box back, and the county magistrate was so delighted that he took out two large silver ingots as a reward.

"Wulang, Ximen Qing's conditions are a bit harsh, do you have any good ideas?"

"It is better to stop the people from talking than to stop the river from flooding. Ximen Qing slept with Wang Po. It is impossible to force the people to shut up, but it is best to cover it up with other major events and make people forget it by diverting their attention."

"That's what I meant. It is said that Wang Po has only one son who lives away from home. Prime Minister En can accuse her of something. Anyway, now that she is dead, there is no evidence. Ximen Qing has done this to get rid of the harm to the people. Isn't his bad reputation turned into a good one?"

“good good”

The magistrate clapped his hands and said "good" three times, then touched the wooden box and asked again: "What crime should be charged with? If you want to do it, you have to do it perfectly, so that Ximen Dalang will feel that the money is worth it."

"Just now at Ximen's house, he gave me inspiration"

Manager Li speculated that Wang Po had drugged Ximen Qing in her tea and raped him to extort money, and suggested sending someone to Wang Po's teahouse to frame her, which would turn the situation around.

"Very good, I'll leave this matter to you."

The magistrate was relieved and added: "Wu Lang, don't refuse to work hard. Go to find Ximen Qing tonight. First, tell him our idea. Second, the people need time to change. We suggest that he go to other places to relax. Third, ask him to get some aphrodisiacs, so that it will be more convenient for you to do your work."

"That Wudutou."

"Wu Song is very useful to me, don't bring him into this. A tiger-killing hero wouldn't do this. It must be Ximen Qing talking nonsense."

"No need to worry, I'll do it right away."

The magistrate had been in office for more than two years. He was smooth in his conduct and had a good reputation among officials. He also accumulated a lot of money.

He wanted to find someone to send the silver to Tokyo and ask his relatives to help him get a promotion, but he was afraid that the money would be robbed by thieves on the way.

When he recommended Wu Song as the captain, he had already had this idea in mind. He had been observing Wu Song secretly during this period and saw that he was a brave and righteous man who could be entrusted with important matters. The next morning, when the roll call was made, the magistrate kept Wu Song.

"Yesterday's incident caused a lot of uproar. Manager Li has already questioned Ximen Qing. The county thinks Wang Po is also a suspect."

"Is Wang Po a suspect?"

Wu Song had been in the martial arts world for a long time and was well versed in the ways of the world. Although he understood that the magistrate wanted to help Ximen Qing exonerate himself, he did not expect the excuse to be so perfunctory, so he could not help but interrupt him.

"Yes."

The magistrate stroked his beard and nodded, then took out a few more letters and placed them on the table, adding in a serious tone, "Although Wang Po is dead, we cannot rule out her innocence. This morning when the county government opened its doors, we found several anonymous letters left behind, reporting Wang Po for stealing."

"Eun-sang's meaning."

"Since someone has reported it, our county cannot sit idly by. I'd like the captain to send a team to search her teahouse carefully to see if there are any clues."

"Yes."

Wu Song bowed and said goodbye to the magistrate, went to the classroom to call a group of people, and then went straight to Zi Shi Street.

Yang Chang was traveling with them all the way. Thinking of the huge reversal of events, he said to himself, "This is a really powerful move. It directly turned the plaintiff into the defendant."

"Ahem, Sanlang, be careful with your words."

Wu Song frowned upon hearing this and reminded, "Just do your job with all your heart. After all, someone has written a letter to report it, and it would be inappropriate not to investigate."

"Hey, I didn't say it was wrong. I fully support it."

Yang Chang responded with a smile on his face, feeling regretful that he did not drag Ximen Qing into the water.

Later, when they arrived at Zi Shi Street, Wu Song saw Manager Li outside the teahouse from afar, so he strode towards him.

"Why is the steward here?"

"Brother Dutou makes great buns. I came here to try them because of his reputation. They are really delicious."

"Thank you for your support, Steward."

Manager Li took out the buns, and Wu Song nodded with sudden realization, and clasped his fists to express his gratitude.

"I heard from Minister En this morning that the captain came here to investigate the scene?"

"Exactly."

"I have nothing to do today, so how about I accompany the captain?"

"I'll be grateful for your guidance, Manager."

Manager Li's request was very presumptuous. Wu Song guessed that the other party might have come here on orders, so he immediately agreed with a smile.

In fact, the scene was inspected yesterday, but it was limited to Wang Po's bedroom. Today, the search was expanded to the entire house, and the soldiers under his command searched through all the boxes and cabinets for evidence.

As the saying goes, a horse cannot grow fat without night grass. The yamen runners would put the valuables they found into their own pockets. This was an unwritten rule when conducting house searches during investigations.

While everyone was searching, Manager Li, an outsider who was watching the show, said something that surprised Yang Chang.

"Don't just search the surface, don't miss any area inside the teahouse. It's best to dig deep into the ground to find clues, so that the people can see how thorough we are."

"Did everyone hear that? You guys follow Manager Li's instructions first. I'm going to go next door to buy some buns as a reward. Sanlang, you come with me."

"okay."

Yang Chang swallowed and thought that he had not had the chance to dig out the secret he found yesterday, but Manager Li got there first. It seemed that he had no luck with wealth.

When he and Wu Song arrived at Wu Da's stall, Yang Chang found that Yun Ge was not there, so he asked, "Brother, why didn't Yun Ge come to help? Didn't we agree on the wages yesterday?"

"It was agreed upon. He was very happy at that time, but for some reason he didn't come. Sanlang helped me to bring it."

Wu Da originally wanted to ask Yang Chang for help, but suddenly he remembered what Wu Song said yesterday and stopped abruptly.

"It's okay, just help Big Brother first, I have to be busy next door for a while."

"Oh"

Yang Chang went into the house with a suspicious look on his face, while Wu Song stood beside him like a pine or cypress.

He left Wang Po Teahouse on the pretext of something just to create an opportunity for Manager Li.

About half an hour later, a yamen runner suddenly jumped out of the teahouse.

When he saw Wu Song, he exclaimed: "Captain, come quickly, we have made an important discovery!"

(End of this chapter)