Shen Simin then told Shen Yuhang in detail what had just happened in the main hall from beginning to end.
"Brother, I heard that a lot of merchants have been arrested outside recently, and most of them are smuggling salt! Do you think our family will be involved?" Shen Simin tightly grabbed Shen Yuhang's arm and asked nervously with a worried look on her face.
"What did Grandfather and the others say?" Shen Yuhang's thought was simple. Shen Zhuo was now an official in the Ministry of Revenue. Among everyone in the Shen Mansion, he was the one who could see the situation most clearly. If there was really something wrong, Shen Zhuo would start planning and preparing at the first moment.
However, Shen Simin shook her head vigorously and said helplessly, "Grandfather and the others have been talking about the money that Uncle and Aunt were cheated out of! Aunt lost as much as 30,000 taels of silver! It's a pity that all of it is gone now! I've never seen so much silver!"
Shen Yuhang silently listened to Shen Simin's nonsense for a while. After she finished, he comforted her, "Don't worry! Since Grandfather hasn't said anything for now, it means this matter won't involve our family. There won't be any trouble!"
"But... but... I always feel that..." Shen Simin recalled the words she had overheard just now and didn't know how to start. "Brother! I think Grandfather and Aunt are worried about those tens of thousands of taels of silver now. They haven't even thought about whether the court will find out."
Although Shen Simin didn't want to admit it, she still voiced her speculation.
"Brother! What should we do now?" Shen Simin squatted beside Shen Yuhang's wheelchair, her eyebrows tightly knitted.
It was well - known that the Dongling Kingdom attached great importance to the salt industry. As long as someone smuggled more than one catty of salt, they would be beaten with thirty heavy boards. If it was more than ten catties, they would be beheaded. If the quantity was even larger, their family might very likely be raided.
"Simin, don't be afraid. Things haven't reached that point yet! We still have time to make a plan!"
"How can we plan? Should we go and remind Grandfather and the others? Brother, we can't do that. Otherwise, Grandmother will surely suspect me. Then..."
"Simin, don't worry. I won't go! Give me some time to think of a way. There must be a way! Our Shen family can't be in trouble!"
Hearing this, Shen Simin suddenly let go of Shen Yuhang's hand and said, "Brother! Have you forgotten how your leg was injured? Now you still think about them like this. They won't appreciate your kindness at all!"
"Brother, let's go! Let's go find Father and Mother, okay? If we're not in the capital, it means we have nothing to do with this matter and we're unaware of it. Maybe we'll all be okay then!"
Facing the expectation and hope on Shen Simin's face, Shen Yuhang patted the top of her head. "Simin, she is who she is. Anyway, I'm also a part of the Shen family. It's only right to think about the family."
"Moreover, things haven't reached that point yet. Let's not think too pessimistically. Maybe nothing will happen in the end. We're just scaring ourselves half to death here!"
Looking at the smile on Shen Yuhang's face, Shen Simin couldn't bear to uncover her brother's old wound anymore. So she lowered her head and stopped talking.
"Brother! If something really goes wrong in the end, you must go with me to find Mother and Father, okay? I miss them!" Shen Simin looked into Shen Yuhang's eyes and said word by word. Then she rested her head on his knee and lay there obediently.
"Okay! Brother will take you to find Mother and Father then!"
...
In the imperial study, Emperor Dongling was sitting on the dragon throne. He had been looking at the letter in his hand for almost half an hour, but he still kept staring at it. Shen Yi was standing not far in front of Emperor Dongling.
At this moment, there were only the two of them in the entire imperial study. Even Eunuch Li had gone out.
"It's simply outrageous! I didn't expect that there would be such a place within our Dongling Kingdom. On the surface, they're doing the business of bandits, but secretly they're so bold as to collude with court officials and smuggle salt! I think they're so bold that they don't want to live anymore!" Emperor Dongling slapped the letter on the table, extremely angry.
"Your Majesty, please calm down! I've sent people to investigate Panguzhai many times. They have strict defenses inside. It does seem different from an ordinary bandit stronghold! Although Panguzhai is easy to defend but hard to attack, after all, it's just a group of bandits inside. It may take some effort to solve them, but the rewards will also be quite substantial."
Listening to Shen Yi's analysis, Emperor Dongling felt that it was much better than those words like "Take care of your precious body and don't be angry".
"Shen Yi, do you have the confidence to help me capture Panguzhai in one fell swoop?"
Shen Yi bowed to Emperor Dongling and said, "Your Majesty, I'm confident that I can help Your Majesty capture Panguzhai!"
Emperor Dongling stroked his beard contentedly and said to Shen Yi, "Good, Shen Yi. Then I'll dispatch 8,000 imperial guards to assist you. And I'll also send my Fourth Prince to help you out!"
"I dare not!"
"Shen Yi, don't worry. I'm leaving the matter of Panguzhai to you this time. I'm just sending Hanzhi there because I want him to learn something. But you must protect his safety at all costs this time."
"Yes! Your Majesty! I will surely protect the safety of the Prince."
This time, Shen Yi leading the army to besiege Panguzhai was a secret order from Emperor Dongling. Although Shen Yi didn't tell Shen Li, Shen Li still guessed it from Shen Yi's actions in the past few days.
Shen Li hoped that this life would be better than the last one! If Panguzhai didn't sell the salt to that mysterious buyer, who was from the Xiyue Kingdom, otherwise, the next step of Xiyue would be to break the alliance and invade the Dongling Kingdom.
Shen Yi secretly left the Night Shade Division with some guards and killers. When Shen Yi left, Shen Li had already made preparations and planned to go to Panguzhai to check it out.
But Shen Li didn't expect that Xuanyuan Jue also knew about this matter. Moreover, Xuanyuan Jue had been waiting for Shen Li outside the city.
Shen Li glanced at Xuanyuan Jue standing right in the middle of the road. He paused slightly, about to stop his light - footed skills and land. But seeing Xuanyuan Jue with his arms folded across his chest, his face cold and with an aura of "keep away from strangers" all around him. So he didn't stop and just flew past from the side using his light - footed skills.
Seeing Shen Li leave without hesitation, Xuanyuan Jue was extremely annoyed and his face became even more gloomy.
"Good for you, Shen Li. I didn't even argue with you about what happened in the Prefectural Magistrate's Office that day, but now you're the one getting angry with me. You just left without even looking at me! Good! It's really great, Shen Li!"
Although Xuanyuan Jue was angry on his face, his feet didn't stop at all. He flew towards Panguzhai using his light - footed skills.