Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

Jiang Yin stared at Master Puhui intently, hoping to get some clues or even hints from Master Puhui.

However, she was disappointed in the end.

Master Pu Hui shook his head and sighed, "I heard about it, but I don't know who it is. However, the Royal Tea Garden is fine."

What he meant was that this had indeed happened and he knew about it, but as long as the Royal Tea Garden, which he was in charge of, was fine, he didn't care about anything else.

Jiang Yin choked and said with some resentment: "Master Puhui has done a great deed. Can you help me figure out who the murderer is?"

The calculations by the enlightened monk with his fingers were more effective than her hard work and faster.

However, Master Pu Hui just smiled and said, "Amitabha, a man should not talk about strange things. Donor Jiang should be pragmatic."

If everything can be calculated, then there won't even be a need for government offices.

Don’t you talk about strange things, supernatural powers, or demons?

Jiang Yin's eyelids twitched slightly. He didn't understand how Master Puhui could say these words in the temple while twisting his Buddhist beads.

Jiang Si Niang couldn't help but pull Jiang Yin's sleeve and whispered, "A Yin, don't worry. We will find the murderer in time. Don't make things difficult for Master Pu Hui."

She really wanted to knock open A Yin's brain to see what was inside. She even had a crazy idea and wanted Master Pu Hui to be the murderer.

"Don't worry, Fourth Mother. I was just joking." Jiang Yin chuckled, patted her hand to comfort her, and then bowed to Master Pu Hui and said, "Then we won't bother Master Pu Hui. I will come to burn incense for my parents another day."

The eternal lamps for her parents have been lit. Whenever she has time in the future, she will come up to burn incense for them.

Master Pu Hui nodded, stood there and watched them leave, the smile in his eyes gradually deepening.

After leaving Zhiju Temple, Jiang Yin and his companions continued up the mountain along this road.

This road is also a small path on the back mountain of Shangqing Peak. Not far up, you will see the tea mountain fence set up by the Jiang family.

Because the times have been turbulent recently, there are more guards patrolling outside the fence, and some are hiding in the dark.

Entering through the gate of the fence, you will see the Jiang family tea mountain. However, as soon as he entered, Jiang Yin discovered traces of soil renovation.

She squatted down and poked the newly renovated soil on the ground. It was loose. The roots of the tea tree were also exposed. It was obvious that someone had dug out the tea tree's nest.

Jiang Yin pursed her lips, took out the booklet that Si Niang gave her yesterday and flipped through it, then turned her head to Si Niang and asked, "Was this not there yesterday?"

The records in the booklet were up to yesterday, but it did not mention anything unusual near the fence.

I don’t know if it was missed or it was indeed newly added.

Jiang Si Niang, who also squatted down, said solemnly, "This is a new addition. I inspected the area before I went down the mountain yesterday and found nothing unusual. I guess someone must have taken the opportunity to come in and steal the soil last night."

She was furious. What kind of thief was so rampant that he came to steal soil every day.

If this continues, the entire mountain will be emptied.

Jiang Yin frowned slightly, waved to the people who were patrolling and standing guard not far away, and called him over.

When the person came up to her, she asked, "Did anyone else come here last night?"

She pointed to the area where the soil had been renovated and continued, "This place in particular, has anyone stayed here?"

If the guards saw it but did not stop it, then it is very likely that it was done by Jiang's own people.

The guard bowed and said, "Madam, I was on patrol last night and didn't see any outsiders coming. Only Uncle De and Guard Heng came."

"You stayed here last night?" Jiang Yin narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did the two of them do here, and how long did they stay?"

She could understand Wang Heng coming over, after all, it was arranged by her. But it was different for Jiang Dewang, as she did not arrange for him to go up the mountain at night.

Could it be that Jiang Dewang couldn't let go of the tea mountain so late at night and had to go up the mountain?

In short, Jiang Yin would definitely not believe this reason.

The guard replied, "My lady, I stayed here all night and didn't leave. Guard Heng came down from the mountain and passed by here. Uncle De couldn't leave the tea trees behind, so he went in to check."

"Oh? Check?"

What kind of inspection is done by turning over the soil? And not only turning over the soil, but also stealing the soil.

Jiang Yin hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand to let the guard leave. He also told him to keep an eye on the tea mountain and record who came and went, no matter who they were.

She now feels that no one can be trusted, but she still has to entrust these things to them.

As for whether the news is reliable or not, she will judge it herself.

The further you go up the mountain, the more you can find that the soil has been renovated occasionally. If nothing unexpected happens, these are all stolen soil.

Fortunately, there was only less soil in these places, and the tea trees were not damaged. The area where the tea trees were withered and yellowed was only halfway up the mountain where they were discovered earlier.

Today, the tea trees halfway up the mountain are even more withered and yellow than yesterday.

Jiang Yin no longer had any hope for this and was preparing to collect all the old tea from previous years and hand it in separately or mix it with new tea.

There is not much old tea, and it is mixed with so much new tea that unless you are an expert, you cannot taste it.

After visiting Shangqing Peak, Jiang Yin went to Lingjiao Peak.

The situation at Lingjiao Peak is better than that at Shangqing Peak. The soil here has not been renovated, and even the yellow and dry soil halfway up the mountain is much better than that at Shangqing Peak.

Jiang Yin was thoughtful. It seemed that the murderer behind the scenes wanted Shangqing Peak more.

However, seeing that he could not get it now, he began to think of ways to take the soil from Shangqing Peak away.

After touring the two tea mountains, it was already past noon. Jiang Yin hurriedly took Si Niang and Xiao Luo down the mountain, and also took some withered tea trees and soil.

She invited Jiang Si Niang to have lunch in her courtyard and told her that she was going back to Yazhou City and would be back the next morning.

"What are you going back to Yazhou City for?" Jiang Si Niang asked with some concern, "Yazhou City has been in turmoil recently, how about I go back with you?"

However, Jiang Yin shook his head and said, "It's okay, Fourth Lady, don't worry. Yazhou City is close, nothing will happen. Besides, if Fourth Uncle wants to see it, he will have to participate in the Autumn Examination. Fourth Lady should accompany him more."

Fang Wenyuan took part in the imperial examination last year and passed with the last place, becoming a juren.

It happens that the Autumn Examination will be held this autumn. If you can pass it, you will become a tribute scholar.

If you become a Gongshi, you can go to Tokyo to participate in the next year's spring examination. If you can pass the spring examination and become a Jinshi, then you have one foot in the officialdom.

If one can pass the Spring Examination, the next step is the Palace Examination. After passing the Palace Examination, the government will grant the Jinshi an official title and they will become a formal official.

The Jiang family has been engaged in business for generations, not politics. If Fang Wenyuan can successfully enter the officialdom, he will be the first person in the Jiang family to engage in politics.

However, Jiang Yin did not think that being in the officialdom was that good. A higher-ranking official could crush a person to death. If one did not have a foundation, one would be easily treated as an ant and slaughtered by others even if one rose and fell in the officialdom.

In her opinion, someone like Fang Wenyuan, who is calm and non-competitive, would be more suitable to be sent out to be a county magistrate.