No, I was just a concubine, how did I become the queen?

Chapter 529 Hiding the Head and Tail

When Hu Rong received the news, his subordinates were reporting to him about the fabrics of the season.

When he heard that an official from the Shenjiying had arrived, his expression changed. He immediately put down what he was doing and came out to greet him with a smile.

"Lord Lin has come, and I'm sorry for not coming in person to welcome you," Hu Rong greeted him neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Lin Mingyan looked around quietly and saw an elegant middle-aged man.

He was about thirty years old, with a small mustache and gentle eyes.

Their highest status was also that of a sixth-rank official, but officials from Beijing were always more noble than local officials.

The Fourth Master raised his hand to let him off the hook, exchanged a few words of greeting, and then began to give orders.

The task has already been written, just give it to Hu Rong.

When Hu Rong received the order to produce firearms and ammunition, he paid even more attention to "Lord Lin".

"The manufacturing site is near Jinling. Lord Lin, would you like to join me there?" He invited carefully.

As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Mingyan's face, wondering why he brought his wife with him on business trip.

However, remembering that this mission was secretly issued by His Majesty, it seemed normal for Lord Lin to use the pretext of traveling to the south of the Yangtze River with his wife.

Before Lin Mingyan and the other person could explain anything, Hu Rong had already used his imagination to make up a story about the unreasonableness.

The Fourth Master was not interested in weapons manufacturing, and he was a sensible man who would not place himself in a place where gunpowder was stored.

He gave Hu Rong a look, asking him to dismiss the others around him, and then said mysteriously: "Sir Hu, I came here this time not only with an open mission, but also a hidden mission."

"Oh?" Hu Rong's heart trembled, and he looked up at the Fourth Master.

The Fourth Master snorted coldly, "Bold Hu Rong, you colluded with officials from Nanjing and put the people of Jiangnan in dire straits, and you... still refuse to plead guilty?!"

Hu Rong was startled by his sudden aura and quickly cried out, "Master Lin, this is unfair!"

"I have been diligent and honest in my duties and have never formed cliques or engaged in personal gain."

"What a crime!"

"Oh? You still dare to cry out for injustice?" The Fourth Master's expression became even uglier. He slammed the table and said, "Then how do you explain the sweet potato tax in Jiangnan?!"

"This...taxation is not something that the manufacturing industry can control," Hu Rong expressed even more aggrieved.

The Fourth Master said coldly, "Taxation is not under the jurisdiction of the Jiangning Weaving Supervisor, but are you completely disregarding the Jiangning Weaving Supervisor's duty to monitor officials and movements in Jiangnan?"

Lin Mingyan then realized that in addition to being a royal merchant and a military base, the Jiangning Weaving Factory also served as the emperor's eyes and ears.

Jiangnan is far away from the capital, and many secret sources of information are the three major weaving factories.

Among them, the Jiangnan Weaving Factory, because Cao Yin was the foster brother of Emperor Kangxi, the news could be directly reported to the emperor.

However, after Emperor Kangxi passed away and the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, such big things happened in Nanjing and even in Jiangnan, but the Jiangning Weaving Factory did not make any move.

It's either dereliction of duty or collusion with those corrupt officials!

Lin Mingyan's eyes also became sharp. She didn't expect that the person she was optimistic about was such a person.

Hu Rong did not kneel down and beg for mercy, but looked at them carefully and suddenly knelt down.

He whispered, "May the Emperor be well and may the Empress be well."

Lin Mingyan was startled, and the Fourth Master was also surprised that he suddenly recognized her.

However, he refused to admit it and said sternly, "Master Hu must have been frightened out of his wits!"

Hu Rong, however, refused to respond. He knelt down and said respectfully, "You came to Jiangnan just because you read the memorial I handed to Her Majesty, didn't you?"

"If this news could really reach you, I would have no regrets even if I died."

Lin Mingyan turned around and looked at the Fourth Master in surprise, only to find that he was calm and composed.

Then he understood: "Master? Did you know there was trouble in Jiangnan from Lord Hu's memorial?"

No wonder after her persuasion, the workaholic Fourth Master not only followed her out of the palace, but also specifically said that he wanted to go to the south of the Yangtze River for a trip.

She thought his career situation had improved, but she didn't expect it to be any better at all.

The Fourth Master smiled at her soothingly, "That memorial is very ambiguous. It means that there is a problem in Jiangnan, and the weaving factory cannot pass on the news."

"Originally, I was thinking of sending someone to investigate, but there really isn't anyone available right now. It's better for me to go there myself."

Lin Mingyan thought about it and realized that it was no wonder that Hu San always mentioned words like Jiangnan and weaving in his memorial. It turned out that he did it to hide the beginning and the end.

"Master Hu, what is going on?"

Hu Rong then spoke slowly, "Two years ago, I discovered the problem of arbitrary taxation in the Jiangnan region."

"We haven't heard anything about the court's so-called tax-free policy for the first three years of sweet potato cultivation."

"At first, officials were frustrated by the push to grow sweet potatoes, but gradually everyone quieted down."

"Either this family has bought a new house, or that one has married a beautiful bride."

"I discovered something was amiss, so I secretly gathered evidence and handed it to Lord Cao."

"But that was because Emperor Kangxi was in poor health. I don't know what Lord Cao was thinking, so he suppressed the memorial."

"Later, I submitted it again, but still nothing happened. I even received a reprimand from Lord Cao."

"Later, I discovered that news from Jiangnan could no longer be delivered to the capital."

The Fourth Master tapped his fingers on the table. "So, you wrote a flattering letter of greeting and submitted it to the Empress?"

Hu Rong lowered his head in shame. "I really have no other choice. I heard that after the Empress recommended Master Dai Zi, many people wanted to follow the Empress's path."

"I have come up with a plan to write this memorial. After Lord Cao has reviewed it, I will have the opportunity to send it out..."

He was just desperate and tried every possible means to cure his illness. He did not expect that such a memorial would attract the attention of the court.

Unexpectedly, not only did the Empress see it, but the Emperor also discovered the clues and really traced it back to Jiangnan.

God bless you...

After figuring out the whole story, the Fourth Master finally dispelled his doubts.

Since Hu Rong was a loyal man and had already collected a lot of evidence, he adopted two approaches.

Let him continue to investigate in depth, and together with Lin Hai, they can work on a two-pronged approach to thoroughly investigate this major case in the Jiangnan officialdom.

Before Lin Mingyan had the chance to ask who were the members of the Cao family and whether there really was a young man born with a jade in his mouth, the Cao family was about to be in trouble.

After everything was arranged, the Fourth Master left behind a few secret guards who were good at using muskets to protect Lin Hai and the other two, and then took Lin Mingyan back to Beijing.

In the next few months, everyone in the Jiangnan officialdom was in danger.

One corrupt official after another was exposed, and the wealth behind them was staggering.

What's even more shocking is that the Wang and Cao families, the powerful families in Jinling, spent more than seven days and seven nights to confiscate their property...