The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

County Magistrate Wang and Ambassador Cang suspected each other, but neither dared to accuse the other of being the mastermind, since they had no evidence and could not afford to break off relations.

Wang Zhubu, Xia Dianli, and others were also startled.

Oh my god, who on earth replaced the good grain with the bad rice? Couldn't they have waited a while before doing it? Didn't they know that Lord Sun was going to do random inspections?

Sun Shan coldly surveyed the surroundings, carefully observing the expressions on everyone's faces, not even sparing the lowliest henchmen.

Sun Shan said coldly, "Now, immediately, open all the grain pens that haven't been inspected."

If one grain depot has moldy and sprouted grain, it's likely that other grain depots have also been compromised.

A grain pen doesn't hold much grain, so the value of the crime is too small. If you don't exchange for several grain pens, how can you justify all the hard work of "planning"?

Ambassador Cang remained kneeling on the ground, not daring to get up. Upon hearing Suan's order, he quickly replied, "Yes, sir, I will check now."

We've already been busy with the random inspections for most of the day, and we still have to check all the grain pens that weren't inspected. We can't finish without working through the night.

But working overtime and staying up late is not important at all. What is important is who actually replaced the food?

Ambassador Cang still considers County Magistrate Wang as the prime suspect.

Magistrate Wang, who also considered Envoy Xue the prime suspect, stepped forward and suggested, "Sir, should we send more people to inspect? Envoy Xue's men are insufficient, so we must speed up the inspection."

County Magistrate Wang believed that the innocent would remain innocent and was not afraid of being investigated.

Therefore, it was proposed to increase manpower to prevent Xue Cangshi from cheating and exchanging the bad rice in the grain shed for good rice.

Even without Magistrate Wang saying so, Sun Shan would send his own people to do it.

No one in the government office can be trusted except for the guards of the Sun family.

Sun Shan pointed at Sun Dali and said, "Have Guard Sun investigate with you. I need the results before you go on duty tomorrow!"

County Magistrate Wang and Ambassador Cang both breathed a sigh of relief, believing themselves to be innocent and that having Sun Shan's trusted confidant investigate was more trustworthy.

Sun Shan walked back to the yamen, frowned, and asked, "Secretary, who exactly switched the grain?"

The clerk thought for a moment and said, "Sir, there are three possibilities. One is that Xue Cangshi has been transferred. He has always been in charge of the granary, so it could be him."

Sun Shan strongly agreed.

There are plenty of cases of "theft by those in charge," and Xue Cangshi is no exception. But the action was too swift. Why didn't they wait for him to finish his inspection before taking action?

Sun Shan raised his own questions.

Master Zhang thought for a moment and then said, "Sir, then the second possibility is that the person guarding the granary switched them. It's hard to guard against a thief within the family, and the granary guards are the easiest to commit crimes."

Sun Shan strongly agreed, so he immediately took control of the two warehouse guards when the incident occurred. At that moment, the two men were locked in a small dark room.

The two warehouse guards repeatedly protested their innocence, insisting that there had been no switch and hoping that Sun Shan would investigate thoroughly and deliver justice.

Sun Shan naturally didn't believe what they said. The bailiffs were cunning and domineering, with a very bad reputation, even less credible than what Uncle Sun San was saying.

If Sun Shan could believe at least half of what Uncle Sun said out of ten sentences.

The corrupt official, haha, you can't believe a word he says, and you even have to believe the opposite.

Before the truth is found, everyone is a suspect.

The advisor continued, "Sir, there's a third possibility..."

After a pause, Master Zhang frowned, unsure whether to speak or remain silent.

Sun Shan asked suspiciously, "Does the advisor perhaps suspect Magistrate Wang?"

Ambassador Cang was Inspector Liang's man; everyone in the yamen knew that.

In Yuanlu County, Magistrate Wang and Inspector Liang belong to two major factions. They have been fighting each other openly and covertly for many years, and there have been frequent instances of them framing each other and replacing each other.

It's also possible that Magistrate Wang framed Ambassador Cang under some pretext.

The "Madam's Banquet" hosted by Sister Yun was partly due to the long-standing grudge between Miss Wang and Aunt Liang, and also related to the discord among the adults in their families.

Master Zhang shook his head: "Sir, it's unlikely that Magistrate Wang would do that. There's no need for him to frame Envoy Xue."

Sun Shan asked doubtfully, "Why are you so sure, sir?"

Master Zhang explained, “Sir, Magistrate Wang’s biggest enemy right now is you. If you’re not stupid, you should unite with Inspector Liang.”

Sun Shan was stunned; he hadn't expected his advisor to give this reason.

When did he become Magistrate Wang's enemy?

So far, their relationship seems pretty good.

Before becoming a secretary, Zhang was a broker. Analyzing the situation from a business perspective, he said, "Sir, Yuanlu County has had a bumper harvest this year, leaving the yamen with a considerable surplus. Didn't you plan to sell some grain recently?"

He paused, then said mysteriously, "Sir, the Wang family also deals in grain. Everyone keeps a close eye on the grain in the yamen. Magistrate Wang is no exception."

He then added, “If Magistrate Wang wants to gain the right to buy and sell grain, he’d better team up with Inspector Liang to deal with you. Sir, the grain trade is highly profitable; it’s a lucrative business. Neither Magistrate Wang nor Inspector Liang will let you have it all. If Magistrate Wang gets rid of Inspector Liang now, it will be even more difficult for him to deal with you.”

The six states formed alliances to deal with the Qin state. If Magistrate Wang were wise, he should have united the local people to deal with Sun Shan, the outsider, and seized the right to buy and sell grain.

Instead of choosing to deal with Inspector Liang, they fought independently to wipe out Sun Shan.

Thinking of this, Sun Shan's lips twitched involuntarily: "Master, County Magistrate Wang probably didn't think that far ahead, did he? I don't think he usually likes to think much."

Sun Shan really thought that Magistrate Wang was not a smart man, just a petty citizen, and wouldn't think that far ahead.

If they were truly cunning and calculating, they would have already caused trouble for themselves.

I feel like I'm doing really well in Yuanlu County right now, without any major challenges.

Master Zhang shook his head and said in a low voice, "Sir, Magistrate Wang may not think that way, but Master Wang behind him may not. In my opinion, if we're talking about who's the smartest in the Wang family, it has to be Master Wang."

Sun Shan believed it to some extent after hearing that.

Master Wang is even more difficult to deal with than Magistrate Wang. The only reason he maintains a peaceful relationship with Sun Shan is because he keeps making empty promises to the Wang family.

For example, the profits from bird droppings workshops, and the operating rights for selling bird droppings fertilizer.

Master Wang will definitely be waiting for this grain transaction.

So Sun Shan asked, "What could the third one be?"

Master Zhang offered the most improbable possibility: "Sir, the discovery of substandard rice during the random inspection might simply be due to some damp grain among the tax grain received, which wasn't properly dried and was then piled up by the people taking advantage of the situation. Naturally, the entire grain shed would be ruined."

Or perhaps during transport, the rice accidentally got damp, and Xue Cangshi didn't notice, thus turning it into spoiled rice.

Master Zhang had previously overseen grain transactions. After carefully examining that batch of grain, he found that the grain size was acceptable, the degree of sprouting and mold was not significant, and it appeared to be new rice.

Unlike some people who swap out the good grain and deliberately leave behind the bad rice.

Upon hearing the advisor's words, Sun Shan was stunned.

I was so angry that I didn't even bother to check the moldy, damp, and sprouted grains.

If Master Zhang hadn't reminded him, Sun Shan really wouldn't have realized the problem.

He said shamefully, "Master, well done. It was my carelessness that I didn't check carefully enough."

It seems that working with emotions is really unacceptable; one must always remain calm.

Master Zhang quickly said, "Sir, it's normal to not be able to react immediately when you encounter this for the first time. Sir, don't blame yourself. Once you've experienced it, you'll know what to do next time."