Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress
Chapter 671 Huo Yuan’s Threat(1)_1

Chapter 671: Chapter 671 Huo Yuan’s Threat(1)_1

Huo Yuan arrived at Ying Tianfu, where he met the Prefect, Master Zhao Hongwang.

Upon seeing Huo Yuan, Master Zhao was very polite, repeatedly assuring Huo Yuan that Mu Zhongqing had not been wronged at all. He was temporarily detained in an independent prison, awaiting a clear investigation of his case. The government office wouldn’t falsely accuse an innocent person!

Zhao Hongwang was no fool; he couldn’t afford to offend either party involved in this case. Although Huo Yuan was but a mere merchant, he had a sister who was a royal consort and a rumored identity, which Zhao dared not casually offend. As for the Duke An’s Mansion, although it was showing signs of decline, a dying insect still wriggles - not to mention the intricate web of marital relationships the Duke An’s Mansion has established in the court over the years, or the Great General’s Mansion that holds sway over the court. Even if he were given the courage, he could not afford to offend them!

Therefore, when Huo Yuan asked about the progress of the case, all Zhao could do was to stave him off by saying that the investigation was still going on. He hinted that Huo Yuan should seek a private settlement with the Duke An’s Mansion because the evidence currently under investigation was very detrimental to Mu Zhongqing.

According to Master Zhao, the Mu family did indeed use silver bills marked with the Duke An’s Mansion’s seal when purchasing the Bafu Dim Sum Shop. Thus, it would be best to communicate and settle amicably with the Duke An’s Mansion.

Although Huo Yuan did not understand why the Mu family would have the Duke An’s Mansion’s silver bills, he absolutely refused to believe that the Mu’s people would steal. If they were such unprincipled people greedy for wealth, they would have accepted his ginseng line worth one hundred thousand taels long ago. If they had refused such a valuable ginseng line, why on earth would they take the risk to steal a mere ten thousand plus taels of silver bills? Moreover, the payment for the manor and cloth shop was made in cash. That massive amount of silver would certainly have been locked up in the warehouse. With so many housekeepers watching, how could the Mu family people, who were either weak scholars or women and children, possibly steal it?

Leaving Ying Tianfu with heavy doubts, as soon as he left, Huo Yuan instructed the coachman to head to the Duke An’s Mansion to investigate the truth.

Along the way on the horse carriage, filled with puzzlement, upon reaching the Western Corner Gate of the Duke An’s Mansion, he suddenly noticed a thin coffin being pulled in on a cow cart from the Western Corner Gate.

It appears someone’s concubine in the mansion has passed away. If a family servant were to die, they would not be allowed to bring a coffin into the mansion. They would simply take it to the charity hall where the mansion would pay for a thin coffin to be burned and then buried nearby. If a master died, they would have to go through the main gate, not the side gate, and certainly not with such a thin coffin. Therefore, it can be inferred that this thin coffin must be for some concubine!

Upon arrival at the Duke An’s Mansion, the Duke naturally had to personally receive Huo Yuan. Furthermore, the sons from the third room of the mansion also had to come out because Du Ruohai was unaware of the plot devised by old Madam Wang and her three sons against the Mu family. Therefore, his sons Du Yongzhi and the others had to mediate, lest their father be in the dark and get fooled by Huo Yuan.

When Huo Yuan brought up the matter, Du Ruohai was indeed shocked. However, he always covered up whatever scandal cropped up in the mansion. Hence, after learning about the incident, while he was shocked, his first thought was to protect the reputation of the Duke An’s Mansion. He couldn’t allow people to think that the Duke An’s Mansion would intentionally frame the Mu family for a mere several tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Of course, defending his family was one aspect. On the other side, the wealth of the Mu family did tempt him slightly. After all, the Duke An’s Mansion was already stretching its budget thin, so to him, several tens of thousands of taels of silver was indeed a huge temptation. Thus, he promptly sided with his wife and son.

"Young Master Huo, as the matter stands now, as long as Mu Zhongqing willingly compensates us with those two shops and that manor, we will no longer pursue this matter. After all, he is also my son-in-law. For the sake of my daughter and grandson, I cannot push them to the brink, can I?"