Chapter 336: Smuggling Group
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Chu Xujin rubbed his chin and thought. “What did you see when you rushed into the room? Tell me in detail.”
The guest recalled carefully. “When I heard the scream, 1 pushed the door open and rushed into the room. At that time, I saw the victim roll down from the bed and strangle himself tightly. Blood kept flowing out of his mouth and he seemed to be muttering something…”
He suddenly raised his head as if he remembered something. “Right, he was muttering, You’ll suffer retribution!”
Chu Xujin frowned and said, “Fifth Sister, if he said this, it means that he knows who the murderer is.”
Chu Qingzhi nodded and asked the head constable, “Where are the victim’s belongings?”
The head constable waved at the constable behind him. The constable immediately walked into the room with a tray. “Miss Chu, this is the victim’s personal belongings.”
There was a piece of white jade that the man usually wore on the tray. There was an ancient-looking dagger with a rice grain pattern engraved on it, a necklace carved from peach wood, and some silver ingots.
Chu Xujin said, “Fifth Sister, the people from the eastern border like to use grains as totems…”
Chu Qingzhi was not familiar with the customs of this era. “Is there a meaning behind it?”
Chu Xujin said, “The eastern border is vast but the land is barren. The grain pattern indicates their wish for a good harvest.”
Chu Qingzhi picked up the dagger and looked at it. The handle of the dagger was severely worn, meaning that it had been used for a long time. “In that case, this person is also from the eastern border?”
A man from the eastern border was poisoned in a brothel in Shuiyun County. What exactly was the story behind it?
Chu Xujin nodded affirmatively. “Most likely.”
Chu Qingzhi said, “Let’s go to the inn and see what goods he’s selling.”
Chu Xujin said, “Okay.”
The inn was also sealed. Now, the guests gathered in the lobby and were in a bad mood. However, facing the constables, they didn’t dare to complain.
The head constable led the way to a room on the third room.
Chu Xujin asked the shopkeeper behind him, “Do you still remember the guests who stayed in this room?”
The shopkeeper nodded. “I remember. They’re three people from the eastern border. They come here every two months and stay in my inn every time. It’s been many years.”
Chu Xujin asked, “What do you think is different about their visit this time?”
The shopkeeper thought about it carefully…
“They seem to be especially happy this time. They even said that they had already made a fortune and would quit in two years because it’s too tiring to be traveling merchants.”
“Made a fortune?” When everyone heard this, they couldn’t help but wonder if the other two killed their companion for the sake of money.
However, this question could not be answered for the time being. They went to look at the goods that the victim had brought over to sell…
The goods were placed in a special place in the backyard. There were guards protecting it to prevent theft and fire.
The three of them brought a lot of goods from the eastern border, a total of ten large boxes.
Chu Xujin patted the box and said, “Open it.”
The constables stepped forward and smashed open the keys with a hammer, then opened the boxes…
When they saw what was in the box, everyone was stunned.
Five large boxes were filled with snow-white salt. The salt was finer than the ones sold by the government, about 1,500 kilos of it.
Two large boxes were filled with jewelry. They were all real gold and silver jewelry. Every piece was worth a lot.
There were three boxes left. One contained all kinds of exquisite colored glaze, and the other two were precious silk. They were all valuable things.
Anyone could tell that something was wrong.
Chu Qingzhi turned around and looked at Chu Xujin. “Third Brother, what do you think?”
Chu Xujin frowned and said, “The eastern border is next to the sea. It’s the main place for salt production in the Daling Dynasty. Salt smuggling is prohibited. These salts should be smuggled salt.”
Salt in this era was strictly controlled by the government
Chu Xujin continued, “As for the jewelry, it’s obvious that it came from an illegitimate source…”
“Normally, for jewelry merchants, they would take the raw materials to their destination before finding jewelry masters to turn the raw materials into jewelry that meets the taste of the local people because every place has its own customs and everyone likes different styles.”
Chu Qingzhi reminded, “Third Brother, these jewels are contaminated with corpse aura.”
Chu Xujin was stunned. “These jewels were… obtained from tomb raiding?”
Chu Qingzhi said, “Yes, only burial items will be contaminated with corpse aura.”
Chu Xujin took a deep breath. “How many tombs did they have to raid to obtain so many…”
Chu Qingzhi said, “If it’s a tomb of a prince or a noble, one will be enough.”
Ge Lihua walked over and took out a golden jade bracelet from the box. She looked at it carefully and said, “The craftsmanship of this bracelet seems to be from another dynasty.”
She thought for a moment. “This should be the most popular style in the eastern border of the previous dynasty.”
Chu Xujin looked at Ge Lihua in admiration. “You know jewelry?”
Ge Lihua nodded slightly. Her family had also been in the jewelry business, so she knew a little. “A little.”
The head constable glanced at everyone and asked, “What about the colored glaze?”
Ge Lihua said, “The place that produces glaze is an affiliate country of the Daling Dynasty. It’s called the Chen’an Country. The glaze in the Daling Dynasty all comes from the Chen’an Country. It’s expensive and is usually bought by rich people.”
The head constable patted the box. “Then how about the silk?”
Silk was as precious as salt and iron. Those who could afford it were either from aristocratic families or rich businessmen. Ordinary families could not afford it.
Chu Qingzhi thought to herself, This is not a merchant group, but a smuggling gang!
Chu Xujin said, “Normally, merchants will only sell things used by commoners. They won’t sell such precious things.”
He turned around and asked the porters who traveled with the three merchants, “Where did you get these things?”
Those porters were already dumbfounded. They only reacted when they were questioned.
All of them knelt down and said in fear and trepidation, “We’re all poor people from the eastern border. We were hired to help transport the goods. We don’t know anything else.”
Chu Xujin asked, “Then where are you taking these goods?”
The porters were terrified. “We’re only responsible for transporting the goods.
We don’t know anything else..”
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