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The County Magistrate frowned in displeasure, but his attention was drawn to the bronze plaque swaying at the waist of the Old Soldier—a gilded waist token of the Jinyiwei. Though it had dulled with age, the words "Beizhen Fusi" were still clearly visible.
"Lead the way." The County Magistrate's tone immediately turned respectful.
On the offering table in the side hall of the ancestral temple lay several oil-paper packages. The Old Soldier opened them one by one: the first contained moldy official grain, the second was black powder used by the Zhou family, and the third...
"What is this?" The County Magistrate pointed at the reddish-brown powder in the third package.
"Why not take a whiff, my lord?" The Old Soldier sneered.
As the County Magistrate leaned in, he suddenly sneezed violently. "Spicy... chili powder?"
"Exactly what the Zhou family has been dumping into the canal!" The Old Soldier pulled out a ceramic jar. "This was intercepted from their hired hands."
Inside the jar were a few grains soaked in water, already sprouting purple-black mold. Lin Dahe added at an opportune moment, "It’s identical to the spoiled relief grain from Yan Zhou Wei during Chongzhen's first year."
Cold sweat broke out on the County Magistrate's forehead, soaking his official robe. He suddenly turned and walked outside. "I just remembered I have official documents to attend to..."
"Wait and see, my lord." The Old Soldier blocked his path and unfurled a yellowed map. "This shows the trend of the western mountain veins; the Zhou family's mine has already crossed into our territory." He pointed to a dashed line. "Just three more zhang and it will reach the ancestral dragon vein of our county magistrate."
The County Magistrate's face turned pale instantly.
Before sunset, the Inspection Office's men left in disgrace. As he departed, the County Magistrate deliberately scooped a bowl of water from the spring and remarked meaningfully, "Better than the pre-rain tea offered by the Zhou family."
The villagers let out a sigh of relief, but Lin Dahe was fixated on a new red dot appearing on the system map—the location of the Zhou family's cellar was flashing, marked as [Key Evidence].
In the dead of night, Lin Dahe and One-Armed Veteran crept into the Zhou family's backyard. The entrance to the cellar was hidden behind a pile of firewood, with a lock still hanging from Zhou Liangzhang's ever-present sandalwood abacus.
"Strange," Old Soldier whispered as he pried open the lock with a dagger. "There were usually at least two servants guarding this place."
With a click, the lock opened. A musty smell mixed with some pungent spice wafted out. Lin Dahe held up a fire stick for light and saw that inside the cellar were over twenty large boxes sealed with tape. The most recent box had already been pried open, revealing...
"Official silver?" Old Soldier picked up a silver ingot for closer inspection and suddenly exclaimed, "The weight is off."
The system screen automatically scanned: [Outer layer wrapped in silver, inner embedded with lead blocks, marked as 'Heavenly Revelation Year Seven Yanzhou Garrison Salary Silver']. Lin Dahe suddenly understood—this was military pay that had been embezzled!
They continued searching and found an account book in a hidden compartment at the back. Flipping to the first page revealed records of grain storage from Yan Zhou Wei during Chongzhen's first year; however, on the last page was written "April of the Sixth Year of Chongzhen," detailing recent quantities of spoiled grain sold to various states and counties.
"We found it!" Lin Dahe pointed to a small iron box in the corner. The shape of its keyhole matched perfectly with half of Mad Old Woman's copper plaque.
Just as Old Soldier inserted the plaque into the lock, chaotic footsteps echoed from outside. A familiar female voice screamed, "It's in the cellar! I saw it with my own eyes!"
It was Aunt Ma! Immediately following was Zhou Liangzhang's furious roar: "Shoot! No matter what happens!"
The first fire arrow shot into the cellar with a whoosh, embedding itself in a wooden box and igniting fiercely. Lin Dahe grabbed up the iron box and was about to rush out when more fire arrows began to rain down like a storm...
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