Chapter 439 - 438: You Have It If I Say So

Chapter 439: Chapter 438: You Have It If I Say So

Fushan Yue looked relaxed, not the least bit flustered. After all, as long as he revealed his identity, he could lead the entire merchant team across the border with ease. No one would dare inspect his belongings.

Suddenly, a few people emerged from the checkpoint.

Six or seven Officials and one lowly slave.

For a lowly slave to appear at a checkpoint was such a rare sight that all the traveling merchants turned to look.

Ignoring everyone else, they walked straight up to the Stone Gate Merchant Team and Fushan Yue’s entourage, shouting, "This line gets a thorough inspection!"

Shi the Second was alarmed. He stepped forward, cupping his hands. "Lord Officials, has something happened?"

"The Dagong County Yamen!" An Official flashed a Token in front of them. "Nothing’s wrong. It’s a routine spot check, and you just got lucky!"

Shi the Second couldn’t help but laugh. "Don’t waste your time. We don’t have any contraband here."

But the constable had seen it with his own eyes the night before; he wasn’t about to be fooled. His expression hardened. "Cut the crap. Stand aside and don’t interfere with official business!"

"And you! All of you!" he yelled at the merchant team’s men, who had started to shift restlessly. "Don’t move, unless you want to be put in stocks! Now, search them. A thorough search."

As he spoke, the other Officials split up to conduct the search. They spared no carriage, whether it carried goods or people.

The search of the first ten carriages yielded nothing.

So, the search continued.

The Stone Gate Commerce Association had many carts and even more goods, making the search a time-consuming process. During the commotion, both Hee Lingchuan and Fushan Yue made their way over.

Shi the Second was trying to probe for information. "What’s all this about? Lord Official, we’re all law-abiding citizens!" He pointed to the lowly slave. "And what’s his deal? Why is he here?"

The head constable glared at him. "None of your business!"

"Oh? Don’t tell me this lowly slave made a false accusation against us?" Fushan Yue’s gaze made the man tremble in fear. "He used to serve me. I struck him a few times, and he must have held a grudge. This is just his petty revenge."

At this, Fushan Yue lifted his head and sniffed the air twice, his brow furrowed. "This cur was drinking earlier. Are you telling me you actually trust the word of a drunken slave?!"

His voice rose, drawing more onlookers from the crowd of travelers.

The constables thought, ’Does he have a dog’s nose or something? How can he smell the liquor the slave drank last night?’ Outwardly, however, they replied, "It is a routine spot check, all legal and by the book!"

Fushan Yue smiled. "And what if you don’t find anything?"

The cold glint in his eyes made the lowly slave tremble uncontrollably.

The head constable was nonchalant. "Then I’ll congratulate you on passing the inspection."

Fushan Yue gave him a long, hard stare. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

The head constable steeled himself. "I don’t care who you are. On Lingxu City’s turf, you follow our laws!"

Fushan Yue laughed. "Excellent. How very impartial of you."

Uncle Da and the other Guards rushed up from the rear, glaring fiercely at the Officials. Fushan Yue waved a hand, gesturing for them to fall back into formation.

There were too many people and prying eyes. This was not the place for a fight.

Just then, the other constables finished searching the last carriage. They climbed out and announced, "Nothing! We found nothing!"

All eyes immediately fell upon the lowly slave.

Even the head constable started to panic.

’But I saw it with my own eyes last night! How could it not be on one of the carriages?’

’Did that Young Master Fushan get wind of this and ditch the goods?’

Fushan Yue gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "So, what’s your plan now?"

The head constable asked his men, "Did you really search every corner?"

"Hmph. We were worried about some Blinding Technique, so we got into every carriage and checked them by hand! There’s nothing."

"This was... The head constable met Fushan Yue’s frigid stare and could only swallow hard. ’Well, uh...’"

Just then, several more figures emerged from behind the checkpoint. The one in the lead asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

At first glance, the man’s build, limbs, clothing, and proud, chest-out posture looked human. In reality, his skin had a greenish tint, and the areas not covered by his clothes were coated in fine scales.

His eyes were emerald green, and fin-like spikes grew from his ears. Hee Lingchuan even noticed the faint, thin membranes between his fingers.

’Webbing?’

’What manner of Demon is this?’

The moment Fushan Yue saw him, his eyes narrowed. A look of dawning comprehension crossed his face. "Zhongsun Mou? So it was you setting a trap for me. No wonder!"

"Insolence!" A Guard behind the man stepped forward and snapped, "How dare you show such disrespect to the Inspector!"

"Inspector?" Fushan Yue was slightly taken aback. He had been about to step forward, but hearing the title, he stopped.

"Fushan Yue? Don’t judge a gentleman by your own petty standards." Zhongsun Mou turned unhurriedly to the head constable. "You. Explain what happened."

"A ro-routine spot check."

"And did you find anything?"

"No..."

The head constable had barely squeaked out the word when someone from behind shouted, "Inspector, we have contraband over here!"

Everyone froze, turning to look. Two soldiers were standing beside one of the Stone Gate Merchant Team’s carriages. They had thrown back the tarp and were pointing at a Glazed Jar beneath it. "This is Dragon Scale Juniper! It’s expressly forbidden to take it out of the Twilight Plateau!"

"How is that possible!" Shi the Second cried out. "We’ve traveled this trade route for more than a decade and have never once carried Dragon Scale Juniper!"

’He knew this route like the back of his hand and never made mistakes. How could he possibly be carrying contraband?’

Dragon Scale Juniper was a plant unique to the Twilight Swamp. Its leaves resembled Dragon Scales, and when used in medicine, it could greatly enhance a man’s virility. As one might imagine, there was no shortage of buyers for such a thing. After all, men were always going to apothecaries to ask for a remedy, beginning with the classic line, "I have a friend who..."

However, Dragon Scale Juniper had been overharvested in the past. Now, with stocks so scarce, it had become a controlled medicinal herb. Private citizens were forbidden from harvesting or transporting it.

The penalty for being caught was severe!

So when Shi the Second saw the Dragon Scale Juniper on his own cart—and a fatally large jar of it at that—all the blood rushed to his head.

It was pure rage.

’What smuggler would be stupid enough to use a transparent Glazed Bottle for their contraband?’

’If private citizens couldn’t harvest it, then this must be property of the Official Family.’

’His opponents had stooped to a new, shameless low to frame the Stone Gate Merchant Team!’

Hee Lingchuan, who had watched the entire scene unfold, quietly asked Fushan Yue, "What’s the story between you and that fellow?"

"An enemy," Fushan Yue’s voice was barely a whisper. "He wants me dead."

"What did you do to him?"

"My father, the king, killed his grandfather."

"..."

Fushan Yue rubbed his nose. "And his brother’s death... had a little something to do with me, too."

"...Right." ’Just a "little something," was it?’

’So Zhongsun Mou had every reason to despise Fushan Yue, and that hatred extended to anyone associated with him.’

’Sure enough, when Zhongsun Mou’s gaze swept over to him, the hatred in it didn’t lessen one bit. It seemed Hee Lingchuan was being granted the same lovely treatment as Fushan Yue.’

’He wondered if it was too late to kick Fushan Yue aside and shout, "I don’t know this guy!"’

"Privately transporting Dragon Scale Juniper in an attempt to cross the border..." Zhongsun Mou drew out his words. "What is the usual penalty for that?"

After all, this wasn’t his area of expertise.

An official scurried over from the rear. "For Dragon Scale Juniper, anything over two jin—"

He glanced at the jar. Never mind two jin; this looked like seven or eight.

"With such a large quantity, the penalty can be a tenfold fine. That would be three thousand taels of silver."

"Three thousand taels..." Sweat beaded on Shi the Second’s forehead. He felt his heart seize at the number. If he had to pay such a huge fine, how much money would he have left from this trip? "My lord, that’s too harsh."

He couldn’t even be bothered to argue about the origin of the Dragon Scale Juniper. A commoner can’t fight an official. If they wanted to frame him, they would succeed.

But he still had to try to minimize the damage.

The junior official had said the penalty *can be* ten times the amount, not that it *must* be. That meant there was some flexibility in the sentence.

The caravan had already been forcibly pulled aside from the checkpoint to avoid blocking the line of people behind them.

Zhongsun Mou looked at Fushan Yue, a relaxed, smug smile on his face. "If Young Master Fushan is willing to plead on your behalf, I might be inclined to show some face."

Fushan Yue’s face twitched.

’The bastard was truly vicious! There was no way he could bring himself to swallow his pride and beg Zhongsun Mou.’

But that meant Hee Lingchuan and the Stone Gate Merchant Team would be the ones to suffer.

"Zhongsun Mou, you’re playing with fire," he warned. "When you do this much dirty work, you’d better have eyes in the back of your head."

A nearby Guard shouted, "You dare threaten a ranking official of Lingxu City!"

Zhongsun Mou just chuckled. "Young Master Fushan has refused. If you want to blame someone, blame him."

Fushan Yue gritted his teeth and said to Hee Lingchuan in a low voice, "Tell Shi the Second to pay the fine. I’ll reimburse him for the full amount later."

Hee Lingchuan immediately gave Shi the Second a nod.

Having traveled together for some time, they had developed a certain rapport. Though Shi the Second was seething with anger, his years as a merchant had taught him to value peace above all else. He swallowed his pride and paid the three-thousand-tael fine.

"My lord, may we leave now?" The Chiyan Territory was just a hundred feet ahead, yet they couldn’t seem to cross.

"What’s the hurry?" Zhongsun Mou asked the official languidly. "Are we done inspecting this caravan?"

The junior official took the hint. "No, not yet! We’re only halfway done!"

"Then what are you standing around for? Don’t keep Young Master Fushan waiting!"

"Yes, sir." The junior official turned and waved at the constables. "What are you gaping at? Unload everything for a detailed inspection!"

Fushan Yue stared at him, a humorless smile on his lips. "Quite the display of authority."

The junior official flinched, shrinking back from his sinister gaze. But the order had been given, and with a thousand or two officials and civilians watching at the checkpoint, the constables immediately got to work. They began hauling all the goods off the carts and onto the ground, inspecting every last item.

They even drew their blades, stabbing and prodding the bundles of materials. If anyone had been hiding inside, their blood would have already been spilled all over the ground.

Shi the Second’s heart leaped into his throat as he watched. He had originally planned to hide Little Taozi in one of those piles of materials.

The Stone Gate Merchant Team’s cargo was both plentiful and varied. The head constable, seeing the team’s members just standing by and watching while he and his men worked themselves to the bone, barked, "What are you gawking at? Get down here and help move this stuff!"

’The merchant team members’ expressions turned ugly. This bastard was tormenting them, and now he expected them to do the heavy lifting?’

Hee Lingchuan spoke up at the perfect moment. "They’d have to be paid if they lend a hand. I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you Lord Officials."

The head constable saw his grinning face, but his words were so biting. He pointed a finger at Hee Lingchuan’s nose. "Don’t you get smart with me, kid, or you’ll be in for a world of hurt!"

"Look at me. I’ve got nothing to my name, not even a carriage." Hee Lingchuan patted his own ribs. "It wouldn’t be very easy to frame me by planting some Dragon Scale Juniper, now would it?"