If I were born again, I would marry a strong but short-lived husband.

Chapter 502: Outrageous, Ridiculous (2 in 1)

Shen Sui'an came to the backyard and found that she was wearing the same clothes as the Salt Widow he saw today, and her exposed skin was also ulcerated.

The young widow was in a coma.

"Take her back and let the accompanying female doctor treat her wounds." Shen Sui'an ordered.

"Princess, I didn't see this woman at the city gate today." Ningshuang said in a low voice.

She has always had an excellent memory, so she could remember the appearance of several widows at the city gate today.

"Save the person first."

Since Fu Jinyuan wanted to investigate the salt transportation in Salt Lake City, he naturally wanted to know more when they didn't know the depth of the water.

Fu Jinyuan didn't really want Shen Suian to be involved in the affairs of Salt Lake City.

He was afraid she was in danger.

Shen Sui'an said with a smile, "You and I are one. If you are in danger, how can I stay out of it?"

"Besides, this is still in the mansion. I have people all around me. Ningshuang and Fuqiu are also here, not to mention Qingsu."

Fu Jinyuan thought about it carefully and felt that what she said made sense. In addition to the maids who knew martial arts, the Empress Dowager was also surrounded by well-trained secret guards. It was indeed not easy to hurt them in the mansion.

Shen Sui'an had someone secretly keep an eye on this salt widow. The female doctor gave her a full body examination and found that her skin was severely ulcerated. It was because of these injuries that she had a fever and fell into a coma.

The female doctor applied medicine all over her body and gave her antipyretic medicine for a whole night. The salt widow finally woke up the next day.

Qin Zhen thought she had died in the pursuit of her enemies. She hid under the carriage with the last glimmer of hope, but she didn't expect that this person was also a corrupt official.

She is still alive...

"you're awake?"

A clear and pleasant voice suddenly sounded.

Qin Zhen was startled. She subconsciously wanted to take a defensive posture, but as soon as her body moved slightly, the severe pain all over her body made her dare not move again.

"Don't move, your wound has just been bandaged." Shen Suian held her hand.

"Who are you?" Tan Zhen looked at Shen Sui'an warily.

Banjian said, "You fainted at our back door and it was the madam who was kind enough to save you."

Shen Sui'an's clear and penetrating eyes showed a faint smile, "Girl, you can rest here and recover from your injuries."

"I'm the Salt Widow, aren't you afraid of being implicated by me?" Tan Zhen gritted her teeth. Since they were healing her wounds, they must have seen the tattoo on her back.

Every salt widow has a tattoo of a flower on her back.

Their fate was in the hands of the salt merchants, and they could not escape it throughout their lives.

"If I were afraid, I wouldn't save you." Shen Suian said.

"You just came into the city today and don't know Salt Lake City at all. If people knew that you took me in, you might not even be able to leave Salt Lake City." Qin Zhen's eyes flashed.

"I hid under your carriage today to avoid the search. I didn't want to be a burden to you."

Shen Sui'an asked, "What's the point of the government arresting you women? If they want to stop the illegal salt trade, shouldn't they arrest the salt merchants?"

Tan Zhen's eyes flashed, and she looked at Shen Sui'an in surprise, "Madam, you have never been to Salt Lake City before, right?"

"It's indeed the first time." Shen Sui'an said.

"No wonder, the salt merchants in Salt Lake City are different from those in other places. If Madam knew, she would definitely not dare to take me in." Qin Zhen said self-deprecatingly.

Shen Sui'an: "I've already taken you in. If I send you out like this, you'll only end up dead."

"I saved your life, so it belongs to me."

Tan Zhen: “…”

"What's your name?" Shen Suian asked.

"Qin Zhen."

Shen Sui'an nodded gently, "Miss Qin, your injuries have not healed yet. The soldiers outside should be chasing you, right? We have been walking along this road, and there is a guard every ten steps. If you go out, you will definitely be captured."

Tan Zhen was silent.

"Take good care of your injuries." Shen Sui'an said.

She can't die yet!

Qin Zhen thought to herself that she could only stay with a thick face. Just now at the city gate, she saw that even the city guarding general Chai Wang was polite to them.

Maybe if she stayed here, she could really avoid being caught.

She couldn't be careless, what if these people were also bribed?

Qin Zhen warned herself to be cautious, but she was too tired. After days of fleeing and being seriously injured, she hadn't had a good sleep for a long time.

Unexpectedly, I fell asleep all of a sudden.

When I woke up again, it was already the next day.

……

In the meeting room of the Salt Monopoly Commissioner's office, several people in charge of Salt Lake City gathered together.

When the Salt Lake City prefect heard He Zhengdong mention Fu Jinyuan and others who entered the city yesterday, he felt a little suspicious.

"I've never heard of Dongning sending a garrison. Could it be fake?"

"Deputy Envoy He has checked the other party's travel permit, including the certificate of dispatch, which has the cabinet seal on it. There is no way it can be wrong." Lord Wang, the Salt Commissioner, said in a deep voice.

"It's too coincidental that 'Mirage' is about to open for business and suddenly a garrison commander from Dongning shows up. Lord Wang, this matter must be reported to the head of the Lu family, just in case." The prefect reminded.

Lord Wang: "I have already informed the head of the Lu family and also passed the news to the Hong family."

"'Mirage' is extremely important. It is held every three years. If anything goes wrong, we will all be held responsible," said the prefect.

"That garrison commander Lu was just passing by and might leave tomorrow," said He Zhengdong.

"You have no right to speak here, get out." Lord Wang scolded him.

He Zhengdong lowered his eyes, hiding the resentment in his eyes, and said, "Yes, Lord Wang."

"Wait, have you caught the daughter of the Tan family?" the prefect called out to him.

"My lord, all the salt widows have been captured, but the daughter of the Qin family... is missing." He Zhengdong lowered his head.

"However, she was seriously injured and it was impossible for her to escape from the city. I think she must have died in a corner somewhere." He Zhengdong said.

Lord Wang, "Without seeing the body, nothing counts."

The young man who had been silent all this time asked sarcastically, "The secrets of the nine salt wells are all in the hands of the Qin family. You didn't even get the secrets at the beginning, how dare you wipe out the Qin family?"

"..." Lord Wang and the prefect looked at each other, then looked away feeling guilty.

Three years ago, the head of the Salt Tax Bureau in Salt Lake City was Qin Shan. The Qin family was also a prestigious family, but the profits from the salt wells were so huge that many people wanted to get a piece of the pie.

But Qin Shan doesn't know how to adapt and blocks other people's way. He just arrived in Salt Lake City not long ago and he actually wants to cancel the "Mirage". Isn't that cutting off other people's financial resources?

The Qin family brought this upon themselves.

"It doesn't matter whether people die or not, the most important thing is to get Midang back!"

"Who could have thought that the orphan of the Qin family would disguise herself as a salt widow, otherwise she would have been caught long ago." He Zhengdong said harshly.

You should know that salt widows are selected from poor families. In addition to pretending to be widows to transport private salt, they also have to test the quality of salt in the salt warehouse.

Exposed to salt moisture every day, the skin can easily become ulcerated and damaged, and it is difficult to heal.

The only daughter of the Qin family could actually endure this hardship.

"Stop talking nonsense and bring him back quickly, otherwise we will be in trouble."

……

After two days in Salt Lake City, Shen Sui'an still hadn't been able to find out all the information he wanted, and the same was true for Fu Jinyuan.

"Yesterday I went to the salt field and asked the salt workers, but no one dared to tell the truth. They all said that the salt field has not been able to produce high-quality salt in the past five years. If there could be blood sacrifices like in the salt wells, perhaps things would be different," said Fu Jinyuan.

"Blood sacrifice?" Shen Suian was surprised.

Is that what she understood?

"Human blood sacrifice." Fu Jinyuan held her hand, afraid that she would be scared.

Shen Sui'an's pupils trembled slightly, "How dare they!"

Using human blood to sacrifice to salt wells, isn't that murder?

Fu Jinyuan said, "Did the woman you rescued say anything?"

"Except for knowing that her name was Tan Zhen, she didn't say anything else," said Shen Sui'an.

"The surname is Tan?" Fu Jinyuan raised his eyebrows. "Five years ago, the chief of the Salt Tax Department was named Tan. However, because a salt merchant was caught selling private salt, he confessed that the private salt was provided by the Tan family, so he was questioned."

"Qin Shan burned his entire family to death in one fire."

"?" Shen Suian didn't know what expression to use to respond to what he heard.

He was questioned, so he burned his whole family to death in anger?

Listen, there are actually people who believe such a ridiculous thing.

"Sui Sui, I want to meet this Tan Zhen." Fu Jinyuan said.

Shen Sui'an: "Do you think she is a descendant of the Tan family?"

"Yes." Fu Jinyuan nodded.

"She is seriously injured. I don't know if she can get up. Let someone go and check it out." Shen Sui'an said.

I didn't expect that the person I rescued might actually be a key person.

Ningshuang went to invite Tan Zhen in person. Tan Zhen was worried for two days and thought she would be taken in for questioning soon. However, apart from taking and changing the medicine every day, she also had very rich meals.

She felt panic in her heart.

Qin Zhen finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ningshuang appear outside the door.

Finally the wait is over.

"Can you walk now?" Ningshuang saw Qin Zhen getting out of bed and went forward to ask.

Tan Zhen forced a stiff smile and said, "I've saved my life. Even if I leave now, I won't die for a while."

"Who wants you to leave? If you can walk, then come with me. Madam wants to see you." Ningshuang said.

"Yes." Tan Zhen lowered his head.

Ningshuang saw that she was walking with difficulty, so she went over and held her hand.

"I've seen a lot of wounds, but this is the first time I've seen skin ulcerated like yours where the bones are almost visible. How did they torture you?" Ningshuang asked.

"There's no need to torture us. Just throw us into the salt warehouse and our skin will start to fester in less than three days," Qin Zhen said calmly.

"The wounds will never heal because the air is full of damp salt..."

Ningshuang gasped. The Pacification Division had a ruthless trick when interrogating prisoners, which was to pour salt water on the wounds.

The pain was almost piercing.

What kind of inhuman torture did this little girl suffer.

"Are all salt widows...tortured like this?" Ningshuang asked.

Qin Zhen raised her pale and cold eyes and said, "No, there are still many children. Children have delicate skin and are more suitable for testing the humidity level of the salt depot."

“……” Ningshuang’s anger rushed straight to the top of her head.

"You are so heartless!" Ningshuang cursed.

"Yes, but these unscrupulous people enjoy all the wealth and can kill anyone they want." Qin Zhen said in a low voice.

After walking such a short distance, Ningshuang was almost furious, but she was even more gentle as she held Qin Zhen's hand.

When Shen Sui'an saw Ningshuang come in, he looked at her in surprise.

Ningshuang had the same expression when she went to pick up Tan Zhen just now. Who offended her?

When Qin Zhen walked in and saw a young and handsome man next to Shen Sui'an, her heart skipped a beat and her eyes twitched unconsciously because of excitement.

She bowed her head and saluted with difficulty, "Meet the Madam."

Tan Zhen did not bow to Fu Jinyuan and had never introduced Shen Suian to her, so she only recognized Shen Suian as her savior.

"Miss Qin, are you feeling better now?" Shen Sui'an asked.

"Thank you, ma'am, for saving my life." Tan Zhen expressed her sincere gratitude.

Shen Sui'an smiled and said, "Your injuries have not healed yet, so sit down and talk first. This is Guard Lu, and I have a few questions for you."

"As long as I know it, I will tell it all." Tan Zhen lowered her head slightly and clenched her fists.

"Ms. Qin, are you related to the Qin family in Salt Lake City five years ago?" Fu Jinyuan asked directly.

"What?" Qin Zhen probably didn't expect Fu Jinyuan to be so direct and was stunned for a moment.

Fu Jinyuan stared at her sharply.

Tan Zhen sat up straight unconsciously, "I am Tan Shan's daughter."

Shen Sui'an was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Fu Jinyuan.

Fu Jinyuan didn't seem surprised, and his expression remained stern and cold. "So, what do you want to do?"

"..." Tan Zhen pinched the corner of her clothes nervously, feeling that the man in front of her was full of oppression, which almost shattered her originally confident ideas.

Did she calculate the wrong person?

Shen Sui'an remained silent and looked at Tan Zhen silently.

"Are you the regent?" Tan Zhen suddenly asked in a low voice.

Fu Jinyuan sneered, "Why do you think I'm the regent?"

Tan Zhen: "I guessed."

"Before you, I met a young woman. From her words, she mentioned that she was going to Suzhou as the regent. When I saw you at the city gate that day, I... I thought it was you. I was just taking a gamble."

"What woman?" Shen Suian asked.

Tan Zhen said: "I only know that her maid called her Miss Xia, and she saved me, otherwise I would still be stuck in the salt warehouse."

Shen Suian was surprised. Miss Xia?

Could it be Ruan Zhaoxia? !

That girl wouldn’t have run to Suzhou, would she?

Shen Sui'an looked confused and exchanged glances with Fu Jinyuan.

"Tell me about your business first. What do you want to do?" Fu Jinyuan said in a deep voice.

Qin Zhen knelt slowly on the ground, "I beg Your Majesty to redress my father's injustice, to save the children in the salt warehouse, and to... ban 'Mirage'."

"The Lu and Hong families have committed many evil deeds. The nine major salt depots have long been under their control. The profits from their salt wells have long exceeded those from the official salt."

"They use salt widows to transport private salt. They can hide hundreds of yin of private salt each time. They also mix 30% brine into the official salt to increase its weight. After sending it out, they boil it and purify it..."

Tan Zhen placed her hand on her collarbone and said, "I was abducted when I was young and became their salt slave. My father discovered that they were using virgin girls as sacrifices to the salt wells, so they framed and killed my whole family."

Fu Jinyuan's face was grim. As he listened to Tan Zhen's accusation, his eyelids twitched slightly.

Qin Zhen seemed to have said a lot, but upon closer examination, there was no actual evidence for any of it. It was all based on her words, and Fu Jinyuan could not possibly believe her completely.

"Where's the evidence?" he asked.

Qin Zhen bit her lower lip. She had evidence in her hands, but she didn't dare to completely believe Fu Jinyuan.

"As long as the prince rescues the virgin girl from 'Mirage', I will present all the evidence. Even if the prince wants my life, I can die."