Chapter 82

"Old man, I must go to the capital to appeal the case..."

"Master Dong, don't. That is the last step. Once the capital also determines that Second Son committed the murder, there will be no chance for a retrial."

"That servant girl looks like Xiangyu, and Second Son was drunk, so there is a motive."

"Believe that the Lu family set up this trap, and they have some physical evidence."

"All the witnesses are from the Lu family. Where are Second Son's witnesses? Even if Third Son of the Ding family was exiled, where would he be if he wasn't under confinement?"

"Production and sales are closely related. If there is a problem with production, it is normal for the eldest son of the Lu family to invite Second Son to discuss it, isn't it?"

"Isn't it normal to invite a few servant girls to dance and serve wine at a banquet?"

"Was it wrong to immediately hand Second Son over to the authorities when the murder happened?"

"Even if it reaches the capital, there is an eighty percent chance that the original verdict from Huazhou will be upheld!"

Just a few words left Zhu Huan stunned.

Wang Ju continued to ponder. There was still a way to solve this, but it was a matter of making a choice. If this was the case for salt, what about bamboo paper in the future?

After thinking for a long time, he said, "Then let's make this a big deal."

"Make it big?"

"Two county magistrates dismissed, even a prefect demoted, isn't that big? A nationwide sensation, isn't that big?"

"How is that possible?"

"It is possible, Master Dong. Gather all the shareholders of the Yansalt in Yan Prefecture for a discussion."

After a while, everyone was invited.

These people were equally worried, not just about the profits from Yansalt, but also from the illegal salt trade. Because the salt from Western Xia was "delicious," the batch of Yansalt processed in Yan Prefecture sold the best. Even the Fanlou, which Wang Ju had thought of earlier, deliberately sent servants to Yan Prefecture, regardless of the high transportation costs, to purchase a batch of fine salt from Yan Prefecture every year.

If there were changes to Yansalt, it would cause significant harm to their interests.

Wang Ju had them sit down. This was the first time so many guests had come to his new home.

He first recounted the events, which everyone basically knew, and then explained the implications.

Everyone was speechless.

"Currently, the only way to ensure safety is to promise the major households in Guanzhong and Central Plains that we will share the technology with them in two years."

"How can we do that?" several people immediately protested.

"Without this, do you think you can last until the end of the year?" Wang Ju asked.

"Actually, it's already surprising that the technology hasn't spread yet. Everyone has done a good job; otherwise, Yansalt would have flooded the market long ago."

The twenty-odd people fell silent again.

"Moreover, if we can maintain this for two years, you will have recovered your costs many times over. No, the real cost is just the processing equipment, and you should have recovered hundreds or thousands of times your investment. This promise is not to harm your income but to extend it."

"Even if Yansalt floods the market in the future, remember, you still have one advantage..." Wang Ju nodded toward the west.

That was the blue salt.

And there is a loss in the processing, which can be exploited to sell processed illegal salt openly to various places. So, even after two years, they would still make money, just not as much as now.

"Master Dong, if Second Son is released safely, can you transfer that share to everyone to compensate for their losses?"

"Sure," Zhu Huan answered without hesitation. Money is one thing, but people are another. Even if this loss is several tens of thousands of strings of cash, there is a more legitimate business in the south in the future. The share has not been finalized yet, and if he loses, won't the people involved know?

Moreover, not everyone participated in the new paper share. No matter how much they were persuaded, they would always feel unbalanced.

What else could be said? The group offered some words of comfort to Zhu Huan and then left.

"What do we do next?" Zhu Huan asked.

"I don't have the ability to find the real murderer," Wang Ju said. This was the best solution, but Wang Ju couldn't achieve it.

"However, I have a way to save Second Son. Master Dong, think about it. Does the Lu family have any grudge against your family?"

"Where is there any grudge? If it weren't for that Lu family coming to Yan Prefecture, I wouldn't have even heard of them."

"That's it. He must have a purpose for framing Second Son. Go to Huazhou and tell him that if he can get Second Son released without guilt, you will give him all the shares of Yansalt. Then Second Son can be released immediately."

"But..."

"Relax, he can't swallow it. Not only can he not swallow it, but it will choke him to death. Listen to me..."

...

Technically, since the Lu family became the "aunt" of Li Zhen and his sister, Qin Shi should also be the aunt of the eldest son of the Lu family. But the eldest son of the Lu family acted as if he didn't see them.

Zhu Huan and Qin Shi suppressed their anger. Since the eldest son of the Lu family didn't greet them, they sat down on their own. Zhu Huan said, "Young Master Lu, I am here to speak frankly. If you can clear my son's name, I will give you all the shares of Yansalt."

"Mr. Zhu, what are you saying? Whether your Second Son killed the person is determined by the county magistrate and the prefect. How can I decide?"

"I have an 8% share, with an annual income of over ten thousand strings of cash."

"Let me try, but I can't guarantee a lighter sentence."

"You don't understand what ten thousand strings of cash means. Ten thousand strings of cash a year, over a hundred thousand strings of cash in ten years, can buy the best farmland of four hundred hectares in Jingzhao Prefecture, can redeem over a hundred top courtesans in Chang'an, can buy five thousand women, can equip over a thousand fine horses, and over twenty thousand cattle..."

With each point Zhu Huan made, the eldest son of the Lu family swallowed hard.

"Then I will try to see if I can give your Second Son... a fair trial."

"I will stay at your place with Lady Qin. If you can give a fair trial and clear my son's name, I will immediately transfer the shares to you. If not, if my son dies, you will get nothing!"

Enough talk, it's that simple.

The eldest son of the Lu family left with a smile on his face and then rode to another place.

"Ding Jia, do you think we can release him?"

"That Zhu Huan is very cunning. If we release him, he might not admit it."

"But he is staying at my place with the shares, and he has made it very clear that he won't agree unless his son is cleared."

Ding Jia rolled his eyes. After such a great effort, would a lighter sentence be enough?

"If that's the case, it's best to release the Second Son of the Zhu family and bring him to your place. Then he won't dare to go back on his word."

"That's a good idea," the eldest son of the Lu family said and left. On the way, he said to his steward, "Steward Kong, this kid has a big appetite. Just a few words, and he wants 20% of the shares."

"Eldest Son, it's best not to touch the Ding family for now."

"Of course, we won't touch him now, but we can deal with him after the matter is settled."

"It's not good to touch him. What if he leaks the information? If one incident happens, it's fine, but if two happen, Prefect Zhou will suspect something."

"You're wrong. Can I use a murder case to threaten him? But it's not hard to get him into a trap."

"Oh."

"This kid is waiting for news here, and in his anxiety, he often goes out to gamble..."