Chapter 364 Tribute
Yang Yiyi’s set of operations was so smooth that Qin Yan was dumbfounded.
Shouldn't she be the character who kills all kinds of people? She's still in the quacking stage now, and it's not time to let her out and kill her randomly.
But Qin Yan then thought about it and realized something was wrong. This was beyond the realm of wisdom and foolishness. Someone had given her the answer.
Qin Yan immediately remembered the first time she met Yang Yiyi in Po Tao Temple, when a man's voice came from her body.
At that time, Qin Yan didn't think much about it and thought it was some kind of schizophrenia caused by two souls in one body. But judging from Yang Yiyi's amazing progress in martial arts during this period, it was likely that there was a master who never showed up nearby.
No matter what Qin Yan thinks, the message left by the deceased has been unlocked, so go to the silk factory outside the city to have a look.
When the two of them went out, they happened to meet the accountant who was in a hurry. After asking, they found out that they had finally checked the account book and found some errors, so the accountant planned to report it to Wen Peng, the master of the Wen family.
Since Wen Peng and Tang Lianyu went to the silk factory outside the city, they happened to be on the way, so Yang Yiyi and Qin Yan took the Wen family's carriage out of the city.
Turning silkworm cocoons into raw silk is not an easy task. It requires a lot of craftsmanship, layer by layer, to peel away the thick silkworm cocoons. This is the origin of the idiom "snatching silkworms and peeling off cocoons".
These processes require large amounts of water and fuel, so silk mills are generally built outside cities, near water sources or woods.
The Wen family's silk factory was no exception. After leaving the city, we walked along the river and soon saw the smoking silk factory beside the hillside.
Cocoons collected from nearby silkworm farmers are turned into bundles of raw silk here, which are then sent to weavers to be turned into satin.
When they arrived at the entrance of the silk factory, the two jumped out of the car without following them in.
The five words you get after solving the hint are city, outside, silk, factory, and product.
Except for the last word "pin", which is hard to understand, the direction is very obvious. Yang Yiyi and Qin Yan decided to explore around the silk factory first, and then go to the silk factory to look for things related to "pin".
The reason for this is because people come and go in the silk factory. It is not easy for the deceased to hide something. In comparison, there are many places outside the silk factory.
The silk factory is adjacent to the river, with a small forest next to it, and the official road and plains on the other side. So the two decided to walk towards the grove first to see if there was anything related to Pin.
Qin Yan relied on her good lightness skills and walked a few steps before jumping up to the treetop and taking a look. Not to mention, they actually found her.
At the other end of this grove, there is a hillside with large rocks washed out by rain. Below the hillside is a channel eroded by a tributary of the river.
On the rocky hillside, looking down from the tree crown, you can see several pieces of gravel forming a shape similar to a pin.
The two walked quickly through the woods, slid down the hillside, and observed near the rocks.
I found it right away. One of the big rocks was leaning against the hillside, as if there was the entrance to a cave behind it.
The stone was not small. Qin Yan looked around and felt that it would be difficult to push it without five or six people using tools to pry it open.
"let me."
Yang Yiyi said that she was not sleepy anymore because of her strength, and signaled Qin Yan to stand aside. Yang Yiyi hugged the bulge on the edge of the stone and suddenly exerted strength.
This big rock that five or six people could not move was moved to the side by Yang Yiyi without any difficulty.
The attributes of muscles and bones are already high, and there is also the strong internal strength blessing of the Supreme Intention Vajra Kung Fu. This is a standard operation.
Behind the big stone is a palm-deep hole. The entrance of the hole has been sealed with an iron door. The edges of the door frame are built with glutinous rice paste, yellow mud and gravel. The amount of work is not large, but it is very strong.
Let’s put it this way, the Great Wall was built using yellow mud and glutinous rice paste.
The door was locked, and a big lock was hung on it. Yang Yiyi took a look and saw that nothing was locked.
"Watch me kick it away."
"Wait, don't work so roughly."
Apart from anything else, Qin Yan couldn't help Yang Yiyi in her own professional field. She observed the keyhole: "This is a very high-end lock, made by skilled craftsmen, and the keys are all specially customized. "That's the key?"
Yang Yiyi took out a wax-like object from his pocket, in the shape of a key.
"Is this a wax model? Where did you find it?"
"It was on the deceased's bookshelf, behind the book with the last word. I hid it secretly without letting the servant see it."
Wax molds are used for casting, and this is a high-precision casting method that is much better than clay molds. Many exquisite metal vessels are cast using this method.
Two dead people, one with a wax mold and the other with a clay mold, and both have keys?
Seeing Qin Yan lost in thought and silent, Yang Yiyi couldn't help but ask.
"You haven't said it yet, is it this?"
"The size of the keyhole is wrong. It shouldn't be it. You should close it first. This door can't stop me."
Unable to think of a reason, Qin Yan pulled out a wire from her hair, inserted it into the keyhole and twisted it a few times. The lock opened with a click.
Lockpicking is a necessary skill for snitches. Although this lock is advanced, it is not advanced enough.
The two pushed the door open and entered. Behind the door was a small space, about four or five square meters. It was just an ordinary cave with almost no trace of artificial repair.
But in the center of the cave, there were two piles of silk and satin, with three wooden boards placed underneath to separate the silk and satin from the rocks on the ground.
Yang Yiyi thought she would find some conclusive evidence, but she was disappointed when she saw it was silk.
But Qin Yan's eyes widened and she stepped forward to touch the silk satin.
"This is a tribute..."
"ah?"
"Don't you understand? This is royal tribute silk!"
"That means...the quality is particularly good?"
Yang Yiyi really didn't understand such expensive things as silk. She had never worn silk clothes in her whole life.
"This is not a question of quality. Anyone who buys or sells tribute without permission will be beheaded!"
"Forehead……"
So the question is, who put the tribute silk here?
Although Silk City is named after silk, it only produces high-quality raw silk. To process it into silk and satin requires highly skilled weavers. In this regard, Silk City is not as good as other silk-producing cities, and it is not listed as a tribute. Pass.
In other words, this batch of tribute silk was transported from other cities, and it was transported secretly at the risk of beheading.
Ordinary people don't have this ability. Let's not talk about whether they dare or not. Ordinary people don't have access to tributes.
The snitches in the Sixteenth Village did sometimes rob tributes, but no merchant dared to collect such stolen goods, and they didn't need such a refreshing and refined way to die.
Qin Yan groped around in the silk and satin, and pulled out an envelope. There was only a piece of paper in the envelope, which said, "Let's get together and go. I'll help you with things. You give me money. If you're unkind, don't blame me." righteous'.
Judging from the handwriting, it was very similar to the account book written by the deceased. This should be a warning he left, but it was a pity that the murderer behind it did not give him a chance.
However, the warning did not include a signature, and it was not known who the deceased was working for.
"Anyway, let's call Mr. Wen here first. The tribute is not a trivial matter. We found it near his silk factory. If we don't do it right, it could be a big disaster."
Wen Peng probably collapsed when he heard the news. Why did he end up confiscating his family and destroying his ancestors?
(End of chapter)