Xuesong leaned over and pointed to Wei An in a low voice: "Princess, the one who spoke loudly just now is the eldest master of the Chen family, sitting in the fourth seat. The one standing next to him is the second master Chen."
Seeing that Wei An was listening, he immediately added: "As for the first person on the right, he is from the Liu family. I heard that he is the current patriarch of the Liu family. According to seniority, Liu Biping should call him grandpa. The second person on the right is the head of the Wang family. The head of the Wang family is still the one with the highest seniority among the four major families. He is 71 years old this year... As for the one sitting at the end, he is the patriarch of the Xu family. People in Rongcheng call him Xu the Good Man. Standing next to him is his younger brother, who donated a position as a Yuanwailang and is in charge of matters at the dock."
As he was talking, Master Chen became anxious: "The route for the sacrifice was set long ago, and the sacrifices were placed in the center. We can't just turn around at the last minute! And if we turn around like this, it's clear that something bad is going to happen!"
Shen Chen narrowed his eyes and said nothing, taking in the reactions of the people below without making a single expression.
Wei An also saw these people's reactions clearly from behind the screen. The second master of the Chen family obviously looked a little unnatural, and he quickly glanced to the side, not knowing what he was looking at.
Wei An raised his eyebrows.
Master Chen has just said that Master Chen II is in charge of the sacrificial boats, and he was the one who arranged the boats for that day.
Shen Chen obviously thought the same thing as her. He smiled and said, "Since we have received the order, we can check it out and find out the truth, right?"
He paused, then said, "Master Chen has just said that the ship is under the charge of Master Two. In this case, I will trouble Master Two to stay a little longer. If this matter is not investigated thoroughly, I will always be worried. I have just arrived and encountered such a thing. If I am not careful, it may cost my life. I can't help but worry. I hope you can understand."
Naturally, no one dared not to understand.
As a member of the Chen family, Master Chen naturally wanted to protect the interests of the Chen family, and he immediately agreed: "What the Imperial Envoy said is right. Whether for you or for the people, this matter should be thoroughly investigated."
Others also responded.
Shen Chen hummed, and then said: "In this case, Master Chen, why don't you think carefully about how many people are in charge on the ship? And which ones are trustworthy?"
Xue Song didn't quite understand, so he turned his head and asked Wei An in a low voice: "Princess, isn't it a bit wrong for the Marquis to ask this? Didn't he say he wanted to watch a play? He hasn't been able to watch it yet!"
Wei An smiled and said, "After all, Shen Chen doesn't believe that the Chen family did it. Even if it was the Chen family, it couldn't be the first master Chen. It could be the second master Chen, or the second master Chen was plotted against. No matter which possibility it is, it is always right to catch the second master Chen-----he must know something. Maybe he was hesitant to say it before, but now, the head of the Chen family has come out to express his attitude, as if he will throw him out as a sacrifice if he can't explain clearly. Do you think the second master Chen will still have any scruples?"
When it comes down to it, the key point is the distribution of interests in the Maritime Customs, and that's where the killer move lies.
None of the four families cared about this, so naturally none of them dared to gamble on it.
Xuesong said thoughtfully, glanced at the people outside, frowned and shook his head: "But even so, I don't think they seem to be in a hurry, half dead..."
They are all smart people. Even if they are anxious, they will not show it on the surface.
But it doesn't matter, they will get anxious soon.
Shen Chen glanced at the other families and began to see them off: "Speaking of which, people have been coming here since this morning to report something. Since Master Chen Er is in charge of ships and he happened to be here, that's great. Why not take this opportunity to try the case thoroughly? After the case is tried and the matter is clarified, the location of the Maritime Customs can be decided. I have something to do here, so except for Master Chen Er, please do as you please."
You have to see me off so soon.
Mr. Xu's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't dare show it on his face.
In the silent contest yesterday, he had already discovered the terrifying side of this imperial envoy. Although he was young, his skills were not immature at all. What he said today seemed very disorganized, but he quietly divided the Chen brothers again, catching the four families off guard. His words were full of innuendos that made people panic... ...
The other families had already stood up to say goodbye to Shen Chen. Regardless of whether they were willing or not, they were all very respectful.
Master Chen and Master Liu had already arranged a banquet and were vying to invite Shen Chen to attend the banquet in the evening.
Besides them, there is also the Wang family.
Even his eldest brother, Mr. Xu, hurried to express his opinion, saying that he had dug out some fine wine that had been stored underground for more than 20 years and was waiting for Shen Chen to come over.
Shen Chen nodded with a smile and agreed: "Of course, of course. You are all local bigwigs, and when the time comes, the Maritime Customs will inevitably need your help and cooperation. Once this matter is resolved, I will accompany you."
Everyone said goodbye.
As soon as they walked out of the gate of the inn, Mr. Xu looked back at Mr. Xu with a bad face and asked coldly, "Those people just now were all very talkative. Aren't you usually very talkative? Why didn't you say a word today? You're like a mute? You're useless when they need you, but you're quite talkative when they don't need you!"
He sneered, not disguising his contempt for Mr. Xu: "What did you say in front of Dad before? You said that the imperial envoy would not let the four major families interfere in the affairs of the Maritime Customs, but what about now?!"
He sneered in frustration: "Not enough to accomplish anything, but more than enough to cause trouble!"
Mr. Xu was scolded in front of so many servants, but he managed to hold on without getting angry, and even his expression did not change. After Mr. Xu left in a huff, he wiped his face calmly, got on the sedan chair and told the bearers to go to the Magpie Tower.
The wine and food at Xi Que Lou were already prepared. He went up to the usual private room alone and sat there for a long time, staring absent-mindedly at the wine jug in front of him. After a long time, the door creaked and he jumped up suddenly. He looked towards the door as if frightened and saw Mr. Hu coming in.
Mr. Hu looked normal, as if he was not affected by the incident at all. He bowed to him as a greeting and called him "Mr. Xu" in a friendly manner.
Mr. Xu had a gloomy expression on his face. He stared at him coldly without saying a word.