allonlinenovel Chapter 193 Confrontation
Chapter 193 Confrontation
"Do you have any evidence that it was done by the crew?"
"Yes, sir. Three crew members are missing from this ship. One of them went upstairs every day to run errands for us. They must have done it. In any case, I lost the goods and silver on the ship of Hongyun, so they should compensate me."
Xu Wansheng wiped his tears and said with gritted teeth.
"Have the crew arrived?"
"My lord, they are all waiting in the side room."
County Magistrate Ge immediately asked someone to bring the crew in.
Boss Feng came in with Dahong.
"Xu Wansheng accused you of stealing his silver and goods. Is that true?"
Boss Feng replied calmly, "Sir, there is absolutely no such thing. On the contrary, we all suspect that it was stolen by Lord Xu or his family in collusion with the three of us crew members."
County Magistrate Ge became interested. The two sides' statements were completely opposite, which was really interesting.
"Oh? Then tell me about it."
"Yes, sir, it is like this. We at Hongyun Trading Company have rules for receiving customers and goods. Valuable items will be registered. When Master Xu came on board, I asked him twice, but he rejected me impatiently, as if he didn't want outsiders to know what was in the box. We put these goods in the warehouse and locked it up. I have one key and Master Xu has one key."
"My keys are still with me."
Boss Feng took out the key from his arms and showed it to everyone.
"Mine is here too. It's always with me. It never leaves."
When Xu Wansheng saw that the captain's key was not lost, he quickly took out his own key.
Boss Feng respectfully told the magistrate his speculation, "Sir, during this 20-day trip, we stopped at the shore twice. If we want to copy the key, we should have enough time. And my subordinate Dahong once saw Lao Dao meeting with Wang, the manager of the Xu family, and heard them talking about opportunities. Therefore, we have always believed that this theft was a conspiracy between Lao Dao and some people in the Xu family."
"Bullshit! Why would I hire someone to steal my own money? I have nothing better to do! You are slandering me!"
Xu Wansheng cursed at Boss Feng. If he hadn't taken the current location into consideration, he would have probably started fighting.
Boss Feng was not afraid at all. If they lost the lawsuit, it would be more terrible than death. If he died, it would bring disaster to his descendants. In this case, no one could stop him from speaking.
"Master Xu, you can only represent yourself, but not the rest of the Xu family. The lost silver belongs only to you, Xu Wansheng, and the others don't get a penny. Now it may not be the case. Maybe you, Xu Wansheng, are the only one who is poor, and the others are from wealthy families. Sir, I see that except for Xu Wansheng's family, the others are not overly sad, but surprisingly calm. All this is very suspicious. On behalf of the seven people on the boat, I say that we are really innocent. I hope you can see clearly."
Boss Feng followed Da Hong and knelt on the ground and kowtowed. Xu Wansheng was also confused. What did this mean? Manager Wang knew Lao Dao?
Xu Wansheng's heart began to beat fast.
When the two men were confronting each other, Su He kept stealing glances at Manager Wang's expression, but saw nothing.
County Magistrate Ge pondered for a moment and raised a question.
"Has your merchant ship never changed this key in all these years?"
"No, I have been doing this for many years."
County Magistrate Ge nodded, and the key could no longer be used as a clue.
"Sir, the missing Lao Dao knew Xiao Sheng and Xiao An for a long time. Xiao Sheng and Xiao An were introduced by Lao Dao. Both of them have been in the industry for a whole year."
"Tell me the whole story from beginning to end."
Boss Feng took a deep breath and narrated his journey which started at nightfall.
"I was on patrol during the day, and it happened to be Lao Dao and Xiao An at night. I originally arranged for Da Hong to follow Lao Dao, but Xiao An said he had a nap during the day and was in good spirits, so he switched with Da Hong."
Boss Feng felt heartbroken when he talked about this. Every time he thought about it, he wanted to slap himself twice. Why did he agree to change?
"Now that I think about it, they had planned their action at night. Xiaosheng cooked dinner that day. We all went to sleep after dinner, and no one suspected them. When we woke up, they had already escaped. When I woke up, I immediately touched the key on my body to make sure no one had touched it. I set a trap on the key, and I would definitely know if someone took it."
"Then Mr. Xu came down from the third floor. He said we were thieves and demanded compensation of 100,000 taels of silver. Miss Xu said the guests on the first floor were also thieves and demanded compensation as well. She said she would arrest all of us and put us in jail. She insisted that there was nothing wrong with the Xu family. What happened next was what the inspector saw at the dock."
Xu Wansheng looked at Boss Feng with annoyance. How dare this man get involved with his daughter?
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, my life is miserable, sir. I am in so much pain that I cannot stand."
The old man added to his role just in time, and Su He was stunned. If this old man was born in modern times and started acting, he would definitely be a movie emperor. Look at him crying so hard that sweat is coming out of his face.
Just then the doctor arrived, and Magistrate Ge immediately asked the doctor to examine the young grandfather.
The middle-aged doctor carefully took the grandfather's pulse and touched his waist, and came to a conclusion that shocked everyone.
"The old man has indeed twisted his waist. He needs to stay in bed for at least three months, otherwise he will be at great risk of paralysis."
"what!"
Everyone in the hall was shocked. Su He looked at his grandfather in confusion. It turned out that the old man was really injured.
Not to mention Su He, even Wang Jingui was dumbfounded. When did his father sprain his injury?
"Sir, can you please let my grandpa lie down? He is already old, and it is really too much for him to stand like this."
Su He quickly begged Magistrate Ge for help, saying that if the old man continued standing there, there would definitely be sequelae.
"Two people come and carry Wang Erming down. The doctor should go with them. Xu Wansheng will pay for the subsequent medical expenses."
Magistrate Ge gave the order, and two yamen runners immediately came out carrying a wooden board. Wang Erming was carefully carried up, and Wang Jingui was allowed to follow.
"Thank you, sir. You are so wise. You must make sure Xu Wansheng pays me. I'm afraid he will run away without paying."
Wang Erming was lying there, talking nonstop. Xu Wansheng was doubting his life at this moment. Did he really run into this old man?
Now only Wang Liang followed Su He, and Su He took over and continued to reply.
"Sir, we had a conflict with Miss Xu right after we boarded the ship. It was because of my sister... Afterwards, Mr. Xu compensated us with 1,600 taels of silver, of which 1,110 were the difference in price for the second floor in exchange for the first floor, and the remaining 480 taels were compensation. We didn't intend to take this silver, because our ship fare was paid by my original master, and I planned to pay it back when we arrived in Guangyuan."
Magistrate Ge glanced at Su He below and asked, "So you sold yourself to be a maid?"