From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 486: Chapter 487: Searched Everywhere

They had searched all their rooms and several carriages, but they found none of the missing items the traveling merchants had mentioned.

Upon hearing this, Xu Mutou and Cao Lei looked incredulous. "Have you searched in front of and behind the houses?" Xu Mutou asked urgently. "The village is only so big. If you haven’t found it yet, shouldn’t you search the entire surrounding area?"

"That’s right, the area around the houses hasn’t been searched yet. I’ll have to trouble you Brothers Chai to search the front and back of the houses thoroughly, so we can finally put this to rest."

Jin Qianqian sneered. "Let them."

County Magistrate Wu also felt these people were pushing their luck. If he were in her shoes, he certainly wouldn’t be as magnanimous as Mrs. Gu.

He turned to the arrest officer beside him and said, "Take your men and search the area thoroughly. We don’t want anyone using this as an excuse to cause trouble later."

The arrest officer was about to lead his men away when Cao Lei stepped forward. "We’ll join Brother Chai in the search. It’ll be faster that way."

The local villagers started to chime in. "That’s right! We villagers can help look too. If we have to, we’ll turn Zhouzhou Mountain inside out! We just have to satisfy them."

’Who wants to deal with these people all day?’ they thought. ’It’s better to get this over with quickly. Then we can go back up the mountain and gather some wild vegetables.’

Since no one objected, County Magistrate Wu did not stand in their way, nodding to signal his consent.

With so many people searching, the scope of the search naturally expanded. The areas in front of and behind the houses were packed with people. Some even scoured the outer edges of the mountain behind the village, but they still came up with nothing.

Xu Mutou and Cao Lei exchanged a glance, a sense of urgency rising within them. ’How could they not have found it?’

Jin Qianqian, meanwhile, sat leisurely in the courtyard, playfully teasing the freshly-awakened Gu Ben Can in her arms.

’Even if they turn the whole mountain upside down, they’ll never find a thing.’

’I still don’t know who’s plotting against me, but that’s not going to ruin my good mood. This has been a delay, but I’ve also managed to turn a small profit.’

’Thinking about the trove of valuables now resting in her space, she knew whoever was trying to frame her had spent a fortune.’

’They probably wanted to make my crime seem more severe, so they chose only expensive items, including over a thousand taels of Gold. Now, someone else has covered all my travel expenses, and I’ll even make a huge profit on top of it.’

Cao Lei’s heart felt like it was on fire, searing him with anxiety.

’How could they not find the items? I was the one who led my men to plant them there.’

’The original plan was to hide them behind the house, but who would have thought those guards would stand watch there all night? That’s what forced us to hide the goods on the mountain instead.’

’Now the goods have vanished into thin air. How am I supposed to explain this to the master when I get back?’

Xu Mutou was also frantic. ’If we’d just botched the job, we could have come up with an excuse. But now that so many valuables are actually lost, the future for my wife and children... I don’t even dare to imagine it.’

"Should... should we search the area again?" Xu Mutou could only look anxiously at the arrest officer. This time, his desperation was genuine, but it only served to annoy those who overheard him.

"Is this ever going to end..."

"You’ve already turned our whole village inside out and found nothing. Are you planning to flip over all of Daqing Mountain next?"

"They must think our village is an easy target, trying to pin the blame on us no matter what."

"Who knows if they even lost anything to begin with? They probably just came here to try and extort us!"

"You know, that actually makes sense. But I don’t think they’re trying to extort *us*. After all, our village is so poor we can barely feed ourselves."

This remark sparked a new line of thinking among the crowd. Everyone turned to look at Xu Mutou and his group with contempt.

’These people must be even more desperate than us villagers to come up with such a pathetic scheme.’

Xu Mutou was speechless.

So was Cao Lei.

The other merchants who had supposedly lost goods were groaning inwardly. Things had come to this; they had no choice but to accept their losses.

It seemed this whole business trip was a complete waste. With a sigh, they silently faded back into the crowd.

Xu Mutou and Cao Lei were now in a real panic. If all those goods were truly lost, even if they managed to get out of this situation, they would have no way to answer to their master.

But they couldn’t possibly say anything. Were they really just going to have to suffer this loss in silence?

Of course not. Even if they were willing to swallow this bitter pill, Jin Qianqian wasn’t about to let them.

Seeing that the situation had reached a boiling point, she handed the child to her nanny, straightened her skirt, and then walked out the main gate with her attendants.

"Lord County Magistrate, things are clear now. We have nothing to do with this so-called theft.

"However, I believe there are many suspicious elements to this case. I must ask Your Lordship to grant me justice."

Seeing her stance, County Magistrate Wu groaned inwardly. ’Here we go.’

"Mrs. Gu, you have been wronged today. I will charge them with the crime of false accusation."

Jin Qianqian glanced at the merchants being held by her guards. "Your Lordship is mistaken. I suspect they came here with a plan. Otherwise, how could their goods have simply vanished into thin air?

"They were so certain the items were lost right in this area. That means one of two things: either there’s a thief in their own ranks, or this entire affair was premeditated."

County Magistrate Wu had his own suspicions. For these people to cause such a commotion and so stubbornly insist on searching here, it was clear there was more to this than met the eye.

He cast a thoughtful glance at Xu Mutou and Cao Lei. The anxious expressions on their faces were even more pronounced now.

Furthermore, these men had slowly guided the situation to this point, step by step. It was impossible not to be suspicious.

"The merchants who lost items, step forward. Now, tell me again, in detail. What exactly did you lose? And what is its value?"

The steward at his side had already pulled out a brush and paper. He borrowed a small table from a nearby maid and prepared to take a statement on the spot.

Previously, everyone had only given a rushed report of what was missing. Now, they had to provide a detailed inventory.

...

After everyone had reported their losses, the crowd’s gaze toward Xu Mutou and Cao Lei began to shift.

’Traveling with gold is one thing, but a whole box of jewelry?’

’Any traveling merchant knows you exchange valuables for silver notes and keep them on your person. Who would be careless enough to just leave items like that in their bags?’

’Besides, merchants traveling all over the country try to convert as much of their cash as possible into merchandise. How else are you supposed to maximize your profits?’

Cao Lei hung his head, his heart a mix of regret and remorse. ’I thought this was a foolproof plan, but now it’s completely backfired.’

’If I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have fought tooth and nail for this assignment. Now I have to tread carefully, or I might not even make it out of this village alive.’

He stole a glance at Xu Mutou, praying that the man had enough backbone not to break.