Xu Yi let out a sigh, sat back down, and said, "That's why you're Brother Tao. What you hear here, stays here. Please don't tell anyone, Brother Tao. After all, other people won't be the modest gentlemen you are, and they'll compete with me."
Tao Jingshan was speechless with embarrassment, at a loss for how to respond.
Xu Yi continued, "I said I had evidence, and I wasn't bluffing. Have you ever wondered why Ming Liding didn't keep his office at Sanyang Mountain after quelling the bandit uprising? He told people the mountain had been ravaged by bandits and left in ruins, but was that really true? The bandits at Sanyang Mountain were the first to be wiped out. That was two years ago. In two years, the mountain had long since been restored."
"As I see it, there's only one reason Ming Liding refused to keep his prefectural office at Sanyang Mountain: he knew there was treasure there. He deliberately transferred the mountain to the Inner Court Department, then planned to buy it himself, all without anyone being the wiser, so he could quietly unearth the treasure. Now that I've uncovered this secret, I won't let him get his way so easily."
Tao Jingshan was stunned again.
Xu Yi's analysis fit together seamlessly. The more Tao thought about it, the more chilling it became.
He'd been asking around about Ming Liding's character and movements, trying to find out whether Ming had given up searching for the Old Prefect's hidden treasure.
But no matter how much Tao asked, the reports he received never gave him any certainty. They didn't come close to Xu Yi's piercingly thorough analysis.
The situation had become complicated.
He'd thought he was the only one involved. He hadn't expected this bastard before him to be in