Houses on West Street.

In the hall.

Hu Fei looked at the trembling people kneeling on the ground and couldn't help but frown, with a hint of disappointment between his brows.

He could see that the fear of these people was not fake. Such a person could not be the one who sent people to steal the tribute.

This shows that his initial guess was correct and the bandits were not from the capital.

"Have there been any suspicious people in the capital recently, especially before and after the envoys entered the capital?"

Hu Fei hesitated and asked again.

After hearing Hu Fei's question, several people looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Really do not have?"

"You'd better think clearly. If you can't find the robber, you will be the unlucky one."

Hu Fei asked coldly with a stern face.

"No, really not! As long as you are a person on the road, once you enter the capital, there is no way you can hide it from us!"

"And if it's a tribute stolen by someone on the road, he can't hide it from all of us, and the news will definitely leak out!"

After hearing what Hu Fei said, one of the middle-aged men quickly raised his head and said nervously.

But although he was nervous, he spoke every word with confidence.

"You mean, the person who stole the tribute is not a person on the road?"

Hu Fei squinted his eyes, stared at the middle-aged man, and asked in a deep voice.

"without…"

"I'm not sure..."

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment and replied nervously.

Although he said he was not sure, Hu Fei believed it after hearing it.

"Who is he?"

Immediately afterwards, Hu Fei turned to look at Luo Ping, pointed at the middle-aged man who spoke, and asked lightly.

"Xue Huai, the shopkeeper of Changlefang."

Luo Ping took a look and replied respectfully.

"Changlefang? Isn't that a property on North Street? Why did it come to West Street?"

Hu Fei was stunned for a moment, looked at Xue Huai who was kneeling on the ground, raised his eyebrows and asked.

Speaking of which, he and Xue Huai had some interactions.

To be precise, it should be with Changlefang. When he first participated in Chunwei, he also lost one hundred thousand taels of silver in Changlefang.

"Oh, that's it. Although Changlefang is on North Street, his sphere of influence is actually on West Street."

Luo Ping explained hurriedly.

"You are quite capable if you can open the gambling shop to North Street, which is outside your sphere of influence."

Hu Fei looked at Xue Huai, smiled and said.

"Jiu'an Hou is overly praised. In front of you, how can a villain stand on the stage?"

Xue Huai raised his hands and said humbly.

"Speaking of which, I also lost a lot of money in your Changlefang."

Hu Fei said with a smile.

After hearing what Hu Fei said, Xue Huai was shocked and hurriedly kowtowed.

"No matter how much the Marquis has lost, I will definitely pay it back when the villain returns!"

Xue Huai explained tremblingly.

"No need, it's just a small amount of money."

"By the way, how did you get caught here?"

Hu Fei waved his hand and asked calmly.

As for the past incident, let's not mention it. I bet one hundred thousand taels that I couldn't win the first prize, and ended up losing.

If this spreads out, I'm afraid people will laugh out loud.

"this…"

After hearing Hu Fei's question, Xue Huai became a little hesitant and hesitated to speak.

The reason why these people were arrested was not only because they were local gangsters on West Street, but also because people from the Capital Military and Horse Division discovered something suspicious during the arrest.

Seeing that Xue Huai refused to answer, Hu Fei turned to look at Luo Ping.

"Returning to the Marquis, according to reports from my subordinates, Xue Huai was secretly meeting with people at that time. He seemed to be looking for someone to create some stereotype."

Luo Ping cupped his hands and replied hurriedly.

"It's mahjong!"

"Since Jiu'an Hou developed mahjong, it has become popular throughout the capital city, so I want to find someone to see if I can do some tricks in mahjong and use it in Changlefang."

As soon as Luo Ping finished speaking, Xue Huai, who was kneeling on the ground, cupped his hands and said with a blush on his face, cold sweat already oozing out from his forehead.

After hearing Xue Huai's explanation, Luo Ping showed a trace of disgust on his face.

But Hu Fei couldn't help but laugh.

People who are willing to go to great lengths to make money still have some merit.

What's more, gambling shops are inherently prone to gambling and fraud. The fault is not those who open the casinos, but those who are blinded by greed.

"Since you want to use mahjong to make money, isn't it inappropriate not to report to me?"

Hu Fei looked at Xue Huai and asked with a half-smile.

After hearing what Hu Fei said, Xue Huai was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Hu Fei meant.

"How about we split the profits of Changlefang between you and me? If you agree, I will pretend not to know about this."

"If you don't want to, then I will have to think carefully about how to deal with you."

Hu Fei smiled and said lightly.

"Just do as the Marquis wants, I don't have any complaints!"

As soon as Hu Fei finished speaking, Xue Huai hurriedly answered with his hands raised, without any hesitation.

This was originally a choice without a choice. He had no choice but to agree.

Moreover, the importance of having a backer like Hu Fei cannot be measured in terms of money.

Luo Ping on the side watched Hu Fei and Xue Huai reach an agreement in front of his eyes, feeling helpless. He didn't expect that Hu Fei was still thinking about making money at this time.

Seeing Xue Huai's agreement, Hu Fei nodded with satisfaction, with a faint smile on his lips.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps came, and Tang Duo slowly walked into the hall.

"Okay, it's okay, they can leave."

Hu Fei glanced at Luo Ping and said calmly.

"Did you hear me? You can leave now, but until the case is investigated clearly, no one can leave their own territory without authorization, or they may get burned!"

Luo Ping nodded, turned around and looked at the people kneeling on the ground, and said in a deep voice.

"Thank you so much, Marquis Jiu'an! Thank you so much, Commander Luo!"

When the people kneeling on the ground heard this, they hurriedly saluted respectfully and thanked him, then hurriedly stood up and left the house without looking back.

"How about it?"

After those people left, Hu Fei looked at Tang Duo and asked lightly.

"When I returned to Jiu'anhou, I made inquiries and found no clues."

Tang Duo bowed his hands, shook his head, and said helplessly.

After hearing Tang Duo's answer, Hu Fei's expression did not change at all, and he just nodded lightly.

In fact, he had expected this outcome a long time ago, so he didn't have high hopes from the beginning.

And he also understood why Xiao Qi asked him to ask Luo Ping for help to find a breakthrough in the mixed-race West Street.

In fact, he knew that this was what Prince Zhu Biao meant, and he was secretly signaling to him that if he really couldn't find any clues within three days, he would find a scapegoat among the people on West Street.

In this way, even if the lost tribute cannot be recovered, everyone can be given an explanation.

But Hu Fei didn't want to do this, at least not until the last moment. That would only prove his incompetence. Even if no one found out, Zhu Biao knew it.

"Since someone on the road did it, who could it be?"
To be continued...