Chapter 3643: Investigation
Chapter 3643: Investigation
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Your Highness, had something happened..."
"Last night, the cargo ship that had docked at the port had been attacked by unknown enemies, and all the goods had been looted." Willow raised her head and looked at Cao Ge with a suspicious gaze, asking, "Had you known about this?"
"Ah?"
Cao Ge had naturally already known about this matter, but he immediately began acting, a flash of shock passing through his eyes before he showed an anxious expression. "How could this be? My sapphire mine? We had spent a great deal of effort obtaining it. Who had done this?"
"The matter was still under investigation."
"Your Highness! There was no need to investigate anymore. It must have been the Seth Chamber of Commerce! I had known they would not let us go easily!" Cao Ge said with an angry expression. "Your Highness, those sapphires were for making alchemy puppets! Please, help us recover them."
"Whether it had anything to do with the Seth Chamber of Commerce still needed to be investigated." Willow shook her head. "I will report this matter to His Majesty for a decision."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Cao Ge and Meng Qingyu left the princess’s palace and looked at each other, then could not help but burst into laughter.
It had been settled!
...
The person most anxious about the stolen sapphire mine had been Casbin.
The entire port guard team had been overwhelmed, searching for every possible clue.
However, it had been useless!
They could not find any trace of intrusion.
How had so many ore shipments just disappeared?
Were they saying someone had quietly transported all the goods away at night?
What a joke!
Apart from internal theft, they could not think of any other possibility.
Not only others, but even Casbin’s own soldiers had also begun looking at him with suspicious eyes in private.
Yet Casbin had been very sure in his heart that he had not done this.
"Captain, people from the Seth Chamber of Commerce had arrived. They had heard about the stolen ore and wanted to board the ship for inspection."
The Seth Chamber of Commerce!
Those troublesome people!
At a time like this, they were still adding to the chaos?
Casbin forced himself to calm down and think.
The greatest beneficiary behind this matter...
Should have been the Seth Chamber of Commerce.
Could it have been them?
Unfortunately, behind the Seth Chamber of Commerce stood Duke Windy, so Casbin had no choice but to grit his teeth and go to the port to receive them.
He had barely spoken a few sentences when Cao Ge had arrived again with his team to demand the sapphire crystals.
Cao Ge had come simply to act and to take revenge, "Casbin! Where were my sapphires? Who had done this?"
Casbin had already been irritated enough and had forced down his anger. "Rest assured, I will give you an explanation."
"An explanation? I was afraid you could not give me one!" Cao Ge stared at him, eyes slightly red, and threatened, "Listen carefully, these supplies were military resources assigned by Your Highness. The matter had already been reported to His Majesty. If His Majesty held you accountable, none of you would escape!"
How could that be!
Casbin felt his head spin.
Had His Majesty actually ordered a full investigation?
Why?
The members of the Seth Chamber of Commerce also showed different expressions upon hearing this.
What did this mean?
Had the princess suddenly decided to side with Cao Ge’s Chamber of Commerce?
Casbin had countless thoughts flash through his mind and then immediately pointed at the Seth Chamber of Commerce. "It was them! Only their chamber of commerce had entered the ship’s hold yesterday! It could only have been them!"
The Seth Chamber of Commerce people were also stunned.
Was Casbin trying to protect himself?
"You are talking nonsense! When had we ever entered the ship’s hold!"
Cao Ge looked at the two sides in dispute and could not help but curl up a cold smile, feeling satisfied.
Good.
Fight! Keep fighting!
Dog-eat-dog!
...
[Hint: The player team’s development of the sapphire puppet had gained the Empire’s attention, and the player team’s reputation had increased.]
Fang Heng and Cao Ge had split into two groups and were waiting in the side hall of the palace.
After a moment, Princess Willow entered the hall escorted by several guards.
Everyone stood and saluted. "Greetings, Your Highness."
Fang Heng observed the princess.
Willow had just turned twenty. Her skin was fair, and perhaps due to years of military training, she carried a hint of sharpness between her brows.
"Congratulations to you all. My father was also very aware of the importance of alchemy puppets, and he had been furious about the stolen sapphire crystals. He had ordered a strict investigation, and the results would likely come soon."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Meng Qingyu suppressed his urge to laugh and bowed in thanks.
Results?
What results? How could they possibly trace it back to Fang Heng?
"Additionally, my father was very satisfied with your chamber of commerce’s development of sapphire puppets and had elevated your chamber of commerce to an Imperial Chamber of Commerce."
A game prompt appeared in Fang Heng’s vision again.
[Hint: The player’s Chamber of Commerce had obtained the Empire Chamber of Commerce status. In the Empire region, commercial activities and goods transportation would gain additional reputation and tax reductions.]
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"You need not be polite. This is what you deserved."
Willow also looked at Fang Heng with curiosity.
She was very interested in this new leader of the Chamber of Commerce.
It was said he was the developer of the sapphire crystal puppet.
The final refining method of the alchemy puppet had also been tightly controlled by him alone.
"I did not expect Mr. Fang Heng to be so young."
Fang Heng nodded with a smile.
"As a member of the Empire Chamber of Commerce, you could obtain one god statue from the Imperial treasury. When you are ready, I will bring you there."
Fang Heng replied, "Thank you, Your Highness. We were ready now."
"Now? Everything had been prepared?"
Willow showed a hint of surprise, then instructed a guard, "Go invite Mr. Langdon."
"I will take you to the Imperial treasury."
...
Soon, everyone arrived at the royal treasury.
An old man with a white beard was already waiting at the entrance, smiling and greeting them, "Your Highness."
"Mr. Langdon," Willow nodded and introduced, "These two are representatives of the newly joined Empire Chamber of Commerce. They needed to enter the treasury to select a god statue."
"I had already heard about this. Congratulations to both of you."
Meng Qingyu observed Langdon.
The famous, great mage of the Empire, extremely powerful, had served five generations of the royal family and was also the head of the royal magic academy. His status had never been shaken.
The guards opened the treasury doors.
Willow led the way in and reminded them, "These were god statues collected by the royal family over the years. The power of the gods need not be explained; those who had spent time at sea should understand better than I do. To fully awaken their power, assistance from wizards was still required. The royal family maintained a group of trained wizards. If needed, you could rent them, but the price was high."
Fang Heng entered the royal treasury and looked at the forty-eight display platforms arranged in a square at the center of the treasury.
Almost every display platform had placed upon it a god statue.