"Indeed!" Qian Duobao's face was ridden with worry. "A carrier pigeon from Jiangnan delivered news that several ten thousand jin of freshly picked tea—worth forty to fifty thousand liang of snowflake-patterned silver—was robbed before it even left the southern borders! Even the few jin of top-grade Longjing tea that I wanted to present to His Highness was stolen! The merchants and guards responsible for escorting the tea were all severely injured, and the medical expenses alone have already cost me three thousand liang! You tell me, this is my first year serving as the Imperial Merchant, and why am I met with such ill fortune?!"
Lu Ying set down his vermillion pen.
Qian Duobao hadn't turned to the local officials in Jiangnan but came straight to him to pour out his grievances. This could only mean one thing—
The local officials in Jiangnan were colluding with the bandits.
