"Sir, your humble servant has discovered something…"
Just as Han Mo was about to leave, Lü Ying quietly approached him.
"What is it? Why are you acting so shifty?"
Seeing his timid demeanor, Han Mo frowned.
"As you commanded, I specifically had our men add some meat to their food. However, I noticed that three of them ate only plain rice from beginning to end!"
"Is that so strange?"
Looking at his secretive manner, Han Mo was momentarily bewildered.
"Sir, the food in this prison is unusually poor. Normally, these one pound of wild vegetable dumplings contain half a pound of sand. These people usually devour such vegetable dumplings ravenously, yet they refused meat and chose plain rice. Don't you find that strange?"
"It is a bit strange, but what does it prove?"
Upon hearing Lü Ying's words, Han Mo genuinely found it peculiar.
After all, in this era, even the servants of ordinary wealthy families could consider it a sign of their master's benevolence if they ate meat once or twice a month.
In a prison cell, encountering meat and choosing to eat only plain rice was indeed quite odd.
"Have you heard of the Manichaeism from Liangzhe?"
After carefully surveying the surroundings and confirming that the nearest constables were dozens of paces away, Lü Ying spoke again.
"You mean…?"
"Every night, those three men huddle together. When the night is deep and quiet, they whisper to each other. Although the others in the prison cannot hear what they are murmuring, I have a feeling they seem to be…"
After listening to him, Han Mo's brow furrowed deeply.
If this were true, then this matter was indeed quite intriguing.
The brother-in-law of a prime minister being connected to Manichaeism.
If this news were to reach Bianliang City, he wondered how Prime Minister Li himself would handle the fallout.
"Who else knows about this matter?"
Han Mo frowned and asked again.
"Currently, only I and the constable in the prison who discovered this irregularity know!"
"What is that fellow's name?"
"His name is Zhou Lin, everyone calls him Zhou Sanlang!"
Seeing Han Mo's serious expression, Lü Ying quickly replied.
"Is this person reliable?"
"Rest assured, Sir. This person is absolutely reliable. Although he is just a lowly constable, he has a good head on his shoulders when he does things!"
Hearing Lü Ying say this, Han Mo immediately understood. It seemed this fellow was one of his trusted confidantes.
"You will have those three men brought out individually and confined to a separate prison cell. No one is allowed to approach them or interact with them, except for that Zhou Sanlang!"
"Also, tell Zhou Sanlang not to mention this matter to anyone. Let him pretend he knows nothing. After this is settled, this official will reward him handsomely!"
"Understood!"
Lü Ying left, but Han Mo lost the inclination to go out.
He returned to his temporary study and began searching through the documents related to Manichaeism from a nearby box.
After several hours of painstaking work, he gained a general understanding of Manichaeism.
Although Manichaeism had once been prevalent, and its scriptures had even been included in the Daoist canon, following the court's suppression,
Manichaeism was now primarily circulated in the Fujian and Zhejiang regions, having virtually disappeared from the interior.
Why would Manichaean followers suddenly emerge at such a sensitive time and around such a sensitive person?
Prime Minister Li Bangyan was someone Han Mo had painstakingly managed to get into his position. If he were now implicated in a Manichaean rebellion, he would likely be ousted before he had even settled into his role.
Although all three of them were not good individuals, compared to Wang Fu and Bai Shizhong, this dissolute prime minister was the least harmful.
Moreover, and more importantly, he was far easier to deal with than Wang Fu and Bai Shizhong.
Firstly, he lacked a powerful backing, and he had many political rivals in the court.
Once Han Mo had suitable personnel, he could directly oust him at any time.
Secondly, Han Mo could currently influence Li Bangyan's stance on certain critical issues by influencing the Crown Prince.
Even for these two reasons alone, Han Mo could not stand by and watch Li Bangyan be schemed against…
"Go find Jiang Yan for me!"
After contemplating for a moment, Han Mo directly instructed Xu Fengnian.
"Yes!"
"Nephew-in-law, you were looking for me?"
A moment later, Jiang Yan arrived before Han Mo in a flurry.
"I have a task for you. You will immediately take several men and rush to Junxian…"
As Han Mo spoke, he deliberately lowered his voice and whispered into Jiang Yan's ear.
"But if we leave, then your side…"
"Don't worry. This is still within Neihuang County. You don't need to worry about my safety!"
Since Han Mo had said so, Jiang Yan could only nod and agree.
After cupping his hands to Han Mo once more, he turned and walked out of Han Mo's room.
"Brother Mo, that merchant surnamed Feng has arrived and is waiting outside. Should you…"
Just as Han Mo was lost in thought, Xu Fengnian quietly entered and whispered.
"Let him in!"
Taking a deep breath, Han Mo collected his thoughts.
While this matter was important, ensuring the people had enough to eat was also a top priority.
The weather had begun to clear today. If this weather continued, the rice harvest would be ready in about six or seven days.
After paying the autumn taxes, countless people would face the problem of repaying the green shoot loans.
Although this year's flood season had passed safely, many civilian fields had been washed away by the rain. Four strings of cash might not sound like much, but it could alleviate the pressing needs of many, preventing them from losing wealth accumulated over generations for a mere few strings of cash.
"Sir, I heard the county yamen caught fire. Should we…"
Seeing that Han Mo was unharmed, Feng Yuanbao visibly relaxed.
"No need. Take advantage of the time before the autumn harvest and quickly arrange matters. This will also give the people more time to prepare!"