Chapter 451

Jin Ling, Yumin Square.

In the main room of the inner courtyard, the slanted sunlight shone into the room, tracing several mottled and warm shadows. The room was quiet, harmonious, and peaceful.

Qu Hongxiu was helping Jia Cong tidy up his summer clothes. She wore a pine-smoke green dark-patterned cross-collar jacket, a white cross-collar undershirt, and an ivory-white skirt embroidered with magnolia branches.

The skirt was graceful, the clothing belt was elegant, and the heroic and handsome look of the past had faded a bit, and her demeanor had become a bit more homely, elegant, and charming.

Jia Cong came to Jin Ling in the eighth month, which was midsummer, but now it was early autumn.

The main culprits of the Jin Ling big case had all been brought to justice, and Jia Cong's mission was nearing its end, and returning to the capital to report the decree was imminent.

Qu Hongxiu had already begun to organize his luggage for him, so that he wouldn't have to organize it in a hurry when he left.

As for Du Hengxin's accidental murder, it was after Jia Cong handed over the prisoner, so this matter had nothing to do with him, and no one could blame him.

Capturing the assassin was the business of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Ying Tian Prefecture, and he naturally would not intervene, happy to have a half-day of leisure in his life.

Since the day he handed over Du Hengxin at the port, he had been free from worldly affairs, spending his days in Yumin Square, or going to Mingze Lane to visit Ling Guan and Zou Min'er.

He even rarely went to the Firearm Division of the Ministry of Works, and all official duties and miscellaneous matters were handed over to the subordinates.

In his spare time, he focused on reading the two volumes of current affairs essays compiled by Liu Jing'an, because the end of next spring was the time for the imperial examination of the fifteenth year of Emperor Jia Zhao.

At this time, Qu Hongxiu finished organizing all of Jia Cong's washed and dried summer clothes and packed them into boxes.

The room was quiet, and she was about to get up and leave the room, but she noticed a shadow moving behind her. Her slender waist had already been gently hugged by Jia Cong.

For many years, the two had passed on arts and practiced martial arts, and there was no lack of intimacy, but they had never been so close.

Since the journey to Gu Su, the two had been entangled in the carriage, and after that, when they were alone, Jia Cong couldn't help but do some intimate things.

Qu Hongxiu's pretty face flushed, and she struggled slightly: "You are becoming more and more unruly now. If you have something to say, just say it, why are you moving your hands again."

Just as Qu Hongxiu said, she was at least half a master, and he would get close whenever he had the chance.

Jia Cong ignored Qu Hongxiu's blame. The breath he exhaled made Qu Hongxiu's neck a bit itchy, which made her eyes hot and her heart beat faster.

Qu Hongxiu blamed: "Just make trouble, when the time comes, if Keqing bumps into us, which of us will be embarrassed..."

Jia Cong only felt that his hands were holding a slender grip, flexible and powerful, with faint fragrance, and his heart felt unusually comfortable and warm.

As his return journey was imminent, and he had to leave Qu Hongxiu in Jin Ling to manage the business, he didn't know when they would meet next time, and he became more and more reluctant to let go.

He found words to say: "Why did Keqing take Baozhu out early in the morning? Is there an emergency in the shop?"

Qu Hongxiu saw that he refused to let go, so she let him be and said: "You are about to return to the capital, Keqing went out to buy gifts for you."

"You have been in Jin Ling for so long, there are many sisters in the family, and elders like the old lady in the mansion, you always have to bring some casual gifts, you can't let you go back empty-handed."

Jia Cong frowned and said: "Those sisters of mine don't care about these things, why bother Keqing so much and run out for nothing."

Qu Hongxiu turned around, tidied his collar, and said: "I know you are not close to the old lady in the mansion, but now you have established your own household, which is different from before. Some etiquette cannot be saved."

"It's not that it's not decent for your Count's mansion, and it's not a good thing for you to study and be an official if gossip spreads. For you officials, isn't reputation the most important thing?"

Jia Cong smiled: "Sister Xiu also cares about these fine details now. Don't you always dislike me being an official?"

Qu Hongxiu heard this, her heart trembled slightly, and she suddenly remembered the portrait hidden in her room...

"You are so capable, and you have this kind of background. It doesn't make sense not to let you study and be an official. You have to really not want to anymore, then that's okay."

Jia Cong had always known that Qu Hongxiu didn't care much about him being an official, which was very different from the ideas of most women at the time, and he had always not known the reason.

He speculated in his heart that maybe Qu Hongxiu was from the Hidden Sect, and there was probably a natural barrier with officialdom, so he had always not cared.

He said: "No matter if I am an official or not, I will be careful and cautious, so that Sister Xiu will be satisfied and live such a peaceful life."

Qu Hongxiu pursed her lips and smiled. I don't know what she thought of, and said with a red face: "You don't need to say nice things to coax me, and you don't need to comfort me like this. Like Keqing, my identity is not allowed to see too much light."

"I don't ask for anything, but I will definitely treat you wholeheartedly, and you are not allowed to forget what you said today."

The two sat together again, chattering and saying many intimate words...

At this time, footsteps were heard at the gate of the inner courtyard. Qu Hongxiu pushed Jia Cong away with a red face and took out a handkerchief to wipe the rouge off Jia Cong's mouth.

Qin Keqing brought Baozhu into the inner courtyard and asked several old women to carry three boxes in.

Keqing saw Jia Cong and Qu Hongxiu come out, smiled and opened all the boxes. Under the bright sunlight, the things in the boxes were dazzling.

Keqing said like a treasure: "In this box are top-quality Su embroidery, silk, four treasures of the study, skirts, hairpins, and some sandalwood fans, Yang Zhou spices, Huizhou clay figures, painted paper umbrellas, and other playthings."

"They are all for the sisters in the mansion. Brother Cong, I have already divided them. This share is for Miss Yingchun, this share is for Sister Seeing Tan Chun, this share is for Miss Lin..."

"I have added tags to each share, so you don't have to spend your brain. When the time comes, let your maid send them."

"And this box is for the elders in the mansion. I have stayed in the mansion for a period of time and know their preferences somewhat."

"These things are commonly used at home, and they are not lively, but the things are all top-quality. Sending them to people is not ostentatious, and it is also intimate enough."

Compared to the warmth and harmony in Jia Cong's Yumin Square, the whole Jin Ling city has been quite turbulent these past few days.

Although the main culprit of the Jin Ling big case, Du Hengxin, was assassinated and died, it did not have any impact on the clearing of the legacy of the big case.

Zhou Zhengyang and Luo Xiong, who were detained by the Ministry of Justice, finally broke their psychological defenses after several days of interrogation by this Ministry of Justice official, and confessed to the crimes involved one by one.

The inside story involved in their confessions could all be verified with the secret account book left by Zou Huaiyi.

The secret account book of the Water Surveillance Division left by Zou Huaiyi allowed the Ministry of Justice to have a more accurate judgment on the reliability of the interrogation confessions.

The detailed list sorted out by Jia Cong according to the secret account book also made the interrogation and promotion of the case by the Ministry of Justice achieve twice the result with half the effort.

After Yang Hongbin completed the preliminary interrogation of the two main culprits, a large-scale arrest in Jin Ling city was launched with an unstoppable momentum.

Guo Lin listened to Jia Cong's suggestion and ordered the Five Cities Military Commission to increase the blockade of the thirteen city gates of Jin Ling during the search, to prevent the suspects involved from taking the opportunity to flee.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard transferred three hundred-household teams, mainly responsible for the arrest of officials involved in the case, and expanded manpower when necessary.

All available shopkeepers and runners of the Ying Tian Prefecture were sent to participate in the arrest.

In the following few days, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was like a reincarnation of Yama, possessed by a fierce god, running around the city, and wherever they went, there was endless panic.

The six ministries of the auxiliary capital, the Regional Military Commissioner's office, the Jin Ling Guard, the Shipping Office, and other government offices and garrisons in the city almost all had officials arrested.

When the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrested suspects in the Regional Military Commissioner's office, the Jin Ling Guard, and other military garrisons, there were even several armed resistances.

Many of these suspects hidden in the military garrisons were subordinates of Du Hengxin and Zhou Zhengyang, and these people were originally fierce people.

It was just that after the imperial decree was issued, the Zhenjiang Guard and Changzhou Guard armies pressed into the city outside the city, and Jia Cong's eight hundred musketeer guards were stationed in the city.

Zhou Zhengyang's rumored assassination and Du Hengxin's escape from the port left these people without a leader, so they didn't dare to act rashly for a while.

Now that the Embroidered Uniform Guard's swords were added to their bodies, they could no longer have any scruples and were unwilling to sit and wait for death, so they could only raise their swords to resist.

Fortunately, the general situation in Jin Ling had been determined, and there were strong armies inside and outside the city to deter them. Unless it was the main culprit, who was at the end of their rope, they would not make a desperate move.

The subordinates all shrank and compromised, unwilling to cut off their own retreat.

Because when the Embroidered Uniform Guard took people, although they encountered armed resistance, both sides had several killings, causing quite a commotion in Jin Ling city, but the scale of the riot was within controllable limits.

In the end, it was suppressed by Jia Cong's musketeer team...

The Embroidered Uniform Guard died in battle eleven people, the Ying Tian Prefecture runners died six people, and more than thirty people from the Regional Military Commissioner's office and the Jin Ling Guard who resisted arrest all died in the volley of muskets, and not a single living person was left.

The small-scale riots in the military garrisons were suppressed so fiercely and quickly, which gave a powerful deterrent to Jin Ling city, which was somewhat restless under the big search.

With the eight hundred musketeers under Jia Cong as the backing, the situation became much smoother in the subsequent searches. A search of the inner city with a larger scale than two years ago lasted for three full days before ending.

According to the confessions of Zhou Zhengyang and Luo Xiong, as well as the Water Surveillance Division secret account book left by Zou Huaiyi, with the increase of arrested suspects, more and more secrets in Jin Ling city were uncovered.

Its state and actions were shocking.

In the end, the officials of the various ministries involved, as well as the five sea merchants who secretly participated in the disposal of stolen goods, totaling more than 150 suspects, were brought to justice one by one.

The prisons of the Ying Tian Prefecture and the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison were all overcrowded.

Jin Ling city became incomparably clear at that moment, but how long this clarity could be maintained, who could know.

As long as greed and ambition still exist in this world, and there is a crazy pursuit of power and wealth, such things will sooner or later happen again.

The Jin Ling Water Surveillance Division big case, which once shocked the world, although the legacy was cleared, it gradually came to an end.

But one thing is extinguished, it does not mean that everything is extinguished...

Jin Ling, Xicheng, Yinghua Gate.

Near the foot of the city wall, there was a food shop. Three men in plain clothes entered the shop, one of whom was the Embroidered Uniform Guard Platoon Leader Liu Hai.

Ever since the Zhen family's Hai Yun Pavilion suddenly caught fire, someone robbed that batch of very suspicious Ottoman refined iron under Liu Hai's nose. This was a big setback for Liu Hai. Fortunately, he was a confidant of the Thousand-Household Ge Captain Ge Zhi Cheng. Although he was reprimanded by his superior, he was not treated otherwise.

Zhen family's third young master, Zhen Shiwen, reported to the Ying Tian Prefecture soon after the incident, saying that the shop had been robbed of property.

According to the verification of the Ying Tian Prefecture, on the day the fire occurred, many people saw the fire brigade enter the Hai Yun Pavilion warehouse to extinguish the fire, and some people saw these people moving suspicious wooden boxes halfway.

So the thieves disguised themselves as the fire brigade and took advantage of the chaos to rob the property of the Zhen family's shop, which was beyond doubt. The whole thing was that the Zhen family was the victim.

The Zhen family is a Jin Ling official family, and has quite a foundation in Shen Jing and the palace. Without solid evidence, even the Embroidered Uniform Guard dare not embarrass the Zhen family at will.

Zhen Shiwen, who was closely related to this matter, reported to the Ying Tian Prefecture early, completely in the posture of a victim. Liu Hai wanted to start from him, but couldn't find a way.

The matter of the Hai Yun Pavilion refined iron reached a stalemate, making Liu Hai feel that he had lost face, and he swore that he must find the thieves who robbed the refined iron.

He transferred the available elites from his hundred-household office and searched for clues in the east and west cities of Jin Ling every day, and didn't even return to the Thousand-Household Office much.

Yesterday, Thousand-Household Ge Captain Ge Zhi Cheng suddenly summoned him back to ask questions.

Liu Hai only then knew that something big had happened in the Thousand-Household Office. The Embroidered Uniform Guard escorting the wanted criminal Du Hengxin was actually assassinated halfway.

But Ge Captain Ge Zhi Cheng summoned him back urgently, not for this matter, but to ask in detail about the robbery of the Hai Yun Pavilion refined iron.

And he determined that the batch of refined iron was a suspicious object, and now that it had been robbed with careful planning, there must be something strange about it.

He didn't blame Liu Hai for his lack of progress in the investigation, but even asked him to investigate with all his strength, and all elite manpower could be transferred by him.

The superior's attention to this matter made Liu Hai's confidence increase greatly, and he became more and more careful about the refined iron matter.

Since he couldn't find the thieves who robbed the refined iron, he could only rack his brains and find another way, and his eyes returned to the most suspicious Zhen Shiwen of the Zhen family.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard had no evidence to question Zhen Shiwen, it did not affect Liu Hai's careful search of his background, hoping to find some suspicious points.

This was originally a stupid method thought of when he was at his wit's end, and it even had the meaning of carving a boat to mark the sword.

But it was this stupid method that really made him find some clues.

He transferred the records of Zhen Shiwen's two private transportations of muskets from the Shipping Office and found that he had privately transported three Lu Mi muskets for the second time, and transported an English silversmith into Jin Ling on the same ship.

This Englishman who entered Jin Ling with the lost muskets attracted Liu Hai's attention.

He asked people to visit and investigate all the shops of the Zhen family in Jin Ling secretly, but didn't find the existence of this English silversmith.

It seemed that after this person entered Jin Ling, his tracks strangely disappeared.

This made him suspicious of this English silversmith, although this suspicion couldn't find supporting evidence for a while.

But when the Hai Yun Pavilion refined iron was robbed and the matter reached a dead end, this suspicion became the only straw Liu Hai could grasp.

In the subsequent street visits, he kept this matter in his heart.

Yesterday, he finally received a relevant report, pointing out that Western white people often entered and exited this food shop near Yinghua Gate, so Liu Hai brought his subordinates to try his luck.

He found a table in the shop to sit down and asked his subordinates to find the shop owner to ask questions.

The owner saw Liu Hai's subordinates show the Embroidered Uniform Guard waist token and was so scared that his face turned white. He just couldn't think of where he had offended these fierce stars.

Liu Hai asked: "I heard news that white barbarians often enter and exit your shop. Is there an English white barbarian in his thirties?"

The shop owner said tremblingly: "Reporting to the official, business in the Xicheng is not easy to do. In order to make a living, the small shop makes some Hu cakes and smoked meat that barbarians like to eat. There are quite a few barbarians who have come."

"I don't know which one the official is talking about?"

Liu Hai took a page of documents from his bosom. This was a page he extracted from the Shipping Office documents, which described the appearance of the English silversmith in detail.

With the implementation of the Da Zhou maritime policy, the maritime trade industry in Jin Ling flourished, and many barbarians entered Jin Ling every day, among whom it was difficult to distinguish between good and bad.

In order to strengthen control and prevent accidents, all Western barbarians entering the country must have complete documents before they can go ashore and enter the city, and must register at the Shipping Office.

These registration documents not only record the names and nationalities of the Western barbarians entering the city but also use text to describe their general appearance characteristics.

And these appearance descriptions also became an important basis for Liu Hai to find this English silversmith.

Liu Hai held the page of documents and said: "This person is of great build, six feet tall, with golden curly hair, an eagle nose, blue eyes, slightly red skin, and a black mole under the left nostril."

"Has such an appearance ever appeared in your shop? You'd better think about it. If you know and don't report it, or intentionally conceal it, your shop won't have to open in the Xicheng!"

The shop owner was frightened by Liu Hai's threat and hurriedly said: "According to what the official said, there really was a barbarian with such an appearance in the shop."

"This person is much taller than ordinary people, and just like what the official said, he grew a black mole under his left nostril, which is very eye-catching."

Liu Hai's expression lifted when he heard this, and he hurriedly asked: "When did this person come to the shop?"

The shop owner said: "This barbarian came to the shop half a month ago. He also likes to eat the Hu cakes and smoked meat in my shop, as well as boiled milk."

Liu Hai frowned when he heard this and asked with some doubt: "There are so many customers in your shop. He came half a month ago, how can you remember so clearly?"

But the shop owner accompanied with a smile: "The official is right. If it were normal times, the small person would definitely not remember the customers who came half a month ago, but this Western barbarian is a bit different, so the small person would remember."

Liu Hai's eyes lit up and asked: "What is different? Say it quickly."

The shop owner said: "Half a month ago, he came to the shop for the first time. Although he didn't come again later, a follower beside him came many times later."

He said that the Western barbarian was not used to the rice and grain of Da Zhou and only loved to eat the Hu cakes, smoked meat, and boiled milk in my shop.

So every three days, the follower would come to the shop to buy these foods once.

Liu Hai stood up excitedly when he heard this and asked: "Did the follower say where they live? When did he come to buy food last time?"

The shop owner replied: "Where they live, the small person didn't ask, and there is no reason to inquire about where the guests live."

"However, every time the follower bought things, he left the city from Yinghua Gate, so he must live somewhere in the western suburbs of the city. He came to buy food two days ago. Calculating the time, he should come again tomorrow."

Liu Hai's eyes were bright. He really didn't expect that the robbery of the refined iron would be found out by him by accident when he was at his wit's end and checking blindly. This Englishman who attracted his attention was really found.

He looked at the tall and majestic Dinghuai city gate and muttered to himself: "Western suburbs of the city..."

Western suburbs of the city, the majestic and continuous Zhong Shan mountain foothills, with high grass and deep forests, trees and sparse, rarely visited.

On the left side of a fork in the road in the mountain, there was a large dense forest. The light in the forest was dim, a piece of black, and the scene in the forest could not be seen clearly from outside the forest.

A carriage was parked in the forest, and five or six horses were tied, leisurely grazing on the green grass on the ground.

Five or six strong men carrying swords were stationed around the carriage.

Two people stood in front of the carriage, one was an ordinary-looking young man with half of his left little finger missing.

The other was a tall and graceful woman with a Japanese katana on her back.

The man was holding a map to check the terrain.

Suddenly, at the fork in the road in the mountain, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy servant rode a thin horse and walked out of the valley leisurely.

The clear sound of horse hooves echoed on the mountain road, attracting the attention of the men in the forest.

He looked at the map in his hand and then at the boy riding the horse to the east.

He said: "This kind of map was handed to me by Du Hengxin. The valley ahead is the location marked on the map."

"The person riding the horse just came out of the valley. It is rarely visited here. How can anyone appear there? This riding boy is mostly a person from the firearm private workshop."

The two discussed for a while, and the tall woman took four guards and rode into the valley, disappearing in a blink of an eye.

Half an hour passed, and suddenly there was an explosion in the valley, startling the birds in the mountains to fly around.

The man in the forest's eyes lit up and immediately asked his followers to drive the carriage to the edge of the forest to wait.

Five fast horses rushed out of the fork in the road in the mountain. The leader was the tall woman with a katana on her back. One of the guards behind her was pressing a man with his hands and feet tied on the saddle.

The five fast horses and the carriage met and flew towards the mountain road they came from, towards the western suburbs of Jin Ling city, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

It was only a cup of tea time, and seven or eight fast horses rushed out of the fork in the road in the mountain. These knights actually carried new-style Lu Mi muskets on their backs.

The leader stopped the horses and looked at the chaotic carriage tracks and horse hoof prints on the ground.

This person was in his twenties, tall, with a straight nose and a wide mouth, prominent cheekbones, and bright eyes, revealing shrewdness and capability.

A knight beside him asked: "General, could it be that the government discovered our workshop and sent someone to rob Henry?"

The young man said: "The location of the construction workshop is secret, and we are very cautious in entering and leaving. The government could not possibly know. If it were really government troops, they wouldn't just rob Henry."

"The location of the workshop, except for ourselves, only Du Hengxin knew. He also had a map of the workshop."

The knight said: "News came from outside the city yesterday that Du Hengxin had been assassinated and died. How could he still rob our firearm technician?"

The young man said: "Although Du Hengxin is dead, this person was once in a high position and had many claws and teeth. This matter must have been done by his people."

"Otherwise, how could these people know where the workshop's gunpowder was stored? If they hadn't detonated the gunpowder and caused chaos, Henry wouldn't have been robbed."

"We must grab the person back, otherwise if the news leaks, we will all be in big trouble!"

(End of chapter)