Chapter 53: Learning the Truth

The night was deep and quiet.

The Prefecture Office was silent, and the night patrol had no idea where they had gone to sleep.

Yin Qi quietly snuck into the Prefecture Office and soon arrived outside a courtyard; this was where Jason, Davis, and a few other foreign devils were staying, a place usually reserved for entertaining high-ranking officials on business or passing through.

Yet, just because they were foreigners, the Prefect had enthusiastically offered this place to host them.

He had even arranged for guards to stand watch outside the courtyard.

The two guards were also drowsy, unaware even when Yin Qi arrived right in front of them.

He struck quickly, and both men passed out without even a muffled groan.

Yin Qi hurriedly steadied them to prevent them from hitting the ground and making noise, then placed them on the ground, posing them to look like they were sleeping against the wall.

Although there was no night patrol, one could never be sure if someone might pass by.

Seeing them in that state, people would likely not take it to heart.

Reality was not a television drama; the Prefecture Office was not that heavily guarded, nor did it have that many experts.

Besides, he was not there to assassinate the Prefect; even if there were experts in the Prefecture Office, they were likely in the back courtyard protecting the Prefect.

After dealing with the two yamen runners on guard duty, Yin Qi quietly entered the courtyard and discovered that the lights were still on in three rooms, but the people inside were already asleep, wasting candles for nothing.

Peering through a hole poked in the window paper, he saw Jason, Davis, and two other foreigners; they were Jason's attendants.

………

Slap! Slap!

Jason felt something cold tapping against his cheek. He opened his eyes hazily and saw a masked man standing before him, holding a gleaming blade in his hand.

The thing that had been tapping his cheek earlier was this very blade!

Jason suddenly realized what was happening. His pupils dilated, and he instinctively wanted to scream for help, but he discovered his mouth was stuffed with something, and he could only make muffled sounds.

Just then, the masked man spoke in a cold, chilling voice: "Don't make a sound, or I will kill you."

As the masked man's blade moved downward, he felt goosebumps rise all over his neck.

A scent of death lingered at the tip of his nose, and he could not help but stop his shouting, his eyes filled with pleading.

At this moment, he also looked around and discovered that, apart from himself, Davis and his two attendants were all tied to chairs, though their heads were drooping, and they seemed to still be in a deep sleep.

The masked man spoke again: "I have questions for you, but do not make any loud noises, otherwise I will kill you. Do you understand?"

William nodded repeatedly, having no other choice.

The masked man was naturally Yin Qi. He removed the cloth from Jason's mouth and asked coldly: "Why did you and Davis scheme to frame the Yin Family and Yin Xuan? Tell me everything truthfully. Do not attempt to lie. I will knock you out in a moment and wake them one by one to ask them. If you intentionally conceal anything, I will kill you."

Despair appeared in Jason's eyes.

He was also a smart man; since the other party had come specifically for Yin Xuan and the plan to frame the Yin Family, it meant the other party was definitely from the Yin Family.

But with his life in someone else's hands, he dared not fail to answer truthfully, nor did he dare to shout.

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me, I was also acting under orders."

Jason spoke hurriedly, immediately shifting the blame: "I am just a technician, responsible for that batch of equipment. Originally, after I finished the installation and training of the personnel, I was supposed to return to England, but suddenly a missionary found me..."

According to Jason, because of the rise of the internal combustion engine in Europe and America, many steam engine factories were facing the risk of bankruptcy and closure.

He was originally a technician at a steam engine factory. The factory manager decided to introduce internal combustion engine production and, somehow, made contact with China and found a buyer, so they loaded all the equipment onto a ship and transported it here.

Jason was responsible for installing the equipment and training the Chinese workers, but three months ago, a priest named William found him and demanded he pose as a Marquis who had come to China to strike it rich.

Before meeting Yin Xuan, he had already been active in Hangzhou for over two months, trying to sell the equipment to various parties, but he had quoted an extremely high price and added harsh conditions, which resulted in no one being willing to buy.

Thus, when he met Yin Xuan, after Yin Xuan conducted a simple investigation, he naturally did not suspect anything.

Just as guessed, Yin Xuan did not suspect him and very much wanted to buy this batch of equipment, but lacked the funds, so he suggested he knew a manager at HSBC Bank and proposed that he could take out a loan to make the purchase.

Later, he took Yin Xuan to Shanghai to handle the loan procedures. These procedures were very formal because Father William had only bribed Davis; the upper management of HSBC Bank was completely unaware.

But on the way back, according to the plan, they were going to kill Yin Xuan and create the illusion that Yin Xuan had absconded with the money.

It was just a pity that Yin Xuan had stumbled upon it a step early.

As for those two attendants, they were actually Father William's men. They stayed by Jason's side, firstly to supervise and control Jason, and secondly to help Jason contact Davis at HSBC Bank.

They both had decent skills, but in front of Yin Qi, they were not quite enough.

After saying all this, Jason argued desperately: "Really, everything I said is the truth. I am just an executor, and Yin Xuan was not wounded by me; it was all Davis and the others. Please, I beg you, let me go. I am willing to use silver dollars to atone for my sins."

"Father William!"

Yin Qi was somewhat surprised; he truly had not expected the mastermind to be Father William.

Logically speaking, the other party had no grudge against the Yin Family.

No, there was someone else behind the scenes.

Because according to Jason, these pieces of equipment had been bought by someone long ago.

This meant that the person who bought this equipment was also one of the masterminds behind the scheme to frame the Yin Family.

If the Yin Family's assets were confiscated, then the steam engine factory would naturally be his.

Thinking of this, Yin Qi asked coldly: "Who bought this equipment?"

Jason shook his head and said: "I am just a technician, how would I know so much? If it weren't for the fact that I know Chinese, I'm afraid this plan wouldn't have found me. However, as far as I know, this person should be from your Shanyin Prefecture."

"The Chen Family!"

Actually, without Jason saying it, Yin Qi had already guessed it was the Chen Family.

It was just that there was no evidence.

Thinking of this, he struck and knocked Jason out, then woke Davis and the other two one by one.

Through interrogating the three of them, he confirmed that the other mastermind was indeed the Chen Family.

According to the other two foreigners, Chen Mingxuan had sent his own daughter to the Church to be a Saintess a year ago, but in reality, it was just to give her to Father William as a plaything.

It was also through the merit of offering his daughter that Chen Mingxuan got connected with Father William.

This plan was proposed by Chen Mingxuan and carried out with the cooperation of Father William.

As for further details, these two missionaries did not know either.

After the interrogation, Yin Qi felt a secret chill.

In order to take revenge on the Yin Family, this Chen Mingxuan truly stopped at nothing, even sending his own daughter to an old foreign Ghost as a plaything; one must know that his daughter, Chen Yanran, was only eighteen years old and possessed an outstanding appearance.

"Simply a beast!"

Even a tiger does not eat its cubs; this Chen Mingxuan is simply worse than a beast.

………

Ten-odd minutes later, Yin Qi quietly left the Prefecture Office, leaving behind four corpses with their throats slit, while taking back the 700,000 in Silver Notes and Promissory Notes he had given that morning, as well as the 700,000 in Promissory Notes from HSBC Bank.

After leaving the Prefecture Office, Yin Qi headed straight for the Church.

It was already late, and he could only choose one side to eliminate between the Church and the Chen Family.

Although the true mastermind behind the scenes was Chen Mingxuan, Yin Qi still decided to eliminate the Church first, because if the foreigners at the Church—specifically Father William—were not removed, once the matter of the Chen Family being killed was exposed, the other party would very likely flee, or force the Prefect to deal with the Yin Family.

Conversely, if the Church were eliminated first, the Chen Family could not run, and without anyone to rely on, he could deal with them slowly.

(End of chapter)