Chapter 100: Old Matters

Buzheng Street, Wan'an County government office.

At dawn, the three shifts of government office Runners had already scattered to search for news on the second murderer in the dried corpse case.

Inside the western government office office, County Commandant Fei Ji stood before the desk, explaining with grave sincerity:

"Three years ago, your father sat here, but now this position has passed to me. In terms of feng shui, this is called the wheel of fortune turning..."

"Gurgle~"

Meiqiu squatted on the commandant's armchair. Though she could not speak, her eyes seemed to say—you'd be more familiar standing in front of the table...

Beside the tea table, Linghu Qingmo sat in a white dress, her sword placed within reach. Though her expression was cold and peerlessly beautiful, giving an air of formality and seriousness, her mind was entirely on:

No one is perfect; aside from being trapped by a love tribulation and being a bit shameless toward Misses, he has no other faults...

Don't get angry, don't get angry...

He kissed me then ran off to Physician Lin's house, and didn't return all night. Hmph...

The sun is already high; could he still be lingering on Physician Lin?

"A gentle bower is a hero's grave"—indeed, there is some truth to that...

Those who only accompany men to bed are merely concubines...

Yang Dabiao, arms crossed, stood at the doorway looking out expectantly, pondering seriously:

"Monk Fei Ji Bei, do you think Jinhuan has gone off to slay demons again? If he returns later carrying the head of the other murderer..."

"Then Lord Wu will still be exiled to Lingnan!"

Fei Ji couldn't coax Meiqiu, so he clasped his hands behind his back and approached:

"But this matter is difficult. Yesterday, the Mingshen Sect managed to assassinate Jinhuan, which means the other murderer is someone from the Mingshen Sect.

"This group of evil cultists hides deeply. The Imperial Observatory and the Red Scale Guard are all searching, yet so far they have unearthed not a single clue..."

After a brief chat, Fei Ji suddenly noticed Linghu Qingmo seemed distracted.

With Fei Ji's extraordinary experience, a mere glance told him the girl had just fallen in love. He thought for a moment and asked in a low voice:

"Miss Linghu and Jinhuan..."

Fearful of being beaten, Yang Dabiao quickly put on an expression of deep secrecy:

"Just keep it in your heart; don't ask too many questions."

Crack—

Linghu Qingmo snapped back to her senses, her willow brows furrowed as she slapped the tea table, startling Meiqiu into a jump.

But before she could formulate words to explain, she saw a figure leap down and land at the doorway.

Whoosh~

Seeing Xie Jinhuan approach, Fei Ji hurried forward to inspect him:

"Jinhuan is here? How did you sleep last night? Are your injuries alright?"

Xie Jinhuan had slept last night held by the girl with glasses, which was particularly delightful, but he certainly couldn't say that outright, so he just smiled and said:

"It was fine. I arrived a step late; Uncle Fei, don't overthink it."

"Oh, what kind of talk is that? Even if you come at night, you must have your own plans. Come, come, this is Lord Wu's treasured 'Silver Fang before Rain'; I swiped two taels of it and never dared to drink it..."

While Fei Ji spoke, he lifted the tea cabinet, dug out a small bamboo tube from inside, and began brewing tea.

Seeing this, Yang Dabiao immediately poured the large-leaf tea from his cup out the door:

"Hey! I said the tea cabinet was full of tree leaves; turns out the good stuff was hidden. Monk Fei Ji Bei, you're not being honest..."

"With your character, do you even deserve good tea? Not serving you dishwater was already polite..."

Xie Jinhuan returned to his father's office. Seeing acquaintances bickering just as they had in the past, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Noticing Meiqiu leaning against the armchair and refusing to move, he asked:

"Why are you squatting here?"

"Gurgle~"

Meiqiu hopped, meaning—son inherits father's business, helping you hold the seat.

Xie Jinhuan thought Meiqiu was quite considerate, but he had no desire to be a beast of burden as a county commandant. After taking the tea cup from Uncle Fei, he sat by the tea table and looked at the cold beauty beside him.

Linghu Qingmo had been kissed yesterday and hadn't slept well all night; now she certainly couldn't take the initiative to speak to Xie Jinhuan, so she just maintained the image of a cold, beautiful female constable.

Fei Ji served a cup of good tea to his future niece-in-law as well, then took a Juan Sect file from his robe and handed it to Xie Jinhuan:

"This is something sent by Prefect Chen. Over these years, I've actually picked up some information through indirect inquiries. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me anytime."

Xie Jinhuan took the file to examine it. It contained the details of the 'Ghost Disturbance at the Palace' and the 'Assassination Attempt on Xie Wen' cases. Judging by the seals, it had just been retrieved from the prefectural archives.

Yang Dabiao, acting furtively, brewed himself a cup of good tea and moved behind the chair:

"Lord Xie taught both me and Jinhuan; how could we be corrupt officials? There must have been something wrong with this case three years ago..."

Since it concerned Xie Jinhuan's past injustice, Linghu Qingmo also leaned in to look and interjected:

"Let's not mention Yang Dabiao. If Uncle Xie could raise a son like you, he must himself have been a great official..."

Fei Ji blew the floating tea leaves in his cup. Though his eyes were full of smiles, he did not take up the topic.

After all, Fei Ji was Xie Wen's childhood friend; they studied together and served together, working as deputy and superior for decades, knowing Xie Wen's character better even than Xie Jinhuan did.

Thanks to Xie Jinhuan's recent performance, Xie Wen could be said to have 'gained honor through his son,' being tacitly recognized by many strangers as a 'clean official, strict father, and capable minister.'

But in reality, Xie Wen was just like Fei Ji: a small figure who had struggled in Jingcheng. Ranks 8–9 barely counted as officials, but in the eyes of court ministers, they were nothing.

Fei Ji was smooth-talking and flattered everyone, which was simply how the official world worked. If there was silver to be gained, he showed off; if there were no benefits, he didn't embezzle. What he sought was merely to do his job well, earn money to support his family, and occasionally have a drink at a brothel in his spare time—that would be a perfect life.

Xie Wen was the same: he did what needed doing and slacked off when he could. Over decades, he had no major faults, but also no outstanding merits; he was just a small county commandant who had climbed up from the bottom.

Precisely because he was too ordinary and had no background, when security at the Emperor's palace was compromised, Xie Wen was dragged out by the Red Scale Guard to take the blame.

When the incident occurred three years ago, Xie Jinhuan was not clear on the specific details, but Fei Ji knew them very well.

The haunted palace incident began in the third month of the fifth year of Jingning, when the Qian Emperor, accompanied by palace concubines and the Crown Prince, performed the ancestral spring plowing ritual at Imperial Plowing Mountain and resided in the Wang Fu.

On the night of the fifth day of the third month, a sinister yin energy suddenly appeared in the Wang Fu; many palace maids saw ghostly figures, and the Qian Emperor, concubines, Crown Prince, and He Guozhang were all terrified, yet the accompanying celestial officials failed to catch the culprit.

At that time, Han Jingchuan led the Red Scale Guard on duty at the Wang Fu, while Xie Wen led the constables in maintaining order at the foot of Imperial Plowing Mountain.

After the incident, Han Jingchuan certainly bore the primary responsibility; after several investigations yielded no results, he accused Xie Wen of being drunk and causing the incident, claiming that a breach in the rear mountain of the Wang Fu allowed evil spirits to enter through the opening.

Xie Wen was likely framed; several constables testified that he had been drinking, and evidence was found.

Subsequently, Zhou Ming'an, the chief judge of the Dali Temple, deduced that Xie Wen had secretly colluded with evil spirits with the intent to assassinate the Emperor.

This was a crime punishable by the execution of nine generations; certainly, a judgment could not be made on a whim. The Minister of the Dali Temple, the Censorate, the heads of the Ministry of Justice, and even his direct superior, the Prefect Chen Ping, all rejected the charge citing insufficient evidence.

Later, Zhou Ming'an claimed Xie Wen had neglected his duties and terrified the Emperor and his concubines, insisting on a severe sentence as a warning to others: immediate execution, which many supported.

However, Hou Jiye, the Minister of the Dali Temple and a famous upright official in Jingcheng, still rejected the charge citing insufficient evidence.

Nevertheless, there were witnesses and physical evidence regarding whether Xie Wen had drunk alcohol that night; Xie Wen could not prove his innocence, thus violating the regulations. After deliberation by various officials, the sentence was changed to demotion to Nanning in Ruizhou, which the Qian Emperor approved.

The case was thus hastily concluded; the reason for the haunting at the Wang Fu has actually never been discovered to this day.

Feiji knew Xie Wen loved drinking, but whether he secretly went out to have a few drinks that night, he truly did not know; he only knew there was a quarter-hour when he did not see Xie Wen.

Seeing that the punishment was merely demotion, Xie Wen accepted the penalty and did not argue further.

As a result, Feiji never expected that only a few days after Xie Wen and his father left Jingcheng, they would all meet their demise at Sancha Gang in Weizhou.

Feiji knew there was something wrong here and wanted to avenge his brother's family, but being of low status and weak influence, he could not investigate, so he could only secretly inquire through various channels.

The result was that only a few pieces of flesh were found at Sancha Gang; no traces of Xie Wen, his father, or the evil beast were discovered. After failing to find the bodies, the investigating Thousand-Household and celestial officials classified the incident as 'dying in battle against an evil beast while performing duties'.

Afterwards, the imperial court, following the standards for fallen military officers, posthumously conferred the title 'Loyal Martial Colonel', erected a cenotaph in the Garden of Loyalty and Heroism outside the city, and allowed them to share in the spring and autumn sacrifices alongside the Wu Zu who died for the country.

These matters are basically recorded in the Juan Sect files.

After reading carefully, Xie Jinhuan felt the handling of this case was muddled and that an invisible hand must have interfered.

As for the imperial court's judgment, there was nothing much to say.

After all, several witnesses claimed to have seen his father drinking during his shift, and a wine bottle was found.

His father only said he had a stomach ache and went to the latrine at the moment he went missing; this was somewhat vague and difficult to prove.

The haunting at the Wang Fu that terrified the Imperial Presence was too big an affair; under normal circumstances, this would cost one's head.

Even if it was a frame-up, the old man had neither connections nor background, and under circumstances where he could not prove his innocence, being demoted on the grounds of 'drinking during duty and causing trouble' was already a favor outside the law.

But what is going on with this Zhou Ming'an?

Linghu Qingmo, having finished checking the documents nearby, frowned and asked:

"Does Zhou Ming'an have a grudge against Uncle Xie? Why does he keep proposing severe punishments, either execution of nine generations or immediate execution? The Minister of the Dali Temple has rejected it twice, yet he still insists by various means that Uncle Xie colluded with evil spirits..."

Xie Jinhuan had no objection to the 'lawyer' favoring the plaintiff over the defendant, as this was the lawyer's duty.

But Zhou Ming'an was the 'judge'; trying to kill his father in a roundabout way was indeed too suspicious, so upon seeing this, he looked at Feiji.

Since everyone in the room was one of their own, Feiji had nothing to fear saying at this moment:

"Even if the culprit of the Wang Fu haunting could not be found, there had to be a result; if Lord Xie did not take full responsibility, Han Jingchuan would have to bear the blame for dereliction of duty. But Han Jingchuan had no right to interfere with the Dali Temple's judgment; to settle the matter, he could only try to use connections."

Hearing this, Linghu Qingmo naturally grew angry:

"This group of corrupt officials, arbitrarily accepting bribes and slandering innocent people, even wanting to execute nine generations; they truly deserve to die a thousand deaths."

"Hey!"

Feiji looked outside and spoke in a low voice:

"This cannot be said; this is a government office, and everything must follow the 'Great Qian Code'. We have no proof, so we cannot accuse someone of corruption and bribery just because they insist on a severe judgment. Even if proven, the worst that would happen is Zhou Ming'an would be dismissed, and we would have to run our legs off."

Linghu Qingmo knew that handling affairs in Jingcheng was very troublesome; after thinking for a moment, he looked at Xie Jinhuan:

"Perhaps I should speak to the Wang Fu..."

Xie Jinhuan examined Zhou Ming'an's name, thought for a moment, and shook his head, saying:

"It is an old case; investigating it will not be easy. Let us discuss these matters later when we have time."

Having handled cases for many years, Feiji knew how much driving force 'the hatred of a father's death' could give a person; not to mention Xie Jinhuan had cultivated a set of martial arts skills, so he instructed:

"Jinhuan, you have stayed in Jingcheng for quite a few years; you should be clear on how government offices investigate cases and handle affairs. If you have ideas, it is best we discuss them together. By the way, that Han Jingchuan yesterday died truly inexplicably..."

The two sentences seemed unrelated, but were actually a reminder—whatever one does, one must think thrice before acting; even if one must kill, one must kill according to the 'Great Qian Code', leaving no handle for others to grasp.

Xie Jinhuan understood these intricacies and also knew that Uncle Fei truly cared for him; naturally, he nodded. After chatting for a while, they stood up again, preparing to go out and investigate the whereabouts of the Mingshen Sect.

Feiji was originally somewhat sighing, but after a slight glance with his eyes, he noticed something was wrong; he jumped up instantly, flashed in front of Yang Dabiao who was preparing to leave, and pulled the bamboo tube from his waist:

"You little rascal, I only have these two taels of tea leaves, and you still want to sneak them away..."

Yang Dabiao was stunned: "Hey? Your eyesight has improved; I remember in the past you could only chase out after we walked out the main gate."

"Get lost, get lost..."

Begging for monthly tickets or 2!

(End of this chapter)