Chapter 69: One Night (Third Update)

After seeing the corpse, Zhao Zhentang actually let out a long breath. He was silent for a moment, then turned and said, "What's done is done. I'll trouble one of you to go back and inform the household. The rest, stay as witnesses. Tomorrow morning, we'll report it to the yamen."

Although the household guards were all sturdy men, suddenly seeing a dead person still unsettled them. Hearing this arrangement, they had no objections and each found a place to sit down.

Having arranged things for these men, Zhao Zhentang turned to Zhao Jin and said, "Xiao Jin, you go back and rest... or stay until daybreak!"

Mid-sentence, he felt it unsafe for Zhao Jin to return late at night and changed his mind. After saying this, Zhao Zhentang sat directly in a chair and, with a trace of weariness, said, "In his line of work, this day comes sooner or later."

Though the door was open, it wasn't cold inside; the stove still had a fire burning. This Mr. Mu must have had someone attending him, but the moment he died, everyone else vanished, which was truly strange.

They shut the door, added firewood to the stove, and closed the study door as well. The few of them sat there in silence. Before long, several of the Wang family guards were dozing off. Zhao Jin's eyelids were fighting too, but thinking of the corpse in the next room, he felt a chill all over and couldn't sleep. Zhao Zhentang sat in the main hall chair with his eyes closed. Apart from the crackling of the burning firewood in the stove, there was no other sound.

They remained in this silence until daybreak. Zhao Zhentang took out two taels of silver and handed it to one of the guards, politely saying, "Thank you all for your trouble last night. I must trouble you to keep watch for another half a shichen. I'll go to the yamen now to report the case and bring someone back."

The Wang family guards declined a few times, then smilingly accepted. Zhao Zhentang called Zhao Jin into the courtyard and quietly instructed him, "You stay here and keep an eye on things. Don't let them rummage around. There should be quite a few valuable things in his house."

Zhao Jin nodded in agreement. Zhao Zhentang, carrying his blade, turned to leave. Zhao Jin hesitated, then called out to stop his father and, also in a low voice, said, "Dad, you knew this Mr. Mu. He was from that... whatever sect. If you go report this to the officials, will there be trouble for you later?"

Hearing this, Zhao Zhentang couldn't help but pause, then smiled and patted Zhao Jin on the shoulder, saying in a deep voice, "Xiao Jin, you've grown up, to be able to think things through so thoroughly."

"You don't need to worry. Back when he, Mu Wusheng, was stranded at the inn, couldn't pay the room fee, his wife died of illness, and he was forced to sell Xiao Lan, your old man couldn't stand by and lent a hand. I even lent him our old house south of the city to live in. That's how the connection was made, nothing more." Zhao Zhentang explained a few things to ease Zhao Jin's mind, patted his shoulder again, and then left.

Zhao Jin had never imagined such a past. He pondered it for a moment before turning back. Not knowing when the yamen people would arrive, he took out two strings of copper coins and had one of the guards buy breakfast for everyone. The guards might not have been entirely willing to come out and help in the middle of the night, but seeing how considerate both Zhao father and son were, they became much more polite.

The person buying breakfast hadn't returned yet when the runners from the Department Magistrate's yamen arrived. It was also thanks to Zhao Zhentang's standing; otherwise, they wouldn't have come so quickly.

A constable, a coroner, and a clerk from the penal department examined the body on the spot. The few of them walked around, looking here and there, and quickly reached a conclusion: "Murder by an enemy."

"... We'll go back and report to His Excellency, issue a wanted notice, and arrest the murderer..." Zhao Jin heard this arrangement and watched as two civilian laborers carried the body out the door. Zhao Jin just felt it was bizarre—it was actually this simple and smooth.

The guards said their goodbyes and returned to the Wang residence. The penal department clerk walked a round and also left. The constable and coroners joked and laughed, not taking it seriously at all. Before leaving, they handed two official seals to Zhao Zhentang and said with a smile, "Old Zhao, remember to paste these on later."

"Brothers, eat light at noon, tonight there'll be good wine and meat!" Zhao Zhentang replied with a laugh, and everyone dispersed amid laughter.

Zhao Zhentang turned around and closed the courtyard gate. Zhao Jin was still standing there somewhat dazed, not knowing what to do next. The smile on Zhao Zhentang's face had already vanished. He spoke, "Don't just stand there dumbly. Come help me search this house. Half of the gold, silver, and money has to be shared out."

Zhao Jin still didn't understand but instinctively followed to help. He watched his father rummage with practiced ease, not sparing any corner inside or outside the house. Before long, they found two packets of gold and silver and over a dozen strings of copper coins, totaling about three hundred and seventy taels. In these times, even an ordinary wealthy household wouldn't have this much liquid wealth. After finding these, Zhao Zhentang still didn't stop, and also searched out five bolts of cotton cloth and two bolts of silk.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Zhao Jin was completely confused; it looked like looting a burning house.

"Your old man took charge of this courtyard. By rule, we can keep thirty percent of whatever we find." Zhao Zhentang explained as he continued searching.

So it turned out that for yamen constables handling cases, solving the case was secondary; getting rich was the top priority. For a household like the Mu family's, with no one left after a death, all valuables would be thoroughly searched out and divided among everyone. Whoever discovered the case and searched the courtyard could claim thirty percent.

Had his father come just to make money? As soon as Zhao Jin had this thought, he saw his father actually draw a dagger and scrape it through every crack and crevice. This was truly a leave-no-stone-unturned approach. Zhao Jin coughed. Xiao Lan's father had died suddenly, and the girl had fled to their home in the middle of the night. Doing something like this now—wasn't it too shameless?

Just as he was considering whether to dissuade him, Zhao Zhentang actually found something. The brick bed cabinet indeed had a hidden compartment, inside which were several yellowed old books, a few pictures, and dozens of sachets and pouches.

Finding these, Zhao Zhentang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He tossed them to Zhao Jin and said, "Throw these into the stove and burn them all. Burn them to ashes, don't leave a single trace."

Zhao Jin roughly guessed his father's intention. While secretly feeling ashamed, he carried the items over to the stove.

The stove fire was still burning strong. When tossing the books in, Zhao Jin glanced at them; they bore titles like "Maitreya Sutra" and "Lotus Sutra." The pictures were all of bizarre gods and demons. The sachets all had lotus patterns, and some were even embroidered with the character "Wang."

These things were probably connected to some White Lotus Sect or Smelling Incense Sect. His father had deliberately stayed behind to search precisely to burn these things and destroy the evidence.

The grave crime of plotting rebellion—even the slightest connection would mean huge trouble. Zhao Zhentang had spoken lightly but acted very cautiously, not letting anyone get any hold on him.

They searched inside and out once more, finding a few more books and dozens of pictures, all burned completely to ash in the stove. Zhao Zhentang walked in with a grim face and said, "If there's anything else hidden, your old man can't do anything about it. What your old man can't find, no one else can either."

The usually carefree Zhao Zhentang was extremely cautious about this matter. He even deliberately opened the stove to look inside, using an iron hook to stir the ashes and check if everything had been thoroughly burned.

And it wasn't just this courtyard. Zhao Zhentang actually climbed over the wall to the neighboring one, which was where Mu Shulan lived. However, this time he didn't take long before climbing back, saying in a deep voice, "He still cared about his daughter. That place is perfectly clean."

Zhao Zhentang found two wrapping cloths and divided the gold and silver on the table into two halves. He wrapped one half and handed it to Zhao Jin, saying, "Go home and have your mother put this away safely. Tell her it belongs to someone else; don't open it and don't touch it."

Then Zhao Zhentang wrapped the remaining gold and silver, bundled it together with the copper coins and the cloth and silk, and added, "I'm going to the yamen. When you get back, don't let Xiao Lan go out. Let her rest well, and have your mother keep her company more."

Zhao Jin quickly agreed. Through the experiences of these past few days, he realized he didn't really understand his father at all. He had originally thought his father, Zhao Zhentang, was a carefree and crude man; he never imagined he could act so meticulously and thoroughly.

They quickly made some paste in the house and went outside to paste the official seals directly onto the door. From now on, this residence became evidence; without the authorities' permission, no one could enter.

By this time, the sun had just risen, and there were few people on the streets. Zhao Jin used his spear to carry the bundle over his shoulder and hurried home with quick steps.

As soon as the courtyard gate opened and he rounded the spirit screen, he saw He Cuihua rushing out. Only when she saw it was Zhao Jin did she breathe a sigh of relief and complain, "You and your father couldn't even think to send word back. It was only when Zhao San went to the Wang house to ask that we knew everything was fine."