Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 207 More
Liu Shizhang knew that Tong Zixu would never write anything good in the tabloids, otherwise the government office wouldn't have said "looking for someone to question him".

The tabloids can't write false stories, so they can write about things like the magistrate arresting a woman and multiple people suing the Xie family. They might even recount the clay stove dispute in more detail.

What will people who read these articles think?

The speculations that Tong Zixu didn't write down would certainly be guessed by anyone who read tabloids, and would quickly spread among the people.

Liu Shizhang felt that this matter was very inappropriate.

Who came up with this idea? Why act rashly without making any prior arrangements? Now that these people have beaten us to it, the situation has suddenly become difficult to manage.

If Yang Xieshi, that woman, wasn't caught, what about the people who did business with her?
Liu Shizhang had a bad feeling.

If the perpetrator isn't caught, an airtight case cannot be formed before He Tan returns.

Originally, this matter was quite simple. He Tan and Xie Yuyan had been in close contact. If the yamen could successfully obtain a confession from Xie Yuyan that he had hired someone to commit murder, and Xie Yuyan could then "commit suicide out of fear of punishment" in prison, the case would become very complicated.

Even if there are some doubts, it doesn't matter. When the news reaches the capital, the result will be the same. Their people can use this as an excuse to impeach He Tan. Not only did it fail to stabilize the situation in the north, but it also caused trouble.

They demanded that, as was customary, no more patrol offices be set up in Daming Prefecture.

The imperial family would certainly not agree, and the two parties would inevitably clash again. In the end, the patrol inspectorate would remain, but He Tan would have to leave.

If the He family is smuggling goods, what right does He Tan have to investigate others?

If this messy situation escalates into factional strife, the imperial family, in order to balance the two sides, will intervene. They could push Feng Chuan out to take the blame, and transfer him to the Northwest for two years before he returns.

This is how I always arrange things when something happens, so why isn't it working this time?

Logically, without He Tan, there should be no one in charge of the patrol office, but it seems to be completely unaffected. Aside from the patrol office not being involved, everyone else in the city has suddenly appeared.

After sorting through the events, Liu Shizhang began to suspect that someone was secretly sabotaging things.

Suddenly, the words "Daming Prefecture Gazette" popped into his mind.

Wang Yan angered the imperial family by opposing peace talks, and thus fell ill and stayed home. Logically, Wang Yan shouldn't have been involved.

Can……

Liu Shizhang's eyelids twitched.

Could it be that the imperial family pulled a fast one, deceiving everyone and having Wang Yan secretly keep an eye on things in Daming Prefecture?

Thinking of this, Liu Shizhang's heart started pounding.

He couldn't care less about what was happening here; he turned and headed home. If someone were plotting against them, it would be troublesome.

As soon as Liu Shizhang left, Magistrate Cao and his assistant, who were hiding in the yamen, waved and ordered, "Bring in the person who beat the drum."

The timing is right; any further delay and it will be too obvious.

The county magistrate looked at Magistrate Cao and said, "Your Excellency, should we send someone to the Xie family to arrest them?"

Magistrate Cao thought for a moment and said, "Since someone has come to file a complaint, we must act in accordance with the laws of the court. It is only right to summon the relevant people for questioning."

The county magistrate responded.

Magistrate Cao continued, "Don't forget, there are still members of the Xie family in the prison, especially that... Xie Zizhang. Bring him in for questioning immediately. With so many cases suddenly arising, we need to handle them properly as soon as possible."

The county magistrate said, "Your Excellency is right. Among these cases, Xie Zizhang's fight at Plum Blossom Pavilion should be the easiest to investigate. I will take my men to the prison immediately."

Once the two people reach a consensus, they will naturally act independently.

Magistrate Cao sighed, "With so much trouble caused, I wonder when it will all be sorted out." He thought of Magistrate Hu's arrogant manner; he meddled in things that were clearly none of his business. Magistrate Hu thought Madam Xie was easy to bully, but little did he know she had already planned ahead and left Daming Prefecture.

It was like kicking a steel plate. Before Magistrate Hu could apprehend the man, they needed to expedite the trial, hoping that when Magistrate Hu returned, the case would have undergone a significant transformation…

However, this would likely prevent him from receiving an award from the Ministry of Personnel, and he might even be reassigned to a remote post. But Magistrate Cao couldn't care less about that.

He had to remember the kindness of Madam Xie; her charcoal and clay stove had saved Daming Prefecture from freezing to death. He had never spent a winter so easily. For that, he should fight back against those people.

"Tell those people outside to disperse and go back to what they were doing."

The implication is that those who are going to write tabloids should hurry up and write them, and it would be best to have them printed within a day or two.

……

Xie Yuyan and Wang Yan had no time to pay attention to the situation in Daming Prefecture City; the two were in the military equipment workshop in Guan County.

Tan Xiang stood aside, watching as the two of them repeated what they had done the night before in Guan County.

Investigating accounts and belongings, interrogating, passing notes to commit murder.

Despite the commotion, the Guan County government dared not intervene. This was because after they arrived in Guan County, he had already informed the county government on their behalf.

The magistrate of Guan County always obeyed the orders of Prefect Liu. When he saw him, he assumed it was Prefect Liu's arrangement and naturally pretended to be deaf and dumb.

In this way, Wang Yan can investigate the case without any scruples.

And indeed, he discovered even more.

Wang Yan threw the note in his hand into the charcoal brazier to burn.

"Guanxian County originally used soldiers to escort goods, why has it suddenly switched to using merchants?"

This question made Tan Xiang's eyelids twitch.

The foreman of the armory trembled with nervousness, and he subconsciously looked at Tan Xiang.

Tan Xiang's legs buckled and he knelt down.

“Wang Tianshi, this happened more than a year ago and has nothing to do with me.”

Wang Yan remained silent with a cold expression.

Tan Xiang felt a chill on his neck, as if his head might fall off at any moment.

"I was promoted to deputy commander last year. The previous commander, Xu Renyuan, was promoted to commander in Xiangzhou for his meritorious service in suppressing bandits."

Xie Yuyan gently lifted the curtain. When she first arrived in Daming Prefecture, she was investigating the trafficking of people and came across a case where a man named Han Tong led bandits to rob merchants of their goods. He was later killed by government troops.

The merit Tan Xiang mentioned in suppressing the bandits should refer to this incident.

Xie Yuyan also heard Liu Zhi say that the Han family went to the yamen to plead their case, saying that the Xie family and the deputy commander of the Xiang Army had framed Han Tong and others.

Not only that, Chenyao Village was also robbed of its property by this group of bandits, and all the able-bodied men in the village were killed.

Han Tong must have some kind of relationship with these bandits, which is why Xie Yuyan mentioned Han Tong's name on the note. Clearly, Wang Yan was also familiar with this person.

After Wang Yan arrived in Daming Prefecture, he reviewed the case files and noticed this case. That's why Tong Zixu went to Chenyao Village to check on the situation there and to gather information.

Sure enough, Wang Yan asked, "Do you know Han Tong?"

Tan Xiang's expression grew even more grim: "I...I've heard of it, that Han Tong...and the bandits..."

He stammered for a long time before being unable to speak.

Wang Yan stood up from his chair, took a few steps forward, and said coldly from his superior position, "They are not mountain bandits, but soldiers from Guan County."