Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 96 Protecting Witnesses
Zongfu, front hall.

Pei Nian was resting with his eyes closed, as if he would not leave until he saw Zong Huan and Gu Jiye, but his subordinates came hurriedly and reported something in a low voice.

"Investigating the case, the Marquis of Zhenyuan was killed by the Ghost-faced Man."

Obviously, Pei Nian's expression froze, surprise flashed in his pupils, and he quickly stood up.

The subordinate asked, "Should we go to the Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion?"

"Do not."

Pei Nian realized that he had guessed wrong at the beginning, but he still firmly believed that the ghost-faced man would come to find Gu Jiye.

At this time, if he ran to the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion again, he would be slow at every step and would only be in a passive position. If he wanted to turn the passive position into the active position, he had to determine the next target of the ghost-faced man in advance.

Pei Nian walked towards the inner residence of the Zong family, and soon servants came to stop her. This time, she simply pushed them away.

"Pei Jishi, you can't do this. Our clan has been a noble family for generations..."

"Get lost! Tell Zong Huan and his mother that if they don't want to die, they can come see me."

I don’t know if this sentence worked, but when Pei Nian broke into the back hall, he saw Zong Huan and Gu Jiye who was hiding behind him timidly.

Zong Huan was clearly scared to death, but he couldn't get rid of his high attitude, so he pretended to be reserved and said, "Pei Jishi is too rude..."

"Lu Yanqing is already dead." Pei Nian was impatient to play along with her and said, "The ghost-faced man is likely to kill you next."

The arrogant expression on Zong Huan's face had not yet faded, but fear had already appeared in his eyes.

"You and I……"

She wanted to save face, but her words were incoherent.

Pei Nian said: "I can save you, but the premise is that you have to cooperate with me."

Zong Huan asked: "Why did you save us?"

Gu Jiye pulled Zong Huan and whispered, "Mother, she must be doing this for that bastard... Gu Jingnian. Her lover died, so she wanted to save his family."

Although the voice was low, Pei Nian actually heard it, but she did not refute it. As long as she could find out the truth, she no longer cared about these rumors.

She led Zong Huan and his mother into the back hall and asked, "Who told you to falsely accuse Lu Yanning?"

This was a questioning technique. Although there was no solid evidence, Gu Jiye's words were quickly tricked out.

"I didn't want to, but they forced me to."

Pei Nian's face turned serious and he scolded, "Who am I asking?!"

"I want to get a job as a civil servant..."

Gu Jiye was halfway through his words when a group of people suddenly came in from outside. It turned out to be Wang Qinghe with a team of hooks.

Compared to Pei Nian's arrogance and coldness, Wang Qinghe was much more polite on the surface. He saluted Zong Huan and said with a smile: "Madam Zong, there have been murderers in the capital recently. For the safety of Madam Zong and your son, we will escort you to a safe place, please."

Gu Jiye was stunned for a moment, looked at Pei Nian, then at Wang Qinghe, hesitating.

"We are friends." Wang Qinghe smiled, "Aren't we?"

"what."

Gu Jiye nodded hurriedly.

Given his current situation, he really needs a friend like Wang Qinghe.

"Then please come in." Wang Qinghe's smile was as warm as a spring breeze, but since he brought so many people with him, he would not allow the mother and son to refuse.

After saying that, he added another sentence.

"Don't worry, this is a secret escort. Others will just think you are still in the Zong family."

Pei Nian did not object to this. She also believed that the Zong family was not safe, so she asked Wang Qinghe, "Where are you taking them?"

"Kaiping Division."

--------

As the day dawned, the Kaiping Sinan Yamen was already busy.

For the first time, the case of treason committed by Gu Beiming and Lu Yanning was not handed over to the Southern Court, which made everyone feel a sense of crisis of having nothing to do.

Fortunately, there were several major cases of killing officials in the capital.

It was like an announcement that if the treason case was not handed over to the Kaiping Division, something bad would happen, which was a great honor for them. Therefore, everyone put all their efforts into catching the ghost-faced man.

Pei Nian did not sleep all night, arranging people to cooperate with Wang Qinghe to protect Zong Huan and Gu Jiye. Even though the chief inspector Xu Yun did not give this matter to her, she was willing to assist him, which was rare.

"Investigating the matter!"

Tingqiao Bing hurried into the Jishitang and reported: "Someone in the Zong family has died!"

Hearing this, Pei Nian frowned slightly, looking a little worried.

But normally, she had nothing to worry about. Wang Qinghe had secretly taken the important witness away, and the only thing left for the Zong family was an ambush. As long as the ghost-faced man went, he would most likely be captured.

Unless, she was worried about the ghost-faced man.

Tingqiao Bing continued, "After Wang Jishi left, probably before dawn, someone shot Zong Huan's seventh brother Zong Kuan with an arrow, stripped Zong Kuan of his clothes, and threw his body into the well. Now it is suspected that the ghost-faced man has entered the Zong family."

"I'll go there."

Pei Nian stood up.

Tingqiao Bing was puzzled and asked, "Why do we need to go there to investigate? There are no important people there."

"I want to catch the Ghost-Faced Man myself."

Pei Nian walked a few steps, worried about Zong Huan and his son hiding in Kaipingsi, and asked, "Where is You Gui?"

"Yugui will retire after the New Year..."

"It's not the New Year yet." Pei Nian was unhappy and scolded, "Tell him to go to the government office as soon as possible."

"Yes."

As they were talking, Yugui arrived.

It seemed that he had not washed himself after the hangover. His gray hair and beard were messy, and he couldn't open his eyes, looking sleepy.

He hunched his back and limped to Pei Nian as usual.

When he opened his mouth, his voice sounded hoarse, as if he had caught a cold and had a stuffy nose.

"I've seen the police."

"You are determined to retire just to live a life of drinking and confusion every day?"

"I am ashamed of my humble position."

Pei Nian had fewer and fewer old subordinates around him, and knowing that You Gui had always been a seasoned man and was dedicated in his work, he did not punish him too much in the end.

"I'm going to be out for a while. You take a few trusted men with you to Wang Qinghe's investigation hall to provide support and protect important witnesses."

"Yes." Yu Gui was tactful and did not ask who the witness was.

Pei Nian reminded again: "Also keep an eye on Wang Qinghe."

"Yes."

Pei Nian walked a few steps, then suddenly turned around and said, "By the way, Gu Jingnian died and Huang Hu disappeared, you never told me what you thought." "Your humble servant..."

You Gui hesitated for a while and sighed, "Since I left Wanchun Palace, I had a premonition that this day would come."

"Do you think Gu Jingnian is dead?"

"I don't know the humble position."

Pei Nian said nothing more and walked out.

You Gui waited for a long time with his back hunched. When she walked away, he did not take any of his men with him, and even sent Tingqiao Bing away, and walked towards Wang Qinghe's investigation hall.

This is the most elegant courtyard in Kaiping Sinan Yamen. It does not look like the official residence of an intelligence organization, but rather like the residence of a young master from an aristocratic family.

At this time, the sound of piano was floating in the yard, and there were a few inspectors sitting by the door. They looked very casual on the surface, but they were actually guarding tightly in secret.

"Is Wang Jishi here?"

"in."

They were all old acquaintances, and they all responded without even raising their heads.

You Gui suddenly asked, "Did you use torture?"

Several of Wang Qinghe's men were stunned.

"What kind of punishment?"

"Now that we have brought him back, we have to ask him some important questions." Yu Gui said, "It seems that we have to hand him over to us."

He walked into the courtyard and entered the government office, only to see Wang Qinghe sitting upright playing the piano, while Zong Huan and Gu Jiye were sitting and listening.

The piano music was beautiful, but the atmosphere was awkward.

"The ghost-faced man appeared in the Zong family."

"I know."

Wang Qinghe stopped plucking the strings and said, "I also know that Pei Nian has passed by."

"Yes."

"She wants to take credit?"

Yu Gui said: "The investigation is just a serious investigation."

"I think she sympathizes with the traitor. The evidence in this case is solid and there is nothing to investigate. You'd better remind her."

Yugui suddenly coughed twice and covered his mouth with his hands.

"Did you drink last night?" Wang Qinghe was annoyed by the smell of alcohol on him, frowned slightly, and said, "Did you catch a cold? Your voice is hoarse..."

"call--"

A puff of smoke came out of You Gui's mouth and smoked Wang Qinghe's face.

"doing what?"

Wang Qinghe had great skills and was not charmed for the moment, but he was obviously dizzy and confused.

When he looked down, he saw Yougui picked up a small bamboo tube, put it in his mouth, and blew it again.

The smoke was sprayed out again, and finally made him fall unconscious.

"what!"

Upon seeing this, Gu Jiye immediately exclaimed.

"Don't talk." You Gui turned and scolded: "The Kaiping Division wants to kill you. I was sent by the Xiangfu to save you."

"You, you, you, no, no, you're not here to silence us?"

"The evidence has not yet been completed, why are you silencing me?"

You Gui spoke calmly as he tied up Wang Qinghe with a rope, stuffed his mouth, and threw him aside.

During the process, he saw the book that Wang Qinghe had been reading. The cover of the book was written as "Hongluan Ji", which turned out to be a legendary love story.

Gu Jiye sat there in a daze, watching You Gui finish all these things. He was feeling confused. The next moment, You Gui came over and tied him up with the rope in his hand.

“You, what are you doing?!”

Gu Jiye was caught off guard and it was too late for him to struggle.

On the other side, Zong Huan rushed over to save her son, but You Gui knocked her to the ground with a heavy punch.

"what!"

Zong Huan cried out in pain, his entire eye socket was blue from the beating.

She looked up and saw that the captain was no longer limping, his waist was no longer bent, and his body was straight, as if he had become a different person.

"Who are you?!"

"Who am I? Haha."

That "Yougui" sneered, and that hoarse and indifferent voice inexplicably made Zong Huan's heart sink to the bottom.

This person is obviously not Yugui.

--------

A dim room filled with the smell of alcohol.

Yugui woke up from a hangover, moved a little, and found himself tied tightly to the table.

"what."

He smiled and murmured to himself, "It's better to tie it up, it's better to tie it up."

After saying that, he was too lazy to struggle anymore, so he leaned there and continued to take a nap with his eyes closed.

But it was hard to fall asleep again, as I couldn't help but think of what happened last night...

One night, he was drinking alone when he heard a knock on the door. Someone was standing outside the door, bringing several jars of wine.

When he saw the burnt face, he was stunned for a moment, but when he heard the words "Captain You, do you recognize me?" he couldn't help laughing and invited the other party into the house to drink together.

Some people, although they haven't been together for a long time and their friendship is not very deep, can inexplicably feel that the other person's friendship is very reliable.

The two of them drank three rounds of drinks, talking about how Huang Hu was not dead and cursing the world that was getting worse and worse. Even until Gu Jingnian was a little drunk, You Gui did not send anyone to catch him.

Finally, Gu Jingnian said, "I remember you said that humans are different from beasts. The difference is that humans help each other instead of being isolated."

"You remembered it wrongly." Yugui said, "This is what the police said."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Hey, tell me."

Gu Jingnian said: "I want to join Kaiping Division."

With just this one sentence, Yugui understood.

But he pretended to be ignorant, threw the talisman on his waist to the ground, and said, "I can't help you, I'm drunk."

(End of this chapter)