A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 192 Shen Ping's Past

Shen Yanliu's face was gloomy. He sat on the armchair, tapping the armrest with his hand, and said, "Next year is the political examination year. If Xu Ruhu's big case cannot be closed, it will be disadvantageous to me."

"Although this case involves a lot of people, we have been investigating for several months but have not found any clues. I am afraid it will be difficult to get any results if we continue to investigate." Tang Wanhong carefully considered his words and said, "Master, you can ask your subordinates to go to the capital and use their connections to solve this case. I agree with this idea."

Shen Yanliu pondered and said, "Mr. Chu, the Censor in charge of criminal cases in Yuanyang Prefecture, is quite fond of antiques, especially calligraphy and painting. Wanhong, you must be careful and attentive on this trip and help me accomplish this matter."

"Don't worry, sir." Tang Wanhong said, "I asked Mr. Duan to take a look at it to make sure it's correct. As long as there's no problem with the painting, we can be sure of this matter."

Shen Yanliu nodded and looked at Tang Wanhong with appreciation.

Tang Wanhong has always been Shen Yanliu's confidant. Since Shen Yanliu took office, all his accounts have been handled by Gu Yuezhai. When he is not convenient to show up in many official circles, Tang Wanhong is always there to help him. This person is deep-minded and well-versed in the intricacies of official circles, so he is very cautious in his work.

Duan Rong squatted in front of the stall at the entrance of Guyuezhai and suddenly withdrew his spiritual consciousness.

He stood up and strolled along the antique street.

According to the information obtained from Shen Yanliu and Tang Wanhong, there has indeed been no progress in the case of Xu Ruhu and Jie Lei.

This is consistent with the conclusion he inferred from Yang Zhen.

It was for this reason that Shen Yanliu asked Tang Wanhong to go through the channels of the Censor of Yuanyang Prefecture and give him the Painting of Pine Wind in Ten Thousand Valleys, which he liked.

Duan Rong walked while thinking, this was good news for him. Once the case was closed, even if Xie Daohan wanted to pursue the case because of his feelings for Xie Lei, the resources he could mobilize would be greatly reduced.

Duan Rong was in a very good mood. He walked briskly to a miscellaneous books stall, ready to pick out some books to enrich his knowledge.

After two escort trips to Ruyang Prefecture, Duan Rong's knowledge broadened greatly. He listened to the escorts of the second escort team tell him many rumors in the martial arts world, and the one they talked about the most was the Filthy Blood Cult.

Therefore, Duan Rong specially picked up a few more books about the Filthy Blood Cult and prepared to read them carefully when he returned.

Duan Rong returned to Liulu and started his crazy practice mode again. Before going to bed every day, he would light an oil lamp and read some books, which was the only fun in his boring practice life.

Tang Wanhong went to Yuanyang Prefecture and came back after a few days. Everything went quite smoothly.

On the second day, Shen Yanliu reconciled with Jie Daohan and Fan Yuanhai to discuss closing the case. Jie Daohan was naturally reluctant, but as the saying goes, a higher-ranking official can crush a person, and Shen Yanliu was firm in his attitude, so he could do nothing.

Fan Yuanhai had already wasted several months in Xiangu County. He had long since given up on the case. When Shen Yanliu mentioned that the case should be closed, he was overjoyed.

Therefore, Shen Yanliu and Fan Yuanhai submitted a joint memorial.

Shen Yanliu had already written the memorial in advance. After reading it, Fan Yuanhai thought it was very appropriate and signed his name directly at the end of the memorial.

This memorial was copied in two copies, one to be submitted to the Yuanyang Prefecture Censorate, and the other to the clan sect.

The case was described in the memorial as follows: Xie Lei, a constable, was bribed by Xu Ruhu, robbed Xu Ruhu, and then the two killed each other in the cellar of Xie Lei's house because of the uneven distribution of the spoils.

A few days later, the reply document from the Censorate was sent to Xiangu County, acknowledging the investigation results of the case.

The sect's reply was delivered to Fan Yuanhai two days late, and he was assigned another task.

The next morning, just after dawn, Fan Yuanhai left Xiangu County in a gloomy mood. He had wasted several months without any achievements. Although the reply from the sect did not blame him, the tasks assigned to him had become a few miscellaneous tasks, which already explained the attitude of the sect's top leaders.

If he can't find a way to turn the tables and be promoted to an inner sect disciple, he might have no hope. The Xu Ruhu and Jie Lei case, a major case that even the sect's top leaders were concerned about, finally came to nothing after Fan Yuanhai's sad departure and the sealed case file in Xiangu County. After wasting several months, it finally came to an end.

On the morning of the day when Fan Yuanhai left sadly, at the gate of the death row, several yamen runners suddenly appeared, carrying a smelly corpse and threw it against the wall of the alley in front of the prison.

The bodies in the death row are usually left there for two days for the deceased's family to claim them. After two days, if no one claims them, they will be burned and buried.

However, the stinking corpse was thrown to the ground beside the wall. It actually groaned in the rising dust, and its shoulder twitched noticeably, indicating that it was not dead yet.

At this moment, a limping figure came over from the alley, squatted down, turned the stinking corpse over, and shouted: "Brother Shen, Brother Shen..."

A hint of solemnity flashed across Xiao Zongting's eyes. Shen Ping's condition was worse than he had expected.

His face was covered in blood, his eyes were tightly closed, his lips were pale, his breathing was barely noticeable, and his body was covered in rotten flesh. In the humid environment of the prison and the hot weather, many parts of his body had already started to stink.

Xiao Zongting sighed, shook his head, carried Shen Ping on his shoulders, and staggered out of the alley.

Xiao Zongting and Shen Ping are old acquaintances.

In the battle more than ten years ago, Xiao Zongting and the old manager of Yuanshun Escort Agency were besieged. Xiao Zongting lost all his martial arts skills, but he was able to survive in the end thanks to Shen Ping.

Therefore, Xiao Zongting always felt that he owed Shen Ping a life.

This time, Shen Ping was imprisoned because of his involvement in the Xu Ruhu and Jie Lei cases. The one who came to inform Xiao Zongting about this was Hu Huanhuan from Huaying Tower.

When Hu Huanhuan was young, she had a relationship with Shen Ping.

She had been in poor health for a while, and Shen Ping helped her take care of her body. After a few visits, they fell in love. But for some reason, they were unable to stay together and went their separate ways.

When Xiao Zongting got the news, he contacted his acquaintances in the government office and made inquiries from various sources.

But the people in charge of the case at that time were Xie Daohan and Fan Yuanhai, and no one in the yamen dared to interfere.

Xiao Zongting had no other choice but to bribe a jailer in the death row so that he could get some information about Shen Ping in time.

Xiao Zongting originally thought that Shen Ping was going to die in prison, but unexpectedly, that day he received a message from the old jailer saying that Shen Ping was going to be released.

Therefore, Xiao Zongting has been waiting here since morning.

Duan Rong was standing in the courtyard of Liulu, practicing the Hunyuan Stance.

Duan Rong had been motionless for several hours, sweating all over, and steam rising from his body...

On the sole of Duan Rong's right foot, the little hedgehog was lying and sleeping soundly.

After a few months of getting along, the little hedgehog has become very familiar with Duan Rong's smell. Duan Rong's breath can even give it a sense of security...

But at this moment, there was a hurried knock on the door of Liu Lu's courtyard.

(End of this chapter)