Minglong

Chapter 100 Old things
Buzheng Street, Wan'an County Government Office.

In the early morning, the three shifts of yamen runners had dispersed to search for information about the other murderer in the mummy case.

In the West Yamen classroom, County Lieutenant Fiji stood in front of his desk and explained earnestly:
"Three years ago, your father sat here, but now the position has been passed to me. According to feng shui, this is called the cycle of fortune..."

"Guji~"

Meiqiu squatted on the county lieutenant's armchair. Although he couldn't speak, his eyes probably meant - it's more familiar to talk to you standing in front of the table...

At the tea table nearby, Linghu Qingmo sat in a white dress, sword at her side. Although her expression was cold and elegant, giving off a sense of formality and seriousness, her thoughts were all:

No one is perfect, and apart from being trapped in a love affair and being rather shameless towards the girl, he has no other faults...

Not angry, not angry...

After I kissed you, I ran to Dr. Lin's house and didn't come back all night, hum...

It's already noon, he wouldn't still be relying on Doctor Lin, right?
The saying "a land of gentleness is the grave of heroes" is true...

A woman who only knows how to sleep with a man is called a concubine...

……

Yang Dabiao folded his arms and waited eagerly at the door, thinking seriously:
"Monk Jibei, do you think Jinhuan will go off to slay demons again? If he comes back later and carries the head of another murderer..."

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

Fiji couldn't coax Coal Ball into submission, so he could only come forward with his hands behind his back:
"But this is a difficult matter. The fact that the Hades Cult's members were able to assassinate Jin Huan yesterday means that the other murderer is from the Hades Cult.

"This group of evil heretics are hiding deep within the city. The Imperial Observatory and the Scarlet Scale Guard are searching for them, but they haven't uncovered any clues yet..."

After chatting for a while, Fiji suddenly noticed that Linghu Qingmo was a little distracted.

With Fiji's extraordinary experience, he knew at a glance that this girl was in love. After thinking for a moment, he whispered:
"Miss Linghu and Jinhuan..."

Yang Dabiao was afraid of being beaten, so he quickly pretended to be secretive:

"Just know it in your heart, don't ask too much."

Snapped--

Linghu Qingmo came back to his senses, raised his eyebrows and slammed the tea table, scaring Meiqiu so much that he jumped.

But before he could think of the words to explain, he saw a figure flying and landing at the door.

Call ~
Fiji saw Xie Jinhuan coming over and quickly stepped forward to look at him:

"Jinhuan, are you here? How did you sleep last night? Are your injuries okay?"

Xie Jinhuan slept with the glasses girl in his arms last night, and it was particularly moist. However, it was definitely not easy to say this out loud, so he just smiled and said:

"It's okay, I'm a little late. Don't worry, Uncle Fei."

"Hey, what are you talking about? Even if you came at night, you must have a plan. Come, come, this is the 'Silver Blade Before the Rain' that is treasured by Lord Wu. I took two taels and brought it over. I haven't been willing to drink it..."

As Fiji spoke, he lifted up the tea cabinet, took out a small bamboo tube from it, and began to make tea.

Seeing this, Yang Dabiao immediately poured the big leaf tea in the cup out the door:

"Hey! I was wondering why the tea cabinet was full of tree leaves. It turns out the good stuff is hidden. Monk Jibei, you are not a good person..."

"With your behavior, do you think you deserve to drink good tea? I'm being polite by not offering you the hot water..."

……

Xie Jinhuan returned to his father's office and saw his acquaintances playing and joking around like they did in the past. He couldn't help but feel nostalgic. He noticed that Meiqiu was leaning on the armchair and didn't move. He asked:

"What are you doing squatting here?"

"Guji~"

Meiqiu jumped up and down, meaning - the son is following in his father's footsteps and saving a seat for you.

Xie Jinhuan felt that Meiqiu was quite considerate, but he didn't want to be a slave to the county magistrate. After taking the teacup from Uncle Pei, he sat down at the tea table and looked at the cold and beautiful woman next to him.

Linghu Qingmo was kissed yesterday and didn't sleep well the whole night. It was definitely not appropriate for her to take the initiative to talk to Xie Jinhuan at this moment, so she just acted like a cold and beautiful female detective.

Fiji also served a cup of good tea to his nephew's wife, then took out a file from his bosom and handed it to Xie Jinhuan:
"This is something sent by Prefect Chen. I've actually been trying to find out a little bit about it over the years. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Xie Jinhuan took the file and looked at it. It was the whole story of the "haunted palace case" and the "Xie Wen attack case". Judging from the signatures, it should have been taken out from the government office.

Yang Dabiao secretly made himself a cup of good tea and moved behind the chair:
"Thank you, sir, for teaching me and Jinhuan. How could we be corrupt and pervert the law? There must be something wrong with this case three years ago..."

This was related to Xie Jinhuan's past grievances. Linghu Qingmo also looked in and interrupted:
"Let's not talk about Yang Dabiao. Uncle Xie must be a great official to have raised a son like you..."

Fiji blew the floating tea leaves in the teacup, and although his eyes were full of smiles, he did not respond.

After all, Fiji is Xie Wen's childhood friend. They studied and worked together, and have worked together as the principal and deputy for decades. He knows Xie Wen better than Xie Jinhuan.

Thanks to Xie Jinhuan's recent performance, Xie Wen can be regarded as "a father's honor because of his son", and is tacitly regarded by many people who don't know him as an "honest official, strict father, and capable minister".

But in fact, Xie Wen, like Fiji, was a small figure who struggled in the capital. He was barely an official of the eighth or ninth rank, but in the eyes of court officials, he was nothing.

Fiji is slick and flatters everyone he meets. This is how officials are. He will show off his rewards and will not take them even if there are no benefits. All he wants is to do his job well, earn enough money to support his family, and then go to a brothel for a drink in his spare time. That would be a perfect ending.

Xie Wen was just like him. He did what he had to do and caught the fish he had to catch. He hadn't made any major mistakes in the past few decades, but he hadn't made many outstanding achievements either. He was just a small county lieutenant who had climbed up from the bottom.

It was precisely because he was too ordinary and had no background that Xie Wen was pulled out by the Chilin Guard to take the blame when security problems arose in the emperor's palace.

Xie Jinhuan didn't know the specific details of the incident three years ago, but Fiji was quite clear. The palace haunting began in March of the fifth year of the Jingning reign, when Emperor Qian, along with his concubines and the crown prince, was residing in the palace, doing spring plowing on Yugeng Mountain according to ancestral tradition.

On the night of the fifth day of March, a sinister aura suddenly appeared in the palace. Many palace maids saw ghosts. Emperor Qian, his concubines, the crown prince, and He Guozhang were all frightened, but the accompanying immortal officials failed to catch the culprit.

At that time, Han Jingchuan led the Chilin Guard to guard the palace, while Xie Wen led the officers to maintain public order at the foot of Yugeng Mountain.

After the incident, Han Jingchuan was sure to take the main responsibility. After several investigations without any results, he accused Xie Wen of drinking and causing mistakes, which led to a leak in the mountain behind the palace and allowed evil spirits to enter.

Xie Wen must have been set up. Several officers accused him of drinking and even found evidence.

Then Zhou Ming'an, the chief judge of the Dali Temple, concluded that Xie Wen was secretly colluding with evil spirits and intended to assassinate the emperor.

This was a serious crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of the clan, and it certainly could not be sentenced on a whim. The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, the Censorate, the Chief of the Ministry of Justice, and even his immediate superior, the Prefect Chen Ping, all rejected the case on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Then Zhou Ming'an said that Xie Wen neglected his duties and disturbed the emperor and his concubines, and he must be severely punished as a warning to others and should be executed immediately. Many people agreed.

However, Hou Jiye, the Minister of Dali Temple and a well-known judge in the capital, still rejected the case on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

However, there were witnesses and physical evidence to prove whether Xie Wen drank alcohol that night, but he was unable to prove himself, which violated the regulations. After discussion among many officials, the sentence was changed to demotion to Nanning, Ruizhou, and Emperor Qian agreed.

The case was hastily concluded, and the reason why the palace was haunted has not been found out to this day.

Fiji knew that Xie Wen loved to drink, but he had no idea whether he had secretly gone to have a drink that night. He only knew that he hadn't seen Xie Wen for a quarter of an hour.

Seeing that he was only demoted, Xie Wen accepted the punishment and did not argue any further.

Fiji never expected that Xie Wen and his son would all die in Sanchagang, Wisconsin, just a few days after leaving Beijing.

Fiji knew that there was something wrong and wanted to avenge his brother's family, but he had no influence and could not investigate at all. He could only secretly inquire through various channels.

It turned out that only some body parts were found in Sanchagang, and no trace of Xie Wen and his son or the monster was found. The captains and immortal officials in charge of the investigation, after searching for the body in vain, concluded that the victim had "died in battle with a monster."

Afterwards, the imperial court posthumously conferred him the title of "Zhongwu Xiaowei" according to the standards for military officers who died in battle, and built a tomb for him in the Zhonglie Garden outside the city, where he was offered spring and autumn sacrifices together with the military soldiers who died for their country.

These things are basically recorded in the files.

After reading it carefully, Xie Jinhuan felt that the case was handled in a muddled manner and there must be some invisible hand interfering.

As for the court's punishment, there is nothing much to say.

After all, there were several witnesses who said they saw his father drinking while on duty and even found the bottle of wine.

His father only said that he had a stomachache and went to the toilet at the moment he disappeared. It was a bit vague and difficult to prove.

The haunted palace disturbed the emperor's presence, which was a serious matter. Under normal circumstances, the person would have lost his head.

Even if it was a frame-up, the old man had no connections or background, and could not prove himself, but he was demoted on the grounds of "drinking and causing trouble while on duty". This was already a pardon outside the law.

But what's going on with Zhou Mingan?

After checking it out, Linghu Qingmo couldn't help but frown and asked:

"Does Zhou Ming'an have a grudge against Uncle Xie? Why does he keep suggesting a severe sentence, either the extermination of the entire clan or immediate execution? The Supreme Court has rejected his proposals twice, and he's still trying to find ways to accuse Uncle Xie of having an affair with a demon..."

Xie Jinhuan has no objection to the "lawyer" favoring the plaintiff or the defendant. After all, this is the lawyer's duty.

But Zhou Mingan was the "judge", and it was indeed too suspicious that he was trying to kill his father in a roundabout way. Seeing this, he looked at Fiji.

Since everyone in the room was his own, Fiji had nothing to be afraid of saying:

"Even if the culprit of the haunted palace cannot be found, there must be a conclusion. If Lord Xie does not bear all the responsibility, Han Jingchuan will have to bear the responsibility for dereliction of duty. However, Han Jingchuan has no right to interfere with the Dali Temple's sentencing. In order to settle the matter, he can only find a way to use his connections."

When Linghu Qingmo heard this, he was naturally annoyed:
"This group of corrupt officials, who arbitrarily accepted bribes and slandered innocent people, even wanted to execute their entire clan. They truly deserve the death penalty."

"Eh!"

Fiji looked out and whispered:

"That's unacceptable. This is the government office, and everything must be done according to the 'Daqian Law'. We have no evidence, and we can't accuse someone of corruption and bribery just because they insist on a strict sentence. Even if they do, we'll just be dismissed from office, and we'll have to run ourselves into a pulp."

Linghu Qingmo knew that it was very troublesome to do business in the capital. He thought for a moment and looked at Xie Jinhuan:
"How about I tell the palace..."

Xie Jinhuan looked at Zhou Mingan's name, thought about it and shook his head:

"It's an old case, so it's not easy to investigate. Let's deal with it later when we have some free time."

Having handled cases in Fiji for many years, he knew how much motivation the 'revenge for one's father's murder' could give people, not to mention that Xie Jinhuan had also mastered martial arts. He warned:

"Jinhuan, you've been in the capital for quite a few years. You should be familiar with how the government investigates cases and handles matters. If you have any ideas, it's best if we discuss them together. Speaking of which, Han Jingchuan's death yesterday was truly inexplicable..."

The two sentences seem unrelated, but they are actually a reminder - think twice before doing anything. Even if you want to kill someone, you must do it according to the "Daqian Law" and don't give others any handle.

Xie Jinhuan was familiar with all these intricacies, and he also knew that Uncle Fei was truly doing this for his own good, so he naturally nodded. After chatting with each other for a while, he stood up and prepared to go out to investigate the whereabouts of the Hades Cult.

Fiji was a little disappointed at first, but after a quick glance, he realized something was wrong. He stood up and flashed to Yang Dabiao who was about to leave. He took out the bamboo tube from his waist:
"You little bastard, I only have these two taels of tea, and you want to take it away..."

Yang Dabiao was stunned. "Hey? You have a sharp eye. I remember that before, I had to walk out the door before you could chase me out."

"roll roll roll……"

……

Please give me a monthly ticket or2!

(End of this chapter)