Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 145 The Truth Behind the Old Case (Third Update)
Haiyue didn't jump out of the teahouse window, but she used her lightness technique to reach the outside of the lampwick shop as quickly as possible and chased after them.

Before long, the figure of shop owner Feng Gui came into view. He was walking hurriedly and would occasionally look back.

After realizing that no one was following him, he quickly walked in one direction.

Haiyue slipped out from around the corner and followed silently.

The other party is extremely vigilant and has great patience.

They questioned him in the afternoon, and after they left, he opened his shop as usual until nightfall.

This is actually a point of doubt.

After all, for ordinary people, being questioned by officials and having details of a case from a year ago brought up, they wouldn't dare to do business anymore. They would immediately close down and pray to the gods.

But it doesn't directly prove anything.

For example, what if someone gets so scared that they just sit there blankly in the shop?
That's possible.

But now, Feng Gui just answered those questions during the day with remarkable fluency, and then suddenly went out at night with such a clear route, so there's definitely something wrong with him.

Haiyue followed at a distance, keeping her distance, all the way to the west of the city.

There seem to be fewer pedestrians here, but every time someone enters or leaves, they are accompanied by a large number of servants, and there are often sedan chairs.

Wudinghou Hutong, Taininghou Hutong, Wuanhou Hutong, Dingfu Street, Guangningbo Street—just by hearing the names of these streets and alleys, you can tell who lives there.

When Feng Gui arrived at the back gate of one of the mansions, he said a few words to the gatekeeper and was soon led inside.

Haiyue wasn't in a hurry and waited at a distance.

There is a curfew in the capital. Considering the journey, unless Feng Gui stays in this mansion tonight, he will most likely have to come out and won't stay inside for long.

Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later, Feng Gui came out of the back door, carrying a heavy package in his arms, head down, and hurried towards his shop.

With his speed, he could get home before curfew.

If he hadn't been suddenly dragged into an alleyway by a figure halfway through.

"Ah—Ughhhh!!"

After a hurried, broken cry, Feng Gui was slammed against the wall, and his arms suddenly felt light as the package was snatched away.

He tried to resist, but felt a powerful force surge towards him, holding him firmly in place. Realizing that his opponent could easily kill him, he instantly gave up resisting, whimpering, "Hero... Hero, spare my life! This silver... is a tribute to you!"

One ear was pressed against the wall, while a deep, hoarse voice came from the other: "I won't spare your life, and the silver is mine! Even if I kill you, the officials still won't be able to catch me!"

Feng Gui closed his eyes tightly: "I...I didn't see any heroes...I won't report this to the authorities when I get back...I absolutely won't report this to the authorities!"

The hero said, "You're quite clever! No wonder you've won the favor of that nobleman in that mansion. Now tell me your secret to getting rich, and I'll spare your dog's life!"

Feng Gui shuddered, clearly realizing he had been watched the moment he entered or left the mansion. Knowing that further evasion would only anger the other party, he gritted his teeth and said, "Hero... I was just running errands for your family... This money merely passed through your hands... It's not for me to enjoy... If you take it, I'll have no choice but to flee the capital and seek refuge with my relatives in Sichuan..."

The hero sneered, "Pass it through someone? Who are you trying to fool? This package is full of silver ingots, more than two hundred taels! Even the most noble people wouldn't just let so much silver pass through anyone! Looks like you're going to have to suffer the consequences!"

Before he could finish speaking, the hand twisted around his arm, and Feng Gui felt a piercing pain surge through him, letting out a shrill scream: "—!!"

His jaw snapped shut, his scream abruptly cut off.

"Let me tell you, I learned some tricks from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Even a desperate criminal couldn't withstand this kind of dismemberment. If you want to suffer, then try it!"

Feng Gui was horrified and was about to confess when another wave of excruciating pain surged through him: "—!!"

This happened repeatedly until he was no longer pressed against the wall, but rather lay there like a lump of mud, his face pale and trembling.

Why don't you just ask questions? Why resort to torture all the time? Even the Imperial Guards aren't this cruel!
This clearly shows a complete lack of understanding of the ruthlessness of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but Feng Gui's psychological defenses were also breached. When he finally had the chance to speak, he dared not hide anything any longer: "I'll talk! I'll talk! The mansion belongs to Tang Shaoqing of the Court of Judicial Review. His son did something wrong and asked me to cover it up for him, which is why I was given money!"

The hero said coldly, "What evil have you done?"

Feng Gui stammered, "Young Master Tang committed adultery with a woman and ruined her husband!"

The hero scoffed, "Is that all? Haven't those privileged kids been doing it all along? What makes you think you can cover for them?"

Feng Gui calmed himself down. For a murderer like him, this was indeed a small matter. He whispered, "Young Master Tang originally wanted to frame the Jiang brothers, saying that someone else killed the lady's husband and then took the lady for himself, keeping her as a mistress..." The hero raised his voice, "Oh? That's interesting. Isn't that... that guy from Water Margin?"

"Lady Lin?"

Feng Gui shook his head slightly: "No! It's different! Madam Lin didn't submit to Gao Yanei, but this Madam Hao had been having an affair with Young Master Tang for a long time, and even got pregnant. However, when her husband found out that something was wrong and wanted to report it to the authorities, that woman went to seduce the eldest son of the Jiang family brothers, wanting to use him to get rid of her husband!"

The hero grew impatient: "Do you really think this is a storyteller? Or are you trying to stall for time so someone can come to rescue you? Let me tell you, even if patrolling soldiers come, I'll kill you first!"

Feng Gui's last hope was dashed, and he hurriedly said, "Madam Hao seduced Jiang's eldest son, but unexpectedly, it was his younger brother who went that day. Jiang's younger brother was extremely shrewd. He realized something was wrong, went to the appointment in place of his brother, and then withdrew in time. Young Master Tang had no choice but to join forces with Madam Hao to kill her husband!"

The hero coldly replied, "What's it to you?"

Feng Gui said in a hoarse voice, "They bribed me long ago to identify the person afterward. That day, I saw Jiang's eldest son entering and leaving Hao Niangzi's house, and then an accident happened. But they didn't tell me. I still identified Jiang's eldest son, and then Jiang's second son came to my door. Fortunately, he didn't know the truth and thought that I really saw someone but mistook him for his brother. So he asked me to go to the yamen to testify!"

“I remained calm and pretended to agree at the time. Afterwards, I had a sudden inspiration, found his brother, and told him that I had actually seen his younger brother go to Hao Niangzi’s house that day.”

"Jiang's eldest son mistakenly believed that the murderer was his younger brother. After going to the yamen, he confessed to the crime. The neighbors all saw him flirting with Hao Niangzi, and with me as a witness, the yamen naturally did not suspect anything and sentenced him to death!"

The hero asked, "Didn't his brother seek justice?"

Feng Gui said, "Of course he went to seek justice. He also said that he was present that day, but he was beaten and nothing could be changed. However, he seemed to have discovered something later..."

The hero asked, "What is it?"

Feng Gui paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Are you really a highway robber?"

"Ha! You've finally realized it?"

The deep, hoarse voice disappeared, replaced by Hai Yue's clear and pleasant voice: "There are many shrewd people in the city, but it's a pity that you use your shrewdness to do such immoral things!"

Feng Gui sighed deeply: "I was also blinded by greed and did such a heinous thing. Ever since Jiang's eldest son was beheaded, I sent my family away after returning from the execution ground. I knew in my heart that this day would probably come sooner or later!"

Haiyue said calmly, "But you still try to distance yourself completely during the day, don't you?"

Feng Gui paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "Yes! At the time, I was only thinking about clearing myself of any wrongdoing..."

This is only human nature; wavering between the regret of a pang of conscience and the sin of selfishness, Haiyue didn't dwell on it too much and asked directly, "Have you finished? What did Jiang Erlang discover?"

Feng Gui took a deep breath and said, "Madam Hao is not dead!"

Haiyue narrowed her eyes: "Because of the child in her belly?"

Feng Gui said, "That's right! That young master Tang has seven or eight concubines, but perhaps he has done too many bad things and is now getting his comeuppance. He has no sons to this day. After Madam Hao became pregnant, she said that she would definitely give birth to a son, so young master Tang wanted to keep the child! As a result, he was sentenced to death for adultery and murdering his husband. The prefect of Shuntian Prefecture could not tolerate such a heinous crime. Helpless, young master Tang had someone use a substitute method to have another person impersonate Madam Hao and be tortured!"

Haiyue asked, "How did you know these secrets?"

Feng Gui smiled bitterly: "If it weren't for these secrets protecting me, I would have been silenced by Young Master Tang long ago. Moreover, Madam Hao was just in the mansion. She gave me these silver ingots, telling me to leave the capital as soon as possible and go as far away as possible!"

Haiyue said, "What about Jiang Erlang? He wanted to seek justice for his brother, so he deliberately staged a fake scene where a passerby mistook him for someone else, but the Tang family quickly noticed something was wrong and suppressed it?"

Feng Gui nodded: "Yes! He wanted to seek redress from the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, but the Tang family was watching him closely, so he had no chance and sold the house and disappeared!"

Haiyue stared at him: "Do you dare to say these things to Prefect Huo of Shuntian Prefecture?"

Feng Gui gritted his teeth: "Whether I speak or not, I'm afraid I'll have no way out. If I speak, my sins will be less. Why don't I speak?"

"Okay! Come with me!"

Haiyue gripped Feng Gui's shoulder with one hand and carried the heavy load of stolen goods back with the other.

As he approached the teahouse, he saw Yan Shifan and Zhao Yuanhua eagerly waiting for him. Upon seeing him, they rushed over.

After hearing the concise account, Yan Shifan was immediately moved and exclaimed in amazement: "I never expected that the truth of the old case could be revealed so quickly. Mingwei is insightful and decisive, truly a genius!"

Zhao Wenhua: "..."

These are my lyrics!

(End of this chapter)