Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 156 The Embroidered Uniform Guard Helps Eliminate Incorrect Options (Second Update)
noon.

The gates of the Ministry of Justice were wide open, and a cold wind rushed in. Several low-ranking officials in blue robes walked into the courtyard, their steps much lighter than usual. The courtyard was unusually quiet, and even the bailiffs who usually shouted were lowering their voices, only daring to communicate with their eyes.

Only one young official remained unfazed: "Minister Yao was taken away last night..."

"Shh!"

He dared to speak, but those who heard him trembled and hurriedly grabbed him, their eyes scanning the surroundings in fear.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from under the corridor. The officials immediately fell silent, bowed their heads and stood at attention, only to find that it was just three or four clerks carrying stacks of files hurrying past. Their faces were also pale, as if they were being chased by evil spirits.

"Those were all cases handled by Vice Minister Yao, weren't they?"

Once the clerk had disappeared from sight, the one in the lead said, "I never expected it would be Vice Minister Yan who made the move! Ha! My Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice has actually been taken down by the Ministry of Personnel. What face do I have left!"

Another elderly official suddenly muttered to himself, his fingers constantly twirling his prayer beads: "I once gave Minister Yao an inkstone, will this... lead to my being implicated?"

No one dared to respond to him; they even subconsciously took a half-step to the side, as if he were already a criminal.

Passing through the second hall, the once bustling offices were now deserted. Several doctors were hiding in their duty rooms, the doors tightly shut, and they didn't even dare to turn the lights on too brightly. Occasionally, someone would come in or out, but they would keep their heads down and walk quickly without even daring to greet them.

The same fearless young official in charge frowned: "This won't do! People are panicking, everyone is on edge. The Ministry of Justice has a heavy responsibility; we can't afford any delays!"

"Don't worry, Minister Yan is coming back!"

Just then, a familiar voice reached his ears. He turned around and saw a familiar figure: "Zhao Wenhua? Are you still lingering in the capital?"

Zhao Wenhua was a little embarrassed, but still cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Junbi, it's been a long time since we last met. You're still as charming as ever!"

This person was his classmate, both of whom were Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the eighth year of the Jiajing reign. His surname was Guo, his given name was Zonggao, his courtesy name was Junbi, and he was from Fushan, Shandong. He was originally selected as a Shujishi (a junior official in the Hanlin Academy), but not long ago, he was dismissed from his Jinshi position and appointed as a principal officer in the Ministry of Justice for offending the emperor with his remonstrances.

Guo Zonggao belonged to the stubborn type, even more so than Xu Jie of the same period. Historically, Jiajing's eldest son died at two months old, and a mutiny broke out in Datong. Guo Zonggao then submitted a memorial to Jiajing, advising him to be more lenient and tolerant, to heed loyal advice, and not to govern solely with strictness. Jiajing was furious and imprisoned him in the imperial prison. He was then released after being flogged forty times.

Given Guo Zonggao's temperament, he would naturally find Zhao Wenhua's character extremely distasteful, and addressing him by his given name was an insult.

Seeing that Zhao Wenhua did not get angry, Guo Zonggao became even more disdainful. He glanced at Hai Yue and Yan Shifan, who were traveling with him, and then turned and left.

Zhao Wenhua, who had been humiliated himself, remained amiable, but seeing Hai Yue being treated coldly, he immediately showed indignation: "How rude! How could he treat the head of the association like that!"

Yan Shifan scoffed: "Isn't it all because of you? Zhao Yuanzhi, you've sold so much wine, yet you still don't have any good relationships with people!"

Haiyue didn't take it seriously: "Let's go! To the office!"

Previously, they came to prison cells specifically to interrogate Hao and organize case files. Now, the Ministry of Justice's office stores case files from all over the country, and there are naturally many clerks there.

Zhao Wenhua had worked here before. He led the two into the hall and beckoned to a minor official: "Pan Zi, come here!"

Not everyone has Guo Zonggao's courage and confidence. The minor official clearly wanted to avoid him, but couldn't, and could only cautiously step forward to greet him: "Master Zhao..."

Zhao Wenhua said directly, "After Old Master Zhou passed away, who was his replacement? Bring this person to see me!"

Along the way, he also introduced that the old official was named Zhou Shi'an. It is said that he had worked in the Ministry of Justice since the Hongzhi era. He worked diligently for more than 30 years, was well-versed in the articles of the "Great Ming Code", and was good at finding contradictions and loopholes in the case files. In addition, his calligraphy was neat and his case files were not altered in a single word. Therefore, he was often praised by his superiors for being mature and prudent, and was even given the nickname "Iron Pen Master". So he was not unknown.

It was extremely rare for a minor official to be addressed as "Master." Zhao Wenhua had heard of his reputation and, after taking office as the head of the Ministry of Justice, he wanted to get close to him and respectfully addressed him as "Old Master Zhou," which led to what happened later.

Now, it's not difficult to investigate this person carefully. After all, clerks are not like officials, whose positions are hereditary. It doesn't matter if an old clerk dies, his descendants can take over his position.

Unexpectedly, the minor official Pan Zi hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Old Zhou doesn't have a substitute..."

Zhao Wenhua was stunned: "No substitute? How is that possible? Old Zhou didn't do anything wrong!"

The "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty" stipulated that when there were vacancies in the official positions, priority should be given to selecting from the "former relatives of the original servants". In other words, the positions of clerks and clerks were often filled by sons, nephews or relatives, which was called "substitute" or "substitute service", thus forming a family monopoly.

Of course, successors also need to pass basic assessments, such as literacy and arithmetic, and in principle, they should not be unqualified. However, the assessments are generally not strict, and there are many who make do. Unless the original clerk is dismissed for corruption, his relatives are naturally prohibited from succeeding him.

The old official Zhou Shi'an worked diligently his whole life, and after his death, his position should rightfully be inherited by his sons, nephews, and relatives.

The clerk explained, "Old Zhou has two sons. The elder son is seriously ill and bedridden, and the younger son is lame and so lame that he cannot work. Originally, a relative was supposed to come from his hometown to take over his position, but he was attacked by bandits on the way and was killed. So his position has been filled by someone else. Does Chief Zhao want me to go and call that person?"

"no, I'm fine!"

Zhao Wenhua grew anxious: "Since there's no substitute, what about his two sons? Give me their home address; I want to visit them!"

The clerk said, "They've moved away! They've gone back to their hometown! We even went to see them off!"

"what?"

Zhao Wenhua was stunned.

Haiyue watched coldly from the sidelines.

If the scourge of "Hundred Flowers Wine" hadn't been exposed, the old official Zhou Shi'an would have served Zhao Wenhua well. Yet, after Zhou'an's death, Zhao Wenhua showed no concern for the treatment of his descendants, revealing his cold-hearted nature. Of course, the crucial point now is that Zhou Shi'an is gone.

The old official died, his son returned to his hometown, and the whole family moved away from the capital.

There's definitely something wrong!

Zhao Wenhua was initially frightened when he knelt down to beg, but gradually, he couldn't help but develop some doubts.

Could it be that Haiyue and Yan Shifan are trying to renege on their promise to take him into the Yixin Society, and that's why they're exaggerating? In fact, his Baihua Wine has nothing to do with that secret society!

But at this moment, Zhao Wenhua also felt that something was wrong.

A veteran official who had worked in the Ministry of Justice for nearly forty years couldn't even arrange a replacement successor, so he lost his job and his whole family disappeared.

There might be unexpected events, such as a relative who wanted to go to Beijing to take over being murdered along the way, but combined with the previous investigation, is it really just such a coincidence?
"It's over!"

Zhao Wenhua's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he swayed, almost falling to the ground: "Am I really going to be imprisoned?"

Yan Shifan chuckled coldly, feeling both pleased and regretful, and sighed, "They're really hard to catch!"

In hindsight, this was indeed a useful clue, but unfortunately the other party was too cunning and cut the line off in advance, leaving us empty-handed!
Otherwise, Yan Shifan would rather make a contribution than bring misfortune upon Zhao Wenhua.

My father, Yan Song, has already made a name for himself in front of the Emperor. He is determined to find clues about the secret society. In the future, won't the court be in our hands?

Oh, and we also need to bring Mingwei along~
Unlike the two whose emotions were fluctuating wildly, Hai Yue looked at the minor official in the Ministry of Justice and asked, "Do you know Zhou Shi'an's house?"

The clerk had just said he was going to see someone off, so he couldn't very well deny it and whispered, "I recognize him."

"Take us there. This matter is of great importance. If you do your job well, the turmoil in the Ministry of Justice will definitely not affect you!"

Haiyue didn't make too many promises. For a clerk, being able to live a peaceful and stable life is what they desire most.

As expected, the clerk's expression softened: "Yes! Gentlemen, please follow me!"

Zhou Shi'an lived in Xuanbeifang in the south of the city, and his residence was a small courtyard house.

It was sold at the beginning of last year and is now occupied by another family. When the group arrived, the clerk went up and knocked on the door, but no one answered. Haiyue and the other two looked around from outside the door while listening to the other party's description.

"The main house inside consists of four gray-tiled rooms. The east room is the study, where Old Zhou kept a lot of old files from the Ministry of Justice and privately copied annotated copies. The west room is Old Zhou's master bedroom, with a Buddhist shrine. He is a Buddhist and enshrines Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. The other two rooms are where his two sons lived."

"In the south wing of the side room lives an old servant who takes care of his seriously ill eldest son. The north wing is the kitchen, and sausages hang under the eaves. Old Zhou is kind-hearted and often helps his neighbors!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan frowned: "So, this person has many good relationships?"

Zhao Wenhua also said in a hoarse voice, "If this person is a member of a secret society, there must be others secretly dealing with him. Wouldn't that make us too many suspects?"

Hai Yue pondered for a moment and offered a suggestion: "Now we're using the Jinyiwei's investigation approach. If the Jinyiwei discovers something suspicious about Zhou Shi'an and follows this lead, what will they do?"

Yan Shifan said, "Since the neighbors have received favors from Zhou Shi'an, the Imperial Guards will definitely take these people back for interrogation!"

Zhao Wenhua said, "Since Zhou Shi'an is a Buddhist and has set up a Buddhist shrine, then the temples he frequents might also be searched?"

Yan Shifan then added, "The family that bought Zhou Shi'an's house will definitely be unlucky!"

"These incorrect options can basically be eliminated..."

Haiyue looked around again: "This place is in a bustling city with frequent traffic. If Zhou Shi'an has any contacts, we should be wary of too many people watching! Is there a type of person who, even if they have regular contact with Zhou Shi'an, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would not arrest and interrogate them?"

Yan Shifan and Zhao Wenhua exchanged bewildered glances: "Is there such a person?"

The clerk's face changed as he listened to their conversation; his eyes darted around, but he dared not utter a sound.

He didn't speak, but Haiyue looked over and said, "Panzi, you speak!"

Helpless, the clerk could only cautiously ask, "Are you three gentlemen looking for the constables in charge of investigating matters?"

Yan Shifan asked in surprise, "A constable?"

The minor official said, "There is one constable in every neighborhood of the capital who is responsible for patrolling the streets and alleys and investigating the people's conditions..."

Zhao Wenhua asked in bewilderment, "Why didn't the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrest anyone?"

"Because those are the Embroidered Uniform Guard's own people. The detectives from the Five Cities Garrison are no longer effective; in recent years, it's been the Embroidered Uniform Guard sending people to investigate..."

At this point, the clerk shrank back and chuckled dryly, "I only heard it from someone else! It doesn't count! It doesn't count!"

Haiyue said decisively, "Go and find out which constable was visiting this area during the past few years while Zhou Shi'an was alive!"

(End of this chapter)