Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 173 Investigating the Spread of Rumors (First Update)
"Liu San, also known as 'Liu the Tongue,' was the cook in the cell and loved to relay the official's words."

"Tell me more about it."

"I remember once he went to deliver tea and came back telling everyone, 'This year, the exam will probably be on the Spring and Autumn Annals.' Everyone thought he had overheard something from the examiner, but later they found out that the examiner had said 'The weather is as cool as autumn.' This caused quite a commotion! But he's quite accurate about other things though..."

"What's the reason for his silence this time?"

"I did hear a story that Liu San's wife ran off with a rouge peddler five years ago. Since then, he can't stand anything in pairs. He even kicks one of the benches in the examination hall out of shape. But recently, someone has been trying to arrange a marriage for him, and he's supposed to find a new wife. Maybe his mind is all on that and he doesn't care about gossip!"

Hearing this, Haiyue nodded slightly: "Next."

……

"Zhao Kuaitui, whose real name is unknown, is what everyone called him when I first came to the examination hall. He usually works as a gate inspector. Because he is nimble on his feet, he often runs errands. He also has sharp ears and is known as 'the examination hall's keen-eared one'."

"How does he compare to Liu San in relaying messages?"

"Zhao the Fastest is much more accurate with his information. One year, the exam questions were related to salt administration, and he inadvertently let it slip. The questions came out more than half a month before the official papers were released. Many people guessed that he was secretly selling the questions to outsiders!"

"If that's the case, why didn't he participate in spreading the rumors this time?"

"That's not surprising. Zhao Kuaitui is very cautious. He's always the subject of gossip, but when something really big happens, he's the fastest to run away. Once the news of Young Master Yan's cheating spread, he disappeared without a trace."

Hearing this, Haiyue nodded again: "Next."

……

"Sun the chatterbox, the night watchman, was known by others as 'the one who talks the most at the third watch and the one who talks the most at the fifth watch.' He was the most talkative and the most unreliable."

"How to say?"

"Once, after the major examination, he said that while patrolling at night, he saw a white shadow flitting across the examination hall. It must have been a disgruntled scholar who had failed the exam and hanged himself there, turning into... turning into a vengeful spirit to claim his life!"

"Don't be afraid, you're just scaring yourself. There's no such thing..."

"Sun the gossip is also a big braggart. He said that back in the day, he was the one who served tea and water to Grand Secretary Zhang during every exam. Grand Secretary Zhang always remembered his good deeds and wanted to promote him!"

"During his ten years in court, Grand Secretary Zhang did not appoint a single eunuch, tolerate a single private visit, or bestow favors upon any of his sons or nephews. He even repeatedly warned his clansmen in his hometown not to abuse their power and commit illegal acts just because he held a high position in court! Such boasting only proves that he is completely unaware of Grand Secretary Zhang's character!"

"Yes, yes! So at first everyone was a little in awe of him, but after he talked a lot of nonsense, they stopped believing him and just treated him as a joke."

Why is Sun, the chatterbox, so quiet this time?

"I don't know! Maybe you have something to hide?"

Hearing this, Haiyue understood: "Let's go, let's interrogate the first person first!"

……

"Lord Hai, this is the living quarters of the Water and Fire Masters!"

Where do you think we should go first?

Alu was stunned and said, "I thought they were going to interrogate Sun Suizui first, because he suddenly stopped talking for no reason!"

Haiyue said leisurely, "But this person has the lowest credibility and has become a laughing stock in the examination hall. If the news is delivered by him personally, others won't spread it in just one night, right?"

"Huh...that makes sense!"

A-Lu thought for a moment: "Of these three, Sun the gossip is the least trustworthy. Everyone believes the other two, so why Liu San? Isn't he getting married?"

Haiyue said in a deep voice, "Then we need to see where he got the money for his second wife. Bring her out!"

"Who is it?! It's freezing cold, and it's almost midnight..."

Liu San came out yawning.

This water and fire man had a thin, long face, a mustache, and a pair of triangular eyes that darted around. When he saw Haiyue standing under the tree, he sized her up briefly and then put on a smile: "Oh! Isn't this Mr. Jin Keya Yuanhai! It's an honor to have you here!"

Haiyue smiled back: "As expected of those from the Imperial Examination Hall, everyone is so clever, and they even seem to have absorbed some of the scholarly air..."

Liu San's face immediately lit up with a smile: "Oh! Master Hai's words are truly enlightening, I..."

He racked his brains, seemingly wanting to say something more elegant, but for a moment he couldn't think of anything, and he became so anxious that his face turned red.

Then Haiyue's next sentence took a turn: "Since you are literate, you should know what crimes are false accusation and verbal abuse under the Ming Dynasty law, right?"

Liu San's smile froze instantly.

"Anyone who falsely accuses another and is punished with caning shall have the false accusation punished two degrees more severely; anyone who is punished with exile, penal servitude, or caning shall have the false accusation punished three degrees more severely; anyone who slanders another and defames their reputation shall be punished with thirty strokes of the cane to eighty strokes of the cane!"

Thanks to his younger brother Hai Rui's frequent reading of the "Great Ming Code," Hai Yue was equally adept at it: "Especially slandering the sons of officials, which is an even more serious crime! Of course, you should have heard of Vice Minister Yan's integrity and incorruptibility, which is to bully good officials. If it were the domineering Marquis of Wuding, he would probably never have had the guts!"

Liu San's expression stiffened for a moment, but his tone returned to humility and composure: "I don't understand what Lord Hai is saying. I haven't been delivering any messages lately, so how could I be slandering the son of an official?"

Haiyue looked at him and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Now that Young Master Yan has been kidnapped by thieves and such a big thing has happened at the Luming Banquet, the court and the public are shocked. The Embroidered Uniform Guard will definitely get involved. When you go to the Imperial Prison, someone will naturally come to question you."

Liu San's expression changed immediately: "Master Hai, I really didn't do it, I didn't..." Hai Yue turned and left.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"

A moment later, accompanied by hurried footsteps, Liu San caught up and said in a trembling voice, "Lord Hai, Young Master Yan was kidnapped by thieves, it really has nothing to do with me!"

Haiyue said, "But you were the one who first started spreading rumors in the examination hall! Rumors were rampant one day, and the thief committed the crime the next. Do you think the Embroidered Uniform Guard would believe that the two were completely unrelated?"

Pfft!
Liu San suddenly knelt down without hesitation: "Lord Hai, save me! Save me! I really wouldn't dare to do such a thing, it's just that I have a sharp tongue! A sharp tongue!"

Ah Lu watched in awe. In just a few words, the other party really confessed.

Haiyue, however, knew very well that this was because the nature of the case had changed.

If it were just a rumor, Liu San would definitely insist that he didn't know anything. With so many conflicting opinions, it would be really hard to clarify. The other party was clearly not afraid of any false accusations or insults under the "Great Ming Code," and knew exactly what was going on.

But now that Yan Shifan is gone, it's no longer a matter of spreading rumors and slander, but a major case that will reach the ears of the emperor, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard will have to be mobilized.

Even the most arrogant high-ranking officials live in constant fear when they encounter the Embroidered Uniform Guard, let alone a mere clerk in the Imperial Examination Hall. Once arrested and taken to the Northern Garrison, there is no way out for them, regardless of whether they are guilty or not.

So Liu San gave up.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Haiyue asked directly, "How much silver did they give you to get married?"

Upon hearing the amount of money needed to marry a wife, Liu San lost all hope and whispered, "Two hundred and fifty taels...two hundred and fifty taels of silver..."

"That's a lot!"

Haiyue asked, "Who instructed you to do this?"

Liu San replied, "Ni Jie, the clerk of the rites department of the Shuntian Prefecture..."

'what! '

A-Lu was shocked: 'The one who instigated this was the Grand Magistrate?'

The official in charge of the provincial examination was Huo Tao, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Recently, the Shuntian Prefecture's rites office and the examination hall have been in frequent contact. In the process, he instructed his subordinates to collude with people in the examination hall to spread rumors about Yan Shifan, which was done without anyone noticing.

Haiyue, however, did not think so.

It is not necessarily true that if a clerk from the Shuntian Prefecture came forward, it was because he was acting on the orders of his superior, Huo Tao, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. These clerks in the capital had connections everywhere and their backers were unknown. They often liked to create confusion and set up traps.

Now, all he needed to do was confirm that this was a rumor spread at someone's behest, and he wasn't in a hurry to find out who was behind it. He continued to ask, "It spread throughout the examination hall in just one night. Did this clerk in the rites department only ask you to spread it?"

"Yep!"

Liu San nodded repeatedly, admitting it quickly, clearly not wanting to be the only one to suffer: "Zhao Kuaitui must have done it too! I was the one who relayed the messages from the main courtyard, the cells, and the tea room, while Zhao Kuaitui must have spread the messages from the kitchen, the main gate, and the library!"

"Come with me!"

When Haiyue brought Liu San to Zhao Kuaitui, Zhao Kuaitui initially denied everything, but soon his eyes filled with resentment as he looked at Liu San. Helplessly, he confessed, "Yes! I accepted three hundred taels of silver from Ni Jie, a clerk in the Shuntian Prefecture's ceremonial office, to spread the news of the imperial examination cheating!"

"Why does he have fifty taels more than me? He could marry several wives with that much!"

Even at this moment, Liu San couldn't help but feel indignant, while Hai Yue had already asked, "Besides the two of you, did Ni Jie, the clerk in the Ministry of Rites, bribe anyone else?"

Zhao Kuaitui thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "There shouldn't be any left."

"Where's that gossipy grandson?"

Liu San and Zhao Kuaitui both scoffed upon hearing this: "Him? Who would believe what he says? Of course, Clerk Ni wouldn't spend money on him!"

"You are all literate, so bring paper and pen and write down your confessions!"

Haiyue said, "I can't guarantee anything else, but as long as you don't have anything else to hide, you can avoid going through the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Liu San and Zhao Kuaitui looked ashen-faced, knowing that this time it was probably all over. But if they could avoid falling into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it would be a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. They could only say in trembling voices, "Thank you, Lord Xie Hai! Thank you, Lord Xie Hai!"

Seeing the two of them writing their confessions as if they had lost their parents, Haiyue turned to Alu and said, "Go and bring Sun Suizui here!"

Alu asked curiously, "Lord Hai, isn't he innocent?"

Haiyue said, "He may not be the one spreading the rumors, but that doesn't mean he's not a suspect. Go and bring him in!"

"Yes!"

Ah Lu accepted the order and jogged away.

Two quarters of an hour later, he hurriedly returned, his face filled with anxiety: "Master Hai! Something terrible has happened! Sun Suizui has disappeared! I asked the watchmen around him, and they all said they hadn't seen him!"

"Confirm whether he is truly missing, and find out exactly when he was last seen..."

Haiyue had already obtained the confession, which detailed how the examination hall servants spread rumors, falsely accusing Yan Shifan, the last-place candidate in this year's imperial examination, of cheating. The case officially entered the next stage: "If this person is the second missing person, then the case will have a breakthrough!"

(End of this chapter)