Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 102 Just What I Want
Jia Chuan didn't expect Hu Wang to be so cooperative, giving him such a big blunder right from the start.

"You have no wife or children?" Jia Chuan asked very seriously.

"None! I have no brothers or sisters, cousins, or uncles in Le'an. I don't know anyone!"

"Very well! If I have conclusive evidence that you know someone in Le'an City, are you willing to come back to the yamen with me and explain today's murder clearly?"

"What does the murder have to do with me?"

"Don't try to evade the main point. I only want to ask you if..."

"Alright! If you can tell me someone I know in Le'an City... I'll make it clear beforehand, acquaintance must mean we've spoken and know each other's names before it can be considered acquaintance."

Don't let Hu Wang's status as just a coachman in the Prince's mansion fool you. He may seem timid and submissive within the mansion, but he's incredibly tough on people outside. Countless commoners have suffered the pain of his whipping.

"Of course we know each other's names. Zhu Zhanqi, do you recognize him?"

Not to mention Hu Wang, even Qian Xun was startled when he heard the name.

Jia Chuan said sternly, "Just this one incident is enough to show that you are a cunning and treacherous person!"

“This doesn’t count!” Qian Xun stepped forward.

"Why shouldn't it count? Zhu Zhanqi has been demoted to a commoner and is no longer a member of the Prince's Mansion. Moreover, he has never lived in the Le'an Prince's Mansion before, but he is currently in Le'an. Hu Wang is just talking nonsense without thinking it through. I did remind him. What, are you really going to protect him?"

"You can't let this one wrong word..."

Jia Chuan waved his hand to interrupt Qian Xun and said, "I naturally have concrete evidence. If I reveal anything more, will you no longer stop me and allow me to arrest people?"

Qian Xun took a deep breath and said, "If you can provide concrete evidence, I will naturally not stop you."

Jia Chuan stepped back two steps, keeping the onlookers at a slightly further distance at both ends of the street, so that he could make room to shout his message.

"The deceased, He Fei, was only twenty-seven years old, in the prime of his life. He was strangled to death last night and his body was thrown into the river. Coincidentally, there was a large rock in the river where the body was dumped, and the body just happened to be lying on that rock..."

Jia Chuan shouted a little too loudly and couldn't help but cough twice before continuing:
"The murderers wanted to make it seem as if the deceased was washed onto the rocks by the current, but unfortunately, they didn't understand anything. Listen carefully, it was them! The reason the deceased was lying on the big rock was because someone deliberately placed it there. The purpose, of course, was to make people discover it..." Jia Chuan smiled and glanced at Qian Xun, then lowered his voice and said, "Everything I say now will be put in black and white on His Majesty's desk."

A flicker of panic crossed Qian Xun's face.

“This is the first time I’ve ever encountered such a stupid thing. If you want to be discovered, why not just put it anywhere? Just to be closer to me, you’ve left so many clues! Let me explain in detail. If you wanted to put the body on the big rock, you would naturally have to go into the river,” Jia Chuan raised his voice again. “Fortunately, the big rock wasn’t far from the bank, which caused the murderer’s footprints to be left on the riverbank. Footprints! Here’s the key point: He Fei was a poor man, wearing straw sandals, but the footprints on the bank weren’t from straw sandals, they were from boots! And it wasn’t just one person. There were several families who could afford boots, so why would they kill a poor man?”

"That's one point. Secondly, He Fei was strangled to death, and his hyoid bone was broken," Jia Chuan lowered his voice and asked Qian Xun, "Do you know what the hyoid bone is?"

Qian Xun was stunned again.

"He Fei was twenty-seven years old, in the prime of his life. His hyoid bone was very hard; unless one was extremely strong, even with a rope, it would take a great deal of force to break it. He Fei was strangled to death with one hand, which shows that the person must have been skilled. He could wear boots and was skilled. What grudge could such a person have against an ordinary person? Even if he did, why would he choose a dark and windy night, a deserted riverbank, to do it? And why would he place the body on a rock in the river?"

Hu Wang hurriedly said, "I didn't leave the Prince's Mansion even once last night."

Your words are no longer credible!

Qian Xun stepped forward and said through gritted teeth, "You've never been to the riverbank, how would you know about the shoe prints..."

"How does Chief Secretary Qian know I haven't been there? Have you had people watching my every move?"

Qian Xun didn't know how to answer, so he could only say arrogantly, "How can your deduction be considered as evidence?"

"In the eyes of the people in the Prince's mansion, is it only when someone is caught committing a crime that they are considered to have real evidence?" Jia Chuan questioned loudly.

Qian Xun was speechless for a moment.

Jia Chuan then said loudly, "The person who reported the case, Ms. Qin, claims to be He Fei's wife, and Zhu Zhanqi can testify that Hu Wang had an affair with this Ms. Qin several years ago..."

"You're talking nonsense!" Hu Wang shouted, jumping up and down.

"To insult an official of the imperial court in the street, even if the Prince of Han were here, he would have to give me an explanation!" Jia Chuan stepped forward and stood in front of Hu Wang, already shouting.

Qian Xun quickly acted as a peacemaker, whispering, "Judge Jia must have something to say..."

"I have Zhu Zhanqi's confession and Qin's confession. Is that enough? Let me ask you first, are servants in the Prince's mansion allowed to insult officials appointed by the imperial court at will?"

Seeing that Jia Chuan was truly anxious, Qian Xun hurriedly said, "Hu Wang's mistake will be punished by the Prince's Mansion, but..."

"Don't give me that nonsense. I'm just asking you, if I want to take him away today, will you release him or not?" Jia Chuan shouted.

Several guards immediately stepped forward, their hands gripping the swords tightening in unison, the clanging of metal particularly jarring. The swords were only pulled out an inch before Jia Chuan jumped up, shouting, "In front of the Prince's mansion, you've insulted an official of the imperial court, and now you want to kill him?!"

If Jia Chuan hadn't given him prior instructions, Gao Yuntian and Chen Mo, who were standing behind Jia Chuan, would probably have rushed forward by now.

Cold sweat was already streaming down Qian Xun's temples. He hurriedly grabbed Jia Chuan and stammered, "This matter needs to be reported to the Prince. You need to bring the evidence... and the confessions you mentioned. You can't just say whatever they said. Bring the witnesses, and I'll come myself..."

"So you're saying you won't let me take the prisoner away, is that it?" Jia Chuan shouted, then whispered, "That's exactly what I want."

Qian Xun was stunned for a moment, then Jia Chuan shouted again, "Let's go back! I will definitely write to the Emperor about this matter. Whose empire is Le'an? Is there still any law left?!"

After saying this, Jia Chuan left with his men.

Qian Xun stood in the cold wind, watching the backs of the group leading their horses, unable to process what was happening for a long time.

Jia Chuan walked towards the crowd, without saying anything grand or impassioned. He simply clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to the people who had spontaneously separated on both sides of the crowd with a somber and sorrowful expression. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was about to bravely face death.

The group made their way through the crowded streets, mounted their horses, and headed straight for the prefectural government office. They picked up Old Zheng and then went home.

Neither Lin Wei nor Hao Wen were able to see Jia Chuan. Lin Wei was anxious about how to close the case, while Hao Wen was anxious to find out what had happened in front of the Prince's Mansion.

Jia Chuan was anxious to get home. The longer he stayed outside, the greater the chance of him being killed. That prince in the palace was no normal person.

……

If Wang Bin hadn't desperately held onto Zhu Gaoxu, who was carrying a sword, Zhu Gaoxu would have already gone out and actually killed Jia Chuan at his doorstep.

Killing a high-ranking official in public is a crime that even Emperor Taizong, let alone the current one in the capital, could not easily get away with, let alone during his reign.

Wang Bin repeatedly emphasized, "Your Highness, don't be fooled! Think about the important matters that haven't been decided yet!"

When Zhu Heng arrived, he unusually sided with Wang Bin, advising, "Once Your Highness has accomplished your task, exterminating his entire clan will be a piece of cake..."

Upon seeing Zhu Heng, Zhu Gaoxu's anger intensified. Before Zhu Heng could finish speaking, he roared, "This is your scheme?!"

Zhu Heng wanted to defend himself, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say. Wang Bin advised, "The matter involves Jia Chuan, so we need to discuss it carefully. Your Highness, please calm down. The reason he dared to come to the gate of the Prince's Mansion is to provoke Your Highness and use his blood to exchange for the country in the capital. Your Highness, please don't fall for his trick!"

Zhu Heng dared not utter another word, waiting for Zhu Gaoxu to calm down before explaining.

Zhu Gaochi angrily asked, "Every time you kill one of them, he comes knocking on your door again. When will this end?!"

Wang Bin glared angrily at Zhu Heng. If Zhu Heng hadn't always thought that killing Jia Chuan would be easy, things wouldn't be like this today. In Wang Bin's opinion, since he knew why this person had come, it would be best to ignore him. If necessary, it would be fine to flatter him. Everything should be for the sake of the big picture. But Zhu Heng insisted on getting rid of this troublemaker.

Zhu Heng was also aggrieved. When Zhu Gaoxu first wanted to kill Jia Chuan, it was Zhu Heng who made the arrangements. Zhu Heng also had his own team responsible for sorting out the intelligence sent from various places, but at that time, only one piece of intelligence was about Jia Chuan: Huang Luling Patrol Inspectorate Clerk, who was later transferred to Dongzhao County as the Criminal Affairs Officer.

Killing such a person naturally didn't require Zhu Heng's personal arrangement; he simply made the decision, keeping half of the cost for himself.

Unfortunately, it failed.

Zhu Heng did not expect Zhu Gaoxu to be so persistent about Jia Chuan. He then asked him to find a way to "use someone else's knife to kill someone". He made the arrangements, but still failed. It wasn't until Jia Chuan arrived in Jinan that he realized why Jia Chuan had the ability to be a coroner, and why Jia Chuan could solve so many murder cases. At first, he thought that the person in the capital was deliberately creating momentum for him. How could a young boy like him be able to deduce the Huang Luling case?
However, after Jia Chuan arrived in Le'an and the murder occurred in Zhu Zhanqi's backyard, Zhu Heng realized that this man was not to be underestimated and that he had to kill him at all costs.

However, Zhu Heng had very little information about Jia Chuan. The King of Han only knew that he was angry with him after the failure, but he did not increase the amount of information he could gather about Jia Chuan.

Zhu Heng felt helpless.

There were people planted by the late emperor in Le'an City. Zhu Gaoxu received the news and still assigned him the task of eliminating these people. He knew that they hadn't been killed completely. Even if they had been killed at the time, who knew if the capital would send more people?

He dared not say much about this to Zhu Gaoxu, unless he could find these people, otherwise he would only cause trouble for himself. He secretly sent people to investigate for more than a year and arrested some people, but it was just for show for the prince. These people did not leave any trace. It was not until Jia Chuan arrived in Le'an, coupled with the white bones in Zhu Zhanqi's backyard, that Zhu Heng deduced that Jia Chuan had been to Le'an several times, but there was no news from Jinan.

This matter still cannot be discussed. He was the one who came up with the idea and drafted the personnel arrangements. It might have been possible to say it a few days earlier, but Jia Chuan's uproar has led to this. He only said that he would be punished and alienated by the Prince of Han. However, he couldn't control how the people who actually carried it out carried it out. They were all Wei Da's subordinates, and Wei Da directly obeyed Wang Bin's orders... Furthermore, even if there was no news from Jinan, how could Le'an not know about it?

Zhu Heng knew Zhu Gaoxu too well. He knew it was useless to talk to him, but he knew in his heart that Jia Chuan had to be eliminated. However, he couldn't do it on his own turf.

Zhu Gaochi's anger is making Zhu Heng somewhat desperate. The Prince of Han is slow to realize that things are different now. If anger were useful, what would be the point of plotting for the throne?

As Qian Xun, pale-faced, pushed open the door and entered, Zhu Gaoxu angrily demanded, "Why didn't you kill him with a single sword strike?!"

Qian Xun stood there, stunned.

Wang Bin sighed, and Zhu Heng lowered his head.

Seeing that no one responded, Zhu Gaoxu took a few deep breaths and then sat down.

Wang Bin hurriedly asked Qian Xun, "Can you tell what his purpose is in coming here? Does he really know who did it last night?"

Qian Xun quickly recounted what had just happened at the entrance of the Prince's Mansion.

"You mean what he said at the end... was exactly what I wanted?" Zhu Heng asked, frowning.

Zhu Gaoxu sat up straight and asked, "What does he mean by this? He came to my doorstep to arrest someone, and when he couldn't, he said it suited his purposes perfectly?"

Qian Xun wiped the sweat still dripping from his forehead and nodded, saying, "He seems to be just here to cause trouble. He knows he can't take Hu Wang away at all. But... I haven't figured out the purpose of all this trouble yet."

Wang Bin glanced coldly at Zhu Heng and said, "First there was the assassination in the street, now there's this suspicious murder case. He's waiting to give him something else later. If you put it all together, even if Your Highness has a thousand mouths, you won't be able to explain yourself."

Qian Xun nodded and said, "He was shouting loudly in front of the Prince's Mansion that the body found this morning was a person placed on a stone in the river."

Zhu Heng frowned and said, "How could he have thought of that..."

Zhu Gaoxu, who was holding back his anger and didn't know where to vent it, retorted directly when he heard Zhu Heng speak: "If he can think of that, why couldn't you have thought of it beforehand?!"

Zhu Heng quickly bowed and apologized, listing a lot of his faults and giving a self-criticism.

Zhu Heng knew that this prince was like a donkey that needed to be stroked, so he had to go along with him; there was no point in arguing at the moment.

Qian Xun hadn't been in the gang for long, and Zhu Heng had taken good care of him during that time. Now, he felt he should say a few words on Zhu Heng's behalf.

"This Jia Chuan is truly unpredictable; he seems to know no fear whatsoever..."

Zhu Gaoxu snorted coldly and said, "That confidence was given to me by my nephew, otherwise..."

Zhu Gaoxu stopped halfway through his sentence, as if he had figured something out. He pondered it for a moment, but then Zhu Heng interrupted his train of thought.

“I know what he’s afraid of. He cares a lot about the people around him. If we can’t do anything to him for the time being, we’ll target the people around him first. As soon as anyone comes out of that house, we’ll take them down immediately…”

"You think he didn't think of that?" Wang Bin asked irritably.

Zhu Heng was furious. He couldn't hold back any longer and asked Wang Bin, "Since Minister Wang thinks everything I say is inappropriate, I hope Minister Wang can give me some advice, which can be considered as relieving the Prince's worries."

"In my opinion, ignoring him is the best approach."

"Ignore him? The bones in Zhu Zhanqi's house didn't appear because of anything I did beforehand. Even if I don't do anything, do you think he'll just sit around doing nothing?"

(End of this chapter)