Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 25 Surfaced
He started from that night at the land temple.

The first group of people who came to kill that night said that they were servants of the Prince of Han's Mansion, but they seemed to have an unspoken rule that was recognized by everyone but could not be spoken out loud - no one was willing to kill Zhu Zhanji.

Even if there was such a good opportunity, one person who entered the temple would rather injure himself and pretend to be dead than draw a knife, and the people outside the temple would rather be onlookers than get close to the land temple. This further proves that these people are well aware of the things in the royal family, so the leader among them found people in the underworld or the rivers and lakes in advance who were willing to take money to die for others and who had some skills.

Jia Chuan didn't know how they passed the message, but he could only infer that King Han Zhu Gaoxu did not have enough manpower to carry out the pursuit mission, so he allowed his subordinates to ask for external assistance under certain conditions.

So, the second group of people came, but because they arrived a little late, they were ambushed and killed in the mountains by the Inspection Office. Based on Jia Chuan's understanding of his colleagues, his colleagues had no time to care about the ten people who died in various places. Those who fell into the mountain stream had a natural tomb that was sheltered from the wind, dark and humid, while those who died in the forest would be exposed to the sun everywhere.

For a moment, Jia Chuan felt that he and Zhu Gaoxu shared the same plight. They both lacked manpower. Otherwise, he would have carefully examined the body that night and perhaps obtained some clues, but he did not have the time. When he rushed back that night, he had even less time, and neither did he have the brains.

The third group, the nine or ten who had killed all their colleagues, were dressed similarly to the people in the Han Palace. Could they also be from some other palace? Jia Chuan didn't know how many brothers and sisters Zhu Gaochi had, or whether there were any other princes besides Zhu Gaoxu. He also didn't know if any of Zhu Zhanji's brothers had been made princes.

If this third group of people were from another prince, then he must have a good relationship with Zhu Gaoxu, so good that he could know Zhu Gaoxu's plan. Only in this way could he have come up with the idea of ​​taking advantage of the conflict between the two sides.

Unfortunately, the third group of people were confident but were killed by the fourth group when they were leaving. Just looking at the wounds of the nine people, it was clear that they were no match for the enemy and were killed violently.

So, who was the traitor in the Inspection Office working with? He and Shunzi had buried all the bodies one by one, without missing a single one. Even though their faces were completely disfigured, the number of people matched, which meant that someone from the third group on Rainy Night had died in battle.

Thinking of this, Jia Chuan couldn't help but take a deep breath. If even one of his colleagues knew how to fight back and it was effective, the others would have no courage at the time. Just seeing it would give their adrenaline a boost, and they would fight with more people against fewer...

Jia Chuan subconsciously straightened his back, his eyes shining.

Arrange them according to the corpses he saw that night... arrange them! Jia Chuan frowned tightly. That night, he saw so many corpses in a giant-like state at the door of the Inspection Office, each one facing upwards. At that time, he didn't have time to think too much, just thinking that the murderer wanted to check if they were dead. But now he thought about it carefully. Even if they were facing downwards, it would be much easier for the murderer to lift the head to test for breath than to turn the dead over. So why did they turn them over one by one?

Because many people were dragged out from coma!

When Jia Chuan deduced this, he felt a chill on the back of his neck, and even his breathing trembled.

That night, the traitor had drugged the food, and most of the people in the patrol office fell victim to it. Nine men in black took advantage of the darkness and heavy rain to get to the door of the house. The traitor worked with them to summon out those who hadn't been drugged. Some people reacted quickly and realized something was wrong, so they fought... Otherwise, if Little Radish had just run out, or run towards the unfamiliar mountains and forests, the men in black would have been unable to catch up.

And it must be very difficult to hit the target with an arrow from a distance in heavy rain, right?
That is, Little Radish was also hit, but he did not fall asleep. He staggered out of the house. At that time, there were not many people who could fight, so the man in black played a game of cat and mouse, watching Little Radish fall and get up in the heavy rain, and finally shot him to death with an arrow!

Jia Chuan clenched his fists tightly.

There were two colleagues not far from Xiaoluobo who had the same fate, but those two died first and Xiaoluobo died later. The arrows they were shot with were pulled out, not because there were any identifiable marks on the arrows, but because... those were the arrows of the Inspection Office!
"Boss! Take Shunzi and check the armory immediately to see if the bows and arrows are properly placed."

After Jia Chuan finished shouting, he turned his head and saw Dong Shuben and Shunzi holding the angry Gao Yuntian together, preventing him from getting close to Jia Chuan.

At this moment, the expressions of the three people remained the same as before Jia Chuan spoke, staring at Jia Chuan in a daze.

"Don't pay attention to him!" Jia Chuan said expressionlessly.

Dong Shuben released his hand and asked, "Why did you suddenly think of checking the bow and arrow?"

"You guys check first."

Dong Shuben glanced at Shunzi, and the two of them walked towards the house.

Gao Yuntian was left alone, and inexplicably felt less angry. He coughed lightly and said seriously, "Why don't you go help Old Zheng and just sit there and slack off..."

"I don't have time to deal with you right now. When we get back to the county government office, we'll find a place to fight. Stay away from me now." Jia Chuan looked very impatient.

Gao Yuntian was about to say something harsh when Old Zheng shouted, "Found it!"

……

Old Zheng sat next to Jia Chuan and took several deep breaths. The badge had been soaked in corpse fluid for several days and was extremely smelly.

When Old Zheng brought it over, there were maggots on it.

Gao Yuntian naturally hid far away and watched Lao Zheng pour strong liquor on the badge, then find a handkerchief and wipe it carefully. He said something while wiping, but Gao Yuntian couldn't hear clearly.

Old Zheng was explaining to Jia Chuan whether the waist badge belonged to the Han Palace. After hearing Old Zheng's affirmative answer, Jia Chuan began to lose focus again. He could only hear Old Zheng say intermittently: "...The ivory badges in the palace were made by the Si Li Jian...The waist badges of the Jinyiwei...Ivory...The quality of the palace is not bad either..."

As Jia Chuan listened, he unconsciously glanced toward the house. The fact that these nine men were all killed by the fourth group showed they weren't particularly strong. Without an insider, how could nine of them have killed over forty people? Without an insider, how would they know where the cellar was? And why didn't the fourth group kill this insider?
Only the insider knew where the pit was, at least the insider was not dead when the body was thrown away!
Just as Jia Chuan was thinking, he heard several screams from the direction of the house. He looked up and saw Dong Shuben running, falling, and shouting, "It's all gone! It's all gone!"

Jia Chuan's shoulders slumped, he guessed right.

Who was it? Who had murdered all the brothers? Not only murdered them, but also made them die in such an embarrassing way?

These nine men not only had the protection of darkness and the heavy rain, but also had an insider to help them. After his success, he didn't even leave immediately, leisurely killing time according to his plan. For that day and a half, how did the insider deal with the corpses that had been facing him day and night outside the house? And when they tried to leave, they were blocked in the mountains and forests. How did the insider save his life?
Jia Chuan knew clearly that the people from the Inspection Office went to the warehouse to collect weapons during training, and wore weapons when patrolling and on duty. Otherwise, these things were lying in the warehouse and were under someone's supervision.

Over forty men, thirty of them archers, were too numerous for a handful of men to carry. Yet, he found no signs of large-scale trampling, or evidence of fighting covering the muddy footprints. Jia Chuan abruptly stood up, glanced around, and said to Gao Yuntian, "Immediately, take someone to check for any large-scale trampling..."

After hearing Dong Shuben's cry, Gao Yuntian realized that this matter was not simple. Before Jia Chuan finished speaking, he hurriedly said, "Yes, it's over there."

Gao Yuntian pointed in the direction where they were entering the mountain.

Jia Chuan didn't move. He thought of a possibility: the only people who knew this road were from the Inspection Office. This meant that the traitor had taken the people who massacred the Inspection Office and left along this road. They had left a mark on the rainy night and pretended to leave, but on their way out, they encountered the person who sent them to hell. They fought in the mountains and forests beside the road. The traitor survived. The reason he was not killed might be that he recognized the identity of the person and told them what was in the warehouse. Those people spared his life and let him lead the way to the warehouse...

Who needs weapons?
Jia Chuan's eyes lit up. That night at the land temple, the second group of people came!

They are bandits!
They are here to find brothers who go out to make money!
That is to say, the second and fourth groups are accomplices.

On that day, the King of Han's men found these people nearby at the Land God Temple and came to execute the nine clans. The bandits only knew that they had paid a lot of money and knew where to execute, but they didn't know who they were going to kill.

After not seeing their brothers return for two days, they had no choice but to go out and look for them. When they were searching the forest, they found their brothers' bodies. Although they were almost decayed, they were still able to recognize them, so what they thought about at that time was revenge... They secretly kept an eye on the nine people, thinking that these people were their enemies.

The mess in the kitchen flashed through Jia Chuan's mind again. He was about to continue thinking when Dong Shuben stumbled in front of him. Unable to control his emotions, he knelt down, hugged Jia Chuan's legs, and said in despair, "It's over, it's all over! The weapons were stolen, and I can't escape the blame."

Jia Chuan helped him up and sat him on a large rock. As if he hadn't heard Dong Shuben's question, he asked, "Think back to the night I examined the bodies and you took notes. During that time, did you notice anything unusual about anyone's body?"

"Ah?" There was a hint of doubt in Dong Shuben's frightened eyes.

Jia Chuan finally realized that he was incapable of answering any questions Dong Shuben might have asked. He looked up in the direction of the house. Shunzi was on the road. He waited patiently until Shunzi came closer. He then asked, "Think carefully. When we buried the bodies that day, whose body looked wrong?"

Shunzi also didn't react. He and Jia Chuan were the ones who buried the body together. Why would Jia Chuan ask this now?
Jia Chuan seemed to understand Shunzi's doubts. He rubbed his hands and said, "I've been thinking about it for a long time but can't figure it out. You stay here with Old Dong and calm down. Think about it carefully. I'll go over there and take a look."

After saying that, Jia Chuan didn't wait for Shunzi to react, and called Gao Yuntian and the other detectives to walk towards the place Gao Yuntian had pointed.

Old Zheng didn't move. He turned to look at the dazed Dong Shuben and said, "You weren't here that day. If you were guilty, it would have been a big crime even if all your men were killed. You didn't seem worried then, so why are you afraid now?"

Dong Shuben seemed to have come back to his senses. He smiled bitterly and said, "Do you think the higher-ups care about how many people died? But they care about the whereabouts of the weapons. It doesn't matter whether I'm there or not. If they're lost, it's my responsibility as the inspector. If the higher-ups are angry, they'll always find someone to vent their anger on."

Old Zheng shook his head and said, "You're still confused. Jia Chuan is investigating this case now. If he's not in a hurry, he must have a way to deal with it. What's the point of you being so frightened?"

Dong Shuben thought about this and stood up to look for Jia Chuan, anxiously wanting to ask him what the countermeasures were. Shunzi spoke at this moment: "There's still no decree to this day. What if... they changed their mind?"

Dong Shuben fell back onto the stone.

Old Zheng snorted and asked, "Yesterday you were hoping Jia Chuan wouldn't get involved, but now you're hoping he'll get involved, right?"

Dong Shuben lowered his head.

Shunzi sighed and said, "This is getting increasingly suspicious. No matter who the Crown Prince orders to investigate, unless it's really Jia Chuan, none of us three will escape the blame."

Old Zheng reminded him, "You three were all by the prince's side at the time."

Shunzi waved his hands and said, "It's useless! Who are we? It's good enough that the prince can remember us for two days. The lower-level investigators only report the results, so how can they give us detailed information? By the time the results they think are out, the prince will have already become the new emperor. How can he still remember who we are? Moreover, he didn't ask my name or my name at the time, he only remembered Jia Chuan's name..."

"That's enough. I think this kid is smart. Although I don't know why the prince is so interested in him, as long as he gets involved, you will be fine."

"But... the decree has not yet arrived."

"Alas, the imperial edict has not yet arrived. Have you seen the person from the capital who said he is responsible for investigating the case? It is a national mourning period now, and the prince may be too busy for the time being."

Dong Shuben and Shunzi looked at each other and both felt that it made sense, and they nodded unconsciously.

……

Zhu Zhanji was indeed too busy.

On the third day of June, Zhu Zhanji finally arrived in Liangxiang, west of Beijing. Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, led some officials to welcome him there. It was also on this day that the news of the "Emperor's death" was announced to the public.

This day was exactly twenty days since Emperor Renzong passed away.

The court officials set up a large tent at Lugou Bridge. As if they couldn't wait to return to the palace, Zhu Zhanji accepted the imperial edict in the tent and agreed with the court officials to ascend the throne on June 27!

Although the dangers along the way were over, Zhu Zhanji did not dare to let his guard down for a moment. During this period, he had to hold a national mourning, prepare for the throne hall, and be on guard against his arrogant and ferocious second uncle who was willing to burn his boats and drown himself. How could he have the energy to investigate who was responsible for all the dangers along the way?

But that doesn't mean he didn't think about it. As the saying goes, times have changed. When he was in danger, Zhu Zhanji thought of his good second uncle and wanted to cut him into pieces with his own hands. But after returning to the capital and being so close to the throne, he slowly calmed down. Some of his previous thoughts were indeed impulsive.

(End of this chapter)