Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 362 The Reason for the Torture (361)

"Isn't Caiyi Temple in charge of weaving?"

Feng Xiuhu looked at Shunzi: "Why are you stealing business from the funeral home?"

Shunzi couldn't answer this question either, so he turned his gaze to Zheng Ajuan: "According to you, the police have done this kind of thing more than once or twice. But I don't understand why the police would take such a big risk to harm people if they were only after making money. I mean, collecting the city gate tax from two rounds of merchants might be more profitable than robbing lone villagers."

"It's a thankless task."

Feng Xiuhu also realized that compared to the ease of collecting city gate taxes, the cost of robbing highwaymen was far too high, especially since he would also have to bear the crime of murder.

Zheng Ajuan shook her head and said, "I don't know the reason either. The clues just ended here... because we were discovered."

"That night, after witnessing the police officers commit murder, we followed them all the way to the Caiyi Temple..."

"and many more."

Feng Xiuhu raised his hand to interrupt: "There's a problem with what you're saying."

"The city gates close at night, so it's no problem for the police to enter the city, but how did you and your man manage to get in?"

Zheng Ajuan sensed the doubt in Feng Xiuhu's tone and hurriedly said, "Second Master, you don't know this, but ever since Granny Caiyi bestowed the Zhu Lin Brocade that year, in order not to fail the divine grace, Caiyi Temple was moved outside the city to pray for the dead who died in the plague day and night - so we didn't go into the city at all."

Feng Xiuhu then understood and nodded, saying, "Continue, and then what?"

Zheng Ajuan gave a bitter smile: "And that was the end of it."

“We followed them to the Caiyi Temple and found that the police drove a horse-drawn carriage into the temple through the back gate. However, there were ceremonial officials on duty at the gate, so we could not get in. We then wandered along the outer wall, hoping to find any other clues.”

“The temple is a solemn place. My husband and I know the importance of this and dare not be discovered. So we were on high alert to make sure we didn’t make any noise.”

"When we reached a bamboo grove, we suddenly heard someone inside the wall shout, 'Who's outside?' Immediately afterwards, we heard many footsteps approaching us quickly."

"Now that I think about it, I still don't know how I was discovered, but at the time I didn't care about that. I only knew that a woman could never outrun a man, so in a moment of panic I told my husband to run first so that he could seek justice elsewhere, while I stayed behind to stall for time."

Having heard this, Feng Xiuhu had roughly figured out the situation.

He tapped the table lightly with his fingers, pondered for a moment, and said, “You reacted quickly. When you saw the police entering Caiyi Temple, you realized that this matter involved too many people, including the temple, the police station, and even the county government. You definitely won’t get the justice you want in Jiangluoxi, which is why you sent your man to a distant city.”

"And the police interrogated you because... they wanted to know where your man was?"

Zheng Ajuan nodded: "Second Master has a discerning eye."

Feng Xiuhu asked curiously, "So where did your man go?"

Zheng Ajuan hesitated and fell silent.

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand: "If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it. I didn't intend to get involved anyway. Sending you out of the city tomorrow is just a favor. Then I'll go my own way, and you can go find your man."

Zheng Ajuan kowtowed to Feng Xiuhu again: "It was my fault for being so foolish. I dared not lie to you, Second Master. My husband went to Fancheng."

Feng Xiuhu's eyelids twitched, but Zheng Ajuan didn't notice.

She continued, "Jiangluo Creek is actually closer to the prefectural capital, Qianyu City, and that's what the constables thought too."

"But I still feel uneasy. After all, it's hard to say whether the prefectural and county governments are protecting each other. Besides, there's the Caiyi Temple in Qianyu City. If my husband goes there, he might just be walking into a trap."

"So I specifically instructed him to go to Fancheng. Although Fancheng is a bit far, it only takes two days to get there. Moreover, Fancheng is a territory under the jurisdiction of a large state, so the county government can't reach there. Also, Fancheng only has the Fengyu Temple."

“And more importantly,” Zheng Ajuan raised her head, her eyes resolute, “it’s better to make a big scene and ask the Duke of Daguo to uphold justice than to seek redress from the government office.”

Feng Xiuhu was silent for a while: "The Duke of Daguo is not in Fancheng at all."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her, leaving Zheng Ajuan stunned on the spot.

Feng Xiuhu asked, "How long ago did your husband go?"

Zheng Ajuan quickly replied, "If I count the time, it has been five days."

If Zheng Ajuan's husband really got things done, he should have returned by now.

Feng Xiuhu suddenly understood—no wonder the police came to lift the carriage curtain to check without asking any questions when he entered the city during the day; they were looking for someone.

However, as of now, Zheng Ajuan's husband has not returned.

Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi exchanged a glance; they were thinking the same thing.

If her man had been in Sail City on the day the merfolk attacked...

Seeing the two remain silent, Zheng Ajuan felt a sudden pang of unease for no apparent reason: "Second Master, why isn't the Duke of Daguo in Fancheng?"

"I don't know, I'm not familiar with him."

Feng Xiuhu stubbed out his cigarette in frustration: "If you're injured, rest early and stop asking all sorts of questions."

……

The next day.

When it was fully light, Feng Xiuhu changed his clothes from his suitcase, pushed aside the wooden planks, and crawled out of the cellar.

He planned to meet with Fang Youliu first, and then check if the city gate was fortified.

Because Shunzi was too conspicuous, Feng Xiuhu didn't let him follow, but instead kept him to take care of Zheng Ajuan.

Finding a quiet moment when no one was around, Feng Xiuhu climbed over the courtyard wall, pulled his hat brim low, and walked onto the street.

The bustling atmosphere on the street was a world apart from what he had seen at dusk yesterday. Feng Xiuhu was taken aback before belatedly realizing that today was the Jinluo Grand Market.

The glass windows of the silk shop displayed exquisite fabrics, ranging from indigo and sky blue to ochre and peach pink. The banners were held high, with the words "Honest and fair dealing for all ages, no bargaining" written on them.

The grocery stall was piled high with bamboo baskets and winnowing trays, coarse pottery bowls and plates, wooden barrels freshly coated with tung oil and emitting a strong odor, and bundles of hemp rope.

Above the pharmacy's door hangs a plaque that reads "Hanging a gourd to save lives," and behind the black lacquered counter, countless small drawers in the medicine cabinet exude a strong and complex aroma of medicinal herbs.

Inside the blacksmith's shop, the furnace was blazing, the bellows were hissing, and the blacksmith was swinging his hammer, striking the red-hot iron pieces, sparks flying and clanging sounds filling the air.

The streets were lined with vendors selling needles and thread, wooden combs and bamboo strips, bamboo and wooden toys, fried dough sticks and tofu pudding, sesame seed cakes, candied hawthorns, and so on, with shouts rising and falling.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians, and Feng Xiuhu saw many distinguished people whose demeanor clearly indicated they were not from the area.

Their clothes were exquisite and luxurious, their hair was clean, and their eyes were filled with arrogance. Even the children accompanying them rode on the necks of fifteen or sixteen-year-old deer girls, holding the deer antlers as handles with both hands.

Needless to say, this is the old lords from the capital coming to a remote and impoverished area to observe the people's conditions.

(End of this chapter)