New and dark light years

Chapter 151 Dark under the lamp

In the study, Jiang Jili looked somewhat gloomy.

He placed a piece of paper in front of Li Lin: "Take a look."

Li Lin took it and looked at it with some surprise.

"It wasn't the Qin family from Yue County who did this!"

Li Lin was ambushed yesterday, and today Jiang Jili has already investigated the matter quite thoroughly.

"In other words, that person wasn't after me, but actually after you. And the person behind it all deliberately tried to sow discord between us, turning us into enemies!" Jiang Jili's expression was grim.

"But you can't find out who's behind it all."

Jiang Jili nodded and said, "Yes. The trail went cold."

Li Lin pondered for a moment and then said, "Who else knows you're going to the restaurant to see me?"

“My servants,” Jiang Jili said, “are all loyal bodyguards raised by my family since childhood. They would never betray me.”

Li Lin laughed: "That couldn't have been arranged by me, could it?"

This is truly absurd.

"Who else could it be!" Jiang Jili said, somewhat irritated.

Li Lin suddenly said, "Wait... It wasn't just your servants who knew you were coming to see me, but also your family, since they were the ones who delivered the jade sword."

Jiang Jili looked at Li Lin and said angrily, "Impossible!"

“Your family members aren’t necessarily your closest relatives,” Li Lin said with a smile. “For example, your immediate family members.”

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Jili's eyes.

The power struggles and infighting within prominent families are nothing new.

And it's quite possible.

“That’s impossible!” Jiang Jili insisted.

Li Lin understood that the other party had already suspected something, and the reason for their stubbornness was simply that they didn't want to air their dirty laundry in public.

As long as you don't admit it, you won't feel ashamed.

Li Lin chuckled and said, "But Magistrate Jiang, you're really something. You've investigated to this extent in less than a day."

“I have studied ‘Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified’ diligently,” Jiang Jili said helplessly. “And originally I wanted to be a county magistrate, but I didn’t expect you to take it away from me.”

“You can investigate cases even if you are a county magistrate. I believe the county magistrate won’t prevent you from doing so.”

Jiang Jili said helplessly, "But without the power to command the yamen runners, we are constrained in many ways."

Li Lin smiled; he understood what the other party meant. Jiang Jili wanted to manage the power of the yamen runners, but Li Lin had no way of entrusting this matter to him.

The county magistrate, county assistant magistrate, and county commandant were originally meant to check and balance each other, each performing their respective duties.

Seeing that Li Lin remained unmoved, Jiang Jili sighed and then said, "By the way, I don't know what happened when you went to Bobai Military Town, or what benefits you got. But now that... Patrolman Su's daughter and his grandson are in some trouble, and I think you should go and see them."

Li Lin paused for a moment, then stood up: "Together?"

"No, I don't want to get involved in these things." Jiang Jili clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "I'll head back now, see you another day."

Li Lin saw Jiang Jili off at the door, and then he went to Su Huafang's daughter's house.

Upon arriving, I found a large crowd gathered in front of me, with even a few constables maintaining order.

A commotion arose from the crowd.

As soon as Li Lin walked over, a sharp-eyed constable spotted him.

A yamen runner trotted over, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "County Commandant, what brings you here?"

"So what happened?"

The constable said, "The eldest son of the Su family has brought a group of people to surround the Su family's grandson's house, saying that the grandson's family stole their gold."

Ok?
Li Lin was puzzled. Hadn't Bai Zhiwei told Su Bei about not flaunting his wealth?
As he walked over, several yamen runners immediately pushed through the crowd and shouted, "The county magistrate has arrived! Quiet down and make way!"

The crowd immediately parted to make way for them.

As Li Lin walked over, he found a group of Su family members gathered outside the low wall of the courtyard.

There were four middle-aged people, at least a dozen or so distant relatives, plus a few young people, making nearly thirty people surrounding a small house.

In the courtyard, Su Bei supported his mother, blocking the doorway. Their clothes were disheveled, even torn in several places.

They also had several red scratches on their faces.

When Su Bei saw Li Lin approaching, a look of excitement flashed in his eyes.

The Su family, consisting of more than thirty people, were somewhat afraid of Li Lin, but they still mustered their courage and stayed where they were.

After all, money can embolden people.

However, no one dared to approach and speak to them.

Li Lin looked around and asked with a smile, "What's going on here, given the noise?"

Before Su Bei could speak, the eldest branch of the Su family jumped out.

"Your Honor, my sister's two nephews have stolen gold from our house. We wanted to get it back, but they refused. Arresting them is outrageous!"

Li Lin looked at Su Bei and asked, "You stole the gold?"

Su Bei wasn't stupid; he knew some things couldn't be said. He shook his head vigorously: "No, we didn't steal anything."

"Then where did the gold in your house come from?" The eldest son of the Su family was actually not bad looking, but his greedy expression made him somewhat repulsive: "There are as many as three gold ingots. Don't even mention your little house, even if you sold all of you, it wouldn't be worth a single gold ingot. Don't tell me it was given to you by your gambling father."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Li Lin looked at Su Bei: "Three gold ingots...that's a lot of money indeed. Little kid, do you have anything to say? Can you explain where the gold ingots came from?"

Although there were some oversights, it was fortunate that not all the gold ingots were discovered, and only three were seen.

Su Bei lowered his head and remained silent.

Li Lin looked at the woman: "Mrs. Su, do you have anything to say?"

Su remained silent.

"Since neither of you has anything to say, take Su Shi and Su Bei to the jail first," Li Lin said calmly. "We'll discuss them another day."

Upon hearing this, the eldest son of the Su family beamed with joy.

At that moment, a young child rushed out of the room, crying out, "Don't take my mother away! Don't take my brother away! Waaah!"

The child was crying terribly, and the onlookers were pointing and whispering. Most people felt distressed watching this.

Li Lin thought for a moment and said, "The Su family has young children who need care. Su Shi, you don't need to be imprisoned. Stay at home to take care of the young children. Under no circumstances should you leave the county town. Do you understand?"

Madam Su bowed slightly, tears welling in her eyes: "Thank you, County Magistrate."

"Someone, go inside and fetch the three gold ingots. Take them to the torture chamber and seal them up temporarily as stolen goods..."

The eldest son of the Su family panicked: "County Commandant, that's my family's gold!"

"This case hasn't even been investigated, and it's already yours?" Li Lin asked with a smile.

Often, ordinary people are not afraid of officials' cold stares or even insults.

They were afraid of the officials laughing.

The eldest son of the Su family immediately fell silent and subconsciously took two steps back, avoiding Li Lin's eyes.

Li Lin waved his hand: "Take the people away, and take the gold with you."

Soon, several constables searched the room and found three gold ingots, then took Su Bei away.

Seeing that there was no excitement to be had, the crowd dispersed.

The eldest son of the Su family watched Li Lin's departing figure, stomped his foot, furious but dared not say anything.

Li Lin walked slowly, and it took him about two incense sticks' time to return to the county government office. Then he went to the underground prison of the torture chamber.

The place was dimly lit, and the air smelled musty.

Su Bei was locked in the largest iron cage and was lying on a pile of straw, lost in thought.

Li Lin walked over and gently knocked on the iron fence.

Su Bei was startled. Upon seeing that it was Li Lin, he immediately jumped up, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, and said, "County Commandant."

"How could you be so careless?" Li Lin asked.

Su Bei said helplessly, "My younger brother was naive and let it slip... And I really didn't expect that my uncle would believe a child's words and come to rummage through the house while I was chopping wood in the backyard and my mother wasn't home. If I hadn't heard the noise, he would have secretly taken the gold."

(End of this chapter)