Qing Yao

Chapter 118 The Old Master is Rich

The news of the professor being murdered by a villain spread like wildfire throughout the entire academy, shocking and deeply concerning all faculty and staff.

Considering that it should not affect students' studies, Professor Zhao strictly ordered that the matter be kept secret.

School officials such as Ma Xuezheng and Tong Xundao arrived at the scene immediately. One quickly sent someone to take the injured county magistrate and the instructor to the hospital, while the other summoned the security captain of the prefectural school and berated him.

The security captain who was yelling at the intruder also felt wronged. He explained that the assailant had come to see Wang, the school administrator, and it was Wang who led the intruder in. Therefore, it was not their responsibility as security guards. If anyone should be held accountable, it should be Wang.

"Wang Xiaoli?"

Instructor Tong glanced at the professor who was talking to Lieutenant Wang not far away, and said sternly, "This is not about assigning responsibility to anyone. In short, you all bear a great responsibility for the assassination attempt on the professor. Let me tell you, if anything happens to the professor, none of you will escape!"

"Yes Yes."

The security captain was also quite frightened. If the professor had really been harmed by bad guys, he, as the gatekeeper, would have been held responsible no matter how wronged he felt.

Indeed, a professor who had just been granted the title of Jinshi by the Emperor was openly murdered by villains in broad daylight at his workplace. What would happen if the Emperor found out!

Enraged by the emperor's wrath, it was questionable whether he, as the security captain, could even save his own life.

The more I think about it, the more frightened I become. The professor was unharmed, the perpetrator was lying stiffly on the ground, but the security captain was trembling with fear.

Zhao An is currently trying to persuade his cousin to distance himself from his brothers-in-law, as things have come to this point and the only thing he can do is advise his cousin to sever ties with them, otherwise this matter will have lasting consequences.

Wang Wanquan knew, of course, that his cousin had no choice but to harm the two Qian brothers, but since one of his brothers-in-law had already died, he, as the brother-in-law, couldn't bear to kill the other two as well.

Besides, with all three older brothers dead, his wife, who is currently in postpartum confinement, would surely cry herself sick.

"Isn't it better to make my sister-in-law sad than to have me beheaded and my cousin's whole family exiled three thousand miles away?"

Zhao An's words were meant to scare his cousin. He had already paid the fine for his crime and had just been granted the title of Jinshi by the old master. Even if Qian Xiuwen really reported this matter to the prefecture and the province, he might not be able to bring down this Jinshi professor.

There's an idiom in officialdom called "officials protect each other." If others don't protect him, even the provincial judge in charge of criminal cases in a province will protect him to the death.

The provincial judge played a positive role in promoting Zhao An's transformation from a clerk to an official.

It can be said that the Provincial Governor provided Zhao An with a path to advancement and a stage for his personal performance.

If Zhao An gets into trouble, the provincial governor will definitely bear joint responsibility for his poor judgment and failure to properly select and identify talent.

To ensure he wouldn't lose his official rank because of Zhao An, the provincial governor insisted on resolving the matter within the province rather than letting it escalate to the imperial court.

Although the Provincial Governor was only the third-highest-ranking official in the province, with the Governor and the Provincial Governor ahead of him, he had a special status: a Bannerman.

Besides his position as a banner officer, the provincial governor was also the son-in-law of the Jiangning General. Who in the Jiangnan region would dare not give him face?

Going further up, even the Grand Secretary must protect him.

Otherwise, if the whole world knew that Zhao Youlu, the "role model" who was promoted and granted the title of Jinshi by the old master, was a fake, where would the old master put his face?

Given the old man's current muddle-headed state, even if he found out, he might not just strip Zhao An of his official hat, but could wipe out the entire Qian family.

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who raised it.

The old man often did this.

Therefore, the exposure of the affair actually had a limited impact on Zhao An.

The reason he took direct action against Boss Qian was simply because he didn't want the matter to escalate too much, because although it wouldn't kill him, it would become a stain on his career.

Just because the old master didn't kill him doesn't mean he'll continue to promote him. If the old master ever comes to his senses and feels troubled by Zhao An's situation, someone from the capital will probably come to ask Zhao An to hang himself and become a ghost.

Compared to foreseeable and uncontrollable consequences, eliminating the person is undoubtedly the safest and wisest approach.

The reason he scared his cousin was simply to make him feel no guilt or kinship ties, and to cooperate with him in completely eliminating the potential threat from the Qian family.

Sure enough, my cousin was startled. He stood there for a long time, sighed, and said nothing.

It's basically accepting my cousin's approach.

Zhao An gave his cousin a two-week leave to go back and "avoid" things, and his cousin would handle the Qian family's affairs here.

Half an hour later, the constables from Ganquan County arrived at the crime scene with the coroner.

One team was carrying arrest warrants handwritten by the county magistrate on a stretcher, while the other team went to the Qian family to arrest accomplices Qian Er and Qian San.

The team from the prefectural school was led by Mr. Jiang, the legal advisor. Mr. Jiang and Mr. Ji were both private advisors to the county magistrate. Although they did not know the specific details, they carried out the county magistrate's orders to the letter.

Therefore, the constables were very efficient, so efficient that Professor Zhao's prepared "confession" was compiled into a written document without him having to say it himself.

The on-site investigation was completed in one go. The coroner was also a veteran. After examining the body of Boss Qian, he combined the on-site investigation with expert opinions to conclude that Professor Zhao acted in self-defense and that he joined forces with the county magistrate and the instructor to kill the criminal.

This is entirely consistent with the facts.

Didn't you see the tables and chairs overturned on the ground because of the fight?

However, an extra dagger was found at the scene and in the case file.

A dagger that does not actually exist.

This confirms that Boss Qian deliberately committed the crime with a knife!

Zhao An didn't know whether it was at the behest of the county magistrate or whether the constables wrote it down to make the case airtight, but he signed the "confession" anyway.

Such a major matter was bound to alarm the prefectural government. That afternoon, the prefectural governor, accompanied by Wang Tongpan, the prefectural judge in charge of criminal matters, rushed to the prefectural school. After listening to the report on the case from the Ganquan County government, the two of them, on behalf of the prefectural government, extended their deep condolences to Professor Zhao.

Judge Wang, who was in charge of criminal cases, strongly agreed with the investigation report from Ganquan County. The facts were undeniable: the wicked student Qian Xiuwen, harboring resentment after being stripped of his academic degree by the prefectural school, came with a knife to seek revenge, only to be killed by Professor Zhao, Magistrate Ding, and Instructor Song, who were discussing official business at the time.

The prefect also approved of the investigation report, because the news from Jiangdu County indicated that the scoundrel Qian Xiuwen had a long list of misdeeds and was a real scourge to the region.

Therefore, Professor Zhao is doing this to rid the people of a scourge.

Even though the person was dead, there was no need for a trial; the case was closed directly by Judge Wang. However, the prefect did not report the matter to the province because if the province knew that a professor from the prefectural school had been murdered at his workplace, it would raise some concerns about the security situation in Yangzhou.

It's better to avoid trouble. Things went exactly as Zhao An predicted, and Boss Qian's death was truly in vain.

The second son of the Qian family, Qian Xiuwu, was taken away from the casino by the "plainclothes team" of Ganquan County, while the third son, Qian Xiude, was arrested at home.

When the two were arrested, the third brother, Qian Xiude, was clearly unaware of what was happening, while the second brother, Qian Xiuwu, resisted arrest and shouted to his gambling buddies, "Listen up, all of you, I'm in trouble!"

Before he could finish speaking, a constable slammed his mouth down with the handle of a knife, not only silencing him but also breaking two of his front teeth.

It was extremely powerful and also extremely ruthless.

This was clearly instructed beforehand.

Those arrested in Ganquan County were imprisoned in the Ganquan County Jail. The two brothers were imprisoned separately, and that very night, the county magistrate, whose head was wrapped in gauze, personally interrogated them.

The trial wasn't held in the lobby, but in the jail.

The third brother, Qian Xiude, had no idea what had happened, and even after being tortured, he couldn't get a clear answer.

The second son, Qian Xiuwu, was initially defiant, but after Magistrate Ding had him subjected to severe torture, he completely softened and honestly confessed the matter in front of the magistrate and the knowledgeable Master Ji.

It turned out that after being stripped of his academic title, Qian Laoda felt increasingly uneasy. He felt that the professor of the prefectural school would not help his brother-in-law for no reason, so he went to his sister to ask her what the relationship was between his brother-in-law and the professor.

Because Wang Defa had instructed his son not to let outsiders know about this matter, the honest and simple Wang Wanquan did not even dare to tell his wife. However, he had previously told his wife that a cousin named Zhao An from Xinghua had come to seek refuge with his father and had been arranged by his father to work in the tax office. He did not dare to mention anything about what happened after that to his wife.

Old Qian couldn't get anything out of his sister, and he was unwilling but helpless. He didn't expect that two days later he would learn that his brother-in-law had become a clerk at the prefectural school. He couldn't help but become suspicious again, and he was convinced that the Zhao family at the prefectural school must be related to his brother-in-law's family, otherwise it would be impossible to arrange for his brother-in-law to work at the prefectural school.

In fact, if Qian Laoda hadn't pressed for answers at this point, changed his mindset to improve his relationship with his brother-in-law, and then climbed up to Zhao An, a professor at the prefectural school, the three Qian brothers might have been able to get official positions in the future.

But Qian Laoda was a vengeful person who couldn't swallow the anger of having his official title stripped and being beaten. As a result, he turned black and went to his death.

Since my brother-in-law couldn't find out anything, we could only investigate the background of that professor surnamed Zhao.

Through his "social connections," Qian Laoda learned that the young professor at the prefectural school was named Zhao Youlu and was from Ganquan County. After much effort, he finally discovered that Zhao Youlu had studied at Ganquan County School and had become an official through donation. Following this lead, he found Zhao Youlu's hometown.

Zhao Youlu's parents were wary of Qian Laoda, who came to inquire about their son, and didn't say anything. However, a neighbor told Qian Laoda that Zhao Youlu had died long ago.

This made Mr. Qian overjoyed. He spent money to have several neighbors sign and put their fingerprints on the "materials" that Zhao Youlu was already dead. Then he excitedly returned to Yangzhou to ask his sister if she knew anyone named Zhao Youlu.

Qian Xiaomei had no idea about Zhao Youlu. Annoyed by her brother-in-law's questions, she thought for a moment and said that half a year ago her husband had mentioned that a cousin named Zhao An had come to stay with her father-in-law.

What is the relationship between Zhao An and Zhao Youlu?
Old Qian's professional skills as a "lawyer" came in handy. After some brainstorming and association, he guessed that Zhao An might have been impersonating Zhao Youlu to become an official.

Unable to verify the matter, he decided to go directly to the prefectural school. Before going, just in case, he told his second brother about it, meaning that if Zhao An was really Zhao Youlu, then they would use the pretext of Zhao An impersonating an official to extort money from him.

If not, then forget it.

Unexpectedly, the verification proved to be correct, but he lost his life in the process.

Qian Lao Er didn't even know that his elder brother was dead.

After figuring out the reason, Magistrate Ding sent someone to invite Zhao An and Instructor Song to the county office and told them what Qian Xiuwu had told him.

"This person cannot be allowed to live!"

Upon hearing this, Instructor Song immediately suggested that Qian Xiuwu be given money that very night so that he would die suddenly.

It's an easy operation; there are plenty of experts in this area in prison.

It's quite common to die suddenly, after all, the atmosphere in prison is too toxic.

The county magistrate agreed, nodding and saying, "Although the third son of the Qian family is unaware of this matter, the successive mishaps of his two elder brothers have raised suspicions. To prevent any unforeseen complications, let him stay in jail for a month or so before calling his family to collect the body."

It means that the two cannot die at the same time; they must die at different times.

He had also investigated the Qian family's background. Let alone these three brothers, even if the entire Qian family were killed, no one would speak up for them.

Zhao An remained silent. How the person was killed was Old Ding's business; he didn't need to know the details.

Prisons in feudal times were not just dark, they were incredibly dark.

"The two Qian brothers are not a concern, but Zhao Youlu's neighbors are a real problem. If someone investigates Zhao's background again, it's hard to guarantee that they won't spread rumors. There are just too many people, making it difficult to handle."

Instructor Song was a bit troubled by this. As he spoke, he casually lit the oil lamp with the few "materials" that Boss Qian had taken during the day.

The issue of neighbors is a big problem. Zhao Youlu's hometown is Sanyanghe, and there are at least dozens or even hundreds of neighbors. We can't just kill them all.

They couldn't kill everyone, but they also had to worry about a second Qian Xiuwen coming to investigate later. It was a real dilemma.

Yangzhou was the richest city in the Qing Dynasty. Although there were some desperate people who smuggled salt, the overall security environment was very good. There was no bandit activity, so there was no way to carry out the trick of bandits raiding villages.

Besides, it's truly heartbreaking to think that so many innocent people would have to be killed for this.

Seeing the two troubled senior leaders, Zhao An thought for a moment and asked, "Has the county undertaken any major water conservancy projects in the past two years?"

"Water conservancy project?"

County Magistrate Ding was puzzled and asked why.

“If the county has a water conservancy project, I think it should be located on the Sanyang River. Under the guise of water conservancy, we can relocate all the locals and then resettle them in various places. Over time, there will be no need for anyone to investigate Zhao Youlu’s background.”

Zhao An's intention was not to kill everyone, but to completely remove them from the area, making Sanyanghe a place name in history, but in reality, uninhabited.

In those days, transportation was extremely underdeveloped. If people from the same village were to be settled in different places, even if they were only a few dozen or a hundred miles apart, their contact with each other would disappear within a year or two, let alone a few years.

So, where do we find Zhao Youlu?

Instructor Song's eyes lit up: "Brilliant! Lord Zhao's idea is excellent, and I think it's feasible!"

"It's a good idea, but you need money to do projects. The county is dirt poor right now, where would we get the money?"

After the county magistrate finished speaking, a thought suddenly struck him. Looking at Zhao An and Instructor Song, the three of them were surprisingly in agreement—we may not have money, but the old master does!
(End of this chapter)