Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 561 An accident within an accident
When the Privy Council was renovating its government office, they unexpectedly discovered a mezzanine in one of the gable walls, and a dead body was found inside the mezzanine. The news spread quickly.

It is the New Year, and officials have to visit each other, and so do the people.

So the news spread very quickly, and in less than half a day it had spread throughout the central urban area of ​​Lin'an.

As for who the dead person in the wall cavity was, there are many different opinions.

The most widely circulated version is that the bodies of a woman and a young child were found in the wall, both of them had turned into white bones.

……

Many people in the Privy Council rushed over upon hearing the news and watched from far and near.

Someone said to the fortune teller Han Qianchen, "Look, look, the officials don't want to repair the yamen, the officials don't want to repair the yamen, Liu Chengzhi just won't listen, this is trouble."

Han Qianchen said leisurely: "Officials don't repair the government offices, that's not the way to explain it.

Besides, if the wall hadn't been demolished, with two bodies hidden in the mezzanine, whoever was acting as an official in this room would be terrified, don't you think? "

When the man heard this, he shuddered and said with a changed face, "Stop talking. I'm getting goosebumps just from listening to you.

I heard that Liu Chengzhi originally planned to turn that room into his signing room. If this had not been discovered, hiss..."

Wang Changsheng wandered over to Han Qianchen and shook his head, saying, "For the time being, I'm afraid that the construction work of the Privy Council will not be able to continue."

Zheng Yuandong and Yang Cunzhong hurried over upon hearing the news, and Kou Heiyi and other officials who were surrounding them in front quickly made way for them.

The two of them rushed closer and looked at the collapsed wall.

After the incident, Liu Shangqiu drove everyone away and forbade anyone to touch any brick or stone here. Then he saw that the gable had an inner wall only one foot away.

More than half of the wall collapsed, and rubble and soil fell into the mezzanine, but it was still possible to see that there were indeed two people hiding inside.

Although the color of the clothes has faded, it can still be seen that the body is wearing a red skirt. This kind of attire should be that of a young woman.

However, the humidity in the south of the Yangtze River was too high to preserve mummies, and the corpse rotted away, leaving only a white skeleton.

Also next to the corpse was a young child, about two feet away from her. The child was half covered in dust, and even the color of his clothes could not be seen clearly, but the size of his body showed that he must be a child.

Yang Cunzhong only took a glance, then turned his head away and said to Liu Shangqiu, "Have you informed the authorities?"

Liu Shangqiu said: "Not yet. This is the first time I have encountered such a thing. I am a little overwhelmed and don't know what to do."

Zheng Yuandong said: "Send someone to inform Lin'an Prefecture immediately."

It is the responsibility of local governments to solve cases. Now, a body has been found inside the Privy Council, a woman and a child. So Lin'an Prefecture will be responsible for solving the case.

Back in Lin'an Prefecture, although Mr. Qiao had a mountain of paperwork, he was content with it. Ever since Yang Yuan left, he felt refreshed.

Just as Mr. Qiao was secretly feeling happy, people from the Privy Council arrived.

Upon hearing that a body was found in the Privy Council office, Mr. Qiao was horrified and quickly sent people to bring back Liu Yiguan, who was doing legal education work on the streets.

The two men took a judicial officer and a prosecutor, and called two coroners who were on leave at home, and hurried to the Privy Council.

The coroner cleaned the bricks and stones and carefully took out the two skeletons. The skeletons fell apart at the slightest touch. In order to examine more carefully in the hope of making some discoveries, the two coroners moved very slowly.

Taking this opportunity, the judicial military officer of Lin'an Prefecture went to find the people from Xuanzhiyuan to learn about the situation of this official office. He learned that this big house was where Xuanzhiyuan originally printed and stored some official notices, documents, and standard official letters.

The coroner had already made some discoveries at the scene. After examination, the woman was found to be less than 30 years old and had an old fracture in her larynx. She was strangled to death.

The child, who was only four or five years old, had a sprained cervical spine and died from someone pressing his head down and breaking his neck.

After hearing this conclusion, Qiao Zhen felt a chill in his throat, because his concubine Tian'er had just given birth to a son for him.

As a father, he loved the little baby so much while holding him in his arms. He really couldn't bear to hear such a cruel killing of a child.

Qiao Zhen said: "President Liu, the bodies of a woman and a child were found in the Privy Council. This matter will be known to the whole city before tomorrow. This case is of great importance. I want you to solve it as soon as possible!"

Liu Yi Guan's face was gloomy, and the two lines on his cheeks were as deep as if they had been cut by a knife.

He thought deeply for a moment, then slowly asked the coroner, "How long have these two bodies been dead?"

The old coroner said: "Judging from the decay of the bones and clothes, it should have been six or seven years ago."

Liu Yiguan nodded and ordered: "Take the remains back to the government office for a detailed investigation."

Then he winked at Qiao Zhen and walked aside.

Seeing this, Qiao Zhen followed.

Liu Yiguan said to Qiao Zhen: "Prefect, if I remember correctly, six or seven years ago, the president of the Xuanzhi Court was Zhang Tongpan..."

Qiao Zhen's face changed: "What do you mean? Isn't this government office used to store seals and calendar documents? You suspect that it is Zhang Tongpan..."

"No, no, no, you misunderstood, Prefect Qiao. What I meant was that the murder took place in the office where Zhang Tongpan was the dean of the imperial decree.

Judge Zhang is now serving as an official in Lin'an Prefecture. If Lin'an Prefecture is responsible for solving this case, it would be unreasonable, right?"

When Qiao Zhen heard this, he frowned.

Qiao Zhen hesitated and said, "You mean... transfer it to the Censorate?"

Among the original three judicial departments of the Song Dynasty, the Dali Temple was responsible for trying cases, the Ministry of Justice was responsible for reviewing cases, and the Censorate was responsible for supervising the trial of cases and intervening in the trial of major cases.

After the Censorate was reorganized into the Metropolitan Censorate, the responsibilities of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice remained unchanged, but the Metropolitan Censorate's power and supervisory power were much greater than those of the Censorate, which was previously only responsible for impeachment.

In many cases, the Censorate can directly intervene in case investigations, especially cases involving officials.

Liu Yiguan nodded and said, "This is the best way."

As Mr. Qiao was a non-stick pan spirit, he naturally agreed without any hesitation.

So, the two of them first visited Yang Cunzhong and Zheng Yuandong, and then rushed to the Censorate without stopping.

In the Censorate, Yang Yuan is the newest official to report. Unlike other officials who have become increasingly involved in the affairs of this office, some mundane affairs are not imposed on him now.

In addition, the emperor had already informed Zhu Zhuo, and Zhu Zhuo knew that Yang Yuan, a rising upstart in the court, was transferred to the Censorate to cause trouble, and his mission was to protect Yang Yuan.

Therefore, after learning that Yang Yuan had arranged some censors to sort out the old cases of the Censorate in the hope of making some discoveries from them, he let him do it.

In the past few days, Xiao Yiran, Lu Chengze and Yu Zeping, although they have different intentions, have been carefully reviewing the backlog of case files at the Censorate, looking for clues to major cases.

Yang Yuan seems to be relatively free these days.

Yang Yuan did not give up the secret investigation into the fire at Xingzai Huiziwu.

This case involves Kou Heiyi, a man with a mysterious identity. How could he not take it seriously?

But this kind of thing cannot be rushed.

Being able to deduce a major case and uncover a major criminal in just a few words has always been the characterization of detective novels.

These are all magical stories in which the creator designs the result first, then works backwards step by step to lay the clues, and finally lets the detective appear from the beginning to unearth these hidden clues one by one.

Most of the real ways to solve a case are through the most unpretentious methods such as persistent investigation and massive investigation.

Yang Yuan's elder brother Yang Che cracked the case of Jin Dynasty spy Wei Hanqiang. What others remember is only his suspicion when he saw the plaque in the temple and the highlight moment when he caught Wei Hanqiang red-handed. No one remembers that he had been following and investigating for half a year between these two time points.

For more than half a year, nearly two hundred days and nights, I had done nothing but simple surveillance.

But since Kou Heiyi is a problematic person, Yang Yuan is confident that he will catch him sooner or later.

Qiao Zhen and Liu Yiguan rushed to the Censorate and told the governor Zhu Zhuo the whole story.

When Zhu Zhuo heard that the bodies of a woman and a young child were found in the wall of the Privy Council, he was horrified.

Regardless of whether this case involves high-ranking officials, the fact that such a murder happened in a government office is horrifying enough.

Zhu Zhuo said solemnly: "I understand. I will leave this matter to Yang Yuan."

Qiao Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly apologized, "Well, Yang Qianxian is also an official of my Lin'an Prefecture. Isn't that inappropriate?"

"What's wrong?"

"Uh... Yang Qianxian was also an official of Lin'an Prefecture. This..."

Zhu Zhuo smiled faintly and asked, "This case happened in the place where Zhang Mi used to work. Could it be that Governor Qiao has already concluded that the murderer is Zhang Mi, or is he related to Zhang Mi?"

Qiao Zhen's face changed, and he quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, I didn't say that, nor did I think that."

Zhu Zhuo said: "Yang Yuan has just reported to the Censorate and needs some familiarity, so I haven't arranged anything for him yet. The others are busy with other things, so it's most appropriate for him to go."

Qiao Zhen glanced at Liu Yiguan, and Liu Yiguan thought, you want to tell people that Yang Yuan had a grudge against Zhang Mi, just say it, why are you looking at me?
Seeing Liu Yiguan’s confused look, Qiao Zhen reluctantly looked away.

He would never say that. He had previously made up an excuse that Yang Yuan had also worked in Lin'an Prefecture and he was afraid that Yang Yuan would protect Zhang Mi. That was just to avoid suspicion.

Now telling Yang Yuan's boss that this person has a bad temper and has had a fight with his colleagues would be tattling.

Zhu Zhuo said: "If that's the case, then it's settled. Please wait a moment."

Zhu Zhuo immediately sent for Yang Yuan to come over. When Yang Yuan arrived at Zhu Zhuo's signing room, he asked in surprise, "Mr. Qiao, Mr. Liu, why are you two here?

But is there anything I don’t understand about Lin’an Prefecture?”

Zhu Zhuo said: "That's not the case. The Privy Council discovered a murder case because the incident took place in the Xuanzhi Courtyard, and the current Lin'an Prefecture Tongpan Zhang Mi was the original president of the Xuanzhi Courtyard.

In order to avoid suspicion, Lin'an Prefecture is reluctant to investigate this case, so our Censorate is responsible for solving it. I have decided that you will be responsible for solving this case."

Yang Yuan was stunned. A murder occurred in the office where Zhang Mi used to work, and Mr. Qiao asked me to investigate the case?
Could it be that Qiao Zhen and Zhang Mi are not on good terms, and she intends to use me to deal with Zhang Mi?

There was already a recusation system in the Song Dynasty, and the scope of recusation covered all those who had a relative, teacher-student, superior-subordinate, enemy, or recommendation relationship with the plaintiff or defendant.

So strictly speaking, if Yang Yuan investigated a case that might involve Zhang Mi, it would be fine if it had nothing to do with Zhang Mi, but if it did, people would easily think that he was taking revenge.

But Yang Yuan looked at Qiao Zhen carefully. Mr. Qiao's smile was a little bitter, and it didn't seem like he intended to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

Qiao Zhen told Yang Yuan what happened in detail, and Yang Yuan said to Zhu Zhuo solemnly: "I understand. I will take people to the Privy Council right away."

Liu Yiguan said: "I have already sent coroners from Lin'an Prefecture to the Privy Council, and the two bodies have been brought back to Lin'an Prefecture. These two coroners can now be assigned to Yang Qianxian for his use."

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Liu!" Liu Yiguan smiled and said, "It should be so, no need to thank me."

At that moment, Qiao Zhen and Liu Yiguan said goodbye and left.

The two returned to the Lin'an government office. Qiao Zhen stood at the entrance of the capital hall. After a moment's hesitation, he said to Liu Yiguan, "Liu Jianzhou, should we talk to Zhang Jianzhou about this?"

Liu Yiguan said: "The incident happened in the Privy Council, and the investigation was done by the Metropolitan Censorate. This matter has become a hot topic, and Zhang Jianzhou should have heard about it.

It seems inconvenient for you and I to tell him solemnly, as that would seem to imply suspicion on him, which might make him unhappy, right? "

"Makes sense!"

Qiao Zhen nodded readily and said, "I'm busy now, so I'll go take care of my business first."

Liu Yiguan was startled when he saw him hurrying away. Then he suddenly realized what was going on and spat, saying angrily, "You are so slippery, like a loach. I was fooled by you."

Turning around and about to leave, Liu Yiguan suddenly remembered what he saw in the Privy Council and narrowed his eyes slightly:
"The two corpses in the Privy Council, could they really be related to Zhang Mi? If so, this person is a bit hard to judge by appearance..."

……

Yang Yuan returned to his signing room, thinking about taking a censor with him.

As soon as he explained the reason, Lu Chengze rushed to say, "I'll go with Yang Qianxian."

He was the third place in the imperial examination, and although he was not as glorious as Yang Yuan, he was still very dazzling.

Furthermore, the other censors knew that he and Yang Yuan were of the same age, but they did not know that their relationship was actually not good.

Therefore, when they saw that he had already opened his mouth, everyone realized that they could not win the argument and they all kept silent.

Yang Yuan said, "Okay, you continue to sort out the files of the former Censorate. Censor Lu, let's go to the Privy Council right away."

The two men each rode a horse and galloped straight to the Privy Council.

The doorman, Lao Qin, recognized Yang Yuan, and when he saw him coming, he greeted him warmly.

Yang Yuan was not arrogant. He made a joke with Lao Qin and then walked in with Lu Chengze.

Seeing that Yang Yuan, a top scholar, a Censor-in-Chief, a marquis of the current dynasty, and the husband of the eldest princess, was actually talking and laughing with a lowly servant, Lu Chengze secretly despised him.

Yang Yuan was familiar with the place and went straight to the Xuanzhiyuan where he had beaten Zhang Mi in the past.

Under Yang Cunzhong's order, the Xuanzhiyuan was divided into two, and half of the space was squeezed out for the "Quezifang".

A high wall will be built between the original Xuanzhiyuan and Quezifang to separate them. At this time, only a long wall foundation has been dug.

The pavilions and houses on this side of the wall foundation all belong to the Quefang.

Some houses are located in the middle of the wall foundation, so they are called square parts.

Houses of this era generally do not have symmetrical numbers of rooms, but are basically odd numbers, in order to make it easier to distinguish the primary and secondary parts of a house.

This building, which serves as a printing house and storage room, is a seven-room house.

The foundation dug on the ground starts from the wall of the third room on the left. Obviously, after the wall is built in the future, the three rooms on the other side will be used by the Xuanzhiyuan, and the four rooms on this side will be used by the "Quezifang".

When Liu Shangqiu saw that it was Yang Yuan who came, he showed a strange look.

He was not surprised that Yang Yuan was in charge of the case, but because he thought of his sister.

Since attending Yang Yuan’s wedding banquet, Sixth Sister’s lovesickness has become even more serious, and she often sits there alone, grinning foolishly.

Liu Shangqiu saw it all and was worried. He knew that Yang Yuan was not to blame, but he still couldn't help feeling resentful.

Yang Yuan met Liu Shangqiu and asked, "Was it Brother Qingyang who found the body?"

Liu Shangqiu complained, "I originally just wanted to lead the troops, but Zheng Ducheng insisted on letting me take charge of the Quezifang.

When I dug, I found two bodies. I don’t know if there are things in the other walls. How can I be confident in my duties as an official?

Yang Yuan said: "If you are worried, just tear it down completely and rebuild a few rooms."

Liu Shangqiu said, "Great minds think alike. I was just thinking of doing that. Yang Shuxiang was unwilling to do that until I told him to pay for it myself. He kept quiet. It's really unreasonable."

Yang Yuan shook his head and smiled, then he went forward to check the wall where the body was found and asked, "Did the coroner from Lin'an Prefecture find anything?"

Liu Shangqiu's expression became serious, and he said, "Inside the wall is a young woman who is no more than thirty years old and a child who is five or six years old. The child died from having his neck twisted, and the woman died from having her throat strangled."

Yang Yuan said, "Looking at the marks on the wall, it has been built for many years. The body was not killed recently, right?"

Liu Shangqiu said: "The coroner of Lin'an Prefecture said that the deceased was murdered and hidden here for six or seven years."

"Who was the president of the Xuanzhiyuan at that time?"

A strange look appeared on Liu Shangqiu's face, and he said, "Zhang Mi."

Yang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "This room was originally used for seal examination, so the deceased may not be related to Zhang Mi."

"Yes!" Liu Shangqiu responded casually, but he looked like "I don't believe you won't take revenge for personal gain."

Yang Yuan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Is this printing room usually used a lot?"

Liu Shangqiu waved to a man and introduced him to Yang Yuan, "This man is Xu Hongcheng, the head of the seal-printing room. I don't know much about their affairs, so you can just ask him directly."

The man came closer, and Liu Shangqiu said, "Master Xu, you recognize this man. He is now the assistant censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He has been ordered to investigate this case and has something to ask you."

That Master Xu had seen Yang Yuan beat Zhang Mi in front of the Privy Councilor.

Such a ruthless man, those who go against him are now dead or defeated, but he is rising higher and higher, so he can't help but feel awe, so he nodded and smiled at Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan asked, "Master Xu, is this seal room usually used a lot?"

Manager Xu said: "When we need to proofread and print something, we may have to work day and night and be very busy.

When there is no need to proofread something, it may not be opened once for a month or two."

Yang Yuan asked again: "How long have you been working in the Xuanzhiyuan?"

Xu Hongcheng said: "I have been working in the Xuanzhiyuan for almost ten years."

Yang Yuan asked, "Have you been inspecting the printing house?"

"No, no, no, I've just been here for five years."

"Where was the previous head of the Printing House?"

"Three years ago, he was transferred to Gong'an County, Jiangling Prefecture, to serve as the chief clerk."

"Give me a list of all the officials, clerks, and servants who have worked in the Printing Office since ten years ago.

Who is responsible for what, what their official position is, when they came and when they left should all be clearly stated.

Also, during this period, when was this house renovated? Who was in charge of the renovation? There must be records of so many bricks and sand being transported in. Will the table method be used? "

"Yes, yes, yes. Now the Privy Council uses this method to keep statistics on various matters."

"Okay, go ahead, I'm going to take it away when I leave!"

Xu Hongcheng breathed a sigh of relief and ran away quickly.

Yang Yuan walked into the seal-checking room through the big hole, and Liu Shangqiu followed him in.

The things inside have been moved out, but there is still a strong smell of ink, and the original blue brick floor can no longer be seen.

Liu Shangqiu walked cautiously. Seeing Yang Yuan looking here and there, knocking on the wall and stomping on the ground from time to time, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Erlang, what are you looking at? Is there really a dead body hidden down there?"

Yang Yuan said casually: "I'm just inspecting it. Aren't you going to tear this place down and rebuild it? What are you worried about?"

Yang Yuan came out of the seal examination room and looked at the three rooms on the other side of the wall. He asked, "Are those three rooms allocated to the Imperial Edict Proclamation Office?"

Liu Shangqiu said, "That's right. This house originally belonged to the Xuanzhiyuan, and the Prime Minister just gave it to us."

Yang Yuan said to Lu Chengze: "Write a few seals and seal all the doors and windows of this seal-printing room and the three rooms over there.

Without my permission, no one is allowed to enter or leave after the seal is affixed."

Lu Chengze agreed and went to prepare the seal.

He knew that Yang Yuan and Zhang Mi had a personal grudge, so he volunteered to come along just to see if Yang Yuan would deliberately target Zhang Mi.

Even if such a thing happened, it would not be enough to bring down Yang Yuan, who was at the peak of his career. But wasn't it that black material was accumulated bit by bit?

Yang Yuan sent Lu Chengze away, and then said to Liu Shangqiu, "Let's go and take a look at the three rooms over there before they are sealed."

Liu Shangqiu called another person from the Seal-Seal Inspection Office of the Xuanzhi Court. As such a big case had occurred in the Seal-Seal Inspection Office, everyone was in danger for a while. The person also seemed very well-behaved, fearing that he would be implicated.

As soon as he heard Yang Yuan's instructions, he took the key and opened the door obediently.

Engraving board, printing bed, ink, brush, paper...

Since these things were originally placed in seven rooms and are now concentrated in three rooms, the space inside is rather cramped.

Liu Shangqiu was very clean, and when he saw this situation, he didn't go any further.

Yang Yuan walked around inside and outside, knocked on the wall here, stomped on the ground there, but found nothing unusual.

Yang Yuan was about to walk out when he suddenly smelled a familiar scent. He was startled and stopped.

His eyes slowly turned to a wooden workbench in the corner. It was very dirty due to the various inks and dyes smeared on it, and there were several ink buckets on the table.

Yang Yuan walked over to the ink barrels and sniffed them one by one. He then stared at the colorful workbench that looked like a dye board and bent down to sniff.

He smelled a very peculiar smell of ink, which was very similar to the ink sample collected by Uncle Gou from "Li Qiaoer Embroidery Workshop".

(End of this chapter)