Taiheiki

Chapter 66 Investigation
"Thank you!" Wei Cong had long since been unable to resist the aroma of the place. He followed Zhou to the back hall, where they sat down as host and guest. He drank a sip of the honey water that was offered to him and said, "Madam, I'd like to ask you a question. Have you made any progress in tracking down Brother Nie's murderer?"

Although Zhou was a second wife, Nie Zheng was in his prime. She was beautiful and had given birth to a son and a daughter. The couple had a very good relationship. Seeing Wei Cong asking about her husband's murder, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness: "Thank you for asking, my dear. No one was present when my husband was murdered, so I'm still confused and have no clue!"

"Did Brother Nie have any enemies during his lifetime?" Wei Cong asked.

"My husband was a local hero. When he was alive, he loved to mediate grudges. There were always some who were satisfied with the mediation and some who were not. If we were to call them enemies, there were too many!"

"That's right!" Wei Cong nodded. Nie Zheng's actions were essentially the same as Zhang Bolu's later actions. To put it nicely, it was a way to help someone else resolve their grievances; to put it bluntly, it was arbitrary and arbitrary. While beneficial, it also incited hatred. Over the years, those with motives to kill him were likely spread throughout Yuzhang County. Now that he was dead, finding the killer was incredibly difficult.

"I do have some skills in investigating the murderer!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "If Madam trusts me, then let me do it. It will take three to five days at the shortest, seven to eight days at the longest. I will give Madam an explanation!"

"Yes, but-"

Zhou was completely bewildered by Wei Cong. This uninvited guest had just said he wanted to find the murderer for her husband, so he probably had ulterior motives. But if she refused, she knew he hadn't come alone. He had armed men outside, and who knew what else he might be up to. How could she refuse so easily? Just as Zhou was trying to find a tactful way to evade the request, Wei Cong stood up and said, "Since Madam hasn't refused, that means you've agreed. Well, to find the murderer, we should first ask the people who were traveling with Brother Nie at the time. Where are they? Please call them over so I can question them!"

Zhou saw Wei Cong's expression, which seemed to indicate a genuine desire to investigate the case. She thought it would be disgraceful to refuse. She summoned Guo Kui, who had gone hunting with Nie Zheng that day, and after introducing Wei Cong, she said, "Tell this young master Wei everything that happened that day!"

Guo Kui responded. He was an honest man, and he recounted the events of that day. After Wei Cong finished listening, he thought for a while and then said, "When you inspected the scene afterwards, how was Brother Nie's mount?"

"The front leg is broken. It must have been knocked down by a tripwire or something like that!" said Guo Kui.

"So, Brother Nie died at the hands of someone!"

Guo Kui was furious when he heard this. He glared at Wei Cong fiercely, "What do you mean? My master was assassinated, and you're saying this. Are you trying to tease us?"

Zhou was also unhappy, but she was much more cunning. She stopped Guo Kui and said to Wei Cong, "My husband said he wanted to catch the murderer, but he said such things. My late husband was so brave, how could he die at the hands of a human or be injured by a wild beast?"

Wei Cong didn't seem upset. He smiled and said, "Please forgive me, Madam. I wasn't joking. It's just that after listening to your servant's words, I feel that there's something demonic about this whole thing from beginning to end. Think about it, Brother Nie was killed because he was led into the mountains by that deer and ambushed. First, his mount was injured, and then he was besieged and killed. But deer don't set ambushes, let alone tripwires, and yet they managed to lure him into an ambush. Don't you think that's demonic?"

Hearing Wei Cong's analysis, Zhou couldn't help but sigh. Guo Kui's eyes lit up and he slapped his thigh fiercely. "Yes, that's right. I felt something was wrong at the time and felt a chill all over my body. The deer was also very tall and big. Everyone said that the master said the deer was the incarnation of the mountain god and must not be harmed. The master didn't listen to us and insisted on chasing it, which is why he was killed!"

When Zhou heard Guo Kui say this, she couldn't help but be skeptical: "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true!" Guo Kui said anxiously, "Everyone who went hunting with the master saw the deer. Madam, you can ask each of them one by one."

Zhou did not dare to delay and immediately called in the people who had gone hunting with Nie Zheng at that time and questioned them one by one. Sure enough, everyone was deeply impressed by the deer at that time. They all said in unison that it was no ordinary creature. Some people even said that they were so scared that they knelt down at the time, but Nie Zheng still insisted on hunting the deer and was killed in the end.

"Could it be that my husband really died in the mountains because he offended the gods?" Zhou said to herself in frustration.

"Madam, there's no need to be so. From what I've seen, it's not that simple!" Wei Cong consoled him. He certainly didn't believe in spirits, but he didn't care whether he could actually find Nie Zheng's killer. He only cared about taking control of the investigation. As long as he did that, the rest would be easy. After all, whoever he said was who would be the real culprit, he wouldn't have to worry about him complaining.

"What do you mean?"

"If a god were to kill someone, they wouldn't use a lasso!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "Besides, even ghosts and gods can be used by humans, right?"

"Do you mean that the person who harmed others has the help of Taoist priests, great witches and the like?" Zhou asked.

Wei Cong didn't expect Zhou to think of this, but it didn't matter. He just had to follow her meaning. After all, smart people like to lie to themselves the most: "Yes, that's exactly what I mean!"

"Thank you for your guidance, sir!" Zhou bowed deeply to Wei Cong, then turned to Guo Kui and said, "Did you hear everything just now? Pass the order down. Immediately bring in all the Taoists, alchemists, witches, and fortune-tellers within a hundred miles and interrogate them severely!"

"Yes!" Guo Kui responded and was about to go out.

"Wait a minute!" Wei Cong shouted hurriedly.

"What's wrong?" Zhou asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

"Madam, that thief must have been quite capable to have killed Brother Nie. If you go out and arrest him with such fanfare, I'm afraid you won't catch him. Everyone knows about it, so how can you possibly catch him? In my opinion, it would be better to pretend you know nothing and post a notice saying that a ghost is haunting the house, causing unrest among the living. You're offering a large reward for anyone to perform a ritual for the ghost, and then investigate secretly. Wouldn't that be better?"

"My dear, in my opinion, since the murderer has harmed our master, I am afraid he will not come to our house again on his own initiative!" Guo Kui asked in confusion.

"I didn't say the thief would definitely come, but birds of a feather flock together. If we want to find clues about the thief, the best way is to ask these colleagues. Even if the thief doesn't come, we can just say that their rituals are ineffective and the undead are still causing trouble. Let them recommend a more capable colleague, and we'll find him, won't that be it?" "Okay!" After hearing this, Zhou was truly convinced of Wei Cong. She believed that he was indeed worthy of being a thief official. He was really foolproof in apprehending the thief and had considered everything carefully. She said to Guo Kui, "Did you hear that? Everything will be done according to Wei Jun's orders!"

"Yes!" Guo Kui bowed and withdrew with admiration. Zhou then smiled at Wei Cong and said, "Mr. Wei is so thoughtful. I've truly been enlightened today. If my late husband's death is avenged, my entire family will be greatly blessed by your grace!" With that, she bowed, her face pressed to the ground, performing a kowtow. Her soft hair fell, revealing the fair skin at the back of her neck. Seeing this, Wei Cong felt his throat dry, and he swallowed subconsciously, reaching out to help her. "Madam, why are you doing this? Get up!" His fingertips touched Zhou's shoulder, which felt like a piece of warm jade, and his heart trembled.

Zhou felt someone touching her shoulder and subconsciously raised her head, just in time to meet Wei Cong's eyes. She was a woman who had experienced many things in life, so how could she not know what this man was thinking at this moment? She wanted to get angry, but then she changed her mind and thought that she was already a widow and had no one to rely on in Chaisang. The man in front of her was both capable and handsome. Even if it was for the sake of this family business, it would be okay to pretend to be nice to him. Thinking of this, Zhou took Wei Cong's right hand and held him in her arms, sobbing, "My late husband passed away, leaving me and this family business without any support. I am at a loss. My husband came here for justice, just like a vine finding a tall tree. Please speak frankly about the affairs of the family, and don't be shy and give rise to misunderstandings!"

Zhou's actions really confused Wei Cong. He looked at the maid standing not far away, carefully pulled his hand back, and whispered, "Madam, please rest assured. I will take care of everything. I will never let you suffer any loss!"

Zhou raised her head and whispered, "It's getting late, my dear. Please go to the side yard and rest. If you need anything, just send someone to tell me. Just treat us as your own family and don't be polite!"

After a few polite words, Zhou personally escorted Wei Cong to the next courtyard and, with the help of her servants, arranged everything like a courteous hostess. Only after everything was settled did she reluctantly bid farewell. As soon as the courtyard door closed, Wang Shou let out a long sigh and said with a smile, "My dear, this widow must have taken a fancy to you, otherwise why would she be so attentive? Judging from her attitude just now, this is not much better than how you would entertain your husband returning from a long journey!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Wei Cong scolded awkwardly, "I just found a clue to the murderer for her, and she's so grateful to me that she's treating me so warmly."

"Really?" Wang Shou laughed. "But honestly, there's nothing wrong with marrying this widow. Look at her face and waist. How can you tell she's the mother of two children? And she has such a large family fortune as a dowry. Marrying a woman like this will make everything perfect!"

Liu Jiu, watching Wei Cong's expression, quickly retorted, "You can't say that. A man of your status must marry a lady from a wealthy family. How can you marry a widow?"

"You don't understand!" Wang Shou laughed. "A lady from a wealthy family wouldn't be as loving as a widow, and her dowry wouldn't be that much. Besides, this Zhou is definitely fertile. Besides, she's also from the Lujiang Zhou family, and her family background is also that of three high officials!"

Seeing his men's talk getting more and more outrageous, Wei Cong frowned and coughed, "Are you all bored out of your mind? Instead of talking about these nonsense, why don't you go and rest? We have things to do tomorrow morning!"

"Yes!" Seeing this, everyone hurriedly responded and retreated. Wei Cong breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his room to rest, but saw Huang Ping standing at the door. He looked like he had something to say but didn't dare to come in. He beckoned him, "Come in if you have something to say!"

Huang Ping hurried in and asked cautiously, "My dear, I heard that you and that Zhou were having a good chat in there just now? Is that true?"

"Why?" Wei Cong asked unhappily, "Do you want to take care of this too?"

"No, no, no, no!" Huang Ping quickly denied: "That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"My dear, just now, Mr. Nie heard that you were here, so he came to me to discuss whether we could help him take back his family property. But after I came back, I heard that you had a very good talk with Zhou, so--" Huang Ping stopped here and looked at Wei Cong's face carefully, hoping to find the answer he wanted from it.

"Do you think I've already coveted Zhou's beauty and agreed to stand by her side?" Wei Cong asked angrily. Zhou was indeed very beautiful, but was he considered a lustful person by his subordinates? This made him a little annoyed.

"What are you talking about? I just think this matter is of great importance, so I want to ask you first!" Huang Ping hurriedly explained.

"Forget it, stop explaining. You're making things worse!" Wei Cong waved his hand. "Then what's Mr. Nie's price?"

"He'll take 70%, and the Zhou family will take 30%. As for the remuneration, according to the custom of the underworld, he will pay 10%!" Huang Ping said, "Besides, he is willing to take you as his adoptive father. In the future, many things in Yuzhang County will be much more convenient for us!"

"Then how will he deal with Zhou and his younger brother?" Wei Cong asked.

"Zhou was born into the Lujiang Zhou family. He didn't dare to move, nor could he move. He probably sent her back. As for his younger brother, he didn't say anything. He probably went back with the Zhou family!"

"So how much capital does he have now?"

"There are seventy or eighty people at home who obey his orders, and there are also two hundred people at his maternal uncle's house!" Wei Cong lowered his voice: "But from what he said, he wants us to do the dirty work! His own people are only used for intimidation!"

"He's not stupid for wanting to get his family's blood on his hands!" Wei Cong smiled. He wasn't surprised by Nie Sheng's request. After all, the Nie family was a well-known wealthy family in Yuzhang. Even if their wealth wasn't as great as Zhang Bolu's, it wasn't far behind. If he killed Zhang Bolu, the copper coins, grain, cloth, and land would add up to about 60 to 70 million coins. Even if the Nie family only had half of it, it would still be 30 million coins, and one-tenth would be 3 million coins. This was no small sum, and it would be impossible to get it just by talking.

"Sir, do you agree?" Huang Ping asked carefully.

"Just wait a minute!"

"Wait a minute?" Huang Ping glanced at Wei Cong's face. "That guy will also know about your meeting with Zhou. I'm afraid he will think you are shirking responsibility and delaying, and that you are actually on Zhou's side!"

(End of this chapter)