Minglong

Chapter 43 I mean, if...

Taoxianfang.

As night falls, the streets gradually become lively.

Amidst the clamor of the streets, a group of guards and soldiers escorted young men and women toward Yuelai Tower, chattering along the way:

"Eat quickly, the government office is busy. If I leave for too long, my father will scold me for taking a break from my work..."

"Sharpening the knife doesn't delay the chopping of wood, but if you don't have enough to eat, how can you have the energy to work..."

"The mushroom stewed flying dragon at Yuelai Tower is a must-try..."

“Guji—?! Guji guji guji…”

"Eh? What happened to the coal balls?"

"Hurry us up. It just loves this. It's been a while since it last had this..."

……

At the same time, in a nearby inn.

Captain Zhou He stood at the window, looking at the people on the street through the gap.

The two Chilin Guards at the back were heartbroken to see a room full of courtesans but no one to eat. However, they didn't dare to think about it at the moment. They just asked an old man:
"This case not only involves the mummified corpse case in the capital, but may also be linked to the great demon of Zihui Mountain. Mr. Li has also seen the scene at the palace. If you don't reveal the truth, even the Red Scale Guards will not be able to exonerate your son."

The old man's name was Li Gongming, Li Gongpu's younger brother. He was wearing a Confucian robe and sitting beside the tea table, with a look of anger on his face.

"My brother is serving the Saint in the capital, how could the Li family not know how to behave properly?

“It is true that my son allowed Li Shizhong to sell the Dengxian Powder, and he also buried alive gamblers who owed gambling debts, and even smuggled salt from Yaozhou to other counties, but these are all trivial matters.

"They've secretly colluded with demonic bandits, causing unrest in Luojing and Danyang, and even alarming the Saints. If this is proven true, they could plunder and exterminate my entire Li family. No matter how foolish my son is, could he be so foolish? What does my Li family gain by colluding with the great demon?"

Zhou He closed the window and sat down beside the tea table:
"Mr. Li and even your son have no motive to collude with the great demon. In my opinion, Mr. Li may have been secretly plotted against."

Li Gongming came over to talk about this and raised his hand to help Zhou He pour tea:

"Sir Zhou holds an important position in the Red Lin Guard and must be familiar with the situation in the capital. If anyone is jealous of my brother and wants to make a move in secret, I hope Sir Zhou can let them know."

Zhou He considered it for a moment: "I haven't found out who it is yet, but I do have some guesses."

"Oh?" Li Gongming leaned closer. "Master Zhou, please speak."

Zhou He picked up the teacup and recalled briefly:
"Three years ago, there was a case of a ghost in the imperial palace. Captain Han was implicated. Unable to report back, he passed the blame for his dereliction of duty to Xie Wen, the Wan'an County Magistrate. Xie Wen was subsequently demoted to Lingnan."

"Is this matter related to the current incident?"

"On his way to take up his post, Xie Wen encountered an unknown monster, and his entire army was wiped out, leaving no one alive. But Xie Jinhuan, who has been performing remarkable feats recently, is Xie Wen's son. He disappeared somewhere unknown for three years, but now he's back."

Li Gongming frowned and asked in a low voice:

"Xie Wen's transfer and the attack on his convoy were both my brother's doing?"

Zhou He shook his head. "How could a mere county lieutenant possibly alarm Lord Li? It was Captain Han's idea to let Xie Wen take the blame. The convoy was probably attacked out of bad luck."

"However, if Xie Wen hadn't been used as a scapegoat and demoted to Lingnan, he wouldn't have encountered that disaster. If you really count it, this is also a blood revenge for killing my father!"

Li Gongming thought about it carefully and felt a little puzzled:

"Xie Jinhuan and Han Qianhu have a vendetta against each other for killing their fathers. What does this have to do with my Li family?"

Zhou He tactfully reminded him, "If Captain Han doesn't use his connections, with his power and position, can he clear himself of all charges and put all the blame on the county lieutenant in the government office?

"I heard that Captain Han gave three thousand taels of silver to settle this matter, but I don't know to which lord it was given."

"..."

Li Gongming knew very well how his brother Li Gongpu had accumulated such a huge fortune, so he did not dwell on it.

"Master Zhou is saying that Xie Jinhuan mistakenly believes that my brother murdered his father and is secretly framing my Li family?"

"I just have a suspicion, but whether it's true or not, this person must be dealt with."

Zhou He said earnestly:
"Xie Jinhuan is an extraordinary martial artist. He has recently achieved remarkable feats and even won the appreciation of the Dan King today. If we don't take precautions, when he returns to the capital, even with his achievements, the support of the prince, and the favor of the emperor, no one in the court will dare to move against him. When he is fully grown, he will investigate the case from three years ago..."

Li Gongming understood the meaning and asked:
"How does Lord Zhou plan to deal with this guy?"

Zhou He gently rubbed the rim of the cup:

"Dealing with Xie Jinhuan is not difficult, but dealing with the person behind him is difficult.

"The Chilin Guards confirmed that Xie Wen died in the line of duty. Xie Jinhuan should have been dead, but he's still alive and has inexplicably acquired extraordinary martial arts skills. There must be someone behind this who's helping him.

"If we act rashly without investigating the specific background, we might run into a wall."

Li Gongming stroked his beard and asked:

"How does Lord Zhou plan to investigate?" Zhou He stood up and paced back and forth twice:

"Dongcang Street, Sanhe Building, the corpse pit, and the field where the bodies were buried were all the places where Xie Jinhuan arrived first. He even solved most of the cases single-handedly. Today, he was the first to discover the unusual bones.

"Even if he's a genius at solving cases, he's overdoing it. Furthermore, the Gu flower, the location of the corpse pit, and so on, don't explain where he derived his information. We suspect he has someone behind the scenes helping him, but no one knows who that person is.

Having said this, Zhou He turned to look at Li Gongming:

"Let's use an analogy. Suppose Xie Jinhuan had the help of a powerful demon, which allowed him to be so unstoppable and deliberately stir up trouble..."

?

Li Gongming sat up straighter when he heard this:

"This statement is probably too far-fetched. As for the claim that the Li family colluded with the demonic bandits, at least there are the hard-to-prove stains of the Ascension Powder and burying gamblers alive.

"Xie Jinhuan lives openly in front of the Princess's Mansion. He has been at the forefront of recent cases, fearless of hardship or fatigue..."

"Alas~"

Zhou He raised his hand and said earnestly:

"I'm talking about hypothetical situations. Xie Jinhuan definitely has nothing to do with the Great Demon, but some people are suspicious. Doesn't he have to prove it himself?

"Now Danyang is full of enemies. As long as Xie Jinhuan is connected to the demon bandits, he must explain the whole process of the past three years, his background as a teacher, and how he discovered the many clues.

"If he can't explain himself clearly, and the Li family insists that Xie Jinhuan framed him, then the government will have to conduct a thorough investigation into his background and resume.
"If he explains everything clearly, and the Red Scale Guards understand his background, won't we have any more concerns when dealing with him?"

"..."

Li Gongming stroked his beard and thought seriously, then nodded slightly:
"Indeed, Captain Zhou is indeed very talented and insightful. I'd like to trouble you, Lord Zhou, to personally handle this matter..."

"Of course, but I still need Mr. Li's help in finding something..."

...
-
The Yuelai Building was bustling with activity. Waiters were walking around carrying wine and food. On the stage, a middle-aged musician was holding a pipa, singing a melodious tune from the waterside village:
"Dang Dang Dang~"

"White feathers dance lightly on the shore, white shadows drift leisurely across the water and clouds. The determination to remain clean and independent is unwavering..."

……

In the middle of the lobby, two square tables were put together, and nearly ten officers and soldiers sat around them, wolfing down rare delicacies from land and sea.

The one who ate the coal briquettes in the most exaggerated way was the one who ate the coal briquettes. If Xie Jinhuan hadn't held him down, he would have probably eaten the entire bowl!
Linghu Qingmo was the host, so he naturally sat in the main seat. Since he had given the meat to Meiqiu, only mushrooms were left in her bowl. She chewed slowly and noticed that Xie Jinhuan was a little distracted, so she asked:

"What's wrong? Don't you like the food?"

Xie Jinhuan looked at the table full of servants and sighed:
"No, I just remembered the first time I met Brother Yang, it was also in this kind of occasion."

Yang Dabiao was already slightly tipsy after three rounds of drinking. Hearing the voice, he thought carefully:
"It seems so. I remember it was six years ago, not long after I arrived in the capital. The yamen solved a small case, and Lord Xie hosted a ceremony to commend them, and he brought Jinhuan along. At that time, Jinhuan was barely as tall as my shoulder, and Coal Ball was as big as a fist. He was incredibly well-behaved and sensible. I never imagined he'd changed so much in just a few years..."

Xie Jinhuan continued with a smile, "Yes. I remember that after dinner, a few adults suggested going to a brothel..."

"Ah?" Linghu Qingmo frowned: "You were there too?"

Xie Jinhuan spread his hands slightly: "I was only thirteen years old at the time, how could I possibly hang out in a brothel? You have to ask Brother Yang about this."

Yang Dabiao suddenly came to his senses and argued righteously:

"You must have remembered it wrongly. I didn't go there. It was Monk Jibei who started it. I had just met my wife, so how could I go to such a ghost place? I turned around and left."

"Cut~"

Liu Qingzhi sneered, and it was obvious that he didn't believe this nonsense.

Yang Dabiao immediately became angry and was about to start exposing his shortcomings in public, but Liu Qingzhi quickly stopped him:

"Drink, drink, and don't talk nonsense while eating..."

"What? Are you feeling guilty?"

"Why should I feel guilty? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You helped Widow Wang find a chicken the day before yesterday..."

"That was just a favor. Widow Wang is already over 40."

"Isn't forty years old the right age to cool down? If your wife knew..."

There was a lot of noise at the table.

Linghu Qingmo was born in a Taoist family and seldom participated in such official social occasions. Seeing that many constables and soldiers were holding back their laughter, he wanted to make some dirty remarks but didn't dare to, and felt that all men were pigs.

Look at how decent Xie Jinhuan is...

Thinking of this, Linghu Qingmo picked up another piece of chicken thigh for Xie Jinhuan...
-
The word count far exceeds the book that was published four or five days in advance. Please give me a monthly ticket or 2~
Just finished writing, still need to revise...

(End of this chapter)