Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Thinking of this, Su Wen ate faster, determined to go to Yuan Tianfang's house today to find out what was going on!

After finishing his meal, Su Wen went to the street and bought some gifts. Then he disguised himself, put on a mustache, and walked to Yuan Tianfang's door.

Su Wen knocked on the door, and after a moment, the door slowly opened. A middle-aged butler opened the door, looked at Su Wen, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Is this... Yuan Tianfang's house?" Su Wen asked.

The servant nodded and replied, "Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"I am a good friend of your master, Yuan Tianfang. My name is Chen Qing!"

"Alright, please wait a moment, I'll go and inform them!"

Inside the mansion, Yuan Tianfang was drawing blueprints at the table, while his wife, Mei Nu, stood beside him. (In the Tang Dynasty, "Nu" in a name had the same meaning as the modern reduplicated character, signifying intimacy, such as "Mimi" or "Baby.")

A servant came to report: "Master, a guest has arrived at the door. He says he is your good friend, named Chen Qing!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tianfang put down his pen and looked at Mei Nu with a puzzled expression, saying, "My lady, I don't remember having a friend named Chen Qing among my friends?"

Mei Nu smiled slightly, looking at the blueprints on the table, and slowly said, "My husband, I don't remember anyone named Chen Qing either. However, your skills in feng shui and architecture are extremely high, and you are very famous in Youzhou City. Over the past few decades, you have made at least eight hundred or a thousand friends. How could you possibly remember them all?"

Yuan Tianfang chuckled, "Yes!"

Yuan Tianfang sighed and said, "I'm getting old. Before I knew it, decades had passed. The events of the past seem like yesterday!"

Mei Nu said, "Why don't you quickly invite others in? If you neglect your friend, you risk being slandered or gossiped about behind their back!"

Yuan Tianfang nodded repeatedly and said, "Quickly, go and invite them in!"

The servant nodded in agreement and left the room.

Before long, Su Wen handed the gift to the servant and then strode into the room. Upon seeing Yuan Tianfang, he saw that Yuan Tianfang was over forty years old, with a majestic appearance, wearing a long robe, and looked exceptionally handsome.

However, this greatly frightened Su Wen.

This person was exactly the same as the one in the dream who called himself Yuan Tianfang. His height, appearance, mannerisms, and speech were almost identical.

Even Su Wen was a little stunned. Could it be that he was really overthinking things?

Suddenly, a scene flashed through Su Wen's mind. No, these two people are not the same person.

The spacing between the eyebrows of the Yuan Tianfang in the dream is different from the spacing between the eyebrows of the Yuan Tianfang in the dream. In addition, the hairlines of the two are completely different. Although the hair is tied up, the hairline of this person is obviously lower than that of the Yuan Tianfang in the dream, while the hairline of the Yuan Tianfang in the dream is higher.

In the dream, Yuan Tianfang was clearly younger; this one was over forty.

Although the two look extremely similar and their hairlines are not much different, to someone who has been dealing with corpses for many years, this extremely small difference is enough to prove that the two are not the same person!

In other words, the person in front of you is not Yuan Tianfang!

Su Wen only glanced at it, but he was already certain in his heart.

Su Wen greeted Yuan Tianfang with a smile, saying, "Brother Tianfang, it's been over twenty years since we last met!"

Yuan Tianfang frowned, looking hesitant, but still forced himself to remain calm as he looked at Mei Nu standing to the side. Mei Nu smiled and said, "Since it's been over twenty years since we last met, why don't you two chat first? I'll go brew you a pot of good tea!"

Su Wen smiled and said, "Alright, thank you very much, Madam!"

Yuan Tianfang gestured, "Brother Chen Qing, please have a seat!"

Su Wen responded and slowly sat down. He smiled slightly and said, "I never expected that after more than twenty years, Brother Tianfang would have built such a vast business empire. You are truly remarkable!"

Yuan Tianfang smiled and said, "This is all money saved up over the years through frugal living!"

Mei Nu, carrying a pot of tea and two cups, placed them on the table. She poured tea for the two men and spoke first, asking, "Brother Chen Qing, what brings you here? Surely it's not just to catch up?"

Su Wen thought for a moment and decided to first stir up trouble and provoke Yuan Tianfang!

So he said, "Oh, it's just a small matter that I've come here!" Su Wen looked at Yuan Tianfang and said slowly, "Brother Tianfang, back then, you and I went to study under a master together. Our master passed on half a book to each of us. Do you still remember?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tianfang looked bewildered, but still smiled and said, "Of course I remember such an important matter!"

Su Wen smiled slightly and said, "Back then, I studied the first half of the book, and you studied the second half. Now that our master has passed away, how about I give you the first half, and you give me the second half? What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tianfang immediately frowned and hesitated to speak. Mei Nu, standing to the side, also remained silent. Although Mei Nu had been married to Yuan Tianfang for over twenty years, she had never heard him mention this matter before, so she was unaware of it and dared not interrupt.

Yuan Tianfang, however, began to secretly make plans in his mind, but he still did not say anything.

Su Wen had completely figured it out. This person was definitely not Yuan Tianfang. Because it was impossible for someone to think about or remain silent about something that was completely fabricated. Unless Yuan Tianfang happened to have a master, the master happened to have two disciples, and the two disciples happened to each receive half a book. That was too much of a coincidence, and the probability was almost zero.

After pondering for a moment, Yuan Tianfang nodded and said, "Alright, but decades have passed, and I don't even know where I put that half-book. I have tens of thousands of books at home; I wonder what the name of this book is?"

Su Wen knew Yuan Tianfang was testing him, so he smiled and said, "You really do have a bad memory. But then again, such a large family fortune is indeed impressive. This book is called: Lacking a Door!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tianfang paused for a moment, then his expression turned very serious, but he still forced a smile and said, "Alright, then Brother Chen Qing, go stay at the inn for a few days. Once I find this book, I will give it to you, how about that?"

Su Wen responded, then stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Alright, I'll wait for your good news at the inn!"

Yuan Tianfang responded.

Su Wen strode away, while Yuan Tianfang could hardly contain his excitement!

Mei Nu said softly, "Husband, are you really hiding that missing piece? Why have I never heard you mention it before?"

Yuan Tianfang said, "My wife, of course. My skills, which I, Yuan Tianfang, can claim to be the best in the world, are all thanks to this one skill!"

After saying that, Yuan Tianfang turned around and said, "Wife, you go ahead and do your work. I'm going to the study."

After leaving Yuan Tianfang's house, Su Wen began to plan how to investigate next!

Sometimes, when solving a case, the culprit is very clear, but it is very difficult to catch him and convict him. Su Wen has no evidence right now, Magistrate Cui is not helping him, and it is impossible for him to actually dig up the Taoist temple, otherwise he would be beaten to death by the Taoist priests!

We've already alerted the snake; hopefully, it will react, otherwise things will really be difficult for us!

However, Su Wen thought of one possibility: since the two people are so similar, they could start by investigating the twins!