Chapter 109 Report to the police
Every day, when the sky just turns pale, a large number of people gather on Yuhua Street to attend the morning market.
There are sellers and buyers, and everyone is here to make ends meet and earn some extra money to support their families.
Every day I have to be busy from the end of Yin hour to the beginning of Si hour.
But today's Yuhua Street is particularly different. Some uninvited guests have broken the tranquility here.
The first vendors who came here saw something blocking the middle of the road from afar.
Since it was not very bright and it was quite far away, everyone thought it was some debris dropped on the road and did not pay much attention to it.
But when I got closer, I realized that those were not just debris, but people.
Moreover, they were all naked, some of them had blood on their bodies, and they all looked like they were dead.
This scared the small vendors so much that the timid ones just fell to the ground and couldn't get up.
More and more people came to the morning market, and everyone was stuck at the street entrance.
Everyone was very scared, and some of the timid ones just turned around and ran away.
Most people just stood there, not knowing what to do. However, everyone tacitly did not dare to go forward, fearing that they would be contaminated by something and would not be able to explain themselves.
There was still a brave man who had read a few books and said, "We can't just stand there and watch, we have to report it to the police!"
After his reminder, everyone seemed to remember that this kind of thing should indeed be reported to the police.
So, some people who were fast and enthusiastic turned around and ran quickly towards Jingzhao Prefecture.
The same situation occurred at the four city gates in the southeast, northwest, and northeast of the capital.
At one time, many people ran towards Jingzhao Prefecture from all four city gates.
The prefect of Jingzhao felt that he did not sleep well last night, and his head was very dizzy when he woke up early in the morning.
Moreover, his favorite camellia in his yard was damaged by some ignorant servant.
All the branches are broken, it's really unlucky.
Just as he was thinking about how to find out the person who destroyed his beloved camellia, a yamen runner ran up to him in panic.
Because he ran in panic, the yamen runner did not see the position clearly. When he stopped, the sword on his body hit the camellia pot with broken branches. The whole pot of camellia fell to the ground with a "bang" and shattered into debris.
The prefect of Jingzhao looked at the shattered camellia and felt a surge of anger rising to his head. Just as he was about to lose his temper and scold, he saw the bailiff kneel down and said, "My lord... no no no no... all right, come out come out... a big case!"
The prefect of Jingzhao took a deep breath and scolded, "Why are you panicking? Haven't you seen a big case? We have taken on a few big cases every year! Look at you, you smashed all my flowers!"
"Sir, this is a really serious case!" The bailiff finally caught his breath and stopped stuttering. "Someone's dead!"
When the Jingzhao prefect heard that someone had died, his expression finally relaxed and his attention shifted from his camellia.
Murder cases are indeed considered big cases, but he has to deal with several such cases every year. He didn't think it was that big of a deal.
However, he will be busy for a while, so he will probably have to ask someone to find the camellia again.
The prefect of Jingzhao walked towards the front yamen and shouted at the yamen runners, "Hurry up and tell me what the case is and how many people died."
When the yamen runner saw the master had left, he quickly got up from the ground and followed behind him, saying, "This morning, as soon as the yamen opened, many people came from all over the capital. They all came to report a case. Every person who came to report a case said that at least forty or fifty people had died."
The prefect of Jingzhao prefecture sounded normal at first. He had encountered people beating the drum to complain in the middle of the night, not to mention coming early in the morning when the court opened. But when he heard the last number, he missed a step.
Fortunately, he was supported by the yamen runner behind him and did not fall. He held the yamen runner's arm tightly and asked with trembling lips, "How many people did you say died?"
The yamen runner swallowed his saliva and said, "Everyone who came to report the case said there were 40 to 50 people, and there were five groups in total."
This time, the Jingzhao prefect couldn't hold on and sat down on the ground. His face turned visibly pale.
These ordinary people would not dare to report to the police easily, and those who did would not dare to lie, let alone a murder case like this.
One person who reported the case said there were forty or fifty people, five groups in total, which means there are more than two hundred people in total!
He didn't dare to imagine what would happen if more than 200 people died in the capital at once. He probably had worn out his official uniform.
"Sir, you have to hurry over. This hall is full of people reporting crimes. They are all waiting for you." The yamen runner lifted the Jingzhao prefect up and helped him walk forward.
The full name of Jingzhao Prefecture Yin is Zhang Quanhe. He passed the imperial examination and was a second-class Jinshi. He was able to stay in Beijing as an official and sit in the position of Jingzhao Prefecture Yin, not only because he was smooth in dealing with things and never took sides easily, but also because of the help of his wife's family.
At this moment, he was already thinking about how to deal with this matter with his father-in-law.
It's not too late for him to send away the concubine he took in last month.
You have to face it even if you don't want to. Even if Lord Zhang walks slowly, it will only take an incense stick of time to get from the backyard to the front yamen.
The people who were waiting in the front yamen to report the case were all very anxious.
As soon as he saw the adults coming, he started talking directly.
For a moment, the entire government office was like a vegetable market, filled with the sound of talking and chattering, but not a single word could be heard clearly.
Zhang Quanhe already had a headache, and now he was even more upset by the quarrel. He picked up the gavel in front of him and slammed it heavily, "Silence! Silence!"
Everyone was startled by this and fell silent instantly.
When ordinary people face those in power, they are still more afraid.
Seeing that everyone had finally quieted down, Zhang Quanhe pointed to the person closest to him and said, "You speak first."
The person who was called immediately knelt down in front of Zhang Quanhe and kowtowed a few times before saying, "My name is Wang Ermaizi, and I live on Liushi Street in Xicheng. When I woke up today, I saw many people lying on the street of Liushi Street."
"I went forward to take a look. Those people were all naked, and some of them had a lot of blood on their bodies. There were dozens of people lying on the street. I didn't dare to look anymore, so I came to report the case. Now Liushi Street is still crowded with people."
After Wang Ermaizi finished speaking, he kowtowed heavily again.