Chapter 294 Cooperation in Searching for Someone
Chapter 294 Cooperation in Searching for Someone
"Missing? Did he flee for fear of crime?" Xu Junling was surprised.
"It's not that simple. Before and after his disappearance, the mining tax supervisor who submitted a letter of accusation to the Censorate and exposed and accused him also disappeared." Zhao Duan's eyes were deep.
Taicang Silver Mine is not just a mine, it also has a supporting smelting furnace plant.
It is commonly called "Gold and Silver Factory".
The government office in charge of this area is the "Mining Tax Administration Office".
The person who submitted the "report materials" to the capital was an eighth-rank official of the Tizhusi, whose surname was Song, and he was also an important witness in this case.
After reading the report, the empress immediately gave orders to the officials in charge of Linfengdao.
Demand the arrest of Taicang County Magistrate and the protection of Song Tiju.
It turned out to be a step too late.
"Both of them are missing?"
Xu Junling was more and more surprised:
"Could it be that after Song Tiju sent the letter, the things he reported were accidentally leaked, and Wang Chusheng, the magistrate of Taicang County, found out about it and killed him? Then he fled out of fear of punishment? Or did he kidnap the person?"
This is the most reasonable guess.
"It is a possibility,"
Zhao Duan crossed his legs, half lying and half leaning on the chair.
Because of the habit left over from my previous life as a student, I fiddled with the pen in my hand while thinking:
"The answer given by these local officials is exactly what you guessed."
In the dim and quiet inn room, Xu Junling's eyes were bright and dark, and he felt excited to be involved in solving the case and acting as a detective.
She crossed her arms over her chest, gently supported her chin with her hands, and gave him advice:
"So, the clues are gone, right? The suspect is gone, and the informant is gone too. So next, should we think of a way to find traces of the criminal's escape and try to capture him?"
She was a little excited.
As the daughter of a prince, she lives a life of luxury and has no experience in investigating cases.
It feels like playing a mystery-solving murder scenario...
She rolled her eyes and suddenly said:
"Now those cavalry you mobilized are useless. Otherwise, you can beg me. My Huai'an Prefecture's merchant teams are spread all over the place. If Wang Chusheng is afraid of the crime and absconds, he is likely to take the sea route. This princess still has some chances..."
Zhao Duan glanced at the girl with a half-smile and said:
“Why are you in such a hurry to arrest people?
Who said that there is no way to investigate if the person is gone?
Have you forgotten what I told you before, that His Majesty never cared about a mere seventh-rank county magistrate, but whether he had a bigger backer behind him. "
...Xu Junling stiffened his neck and said stubbornly:
"Doesn't that mean we should arrest him? If we don't arrest him, how will we know who it is..."
Zhao Duan said slowly, stroking the stray hairs on the tip of the brush with his fingers,
"In the letter of accusation submitted to the capital, Song Tiju mentioned that in order to prevent himself from getting into trouble, he made a backup of the evidence in his hands and entrusted it to a relative's home.
In other words, I just need to get the evidence, and I don’t necessarily need to arrest anyone.”
ga-
The princess' words got stuck in her throat and her eyes widened slightly.
Can this be done?
She suddenly became excited: "Then let's go get it quickly, what are we waiting for?"
"Yawn~"
Zhao Duan suddenly covered his mouth with his hands and said with a smile:
"It's so late now. I'm tired from traveling all day. It's time for me to go to bed. I'll take it tomorrow. I'll lend you my room for the night. Please, my lady, please leave my room."
"..." Xu Junling silently prayed that he was not angry, then stood up and left.
Zhao Duan's power is limited alone, so he needs the help of the princess.
On the contrary, she was also very concerned about this case, and the two hit it off and reached a temporary cooperation.
……
……
Silent all night.
The next morning, when the "fake imperial envoy" was still in the post station, following Zhao Du'an's orders, he was arguing with local officials and delaying time.
Zhao Duan and the princess and her entourage rode in a carriage out of the city and headed towards the "Taicang Silver Mine" in the suburbs outside the city.
It is a cloudy day today and the sky is covered with clouds.
After traveling for more than an hour, they could see the mine ahead from afar.
"Princess, that's the mine, right? Hiss, it's so big..." In the carriage, the maid Lushui stretched her neck and pointed to the distance.
Zhao Duan opened his eyes and ordered:
"Get out of the car and take a look."
Two carriages stopped by the roadside and everyone got off.
Looking into the distance from this place, you can see endless mountain tops.
The top of the mountain is red, mixed with yellow and green.
There are maple trees all over the mountain. There are many maple trees on Linfeng Road.
Every autumn, when the wind blows, the hilltops turn red.
Among the mountains, a huge open-pit mine suddenly sank, as if the gods had hammered down a fist, smashing a deep hole in the earth.
People standing at the edge of the pit seem insignificant.
"Those are the miners in there, right? They are as small as ants."
Among the princess's guards, the ordinary-looking female warrior holding a sword was amazed.
Next to her was the burly man who had threatened to challenge Zhao Duan that day.
There was a straight knife hanging diagonally on his waist, and he laughed loudly:
"It's so far, so it's naturally small. Hey, Master Lu, I remember you are from Linfeng Dao, right? Have you been here before?"
Next to the man was the old man in plain robe.
After being shot in the finger by Eunuch Hai that day, he has now recovered as before.
At this moment, the mountain wind blew, and the gray robe swelled up like air, and he smiled and sighed:
“Indeed, I have been here before, but that was more than ten years ago. At that time, the pit was not this big. When it rained, water would accumulate underneath and form a river. The government would summon nearby townspeople to help dredge it.
I remember that there was a small, impoverished family named Song living nearby, which was also a family of scholars.
I passed by that year and stayed at the Song family's farm for a few days. The family wanted to keep me as their spear and stick instructor, but I declined. "
Xu Junling was in a very good mood when he saw the mountains all red and the mines were magnificent. He smiled sweetly and said:
"A country gentleman still wants to keep Master Lu. He is quite courageous. He must not know Master Lu's reputation in the martial arts world."
Lu Qingfeng habitually wanted to brag about himself, but suddenly he caught a glimpse of Zhao Duan, who was standing beside him with his hands behind his back, staring into the distance without saying a word.
He cleared his throat and said humbly:
"I am just a small Jianghu traveler, not worth mentioning."
Although they had become familiar with Zhao Duan along the way, they were still in awe of the vengeful "King of Hell Zhao" because of the challenge in the ring.
At this moment, the old man in plain robes, who was considered a master in the martial arts world and was sitting in the Huai'an Palace, smiled and said:
"Mr. Zhao, I wonder which mountain the person you are looking for is on?"
When they were out and about, in order to avoid trouble, people called him and the princess "Young Master" and "Miss".
Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes, retracted his gaze from a distance, and smiled at the master of the palace:
"Since you know Songjiazhuang, how about you lead the way? This is the one I'm looking for."
Is this the one?
Xu Junling looked surprised, then he smacked his hands and realized that the mining tax supervisor who submitted the letter of accusation was named "Song".
In local areas, clans with the same surname often gather together.
Song Tiju must be related to this small local clan. Well, this can also explain why he entrusted the "evidence backup" to someone else.
"Let's go." Zhao Duan didn't say much. He clapped his hands and turned back to the carriage.
Xu Junling and her servants followed immediately. Before they set off, Zhao Duan had reached a gentleman's agreement with her:
You can join us in investigating the case if you want, but you must obey Zhao Duan's orders and take him as the leader.
At this moment, a group of outsiders, blowing in the mountain wind, followed the rugged country road and circled the edge of the "Taicang Silver Mine" without entering.
Zhao Duan has no interest in the mine.
What's more, there were government officials guarding below, and he came here in disguise and didn't want to attract attention too early.
However, he kept in mind what Lu Qingfeng said about water accumulating in the mine during rainy days.
Maybe after returning to Beijing, I can find Gongshu Tianyuan and make an ancient version of the water pump.
But it was just a fleeting thought and was put behind me.
However, even though Zhao Duan tried his best to keep a low profile, after they left, there were still laborers carrying stones outside the silver mine who looked up and whispered to each other.
Immediately, one of them dropped his burden, put on his straw sandals, and ran away.
Prepare to report the news of "suspicious outsiders" to the foreman in exchange for reward money
——It is said that this was an order issued by the county magistrate.
(End of this chapter)