Chapter 126 The Seventeen Impeachers Were All Old Pawns of the Wang Family

A piece of charred paper was spread out on oil paper.

Only a corner remained of the Governors Mansion document Seal. Its edges were curled from the fire, and as the lamplight flickered, the partial impression seemed as if it were still scorching hot within the ashes.

Liu Buyu looked down for a long time, his pen tip hovering over the paper, hesitant to descend.

Zhou Tie stood to the side, gripping his broken spear, his expression darker than the night.

"Old Liu, go ahead and write."

Liu Buyu looked up at him, his throat moving as he swallowed.

"This thing cannot be written carelessly."

Zhao Gang stood guard at the doorway of the iron cabinet room with his arms crossed over his blade, letting out a cold snort upon hearing this.

"You dared to write about Wang Xuan retreating half a step just a moment ago, and now a piece of charred paper has scared you?"

Liu Buyu looked at the partial impression, his voice tight.

"The Governors Mansion document Seal appeared in Wang Xuan's secret entrance. If a single character is written incorrectly, it won't just be the Wang family that gets dragged into this."

Zhou Tie pressed the butt of his spear against the ground.

"Then that is all the more reason to write it clearly."

Shen Yue walked back from the outer wall, the hem of her clothes damp with night dew, and in her hand, she carried the waist medallion of the grey-clothed messenger.

"Write down the source first."

Lin Chen looked at Liu Buyu.

"Write it exactly as it is."

Liu Buyu nodded and finally put pen to paper.

"Wang Xuan retreated from the secret entrance; Sun Qi followed the bloodstains into the old canal and recovered a half-burned wooden tablet and a piece of charred paper, with the charred paper bearing a partial Governors Mansion document Seal."

Zhao Gang watched him finish writing before speaking.

"Add one sentence: 'Authenticity to be verified.'"

Liu Buyu glanced at Zhao Gang.

"You've learned to leave yourself an out?"

Zhao Gang slung his blade over his shoulder, his expression grim.

"I just have a quick temper, I'm not brainless."

Zhou Tie said in a low voice.

"If you had said that during the day, I really wouldn't have believed you."

Zhao Gang glared at him.

"You haven't thrown away your broken spear yet, don't force me to register you as evidence as well."

Lin Chen ignored them, his fingertips pressing against the edge of the wooden tablet marked with the number seventeen.

"Sun Qi, what else is in the secret entrance?"

Sun Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead; the medicinal cloth on his face was already soaked through.

"The old canal is very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass while hunched over. There were bloodstains inside; Wang Xuan must have gone that way."

Lin Chen asked.

"Where do the bloodstains end?"

Sun Qi answered immediately.

"Three zhang in front of the well behind the pharmacy in the west of the city. Someone had covered it with dry soil, so I didn't pursue further."

Shen Yue looked up.

"A pharmacy."

Zhou Tie also realized it.

"The Wang family pharmacy that the Grey Sparrow informant entered during the day?"

Shen Yue nodded.

"The same one."

Zhao Gang cursed.

"Wang Xuan retreats from the Main Courtyard, the Grey Sparrow informant returns to the pharmacy, and the well behind the pharmacy connects to the old canal—the Wang family has turned half the city into a rat's nest."

Liu Buyu bowed his head to add the note, his pen moving quickly.

"The well behind the pharmacy in the west of the city is suspected to be the Wang family's second secret entrance, linked to Wang Xuan's escape route and the Grey Sparrow communication line."

Lin Chen looked at the wooden tablet.

"Where is the list of the seventeen petitioners?"

Liu Buyu immediately pulled a thin booklet from his document case.

"It's here. It was originally listed in the order of petition, but it needs to be reorganized tonight."

Zhao Gang frowned.

"How are we reorganizing it?"

Liu Buyu laid the booklet on the table and pointed to the names on it.

"Previously, we only looked at what they petitioned about; now, we need to look at where they came from, who has changed their household registration, who has changed their name, and who matches up with the Qingyun Ridge Living accounts."

Zhou Tie leaned his broken spear against the wall and looked down at the list.

"Seventeen people. I remember there were merchants, Clerks, street witnesses, and two who claimed to have witnessed the Lin family case years ago."

Liu Buyu nodded.

"Correct, but these identities are all too clean."

Zhao Gang looked at him.

"Is there something wrong with being clean?"

Liu Buyu pulled out a page of old files and placed it next to the list.

"Clean as if they've just been washed."

Shen Yue walked to the table and scanned the list.

"Which ones should we check first?"

Lin Chen spoke.

"Household registration."

Liu Buyu immediately separated the three pages of paper.

"First category: officials' families who changed their registration, three people."

He pointed to three names with the tip of his pen.

"Zheng Yuan, original place of registration unknown. Entered the Nanyang Prefecture household register five years ago, listed under a branch of the late County Vice Magistrate Zheng's family."

"Xu Manniang, her identity is listed as a merchant's widow, but her marriage certificate number does not match the old Prefecture files."

"Luo Qing, a minor Clerk at the Provincial Administration Commission. His resume starts from the 41st year of Qianyuan, with a full eight-year gap before that."

Zhou Tie lowered his brows.

"He can still get into the Provincial Administration Commission with an eight-year gap?"

Liu Buyu looked at him.

"If someone stamps the Seal, he can get in."

Zhao Gang tapped his scabbard lightly against the doorframe.

"Who is the person who stamped it?"

Liu Buyu didn't answer immediately, only pushing the old duty roster forward.

"We are still missing one complete Seal for now."

Lin Chen said.

"Continue."

Liu Buyu turned another page.

"Second category: former refugees, five people."

He pointed to the names on the paper, his speaking speed slightly faster than usual.

"Chen Tian, a porter on White Tiger Street, had no registration ten years ago."

"Sun Erbao, a dock worker, registered eight years ago."

"Liu Xiaoshuan, changed his name to Liu Cheng, currently a shop assistant at an outer Wang family shop."

"Tao Jiu, currently a pharmacy apprentice."

"Meng Dong, a bookkeeper at a carriage and horse firm in the west of the city."

Zhou Tie's expression changed when he heard the four words "pharmacy apprentice."

"Another pharmacy?"

Shen Yue looked at Liu Buyu.

"Which pharmacy does Tao Jiu work at?"

Liu Buyu turned to the back page and his fingertip stopped.

"The Wang's Pharmacy in the west of the city."

Zhao Gang straightened up.

"The one on Wang Xuan's escape route."

The room went quiet for a moment.

Liu Buyu said in a low voice.

"This is no longer a coincidence."

Lin Chen looked at the third page.

"Merchant apprentices."

Liu Buyu nodded.

"Third category: merchant apprentices, nine people."

He turned the paper toward the others.

"These people are ostensibly scattered across cloth shops, pharmacies, iron shops, carriage and horse firms, and grain stores, but in reality, the accounts of four of these shops all have financial dealings with the Wang Family Main Residence Living accounts."

Zhou Tie gritted his teeth.

"Seventeen people, and all of them are connected to the Wang family?"

Liu Buyu looked up.

"As it stands, at least thirteen can be connected."

Shen Yue asked.

"What about the remaining four?"

Liu Buyu flipped out another piece of paper.

"Two have blank places of registration, one has a altered resume, and one has no mother's name in the household register."

Zhao Gang's face turned black as he listened.

"No mother's name, and they can still be registered?"

Liu Buyu looked at him.

"If it were a normal household register, no."

Zhou Tie added in a low voice.

"If they are from Qingyun Ridge, then yes."

As these words fell, the lamplight in the room flickered.

Lin Chen raised his eyes.

"Invite Zhou Huaiyi over."

Shen Yue immediately said.

"His health cannot support a long interrogation."

Lin Chen looked at her.

"Just to identify the list."

Zhou Tie picked up his iron spear.

"Shall I go to the Governors Mansion to fetch him?"

Lin Chen shook his head.

"Do not move the person; take the list to him."

Zhao Gang nodded.

"Right, if the person moves, the Wang family will bite."

Lin Chen looked at Zhou Tie and He Jian.

"Take a copy to the side courtyard of the Governors Mansion. Zhou Huaiyi is only to look at the names; do not ask for a long statement."

He Jian walked in from the doorway, the medicinal cloth on his left arm changed again, his right hand gripping a short blade.

"I will go."

Zhou Tie glanced at him.

"If your arm bleeds any more, Head Zhao really will tie you to the bed."

He Jian glanced at his own left arm.

"It won't hinder my movements."

Zhao Gang sneered from behind.

"If you keep acting tough, I'll get the rope first."

Shen Yue folded the copy of the list and handed it to Zhou Tie.

"Don't let the list out of your hands on the way."

Zhou Tie took it and tucked it into his bosom.

"If the list is lost, I'll bring myself back in custody."

Liu Buyu added a remark.

"Don't bring yourself, just bring the list."

Zhou Tie glanced at him.

"Old Liu, your mouth is really asking for it today."

Liu Buyu bowed his head and continued writing.

"I'm just afraid the case will end up with one more useless piece of evidence."

Zhao Gang laughed.

"Can this sentence be entered into the case file?"

Liu Buyu looked up.

"Do you want to be entered along with him?"

Zhao Gang immediately waved his hand.

"Forget I said anything."

Half an hour later, the lights in the side courtyard of the Governors Mansion were lit again.

Zhou Huaiyi was helped to sit at the head of the bed, a thick blanket draped over his shoulders, his complexion still terrifyingly pale.

A-Shi was sitting at the foot of the bed, clutching a water skin, and immediately stood up when he saw Zhou Tie and He Jian enter.

"Is it the Wang family again?"

Zhou Tie lowered his voice.

"No, there was a fight at the Main Courtyard, and we didn't let them in."

A-Shi asked nervously.

"Is Lin Chen hurt?"

He Jian answered.

"No."

A-Shi breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at He Jian's left arm.

"You are hurt."

He Jian looked down at the medicinal cloth.

"A minor injury."

A-Shi said in a low voice.

"You all say it's a minor injury."

Zhou Tie was momentarily stumped by this, and reached out to ruffle his hair.

"You child, you have sharp eyes."

Zhou Huaiyi coughed twice.

"Where is the list?"

Zhou Tie immediately took the copy from his bosom.

"The Inspector said to only let you identify the names, and to stop if you can't hold on."

Zhou Huaiyi looked down at the paper, his finger sliding across the first column.

He read very slowly.

When he reached the fifth name, his finger began to tremble.

A-Shi immediately steadied his hand.

"Grandpa Zhou?"

Zhou Huaiyi stared at the two characters for Liu Cheng, his lips trembling for a long time.

"He is not called Liu Cheng."

Zhou Tie immediately looked at He Jian.

He Jian unfolded the paper and pen.

"Original name?"

Zhou Huaiyi closed his eyes.

"Liu Xiaoshuan."

Zhou Tie's expression changed.

"The list also wrote that Liu Xiaoshuan changed his name to Liu Cheng."

Zhou Huaiyi took two breaths.

"He is a child from Qingyun Ridge."

A-Shi's face turned pale.

"He is one too?"

Zhou Huaiyi nodded, his eyes full of old pain.

"He arrived before you, and left earlier."

He Jian put pen to paper.

"Liu Cheng, original name Liu Xiaoshuan, identified by Zhou Huaiyi as an old child from Qingyun Ridge."

Zhou Tie pointed to the next page.

"Who else?"

Zhou Huaiyi's finger continued downward and stopped at the two characters for Tao Jiu.

This time, his hand trembled even more violently.

"Tao Jiu is not his original name either."

A-Shi's voice was tight.

"What is his name?"

Zhou Huaiyi looked out the window, as if thinking of a wellhead from a long time ago.

"Tao Donger."

Zhou Tie was stunned.

"Donger?"

Zhou Huaiyi nodded.

"He was only seven years old then, afraid of the cold, and every time he delivered food, he would hide behind the door."

The pen in He Jian's hand pressed against the paper.

"Tao Jiu, originally named Tao Donger, identified by Zhou Huaiyi as a former child of Qingyun Ridge, now an apprentice at the Wang Family Pharmacy in the west of the city."

Zhou Tie gritted his teeth.

"The Wang Family Pharmacy, back in the hands of the Wang family again."

Zhou Huaiyi suddenly grabbed the corner of the paper, his breathing quickening.

"They didn't sell them all."

He Jian looked up.

"What do you mean?"

Zhou Huaiyi's chest heaved, and A-Shi hurriedly handed him some water.

Zhou Huaiyi touched the damp cloth, then spoke with difficulty.

"Some children were sold, others were kept."

"Kept to change their names, change their registries, learn how to speak, learn how to recognize people, learn how to write testimonies."

The back of Zhou Tie's hand tensed.

"And then have them come out to testify when they grow up?"

Zhou Huaiyi looked at the list.

"Yes."

A-Shi's face turned pale instantly.

"Will they also make us speak for them when we grow up?"

Zhou Tie crouched down and looked at him.

"No."

A-Shi gripped the corner of his clothes tightly.

"But they also said 'no' before."

Zhou Tie was silent for a moment, his voice dropping very low.

"Before, no one had written you into the Governors Mansion case files."

He Jian added.

"Now there is."

Zhou Huaiyi looked down at A-Shi.

"A-Shi, once your name is written in, there is a path for you to return."

A-Shi's eyes reddened.

"Then can Liu Xiaoshuan and Tao Donger still come back?"

Zhou Tie did not answer immediately.

He Jian looked at the list and said.

"Whether they can come back depends on whether they still want to be human beings now."

Zhou Huaiyi closed his eyes, tears falling along his temples.

"Some children might already have forgotten who they are."

Zhou Tie stood up and took back the list.

"I will take these words to the Inspector."

He Jian blew the record dry and folded it into oil paper.

"Let's go."

A-Shi chased to the door.

"Head Zhou, if you tell Lin Chen that Tao Donger is at the pharmacy, will he also hurt people?"

Zhou Tie stopped in his tracks.

"I will tell him."

A-Shi asked again.

"If he hurts people, is he still one of us from Qingyun Ridge?"

Zhou Tie looked at this child, whose shoulder bones were sticking out from thinness, and finally spoke after a long while.

"People who come out of Qingyun Ridge must also choose their own path."

A-Shi lowered his head and thought for a long time.

"Then I choose to testify."

Zhou Tie nodded.

"That's a tough path."

In the Main Courtyard, Lin Chen heard the words Zhou Tie brought back and did not speak.

Liu Buyu placed the record next to the list, his face darkening bit by bit.

Zhao Gang stood by the desk, his previous irritability gone.

"The Wang family certainly has a good scheme: selling children as goods, and if they can't be sold, raising them as witnesses."

Shen Yue looked at the name Tao Jiu.

"Tao Jiu is at the pharmacy, Wang Xuan retreated from the pharmacy, and the Grey Sparrow informant also went to the pharmacy."

Lin Chen tapped his finger on the desktop.

"The pharmacy is the opening."

Liu Buyu flipped out Official Chen Zhili's impeachment copy.

"And this."

Zhao Gang frowned.

"Looking at the impeachment papers again?"

Liu Buyu placed the impeachment papers and the list of seventeen people side by side.

"Look at these sentences."

He pointed to one of the lines.

"Lin Chen is acting out of private vendetta, forcing citizens to provide testimonies."

He pointed to another page.

"The Patrol Division breaks into private homes at night, disturbing the peace of the Prefecture."

Zhou Tie said impatiently.

"Isn't this just bad-mouthing the Inspector?"

Liu Buyu shook his head.

"The sentence structure is too uniform."

Zhao Gang looked at him.

"Is it a crime to be uniform when bad-mouthing someone?"

Liu Buyu picked up the copy of the old testimony.

"Look at Steward Wang Dehou's testimony shifting the blame; there's a sentence here too: 'The Patrol Division forces good citizens, coercing testimonies.'"

Shen Yue understood immediately.

"It was pieced together."

Liu Buyu nodded.

"In Official Chen Zhili's impeachment papers, many of the words look like old testimonies with a new face."

Zhou Tie cursed in a low voice.

"The impeachment of seventeen people, it turns out there was a draft all along."

Lin Chen looked at the impeachment papers.

"They were waiting for the right moment."

Zhao Gang continued.

"As soon as the Inspector investigates the Wang family, they will push these seventeen people out and say you acted out of private vendetta, say you framed them, say you arrested people indiscriminately."

Liu Buyu circled the names of Liu Cheng and Tao Jiu.

"But now, at least two of these seventeen people come from Qingyun Ridge."

Shen Yue wrote the words 'Wang Family Pharmacy' next to it.

"And one more is currently at the Wang Family Pharmacy."

Lin Chen spoke.

"Merge the case files of the seventeen impeachment petitioners and the Qingyun Ridge Living accounts."

Liu Buyu looked up.

"Merge them now?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Now."

Liu Buyu immediately took out a new case file and wrote two lines on the cover.

"Qingyun Ridge Living accounts."

"List of seventeen impeachment petitioners."

Zhou Tie looked at those two lines, and the pressure in his chest finally released a little.

"With this, they have gone from being the ones making accusations to being the ones in the case."

Lin Chen said.

"One must also ask the origin when making accusations."

Liu Buyu repeated it in a low voice, then immediately wrote it into the beginning of the scroll.

"One must also ask the origin when making accusations."

Zhao Gang looked at the case file, and after a long while, he spoke.

"Inspector, I will go search the old archives."

Lin Chen raised his eyes.

"Search where?"

Zhao Gang answered.

"The old archives of the Household Department, the supplementary registry books of the Criminal Chamber, and the employment records of the Wang family's external shops."

Zhou Tie looked at him.

"You're not going to hack people anymore?"

Zhao Gang pressed his sword back into its sheath.

"Leave the evidence first."

Liu Buyu's pen paused.

"Head Zhao, I can include this sentence in the case record."

Zhao Gang glared at him.

"If you dare to write it too pretentiously, I'll burn your draft later."

Liu Buyu lowered his head.

"I will only write 'Zhao Gang requests order to search old archives'."

Lin Chen looked at Zhao Gang.

"Take two teams, don't alert the enemy."

Zhao Gang nodded.

"I will only move the books, not the people."

Shen Yue returned from the doorway at this moment, with a small, dusty piece of paper in her hand.

"Grey Sparrow's hideout is empty."

Zhou Tie asked immediately.

"Ran away?"

Shen Yue placed the paper on the desk.

"The brazier in the room is still hot, the bed is not messy, he left in preparation."

Lin Chen asked.

"What did he leave behind?"

Shen Yue answered.

"A kite with a broken string, a fragment of a Provincial Administration Commission green-robed token, and half a burned piece of paper with the meeting time."

Liu Buyu immediately took the items.

"Grey Sparrow is starting to cut ties."

Zhao Gang sneered.

"He's scared too?"

Shen Yue shook her head.

"He isn't just afraid of the Wang family."

Lin Chen looked at her.

"He is afraid that the Provincial Administration Commission will abandon him."

Shen Yue nodded.

"I followed him to the dark alley of the outer residence and saw him meet a green-robed man."

Zhou Tie asked further.

"Did you hear what was said?"

Shen Yue lowered her voice.

"The green-robed man said that Vice Minister Chen will no longer acknowledge Grey Sparrow's line."

Liu Buyu's eyes lit up.

"If Grey Sparrow is abandoned, he might bite back."

Zhao Gang looked at Lin Chen.

"Shall we arrest him?"

Lin Chen looked at the token fragment Grey Sparrow left behind.

"No."

Zhou Tie was stunned.

"Not arrest him?"

Lin Chen said.

"Let him know that we know he has been abandoned."

Shen Yue continued.

"Force him to protect himself."

Liu Buyu asked immediately.

"What message shall we release?"

Lin Chen looked at the records of the Wang Family Pharmacy.

"Release the message that Tao Jiu has already started talking."

Zhao Gang raised an eyebrow.

"Tao Jiu hasn't been caught yet."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"That's why the Wang family will be anxious."

Zhou Tie understood.

"They will go to silence Tao Jiu, or move the pharmacy's secret outlet."

Shen Yue said in a low voice.

"If Grey Sparrow wants to live, he will rush to hand the person over before the Wang family does."

Liu Buyu sealed the fake message on a separate page.

"This page will not be entered into the formal case file; it will only serve as a line to lure the enemy."

Zhao Gang clicked his tongue.

"Old Liu can play dirty now too."

Liu Buyu looked at him.

"This is case strategy, not 'dirty'."

Zhou Tie snorted.

"You Clerks can always write traps in such a righteous way."

Footsteps came from outside the door; a Governors Mansion Personal Guard delivered a new reply.

The Personal Guard cupped his hands.

"The Governor has reviewed the new case records and asked me to bring a message."

Lin Chen took the reply.

"Speak."

The Personal Guard glanced at the merged case files on the desk, his voice very steady.

"The Governor says: Continue the investigation."

Everyone in the room looked up.

The Personal Guard added another sentence.

"Wherever you investigate to, send the case files there."

Zhou Tie said in a low voice.

"This is equivalent to tacitly permitting an investigation into the Wang Family Main Residence."

Zhao Gang hung his sword back up.

"Then let's start by tearing an opening from the pharmacy."

Lin Chen opened the reply and saw no extra comments inside, only four characters written personally by Nangong Xiong.

"Evidence first."

Liu Buyu looked at those four characters, his hand holding the pen steadying significantly.

"With these four characters, we can go deeper."

Shen Yue stood by the door, looking at the deepening night outside.

"Grey Sparrow will definitely make a move tonight."

Lin Chen placed the reply next to the case file and pressed his hand on the covers of the list of seventeen and the Qingyun Ridge Living accounts.

"Then let him move."

Zhou Tie asked.

"Inspector, where should the fake message be released from?"

Lin Chen looked at Zhao Gang.

"The old archives room."

Zhao Gang was startled, then understood immediately.

"I'll go move the books, and while I'm at it, let people hear that Tao Jiu has started talking."

Liu Buyu asked.

"How should it be said?"

Lin Chen looked at the words 'Wang Family Pharmacy' on the desk.

"Just say that Tao Jiu has confessed about the well behind the pharmacy."

Shen Yue added.

"And say he named a green-robed contact person."

Zhao Gang smiled.

"Once this news is out, both the Wang family and the Provincial Administration Commission won't be able to sleep."

Zhou Tie gripped his broken spear again.

"What about Grey Sparrow?"

Lin Chen looked outside the door.

"If he still wants to live, he will come to find us."

As soon as he finished speaking, two very light bird calls came from outside the courtyard.

Shen Yue immediately tilted her ear.

"Not our people."

Sun Qi ran in from the shadows, clutching a short black-feathered arrow in his hand.

"Inspector, it was shot in from the back wall."

Liu Buyu took the short arrow, pulled out the rolled paper from the tail of the arrow, and his face changed after unfolding it.

Zhou Tie asked urgently.

"What does it say?"

Liu Buyu placed the paper on the desk, his voice dropping very low.

"Grey Sparrow wants a meeting."

Zhao Gang asked immediately.

"Where?"

Liu Buyu looked up at Lin Chen.

"Outside the Wang Family Main Residence, at the old well by the west wall."