Jiapingguan Chronicle

"Was it really suicide?" Jin Miaomiao frowned. "Are you sure it wasn't the Ma family who did it?"

"The government office had the same concerns and invited several experienced coroners to conduct the examination. These coroners came separately, without meeting or communicating with each other, and they were unaware of each other's existence, but they all came to the same conclusion."

"suicide?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “All the circumstances at the scene, including the physical signs of the body, meet the conditions for suicide. Moreover, after comparing it myself, the suicide note placed next to the body was indeed written by Ma Xin herself, and was not forged by someone else.”

"I understand." Jin Miaomiao nodded. "What were the contents of his suicide note?"

"It was mostly his venting, the content of which was similar to what he said at the government office. For example, he said his death was persecution through collusion between officials and merchants, and that he had to die to prove his innocence and resolutely refuse to submit to such persecution. He wanted to use his awakening to warn the world that this world is not good, not as good as it is portrayed, and that the people are still being oppressed. He said the Ma family are swindlers who know nothing, and the government office is their backer. They are all colluding with each other and are not good people. We cannot be blinded by them," Song Yaojia said, sighing. "The whole thing is the same content, repeated over and over again, as if that would be enough to convict him."

"All of them?"

"Hmm!" Song Yaojia nodded, glancing at Shen Cha who seemed lost in thought. "What are you thinking about?"

“This style,” Shen Cha looked at Shen Haolin, “doesn’t it seem a little familiar?”

"It should be exactly the same." Shen Haolin nodded. "It's the same as what we received before, the content is almost identical, right?"

"Yes, I thought of that too." Shen Cha sighed softly. "Judging by the timeline, it should have been around the same time? Not more than a few years apart, right?"

Shen Haolin nodded, but before he could say anything more, Song Yaojia interrupted him.

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about?" "When we were very young, about ten or eleven or twelve years ago, similar remarks to Ma Xin's appeared in Jiaping Pass and the surrounding towns." Shen Cha looked at Song Yaojia and explained, "But I didn't actually see or hear about it; it was my older brother, Xiao Tian, ​​and Xiao Jing who told me. Hongye also said the same thing." She looked at Meilin, who suddenly understood, "Right?"

“Yes!” Merlin nodded, thought for a moment, and said, “Back then, we were young. When the old Duke and the old Marquis went to arrest people, we even went to watch the excitement. But…” She recalled seriously, “If I remember correctly, those spreading those rumors seemed to be related to remnants of the previous dynasty. Could it be…” She looked at Shen Haolin, then at Shen Cha, “that the Duke and the eldest brother suspect that Ma Xin is also a remnant of the previous dynasty?”

"Yes, it should be about the same." Shen Haolin nodded. "That organization of remnants of the previous dynasty is called the Dark Fragrance Path. They use three incense sticks as their totem. They mainly operate in the marketplace, creating various so-called injustices to incite the people and make them believe that the Great Xia Dynasty is rotten to the core, with officials and merchants colluding and disregarding the lives of ordinary people. Many years ago, about ten or twenty years ago, the Dark Fragrance Path operated in relatively wealthy areas, such as Jiangnan and the capital, because the gap between the rich and poor was relatively large in these places, giving them room to operate and allowing them to gain some support. They did do some things and gained some followers, especially with other remnant organizations cooperating with them, so they managed to establish a foothold in Jiangnan. However, later, the imperial court launched several crackdowns on the remnants of the previous dynasty, and the Dark Fragrance Path's influence was also significantly reduced."

"But it wasn't completely cleaned, right?"

“Yes, because the Dark Fragrance Sect isn’t very powerful, and what they do is all about harming themselves to create controversy. So, compared to other organizations, they’re not very conspicuous.” Shen Haolin looked at Song Yaojia. “Take the Ma family case, for example. They used suicide to incite suspicion against the government and dissatisfaction with the court, intending to stir up public opinion. But this will be quelled quickly. Once the truth is revealed, the people will have their own judgment. Besides, the Dark Fragrance Sect is a civilian force, established by some people who are obsessed with the previous dynasty. I don’t know how they’ve managed to survive.”

“So,” Shen Cha thought for a moment, “because they were not accepted or valued, they actually preserved some strength during the encirclement and suppression, because the little prince didn’t know about them, right?”

"Yes, that's the idea." Shen Haolin nodded. "The reason they were wiped out is because they were cooperating with other organizations. People from those other organizations were arrested and implicated them, which is how we found out about this organization. A small number of them escaped the purge. Although they survived, they couldn't stay in the capital or Jiangnan anymore, so they moved to the border. They originally wanted to use the same tricks again, but they didn't expect the people on the border to not buy it. No matter how much they fanned the flames or how much they cheered, they didn't get any response or recognition, which made them very confused."

“This place is different from the capital or Jiangnan. Nobody here will believe their nonsense.” Shen Cha chuckled and said, “Their stuff can only fool people who have never seen the world and live in luxury. In places like the border where you are always on the verge of death, they won’t fall for that.”

"So, after several unsuccessful attempts, they became somewhat frustrated and wanted to make a bigger scene, which resulted in them being reported," Shen Haolin said, taking a sip of tea. "Judging from this, Ma Xin should be a member of the Dark Fragrance Path." He looked at Song Yaojia, "Did they mention any special patterns on his body?"

"Hmm," Song Yaojia thought for a moment, "They didn't mention his person, only that his shop's signboard had a pattern of three incense sticks, but his shop sells these kinds of spices and powders, so we didn't think of it that way. Now that you've said this, it seems the Ma family isn't actually the problem, but was set up by the Dark Fragrance Path?"

"It wasn't exactly a setup, they were just unlucky and got caught up in it." Shen Cha sighed softly. "Ma Xin really wanted to open a shop, after all, the Dark Fragrance Path needs to make a living and can only survive through business. Besides, these people need a place where they can gather without being suspected. It's true they wanted to calculate the opening date, and it's true they invited the prestigious Ma family. If the Ma family hadn't been so perfunctory, they wouldn't have gotten involved." (End of Chapter)