Jiapingguan Chronicle

“If Ma Xin deliberately set up a trap to frame the Ma family, why didn’t the Ma family defend themselves?” Jin Miaomiao spread her hands. “People in that line of work can’t just swallow their pride and bear the humiliation.”

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly." Song Yaojia sighed softly and said, "Although it was a suicide, it is still a murder case. In particular, the contents of Ma Xin's suicide note have put the government in a very difficult position. If the truth is not found out or the Ma family's innocence is not proven, they may really be charged with collusion between officials and businessmen."

"That's true." Jin Miaomiao nodded. "So?"

“Since this happened in an area under the jurisdiction of Huzhou Prefecture, we should naturally ask the Gong family, the most influential family in Huzhou, to uphold justice, but the Gong family declined.” Song Yaojia spread his hands. “The reason is very valid. The Ma family is related to the Gong family by marriage, and they need to avoid suspicion.”

“That’s true.” Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin. “If we don’t avoid suspicion, the Dark Fragrance Path, which is hidden among the crowd, will probably have something to say again.”

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia smiled and nodded, saying, “Although at that time, no one knew what the Dark Fragrance Path was, everyone knew they couldn’t give others a reason to criticize them. So, the Gong family chose to avoid suspicion, and the Ma family understood and supported this decision. Fortunately, besides the Gong family, there were several other families in Huzhou Prefecture who were also skilled in this art. The prefectural government invited them all to calculate the opening date of Ma Xin’s shop in front of the entire city. They calculated that the opening date would be the same as the Ma family’s.” He handed the teacup to Mei Lin, asking her to pour him a bowl of hot tea, and continued, “Even so, some people still suspected that these families were colluding with the Ma family, complaining about unfairness and such.”

"Ma Xin's accomplice?"

"It's hard to say. At the time, no one thought this involved remnants of the previous dynasty, so there was no question of whether they were allies or not." Song Yaojia shook her head. "These were just a few isolated cases. Most people agreed, because two of the families invited by the government were sworn enemies of the Ma family, the kind who would never associate with each other again. Even the opening date they calculated was the same as the Ma family's, which was very convincing. So, even if someone secretly instigated it, it had no impact. In the end, the Ma family's innocence was cleared."

"But Your Highness said before that this case was actually the beginning of the Ma family's evil deeds. If the Ma family is innocent in this case, then how did they commit evil deeds?"

"They probably saw a way to make money quickly," Shen Cha sneered. "This case has the Huzhou government vouching for them, proving they have real skills, so they can proceed as follows..."

"Do whatever you want? Scam and cheat?"

"That's pretty much the gist of it." Song Yaojia nodded. "The Ma family is quite a large and influential family in Huzhou. They have taken in many apprentices, but these apprentices are of varying quality. Some are quick-witted and eager to learn and have exceptional talent, while others are simply unteachable and are just there to coast along."

“Those with exceptional talent can make money and elevate the Ma family’s reputation, but those who just coast along,” Jin Miaomiao paused, “would probably be looked down upon? In a family like the Ma family that treats people differently based on their status, life wouldn’t be easy.”

"That was true before the Ma Xin case, but after this case, everything changed. The head of the Ma family was inspired by this case. Since someone was accusing them of being frauds, they actually created a fraud gang. It can't be called a completely fraud gang. There were some completely talentless idiots who couldn't do anything, and there were also those with mediocre talent who were more capable than those scoundrels. They were good at feng shui, palmistry, and face reading."

"So, it was them who ran into my advisor and Gongsun Yue, right?" "Yes!" Song Yaojia nodded. "But not entirely. The Ding family and the Gong family were also involved. We'll talk about that later, no need to rush."

"So, the Ma family didn't consult the Gong family when they formed this gang?"

"Because they weren't sure if it would work, they didn't tell the Gong family at the beginning." Song Yaojia took a sip of warm tea, picked up a piece of mung bean pastry, took a bite, and said, "As the saying goes, a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow. The Ma family wouldn't be foolish enough to let them start on their own territory. They'll start from a small town in Zhongzhou and gradually build their reputation."

"Zhongzhou?" Jin Miaomiao frowned slightly. "It's not their territory. How could they possibly break through?"

"Although he's not from the Ma family, he's from the Gong family. Besides, there aren't any decent fortune tellers in Zhongzhou. The fortune tellers on the street are even worse than those good-for-nothing scoundrels from the Ma family! So, when someone like this appears, the people there are very welcoming of someone with such ability. According to the Ma family's plan for them, the first thing is to have those few with some skills build their reputation, take on a few cases first, and once they've made accurate predictions, their reputation will spread, and then their fees will be gradually increased."

"Got it!" Jin Miaomiao nodded. "First, offer good quality at a low price, then charge exorbitant prices. At that point, the quality might not be what it seems, right?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “After the Ma family and this small group made a name for themselves, they went directly to the Gong family. The Gong family also thought it was a way to make money, and this kind of money-making was much faster than taking on individual feng shui consultations and tomb surveys. Not only that, someone from the Gong family suggested that they could deliberately create some trouble to get the victims to come to them for exorcisms, prayers, and so on.”

“They really are capable of doing something like this.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “I heard my master say before that there are swindlers who scout out a house beforehand, and then deliberately make it haunted, forcing the house to find a so-called exorcist to exorcise the ghost. The exorcist they find is actually one of these swindlers. They receive a high fee and pretend to exorcise the ghost, letting the victim see the ghost being driven away with their own eyes.”

"That's what the Ma family did later. After all, you can't tell a person's fate by looking at feng shui, face, or palm," Song Yaojia sighed and said. "These are the kinds of things that cause people to die."

"Some victims have realized that they were the ones crying wolf?"

“That’s right, that’s exactly what they did.” Song Yaojia sneered. “And some of them were exposed to the face of the victim. They were very calm. They would return the reward to the victim without making a fuss. A few days later, under the cover of darkness, they would pretend to be robbers, break into the victim’s house, steal the property, and then kill the victim to cover it up.”

"Can't they catch them every time?"

"They didn't argue, there were no conflicts, everything was resolved amicably, and there were witnesses to prove they weren't at the scene. They really did manage to escape every time. They lived like this for about two or three years, committing about seven or eight crimes. Feeling incredibly capable, they went to the capital, thinking money would surely be better there." Song Yaojia shrugged. "But unexpectedly, as soon as they settled in the capital, they encountered Master Qingsong and Gongsun Yue. Their good days were over." (End of Chapter)