Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2869 Master Qingsong 87.0
"It shouldn't be just their superior's authority, or perhaps it's more than just their superior's authority; it's also their anxiety about their future, right?" Jin Miaomiao chuckled lightly, and seeing everyone looking at her, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Am I wrong?"

"Isn't that right? I just never thought about it before." Song Yaojia smiled. "Now that I think about it, it really is. They were just here to help. If their reckless advice causes Gongsun Yue's plan to fall apart, and these swindlers escape from their grasp, they might keep their official hats, but their performance evaluation next year will probably be..."

“That’s right, that’s exactly what Your Highness meant.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “For them, it’s naturally more important to help Gongsun Yue eliminate these swindler gangs in the capital. As for the rest, they’re not worth mentioning. By eliminating these swindlers, they can not only keep their official positions, but they might even get promoted.”

"Although they didn't get promoted after this case, they received a lot of rewards. Later, one of them became the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the other became the Minister of Justice, all thanks to this case."

"Only two?" Shen Cha blinked. "The other one?"

“It was Ning Zhou. He later resigned from his official post and became a monk.” Song Yaojia sighed. “He had a case before, the perpetrator was a notorious bandit. That bandit, in order to threaten him, kidnapped his parents, wife and children, and in front of him…” He shook his head helplessly, “and then committed suicide in front of him. Not only did he fail to catch the murderer, but he also lost his whole family. He was heartbroken. He originally wanted to follow his family in death, but he knew that only by living could he atone for his sins, so he simply shaved his head and became a monk to pray for his family and atone for his sins.”

"Isn't the one who truly deserves atonement that notorious bandit?"

“Ning Zhou is very filial, so it’s understandable that he can’t get over this mental hurdle.” Song Yaojia thought for a moment, “The monk who practiced silent meditation that we met when we went to Xiangguo Temple last time was Ning Zhou.”

"So it was him!" Shen Cha recalled for a moment, "It's clear this master has had a very bad experience, I never expected this."

“That all happened later, so let’s not go into it for now.” Song Yaojia waved his hand. “They realized their problem, so they quickly changed their minds. No matter what Gongsun Yue said or did, they agreed.” He sighed softly and said, “Gongsun Yue’s initial plan was to have the Imperial Guards stationed inside the mansion so that they could catch Gong Sheng and the others red-handed after they entered the mansion and started their ritual.”

"The plan is good, but implementing it is another challenge."

“It’s easy,” Song Yaojia smiled. “But Yan Chen said that Master Qingsong thinks the plan is a bit too simple and could easily arouse suspicion.”

"What raises suspicion is..."

"Gongsun Yue was thinking that after Gong Sheng entered the house, he would take him around to see what he could say," Song Yaojia sighed and said. "There's nothing special in Gongsun Yue's house. He sent all the things related to this to Jin Yi's house next door and asked Jin Yi's servants to help clean it up."

"It's too clean and tidy, not like a house where people live year-round." Shen Haolin took a sip of tea and looked at Song Yaojia. "There's not a trace of daily life here, which could easily arouse suspicion."

“Exactly!” Song Yaojia snapped her fingers. “Master Qingsong thinks anyone with eyes can see something's wrong here, let alone seasoned con artists who've traveled the world for years and seen countless people. Whether these con artists have real skills is debatable, but their eyes are certainly very sharp; they can tell what's going on with just a glance.” “Yes, Master is right.” Shen Cha held up a finger and said, “Whether anyone lives in this house, whether they live there often, whether there's any human presence—they can tell all that. These kinds of people have very keen eyes; if they really see something wrong with this house, they'll become more vigilant and suspicious. Although the people in this house would never let them leave, and they don't have the ability to, it's better not to use force, right?”

“Xiao Cha is right, it’s better to avoid or minimize the use of force,” Song Yaojia smiled. “Jin Yi, Yan Chen, and Ning Zhou also found Master Qingsong’s question very reasonable. This house was originally only used by Gongsun Yue for occasional stays, so many furnishings were missing, making it look rather empty and not very presentable. Plus, he had it cleaned again, which made it even more…” He spread his hands and said, “So, to make his house look less desolate, Jin Yi suggested adding some older, well-worn furniture and furnishings, as well as some calligraphy and paintings. Gongsun Yue went through a side door to see all three houses and preferred Yan Chen’s furnishings. Yan Chen then picked out a similar set of furniture from his own storeroom, along with some matching ornaments and calligraphy and paintings that looked harmonious, and arranged them for Gongsun Yue. Everything that was originally in Gongsun Yue’s house was gathered up and thrown into the storeroom.”

"Was the set that Yan Chen sent over used?"

“Yes, it’s been used.” Song Yaojia nodded to Shen Cha. “Yan Chen doesn’t have any other hobbies, but he likes to tinker with the decorations and furniture in his home. He’s a regular customer of many timber shops in the capital.”

"Making your own furniture?"

“He draws the plans and finds a carpenter at the lumber shop to make them, but he only uses them for a year or two before he gets tired of them and the novelty wears off. These pieces of furniture are either given away or left to gather dust in the storeroom.” Song Yaojia spread his hands helplessly. “The set he arranged for Gongsun Yue, according to him, is one that he has liked and used for a long time. It looks very much like a piece of furniture that has been lived in. Anyway, Gongsun Yue doesn’t spend much time here, so it’s nice to use his room to add some life to his furniture.”

"Indeed." Shen Cha nodded. "After all this commotion, Gongsun Yue's residence should be completely transformed, right?"

“It has a very real, everyday feel to it.” Song Yaojia smiled and said, “That’s the first point Master Qingsong pointed out. There’s a second point.”

"The second point?"

“They weren’t for Gongsun Yue, they were for Gong Sheng and the others.” Song Yaojia sneered and said, “He personally buried several talismans around Gongsun Yue’s residence. They weren’t anything bad, they were for praying for blessings. Some were very hidden, and a few were very obvious.”

"Does the advisor want to test whether the Gong family can actually see through it?"

"It's not just the Gong family; Master is probably wary of those traitors from the Yun family." Shen Cha sneered. "Although the Yun family doesn't have much contact with the Gong family, they probably won't miss out on this kind of excitement, will they?"

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia nodded. “Three days passed quickly, and on the appointed day, Gong Sheng and his group arrived in a grand manner.”