The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Wang Gang heard the resentment in Chai An's words and couldn't help but smile knowingly. He pulled Chai An to sit down first.

"Brother Chai, you misunderstood me." Wang Gang said earnestly, "I blocked Panlou for the sake of investigating the case."

Chai An said coldly: "The person died on the street outside. What does it have to do with my Panlou?"

Wang Gang said seriously: "Your shopkeeper has recognized the deceased as a frequent visitor of Panlou. He also visited last night. It should be that the accident happened when he was leaving Panlou after having a drink."

Chai An's expression improved slightly after hearing this, but he was still angry and said, "Brother Yuankang, you suspect the murderer is hiding in Panlou."

Wang Gang smiled and said: "Although the person is dead, it is not murder. We cannot conclude it yet, but we must seal off the area and investigate suspicious persons.

My boss Shen Huizhao is famous for being ruthless and impartial. If I don't ban Pan Lou, he will do it anyway, and it will be even more embarrassing."

Chai An sighed and said, "But if you close the building, how can I do business in the future?"

Wang Gang said: "It is a normal building closure and investigation. I will have my men explain clearly to the guests that not only your Panlou, but also the nearby businesses will be checked by Kaifeng Prefecture and treated equally."

Chai An said worriedly: "The guests of Pan Lou are either rich or noble. If you do this, it will be easy to offend people. I am worried about you too."

Wang Gang patted Chai An on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry! If there is any problem, of course the tall guy will take care of it. Since my boss Shen Huizhao said that he will take full responsibility, I won't be stupid enough to offend him."

Seeing how confident Wang Gang was, Chai An swallowed some of his words of persuasion.

"Brother Chai, if you want Panlou to be unsealed as soon as possible, please arrange for your employees to assist Kaifeng Prefecture in the investigation. I promise that once the investigation is completed, I will let you do business normally." Wang Gang said with a smile.

"How do you want to cooperate?" Chai An asked.

"Please ask the people who saw the deceased last night to come over first. I have something to ask." Wang Gang thought for a while and said.

"That's no problem, but there were quite a few guests who met Mr. Qian last night. Do they need to be gathered together?" Chai An asked.

"Ask the waiter first. As for the guests, I'd like to trouble you to comfort them first." Wang Gang said.

Chai An sighed deeply and had no choice but to do as he was told.

Wang Gang learned the identity of the deceased from Chai An.

The deceased was named Qian Dafu. He lived in the west of the inner city. He was in the grain business and was quite wealthy. It was said that he had relatives serving as officials in the court.

Qian Dafu was a frequent visitor to Pan Lou. He loved drinking and would spend about ten days a month in Pan Lou, drinking, meeting guests, or discussing business.

Chai An didn't have much contact with Qian Dafu. He only knew that he was a generous and open-minded person, and that he loved to drink. Nine out of ten times he met him, he was drunk.

Last night, Qian Dafu and his friends had a drink at Pan Lou, and the party ended very late. After seeing his friends off, he walked out of Pan Lou by himself, and no one has seen him since then.

The shopkeeper of Panlou told Wang Gang that when Qian Dafu left last night, he was already staggering, and the servants should have come to pick him up, but he insisted on walking home by himself, so the shopkeeper walked him out of Panlou before returning.

Qian Dafu was not dead at that time, but when the waiter opened the door in the morning, he found Qian Dafu lying on the street. When he went over to take a look, he realized that he had no breath.

When Wang Gang was halfway through his questioning, a yamen runner came over and whispered to Wang Gang: "Sir, I found a man who said he saw Qian Dafu last night."

"Where is the person?" Wang Gang asked.

"It's in the tea shop opposite Pan Building." The runner replied.

"Is there a tea shop opposite Pan Building?" Wang Gang asked in surprise.

"The tea shop has just been opened for a few days, but it is located right opposite Panlou. The two companies are in a competitive relationship." The yamen runner explained.

Wang Gang suddenly realized that he had been busy with government affairs this month and seldom came to Panlou.

"Lead the way, I want to question the witness personally." Wang Gang stood up and said.

The yamen runner led Wang Gang to the opposite side of Pan Building, and Wang Gang unexpectedly saw an acquaintance.

"Mrs. Li, is this tea shop opened by you?" The name of the tea shop is Li's Tea Shop. The owner is Mrs. Li, and her four daughters are also there.

As for the person who had met Qian Dafu, it was none other than Qiong Nu, Li Niangzi’s child bride.

"Sir Wang, the death of Mr. Qian has nothing to do with us!" Madam Li said to Wang Gang miserably.

The four daughters of the Li family wore veils and accompanied their mother, without missing a single one.

In order to settle down in Bian Jing, Madam Li bought a shop opposite Pan Lou and started a tea and snack business, naming it "Li's Tea Shop".

The tea shop had only been open for two days and someone had already died outside. It was really unlucky.

"Sir Wang." Madam Li Shouhua took the initiative to step forward and said, "I know you are investigating Mr. Qian's death. Qiong Nu saw Mr. Qian last night, so I specially notified the yamen runners."

Wang Gang clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Madam Li, for cooperating with the investigation. If other merchants can be as reasonable as you, the government can save a lot of trouble."

Madam Li said calmly, "Human life is of paramount importance. We don't want Mr. Qian to die with regrets."

Wang Gang turned to Qiong Nu and said, "Where did you see Mr. Qian last night?"

Qiong Nu was a little scared and timid. Madam Li advised: "Qiong Nu, tell Lord Wang what happened. Lord Wang is a good official and will not embarrass you."

Wang Gang raised his eyebrows and glanced at Li Shouhua, then said with a smile: "Madam Li, there is no need to provoke me with words. As long as Slave Qiong tells the truth, I will not embarrass her."

After receiving Wang Gang's assurance, Qiong Nu finally felt at ease and said, "I heard someone knocking on the door after I closed the shop at midnight yesterday. I opened the door and saw that it was Mr. Qian who was drunk and crazy. I was startled and closed the door again."

Wang Gang frowned and asked, "Mr. Qian, why are you knocking on the door?"

Qiong Nu said: "That's what's strange. Mr. Qian just knocked on the door last night without saying anything. Because the women live behind the teahouse, I didn't dare to open the door at night. He knocked for a while and then left."

Wang Gang asked: "What time did you knock on the door? Do you remember? And how long did he knock?"

Qiong Nu thought for a moment and said, "It must have been past midnight. Mr. Qian knocked on the door about ten times, and then there was no response. I didn't expect that he would die outside."

Li Shouhua said: "I heard Qiong Nu talk about this matter and felt it was a bit strange, so I informed you."

Wang Gang asked, "Has Mr. Qian ever been to Li's Tea House?"

Li Shouhua shook his head and said, "No, Mr. Qian is famous for his love of wine and not his love of tea."

Wang Gang asked again: "Do you have any business dealings with Mr. Qian? Why did he knock on your door in the middle of the night?"

Madam Li said anxiously: "I have only spoken a few words to Mr. Qian, we are not familiar with each other at all!"

Wang Gang heard this and asked Qiong Nu: "Did you see anyone else last night besides Mr. Qian?"

Qiong Nu quickly shook his head and said, "No, no more."

Wang Gang said: "So you might be the last person to see Mr. Qian."

"Ah." Qiong Nu was startled and almost cried out of anxiety.

"Master Wang, Mr. Qian's death has nothing to do with me!"

The Li sisters also became anxious, and they protected Qiong Nu and said to Wang Gang: "Sir Wang, please be careful. Qiong Nu has no grudge against Mr. Qian, and it is impossible for her to kill him."

"Lord Wang didn't say that it was slave Qiong who harmed Mr. Qian." Li Shouhua stopped her sisters from talking nonsense and making things worse.

At this time, a constable walked into the teahouse and whispered to Wang Gang: "Sir, the coroner from the Dali Temple has arrived. He has conducted a preliminary inspection of Qian Dafu's body."

Wang Gang pulled the constable aside and asked him carefully, then turned to Qiong Nu and said, "Miss Qiong Nu, I'm afraid you have to go back to Kaifeng Prefecture with me."

Qiong Nu's legs went weak and she almost fell down. (End of this chapter)