Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 90 The Liu Family’s Big Treasure
Imperial City Division, main hall.

The Imperial Envoy Mu En and the next commander Cao Min walked in quickly.

Kou Heiyi and Yang Che, who had been waiting here for a long time, immediately stood up and saluted with their arms crossed.

Mu En sat down at the head of the table and waved his hand, saying, "I have already gone to the municipal shipping department to say hello. The municipal shipping supervisor has spread the word that he has sent Judge Li Lin to Pingjiang Prefecture on official business."

Kou Heiyi and Yang Che breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

After Yang Che failed to capture Li Lin, which led to his suicide, he immediately brought the body back to the Imperial City Division and reported to the commander Cao Min.

Things have come to this point, and it is no longer something that he and Kou Heiyi can control.

Li Lin was the judge of shipping in Song Dynasty, equivalent to the deputy commissioner of the highest level of customs.

Whether it was Li Lin’s death or asking the city shipping company to cooperate with them in concealing Li Lin’s death, neither of them had the power to do so.

Therefore, Yang Che had no choice but to report to Cao Min decisively.

Cao Min was shocked when he heard the news. Now that things had come to this point, he couldn't handle it anymore.

So Commander Cao immediately reported the matter to the Imperial Envoy, and asked Mu En to negotiate with the Municipal Shipping Authority.

Now that the Municipal Shipping Authority has agreed to cooperate with the Imperial City Administration, Guan Hao will not be alarmed in the short term.

Mu En sat behind the desk with a serious expression.

"Although I informed the Municipal Shipping Administration about Li Lin's death, we can only conceal it for three to five days at most. If it's longer... it will still arouse suspicion."

Kou Heiyi and Yang Che nodded slightly.

After all, Li Lin was the second-in-command of the city's shipping department, an important figure in the city's shipping department. Even if it was an emergency official business, it would be unreasonable for him to suddenly disappear for many days.

Mu En said: "So, you have to try to get some evidence within the next three to five days, otherwise our Imperial City Division will be outwitted."

Yang Che said, "Mu Tiju, Guan Hao has always been cautious in his actions. What if he hasn't made any unusual moves in the past few days?"

Mu En narrowed his eyes and said, "We'll keep an eye on him for two more days. If he doesn't make any unusual moves, we'll deliberately reveal some flaws to him!"

Kou Heiyi's expression changed, and he asked, "Are you trying to... alert the enemy?"

"That's right! He was alarmed and must have reacted. At this time, the person he contacted must be his direct superior. If he wanted to run away..."

Mu En sneered, "Then let him run away first. When he leaves the dock, we will arrest him and his boat together!"

Commander Cao suggested: "Tizhu, if this is the case, I'm afraid that the brothers in the third city alone are not enough. Why don't I transfer troops from the two cities and let them obey the orders of Koudutou."

Mu En shook his head: "Li Lin discovered Yang Che, and now Li Lin is dead. Although we have made remedial efforts, it is not clear whether our opponents really have no suspicion.

"If the enemy has noticed something, they will definitely keep an eye on Kou Heiyi and Yang Che's actions. As long as you mobilize the personnel at your next command post, they will be prepared."

Commander Cao asked, "What does lifting mean?"

"I will transfer someone from Bingjingwu to you."

The Imperial City Department has two major branches, the Marriage Affairs Department and the Ice Well Department.

On the surface, both organizations have functional identities that have nothing to do with espionage.

The official function of the marriage officer was to be a royal guard of honor, while the official function of the ice well officer was to be an internal department responsible for collecting and storing ice for the royal family.

But in reality, the main function of the marriage officer was to be the emperor's eyes and ears, and the official's henchman. As for Bingjingwu, it was actually the office in the Imperial City Department responsible for the judicial and military disciplines, which was equivalent to the gendarmerie in later generations.

Due to their different functions, the "Ice Well Officers" are not as good as the "Qinshi Officers" in detection and arrest.

However, deploying the "Ice Well Force" would be more covert and have the effect of a surprise attack.

Cao Min, Kou Heiyi and Yang Che all agreed and hurriedly left to make arrangements.

Mu En leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.

He did not want to call in the troops from the next command post, of course, for reasons of caution,

In fact, there is another reason, that is... the deputy commander of the next command post is Liu Shangqiu.

Liu Shangqiu was the younger brother and only younger brother of Wanrong Liu, the most favored lady around the emperor.

He had six brothers-in-law, one of whom was the emperor, and the other five were either civil officials or military generals.

Wouldn't it be better for this child to stay in the Liu family and be responsible for carrying on the Liu family's bloodline?

It is obvious that he doesn't have to do anything in his life and can just lie down.

But he refused!

I don’t know what’s wrong with Liu Shangqiu, he insists on joining the army!

He wants to be on the front line, fighting against powerful enemies, and be a man who can stand on his fists and walk like a horse on his arms!

The Liu family couldn't persuade him, so after weighing and selecting everything, they finally sent this great treasure to the Imperial City Bureau.

As soon as Liu Shangqiu entered the Imperial City Bureau, his brother-in-law, the emperor, cordially summoned Mu Tiju and gave him a detailed lecture.

Soon after, Liu Shangqiu's other five brothers-in-law couldn't stand his wife's nagging anymore and came to entrust them with tasks.

Their words meant only one thing: please, Mu Tiju, take good care of Xiao Liuzi and make sure nothing happens to him.

What can be done with the wooden lift?

He is also a worldly person. If he didn't understand the ways of the world, he would have been finished long ago. How could he have survived until today?

Therefore, even if it were not for reasons of caution, he did not want to mobilize the people in the next command post to carry out dangerous tasks.

A command post only has five divisions under its jurisdiction. If three of them are mobilized, it will be impossible to bypass Liu Shangqiu and let him know. What if he insists on going with them even if he cries for his parents?
What if he scrapes his knee and scrapes the skin?
It’s his mother’s fault!

It's really that person's mother!

……

The next morning, the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant closed again.

Yang Yuan rented two cars and had two temporary porters serve as servants.

One car was used to carry Dan Niang and Qing Tang.

The other one is used to carry tea sets, mats, prepared snacks and other items for the outing.

Mrs. Li stayed in the store, but she was not alone. When she went to look for a house yesterday, she hired a maid.

Ever since the incident with Liu Mo, Madam Li realized that although living alone was quiet, it was not very safe.

So when he went out to look for a place to live, he hired a woman along the way.

The old woman was a healthy woman in her thirties, with a strong build and a lot of strength.

Mrs. Li has already chosen a new residence, which is in Renmeifang, Qingbomen.

The original owner has not vacated the house yet, so it will take a few more days before she can officially move in.

The location of the house is just outside Qingbo Gate, right next to the West Lake. It is quiet but not remote.

This kind of place, with a small courtyard and a separate entrance, is not cheap to buy.

However, Mrs. Li was obviously a hidden rich woman and paid the full amount at once.

Qingtang helped Dan Niang, who had dressed up carefully, onto the cart, and the two donkey carts headed towards Phoenix Mountain.

Only an incense stick's time had passed since they left when a group of people carrying a sedan chair arrived at the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant in a hurry.

An old man with gray hair was sitting on the sedan chair, surrounded by a group of strong men in their twenties or thirties.

When these people arrived at the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant, they saw that it was closed, so one of them went up and knocked on the door knocker loudly.

After a while, the door opened.

A strong woman was holding a large bowl in her hands. She was slurping hot noodles with scallion oil in the soup while rolling her eyes at them.

"Clap, clap, clap, what are you clapin' for? You broke my front door, can you afford the compensation?

"We're closed today, and the sign is right here. Can't you read?"

The man knocking on the door was the Fang family member named Fang Jiao who had come to the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant to beg for money and accidentally discovered that his uncle had passed away.

Fang Jiao raised his nose to the sky and said, "Where is Manager Fang's widow, Dan Niang? Tell her to come out! We are Manager Fang's family!"

"Mother Dan? She went to Phoenix Mountain with her little maid!"

The strong woman poked her chopsticks forward and said, "Over there, it's only been an incense stick's time since they left."

"So when will she be back?"

"How should I know? Anyway, she not only brought people with her, but also hired two cars and brought food with her. I don't think she will be back before noon."

The strong woman said this impatiently, hooked the door with her foot, and closed the door with a bang.

"Hey! How can people in Hangzhou be so rude? I haven't even finished asking my question, and you dare to close the door..."

Fang Jiao was furious and kicked the door.

Such a large group of people coming in such a mighty manner had already attracted the attention of the Qiantang County detectives nearby.

Liu Canjun had greeted Chen Xianwei of Qiantang County.
County Magistrate Chen had already instructed the detectives to pay special attention to the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant.

Now, seeing that these people dared to kick the door, they were indeed here to cause trouble, and two constables rushed over immediately.

"How dare you, you dirty scoundrel, cause trouble on my territory?" Without saying a word, the constable took out his iron ruler and started beating him.

Fang Jiao was hit all over the head and screamed in pain.

But when he saw that the two men were in official uniforms, he became frightened and just dodged with his head in his hands, not daring to resist.

There was a reckless guy nearby. When he saw his brother being beaten, he clenched his fists and rushed over to hit him.

The old patriarch was so frightened that he shouted hurriedly on the sedan chair: "Tiger, stop it!"

The old patriarch stopped Huzai and did not dare to act arrogantly anymore. He quickly signaled to his tribesmen to let him down.

As soon as the sedan chair landed on the ground, he trotted forward, bowed and said, "Two officials, two officials, please calm down, please calm down."

The constable hit Fang Jiao's calf hard with the iron ruler before stopping.

The iron ruler hit Fang Jiao's shin, causing him to hold his calf in so much pain that he spun like a top in the same place.

The fat and strong woman heard someone kicking the door, so she picked up a door bar and opened the door aggressively.
Seeing that the constables were beating someone outside, the fat and strong woman closed the door with a clang.

Another constable squinted at the skinny old man in front of him and snorted, "What do you do?"

The clan leader smiled and said, "I am from Huzhou, and I came here to look for my relatives."

The constable scolded, "Who would kick down someone's door when looking for their relatives? This is Qiantang County, not your vegetable garden, what a bunch of unruly bastards!"

(End of this chapter)