Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 66: You Are Here (Sixth update, please subscribe first!)
Guangdong Provincial Surveillance Office.

Wang Shifang pressed his eyebrows tiredly and let out a breath.

Although he was the deputy censor, the main content of his work was still in the area of ​​education. For example, in a dozen days' time, during the academy examination, he would be responsible for inspecting the students from various counties and prefectures in Guangzhou.

But now his mind was not on that at all, he was only concerned about the situation in the Fang Mansion in the same city.

Why would the Jinyiwei come to a wild place like Guangdong?

But such a thing happened!

Just as he was sighing, a minor official came up behind Wang Shifang and whispered, "Someone has left the palace!"

Wang Shifang sat up straight immediately: "Who?"

"Butler Lai Fu."

Wang Shifang's eyes flickered. "This person is indeed a major suspect, but the Jinyiwei shouldn't let him go so easily. Is this a trick?"

The clerk said, "The Superintendent of Education is very observant. Lai Fu has injuries on his body, so it seems he was tortured severely!"

Wang Shifang snorted, "It seems Lu Bing doesn't trust Haiyue either. Is he still trying to trick us?"

Wang Shifang had no doubt about the defection of the Qionshan student.

The Jinyiwei may be extremely powerful, but they are also notorious. It would be fine if they had no hope of passing the imperial examination, but who among those who have the potential to become Jinshi would be willing to be their lackeys?
In addition, the other party is very self-aware and knows that he is just a playmate who accompanies Lu Bing in practicing martial arts. There is no need to say more about his choice.

What Wang Shifang was worried about was that this Qionshan student would not be able to deceive the Jinyiwei and would not be able to successfully bring the suspect out.

The first person to leave the house is very suspicious.

But it doesn’t matter, someone will take action.

"Explore again!"

"Yes!"

……

"Report to the Magistrate, Lai Fu was taken away as soon as he left the city!"

"Whose person?"

"Tian Fan Terrace."

Wang Shifang understood: "Tian Jiading, Fang Wei really didn't miss him. Ha! Let the Provincial Administration Commissioner interrogate him. If they can get the account books, they won't be able to threaten me!"

After a pause, he said in a deep voice, "Go keep a close eye on the Fang Mansion. If anyone else comes out, no matter who it is, capture them as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

Half a day later, the clerk came back to report: "Zheng Yishu has been released and has been taken to the secret prison!"

Wang Shifang's expression suddenly changed, and his breathing quickened. "That's right! It's this guy! Did you find out anything?"

The clerk replied, "They've already tortured him! He says he did see it, but he won't tell me where the account book is until he sees the official whose name is written on it!"

"Little man!"

Wang Shifang snorted coldly, "Does he still want to use this as an excuse to negotiate terms with me? Doesn't he even consider whether he's worthy enough? Go prepare the carriage!"

"Yes!"

The clerk responded and retreated quietly.

"This disaster is finally over!"

Wang Shifang breathed a sigh of relief, muttering, "I was forced into this... I was forced into this... I didn't want to be like this!"

Even so, after getting on the carriage from the back door of the government office, he still urged the driver: "Hurry to the solitary courtyard in the west of the city."

The driver understood what he meant, and with a flick of the reins, he steered the carriage quickly and steadily towards the west of the city.

The so-called independent courtyard is a secret prison.

It is a place where serious criminals are detained at the local level, corresponding to the imperial prison in the central government.

But in addition to the highly enclosed environment of courtyards within courtyards and walls within walls, there is another way.

For example, from the surface, it looks like a remote courtyard, without any dark atmosphere of a prison cell, but once you walk in, you can see a row of strong men with cold eyes standing there.

Most of them are the real elite detectives of the Censorate, and there are also a few bloodthirsty gangsters and desperadoes who specialize in helping the yamen deal with some shady matters.

Wang Shifang disliked these people very much, so he walked past them as if they were not seeing him, came to a house and pushed the door open to go in.

I saw a scholar tied to the torture rack, his body covered in blood, his facial features distorted, and he was grimacing in pain. It was Zheng Yishu.

Wang Shifang examined the prisoner and waved his hand, signaling the guards on both sides to withdraw. Then he came to Zheng Yishu and said coldly, "I am here. Where is the account book?"

Zheng Yishu opened his swollen eyes and looked at him vaguely: "You...you are..."

Wang Shifang put his hands behind his back and said with the air of a provincial official: "I am the Supervisor of Education in Guangdong. If you can ever obtain the title of Juren (a juren) you can become my tutor!"

Zheng Yishu said in a hoarse voice: "Wang Tixue? It's you?" "Alright! Stop pretending! Hand over the account book!"

Wang Shifang glared at him with disdain. "We all know Fang Wei better than you do what he's like. You can fool the Jinyiwei from outside, but you can't fool us! Hidden Mist Village, those suicide tales, they're all lies! The fact that you can share a bed with him isn't some bullshit Nightmare Town transfer, it's selling out!"

Zheng Yishu had never expected that a provincial education commissioner could be so rude in his words. He was stunned for a moment, staring at the other person in a daze.

Wang Shifang could no longer hold back. He grabbed Zheng Yishu's bloody shirt and said viciously, "The account book! Where's Fang Wei's account book? Hand it over!"

Zheng Yishu trembled: "I... I don't know..."

Wang Shifang stared at him. "It's impossible that Fang Wei wasn't interrogated before his death, but the autopsy didn't find any similar injuries. Tell me why? Because the murderer already knew where the account book was. They just needed to silence Fang Wei. And the only people who knew about the account book could be someone close to Fang Wei! You are the biggest suspect. Speak up! Speak quickly! Don't hide it anymore!"

Zheng Yishu was disoriented and spoke after a long while, "I only know one place where Fang Wei lives. He mentioned it several times in his dreams..."

"Yes! Yes! Right there!"

Wang Shifang was overjoyed and immediately released his hand, saying temptingly, "Tell me, I promise you a juren (academic candidate). When you return to your hometown, you'll be a master too. In the future, you'll ride in a grand blue sedan chair, travel in style, own thousands of acres of fertile land, and be honored by the magistrate. You'll enjoy a lifetime of endless glory!"

I made up my mind that I must not keep this person, and once I get the account book, I will deal with him immediately!
Zheng Yishu seemed to be moved by the prospect of the scholar, and stuttered out a place name.

Wang Shifang immediately threw him to the ground and walked out quickly. Just as he was about to order his confidants to search that place, he heard hurried footsteps and a figure running in: "It's bad, Ti Xue! The Jinyiwei have surrounded this place!"

"Arrived so quickly? Can we send someone out through the small path?"

"One or two people will do!"

"That's enough!"

Wang Shifang calmly said to his confidant, "Go tell that person the address. Now is the time to advance and retreat together. No one can escape. It's time for him to make a move!"

……

"What does Mr. Lu mean?"

"If it weren't for us, the Imperial Guards, who were responsible for arresting the suspect, then the Judicial and Supervisory Commissioners should have taken him away. Why did you, the Provincial Administration Commissioners, take Lai Fu away? Give me an explanation!"

"The Provincial Administration Commissioner is in charge of civil affairs and finances, while the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner is in charge of criminal cases and impeachment. However, in urgent cases, we can exercise discretion and all three offices can intervene. This local official's whereabouts are suspicious, so what's the problem with us arresting him?"

"What's the problem? You're asking even though you already know the answer! Well, I won't argue with you. Just hand him over!"

"Unfortunately, this person seems to have been tortured. He died after being taken to the Provincial Administration Office for questioning."

At the same time, outside the Provincial Administration Office, a group of Jinyiwei surrounded the place.

Behind Tian Jiading stood a large group of officials, gritting their teeth and confronting the Jinyiwei.

In the ninth year of Hongwu, the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office was established, and each office had a left and a right provincial administration commissioner, who were the emperor's agents in the local area, called the governor or the prefect, and were second-rank officials.

Later, with the emergence of governors and provincial governors, the provincial governor was no longer the top figure in the local area. In addition, the civil affairs he was responsible for were limited to routine matters, and the share of finances available to the provincial government was very small. Any money had to be reported to the central government for approval, and his power became smaller and smaller.

But even so, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. At this time, Guangdong Left Governor Tian Jiading was in the middle, and the third-rank left and right councilors, the fourth-rank left and right councilors, and all the officials of the Governor's Office were also present.

None of them dared to face the Jinyiwei directly, but now that everyone in the yamen had come forward together, and the chief officer was at the forefront, they immediately plucked up the courage and confronted them.

The two sides exchanged sharp words and refused to give in to each other. What made everyone proud was that when the Jinyiwei asked for the prisoner, Tian Jiading gave a direct answer with a hint of pride and sneer between his brows.

Manager Lai Fu is dead!
As for how he died, your Jinyiwei had tortured him before, so he died of natural causes due to the recurrence of his injuries. What does it have to do with our local government?

……

Just when the Provincial Administration Office and the Censorate's Secret Office were surrounded by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, in the northern district near Yuexiu Mountain.

This place is located on a higher ground, far away from the docks and main commercial roads, and is sparsely populated. It is the most deserted neighborhood in Guangzhou.

A figure slowly walked into the deserted alley, came to the designated address, walked around, and entered through the broken back door.

What appeared before his eyes was a dilapidated house overgrown with weeds, which seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time. However, after careful observation, the visitor finally saw a row of footprints on the ground before nightfall.

Following the footprints, he arrived in front of a house. He looked at the sky and realized that it was difficult to search carefully in the dark. In order to avoid any further trouble, he took out a tinder and threw it at the wooden shelf.

"Oh!"

The blood-red flame was only a spark at first, then gradually grew into a long vertical beam, casting a shadow on the wall like a hanged man, as if looking for a rope to hang himself.

It was like that night, Fang Wei's body was hanging quietly in the house.

The shadow looked at him, sighed softly, turned around and prepared to leave.

However, at this moment, his old body froze.

A young figure appeared in the originally empty yard.

Hai Yue was also stunned when she saw the figure who came to destroy the evidence. "Governor Tian Jiading and Deputy Provincial Governor Wang Shifang are both implicated in this case. I'm not surprised. But you... you..."

The night was faded by the rising firelight, revealing a strong and resolute face.

"Zhou Neitai! Iron-faced Judge Zhou Xuan! Why are you also colluding with them?"

(End of this chapter)