Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 15 Difficulties
Jia Chuan stepped forward, shook Cui Youzhi's hand tightly, then bowed and said seriously, "The Crown Prince ordered me to return to the Inspection Office to await his orders."

"A decree? Promotion?"

Jia Chuan nodded and said, "There will be new tasks."

"What errand?"

"Since I've earned the Crown Prince's trust, I naturally want to find out who caused all the danger along the way. Last night, I discovered that everyone from the Inspection Office died during the heavy rain. I inferred the time of death based on the degree of decay of the bodies. The bodies had fatal wounds, but there was very little blood around them, which must have been washed away by the rain. All the people the Crown Prince captured during the danger at Huangluling are dead, but one person died yesterday..."

Cui Youzhi pulled his hand back. He didn't want to hear the details of the case right now. He just wanted to know the general idea so he could report it to his superiors. He turned to the middle-aged man next to him and asked, "Did you write down everything he said?"

The man nodded.

Cui Youzhi looked just a little weak, nothing else happened, but in fact, his heart was like boiling water, churning violently. He was annoyed that there was a person planted by the prince in this place, but he didn't know about it. This person must not be someone the prince had just met. How could he give such an important task to this young man if they had just met?
This young man doesn't look even older than his son.

Therefore, Cui Youzhi did not ask, "Where did you learn the skills of a coroner?" The prince had his own arrangements, and since he had arrangements, it was simple. Cui Youzhi sat up a little bit, trembling and wiping the sweat from his forehead, thinking: It's not too late to know who this guy is now.

Cui Youzhi breathed a sigh of relief, then took a few more deep breaths before saying, "You've seen it too. I've personally been to the scene, conducting a strict inspection..."

Jia Chuan immediately responded seriously, "The County Honorable Man is dedicated to his work, responsible, helpful, and caring about his colleagues. He has excellent professional skills and business skills..."

Cui Youzhi felt that he understood, but also that he didn't, and was jumping between joy and confusion. Jia Chuan changed the subject and said:

"I hope the County Magistrate will investigate. Inspector Dong, I, and another clerk arrived last night and began to inspect the scene. We've taken detailed notes. Aside from the criminals who pursued the Crown Prince that night, all the others... died for their country. The stench of corpses permeates this place, and they should be quickly laid to rest."

Cui Youzhi listened very carefully, and without thinking, he said to the middle-aged man next to him: "Master Liu, please make arrangements immediately. Everything will be done by this person..."

"I am Jia Chuan, a clerk from the Inspection Office." Jia Chuan bowed.

"Follow Jia Chuan's arrangements."

Chief Lieutenant Liu repeatedly nodded in agreement, but he couldn't stand up. He hurriedly shouted, "Where is Captain Gao?"

The tall man straightened up quickly: "Here!"

"You take your men and follow... Jia Chuan to bury all the people from the Inspection Office properly." Chief Secretary Liu pointed at Jia Chuan.

Jia Chuan once again looked at the tall and burly man: he was wearing a dark blue robe, a badge on his waist, and carrying an iron ruler and a rope. He had a square face, a wide mouth, and a pale complexion, but his brows were furrowed, and he looked serious and solemn.

Jia Chuan bowed to Captain Gao and said, "Inspector Dong, Shunzi, and I dug several holes last night. I'll have to trouble Captain Gao and his officers to help with the rest..."

"Wait a moment! Since we are at the crime scene, we naturally have to check it carefully first. Where is the coroner?" Captain Gao shouted loudly, his stomach churning again. He used all his strength to suppress the thing that was surging up and trying to break through his throat. His expression was like that of a constipated person.

Liu Zhubo said anxiously, "Your donkey nature has taken over again! They, the people from the Inspection Office, have already checked. Didn't you just hear Jia Chuan say that a record had been taken? You just need to look at the record. There are so many... and they are all rotten like this. What else do you want to see?"

"Look at the deceased's injuries and see if the murderer left any traces!" Captain Gao couldn't help but vomit after saying this.

Jia Chuan naturally knew that Captain Gao was right. How could he just believe everything someone said? Because the Huangluling Inspection Office's jurisdiction was in Dongzhao County, they would naturally investigate the case first. Even if the case was transferred in the future, the next person to take over would ask questions clearly. Any questions they couldn't answer would be a sin.

But Jia Chuan also knew what the magistrate and the chief clerk meant. This place was where the prince had his adventures, and the case must have wide implications. No matter how the case was investigated, it would be impossible for him to escape unscathed. So when Magistrate Cui came, he asked about the cause of the matter. Knowing that the prince had someone he trusted here, he naturally thought of a way to get rid of this burden. He listened to Jia Chuan in everything, and if anything happened, only Jia Chuan would take the blame.

Dong Shuben didn't have the energy to think about these things. He felt that he was about to collapse. He had been tortured physically and mentally for days, and his stomach had been vomited out long ago. There was nothing to support him. Just when Jia Chuan wanted to patiently explain to Captain Gao, Dong Shuben fell directly into Cui Youzhi's arms.

Jia Chuan was startled and said quickly, "Except for those who are staying, everyone else should leave first. I'll trouble the magistrate and the chief clerk to give the inspector some rice soup and then find a doctor to treat him."

When Cui Youzhi heard the word "leave", he immediately gained strength and ordered Captain Gao and the other yamen runners to obey Jia Chuan in everything. Then he asked two people to carry Dong Shuben and left the scene very quickly.

The only people left at the scene were Shunzi slumped on the ground, Jia Chuan standing next to Captain Gao, an old man with a hunchback carrying a wooden box standing not far away, a dozen yamen runners, and five soldiers who escorted them back.

Captain Gao vomited for a while, then managed to straighten up. Before he could say anything, Jia Chuan said:
"Have them go find some rags in the house to wrap around their mouths and noses, layer them several times. Have half of them dig a grave, and the other half find a less smelly place to make a few stretchers. Do you know what a stretcher is? Besides the strong stench, the body is also very slippery. It would be difficult to carry it by the legs or shoulders for burial, and no one dares to do it."

After being reminded by Jia Chuan, Captain Gao realized that they could cover their mouths and noses. He quickly ordered his men into the house, dismantling bedding and using old clothes to make thick face towels for everyone. Then he dragged Jia Chuan to the back for a while. When the smell was less strong, Captain Gao straightened his eyes and said majestically, "I am Captain Gao Yuntian of Dongzhao County! I have handled countless cases. Don't try to deceive me. I only want to ask you, why didn't you let us examine the body? Is this case related to you? What is your purpose in bringing up the prince to scare County Magistrate Cui?"

Jia Chuan pointed at the hunchbacked old man and said, "He needs to examine over forty bodies by himself. After dark, do you dare to stand by with torches to help?"

Gao Yuntian's straight spine suddenly deflated. He imagined a creepy scene under the cover of night, frowned, looked at the old man and asked, "Old Zheng, are you sure you can check it out before dark?"

Old Zheng shook his head and said nothing.

"How many times have I told you that I've trained two apprentices, and you've been lazy all day, only knowing how to steal wine and drink..."

Jia Chuan reached out to stop Gao Yuntian, took out a notebook from his arms and handed it to him, saying: "You and Old Zheng should take a look first, but at the same time, we should arrange for someone to make a stretcher, otherwise we really can't leave before dark." Other reasons were of no use to Gao Yuntian at this time, but Gao Yuntian listened to the sentence "we can't leave before dark".

He quickly did as Jia Chuan said. He first ordered people to make a stretcher according to the style Jia Chuan mentioned. Shunzi knew where to find ready-made wood. He just needed to cut it into appropriate lengths and sizes, and then tie bedding on it. It should be able to be used temporarily. He also ordered people to dig a hole in the direction Jia Chuan pointed out.

At this time, the people who had entered the house also came out, bringing out rags of various sizes. Whoever caught the part that had been placed on the soles of the feet all year round was lucky.

The yamen runners and the five soldiers were given face towels and divided into two groups, one to make stretchers and the other to dig the pit.

Gao Yuntian then took the notebook handed to him by Jia Chuan, called Old Zheng over, and the two of them looked at the records together.

The more Old Man Zheng looked, the more frightened he became. He looked up at Jia Chuan several times and finally couldn't help asking, "H-did you check this?"

Jia Chuan nodded and said, "Find a few bodies and take samples. If they match the records, we can start digging."

Gao Yuntian was still frowning as he looked at the records. Old Zheng nodded, put down the box he was carrying, and took out a face towel and leather gloves...

Gao Yuntian saw it and shouted, "You stinky old man, why didn't you take this thing out earlier?!"

"If I give it to you, what should I do with it?" Old Zheng retorted.

Gao Yuntian glared and was about to show his anger when Jia Chuan asked, "Is there anything else you don't understand?"

"Uh...how do you pronounce this word?"

……

After examining only two bodies, Old Zheng stood up and said to Gao Yuntian, "I can trust him. He remembers more than I thought, and it's accurate."

Gao Yuntian looked at Jia Chuan scrutinizingly. Jia Chuan said unhappily, "I can see that your IQ is overflowing, but now is not the time to let it go. If they have more helpers, my brothers can rest in peace sooner, and we can leave this place sooner. Otherwise... you'll sleep with them tonight!"

Gao Yuntian said no more. He put on the 'mask' his men had given him and was about to stride towards the grave site chosen by Dong Shuben when a foul odor rushed into his head. He hurriedly took off the mask and roared, "Who put their feet in my mouth?!"

Jia Chuan walked past him and said calmly, "It's better than the stench of a corpse."

Jia Chuan did not go directly to the cemetery, but went to find Shunzi first. Together with Shunzi, he made more than 40 wooden plaques. He wanted to write the names of his colleagues on them and place them in front of each grave, so that it would be easier for their families to find the graves when they wanted to move them in the future.

As for those few survivors... let's see how strong the yamen runners are.

After the wooden plaque was made, Jia Chuan called Old Zheng, and the two of them worked together to carry the wooden plaque to the cemetery.

Jia Chuan's calligraphy is so impressive and thought-provoking that it can still be recognized if you look closely.

Old Zheng sat beside him, watching him write. He wanted to ask something several times but held back.

Jia Chuan didn't pay any attention to the old man beside him. At the beginning, he felt sad every time he wrote. Although these people were not very close to him in the past three years, they were the first people he had seen in this life. There was always a special emotion in his heart. He had been busy before, and now he sat down to write their names. Only Jia Chuan could understand the various feelings in his heart.

Jia Chuan pressed his moist eye sockets, reminding himself that he still needed to remain calm. He tried to shift his thoughts from the words in his pen to the case.

Jia Chuan wondered, were the men who came to kill Zhu Zhanji that night, hiding in the Earth God Temple, really the King of Han's men? Dong Shuben hadn't even asked, yet they'd already volunteered to reveal their respective residences. It made sense that they'd killed Zhu Zhanji that night and then silenced all the men from the Inspection Office. But then, while Zhu Zhanji was still alive, the entire Huangluling Inspection Office was killed, which made sense.

There has to be some caution and concealment when it comes to treason, right?
Zhu Gaoxu wanted to kill Zhu Zhanji who was returning to Beijing for a funeral. Even if he was confident, he would not tell anyone about it. Logically, no one else should know about it except the confidants of the Prince of Han's Mansion. Zhu Zhanji was hiding in the land temple, and the people who were chasing him only came later, and none of them escaped. If the news was passed on, it would only be after they escorted Zhu Zhanji away and someone really came here to inquire.

Zhu Gaoxu would certainly let his confidants pass on this kind of news. Could it be that one of his confidants had betrayed him?
If they had not deliberately left a person alive, Jia Chuan would have made such an inference even though he was unwilling to believe that it was the King of Han who did it.

He was unwilling to believe it not because he had any different opinions about Zhu Gaoxu, but simply thought it was unnecessary. He just needed to find out Zhu Zhanji's whereabouts and kill or rescue those survivors. Even if he ignored these survivors for the time being, Zhu Gaoxu might be able to do it, because for Zhu Gaoxu, the most important thing to do at that time was to mobilize the most effective force to hunt down Zhu Zhanji, rather than leaving people here.

Ten people against more than forty people, how much confidence does it take to dare to do this? Where does this confidence come from?
In addition to the strong abilities of these people themselves, their understanding of the Inspection Office is also essential!
Jia Chuan stopped writing. The murderer was obviously handing a knife to Zhu Zhanji, and Zhu Zhanji still needed this knife. The murderer calculated that Zhu Zhanji was willing to use it and would definitely not investigate in detail. I just don't know what they really want after handing over the knife?
Seeing Jia Chuan pause, Old Zheng asked flatteringly, "But which character can't you write?"

Jia Chuan didn't hear it at first, so Old Zheng asked again. Only then did Jia Chuan realize that there was an old man sitting next to him.

"Oh, no, I was distracted."

"What? How do you know what happens to a corpse two days after death? And what happens a few hours after death? Have you learned that? Are you willing to be transferred to the county government office to accompany me?"

Jia Chuan was stunned for a moment before he thought of this serious problem. He tilted his head and wondered how to explain his understanding of the corpse.
When Dong Shuben was reporting to Cui Youzhi, Old Zheng was far away and didn't hear anything. He just heard Cui Youzhi say before he left that he wanted Captain Gao to obey Jia Chuan. Old Zheng didn't think much of it at the time, but now he feels that County Magistrate Cui is just like him, with a keen eye for talent. If this man could be transferred to his side, he would no longer be lonely in the future.

(End of this chapter)