Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 23 Return to the Crime Scene
Jia Chuan vaguely remembered that Dapang had left his son a "Three Yang Cabinet," but which three Yangs? Jia Chuan couldn't remember.

Logically speaking, it was not his turn to bring this case to light. Even if Zhu Zhanji remembered that the three guards had made contributions, at most he would reward them with some silver and give them an official position. As Dong Shuben and Shunzi said, this was already very generous.

However, Zhu Zhanji had spoken to him twice in private about investigating the case, and it didn't seem like an impulse. Theoretically, Kuang Zhong was more suitable, as he had experienced all the hardships and dangers along the way with his leader, so there was no need to ask anyone else. But Kuang Zhong's body was probably seriously injured this time, and if he didn't recuperate for a while, he might even lose his life. But the emperor was anxious, and he wanted to get rid of this thorn in his side as soon as possible. How could he do it?

Jia Chuan remembered what Zhu Zhanji had said: I promised my grandfather that my hands would not be stained with the blood of the Zhu family.

This is equivalent to a disguised promise that no matter what his second uncle did, Zhu Zhanji would not take the life of his good second uncle.

But Zhu Zhanji was unwilling to give up!

The old ministers in the court were all left behind by Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi. These people would not fail to notice that Zhu Zhanji had some slightly unusual thoughts. It seemed that every dynasty had civil officials who were stubborn and steadfast in their remonstrations, and such things would definitely be written into history books. It felt like they were written into archives, and people who could see them were not just schools and employers.

Zhu Zhanji cared, so he wanted to find a reason so that even if he killed Zhu Gaoxu, future generations would think he was right.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanji was definitely not venting his anger to him on impulse, but talked about the investigation. There are some things that a high-ranking official may not be as effective as a small official.

The value of a person's life from beginning to end is the same.

Jia Chuan felt that his value in Zhu Zhanji's eyes was either to investigate the case or... to take the blame.

There are only three of them left in the Huangluling Inspection Office. If he doesn't participate, no matter who comes to investigate the case, when they really can't find a way to get the job done, the three of them will be the best material. As long as their imagination is big enough, the blame on the three of them will be huge enough, and they will suffer the punishment of life or death.

Dong Shuben didn't fail to understand the deeper meaning, he just didn't want to think about it too much.

Jia Chuan had long understood that Zhu Zhanji's thigh was covered with thorns. He had not yet found the right position. Perhaps if he climbed up there would be fewer thorns. But if he did not understand now, he would suffer minor injuries, or serious ones, and he might not even be able to save his life!

But he couldn't let go now. He had to make sure that when Zhu Zhanji came to him for the results, he could give an answer that would satisfy the top leader. Otherwise, even if he could escape the death penalty, he couldn't bear the punishment of life. Think about Jiaozhi, Lingnan, and the Northeast now...

Therefore, he still insisted on going to Huangluling. At least he still had a chance to stop others from talking nonsense. At least when his superiors asked him, he had something to answer. As for whether the answer was to Zhu Zhanji's liking... if not, he would just find a way to make it right.

……

The next morning, Jia Chuan was woken up by Shunzi. Thinking about riding a horse again, Jia Chuan felt very heavy.

Dong Shuben lay on the bed pretending to be asleep, and Shunzi pushed him for a long time but he didn't move.

After washing up, Jia Chuan said, "Don't worry about him. He was given the opportunity, but he didn't want it. I hope he won't envy you in the future."

Dong Shuben sat up suddenly and said angrily, "You know my daughter is not married yet. If anything happens to me..."

"Then just continue lying there. You're talking as if you cherish your life. You think you're so great because you have a daughter? Don't we want to live a good life?"

Just as Jia Chuan finished speaking, a bailiff came to call them to have breakfast, and Jia Chuan followed with Shunzi.

Breakfast was placed on the wooden table in the yard, with four plates of salty food, a few bowls of mixed chicken, and a few bowls of white porridge. Jia Chuan picked up a bowl of white porridge, put some pickles in it, found a place to squat down and eat. Halfway through the meal, Dong Shuben arrived.

……

Gao Yuntian did not eat with Jia Chuan and the others, but was waiting outside the county government office, accompanied by several donkeys.

Jia Chuan didn't expect that he wouldn't have to ride a horse this time, but he had never ridden a donkey before, so he followed the others' example and got on the donkey, and then he went out of the city in a hurry.

Gao Yuntian brought a total of five constables with him, plus Jia Chuan and his two companions, and Old Zheng. In total, there were ten people and ten donkeys. It was not a spectacular sight, and Jia Chuan felt a little embarrassed.

On the way, Jia Chuan found an opportunity to ride his donkey to Gao Yuntian's side and asked, "Did you do this on purpose?"

Gao Yuntian didn't know what he meant and looked at Jia Chuan with a frown.

"It's not like the county government doesn't have horses. You know the three of us still have leg injuries, so a whole carriage wouldn't be too much, right? With so many donkeys... are you planning to stay at Huangluling tonight?"

Gao Yuntian snorted coldly and said:

"Where did the county government get so many horses? Who rides horses and who rides donkeys? Horse riders run faster. By the time we reach Huangluling, we might have finished our work, and the donkey riders haven't arrived yet. If you think you can solve this important case by yourself, then you don't need us to escort you. I will prepare horses for the four of you."

"You ride on horses, and we take the carriage..."

"Could a carriage possibly enter the mountains? Besides, outside the city, a carriage wouldn't be much faster. And a carriage needs a driver. You're so arrogant! Just look at yourself. Most people on the street ride donkeys. We haven't even complained about our hard work, so where does your resentment come from?"

Jia Chuan was speechless after what Gao Yuntian said. Even his donkey felt ashamed. He slowly distanced himself from Gao Yuntian's donkey and returned to Dong Shuben and Shunzi.

"You're asking for it," Dong Shuben said angrily. "Our patrol office has a few horses, but they were provided by the Ministry of War. Where did the county government get so many horses? Are you keeping them?"

Jia Chuan ignored Dong Shuben and started thinking about where he needed to survey after returning.
The biggest mistake he made that day was to instruct the yamen runners to cut and tear apart everything that could be used in the house before he had carefully inspected the house. Now that he remembered to go back to the scene, he was the one who caused the most serious damage.

Jia Chuan was very upset, but his mind was blank at that time, so how could he think so comprehensively?

At this time, Jia Chuan had not yet remembered that there were soldiers guarding outside the forest and the scene seemed to have been blocked.

When the group approached the forest and saw soldiers patrolling on horseback, he remembered this incident. He hurriedly urged his donkey forward to Gao Yuntian's side and whispered, "When we left that day, the military commander said that outsiders were not allowed to enter. Let's..."

"Look at your lack of ability. How can that person be called a military master? He is just a small flag. Besides, can we be considered as outsiders?"

Looking at Gao Yuntian's proud neck, Jia Chuan said nothing more, because he had already seen a soldier riding a horse towards them, still shouting: "This road is blocked, let's take another way."

Gao Yuntian hurriedly introduced himself and stated his purpose, with a very flattering attitude.

The soldiers were unable to make a decision, so they turned their horses around and reported to the leader.

The group continued to move forward slowly, and soon they saw a shed built at the edge of the forest. Inside, a dozen soldiers were sitting, and a dozen horses were tied to the roadside. Gao Yuntian took a deep breath and urged the donkey forward. Jia Chuan and the others did not move.

For a moment, Jia Chuan actually felt a little respect for Gao Yuntian, but he was also worried that he couldn't explain it clearly and would arouse the soldiers' suspicion.
Jia Chuan was prepared to talk a lot, but unexpectedly Gao Yuntian quickly waved at them, meaning to go ahead.

This caught Jia Chuan by surprise. Was it so easy to let them go? Wasn't he afraid... what was there to be afraid of? Aside from the bones and rotting flesh, there was really no need to worry about what the county government officials could do in there. If they could, they would have done it that night.

……

It was already noon when we were walking through the mountains and forests again.

The group of people led the donkey in silence.

What was once the only place full of life in the mountains and forests is now surrounded by dozens of new graves. With every step he takes, Jia Chuan's mood becomes heavier.

Dong Shuben and Shunzi tied up their donkey and headed straight for the cemetery. They brought some leftover vegetables from yesterday. They should have brought some fresh food, but now they were so poor that they only had their lives left, so it was considered good enough that they could bring some food.

Jia Chuan had thought about asking Cui Youzhi for some sacrifices. He couldn't favor one over another among more than forty people, but preparing so many at once would also make it difficult for Cui Youzhi. Jia Chuan thought about first figuring out the case and finding the real murderer, and then when he had the ability, he could take care of the families of these brothers, which might be what these people wanted to see.

Seeing Dong Shuben and Shunzi heading towards the grave, Jia Chuan shouted, "Just pay your respects briefly and then come back to the cellar. We need to get down to business first."

After saying that, Jia Chuan looked at Gao Yuntian and said:

"Take your men and search the surrounding area for fresh soil, which would indicate disturbance. There should be a place where seven people are buried. Old Zheng, help me find if any of these seven people are wearing badges. If so, take them off."

Jia Chuan has always been worried about the waist badge. It wasn't on the survivors in the woodshed, nor was it on the place where the fight took place. So it could only be on the seven people buried by his colleagues.

At first, he thought that when his colleagues buried the seven people, they would definitely look for valuables and leave them behind. It was because of this possibility that he did not think about it further. It was also on the way here that Jia Chuan thought about it from another perspective. Even if the waist badge of the Prince of Han's Mansion was made of gold, none of his colleagues would dare to keep it with them. That is not wealth, that is disaster!

At that time, seven people needed to be buried, and at least ten or eight people were needed to dig the pit and carry the bodies. Among so many people, if only one with common sense noticed the waist badge, he would not move it. Even if someone was blinded by greed and wanted to take it out secretly, there would be no chance.

"We all have things to do, what are you doing?" Gao Yuntian shouted anxiously, interrupting Jia Chuan's thoughts.

"I'm going to look for other evidence. The sun is shining brightly right above your head. What are you afraid of? Wear a face mask. There will be some smell."

After Jia Chuan finished speaking, he headed for the cellar behind the house, saying as he walked, "Whether we can get back after dark depends entirely on how efficiently you do your job. Those seven people couldn't have been buried very far away, so they wouldn't have been willing to walk that far. They're probably around the house, so they won't be hard to find."

Dong Shuben said that seven people died that night, and the man who pretended to be dead at the temple gate injured six people. There were indeed six bodies in the house on the day he burned it, which shows that the seven dead people should have been buried.

After hearing Jia Chuan's mumbling, Gao Yuntian did not dare to delay and started to act with the constables.

Jia Chuan walked to the cellar and turned to Dong Shuben, "Don't you have a special account book? Go find it. We can go down and check it to see if it agrees with my inference."

Dong Shuben and Shunzi cried for a while, then walked over here wiping their tears.

……

The cellar is used to store some daily food materials of the Inspection Office. Dong Shuben cares about it very much. It is not too far from the forest to Dongzhao County or the nearby county town, but it is very troublesome to go into the forest every time to buy something. Therefore, after buying something, Dong Shuben will record it clearly in a notebook, live frugally, and refuse to waste a single cent.

But the scene in the cellar made Dong Shuben feel extremely distressed. There were only a few fruits and vegetables left, and many of them were trampled on the ground, not to mention the few pieces of meat that were left before, which were nowhere to be seen.

"They, they don't dare to destroy the cellar like this. It's not like I won't be back, and they don't dare to enjoy all the meat. They, they don't dare." Dong Shuben squatted in the cellar, picking up vegetable leaves with both hands, and said in a trembling voice.

Shunzi clenched his fists and said, "Look, it's really as you inferred. After those people killed our people, they didn't leave immediately. They really, really stayed with that person until the day we returned, put on a show, and then left."

Jia Chuan frowned. He had checked the footprints. They had followed the same path they had taken, towards the Earth God Temple. He hadn't found any traces of them returning. Where had they come from? Other routes... not many people knew about them.

"Since you have eaten so much, there must be kitchen waste left. Come on, let's find it." Jia Chuan said excitedly.

"What are you looking for?" Shunzi asked.

"Find them what they have left."

"What's the use?" Dong Shuben asked.

"See how many of them stayed."

……

The kitchen was a mess, and it had always been a mess. Dong Shuben couldn't stand it anymore, so he would order someone to clean it. He originally wanted to cultivate a piece of land and grow some vegetables, but he didn't know when the inspection office would be abolished, so he didn't put it into practice. Now he felt inexplicably fortunate. If he saw the vegetable patch destroyed, he would be heartbroken again.

But Jia Chuan still saw a different kind of mess than usual. At least everyone's rice bowls were cleaned and placed aside, and the rice and flour jars were not left open, scattered all over the floor, and the jars were empty.

Normally the mess is only around the stove, but the kitchen in front of them is a complete mess.

The泔水袋 is full, but it has never been full in all these years.

Dong Shuben is stingy, and everyone else cherishes food, so there is basically nothing left after each meal.

But now there was a layer of green flies standing on the泔水袋, and Jia Chuan had to wave his hands several times before he could see clearly inside. The vegetable leaves and green leftover meat with a sour and rotten stench went straight into Jia Chuan's brain.

He covered his nose and frowned as he looked at it, but in the end he didn't have the courage to grab it. However, he could see how wasteful those people were.

He turned around and walked out more than ten meters before letting go of his hand and taking a deep breath. Questions flashed through his mind one after another, making his breathing quicken.

(End of this chapter)