Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 27 Idea
It was already midnight when the group arrived at the city gate. Gao Yuntian ordered the gate to be opened, and the group returned to the county government office yawning.

All the detectives were staying in the official residence tonight. Gao Yuntian walked in front as he entered the county government office. When he arrived at the door of the official residence and looked back, he found that except for his men, Jia Chuan and the others... were gone.

Jia Chuan originally wanted to find someone to hold a case analysis meeting as usual. He felt uncomfortable keeping this matter in his heart, and Old Zheng was the best choice. He was afraid that Dong Shuben would go straight over after knowing the truth.

But Jia Chuan is now Dong Shuben's life-saving straw and he cannot be separated from him for a moment, so Jia Chuan signaled Old Zheng to run away with his eyes, and Dong Shuben immediately sensed it.

It was still the same small courtyard. After washing their hands, the four people sat on small stools in the courtyard. There was a pot of well water on the table in the middle.

The three of them didn't care whether the bowl handed to them by Old Zheng was clean or not. They poured water into it and drank it all.

The four of them ate some dry food on the road in the evening, and had long drunk up the water they brought with them. In such a hot day, water is the most conspicuous.

"Tell me, you must have thought of something, you acted like you've lost your soul along the way." Old Zheng spoke first.

"Your walls here... don't have ears, do they?" Jia Chuan asked.

Old Zheng laughed and said, "No one wants to go near this yard in the daytime, let alone at this time. Don't forget that there is someone living in the morgue. They won't come."

Jia Chuan nodded, took a deep breath, looked at Dong Shuben and said, "You have to hold on. I'll tell you and we can think of a solution together. I'm not very familiar with Ming Dynasty law, but maybe there's a way out."

After hearing this, Dong Shuben fell backwards without hesitation.

Fortunately, Shunzi was quick enough to grab him. Lao Zheng stepped forward and pinched his Ren Zhong. Dong Shuben coughed and opened his eyes. Shunzi helped him sit up.

Jia Chuan hurriedly said, "You can't bear anything like this mentally!"

Jia Chuan originally thought that if he made the matter sound more serious, Dong Shu would be more receptive after hearing it. But who knew that he would be like this before he even started talking about it.

"All the money is gone. My daughter won't have a generous dowry to support her husband. Will she be bullied to death?"

"You are not because of what I just said..."

"What did you just say?"

Jia Chuan was speechless and asked, "You've been thinking about this all the way here, why are you still thinking about this now that you're back? Is this the most serious thing?"

Dong Shuben took a deep breath, thinking of the weapons and bows in the warehouse, and muttered, "Yes, the ones allocated by the Ministry of War... are all gone."

Shunzi asked hurriedly, "This all happened while we were away. It shouldn't have anything to do with the Inspector, right?"

Old Zheng also said, "At most, he'll be reprimanded for neglecting training and poor management. It'll be hard for him to get promoted, but otherwise, it shouldn't be a problem."

Dong Shuben cried, "Without the chance of promotion, how can I help my daughter save enough for her dowry?"

Jia Chuan scratched his nose and asked, "If you can't even save your life, are you still thinking about these things?"

"Ah?" The three of them looked at Jia Chuan together.

"What he meant was that if such a big incident was caused by a traitor in your Inspection Office, not only the Inspector, but also the two of you would be in trouble."

The three of them turned their heads and looked towards the gate of the courtyard, but only Jia Chuan did not move.

Gao Yuntian folded his arms and tilted his head, looking at the surprised expressions of the people in the yard. He felt very happy. He walked to Shunzi and kicked Shunzi's stool. Shunzi stood up immediately. Jia Chuan quickly took away the stool and placed it on his other side, saying, "Shunzi, sit down!"

Gao Yuntian raised his eyebrows and said, "The county magistrate is currently unaware that there is a traitor in your Inspection Office. If he knew, he would immediately put the three of you in jail!"

"Then go tell him now, we'll wait."

Jia Chuan underestimated Gao Yuntian. Although all his questioning and verification today could probably lead to this direction after careful consideration, Gao Yuntian just didn't know how to think carefully. Dong Shuben and Shunzi, who were able to think carefully, didn't have the mind to do so that day, and Old Zheng didn't have it either.

This big idiot doesn't pretend to be stupid at all, but he can suddenly look a bit normal. His IQ is so inconsistent that there is no pattern at all. Jia Chuan sighed and shook his head.

Seeing that Jia Chuan was still not afraid, Gao Yuntian wondered if this kid was really different from the prince?
"It's okay, go back to sleep. You're tired after a long day." Old Zheng advised.

Gao Yuntian's rebellious phase came later, only beginning to show itself after he met Jia Chuan. He was too lazy to find a stool, so he plopped down on the ground and said, "I'm going to keep an eye on you and see if you're going to discuss something that could get you killed."

Dong Shuben's consciousness had returned by then. He stared at Jia Chuan with his mouth open and asked, "He said... there's a traitor among us?"

Jia Chuan was silent. He didn't know how to answer this question in front of Gao Yuntian.

Seeing Jia Chuan remained silent, Gao Yuntian assumed he wanted to hear his opinion, so he spoke, "I couldn't quite figure it out when I went to the scene that day. There were over forty of you. Even if there were more people, it would have taken a lot of luck to kill them all. After all, that was your territory. Besides, Jia Chuan said there were only about ten criminals."

Gao Yuntian paused, looked at everyone's expressions with satisfaction, and continued:

"Let's go again today. Jia Chuan asked us to find the people your men buried before they died. What's the meaning? Where is the pit? Naturally, only the people who buried the bodies would know. It would be too much trouble for us to search all over the mountains today. Could it be that they were carrying the bodies around looking for a good feng shui site and happened to see this pit? Besides, your armory was robbed. How can I say when you three can return to the Huangluling Inspection Office? I'm afraid you don't even know the exact time. The most important thing for those people is to run away quickly after killing people. If no one reminds them, how would they have time to think about stealing? Your small amount of money... I'm afraid only your own people know about it, right?"

In the moonlight, Dong Shuben's face was frighteningly pale.

Shunzi was not in a good situation either. He used to think that he was just an archer, and good things would not happen to him, and bad things would naturally not happen to him either. If Jia Chuan got lucky, maybe he could also benefit from it and become a minor official in the county government.

But after listening to Gao Yuntian's words, how could Shunzi not know that the linkage of such a major event was no joke? What is a traitor? It's the people who are around them on weekdays!

How can they remain unscathed when the people around them have committed such a heinous crime?
Old Zheng looked at Jia Chuan, opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

Jia Chuan looked at Gao Yuntian with disdain and said, "You spoke clearly and logically at the beginning, but then you started talking nonsense."

Hearing the word "nonsense" from Jia Chuan's mouth, Dong Shuben and Shunzi's eyes suddenly lit up. They looked at Jia Chuan expectantly, hoping to hear from him words that refuted Gao Yuntian.

"What does stealing weapons have to do with the traitor? Even without the traitor, they would still steal them! Our shabby place, called the armory, is right in the first room of the fortress. There's usually someone sitting at the door, and the lock is useless. Not to mention that it's just us who want to take it back, even if the emperor wants to come back, they will take some away."

Gao Yuntian wanted to refute, but after thinking about it, he tilted his head and felt that what Jia Chuan said made sense.

"This only shows that weapons are useful to them. Who is so bold as to collect weapons?" Jia Chuan asked.

"Those who want to rebel!" Gao Yuntian raised his eyebrows, his eyes sparkling. Jia Chuan frowned and said, "Isn't it a bit slow for those who are plotting rebellion to gather weapons from other places? Right now is not a time of war, and there are no signs of natural disasters, man-made disasters, or officials forcing the people to rebel. Those who are plotting rebellion can't even avoid the government, yet they are so blatant..."

"They thought we couldn't find them!" Gao Yuntian argued.

"Except for civil unrest, you know that anyone who plots rebellion has an army, no matter how many people there are."

"How do you know?" Gao Yuntian became alert.

Jia Chuan took a deep breath, picked up the well water that Old Zheng had just filled, drank it down in a gulp, and said, "Are there any bandits around Dongzhao County?"

Gao Yuntian immediately understood. He stood up and said hurriedly, "I knew it! Who else but bandits would go into the forest for no reason? And they were carrying long swords. If they were from the underworld, why would they go to the Inspection Office to commit murder? But why would the bandits go into the forest? Did they know you had hidden money and silver?"

Gao Yuntian looked at Dong Shuben.

Dong Shuben's heart originally refused to beat, but he compromised again because Jia Chuan led him to the bandits. However, when Gao Yuntian looked at him, as if to say that the disaster of the inspection office's extermination was all caused by him, his heart was about to go on strike again. Fortunately, Jia Chuan spoke in time.

"The money he has is a bit more than what the poor have, but it's nowhere near what the wealthy in the city or the officials in the court have. Perhaps just robbing someone on the road would earn him more than what he has. If you can't figure it out, then speak up. If not, shut up!"

"Then why do you think they went to the forests of Huangluling? Even though you're under the jurisdiction of the county government, I don't know how to find you. Usually, it's your people who come to the county government. If it weren't for the soldiers leading the way that day, we..."

Jia Chuan looked up at Gao Yuntian and kindly advised, "You should go back and have a shower. You don't know the whole story, and you're just being arrogant and talking nonsense. Not only are you making them nervous, but you're also being very noisy."

Gao Yuntian had never received such a lesson in Dongzhao County. Even if he had, it was the care between elders. He wanted to express his dissatisfaction, but he didn't know where to start. Jia Chuan was right. He didn't know the cause, so how could he infer the consequence?
"Then tell me the whole story. I want to hear it." Gao Yuntian sat down again in a huff.

"I don't have time to explain to you. You'd better leave. If you insist on staying, then shut up. If you speak again, don't blame me..."

Jia Chuan compared the two men's statures in his mind. Gao Yuntian was able to carry him and looked quite familiar. However, he had the physique of a scholar and his height was acceptable, but he was still half a head shorter than Gao Yuntian... He coughed lightly and said:

"I went to the county magistrate and asked him how he selected his officials. He actually chose you as the chief constable!"

Gao Yuntian was still confused. He had forgotten what he had just said: once the county magistrate knew that there was a traitor from the Inspection Office involved in this case, the three of them would be thrown into jail immediately. But after the debate just now, he had already forgotten about it. Now, hearing what Jia Chuan said, he was actually a little timid and really kept silent.

Jia Chuan frowned, looked at Dong Shuben, and said, "Look at you now. Impermanence is a daily reality. How can you not understand this after all these years? Even though we don't know whether this is a blessing or a curse, we are still sitting here. Even if there is still a chance to come up with a solution, why are you so anxious?"

Shunzi asked hurriedly, "Do you have any plans?"

Jia Chuan shook his head and said, "I didn't want to tell you this inference, but after thinking about it carefully, this matter...can't be kept secret. If I keep it secret, it will be difficult to explain everything. There are always people with quick minds above me. I'd rather let others point it out than let me tell them."

Old Zheng nodded and said, "You don't have anyone above you, so it's not wise to try to hide it on your own."

Gao Yuntian was about to ask, "You don't have anyone yet?"

Jia Chuan gave Gao Yuntian a look and he held it back.

"What I mean is, according to my own inference, when the prince sends someone, I will answer truthfully. The prince is a wise ruler. Uh, I just think the prince is a person who can be dealt with. No, I mean that the prince is reasonable. As long as he is reasonable, there will be fewer implications."

Gao Yuntian snorted coldly.

Old Zheng said hurriedly, "This case...is different from other cases. You'd better make plans early."

Gao Yuntian nodded.

Dong Shuben and Shunzi looked at Jia Chuan expectantly. Jia Chuan scratched his nose and said, "If there were no previous cause, we might not be able to escape. But there is a previous cause, so maybe...if it really doesn't work out, Lao Gao, you can give us some advice in advance, or relax the guards in the cell, and the three of us can find a deserted place to hide for a few years..."

Gao Yuntian couldn't help but say, "You wish! After all this talk, what's the reason?"

"If I had told you, you would have waited to join us."

Gao Yuntian was very righteous and stood up and left.

Old Zheng shook his head and said, "Why bother scaring him? He just thinks too highly of himself. Everything else is fine, so it's rare."

"I'm right. You're just a coroner, and no one would care what I say to you. Even if someone investigates, you can just say that I worked with you on the autopsy, and nothing will happen. But he, a captain of the police, insists on getting to the bottom of it. Didn't you also say that this case is unusual and it's best to distance yourself from it?"

Old Zheng was anxious: "How do you know that a coroner like me will not be implicated? Please leave quickly and don't implicate me!"

Jia Chuan was indeed tired. He stood up and said, "If even you are in trouble, your county lord will not be able to escape either."

"Then you don't know how many people were killed during the Hongwu and Yongle periods!" Old Zheng muttered in a low voice.

"The prince is different."

"How could it be different?"

Jia Chuan turned and walked out, thinking to himself that the history books didn't seem to mention that Zhu Zhanji had committed the same massacres as his great-grandfather and grandfather...

"I just said that, and you're really leaving? You've been implicated for a long time, and this time won't be the last one."

Dong Shuben and Shunzi had both stood up slightly, but after hearing what Old Zheng said, they sat down again.

Jia Chuan turned around and said, "I wanted to discuss this with you guys, but now I have an idea. There's no need to stay any longer. Go back to sleep..."

"You have an idea, but I don't!" Dong Shuben cried.

"What do you want to do? Just find your soul first. It's no big deal! Even if you're dead, you can just reincarnate. What can you be afraid of? It's better to live one day at a time."

After Jia Chuan finished speaking in a domineering tone, he turned around and strode away. Perhaps it was because it was dark and he couldn't see the height of the threshold clearly, or perhaps he was too tired and his legs were weak, so the threshold held one of his feet, forcing him to lie on the ground, and only screams could be heard.

……

(End of this chapter)