Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Zhang Sanlang sat on the stone stool for almost half an hour.

His gaze fell into the void, piecing together the fragments in his mind one by one.

Feng Jian.

Master Wang.

Yongning Nunnery.

Although he had previously discovered some connections, he always felt that something had been overlooked, and it turned out to be Yongning Nunnery.

All three lines are now connected!

Feng Jian's real name was Wang Jian, and he was the biological son of Wang Yuanwai.

Jingchen is the younger sister of Master Wang.

The three men each occupied one of the three places: the county government office, Wangjiazhuang, and Yongning Temple, like three nails driven into the land of Juancheng. One was in charge of personnel, one was in charge of money, grain, and bodyguards, and the other was in charge of the temple's concealment.

For more than 20 years, he remained silent and never gave himself away.

He remembered his trip to Wangjiazhuang that morning.

He deliberately mentioned Feng Jian in front of Wang Yuanwai, intending to alert the enemy and force him to reveal a weakness.

Zhao Xie is eager for concrete evidence, but if he investigates step by step, it may take two or three years to find anything.

Feng Jian, like him, was a clerk, deeply entrenched in the county government.

Master Wang was a gentry, giving him an extra layer of protection compared to Feng Jian.

The most difficult case was Yongning Nunnery, as Zhang Sanlang had no authority to investigate it.

Moreover, the Feng family were hereditary officials, and Feng Jian had served in the household registration office, so altering the records would not have been difficult for him.

Zhang Sanlang checked the records and found some clues.

For example, the records of Feng Pu's wife, Wang, are somewhat inappropriate. If she were the abbess of Yongning Temple, her secular identity information would have been removed from the household register and transferred to the monastic register.

The county government's household registration office would not retain her original ordination certificate, but it would have a cancellation record stating, "On a certain date, Wang, wife of Feng Pu, shaved her head to become a nun, with the Dharma name Jingchen, and entered into monastic life at a certain nunnery."

But continuing this investigation would not only take a long time, but it might also allow Feng Jian to handle the situation calmly.

This afternoon, he checked the records and found that only the clerks in the Household Department could access them. According to Old Woman Fang, there must be someone working for Feng Jian among them.

Zheng Qianxing was a man Zhou Quan brought from Leize. Liao and Wang, the two clerks, were from Tao Cheng's hometown. Judging from their impoverished circumstances, they didn't seem to have been bribed.

That leaves only Li Youtian and Qian Shouye, two replacements.

However, Feng Jian is Wang Jian, and this was something Li Youtian mentioned unintentionally, so it can be ruled out.

Qian Shouye was planted by Feng Jian!

In retrospect, those words did indeed have an effect; Master Wang, being rather impatient, went to Yongning Nunnery today. Old Woman Fang was able to overhear the private conversation precisely because she had startled Master Wang.

He just didn't expect that what Old Lady Fang heard was even bigger than he had anticipated.

Mr. Yan.

Next autumn.

Rebellions broke out simultaneously in various places.

He couldn't guess who this Mr. Yan was.

But the ability to coordinate uprisings across various prefectures suggests the presence of a considerable force behind it. Could it be remnants of the previous dynasty, spies from the Northern Dynasty, or a powerful figure?

These are not things that a mere county clerk like him can investigate.

He had mentioned Feng Jian to Zhao Xie.

Zhao Xie said he would investigate the evidence, so he did.

He had spies planted in Wangjiazhuang, and he had records of Wang Yuanwai's visits to Yongning Nunnery. But this alone wasn't enough for Zhao Xie to get the concrete evidence he needed. What he needed was to catch Wang Yuanwai red-handed the moment he committed the crime.

He suddenly remembered something else: Shen Jue's death.

At the beginning of the year, Shen Jue left his post to go to Beijing and was killed in Linpu County.

Kong Youan has been sentenced to be executed in the fall, and the case has been confirmed.

But he always felt something was wrong, and only took this opportunity to get rid of his rival because it was a rare chance.

It's true that Kong You'an was corrupt and lawless, and he had taken many lives, but killing Shen Jue would not have benefited him much. If it was for the five thousand strings of cash, his wealth was far greater than Shen Jue's.

I get it now.

It wasn't Kong You'an who did it; it was probably Wang Yuanwai's group.

Although Shen Jue did not concern himself with government affairs during his three years in office, as the county magistrate, he could not have been completely unaware of the personnel, finances, and income of the various departments of the county government.

Master Wang and Jingchen had been plotting for over twenty years, their biggest fear being that the new magistrate would suddenly take things seriously. Shen Jue had taken a considerable amount of wealth with him when he left office; killing him would both silence him and provide them with a sum of money to replenish their capital for starting a rebellion.

Their motives for making money differed from the conservatism of the Confucian school.

As for Kong You'an, he was never a good person to begin with, and he had a long list of murders on his hands. No one would care whether he committed one more or one less. By any measure, he deserved to be executed in the autumn.

Recalling what Zhao Xie said, as soon as Li Hang took office, someone quietly placed his information in the second hall.

So, looking back now, it's possible that Feng Jian secretly helped me gather the thirty-three charges against Kong Youan!

Zhang Sanlang shook his head. Even after two lifetimes, he was still shocked by the cunning of Feng Jian and his gang.

Old Mrs. Fang's warning saved him a lot of trouble.

He had been worried about when, where, and under what pretext Master Wang would make his move. Now that he knew the details, he could make arrangements in advance.

But he can't set it up by himself.

Li Hang was the true ruler of the county. Without his approval, he could not move the grain in the county granary or mobilize the soldiers at the city gate.

The evidence that Zhao Xie wanted needed to be handed over to him by Master Wang himself.

The hundred or so archers under Sun Jizu's command were the only fighting force Juancheng could muster...

The next morning, just past dawn.

Zhang Sanlang entered the ceremonial gate, but instead of going to the household room, he walked along the corridor toward the second hall.

He entered the room without bowing as usual, but pulled a slip of paper from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Li Hang.

Li Hang put down his book, unfolded the note, and frowned as he looked down at it. Zhao Xie, noticing his expression, put down his teacup, got up, and walked to the table.

Li Hang handed him the note.

Zhao Xie took the book and read it, his expression changing. When he looked up again, the lines at the corners of his mouth deepened, and he tilted his head towards Zhang Sanlang, "Come with me."

He turned and walked out, with Zhang Sanlang following behind him.

The two left the second hall and turned into the magistrate's residence. The courtyard was quiet. Zhao Xie went straight to the door of the east wing, pushed it open, and stepped aside to let Zhang Sanlang in.

A moment later, the door was pushed open.

Li Hang stood at the door, followed by Sun Jizu.

Sun Jizu was dressed in a slightly worn blue cloth robe, with a little sweat on his forehead, as if he had been dragged here by Li Hang from the training ground. He glanced at the furnishings in the room as he entered, his gaze lingering on Zhang Sanlang's face for a moment before settling on Zhao Xie's.

Li Hang let Sun Jizu into the house first, then turned around and waved towards the corridor.

The pageboy Zhou Ping ran over from the other end of the courtyard.

Li Hang whispered, "You guard the front gate. If anyone comes looking for me, just say I'm resting and I won't see anyone." Zhou Ping responded and turned to run to the front yard.

He glanced again toward the back door, where his old servant Uncle Zhou was squatting by the kitchen door chopping wood. He looked up when he heard the noise.

Li Hang nodded to him. Uncle Zhou didn't ask anything. He put down his axe, stood up, walked to the back doorway, stood there, and looked into the alley with his hands behind his back.

Li Hang then stepped into the east wing and closed the door behind him.

The four people sat down in the room.

The soft sunlight slanted in through the window and landed right on the edge of the desk.