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

Qian Laohei knelt before the table, his forehead pressed against the brick floor.

Kong Youan picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Tell me everything that happened that night, from beginning to end, in detail."

Qian Laohei raised his head, a few hairs on the black mole at the corner of his mouth trembling slightly. "Reporting to Clerk Kong, three days ago, at the beginning of the hour of You on the eighth day of the ninth month, I went to the old Zhang family residence."

He kept his eyes fixed on the table leg as he spoke, not daring to look up.

"That day, the people at the dock said that Old Sun was cursing me behind my back, saying that I shouldn't have taken his money. I thought to myself, we're all beggars on the streets, and he even lives in the same courtyard as the postman, why make enemies? So I went to his door in person to return the money."

Tao, the clerk, sat on the bench next to him, his teacup resting on his knees. When he heard the words "refund," he raised his eyelids slightly.

Zhou Qianxing stood behind Tao Yashi, his two mustaches twitching, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Qian Laohei and Kong Youan.

Zhang Sanlang stood before the table, listening with his eyes lowered.

"I entered the Zhang family's old residence and chatted with Zhang Shi in the courtyard for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. After we finished discussing the matter of the money, I took my leave. But as I walked to the courtyard gate, the three silver coins I had been carrying somehow slipped out and fell to the ground."

Qian Laohei paused here, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, "The postmaster saw it, but didn't say anything. I picked it up and put it away, then went back to my home in the north of the city with Donkey San."

"When we got home, I told Donkey Three to go to the kitchen to heat the wine while I went into the bedroom to change. I had just taken off my outer robe when I heard footsteps behind me. Before I could even turn around, I was hit on the back of the head with a stick."

His voice trembled slightly, "I fell to the ground, and vaguely saw Zhang Tiesi holding a kitchen knife, squatting down to search my arms. I reached out to block, and in a flash, my left little finger was gone."

Qian Laohei raised his left hand.

The cloth strips were wrapped thickly, and brown scabs were seeping out.

"When Donkey Three heard the little boy's screams, he rushed over from the kitchen. The postman had already snatched the silver beans and run away. Donkey Three helped the little boy up, tore off a strip of cloth and wrapped it around his hand, and tried to chase after him, but he couldn't catch up."

Kong Youan put down his teacup. "Donkey Three, where were you when the incident happened?"

Donkey Three moved forward half a step, his burly body blocking out most of the light from the desk.

"Reporting to Clerk Kong, I was in the kitchen warming wine when I heard Boss Qian screaming incoherently, so I rushed over. The bedroom door was open, and Boss Qian was lying on the floor, his left hand covered in blood."

"When the postman saw me coming, he ran out of the courtyard in a panic. I chased him into the alley, but it was so dark that I couldn't even see his shadow. I had no choice but to go back and take Boss Qian to get treatment for his injuries."

Kong Youan nodded, then turned to Yu Shoufen, "What did you find at the Zhang family's old residence?"

Yu took out three silver beans from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

Silver-gray, stained with dark red marks.

He then picked up a kitchen knife from beside his feet; there was a dried bloodstain on the blade.

"Clerk, these three silver coins were found in a wooden box in the east wing of the post office, wrapped in a tattered cloth. The kitchen knife was found in the woodpile behind the stove; the bloodstains were still wet."

Yu Shoufen laid out the items one by one and stepped aside.

Kong Youan looked at Zhang Sanlang, "Zhang Shi, do you agree with what Qian Laohei said?"

After listening, Zhang Sanlang suddenly laughed.

That smile didn't seem like the smile of someone who had been wronged; it was more like the smile of someone who had finished checking an account book in an office and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that everything was correct.

"Kong Yashi, Qian Laohei said he arrived at my house at the beginning of the hour of You on the eighth day of the ninth lunar month. I was indeed at home that day, and he did indeed come."

Kong Youan tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Qian Laohei's breathing became heavy for a second.

"He said he came to return the money. But when he entered the courtyard that day, he was carrying two packets of pastries, saying they were an apology to Uncle Sun. I did see those three silver coins. However, someone had secretly asked him to give them to him, which I refused."

"He said he went back to his home in the north of the city, and I followed him to commit the crime. First of all, I had never known where Qian Laohei lived. Would a shady broker who collected fees at the market docks really have his address written on his chest?"

Qian Laohei's mole twitched.

"Secondly, from Kujing Lane in the east of the city to the north of the city, pass through the main street, go around the county government office, and then pass through two more lanes. On the eighth day of the ninth month, the sun sets at 3:45 PM, and the curfew is at 9:00 PM."

"At the end of the day, before it was completely dark, the streets were full of people: those carrying loads, those pushing carts, and those packing up to go home."

Zhang Sanlang paused here, "If I had followed Qian Laohei and Donkey San all the way from the east side of the city to the north side, with so many people on the street, wouldn't a single person have seen me?"

Donkey Three's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Third," Zhang Sanlang extended his hand, "I'm a scribe, I've been writing case files for over ten years. Qian Laohei and Donkey San have been hustling in the streets for years, carrying loads at the docks, collecting money at the market—neither of them is easy to deal with."

He looked at Qian Laohei's left hand, which was wrapped in a strip of cloth.

"Those two burly men, and me, a sickly and weak clerk, snatched three silver beans from them and even chopped off one of Qian Laohei's fingers."

"Qian Laohei, tell me, when I was wielding a knife, did you just stand there and let me cut you? Do you even believe that yourself? If that's all you've got, how have you managed to get where you are now?"

Qian Laohei's face turned a deep liver color. "You! You caught me off guard! As the saying goes, a sneak attack is unpredictable and you'll die without even realizing it..."

"Taking advantage of your momentary lapse in attention," Zhang Sanlang interrupted him. "You said you were hit on the head and fell to the ground, and when I crouched down to search your lap, you reached out to block, and I chopped off your finger. You were hit on the head and fell to the ground, yet you still had the strength to block a knife?"

Qian Laohei's mouth opened and closed again.

Zhang Sanlang turned to Kong Youan, "And this kitchen knife. Qian Laohei said I just grabbed it from his kitchen. But according to the layout of the house he just drew, the kitchen is on the east side of the yard, the bedroom is on the west side, and there's a courtyard in between."

On the table lay a piece of paper, which was the house drawing that Qian Laohei had just made.

The ink wasn't completely dry yet, and a few crooked lines were drawn to mark the kitchen, bedroom, and courtyard gate.

Zhang Sanlang pointed at the picture. "If I had planned to rob them, I would have brought my own weapon. If it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and it was my first time going to the Qian family's house, and it was getting dark, how would I know where the kitchen was?"

"You found the kitchen in the dark, grabbed the cleaver, and then crept into the bedroom. Qian Laohei, how long did you take to change your clothes in the bedroom? Were you embroidering there? Besides, you said Donkey Three was heating wine in the kitchen!"

"Even if Donkey Three didn't see me, don't you, Qian Laohei, have family or neighbors?"

Sweat rolled down Qian Laohei's forehead. "You're talking nonsense! You...I...he..."

Kong Youan picked up the teacup, the lid hitting the rim with a soft, clinking sound.

Qian Laohei suddenly raised his head. "Poster Officer, don't try to deny it! The people living in the north of the city are all wealthy. They close their doors and windows after dark, unlike you poor bastards in the east of the city who are still wandering the streets after dark. What's so strange about no one seeing you?"