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

A moment later, Sun Zhonghe arrived. Xu Kai briefly explained the situation, and Sun Zhonghe's expression changed slightly, but he wasn't overly surprised.

"This is the arrest warrant. First, get Clerk Gu to sign and stamp it. Then, immediately take men to the interrogation room and seal up all of Kong You'an's case files, documents, and items in the cabinet. Not a single clerk in the interrogation room is allowed to leave."

Arresting Chen Youde and others only required a warrant issued by the county magistrate. However, arresting Kong Yashi required the approval of Gu Zhubu, the registrar in charge of county affairs.

Sun Zhonghe responded and hurriedly turned and left.

Xu Kai then turned to Zhang Sanlang, "Take Xu Shoufen and go seal up the shops of the Kong and Chen families in the county town. Seal up all the account books, goods, and money. After the case is concluded, you will be responsible for inventorying and cataloging them."

Zhang Sanlang nodded in agreement.

"Send someone to summon He Lantou. Tell him to lead his men to seal off the warehouses at the docks and arrest Feng the Scarface. Zhang, you take your men..."

Wu Yan had already left, while Lao Liu and Xiao Zhao were waiting in the barracks.

The county magistrate had a hundred archers under his command, who were under the command of three captains and Sun Zhonghe, the vanguard of the military headquarters.

Sun Qianxing had twenty men under his command, responsible for guarding the county government office. Wu Yan had forty men under his command, responsible for patrolling the streets day and night. The other two captains each led twenty men, one responsible for the city gate and the other for the dock.

Wu Yan unusually gathered twenty men for the day patrol to leave the city. In addition to each man carrying a short stick, they also unusually brought bows and arrows, waist knives, hemp ropes, hand shackles, rattan shields, and other items.

It was still dark. They knew the roads to Chenjiazhuang well and knew it would only take them half an hour to get there. Wu Yan walked in front, taking long strides, with Lao Liu following behind and Xiao Zhao running to keep up.

At the entrance of the county government office, Zhang Sanlang and Xu Shoufen each led several servants and went about their separate tasks.

The Kong family in the east of the city owns two large shops: a large cloth shop and a gold and silver shop, both located on the main street.

The Chen family owned five small and medium-sized shops, located at the entrances of various alleys.

The cloth shop wasn't open yet; the door was still closed. A servant went up and knocked, and the shopkeeper's muffled voice came from inside, "Who is it? It's not time yet."

"Ministers from the county government! Open the door now!"

The door panel was removed, and the shopkeeper peeked out. He saw Zhang Sanlang in his official uniform and the servants behind him, and his face turned pale.

Without wasting words, Zhang Sanlang simply said, "By order of County Magistrate Xu, this place is to be sealed off."

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, and was about to say something when he was rudely pushed aside by the servant.

The shop's account books, goods, and copper coins were not inventoried or registered in time; they were simply sealed off and guarded.

At the dock, He Lantou had already received the order from the county magistrate and immediately led his men to carry it out.

The doors of three warehouses—Fengrun Warehouse, Guangji Warehouse, and Shunhe Warehouse—were simultaneously banged on.

He Lantou stood personally at the entrance of the largest inn, Guangji Inn, a hemp rope clutched in his hand, his face expressionless. The door opened, and the waiter, seeing him, paused, "He Lantou? So early today..."

"Is Scarface Feng here?"

The waiter shook his head. "Hasn't been here for several days."

He Lantou frowned and ordered his men to search the warehouse thoroughly, but there was no sign of Feng Bazi.

We also searched several other warehouses at the dock, but found nothing there either.

He Lantou sent someone to look for Feng Bazi at his house, but the door was locked and no one was inside...

Wu Yan returned around noon.

They were escorting three mule carts, on which sat Chen Youde, Steward Chen, two stewards, and the accountant, among others.

Chen Youde wore a silk robe, handcuffs, and a hemp rope around his neck. His hair was disheveled, his face was pale, and the flesh at the corners of his mouth was trembling.

He saw the gate of the county government office and closed his eyes.

Wu Yan escorted the man into the torture chamber and handed him over to Fang Zhong'an.

Fang Zhong'an stood at the door of the torture chamber, holding a case file in his hands, his face showing both excitement and fear. His changing expressions were quite a sight to behold.

He was summoned temporarily because all personnel in the criminal investigation department were suspected of involvement in the case and had been taken into custody by Sun Zhonghe. At Zhang Sanlang's recommendation, County Magistrate Xu seconded Fang Zhong'an to assist with the case files, and this was recorded.

He Lantou arrived last.

He stood at the entrance of the county magistrate's office, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Feng the Scarface has run away. We've searched the entire dock, but he's not there. We've gone to his house too, but no one's home. The neighbors say they haven't seen him for two or three days."

Xu Kai frowned slightly. "Two or three days ago?"

He Lantou nodded. "No one has seen Ma Dashou since the night of his accident."

Qian Laohei's expression changed upon hearing this. "He's probably either escaped or been silenced. He knows a lot, so Kong Youan probably won't let him live."

More importantly, Sun Zhonghe also came to report that Kong You'an had also disappeared. They had gone to the county government and the Kong family's residence, but no one knew where he was.

Xu Kai didn't say anything, but simply told He Lantou to continue keeping watch at the dock, and sent people to check the intersection outside the city.

After thinking for a while, Donkey Three suddenly spoke up, "County Lieutenant Xu, could Kong You'an still be in prison? Or did he not return to the county office at all, but went directly to the prefectural capital?"

Xu Kai glanced at him, pulled a piece of paper from the corner of the table, wrote an official document, stamped it, and handed it to Xu Shoufen. "Take two men and ride to Puzhou. Find the prefect, explain the matter of Kong You'an, and ask him to assist in the arrest."

Xu Shoufen took the official document, put it in his pocket, and turned to leave.

In the afternoon, Registrar Gu held court in the main hall.

This is the main hall of the county government office. It's not used much normally; only major cases are tried here.

Gu Yansheng sat behind his desk, dressed in a green official uniform, his face expressionless.

Shen Jue didn't come; he didn't like getting involved in these matters. He simply said, "Registrar Gu, handle it," and went back to the back office for tea. Sun Lian didn't come either. This case was complicated, and Gu Yansheng liked to meddle, so he was happy to be left alone.

Qian Laohei knelt before the table, with Lv San kneeling beside him. Chen Youde knelt on the other side, his head bowed so his face was not visible. Steward Chen and several stewards knelt at the very back, their bodies trembling like leaves.

Gu Yansheng opened the case file and said in a calm voice, "Qian Laohei, repeat what you confessed to in front of Chen Youde."

Qian Laohei swallowed hard and began to talk about Huo Laogen's matter.

With each sentence he spoke, and each question Gu Yansheng asked, Chen Youde's face paled a little more.

When the topic turned to the night Ma Dashou was beaten to death, Chen Youde raised his head, his lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Donkey Three added from the side, detailing exactly when the attack took place, when they returned to report, and what Feng the Scarface said, word by word, in great detail.

Gu Yansheng had someone bring up the Chen family's account books.

A thick stack, with the title "Income and Expense Book" written on the cover.

Old Qian opened a book and pointed to a few lines of text. "These are codes. East means goods at the dock, west means land rent, and south means usury. This symbol means collected, and this symbol means unsettled."

Gu Yansheng looked at him. "You understand these codes?"

Qian Laohei nodded. "I handled all of these. Kong You'an was afraid that the accounts would be understood, so he asked me to create this set of codes. Only Chen Youcai, Kong Jiulang, and I know the details of each account."

Gu Yansheng opened another book, running his finger across the pages. "This book records how much money the Chen family has received over the years?"