Chapter 19 Everyone Has A Story

  That group of people got off the mountain and entered the Dajun Temple, which was just lunchtime. It seems that this donor not only had a high status but also donated a lot of incense money, otherwise the Dajun Temple would not have sent a senior monk to receive them, accompany them to play in the mountains and waters, and arrange vegetarian meals to entertain them.

  Feng Jianxiao didn't have time to care about the man's identity, he immediately rushed back to the government office on horseback to see Zhao Pushan. He casually found an excuse and told Zhao Pushan about Xia Zhen's true identity as Qi Wang's business partner, saying: "Sir, if Yang Wenxuan really has a mishap, not only will the Qingzhou scholars make a fuss, but also Qi Wang will be even more dissatisfied. At that time, even if the dissatisfaction of the Qingzhou scholars can be resisted, Qi Wang will just say one word and the crime of poor governance and banditry in Qingzhou will definitely come down. By then, I'm afraid even you, sir, will lose your official hat, and what treatment will you receive?"

  The county magistrate is equivalent to the director of public security, and it is his responsibility. If a major criminal case occurs within his jurisdiction, causing public outrage, and with someone as influential as Prince Qi exerting pressure, the outcome can be easily imagined. Zhao, the county magistrate, turned pale with shock and exclaimed: "So Yang Wenyuan is actually Prince Qi's man? What are we going to do now? The murderer is cunning and daring, and his whereabouts are mysterious. We have no leads so far, and I'm afraid it will take some time to catch him. If he strikes again at Yang Wenyuan... No, I must report this matter to the prefectural governor and the district magistrate immediately."

  "Hold on a minute!"

  Feng Jianxiao hastily stopped him and said: "Sir, you report this matter to the governor and the prefectural judge, it is indeed necessary, but this criminal case, you are in charge. Once the two gentlemen learn of Yang Wenguang's identity, they will inevitably push all the blame onto your shoulders in order to shirk responsibility. Who knows, they might even issue a formal document, leaving evidence behind. How can his safety be guaranteed? In the end, it still falls on your shoulders, sir. What would you say to the governor and the prefectural judge then? Would the governor and the prefectural judge be willing to share the moral responsibility with you?"

  Zhao Pushan gritted his teeth and said, "It's strange that those old foxes would take the bait. Once they find out about this, they'll just push everything onto my head, and they'll definitely issue a clear order to make it look like I'm the one who messed up. If Yang Wenguang gets into trouble, ha! They can just use him as a scapegoat."

  Here is the translation:

  "Now, Zhao Pushan seemed to have already seen a black iron pot coming down on his head and couldn't help but say with a sense of despair: 'Yang Wenguang is a scholar with a good reputation and social status, he has his own proper occupation, I can't possibly ask him to stay hidden in the government office all day, can I? But even though he has a good reputation, he's still just a common citizen, and as an official, I couldn't possibly assign some constables to follow him around for protection, not only would it be against the law and institutional regulations, but if word got out, people would say that I had received some kind of benefit from the Yang family, and I'd end up with a bad reputation... what can be done about this?'"

  Feng Jianxiao said: "As a law enforcement officer of the imperial court, it is natural that we cannot be swayed by private individuals. However, since we cannot take action ourselves, we can find someone to help us."

  Magistrate Zhao's face twitched, and he grabbed him, saying: "Old Feng, you must have a good idea, if you do, speak quickly, don't play dumb riddles anymore, I'm getting anxious."

  Feng Jianxiao smiled and whispered a few words to him, and Zhao Pushan's eyes lit up as he listened. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Ah ha! How could I have forgotten? If we're talking about being well-informed and having many connections, our Qingzhou Prefecture can't compare to their family! Let's force them to lend a hand. With their help, not only can we ensure Yang Wenguang's safety, but also compel them to assist me in capturing the murderer with all their might. It's a win-win situation, what a brilliant plan!"

  Zhao pushed his chin slightly and pondered for a moment, then slapped the case and said: "Go, immediately dispatch ten captors and ten quick hands to follow this official on a trip."

  Feng Xihui was startled and said: "With so many people, isn't the commotion a bit too big?"

  The majestic Qingzhou government's Push Official brought people to handle the case, only bringing twenty people, really how many? On the contrary, the problem is that Zhao Push Official actually brought not twenty people, but nearly two hundred people.

  Qingzhou Prefecture had only sixty constables and sixty runners, of course, this refers to the "regular official duties" with established posts. When an official goes out on public business, he must bring two deputies, each deputy brings his "helpers" and "assistants". In this way, when a constable goes out on duty, there are nearly ten people in total. Therefore, when Zhao Pushan summoned twenty people, it was actually two hundred people. Such a large team parading through the streets is indeed rare in peaceful times.

  Magistrate Zhao gave him a glance and didn't say anything, but Feng Xihui suddenly understood. He thought to himself: "These officials are more cunning than the Imperial Guards." With that, he slapped his forehead and went off to summon someone.

  Magistrate Zhao wanted exactly this effect, he no longer intended to tell the two gentlemen of the prefecture and the judge that Yang Wenguang was a subordinate of the King of Qi. Moreover, he himself had to pretend to be completely unaware, otherwise, once Yang Wenguang encountered an assassination attempt, those two gentlemen would shift the blame onto him, making him even more passive. But today, he deliberately made a big show in public, trying to make as much noise as possible, so that if something happened to Yang Wenguang tomorrow, he could at least bring up today's events and say that within his power, he had done his best to ensure Yang Wenguang's safety. What would the prefecture gentleman and the judge do then?

  At this point, Feng Xihui was stared at by him for a moment and already understood.

  Sixty bailiffs and sixty runners of Qingzhou Prefecture, only one-third of whom were usually waiting for orders at the prefectural yamen. With a single order from Zhao Puquan, half of them were summoned out. Although these people acted quickly, it took some effort to gather their deputies, helpers, and partners. It wasn't until after more than half a watch that everyone arrived. Zhao Puquan, dressed in his official robes, emerged from the yamen, mounted his horse, and majestically led his two hundred subordinates away with great fanfare.

  Xia Liu listened to Xiao Guan Shi's report on the people who had visited or inquired about him over the past few days, secretly remembering them in his heart. Afterwards, he let Xiao Guan Shi go to Pengjia Wuguan and took out the stack of visiting cards and invitations, one by one, to review and filter through them.

  Most of them were people who came and went frequently, some of whom Zhang Shisan had introduced to him in detail, while others were not very familiar with him, but that didn't matter, there was a small loudspeaker by his side. He didn't need too many inquiry skills, Xia Jiu could get a lot of useful information from her, such as the person's identity, the distance between himself and the person, and some general interactions or grudges. Of course, in Xiaodie's narrative, there were also many family trifles, news about cats and dogs, which could be automatically filtered out.

  Xia Yu finally picked out three most suspicious people: Lin Beixia, Geng Xin and Jiang Zhiqing.

  Xia Xuan picked out three suspects, all of whom had motives for the crime. The most suspicious one was Lin Beixia from Lin's pawnshop.

  Lin's pawnshop has now changed its name to "Lin Yang Pawnshop", because Yang Wenxuan is also the shopkeeper of this pawnshop, holding a small half of the shares.

  Yang Wenyuan was able to invest in the Lin family pawnshop because two years ago, a big fire broke out at the Lin family pawnshop, burning down one of their warehouses where many valuable items were stored. After news of the fire spread, all the customers who had pawned items there came with their pawn tickets to redeem their belongings, even those who didn't have enough money to redeem their pawned items borrowed money and were determined to get them back.

  Because of the pawnshop's rules, the pledged items are allowed to be redeemed by the pawner within a certain period. Therefore, before the deadline, the pawnshop cannot dispose of the pledged items. Now that Lin is unable to produce the original item, he has to compensate at a high price. Those who pawned their belongings are also being unreasonable. Even if they only pawned one cotton-padded jacket, now they demand three times its value as compensation and refuse to accept it. They insist that the jacket was passed down from their grandfather's grandfather and is a keepsake, which has great sentimental value. In modern terms, this is called emotional value. The owner doesn't want money; he only wants the original item back. What can you do?

  These pawnbrokers had squeezed Lin Zhanggui to the point where he was at his wit's end, and even thought of hanging himself. At this critical moment, Yang Wenyuan paid a visit, claiming that he had some connections with the Qi Wangfu and the Qingzhou Prefecture government office, and could help Lin Zhanggui resolve this difficulty. However, the condition was that he must be allowed to join as a shareholder and become one of the owners of the Lin family pawnshop.

  Thus, "Lin's Pawnshop" became "Lin-Yang Pawnshop".

  Nowadays, Yang Wenxuan's wealth and power are getting bigger and bigger. After gaining fame and fortune, he also has a certain status in the scholarly community and official circles. Gradually, the situation is becoming one where the guest is pressuring the host. If this continues, "Lin-Yang Pawnshop" will have to change its name to "Yang-Lin Pawnshop", and finally to "Yang's Pawnshop".

  If Yang Wenxuan is killed, when the Yang family comes from Ying Tian to take over the property of this house, they will inevitably sell various real estate. In that case, the pawnshop that has been passed down through generations in the Lin family can still be controlled by Lin Beixia. Losing the ancestral property is a defeat for the descendants, and even if they die, they have no face to enter the ancestral tomb. For Lin Beixia, this risk is undoubtedly worth taking.

  Geng Xin, the head of "Shengchuntang Pharmacy". "Shengchuntang Pharmacy" is a large medicinal material merchant in Qingzhou, with branches in Yidu, Linqu and Linzi. The owner's surname is Sun, and Geng Xin is a son-in-law who married into the Sun family, so his current full name should be preceded by the surname Sun, called Sun Gengxin.

  Lao Geng and Yang Wenxuan were originally just acquaintances, but the reason they became friends is also a story. The main reason was that at the beginning of last year, Sun's pharmacy had purchased a batch of counterfeit medicine, patients who took the fake medicine caused loss of life, the pharmacy fell into crisis, the store's funds were not circulating smoothly, so they mortgaged their house and shop to borrow a large sum of money from Xia Jiu.

  Of course, whether it's Linjia Pawnshop or Shengchun Hall Pharmacy, the two things that happened one after another were all secretly manipulated by Feng Jianzhu and others. Yang Wenyu became the "timely rain" for both Linjia Pawnshop and Shengchun Hall Pharmacy. Think about it, Feng Zongqi and his gang are just a group of people who are good at destruction but don't understand construction, what good methods do you expect them to have to support Yang Wenyu?

  Xia Xian had heard Zhang Thirteen say that the reason he suspected Geng Yuanwai was because Yang Wenyuan had never had good intentions towards Shengchuntang Pharmacy. The original purpose of lending money was to swallow up this pharmacy, and now the loan period has long expired. Yang Wenyuan has repeatedly urged repayment, Xia Xian suspects that Yang Wenyuan may have already revealed to Geng Yuanwai his plan to join forces if he cannot repay the loan, which would give Geng Yuanwai a reason to take risks.

  Killing the creditor can't get rid of the debt, but now there's only one person left in Yang's family in Qingzhou who can take charge. If he dies, it'll take at least a year or two for his clan to find out and send someone over to settle things. By then, the financial crisis facing Shengchun Tang pharmacy might be resolved. But there's still a glimmer of hope - desperate people may resort to extreme measures, and hiring someone to commit murder isn't entirely impossible.

  As for Jiang Zhiqing, he was the owner of a silk store. Xia Xian had helped An Yuanwai compete with him in business before. Moreover, when Yiyi girl from "Xiao Xiang Guan" put up her hairpin, the two men had also competed to win her favor by spending money lavishly, and Yang Wenxuan won in the end, so they had some grudges against each other. However, compared to the above two people, this person's possibility of hiring someone to kill is much smaller.

  After sorting out these three people, Xia Liu secretly decided that the first one would be Lin Beixia. With his learned criminal investigation knowledge and his ability to observe words and expressions, if this person was the real culprit behind the scenes, he would definitely be able to find some clues.

  Xia Jiang was screening the suspects when Zhao Pushan and Feng Jianxiao led nearly two hundred patrolmen, waving their hands and shouting as they rushed through the streets, heading straight for the West City. Many onlookers curiously chased after them until they left the West City, where the crowd watching the commotion returned in disappointment.

  In Qingzhou, ten miles west of the city, there was a manor belonging to the Peng family. The Pengs operated a carriage business, a shipping business, and a mule and horse business, and also controlled the pawnshops in Qingzhou. They even ran a martial arts school. All the local hooligans and rascals looked up to the Pengs as their leader. The Pengs were indeed wealthy and influential. However, their businesses involved both legitimate and illegitimate activities. Although they had money and power, they could only be considered as belonging to the class of powerful bullies, and were not in the same league as someone like Yang Wenguang, who was a member of the high-ranking official class.

  A large group of people walked towards Peng's house, immediately attracting the attention of those who were paying attention. Many villagers had a close relationship with Peng's family, and seeing Zhao Pushan and Feng Jianxiao wearing official uniforms, riding horses, with nearly two hundred bailiffs carrying swords and clubs following behind them, they looked majestic and powerful. The news quickly spread to Pengjiazhuang.

  Peng's family manager, Second Master Peng Wanli, was shocked upon hearing the news and immediately rushed to the rear residence to see his grandfather, Old Master Peng. The old master was already over a hundred years old, but despite his advanced age, he still looked spirited and vigorous, with a robust physique that belied his bent back, exuding an aura of grandeur and health.

  An old man wearing a lined jacket, black Kung Fu pants on the lower body, a pair of black cloth shoes on his feet, holding a shiny iron ladle in his hand, is fishing by the stream flowing through the backyard, leaning against the weeping willow, carefree and at ease.

  Peng Wanli hastily arrived, waving his hand to dismiss the attending servants, and said a few words in a low voice to Old Man Peng. Peng Taigong's face changed slightly, and the iron gallbladder in his hand suddenly stopped: "How many officials and soldiers have come, and how many troops are there?"

  Peng Wanli said: "Taigong, there are about two hundred bailiffs coming, led by Zhao Pushan."

  "Rustle rustle......"

  Peng Taigong's iron gallbladder spun rapidly in his hand: "Only catchers... no guards or soldiers?"

  "No."

  "Is there only one way to catch him quickly, without surrounding him from all sides?"

  "No."

  The iron balls in Peng Taigong's hand moved quickly and lightly, the two iron balls spinning rapidly in his palm without making a sound. He smiled slightly and said calmly, "I understand, you go to the front village to receive him, let's see what trouble this Push Official has brought to our doorstep."

  Peng Wanli hastily said: "Ancestor, let me say, you'd better make some preparations first, it's always good to be prepared, what if they really are coming for us..."

  "It's impossible!"

  Peng Taigong smiled proudly and said, "A few cats and dogs dare to capture me, Peng He? If they really knew the secrets of our family, the soldiers of Qingzhou Wei would have been deployed long ago. Even if it were King Qi himself, he would have brought his three guards with him to surround this house like an iron barrel! You go do your thing, since there are no thousands of troops coming, I'll just sit back and enjoy my fishing pavilion!"