Chapter 108 Qingyun Ridge Uncovers an Old Case of Interrogation; Chen Zhili Arrives Overnight to Close the Case

The scent of blood in the side corridor of the Main Courtyard had not yet dissipated.

Smoke from the horse feed shed in the West Courtyard clung to the base of the wall as it drifted out, and the seal on the door of the Archives Room fluttered in the night wind, looking like torn, old skin.

Lin Chen stood in front of the side room door, the black abyss sheathed, the Inspector's command flag hanging by his side.

Zhao Gang pinned Old Xu against the wall and looked back at the chaotic courtyard.

"Inspector, should we interrogate first, or clear the scene first?"

Lin Chen looked toward the Archives Room.

"Seal it first."

Zhao Gang was taken aback.

"The people are all here, why not interrogate them as soon as possible?"

Lin Chen said: "The dead won't run, but the evidence will be nitpicked by others."

Liu Buyu came out from the underground secret chamber holding the Qingyun Ridge case file, his lapels covered in paper ash. Hearing this, he nodded immediately.

"The Inspector is right."

"If the Provincial Administration Commission wants to nitpick, the first thing they will attack is the sealed items."

Zhao Gang cursed.

"These people don't care who killed whom; they only care if our bags are tied properly?"

Liu Buyu pressed the case file against his chest.

"In officialdom, killing a person often starts with killing the procedure."

Lin Chen glanced at him.

"Write that down."

Liu Buyu immediately snapped back to reality.

"Write what?"

Lin Chen said: "Tonight's attack on the Main Courtyard, the bodies of the Death Warriors, the narrow blades, the short crossbows, the poison sacs, the oil jars, the smoke canisters, the poisonous smoke powder, the fake file boxes, the iron chain mechanisms—seal and register every single one."

Zhao Gang turned and shouted to the others.

"Did you all hear that?"

"Number the bodies one by one, seal the blades one by one. If anyone dares to leave one out, I'll stuff them into a bag and seal them right along with it."

An old guard of the Main Courtyard turned pale, holding his wounded arm as he asked.

"Head Zhao, do we have to sign too?"

Zhao Gang looked at him.

"You were injured guarding the files tonight. If you don't sign, tomorrow others will say you weren't here."

The old guard gritted his teeth and nodded.

"I'll sign."

Lin Chen looked at Liu Buyu.

"For every sealed item, write down the location found, the person who found it, and the witness."

Liu Buyu replied.

"Understood."

"Also add the time, the mud seal, and the person who handed it over."

Zhao Gang walked to the door of the Archives Room, looking at the corpse of the Death Warrior squad leader on the ground, his face turning dark.

"This one who swallowed poison—do we seal his mouth too?"

Sun Qi crouched beside the corpse, using a cloth to wrap around an iron hook, and extracted the remains of the poison sac from the Death Warrior's tooth socket.

"Seal it."

"Draw the tooth socket too."

Zhao Gang's eyebrows twitched.

"Draw it?"

Sun Qi put the remains into a small porcelain box.

"In the future, if we find someone with the same tooth socket, we can match the training methods."

Zhao Gang looked at him.

"You're more meticulous now than before."

Sun Qi handed the porcelain box to Liu Buyu.

"In a place where people have died, you can't be sloppy."

In the side room, Deputy Chief Meng Huaian was still lying on the ground, the tear stains on his face not yet dry. Hearing the items being sealed one by one outside, he trembled even more violently.

Lin Chen walked into the side room and stood in front of him.

"Write."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian looked up.

"Inspector, I'll write, I'll write everything."

Zhao Gang followed him in and slapped a sheet of paper for the confession onto the table.

"The Main Courtyard's secret accounts—write three points first."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's fingers trembled, and when he took the brush, he almost dropped it on the floor.

"First point: the empty salary line."

Liu Buyu stood nearby, his brush already pressed onto the register.

"Explain clearly."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian swallowed hard.

"The Main Courtyard has patrol vacancies every year. Director Wang Gang doesn't report the vacancies and still collects the salary as if the positions are full."

"The silver first enters the Main Courtyard's Accounting Room, then is broken down by the Patrol Room into night shift subsidies, grain storage labor silver, and old case assistance fees."

Zhao Gang sneered.

"And then the higher-ups eat the meat, while the subordinates drink the soup?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian lowered his head.

"Yes."

Zhao Gang asked.

"Who eats the most?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian glanced at Lin Chen.

"Director Wang Gang takes the lion's share, I take ten percent, the squad leaders in the Patrol Room split five percent, and the accountants and clerks collect based on the number of entries."

Qian Li, listening from the next room, heard this and immediately stifled his crying.

Zhao Gang turned and kicked the door panel.

"Qian Li, write your share tomorrow as well."

Qian Li shouted from inside the room.

"I'll write it, I won't dare to hide anything."

Lin Chen looked at Deputy Chief Meng Huaian.

"Second point."

The brush in Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's hand left a streak of ink on the paper.

"The old case suppression line."

"The Wang family, several chambers of commerce, and powerful figures from outside counties send silver to let the Main Courtyard drag out case files until they become cold cases."

"They change the cause of death if they can, lose the testimony if they can, and if they can't lose it, they tear out the pages."

Liu Buyu looked up.

"Is that how the missing pages in the auxiliary file room came about?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian nodded.

"Some were torn out by Director Wang Gang himself."

"Some were torn out by Old Zheng."

"Some went into the Chief Administrator's private vault; I don't have the key."

Zhao Gang asked.

"Third point."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's face turned even paler.

"The Qingyun Ridge assistance line."

The gazes of everyone in the room fell upon him at once.

Lin Chen said: "Continue."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's lips moved a few times.

"For this point, I only know that it exists."

Zhao Gang pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"You just said you would write everything."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian hurriedly raised his hands.

"I really haven't touched the inside of it."

"Documents from Qingyun Ridge never go through the Accounting Room, nor do they go through the Patrol Room."

"Director Wang Gang receives them personally and replies personally. The Archives Room only keeps the case file, not the original text."

Liu Buyu placed the Qingyun Ridge case file on the table and opened one of the bundles.

"Resettlement of refugees, transfer of prisoners, adoption of orphans—have you seen these entries?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian stared at the paper, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"I've seen them."

"But I only ever looked at the covers."

Shen Yue entered from outside the door, her sleeves still stained with smoke ash.

"You never asked?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian smiled bitterly.

"Director Wang Gang said that people who ask about this don't even get a grave."

Zhao Gang cursed: "At least now you have a grave to choose from."

Lin Chen picked up a scrap of paper from the case file, his gaze landing on the corner of the paper.

There was half a seal impression on the corner, blurred by smoke and water stains, leaving only a few faint lines.

Liu Buyu leaned in to look, and his expression changed.

"Inspector."

Lin Chen asked: "Do you recognize it?"

Liu Buyu's finger didn't touch the paper, only pointing at the edge of the seal from a distance.

"This is not the Patrol Division's seal."

Zhao Gang immediately asked: "Whose is it?"

Liu Buyu looked up, his eyes filled with suppressed shock.

"The Provincial Administration Commission's transfer seal."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Gang cursed out loud on the spot.

"That old thing, Official Chen Zhili, is involved too?"

Lin Chen looked at him.

"Before there is evidence, he is still Vice Minister Chen."

Zhao Gang gritted his teeth.

"It's come to this, and you're still leaving him his official cap?"

Lin Chen handed the scrap of paper to Liu Buyu.

"Leave the official cap to him, but take the evidence."

Shen Yue said in a low voice: "Is this half a seal impression enough?"

Liu Buyu shook his head.

"Not enough for a conviction."

"But it is enough to show that the Qingyun Ridge case passed through the hands of the Provincial Administration Commission."

Sun Qi came in from the corridor, his hands still stained with blood, his expression even darker than before.

"The one with the broken leg didn't say much."

Zhao Gang turned.

"What did he say?"

Sun Qi looked at Lin Chen.

"He said there were no survivors at Qingyun Ridge."

Zhao Gang's anger flared again.

"This dog thing still dares to be stubborn?"

Sun Qi said: "He is provoking me."

"He said Wu Si died easily. If I had been there that day, I should have been buried in the mass grave together with him."

Zhao Gang's hand pressed onto his sword hilt.

"You didn't chop him?"

Sun Qi took a small wooden plaque from his bosom; the edges of the plaque were worn, and the characters 'Wu Si' were written on it.

"I placed this in front of him."

Zhao Gang looked at the wooden plaque, and the anger on his face subsided by half.

Sun Qi said: "I told him that if he didn't talk, I would file his footprints, the narrow blades, and the poison sacs into the same case file as Wu Si's."

"Then I would leak the news of the merged case, so his master would know he hadn't died completely."

Shen Yue looked at him.

"Was he afraid?"

Sun Qi nodded.

"He was afraid."

"People like this don't fear death; they fear their master thinks they are alive and betraying them."

Lin Chen said: "What did he say?"

Sun Qi walked to the case, and on the back of the defense map, he drew a line.

"Every time Grey Sparrow leaves the city, he takes the medicinal herb cart from the east of the city."

"The cart hangs the old sign of Lis Pharmacy, but the driver changes frequently."

Zhao Gang frowned.

"Lis Pharmacy?"

Sun Qi shook his head.

"The sign is old, but the cart might not belong to Lis Pharmacy."

"The Death Warrior with the broken leg said the destination is not the Wang family estate."

Shen Yue continued.

"Qingyun Ridge."

Sun Qi looked at her.

"Outside Qingyun Ridge, the Yiyang Foster Home."

Liu Buyu looked down at the case file, his finger stopping next to the words 'adoption of orphans'.

"Yiyang Foster Home."

"Resettlement of refugees, transfer of prisoners, adoption of orphans."

Zhao Gang's expression slowly changed.

"They send people there to be raised?"

Shen Yue's tone turned cold.

"Sifted."

Zhao Gang looked at her.

Shen Yue said: "Orphans, refugees, prisoners—none of them have roots."

"If they die, no one looks for them; if they live, no one asks about them."

Sun Qi added.

"Suitable for picking Death Warriors."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian listened, his face draining of all blood.

"I didn't know."

"I really didn't know Qingyun Ridge was this."

Zhao Gang looked at him.

"You didn't know, so you took the silver with peace of mind?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian lay on the ground, not daring to speak again.

Lin Chen pressed the scrap of paper into a sealed bag.

"Preliminary report."

Liu Buyu immediately spread out the paper.

"Inspector, how deep should I write?"

Lin Chen said: "Write about the attack on the Main Courtyard, write about the Death Warriors seizing the files, write about the Qingyun Ridge case file involving the transfer of people."

Zhao Gang asked: "Should I write about the seal impression of the Provincial Administration Commission?"

Lin Chen said: "Write it."

Liu Buyu's hand paused.

"If I write it down, Official Chen Zhili will know tonight."

Lin Chen looked at the night outside.

"He already knows."

As soon as the words fell, the sound of hoofbeats came from outside the front gate of the Main Courtyard.

A patrol guard walked in quickly, his expression nervous.

"Inspector, Vice Minister Chen from the Provincial Administration Commission is here."

Zhao Gang sneered.

"He came fast."

"This nose is sharper than a dog's."

Lin Chen glanced at him.

Zhao Gang suppressed the second half of his sentence.

"I'll go greet him."

Lin Chen said: "Bring him in."

When the front gate of the Main Courtyard opened, Official Chen Zhili walked in wearing a deep green official robe, followed by more than ten servants from the Provincial Administration Commission, each holding a lantern; the light illuminated the bloodstains all over the courtyard clearly.

Official Chen Zhili looked around, his eyebrows slightly pressed.

"Inspector Lin."

Lin Chen stood in front of the Chief Administrator's hall.

"Vice Minister Chen."

Official Chen Zhili walked a few steps closer, his tone gentle.

"This official heard about the night battle at the Main Courtyard, Death Warriors entering the division, the fire in the West Courtyard, and the casualties of the patrol guards."

"The security of the prefecture city is of great importance; this official had to come."

Zhao Gang stood to the side and said coldly: "Vice Minister Chen's news is truly fast."

Official Chen Zhili looked at him.

"The Main Courtyard caused such a big commotion that half the prefecture city could hear it."

Zhao Gang was about to speak again, but Lin Chen raised his hand to stop him.

Official Chen Zhili looked toward the Archives Room.

"Where are the bodies?"

Liu Buyu walked out holding the sealed items register.

"Already sealed."

Official Chen Zhili smiled.

"Sealed is good."

"The origin of the Death Warriors tonight is unknown; both the bodies and the weapons should be handed over to the Provincial Administration Commission for verification."

Zhao Gang stepped forward half a step on the spot.

"On what grounds?"

Official Chen Zhili looked at Lin Chen, ignoring Zhao Gang.

"Inspector Lin, this official already issued an official letter during the day, requiring a preliminary conclusion within three days."

"Now you have engaged in battle without authorization at night, the Main Courtyard has suffered casualties, case files have been stolen, and a fire broke out in the West Courtyard."

"The Provincial Administration Commission has the right to verify these matters."

Lin Chen looked at Liu Buyu.

"Read."

Liu Buyu opened the sealed items register, his voice still a bit hoarse, but he read clearly word for word.

"At the third quarter of the Zi hour, eight black-clad Death Warriors were discovered at the secret steps of the Archives Room; witnesses: Lin Chen, Zhou Tie, Sun Qi, and East Courtyard secret agent Li He."

"Sealed item one: eight narrow blades, location: inside the Archives Room; mud seal: Patrol Division."

"Sealed item two: three short crossbows, location: side corridor; witnesses: Zhao Gang, Shen Yue."

"Sealed item three: eleven remains of poison sacs, taken from the Death Warriors' tooth sockets and throats; witnesses: Sun Qi, Liu Buyu."

A servant behind Official Chen Zhili said in a low voice: "My Lord, they sealed them very meticulously."

Official Chen Zhili raised his hand, and the servant immediately shut his mouth.

Liu Buyu continued reading.

"Sealed item four: five oil jars, two smoke canisters, two pinches of poisonous smoke powder; location: the West Courtyard horse feed shed and side corridor."

"Sealed item five: one box of fake Qingyun Ridge case files, the mechanism at the bottom of the box is intact; witnesses: Lin Chen, Zhao Gang."

Official Chen Zhili looked at Liu Buyu.

"Steward Liu is indeed thorough."

Liu Buyu bowed.

"The Inspector ordered, and this subordinate obeyed."

Official Chen Zhili looked at Lin Chen.

"Inspector Lin, thorough procedures do not mean the origin is legitimate."

Zhao Gang frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Official Chen Zhili raised his hand and pointed to the Qingyun Ridge case file on the table in the Chief Administrator's hall.

"This official wants to ask, where did these case files come from?"

Lin Chen said: "Old files of the Patrol Division."

Official Chen Zhili asked: "Which old files?"

Lin Chen said: "The underground auxiliary file room of the Main Courtyard."

Official Chen Zhili's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Underground auxiliary file room?"

"This official has been in Nanyang Prefecture for many years and has never heard of the Patrol Division having this file room."

Zhao Gang sneered.

"Just because Vice Minister Chen hasn't heard of it, does it mean it can't exist?"

Official Chen Zhili was still looking at Lin Chen.

"Privately opening an old warehouse and privately taking case files—if there is no legal proof, the case files cannot serve as evidence."

"Inspector Lin, you are investigating in a hurry; this official can understand."

"But even urgent cases must follow the rules."

Lin Chen took out two halves of a combined copper key from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

The copper keys fit together, the teeth matching perfectly.

Official Chen Zhili's gaze fell on the key.

Lin Chen took out the paper written in Director Wang Gang's own hand.

"Director Wang Gang's own handwriting, stating that the key to the old Archives Room is half with me and half with Zheng."

He looked toward the side room again.

"Deputy Chief Meng Huaian."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian was dragged to the door of the hall by two patrol guards, his face deathly pale.

"I'm here, I'm here."

Lin Chen asked: "Is the underground auxiliary file room an old file room of the Main Courtyard?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian saw Official Chen Zhili, and his lips trembled even more violently.

Official Chen Zhili said gently: "Deputy Chief Meng, think clearly before answering."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian shrank back, looking at Lin Chen, and then at the sealed short crossbows on the ground.

Old Xu's words about the Wang family wanting people who keep their mouths shut were still pressing in his ears.

He gritted his teeth and lay down.

"Yes."

"The underground auxiliary file room is where Director Wang Gang privately hid old files."

"The key originally belonged to the old system of the Archives Room; Director Wang Gang later took it away."

Official Chen Zhili looked at him.

"Why didn't you report it before?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian cried and said: "I was afraid of death."

Zhao Gang sneered.

"Not afraid now?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian looked up, tears welling up again.

"Now I'm even more afraid."

"But I know that keeping my mouth shut leads to death even faster."

Lin Chen looked at Official Chen Zhili.

"The Patrol Division investigating the Patrol Division's old files does not require the Provincial Administration Commission to teach me how to open a door."

The servants outside the Chief Administrator's hall looked at each other, and no one dared to answer.

Official Chen Zhili did not get angry, just reached out and smoothed his cuffs.

"Inspector Lin, you are young, your blade is sharp, and your courage is great."

"But the old accounts of Nanyang Prefecture often involve the whole body when one part is moved."

Lin Chen said: "If it can be moved, it means it's not dead yet."

Zhao Gang felt the breath in his chest smooth out.

Official Chen Zhili looked at Lin Chen, the gentleness on his face not fading.

"The deeper you investigate, the heavier the burden you will carry."

"Tomorrow at the joint trial at the Governor's Mansion, this official will invite the Governor, the Patrol Division, the Provincial Administration Commission, and the Criminal Division to be present."

"By then, these case files, these testimonies, and these bodies will all be laid out on the table."

Lin Chen said: "Lay them out."

Official Chen Zhili nodded.

"Good."

He turned and walked out. When he reached the threshold, his gaze suddenly landed on the scrap of paper in Liu Buyu's hand.

The scrap paper bag was half-open, and a corner of the Provincial Administration Commission's transfer seal was exposed.

Official Chen Zhili stopped for half a breath.

Shen Yue was standing by the pillar and happened to see the fingers in his sleeve tighten gently, then quickly loosen.

Official Chen Zhili did not look back.

"Inspector Lin, get a good rest tonight."

"Tomorrow will be a very long day."

Lin Chen watched his back.

"The same to you, Vice Minister Chen."

Official Chen Zhili led his men out of the Main Courtyard, the lantern light retreating into the long street all the way.

Zhao Gang lowered his voice.

"Inspector, did Shen Yue see it?"

Shen Yue walked to Lin Chen's side.

"When he saw the seal impression, his hand trembled."

Liu Buyu hugged the sealed items bag tightly, his face also changing.

"That half-seal might have really poked him."

Sun Qi walked out from the shadows of the side corridor.

"Should we keep an eye on the Provincial Administration Commission tonight?"

Lin Chen looked at the night outside the Main Courtyard gate, his fingers pressing on the Inspector's command flag.

"Keep an eye on them."

"But don't get too close."

Zhao Gang asked: "How do we fight the joint trial tomorrow?"

Lin Chen turned and looked at the scrap of paper from Qingyun Ridge on the table.

"Tonight, first let the evidence survive until dawn."

As soon as the words fell, a sharp bird whistle came from the back alley of the Main Courtyard.

Sun Qi's expression changed.

"A whistle from the direction of the Meng Estate."