Chapter 109 The Wang family's outer residence was annihilated overnight, but Lin Chen insisted on protecting a discarded pawn.

As the bird whistle in the back alley of the Main Courtyard faded, Sun Qi had already pressed against the pillars and dashed out.

Zhao Gang gripped his sword hilt, his face dark as thunder.

"The direction of the Meng Estate?"

Sun Qi did not look back.

"It is the emergency whistle left by Shen Yue."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian was kneeling at the doorway of the side room; though he had been dragged around until half his body was limp, hearing these words, he crawled forward two steps.

"What happened to my family?"

"Inspector, what happened to my family?"

Zhao Gang glanced at him, suppressing his anger.

"Now you know to ask about your family?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian looked up, tears and dust streaked across his face, his voice raspy.

"Head Zhao, you can curse me, or you can cut me down."

"My wife and child do not know anything."

"My mother does not know either."

"I beg you, save them."

Zhao Gang gripped his sword hilt tighter, his gaze lingering on Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's face for a moment.

"When you were doing the Wang family's dirty work, the families of those whose cases you suppressed also had people who knew nothing."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian knocked his forehead against the brick floor, making a dull thud.

"I deserve to die."

"But the children do not deserve to die."

Lin Chen stood at the door of the main hall, his gaze passing over the evidence bags and bloodstains in the courtyard, looking toward the back alley.

"Zhou Tie, keep the Main Courtyard secure."

Zhou Tie lifted his spear in acknowledgment.

"Understood."

Lin Chen looked at Zhao Gang again.

"Seal Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's confession; it is not to be leaked."

Zhao Gang frowned.

"Even from our own people?"

Lin Chen said, "The Wang family most wants to know exactly how much he has revealed."

Liu Buyu, holding the evidence ledger, immediately chimed in.

"Since they do not know how much, they have to prepare for the worst."

Zhao Gang looked at Deputy Chief Meng Huaian and sneered.

"In other words, this guy is still valuable."

Lin Chen looked at Deputy Chief Meng Huaian.

"Only if you stay alive do they have value."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian looked up, his eyes bloodshot.

"Inspector, I will write."

"I will write down everything I know."

"As long as you save them, my life is yours."

Lin Chen did not respond to this, only speaking to the covert operative Sun Qi had left behind.

"Pass this to Shen Yue: prioritize protecting the people, evidence second."

The operative clasped his hands.

"Yes."

Hearing this, the anger on Zhao Gang's face subsided slightly.

"Inspector, if the Wang family really moves against the Meng Estate, they will definitely try to take things as well."

Lin Chen said, "So, the people must survive, and we cannot let them take all the items."

Zhao Gang grinned.

"Shen Yue can handle this job."

In the back alley of the Meng Estate, firelight climbed along the low wall.

When Shen Yue arrived with two covert operatives from the East Courtyard, the back courtyard of the Meng Estate was already in chaos.

There was no large fire in the front courtyard, and the main rooms were not burning.

What was burning were the Accounting Room and the servants' quarters.

A covert operative covered his mouth and nose, cursing in a low voice, "This fire isn't spreading to where the people are; it's specifically targeting the places where items are stored."

Shen Yue looked at the source of the fire.

"Silence witnesses."

The operative was stunned.

"It's not to destroy the estate?"

Shen Yue glanced at him.

"Destroying the estate would involve burning the main rooms; only silencing witnesses involves burning the servants' quarters."

From beside the well in the back courtyard came the sound of a woman crying in a suppressed voice.

"Do not make a sound."

"Ah Lin, do not cry."

Shen Yue raised a hand, and the two operatives immediately split up and pressed against the wall.

Behind the low wall by the well, Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's wife was holding a four- or five-year-old child, shrinking into the shadow of a water vat.

The child's mouth was covered with a cloth, eyes full of tears, but he dared not cry out.

A man dressed in the guard uniform of the Wang family's outer residence walked over from the corridor, holding a short blade with blood still dripping from the tip.

He looked down, scanned the water vat, and then looked toward the well.

"Madam, do not hide anymore."

"Deputy Chief Meng has already confessed."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian held the child tighter, her face deathly pale.

"Who are you?"

The guard stopped by the well, his tone very low.

"If you go on your way, Madam, the Young Master will also suffer less."

"The Wang family said that the mistakes Deputy Chief Meng made cannot leave any roots."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian pressed the child against her chest, her back against the well curb.

"He has been working for you for so many years."

"How can you do this?"

The guard raised the short blade by half an inch.

"It is precisely because he has worked for us for so many years that we cannot let him speak."

The child finally let out a whimper.

The guard's gaze fell on the child's face, and he stepped forward.

Shen Yue stepped out from the shadows of the wall, a short blade already held horizontally in her palm.

"Take one more step, and you will be the first to die."

The guard turned around, no panic in his eyes; with a flick of his wrist, the short blade aimed directly at the child in the arms of the wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian.

Shen Yue did not block the front; her toes tapped the well curb, her body grazed the side of the water vat, and the short blade cut in from under the guard's elbow.

The guard's arm went limp, and the short blade fell to the ground.

His other hand reached toward his waist.

The covert operative pounced from the side and back, smashing the hilt against his shoulder blade, pinning him to the muddy ground.

Shen Yue kicked the guard's jaw open.

"Mouth."

The operative immediately reached in to check.

The guard had already bitten through the poison sac in his molars; black blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, and only a short, gasping breath remained in his throat.

Shen Yue squatted down and lifted his lapel.

Inside the lapel, half a wooden plaque from the outer residence was sewn.

The operative's face darkened.

"People from the Wang family's outer residence."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian came out from behind the water vat with the child, her legs so weak she couldn't stand steadily several times.

"Head Shen?"

Shen Yue looked at her.

"Come with me."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's tears fell on the spot.

"What about Deputy Chief Meng Huaian?"

Shen Yue said, "Alive."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian bit her lip.

"Did he sell us out?"

Shen Yue did not answer immediately, only glancing at the guard's corpse on the ground.

"The Wang family wants to kill you all."

The hand of the wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian holding the child trembled.

The child revealed half his face from behind the cloth and asked in a low voice, "Mother, where is Father?"

The tears of the wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian fell on the child's hair, but she dared not cry out.

"Father is at the government office."

Over at the servants' quarters, an elderly servant with white hair was helped out by a covert operative; there was a knife wound on his back, and blood had soaked his clothes.

The old servant saw Shen Yue, his lips trembling.

"Official, people from the Wang family have been here."

Shen Yue walked up to him.

"When?"

The old servant took two breaths.

"Half an hour ago."

"A head steward from the outer residence brought people in, saying they were here to move Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's old belongings."

Shen Yue asked, "What did they move?"

The old servant raised a hand and pointed to the half-burnt Accounting Room.

"Chests."

"Old clothing chests, paper boxes, and a small wooden box that the master had hidden in the wall cracks of the servants' quarters years ago."

The covert operative frowned.

"Wall cracks?"

The old servant nodded.

"The master was afraid that the Madam would know he was taking silver, so he didn't dare keep some small accounts in the study, and he let the old servant seal them into the wall."

Shen Yue looked at the burning servants' quarters.

"Bring water."

The covert operative immediately turned back to call for people.

When the fire was suppressed, half the wall was already charred black.

Shen Yue used her scabbard to pry open the loose bricks; only a few charred papers remained inside.

She used a damp cloth to extract one of the small account slips that hadn't been completely burned.

The corners of the paper were curled and black, but the handwriting was still legible.

The covert operative leaned in and read in a low voice.

"Yiyang Foster Home winter clothing, three hundred sets."

"Blue cloth, cotton padding, children's boots."

Shen Yue's hand paused.

"Qingyun Ridge."

The covert operative's face changed.

"Orphan line."

Shen Yue sealed the account slip into a cloth bag and looked up at the wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian.

"Madam, have you seen this account?"

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian held the child and shook her head.

"I only manage the inner residence and never ask about his accounts."

The old servant, however, raised his head.

"I have seen this batch of winter clothing."

Shen Yue looked at him.

The old servant's voice trembled.

"Last winter, people from the Wang family's outer residence came, saying it was to add clothing for the Yiyang Foster Home outside the city."

"The chests passed through the Meng Estate for a hand; the master only told me to sign for them and not to open them."

Shen Yue asked, "Where did the carts go?"

The old servant gritted his teeth and recalled.

"The East City Gate."

"They were displaying medicinal herb cart tags."

Shen Yue and the covert operative exchanged glances.

The covert operative said in a low voice, "Sun Qi mentioned that Grey Sparrow leaves the city using medicinal herb carts."

Shen Yue put away the account slip.

"Escort them back to the Main Courtyard."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian held the child and stood at the entrance of the back courtyard, not moving for a long time.

"Head Shen, may I ask a question?"

Shen Yue turned back.

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian looked at the blackened Accounting Room, her voice extremely hoarse.

"Can he still live?"

Shen Yue was silent for a moment.

"It depends on how much he can write."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian closed her eyes and held the child tighter.

"Then let him write."

"The debts he owes cannot be paid by the child."

In the side room of the Main Courtyard, Deputy Chief Meng Huaian heard footsteps and scrambled up from the ground, the iron chains dragging on the brick floor, making a chaotic sound.

"Is it my family?"

"Inspector, is it them who have returned?"

Zhao Gang stood at the door, holding his sword.

"You actually have the face to ask."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian saw Shen Yue bringing the wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian and the child into the courtyard; his whole body seemed to have its bones removed, and he rushed to the door frame, his forehead hitting it.

"A-Ning."

"A-Lin."

The child saw him and was so scared he shrank into his mother's arms.

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian stood in the corridor and did not approach.

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's tears gushed out.

"I have failed you."

"I really have failed you."

The wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian looked at him, her face pale, but she did not curse.

"The Wang family wants to kill us."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's lips trembled violently.

"I know."

"I know now."

Zhao Gang said coldly, "You do not know."

"Before, you only knew that the Wang family's silver was warm."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian lowered his head, his shoulders slumping.

"Head Zhao, you are right to scold me."

"I used to think that when things came to a head, the Wang family would protect me."

"They didn't even let my son go."

Lin Chen walked to the corridor.

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian immediately knelt straight, the iron chains pulled taut and clanking.

"Inspector, I beg you."

"Keep them in the Main Courtyard."

"I will write until my hands break; I will write."

Lin Chen looked at the wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian and the child.

"Arrange them in the back hall, have two covert operatives guard the door, and have Liu Buyu send people to deliver food."

Liu Buyu immediately nodded.

"I will go handle it."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian knocked his forehead against the ground, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.

"Thank you, Inspector."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"I am protecting them not because you are pitiful."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian looked up.

Lin Chen said, "Only if you stay alive do they have value."

"Only when you open your mouth are they safer."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's tears fell onto the floor tiles.

"I understand."

"But the Wang family wants our whole family dead."

"The Inspector has at least given them a path to live."

He knocked his head again, his forehead bleeding.

"This knock, I give sincerely."

Zhao Gang watched him, wanting to scold him, but finally just let out a breath.

"Write."

"If you write one name less, your son will still have to be afraid for you in the future."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian crawled to the desk and took the brush; his hands were still shaking, but his strokes were steadier than before.

"The Wang family's outer residence steward, surname Feng, given name Feng Sanxing."

"When Qian Li's mother went to the family alley to cry, it was also him who gave the money."

"The small account for the winter clothing was from the winter before last and last winter."

Liu Buyu looked up.

"Yiyang Foster Home winter clothing?"

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian nodded.

"Yes."

"The accounts say Yiyang Foster Home, but the silver went through the Meng Estate's old item procurement."

"I thought at the time that the Wang family was just borrowing my name to avoid accounting."

Zhao Gang sneered.

"You have always been good at 'thinking'."

Deputy Chief Meng Huaian gripped the brush, his throat tight.

"I don't dare to 'think' anymore."

Deep in the Wang family's outer residence, the lights were kept very low.

Second Young Master Wang Pei slapped the table, the teacup jumped, and tea spilled over half the table.

"You couldn't even clean up the Meng Estate?"

The man in black kneeling in the hall kept his head down.

"The guard is dead, and the wife of Deputy Chief Meng Huaian and the young child were taken back to the Main Courtyard by Shen Yue."

Second Young Master Wang Pei stared at the shadows on the side of the hall.

"Grey Sparrow, your people only have this much ability?"

In the shadows, the iron-masked person sat behind the screen, toying with a wooden plaque with a missing ear.

"Lin Chen has kept the line of human sentiment."

The anger in Second Young Master Wang Pei's eyes grew even more intense.

"What human sentiment?"

Grey Sparrow said, "He didn't just stare at the accounts."

"He knew Deputy Chief Meng Huaian was afraid for his wife and child, so he had people guard the Meng Estate."

Third Young Master Wang Chengye stood by, his face gloomy.

"It's just an abandoned pawn."

"If you can't kill him, let Wang Xuan go to the Main Courtyard to kill Lin Chen."

Second Young Master Wang Pei looked at him.

"The Main Courtyard just finished fighting Death Warriors, and the Governor's Mansion's eyes are all over there."

"If you kill Lin Chen now, are you trying to send the Wang family to the Governor's blade?"

Third Young Master Wang Chengye gritted his teeth.

"Then just watch him raise Deputy Chief Meng Huaian?"

Grey Sparrow looked up.

"Lin Chen protecting an abandoned pawn is tearing down the Wang family's rules."

The hall fell silent.

Second Young Master Wang Pei frowned.

"Explain clearly."

Grey Sparrow placed the wooden plaque on the table.

"The Wang family makes people afraid because everyone who does dirty work for the Wang family knows that after an incident, if they keep their mouths shut, their families can live."

"Lin Chen is now telling them that as long as they speak up, he can also protect people."

Third Young Master Wang Chengye's face changed.

"Will those outer lines be shaken?"

Grey Sparrow said, "They will."

"Those old officials in the Main Courtyard are already moving."

"If Deputy Chief Meng Huaian lives until tomorrow's joint trial, others will see."

Second Young Master Wang Pei's hand pressed against the edge of the table, fine cracks appearing in the wood grain under his palm.

"Lin Chen cannot be left alive."

Above the attic, an aged voice came down.

"You cannot kill him now."

Second Young Master Wang Pei and Third Young Master Wang Chengye stood up at the same time.

"Clan Chief."

The voice of Clan Chief Wang Chongyuan came from upstairs, separated by the wooden railing, still pressing down so that no one in the hall dared to raise their heads.

"Prepare the Wang family's self-inspection report."

Third Young Master Wang Chengye was stunned.

"Self-inspection report?"

Clan Chief Wang Chongyuan said, "Death Warriors, hand crossbows, poison sacs, push it all to Deputy Chief Meng Huaian's private keeping."

"If the Wang family's outer residence is involved, say it was the outer residence steward being bribed by Deputy Chief Meng Huaian."

Second Young Master Wang Pei said in a low voice, "Deputy Chief Meng Huaian will not admit it."

Clan Chief Wang Chongyuan replied, "Whether he admits it or not is not important."

"Tomorrow's joint trial needs to make it impossible for the Governor's Mansion to bite the Wang family to death."

Grey Sparrow lowered his head.

"Then Feng Sanxing?"

Clan Chief Wang Chongyuan said, "Cut him off."

Grey Sparrow responded.

"Understood."

Inside the Main Courtyard, Liu Buyu dismantled a hand crossbow and examined it closely under the lamp.

Zhao Gang guarded the side, having stayed up all night, his eyes full of bloodshot veins.

"Did you see anything?"

Liu Buyu pointed to the inside of the wooden stock.

"There is a maker's mark from a woodwork shop here."

Zhao Gang leaned in.

"Which shop?"

Liu Buyu flipped through the ledger, compared it twice, and his face became strange.

"A woodwork shop under the Wang family's name."

Zhao Gang's eyes lit up.

"Good."

Liu Buyu, however, shook his head.

"The shop was sold three days ago."

Zhao Gang's face sank on the spot.

"Sold to whom?"

Liu Buyu pushed the ledger page over.

"A shell employee under the Qian Merchant Guild."

Zhao Gang cursed, "Another layer around."

Outside the door, a covert operative sent a letter.

"Inspector, it was sent overnight by the head steward of the Qian Merchant Guild."

Lin Chen opened it, read it, and handed the letter to Liu Buyu.

Liu Buyu read, "The woodwork shop transaction has accounts that can be checked; the Qian Merchant Guild is willing to hand over the accounts, but only asks the Inspector to protect the guild from the Wang family's retaliation."

Zhao Gang sneered.

"These merchants, their abacus beads are clicking all the way to the Main Courtyard."

Sun Qi walked in from the door.

"The Qian Merchant Guild is afraid."

Shen Yue looked at Lin Chen.

"It can also be used."

Lin Chen placed the letter on the desk.

"Reply."

Sun Qi asked, "How to reply?"

Lin Chen looked at the hand crossbow wooden stock on the table, and then looked at Deputy Chief Meng Huaian, who was still writing his confession in the side room.

"Send the accounts."

"Every time the Wang family retaliates, I will investigate one of their outer residences."