Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 164

Chapter 164 The Only Clue
Tang Qianchuan suddenly woke up from his coma. He felt his mind sink. He couldn’t remember what had happened before. He only knew that he wasn’t in a familiar bedroom, but in a pitch-black battle room. Because the doors and windows were closed, he couldn’t even tell when it was now.

After a slight movement, Tang Qianchuan’s expression changed, because he found that his hands and feet were tied tightly by a hemp rope the thickness of a finger. It would take a lot of effort for his body to move a little, and then everything that happened before he fainted slowly returned to his mind–

He was stalked in the middle of the night and then knocked unconscious by that fellow who was obviously from the public sect!

Thinking of this, Tang Qianchuan immediately struggled violently and shouted, “Someone, help!” Some sharp voices echoed in the small room, but it was unknown if they could reach the outside.

After he shouted a few times, the tightly shut wooden door was suddenly knocked open from the outside. A ray of sunlight pierced into the room. It was already daytime. This discovery made Tang Qianchuan’s heart jolt again. Then, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the person who entered the room with the sunlight.

This was a young man in his twenties with a slightly thin figure but a very vigorous spirit. Especially his pair of eyes, they were even more impressive. Although it did not shine with a heart-shaking light, it was filled with excitement. It looked like a quick-witted person.

“Who are you? Where are you? Why did you kidnap me here? Do you know how much trouble I’ll cause if I disappear?” Tang Qianchuan immediately asked loudly, but this aggressive question could not conceal the fear in his heart.

When the young man heard this, he laughed unconsciously, “Boss Tang is really confident. I really admire him for daring to speak like this at this time!”

“You are indeed an official of the Imperial Court! Do you know that you are breaking the law? If you know the opportunity, hurry up and let me go. I will pretend that nothing has happened.” Tang Qianchuan felt even more nervous when he saw the other party reveal his identity without any hesitation, but his mouth still seemed to be very tough.

As for letting you go, do you think that we will have to spend a lot of time waiting for a long time to find such an opportunity to take you down? Will you let you go because of your words? “He said,” I, Da Xing County Magistrate, only know more about the law of the Great Ming Dynasty than you do. So you don’t have to use this to scare me. ”

“You are … Daxing County Magistrate, Lu … Lu Zhen?” A name that he had recently heard of jumped into Tang Qianchuan’s mind when he heard his official name.

“It’s this official.” Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Zhen immediately nodded his head and dragged a chair beside him to sit down slowly. “How flattering. A small grade seven county magistrate like me can actually make your Boss Tang remember it.”

“County magistrate Lu is too modest. Recently, you have been in the limelight in the capital for a while. How could the grass-roots people not know?” After subconsciously praising him, Tang Qianchuan looked at Lu Zhen and said, “But the grass-dwellers are still a little puzzled. I heard that Lord Lu is a rare Azure Heaven, but why did he ask someone to bring the grass-dwellers here? If Lord Lu has any instructions, just pass on a message. I only want money. I dare not say more. I can still take out three to five thousand taels of money from the Spring Gathering House.”

‘”Boss Tang, you are indeed a person who does great things. Although you have already panicked, you can’t see anything strange on your face. It’s truly admirable.” Lu Zhen smiled unconsciously at the serious look on the other party’s face.

“Your Excellency, the grass-roots people don’t understand what you’re saying.” However, Tang Qianchuan still put on a blank expression.

Lu Zhen stared at his face and said, “My county government has spent nearly ten days and sent a lot of people to keep an eye on the downstairs of the Spring Gathering House. It was only last night when you went out alone that I took you down. Do you think I was going to take that few thousand taels of silver from your hands as simple as that?”

Hearing him say that the county government had actually spent so much time waiting for him outside, Tang Qianchuan’s expression finally changed. His eyes also lowered, not daring to meet Lu Zhen’s gaze that seemed to be able to see through people’s hearts.

When Lu Zhen saw this, he smiled gently again, “Boss Tang, don’t talk in secret when you’re in front of someone. I think you already knew about our county government going to Shuntian Prefecture to inquire about the case, right? That’s why you’ve been living in seclusion these past few days and rarely left the Spring Gathering House. Obviously, you’re worried that my county government will come looking for you, right?”

Tang Qianchuan’s body stiffened when he heard this, but he quickly recovered. He forced a smile and said, “Lord Lu, you really don’t understand what you’re saying. What kind of case … Cao Min is just a businessman. Even if he comes into contact with the government, it’s impossible for him to interfere in any case. You’re really looking for the wrong person.”

“Really? Then what are you panicking about?” Lu Zhen stood up and slowly walked to the other party. He looked down at Tang Qianchuan, who had to lie on the ground because of his hands and feet tied. “Don’t you forget the case that happened in March this year? The one who died was your former boss, Feng Changchun, the owner of the Spring Gathering House!”

Hearing Lu Zhen directly reveal the matter, especially after hearing the name Feng Changchun, no matter how stable Tang Qianchuan’s temperament was, his body suddenly trembled and his eyes narrowed. Moments later, he said in a somewhat cold and solemn tone, “Your Excellency’s words are even more difficult for the grass-roots people to understand. Back when Boss Feng was killed, we went to the yamen several times to inquire about the news. However, there is still no response today. Shouldn’t we be looking for you instead of you looking for me?”

“That’s right, this matter is strange here, since your boss of the Spring Festival Assembly House was killed, why did you relatives and friends only look for the county government a few times at the beginning, and didn’t care about this case after that? Lu Zhen’s gaze fell straight on Tang Qianchuan’s face and he slowly said a few words, “And you, the successor, didn’t even pay attention to this. You even sent Feng Changchun’s concubines and children out of the capital early. What are you doing?”

In these ten days, the county government not only sent people to look for Tang Qianchuan’s whereabouts, but also tracked down the people related to Feng Changchun who had been killed earlier through various channels. The result was even more suspicious. After Feng Changchun’s women and their children were killed, they were secretly sent out of the capital without knowing their whereabouts.

Seeing that Lu Zhen had even found out about this, Tang Qianchuan’s expression became even uglier. The only thing he could do was to shut his mouth. However, Lu Zhen did not let him go because of this. He continued, “This case is too strange. Obviously, many clues have been found in the county government, and there are even witnesses to ask, but the result was quickly taken away by Shun Tian Manor.”

“They can take it, but the case in their hands has become a problem, before the clues can not continue to investigate, even the witness suddenly died in prison, this is too strange. Afterwards, he even handed over the case to the Ministry of Justice, which was an untraceable case that could not be traced. Do you think I don’t want to find out if this case falls into my hands? ”

Tang Qianchuan was silent for a moment before he slowly said, “County magistrate Lu, although you are young, you have also experienced a few years in the official circles. Don’t you even understand this logic?” Even the Shuntian Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice do not want to investigate this case. You, a small county magistrate of Daxing County, actually dare to investigate this case further. Aren’t you afraid of causing trouble for yourself? Besides, this case has already been reported to the Punishment Department. It would be unreasonable for you to flip it up again, right? ”

‘”Although Boss Tang is only a businessman, he is quite clear about the ways of my government. To be honest, if I were not forced to do something, I certainly would not have wanted to investigate this death case. However, who told someone in the Ministry of Justice to refuse to give up and forcefully return this case to my Daxing County Government?” Lu Zhen didn’t conceal anything and told him the reason why he wanted to investigate this case.

Tang Qianchuan was instantly stunned. He really didn’t know that this was the reason. This matter was really difficult to handle. After all, it was only natural for Daxing County to continue investigating this case!

Seeing that he seemed to understand something, Lu Zhen continued, “This case concerns the future of this official, so I can only investigate it with all my heart. Now, can you tell me why you guys reacted like this? Also, I think your boss Tang should also be an insider of the cause of Feng Changchun’s death.”

“I don’t know anything. County magistrate Lu, I’m afraid you’ll have to waste your time this time.” However, this person did not change his mind and quickly closed his eyes to give his answer.

Lu Zhen wasn’t too surprised about this. The power of the Shun Tian Manor to conceal the case and even kill an innocent witness was indeed enough to keep Boss Tang silent, even if he had already fallen into his own hands.

“Do you think I’ll believe you?” After a moment of silence, Lu Zhen asked in a cold voice.

Feeling the aura emanating from County Magistrate Lu, Tang Qianchuan let out a breath. After all, he was currently in the hands of the other party, so it was better to speak more clearly. This way, the other party would have more misgivings: “Although this case is not too big, if we investigate deeply, it will only cause big trouble.” You, Daxing County, really dare to do something that even the Shuntian Prefecture doesn’t dare to do? Do you know how much trouble that will bring? ”

“Of course this official knows, but the matter has already fallen on me, the county magistrate of Daxing County. If I don’t find out the truth and give someone an explanation, I will still be blamed. It’s better for me to find out the truth of the case so that I can feel at ease.” Lu Zhen remained unmoved, “Previously, you all cut off all clues, making it difficult for anyone who wants to pursue this case to continue. However, you are clearly the one thing they missed. Your successor has become the only clue to this case, so I can only think from you.”

“You … you don’t have to be afraid of death, but I can’t!” Tang Qianchuan suddenly exploded, “You don’t know the depth of it, and you can rely on your status as an official, but I’m not! I’m just a small businessman, and once someone tries to kill me, I don’t even have a way to protect myself. I definitely won’t use my own life to help you find out the truth of the case!”