In this incident, the person the officials tried to please was not even a cultivator, but just a local family that produced a cultivator, the Lou family.
"Was Father Qian imprisoned for 15 years?" Qiao Mu suddenly remembered that Father Qian had mentioned that he had a son who was a constable.
"When he was imprisoned, Qian Qian was only 20 years old?"
"That's right." Chen Yingxue nodded, her eyes slightly dim, with a kind of sadness that she felt for her own kind.
She is a few years younger than Qian Qian, and they have worked together for many years, so they know each other quite well.
Although she had never heard Qian Qian mention anything about Qian's father, after reading the files and conducting a special investigation, combined with their daily experiences together, she could make more or less guesses.
"When Qian Qian was young, he was a police officer who would not tolerate any sand in his eyes."
"But since his father was arrested and imprisoned, he asked the Lou family for help through his connections, and the answer he got was... one thousand taels of silver would redeem him."
"Captain Qiao, you also know that the monthly salary of a constable in Heyang Prefecture is five taels of silver. To raise this amount, you have to go without food and drink for sixteen or seventeen years."
(PS: The purchasing power of one tael of silver fluctuated greatly in different dynasties, wars and peacetimes in ancient times, ranging from hundreds to thousands. In this book, one tael of silver = 1,000 yuan.)
Qiumu didn't ask stupid questions like "Did he collect enough money?"
Judging from the results, obviously not.
The salary you receive in a month and how much money you can save in a month are obviously two different things.
Chen Yingxue narrowed her narrow and long phoenix eyes, and there was a touch of emotion in her eyes:
"Captain Qiao, you have an amazing background. Even though you are in prison, you can still live a comfortable life."
"You may not know what kind of life ordinary prisoners live in prison... But Captain Qian knows it very well."
"In the past fifteen years, he has spent a lot of money to bribe the jailers and officials to make his father's life easier... I can't guess, but it must be a lot."
Qiao Mu narrowed his eyes.
When he was talking with the prisoners in the cell before, they all said that it was rare for a person to live to be seventy years old. So it was a great blessing for Lao Qian to be able to live to be over sixty and die of old age in prison.
Now it seems that this blessing is not because Lao Qian is lucky enough.
Instead, it was because someone was behind the scenes making connections that allowed Lao Qian to live in a place like prison for so long.
Qiao Mu hesitated for a moment and then asked, "The salary of a police chief is not enough, but what if I can make further progress?"
"I heard from Qian Qian that he had become an eighth-grade warrior when he was 28 years old. He also practiced the external martial arts Golden Bell Cover, so I think he would be stronger than an ordinary eighth-grade internal martial artist."
"According to the laws of Da Yan, officials' salaries do not have to pay taxes, but minor clerks like Constables do."
"If you are an eighth-rank internal force warrior, you can probably become an eighth-rank martial official without real power, receive an eighth-rank salary, and be exempted from taxes. How can you not be able to save up the one thousand taels?"
Chen Yingxue sighed slightly.
“That’s the key.”
"Even if the Great Yan law stipulates this, when it comes to implementation, one's origin is often still important."
Background is important.
The reason Qiao Mu was able to enter Heyang Prefecture and become a constable was because of the recommendation of the seventh-rank official Shen Qinghe. Otherwise, he would have been an illegal resident and would have been treated as a refugee.
And Qian Qian’s background... was even worse than Qiao Mu’s, an illegal resident.
Because he is a police chief and his father is a thief!
What's worse than having a father who's a thief is... The thief offended the Lou family, which had a cultivator! Even the prison officials wanted to please the Lou family!
That's why.
Qian Qian would never be able to become a military official in his lifetime, neither an eighth-rank official nor a ninth-rank official, and the position of the chief constable in the prefectural city... was the same.
Chen Yingxue continued:
"Qian Qian developed internal strength at the age of 23, and was promoted to the eighth rank at the age of 28. At the age of 32, his blood and qi declined and he fell to the ninth rank. Now at the age of 35, his blood and qi have declined again. Coupled with the hidden injuries accumulated in his early years, he is now actually not as good as an ordinary ninth rank."
"In his early years, he was brave enough to fight and was not afraid of getting hurt. He made quite a name for himself in Heyang Prefecture. However, due to his background... being a public constable was already his limit."
This is the resume of an ordinary constable in Heyang City.
Qian Qian's martial arts aptitude is actually stronger than that of an ordinary constable. He can reach the eighth level at the age of 28... But in front of a cultivator, it is still not worth mentioning.
The Immortal Mingyue didn't even know the existence of Qian Qian and his son, and Qian Qian had already sacrificed half his life for this.
"Qian Qian was absent from work a few days ago because of a stomachache. He probably doesn't know that his father has passed away in prison..."
While speaking, Chen Yingxue's phoenix eyes were always fixed on Qiao Mu. She was observing Qiao Mu's reaction to Qian Qian's life experience.
"So it's better not to let Qian Qian get involved in this case that may involve someone from the Immortal Sect. His father has passed away, but he still has a young daughter at home."
"I think Captain Qiao is also a man of sentiment. Let's just forget about your relationship with Qian Qian, okay?"
After hearing what she said, Qiumu finally understood.
She said so much because, firstly, she was afraid that Qian Qian would offend Qiao Mu, a big man with an amazing background, and cause a disaster. Secondly, this case was very complicated and she wanted to get Qian Qian out of it.
"So that's how it is." Qiao Mu suddenly realized:
"Since the Chief Constable has considered so much, I believe he has a plan for the next step?"
"good."
Captain Chen took out a small cloth bag from the cabinet, which contained a few short yellow and black cat hairs.
She was careful that day and did not give all the cat hair found in the prison to Fairy Mingyue. She also kept some for herself.
There is indeed a big difference between this cat's hair and that white tiger's hair, and you can tell them apart at a glance.
Qiao Mu glanced at Chen Yingxue in surprise, then nodded confidently:
"Since there are two kinds of physical evidence, then I can go straight to the Xuantian Temple in the north of the city!"
He had already seen that Chief Constable Chen was a man who would not tolerate any sand in his eyes. Wasn't the reason why she removed Qian Qian in order to get to the bottom of the case
Knowing that this case might involve people from the Immortal Sect, you still dare to investigate
She doesn't have a second life.
Since he traveled through time, this was the first time he had met a person like Chen Yingxue, and he couldn't help but look at her with some respect.
But when he said this, Chen Yingxue looked surprised.
"Captain Qiao, we are public detectives." She said in surprise:
"When acting as a public security officer, we must follow the laws of Dayan!"
"The Xuantian Sect's base is not under the jurisdiction of Dayan, how can you trespass?"
"So next, we should report this case to the government office for a decision."
Qiao Mu was startled and asked in a deep voice:
"You mean, report it to the government office and let Lord Lou make the judgment?"
"That's right." Chen Yingxue nodded firmly, not feeling anything was wrong.
After hearing such an answer, Qiumu could only remain silent.
Recalling the previous experience in Yancheng, the people of Yancheng also trusted the prestigious Yancheng lord...
This Magistrate Lou also has the surname Lou!
At the same time.
In a house somewhere in the city, Emperor Yonghe, with his hands behind his back, was listening to the report from Guard Chu behind him.
After the incident in the teahouse, Emperor Yonghe looked at Qiao Mu differently and ordered Chu Xing to ask Feiyu Guards to keep a close eye on Qiao Mu's every move.
This includes tonight's murder.
Qiao Mu arrived a step late and failed to capture the Immortal Mingyue on the spot.
But Chu Xing, a high-level martial artist, was different. He witnessed the whole process, including the entire process of Mingyue letting the tiger commit the crime.
"Your Majesty, the spirit beast raised by the Saint of Xuantian Sect committed a murder..."
After Guard Chu finished his report, he did not hear Emperor Yonghe's response for a long time.
After waiting for a long time, he finally heard the tired voice of Emperor Yonghe:
"I... understand."
Chapter 75: Entering Xuantian Temple (3k
It's late at night.
Chen Yingxue was still writing furiously in the yamen; the only sound in the room was the rustling sound of her pen.
I don’t know how long it was before she put down her pen and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Finished?"
Qiao Mu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally opened his eyes at this moment.
As a subordinate, he had no intention of helping Chief Constable Chen write documents and had been slacking off on the side until now.
"I've finished writing it." Captain Chen nodded and glanced at the dark night outside the window.
"Wait until daybreak and submit it to the higher-ups."
"This case is very complicated and involves people from the Immortal Sect. I think it will take at least a few days for the government to make a decision. By then..."
"Let's stop here." Qiao Mu interrupted her.
"... What?" Captain Chen was slightly surprised.
"Let's just leave it at that. It's time to give up." Qiao Mu said expressionlessly.
"I just spent half the night thinking about it and finally figured it out."
"This case is very complicated. If you continue to investigate, there will be no good results. It is too reckless for you to report it like this."
Chen Yingxue opened her eyes slightly.
"You? You said I was reckless?" She suddenly felt a little suffocated, and her chest heaved.
It's like when you're playing a game with a primary school student and your teammate scolds you for being a primary school student, but you can't type as fast as him and he can't scold you back, which makes her feel indescribably frustrated.
"Don't look at me. I'm not young anymore. When I get older, I always think more about what I do." Qiao Mu finally remembered that he was actually a 44-year-old middle-aged man, so he said in an old-fashioned way:
"When I was young, I was just like you. I couldn't tolerate any sand in my eyes. But now that I'm older, I naturally understand the principle of blending in with the world."
"He Guang Tong Chen, it's just you?" Chief Constable Chen looked at him in confusion.
How can this chief constable, who was imprisoned for his words and slandering the emperor just after taking office, be related to the words "live in harmony with the world"
"It was one thing for me to discuss state affairs before, but it is another thing for me to stand up and arrest people from the Immortal Sect now," Qiao Mu explained.
This made Chief Constable Chen startled. After thinking for a while, he blurted out:
"You dared to speak up before only because you have an amazing background. Even if you are imprisoned for your words, we can still get you out of the cell."
"Now that you've met someone from the Immortal Sect that you think you can't afford to offend, you're backing down?"
As soon as these words came out, it seemed to hit Qiao Mu's sore spot, and his face suddenly darkened:
"Young man, this is called keeping a low profile, this is called seeing the big picture."
"You are so short-sighted and act rashly. No wonder you are only the chief constable of a prefecture city."
Chen Yingxue was slightly stunned:
"Didn't you contradict Immortal Mingyue before?"
Qiao Mu said without hesitation: "Contradicting the Immortal Mingyue and going directly to Xuantian Temple to arrest the suspect are two different things."
"You act so recklessly. Do you think you can seek justice for those who died tragically? You are just courting your own death!"
After hearing this, Chen Yingxue could only remain silent.
After spending the past few days together, she originally thought that this newly appointed chief constable was actually a person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He appeared to be unrestrained on the surface, but in fact he had a proud character. He was not afraid of the immortal gate and dared to challenge the Immortal Mingyue.
This is also the reason why she deliberately excluded Qian Qian and discussed the case with Qiao Mu.
I originally thought that he was a fellow traveler, but I didn't expect that he would eventually bow to the Immortal Sect.
In fact, this is also human nature. It is better to say that it is reasonable to bow your head.