"Dong! Dong! Dong!" After the loud sound of gongs and drums, the storyteller strode to the front of the stage and bowed to everyone.
"Last time I told you, that brave man Hu Jiao broke into the bandit camp at night and was surrounded by the bandit leader and a dozen of his men. He couldn't escape even if he had wings..."
In a teahouse in Chengtian Prefecture, a middle-aged man with a mustache sat. He was dressed in a long gown and looked like a scholar, but the gleam in his eyes from time to time added a bit of commercialism to him.
He listened to the storytelling leisurely, and when he got excited, he would tap the table with his knuckles, signaling the waiter to bring the tray of tips and throw some copper coins in it. But if you look closely, you will find that his peripheral vision is always paying attention to the door, as if he is waiting for someone to arrive.
Suddenly, a group of yamen runners came running over. They had stern faces, frowned brows, and stared at the people passing by with sharp eyes, which made people feel uneasy. Soon, they stopped in front of the teahouse and blocked the door of the teahouse tightly.
The teahouse manager's face changed, and he came forward with a flattering smile: "Sir, it's dry today, why don't you come in and have some tea?"
"No need, we are here to do our job." The leading yamen runner waved his hand, and the others filed in and started checking the tables one by one.
"My lords, I still have business to do. I don't know what job you are here on. Could you please ask the guests to leave first?" The manager of the teahouse was almost going crazy. After such a commotion, business would be bad for several days.
"Boss, we found it!" The leader was about to speak when suddenly, a yamen runner inside shouted loudly, grabbing the person sitting at the table with one hand.
The leading yamen runner walked over, unfolded the scroll he was carrying and compared it, and found that it was indeed very similar.
"take away!"
"yes!"
A group of people left, just as hurriedly as they came. The only change was that there was one less guest with a mustache sitting at the table under the storytelling stage.
The moment he was caught, He Gui's heart almost stopped beating. But soon, he realized that he should not panic. Facing such a situation, the best thing to do is to remain unchanged. So, he remained silent until he found that the group of yamen runners were not going to take him to the court, but to a carriage, and then he screamed.
"What are you going to do? Why are you arresting me? I want to go to the lobby to seek justice!"
"Your name is He Gui, right? Is this your pass?" The leading yamen runner took out a very familiar package in front of him, and then took out a piece of paper with an official seal on it from the package.
"You... you guys!" This was the package he left in the inn, and these people actually got his things in advance. It seemed that they had planned it in advance and came straight for him. But he had only been in Chengtian Prefecture for two or three days, why did these yamen runners notice him
"Forget you, go in!" The yamen runner pushed He Gui into the carriage, closed the door, and even locked it from the outside.
He Gui racked his brains but couldn't figure out where these people were taking him, and they didn't say why they wanted to arrest him, which made him very frightened.
The carriage started moving slowly. He Gui didn't know how long he had been there. He only remembered that the group of people opened the window halfway and threw two steamed buns and a bamboo tube of water into his carriage. There was nothing else. He rested there at night, and he continued on his journey before dawn the next day.
After he felt better, he finally looked around. He was stunned. Where did he think those people were taking him? Now he saw that this was Cangzhou! Did those people go to such great lengths to bring him back to Cangzhou
"Prefect Lin, thank you very much. If you hadn't helped, we wouldn't have been able to bring He Gui back in a short time." Pei Che had been waiting at the gate of the government office for a long time. With a smile on his face, he was politely thanking Prefect Lin.
When Prefect Lin saw him, he could not help but sigh that the prince's appearance was indeed as dazzling as the legend said. However, he was well-informed and only froze for a moment before coming to his senses.
"This is also a matter under the jurisdiction of Chengtian Prefecture. Since the man has escaped, we should take responsibility and arrest him. By the way, how far has the case progressed?"
When Prefect Lin received the case, he wanted to fly over. Unfortunately, there were so many things to do in the prefecture, and he had to arrange everything before he could go out. This delay took several days. Yesterday, he received a letter by carrier pigeon, saying that an important criminal was currently in Chengtian Prefecture, and he also gave the man's name and appearance in detail, asking them to help with the case.
"Your Excellency, the identities of those quarry workers have been investigated clearly. They were all deceived. The Datong Trading Company used aliases to lure these common people to go out with them, claiming that they could earn enough money in three years to last a lifetime. The common people were simple and honest, and only realized they were deceived after following them. Please send a letter to those prefectures and ask them to notify the families of these people so that they can be properly taken home." Pei Che said. The people from the Datong Trading Company used various identities to go to poor areas like Cangzhou to deceive the people, and they were successful almost every time.
"It's true that all businessmen are dishonest! It would have been fine if they had just swindled people out of their money in the past, but they are so bold as to swindle people and do such things that are detrimental to one's morality. I will not let them off!" Prefect Lin was obviously very angry.
"Your Excellency is wise. Those guards also came from various places, but they assisted the tyrant and often committed atrocities against the people. As many as one or two hundred people died at their hands, including half of the missing people in Cangzhou. When I interrogated them, they refused to reveal the mastermind behind the scenes." The missing people in Cangzhou were right at their doorsteps but were not allowed to go home. Their consciousness of resistance was stronger than that of others, and their treatment was naturally worse.
"How can this be absurd!" Prefect Lin was furious. "Those who commit such evil deeds are simply unworthy of being human beings! In particular, they concealed the truth and tried to protect the people behind it, which is an even greater crime!"
"Yes, I followed the clues and found the shop that supplied them with grain in the past few years. The shop is called Datong Grain Shop, and you can tell it has a close relationship with Datong Trading Company. The manager of the shop denied selling grain privately after interrogation, and said that the matter must be related to the accountant in the shop. The accountant is He Gui, whom you arrested."
“So it was him…” Magistrate Lin had no objection to helping just now, but when he heard that it was related to this case, he felt fortunate that he agreed to help.
"He sold the food in his shop to the people at the bottom of the cliff, so he must be quite clear about their origins and the whereabouts of the stones. I believe that as long as we interrogate him, everything will come out." Pei Che said. Before they arrived in Cangzhou, Manager Zhu said a lot about He Gui. He was good at calculating and never wanted to be behind others in everything, so how could he be willing to be just an accountant for five or six years
"Let's go straight to the court for interrogation without delay, so as to prevent this person from getting the information and making up some excuses to fool us." Prefect Lin had never been as anxious as he was now.
"Your Excellency is indeed devoted to his duties and is a role model for officials. I really admire you!"
Prefect Lin was secretly delighted, but he urged the court to proceed, acting as if he cared about the court and was selfless.
(End of this chapter)