Chapter 558

"Your excellency Xu, where are we going?" Min Shan asked.

"To arrest the criminal!" After leaving the meeting hall, Xu Qi 'an didn't have any misgivings and directly explained.

Yang Feng and the other gongs looked at Xu Qi 'an in surprise. Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng had some thoughts in their minds. Whether it was the saltpeter mine or the little flag officer's case, the two of them were involved and knew more than the others.

If Li Yuchun was here, he would probably be able to sort out his thoughts, but he went to invite the Celestial Commissioner's Chu Caiwei.

"Why isn't the boss back yet? Does it take a whole morning to invite someone?" Xu Qi 'an frowned and said, "Did he encounter some trouble?"

After leaving the door of the Ministry of Justice, just as he got on his horse, he saw two yellow horses galloping towards him. It was Li Yuchun and Chu Caiwei in a light yellow dress.

Li Yuchun explained, "Miss Caiwei is not with the Celestial Commissioner. She went to the palace. I waited for a long time at the gate of the Imperial City before she came out …"

She went to Princess Royal's place to eat again. This glutton … Sooner or later, I will make her suffer … Xu Qi 'an smiled warmly, "Miss Caiwei, I haven't seen you for a long time. You've become even more beautiful."

Chu Caiwei's round oval face had a sweet smile. She was about to say something when she remembered her identity and the people who were watching. She put on a straight face and said, "Hmm."

The situation was urgent, so Xu Qi 'an made it short, "Min Yinluo, take my gold medal to the east gate of the Imperial City and arrest Zhou Chixiong and Zhou Baihu.

"The rest of you, follow me to the Zhou Mansion."

Because they didn't know if Baihu Zhou was on duty today, they split into two groups.

Xu Qi 'an's arrangement was reasonable. The Imperial City was under the Emperor's feet. There wouldn't be any conflicts, and no one would dare to do so. However, it wasn't easy to arrest someone. One had to have a waist token to clear the way.

So, one silver gong was enough.

If they went directly to Baihu Zhou's house to arrest him, he might do something desperate. Xu Qi 'an had just used the Heaven and Earth Single Blade Slash, so his combat power was greatly reduced. So, he needed two silver gongs to accompany him.

…

On the other side, Lü Qing was reporting the situation.

"Eunuch Liu, my lords, if I'm not mistaken, it's highly likely that the Demon Race is involved in this matter."

His words shocked all the officials present. Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice also frowned.

An official from the Ministry of Justice didn't quite believe him and asked, "What evidence do you have?"

"A few days ago, your humble servant and Lord Xu investigated the case of demons devouring gray households in the Great Yellow Mountain in Taikang County."

"Baihu Zhou Mansion Yao Huang's County." A few Yao Yao Clan Yao Zhang.

"Yes, in the middle of the year, a monster came to the river at the foot of the Great Yellow Mountain and devoured hundreds of local farmers. I worked with Lord Xu on this case, and we found a clean saltpeter mine on the Great Yellow Mountain … "

Lue. Qing. County. Minister Qing, and said. "Lü Qing County" Shan.

This was an extremely good way to stall for time. Because what he said was not empty talk, the adults listened very seriously and did not rush him.

"So, when I talked with your excellency Xu, we analyzed the case and found that the gunpowder didn't come from the Ministry of Works. Instead, it was related to the Yellow Mountain Yao Mine," Lü Qing said.

The officials of the Ministry of Justice and the magistrate looked serious. This case involved the Yao Clan. The Yao Clan in the Nine Regions had two camps: the Northwest Demon Tribe and the Southern Demon Kingdom.

The Southern Demon Kingdom had been destroyed in the Jiazi Demon-slaying Campaign. The remaining survivors were struggling at death's door.

The Northwest Demon Tribe and the Northern Demon Tribe formed an alliance to fight against Daibun and the Western Regions.

Which demon clan was the mastermind behind the saltpeter mine?

Eunuch Liu glanced at Prefectural Magistrate Chen. The latter responded with an "Oh" and endorsed his subordinate, "It's true. The magistrate had just accepted the case a few days ago. The one who was in charge of the case was Arrester Lu."

Eunuch Liu looked gloomy. "If we found the Saltpeter Mine earlier, the Sampo Case might not have happened. Why is the Demon Swallowing Case still under wraps until now? "

Lü Qing was about to accuse the magistrate of Taikang County of malfeasance and disregard for the lives of the residents, but Governor Chen stopped her with a look.

Old Chen sighed. "The demons are powerful. Even the magistrate is having a hard time."

Eunuch Liu snorted. "I will report this to His Majesty."

Minister Sun spoke. He glanced at Lü Qing. "What is Xu Qi'an going to do?"

He seemed to have noticed that Lü Qing was trying to stall for time. He got straight to the point, not wanting her to waste any more time.

Eunuch Liu pondered. "Even if the demons had the gunpowder, how could they hide it from the Daibun Imperial Guards and the city guards? How could they smuggle the gunpowder into Sampo?"

"This involves another case." Lü Qing replied.

"Another case?" Everyone was shocked. The Sampo Explosion Case actually involved so many other incidents?

Lü Qing said, "The day before His Majesty's ancestral worship, the Junior Flag Officer of the Golden Guards, Liu Han, died at home for no reason. Similarly, your excellency Xu and I handled this case. At that time, your excellency Xu speculated that he was silenced. However, this does not overlap with the Saltpeter Mine Case, so we did not think of this."

The Junior Flag Officer of the Golden Guards was silenced … the gunpowder was smuggled into Sampo … Everyone present was smart. They no longer had any doubts.

"Just now, that Xu …" The officials from the Ministry of Justice and some of the magistrate's officials stood up from their chairs.

"Just now, your excellency Xu thought of this and suddenly understood everything. That's why he left in a hurry." Lü Qing said.

Minister Sun said in a low voice, "Order the arrest of all the baihu of the Golden Guards. Go now!"

All of a sudden, everyone got to their feet and rushed out of the meeting hall, not even bothering to knock over chairs.

At this stage of the case analysis, it was very clear that capturing the internal affairs of the Golden Guards was equivalent to making a great contribution.

Lü Qing slowly exhaled. She had tried her best.

If it was just a fair competition, Lü Qing would not have helped Xu Qi'an so much. However, the other party's situation was worrisome. This case was his only hope of atoning for his crimes.

Lü Qing felt that as a friend, she should help as much as she could.

She left the meeting hall with her colleagues from the magistrate's office.

Only Eunuch Liu, the eunuchs he brought with him, Minister Sun, and the prefectural magistrate were left in the large meeting hall.

Eunuch Liu stretched out his hand. The eunuch immediately blew the ink dry and handed the booklet to him.

Eunuch Liu carefully read the contents. The first two pages were about the case discussion between the Ministry of Justice and the magistrate's office. They were mainly arguments and were relatively dry.

It was only when Xu Qi'an joined the case that the case began to be clarified. Within the time it took for a joss stick to burn, the suspect was identified.

The speed of the progress of the case surprised Eunuch Liu. According to the normal procedure, it would probably take two to three days to link the case of the saltpeter mine in the Great Yellow Mountain and the little flag officer.

"It seems that His Majesty has a deeper meaning in appointing this Xu Qi'an as the head of the night watchman office …" Eunuch Liu suddenly understood.

"Xiao Yun, from today onwards, you will stay in the night watchman office. You will be responsible for supervising them in handling the case and pass on the news to me in time."

Eunuch Liu said.

"Yes!" The little eunuch who took down the transcript accepted the order.

…

The black lacquered door of the Zhou Mansion was tightly shut.

Under Xu Qi'an's signal, Song Tingfeng stepped up the stairs to the door and banged on it.

"Open the door! The night watchman is handling the case. "

An old voice came from behind the door. "The Lord of the Baihu Mansion is sick and will not see any guests. Go back."

Song Tingfeng banged on the door again, but the person inside pretended to be dead and did not respond.

Acting like a scoundrel?

Song Tingfeng sneered and stomped on the door. With a loud "bang", the solid wooden door fell apart and splinters flew everywhere.

An old man dressed in a green robe hid in the distance, trembling with fear. He stared at the uninvited guests with a terrified expression.

"Leave two people to guard the door. The others, follow Li Yinluo and Yang Yinluo in." Xu Qi'an waved his hand and ordered the gongs to rush in while he and Chu Caiwei stayed behind.

"You are the head of the night watchman. Why don't you rush in?" Chu Caiwei tilted her head and glanced at him.

"During the national war in Shanhai Pass, did you see His Majesty rushing in?" Xu Qi'an looked back at her.

Chu Caiwei was speechless. She knew that he was talking nonsense, but her not-so-smart brain couldn't think of a rebuttal for the time being.

"I wanted to give you a Pill of Vigor. Forget it." She kept a straight face.

"A Pill of Vigor?"

"It's good to nourish your body. Your qi and blood are so empty." Chu Caiwei said.

As a Feng Shui master of the warlock system, when she was treating people, Xu Qi'an was still playing with stone locks in the yard.

Just by looking at Xu Qi'an's complexion, she knew that he was suffering a lot.

"Give me one and I will treat you to dinner tonight." Xu Qi'an poked her with his elbow.

Chu Caiwei took a few steps back in disgust. She took out a porcelain bottle from her deerskin bag and threw it to him. "It's enough for you for a while."

Chu Caiwei was stubborn. Xu Qi'an liked such a girl with backbone. As he walked inside, he tipped the porcelain bottle and ate a brown pill.

The pill had a strange taste. After chewing a few times, it became spicy.

Xu Qi'an swallowed it. After a few seconds, he felt warm and comfortable in his stomach. The feeling of exhaustion also recovered a lot.

"Let me make it clear in advance. This is the negative effect of my unique skill. It doesn't mean that I am Ruan Xiao 'er."

"What is Ruan Xiao 'er?"

"Not a good thing."

As they walked and talked, they arrived at the inner courtyard.

Li Yuchun and Yang Feng came up and shook their heads. "He is gone."

The latter added, "All the valuable things in the mansion have been moved away."

Song Tingfeng immediately pulled the old gatekeeper over and put a knife to his neck. He shouted, "Where is Zhou Chixiong?"

"Lord Baihu … He, he brought his wife, young masters, and young mistresses out of the city to visit their relatives."

"Then why did you say that he is sick?"

"Since Lord Baihu said so, I, I will do as he said …" The old gatekeeper looked terrified and his legs were trembling. He did not seem to be lying.

Xu Qi'an asked, "When did he leave?"

"On the day the ancestral worshipping ceremony ended …" The gatekeeper gulped and begged, "What … what crime did Lord Baihu commit? I don't know, I don't know … "

Xu Qi'an waved his hand and gestured for Song Tingfeng to let him go.

He led his men back into the house and searched the rooms one by one. Other than some of the more precious antiques and paintings that were taken away, everything in the mansion was as good as before.

"Lord Baihu escaped!" Li Yuchun said in a low voice.

"It's too early to say." Xu Qi'an glanced at Chu Caiwei.

The oval-faced beauty somehow understood what he meant. She jumped onto the roof and opened her Light eyes to scan every corner of the Zhou Mansion.

She wasn't looking for anyone. She was looking for something else. The focus was on the garden and the stone well.

After a while, Chu Caiwei jumped off the roof and shook her head. "There are no corpses in the mansion, and no one has died here recently … Hmm, it could be covered up by some special method. You can dig three feet into the ground and search. "

"There's no need." Xu Qi 'an sighed. "It doesn't matter if I die or if I escape. This trail is broken."

However, there was an eighty percent chance that they had escaped, because the people in the mansion saw Lord Baihu leave with his family.

As he led his men out of the Zhou Mansion, Min Shan rushed over with a few brass gongs. He did not have time to rein in his horse and shouted, "After the ancestral worshipping ceremony, Lord Baihu applied for a long leave."

His heart sank when he saw the gloomy faces of his colleagues.

"Escaped." Yang Feng spat out a mouthful of turbid air.

…

As soon as Xu Qi'an left with his men, the people from the Ministry of Justice and the yamen rushed to the Zhou Mansion. When they saw the collapsed gate, their hearts sank.

They called the people in the mansion to question them and found out that the night watchman had missed Baihu Zhou and escaped from the capital.

The people from the two yamen had mixed feelings. They did not know whether they should feel lucky or regretful.

…

Dusk!

Eunuch Liu rushed back to the palace before the city gate closed. He changed into casual clothes with the help of his sons, took a bath, and was drinking tea before dinner.

A young eunuch hurried in and said in a soft voice, "Godfather, His Majesty sent someone to invite you."

Eunuch Liu pinched his eyebrows and said angrily, "I know!"

He drank some water and asked his son to change into an official robe. Just as he stepped out of the door, he suddenly thought of something.

"Bring us the dossier, the one we brought back today."

The young eunuch returned to his room to fetch it.

He went all the way to Jingxin Hall. After informing the eunuch, he was led into the hall and saw the Yuanjing Emperor in a Taoist robe with a long beard.

The Yuanjing Emperor did not meditate, nor did he work. He held a book in his hand, but his thoughts were not in the book.

"Liu Rong, I have sent someone to supervise the case. It has been a day. What have you learned?" The Yuanjing Emperor's tone was calm.

Eunuch Liu's heart skipped a beat. He had worked in the palace for decades and even knew the temperament of the Yuanjing Emperor. The more he acted like this, the more annoyed he felt.

It was a lie to ask about the case. The Emperor was about to lose his temper.

Eunuch Liu felt a little scared, but then he felt lucky. He thought, "Fortunately, I have prepared in advance. Fortunately, I have learned something today."

"Your Majesty, this is the summary of today's case. I was about to show it to you." Eunuch Liu took out a thin book from his sleeve.