Chapter 787

The Water Transport Office was divided into two systems, the Shipping Department and the Transport Department. The highest-ranking official was the Transport Commissioner, a fourth-rank official. He was in charge of close to a thousand people in the Water Transport Office.

"The Water Transport Office is the most profitable of all the offices in the imperial court. In the 20th year of Yuanjing, the imperial court once promoted the sale of official positions, which were all related to the Water Transport Office. "Inspector Zhang said in a deep voice as he led the way.

"In the 22nd year of Yuanjing, the policy of selling official positions was jointly banned by Duke Wei and Wang Shoufu. But in just two years, there were so many parasites who came to make up the numbers that it made people's hair stand on end. Even today, there are still a bunch of people who hold high positions without doing any work. "

Xu Qi 'an did not care much about Inspector Zhang's anger. Instead, he extracted some thought-provoking points from his words.

To need Wei Yuan and Grand Secretary Wang, these two mortal enemies, to work together to suppress him, who was that person who sold his official position?

Without a doubt, it was the Yuanjing Emperor.

There were many emperors who sold official positions in the history books, and the Yuanjing Emperor was not an exception. These emperors all had one thing in common: they spent money like water.

Moreover, the history books did not have a good evaluation of these emperors. At least, they would criticize this kind of behavior.

They arrived at the Water Transport Office of Yuzhou. The runner saw a group of people coming aggressively, led by a high-ranking official in a crimson robe and a night watchman with the word Jinluo embroidered on his chest.

Without even asking any questions, he dashed into the yamen to make his report.

After a few minutes, the Transport Commissioner of Yuzhou's Water Transport Office, a fourth-rank official, came out to greet them in a hurry.

The Transport Commissioner was over fifty years old. He had a white beard and an ordinary appearance. There was a black mole between his eyebrows, which made his ordinary appearance look a little special.

"I am Zhang Xingying. I have been ordered to investigate a case in Yunzhou. This is the document from the Cabinet." Inspector Zhang took out a thin booklet and handed it over.

"Oh, it's the Inspector. My apologies. Please come in." After reading the document, the Transport Commissioner returned it respectfully, then turned to the side and made an inviting gesture.

The group entered the office. The Transport Commissioner led Inspector Zhang to the hall of the office. After taking a seat and drinking tea, the Transport Commissioner smiled.

"Inspector, you must be tired from the journey. Do you plan to rest in Yuzhou for a few days?"

He observed this inspector from the capital without batting an eyelid. He only felt that the inspector was a serious and boring person. Ever since they met, the inspector had never smiled.

'Are all officials from the capital this arrogant?

'… This Transport Commissioner still doesn't know the seriousness of the matter. Imperial Inspector Zhang waved his hand: "Whether or not I will stay here for the night depends on the progress of the case."

Inspector Commissioner looked out of the hall and said loudly, "Inspector, Inspector Commissioner.

Inspector Zhang looked towards the outside of the hall and said loudly, "Bring him in!"

Together with the bearded man Fang He, sixty-two members of the Yellow Flag Gang were brought in. Their bodies were either lightly or heavily injured, and they looked dispirited.

When he saw these people, the Transport Envoy stood up in shock and confusion. He pointed at them and looked at Inspector Zhang. "What's going on with these people? Why are they wearing the uniform of our Water Transport Office?"

Commissioner. Commissioner Inspector Inspector Inspector. "This is why I came.

Inspector Inspector Zhang told the Transport Commissioner what happened in detail. The latter's face turned pale. He fell back into his seat and muttered, "What should I do, what should I do …"

'Tsk tsk, his composure is too bad. Compared to the officials I've dealt with in the capital, this Transport Commissioner is just a piece of bronze …' Xu Qi'an ridiculed him in his heart while observing the Transport Commissioner's expression and movements.

Inspector Zhang said in a deep voice, "Transport Commissioner, let me ask you. Do you know anything about this case?"

The Transport Commissioner shook his head and tried his best to explain, "I don't know anything, Inspector Inspector …"

Inspector Zhang ignored him and turned to look at the warlocks in white. The warlocks in white nodded slightly to show that they were not lying.

After pondering for a while, Inspector Zhang said, "Is the Transport Commissioner in the office?"

Only then did the Transport Envoy turn his attention to the culprit. He was furious that a traitor had appeared among his subordinates. He said in a low voice,

He said in a deep voice, "Transport Commissioner Yan Kai is on leave today. He's not in the office. I'll bring the Inspector to arrest this person."

…

Outside the Transport Commissioner Yan Kai's residence, Inspector Zhang waved his hand and ordered the Stalwart Tiger Guards to spread out and surround the Yan Residence.

Yang Muhua, the transport envoy of the Water Transport Office, also brought twenty bailiffs with him.

After the Stalwart Tiger Guards spread out, Jiang Lüzhong broke down the door with his men and pinned down all the servants and guards in the residence.

The Stalwart Tiger Guards, the bailiffs from the Grain Transport Office, and the night watchman swept through the entire Yan Residence. They moved as fast as lightning and did not give the other party a chance to react.

"Sir, he's in the study."

The bailiffs from the Grain Transport Office were the first to discover Yan Kai. When Xu Qi'an arrived at the study with his colleagues, he was too late. He saw blood splattered all over the ground, thick and viscous.

The Transport Commissioner Yan Kai was lying powerlessly on a large chair. His head was tilted to one side, and there was a deep wound on his neck. A dagger lay on the ground to his right.

This outcome was clearly out of the expectations of Transport Commissioner Yang and Inspector Zhang. While they were shocked, their chests were filled with rage.

However, their rage was different. The Transport Commissioner's rage was closer to the rage of incompetence. The moment the Transport Commissioner died, everyone's attention was focused on him. He would definitely be the first suspect.

Inspector Zhang, on the other hand, was furious like a cooked duck flying away.

There were too many people, and it would be easy to destroy the crime scene … Furthermore, there was no guarantee that there was no murderer at the scene. It was very likely that key clues would be destroyed … Xu Qi'an was the calmest of them all.

"Everyone, please leave the study and wait outside."

When he heard this, Inspector Zhang became spirited. He swept his gaze across the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, get out of the study and wait outside."

Very soon, only Jiang Lüzhong, Xu Qi'an, and the two lords were left in the study.

"Inspector Zhang, Yan Kai must have committed suicide to escape punishment. This case has nothing to do with me." Transport Commissioner Yang explained repeatedly, in a hurry to disassociate himself from the case.

Inspector Zhang ignored him. He looked at Xu Qi'an and said, "Xu Ningyan, take a good look."

Transport Commissioner Yang could not help but cast a glance at Xu Qi'an. He soon stopped paying attention to him and pulled Inspector Zhang to continue his explanation. He nagged about his grievances and expressed his innocence.

"The bloodstains have coagulated. He died not long ago, but before we entered the residence," Jiang Lüzhong said.

"He died when we entered the Water Transport Office." Xu Qi'an nodded.

He simply checked Yan Kai's corpse. The wounds were so obvious that there was no need to conduct an autopsy. He died from having his carotid artery cut.

After looking at the corpse, Xu Qi 'an checked every corner of the study room as usual, looking for any clues that might be there.

The entire process only took five minutes. Xu Qi'an sighed. "Inspector Zhang, he was killed. He did not commit suicide to escape punishment."

Inspector Zhang nodded and said, "Why do you say so?"

The chattering Transport Commissioner stopped explaining and turned his head to look at him.

"If the carotid artery was cut, a person would struggle because of lack of oxygen … or because of his survival instinct. He would not sit like this. Of course, it's not enough to determine that he was killed. "Xu Qi'an said.

Transport Commissioner Yang was stunned. "How do you know?"

Transport Commissioner Yang was stunned. "How do you know?"

"There's a thick callus on the middle finger of his left hand. This is left by holding a brush all year round. A normal person's callus is on the middle finger of the right hand. That's why I'm guessing he's left-handed.

"Look at the wound on his neck. The left side is deep and the right side is shallow. This is a scar left by a right-handed person."

'Amazing …' The Transport Commissioner looked at Xu Qi'an in shock. There was no longer any contempt in his eyes. In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, he could find clues and deduce the real cause of death.

To the Transport Commissioner, who was not good at solving cases, this was an amazing display of ability.

'Amazing …' This was the first time Inspector Zhang witnessed Xu Qi'an's ability to solve cases, even though he had heard about it before. No matter how rumors spread about this little gong in the capital's officialdom, hearing about it and seeing it were two different things.

However, it was useless. There was no breakthrough in the investigation of the case … The cause of Yan Kai's death was a slit throat. It was not as flashy as sorcerers who killed people in their dreams. However, it was precisely because such a simple and crude method of murder could be done by anyone, which made it harder to lock onto the murderer … It was too strenuous to solve the case without any surveillance.

"The doors and windows didn't show any signs of being pried open or damaged. The murderer and the victim clearly knew each other. He wanted to interrogate the servants in the manor to see if anyone had just visited, or if they had heard Yan Kai's cries for help. Also, interrogate everyone in the Grain Transport Office, including the Transport Commissioner. Remember to search them to prevent any aura-concealing artifacts from obstructing the observation of the Qi-watching spell, "Xu Qi'an suggested.

Inspector Zhang said, "Transport Commissioner, please cooperate with us."

For the next two hours, the three warlocks from the Celestial Commissioner's Office kept observing the officials and officials in the Grain Transport Office.

However, they didn't find anything. With the death of the Transport Commissioner Yan Kai, the clue to the "embezzlement" case was broken.

Inspector Zhang, accompanied by Jiang Lüzhong, went to the QING: Bureau of Inspecting and Prosecuting in Yuzhou. This office was in charge of prisons and happened to be the one in charge of this case. At the same time, it was also the supervisory body of the imperial court and belonged to the Imperial Censorate.

Inspector Zhang was the Deputy Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate and the immediate superior of the QING: Bureau of Inspecting and Prosecuting.

In the afterglow of dusk, Xu Qi'an sat on the roof of the Grain Transport Office, bathing in the golden glow as he replayed the case in his mind.

With the death of the Transport Commissioner, the clue to the whole case was broken. Heh, this was also a clue that the mastermind didn't control the entire Grain Transport Office.

It was obvious that this wasn't a simple case of corruption … The Minister of Works had already fallen from power, but the Grain Transport Office in Yuzhou was still doing the same thing, smuggling iron ore to Yunzhou … This meant that there was still someone behind the scenes. This person didn't have much power and could only control the Transport Commissioner. No, it wasn't necessarily that he didn't have much power. Maybe he did it for covert purposes.

If I hadn't been lucky enough to run into him, the smuggling of iron ore might have continued.

Since there was smuggling iron ore, would there be smuggling of official salt and saltpeter? It was time for the imperial court to investigate the Grain Transport Office in each province.

"I'm afraid this trip to Yunzhou will be more dangerous than I thought." Xu Qi'an thought worriedly. Suddenly, he heard someone calling him from below.

"Ning Yan, let's go to the Musical House to have some fun." Song Tingfeng stood in the courtyard and waved at him.

"No, I'm thinking about serious business," Xu Qi'an said grumpily.

"Go. I heard that the girls of the Musical House in Yuzhou are very good at serving people." Song Tingfeng guided him patiently.

"You only know about the Musical House all day long. Be careful that you won't be promoted for the rest of your life." Xu Qi'an replied resentfully.

…

In the Musical House in Yuzhou.

In the melodious music, Xu Qi'an picked up his cup and laughed. "Come on, let's drink. I've been floating on the water for six days, and I've grown cobwebs."

The night watchmen raised their cups together. Every one of them was a beautiful girl. They toasted each other and talked happily.

Xu Ningyan really followed them. Song Tingfeng was not surprised. It should be said that it was all expected.

In the capital, Xu Qi'an never took the initiative to go to the Musical House. It was Song Tingfeng who proposed it, and then he and Zhu Guangxiao followed him.

Sometimes when Xu Ningyan was cultivating, he would yell, "Song Tingfeng, if you have a little conscience, don't disturb my cultivation."

After scolding, he would follow them.

The Musical House in Yuzhou was different from that in the capital. It did not cover a large area, but it was built along the river, with six courtyards and two high-rise buildings. It was better for the elegant scenery.

The rippling water distorted the reflection of the red lanterns. The sound of the music of the Musical House floated in the courtyard and on the sparkling river.

With the identity and status of Xu Qi'an and his companions, of course, they would not go to the building to drink with the mixed whoremongers. Led by the officials of the Canal Transport Office, they came to the courtyard of a Top Courtesan named Hong Xiu for tea.

The Top Courtesan named Hong Xiu seemed to be a little reluctant. They drank in the courtyard for almost an hour, but she still did not come out.