The world continued to function as usual.
On the tenth day of the fourth month, the eleventh day of the fourth month … On the twelfth day of the fourth month, not long after entering the side courtyard of the Yunzhong Magistrate's office, Mandu Daru met Gao Puhu and his group who were hurriedly coming out. The two teams faced each other for a while. Gao Puhu, who looked like he hadn't slept well, bowed and retreated to the side of the road. After Mandudaru and the others left, he dejectedly walked out of the yamen. He seemed to still have Hu biscuits for breakfast in his sleeves.
"How's Old Gao doing?"
Mandul Dalu went to the office allocated to the patrolmen and dismissed some people. Then, he started talking to his trusted subordinates, "It doesn't seem to be going well."
"You've been scolded, haven't you? You haven't even finished the pancake in your sleeve and you're already in a hurry to leave." The one who answered was Mandudaru's old comrade from the army, nicknamed "Old Knife". He was tall and had a face full of pockmarks. He was good at interrogation and observation. Clearly, he had also seen the clues in Gao Puhu's sleeves.
"In the past two days, I heard that the higher-ups almost got into a fight. The young master who went missing has a father who isn't easy to deal with. Last night, King Liang took advantage of the situation to make things difficult for the marshal. The magistrate was probably cursed as well. Master has been scolded, how can Gao Puhu feel good? "
Some of the well-informed constables in the surroundings brought up the matter, and some of them laughed and said, "Fortunately, we're fine here."
There was a reason why nothing had happened here. When Wanyan Xi had been transferred to Dudaru, he had already informed the Residence of the Clouds. His most important task at the moment was to capture the Black Flag spies and ensure that the tournament would be held in May. As a result, the disappearance of Xun Gui would not be brought to this place for the time being.
Man Dudaru thought for a while. "Still no progress? Did we find anything on our side? If it was a normal kidnapping, someone would have come to make a request. "
"What's strange is that there's no requirement. In fact, according to the current situation in Yunzhong, who would dare to come at this time to get rich? He was just afraid that the waters were deep. Perhaps the people in the east did it themselves. A living person, strolling in an antique shop, followed by his personal guards, suddenly disappeared. There's something fishy about this … "
"It's also possible if it's Black Flag …"
"Perhaps, but … capturing a few nobles and causing the two sides to quarrel a few more times? At the risk of exposing myself? How great can the benefits be … "
After everyone discussed for a while, Mandudaru said, "It's hard to say now. Continue investigating. If he can't catch them, it'll be a good thing for us. "
April 12th passed peacefully, followed by April 13th. The matters in the yamen were trivial, and the investigation of Black Flag and Clown was still ongoing. He knew that there would be results sooner or later, but for now, he could only accumulate them like this.
On the afternoon of the thirteenth day, he was suddenly summoned by the residence of the Goddess of Grains. Mandodaru rushed over and Xi Yin met him in the study room. She inquired about his work and then changed the topic.
"Have you heard about Wanyan Linqi?"
"I understand …"
"Do you think it's possible that Black Flag did it?"
"I think … there is indeed … a certain possibility … I have actually been secretly investigating this matter for the past few days …" Mandudaru replied cautiously.
Xi Yin nodded and said, "Look into this matter." She then waved her hand and said, "You can go back."
Mandodaru understood. After leaving, he mobilized his subordinates and began to investigate the case in Gao Puhu's hands. At this time, his investigation was a little late. Most of the first-hand information was concentrated in Gao Puhu's hands. It was not appropriate for him to ask Gao Puhu for it, so he could only secretly inquire about it.
On the night of April 14th, the two groups of people met again on the road in the side courtyard of the yamen. Gao Puhu hesitated for a moment, then retreated to the side of the road and saluted. This time, his actions were much more straightforward. Mandodaru raised his chin and walked over. When the figures of Gao Puhu and his group disappeared at the end of the corridor, Mandodaru, who had been walking forward, turned around and frowned slightly.
"Old Gao has a problem," Dagger, who was at the side, also came over and whispered.
The two groups of people had always been enemies. Two days ago, Gao Puhu had been running around for Wanyan Linqi's case and was scolded by the magistrate so much that he did not even have time to eat breakfast. After seeing Mandodaru, he reluctantly gave way. Although it was dark tonight, the other party seemed to give way like two days ago, but the expression on his face was obviously a little different.
The case was solved so quickly?
But why didn't he publicize it?
Weren't the higher-ups still quarreling and wrangling?
Mandodaru was puzzled. After a while, he arranged for people to start investigating Gao Puhu. On the other hand, he began to observe and inquire at Wanyan Linqi's father's place to see if the little noble who had been kidnapped had returned.
On the 15th of April, there was news. Wanyan Linqi had not returned, but in the prison in the north of the city where Gao Puhu was, more people had been sent to guard it. It was very likely that someone had been caught.
In the huge Yun Zhong Residence, there was more than one prison in the yamen. In the past, not many people used the small prison in the north of the city. Later, most people acquiesced to it as a stronghold and private prison for the chief arrester near the north gate. Mandodaru hesitated for a moment. Thinking of Xi Yin's reception two days ago, he immediately gathered his men and headed towards the north gate.
Thick white clouds were surging in the sky of the city. The sunlight was like a sharp sword, directly shining through the gaps in the clouds. Pedestrians walked on the streets, everything was normal. At this time, the knife that was falling towards the West Residence had already pierced into the heart of the Yun Zhong Residence.
In the afternoon, when they arrived near the prison at the north gate of the Yun Zhong Residence, Mandodaru saw that a few private troops of the Prince's Residence had already surrounded the area. Although they had not officially fought, many passers-by who knew how to observe the situation had already made a detour.
"Something's wrong …" Mandodaru felt as if there were countless ants crawling behind his head. He ordered his men, "Go and inform the Goddess of Grains, something's wrong …"
*****
After noon on the 15th of April, Wanyan Chang arrived at the courtyard with the prison at the north of the Yun Zhong Residence. After entering the slightly spacious hall, he saw Zong Bi and the other two Jurchen Princes, followed by another two princes.
"It's not good to set up a private court in such a remote place," he questioned.
Zong Bi replied, "It's a big case. If we don't look at it in private, we won't be able to investigate it."
Wanyan Chang arrived in Yun Zhong on the 8th of April. On the 9th, he already knew about the kidnapping of Wanyan Linqi, a junior. Since then, Zong Bi had been using this incident to make things difficult for him. This was not surprising. Ever since they arrived in Yun Zhong in March, there had been confrontations and conflicts between Zong Bi and Zong Han and the others. After all, this time they were here to divide the power of the West Residence, so Wanyan Chang did not mind fighting for every inch of land.
It was only six days from the 9th to the 15th of April. Zong Bi said that the case had been solved, and the whole thing would even play a decisive role in the battle between the East and the West. Wanyan Chang was puzzled, but he roughly guessed that the whole thing might have affected the highest level of the Yun Zhong Residence.
The yamen runners brought in an old file that was about half a foot tall. At the top of the file were some newly recorded confessions. There were also some blood-stained swords, spears, tokens, and other items as evidence. No one knew where they came from. Afterwards, the four prisoners and the rescued noble, Wanyan Linqi, were brought in.
The interrogation began in front of the six Jurchen Princes.
The whole thing was not complicated.
One of the four prisoners, a member of the Black Flag Army, together with a woman from the Goddess of Grains' residence, kidnapped Wanyan Linqi in the afternoon of the 9th of April. When Chief Constable Gao Puhu found them, the woman from the Goddess of Grains' residence took advantage of the chaos to escape, and the member of the Black Flag Army was caught. After half a day of torture, the member of the Black Flag Army confessed a series of shocking inside stories.
For more than ten years, "Madame Han" Chen Wenjun from the Goddess of Grains' residence used her identity to deliver important information about the Jin Kingdom to the south. She first colluded with the Office of Secret Investigation of the Wu dynasty. Later, while cooperating with the Wu dynasty, she also formed an alliance with the Huaxia Army.
After the Central Plains fell, "Madame Han" not only delivered countless important information to the south, but also directly or indirectly helped a large number of anti-Jin loyalists and Black Flag Army members to escape danger in the Jin Kingdom. It was she who delivered the important information that helped the Black Flag Army in the south find out the truth of the fourth Jurchen expedition to the south. The confession said that if it was not for the help of this information, it would have been many times more difficult for the Huaxia Army to win the war in the southwest.
According to the confession of this member of the Black Flag Army, Gao Puhu also took out the large amount of evidence that he had kept about the delivery of information, the arrangement of the Han slaves, and the escape of the captives. After that, he captured three people from the underworld who did not manage to escape in time, further proving the authenticity of all the information. There were even some clues that vaguely pointed to the Goddess of Grains, Wanyan Xiyin, who had always admired Han studies …
Wanyan Chang and the others flipped through these confessions and evidence. The clues were pieced together in the words and words. After a long time, Wanyan Chang put down the file, slammed his palm on the table, and stood up.
"Things just happened to be so coincidental. After being captured, the evidence was prepared one by one. In these confessions, none of the important figures of the Black Flag or the Wu dynasty have disappeared, leaving only these three hoodlums to testify … What are you thinking! "
He approached the member of the Black Flag Army among the four prisoners. The man kneeling on the ground was half covered in blood, and his figure was thin. His hands hung on the ground, and only when he got close could he see that all ten of his fingernails were missing, and they were badly mangled. Wanyan Chang raised his foot and stepped on his right hand. The man screamed and fell to the ground, twitching and wailing. Blood and spittle flowed from his mouth.
"Ah ah ah ah ah …"
The sound of crying and wailing filled the room.
The prisoner of the Black Flag Army did not reply. Behind him, Wanyan Zongbi stood up. "Uncle, is this important?"
Wanyan Chang turned to look at Zongbi, and then at the eyes of the other four. After a while, he also sighed.
"… It's not important."
He let go of his foot and walked out of the house. There were white clouds in the sky outside the house. The prisoner of the Black Flag Army on the ground was lying in a pool of blood. His right hand that had all his fingernails removed started to bleed again. He just laid there and looked outside. He screamed a few more times, and blood and saliva flowed out. The three prisoners next to him were all famous bandits in Yun Zhong. Their eyes were filled with hatred for him, but when they saw him twitching on the ground, no one dared to get close to him.
"Ah ah ah … Hehehe …"
He seemed to have lost his cool. After the pain, he laughed a few times in a creepy manner.
*****
Man Dudaru still did not know what exactly happened. He had been running around outside for the entire afternoon and night.
When he realized that the guards outside the prison were not normal, he knew that things were out of his control. He quickly sent someone to inform the Goddess of Grains. However, the person that was sent over came back to report that the Goddess of Grains was not in the residence. Even if she was in the residence, there were many officials visiting her every day. Some of the lesser constables could not cut the queue to report to her.
In the evening, he recognized Zong Bi's figure among the crowd that came out. He quickly turned around and personally went to the residence of the Goddess of Grains. Time gradually turned into the night. He had been waiting here until it was almost midnight. Only then did Xi Yin's carriage appeared on the road outside. Man Dudaru did not care about etiquette anymore. He directly rushed to the carriage and asked for an audience loudly.
The carriage stopped. Wanyan Xi Yin lifted the curtain and asked Man Dudaru to come over to speak. Man Dudaru reported to him what he saw in the afternoon. The old man in the carriage had a stern and cold expression. After Man Dudaru finished speaking, he slowly sized him up with a somewhat complicated expression.
"I understand," he said. "You can go back now."
"…"
Man Dudaru was slightly stunned. However, when the carriage started to move, he bowed and left.
It was already late at night. Man Dudaru returned to the government office with doubts in his mind. He met up with his two companions who had not left yet. One of them told him that a relative of his came over in the afternoon and asked him to go to his cousin's house immediately. It seemed that something had happened to someone. Man Dudaru was not in the mood to care about his distant relatives. He waved his hand and threw the matter to the back of his mind. Then, he gritted his teeth and took out the night clothes that he had used in the past from the government office.
The three of them drove to the north of the city again. They changed their clothes near the prison and jumped over the side of the wall. The three of them used to be scouts in the army. Now that they were part of the government, they were familiar with the way of sneaking in. When they arrived at the prison, they knocked out the two guards who were guarding the prison at night. Then, they went to the innermost part of the prison, which had basically been emptied of prisoners.
The innermost cell was also the most important. Looking along the corridor, there were still lights inside. Two prison guards moved a table and sat there, eating and chatting. Man Dudaru quickly charged forward and knocked out one of them before he could react. At the same time, he pointed his blade at the other's neck.
His comrade, Dagger, also came over and restrained the prison guard.
It was only then that Man Dudaru had the time to look around the prison cells. There were a total of four prisoners in the innermost cell, and they were all watched separately. He even knew the prisoner who had been tortured in the cell on the left. He frowned, found the key, and walked over.
"Mountain Dog, what's going on? Why are you in here? "
The man nicknamed Mountain Dog used to be an intelligence dealer. The two of them even had a personal relationship. Although Man Dudaru was still wearing his mask, he heard the noise and looked carefully. Then, he rushed over and grabbed Man Dudaru's clothes through the bars of the cell. His voice was low and hoarse, but it was urgent.
"Something bad is going to happen, something bad is going to happen. All of us have been tricked. That Black Flag bastard …"
"Black Flag what?" Man Dudaru grabbed the man's hand.
Mountain Dog pointed to the innermost cell. The prisoner in the cell was half covered in blood. Unlike the other three, he was not the least bit curious about the scene of someone rushing in. He just sat quietly on the straw and leaned against the wall behind him. He looked at a small window on the wall and watched the starlight seep in.
He seemed to be humming something softly.
"That guy is from Black Flag … We've been tricked … The East and West Constabulary are going to fight, we can't wait for the tournament …"
"What nonsense are you talking about, how can there be a fight?"
"He caught Madam Han, the evidence is conclusive, she can't run away, the Goddess of Grains can't run away either … He caught Madam Han …"
Man Dudaru listened to the other party's voice. Suddenly, the surroundings seemed to have quietened down a little. The words "He brought Madam Han out" echoed in his mind. It was sinking into reality. Something was churning in his stomach, as though he was going to vomit it out. He remembered the look in Wanyan Xiyin's eyes on the street not long ago. He then let go of Mountain Dog's hand and walked quickly to the cell. He took out the key and was about to open the cell where the Black Flag prisoner was. He wanted to kill him with one strike!
The lock was opened with a soft click. He heard the young man in the cell humming something, and then there was another sound coming from behind.
"It's useless to kill him, Sir."
There were people coming from the other side of the cell, led by Gao Puhu. All of them were holding crossbows in their hands. Man Dudaru took two steps forward and pointed his long knife at the head of the prisoner. He heard something from the other party's throat …
"… Live on the shore."
Gao Puhu turned his head and walked over with his arms open, "He has already been presented in front of the six princes! The evidence is as high as a mountain! Come, Sir, you are the Chief Patrol Officer who was personally promoted by the Goddess of Grains. Kill him now and kill the witness for the Goddess of Grains! "
Man Dudaru hesitated for a moment. The two comrades outside were already in a defensive position. Gao Puhu did not care and walked straight into the cell.
Man Dudaru held his knife against the Black Flag prisoner and stared at Gao Puhu, "This bastard really … bit the Goddess of Grains?"
Gao Puhu smiled, "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have known that it was because of the Goddess of Grains that our West Army lost so much information and lost so many people in the southwest."
"Do you know that without the Goddess of Grains, I, Da Jin …"
Man Dudaru gritted his teeth and enunciated each word. However, before he could finish his sentence, the Black Flag prisoner whom he was holding against with his knife raised his head slowly and said in a hoarse voice, "Man, Dudaru?"
Man Dudaru turned his head to look at him. The Hua Xia captive who was sitting on the floor had bruises all over his face. His hands were bloody and he seemed to have been tortured under his clothes. Among his messy hair, only his tired eyes reflected some light. He looked at him quietly and said in a hoarse voice, "You killed Lu Mingfang, right?"
"… Yes, I did. So what?"
"I've been thinking about how to take revenge on you." The Hua Xia captive's words were flat and straightforward. He turned his head away and continued to look at the starlight shining through the small window above. "After that, I investigated and found out that you have a son …"
"Son …" Man Dudaru frowned. Gao Puhu, who was at the side, seemed to be slightly shocked when he heard the captive's voice. He looked at the captive and then at Man Dudaru, "He doesn't have a son …"
"He retired from the army and became a constable. In order to achieve meritorious deeds and progress, he offended many people and dared not have a child. In fact, he gave birth to a child and sent it to your distant cousin to raise. He said that it was the child of a comrade. You rarely visit him. He's 11 years old now and he looks a little like you …"
He looked at Man Dudaru again, "You're busy with your work. Take care of him when you get out. I've arranged everything for you. We're even about Lu Mingfang …"
Such calm words caused Man Dudaru and Gao Puhu to be slightly stunned. Man Dudaru suddenly recalled that his comrade in the yamen had told him about his distant cousin coming over at midnight … He heard faint laughter ringing in his ears. "Hehehehe … hehehehehe … hehehehehe … Look at him, everyone, look at him. Is he going to cry …"
The 'Little Gao' he mentioned was naturally Gao Puhu. At this moment, he was like a child who had discovered an interesting toy. He didn't care if the tip of the blade was pressed against his head and couldn't help but reach out to grab Gao Puhu's trousers. Man Dudaru's hand trembled. Gao Puhu pounced over and snatched the blade from his hand. The two of them exchanged a few blows in the cell. The Hua Xia captive didn't care about the flash of the blade and continued to sit on the floor, laughing.
"Hahahaha, Man Dudaru, your son's eyes are so similar to yours … Beat him to death, kill him. Quickly go and see your son. If we're late, I won't even know if he still has eyes. Hahahahaha, quickly fight …"
Gao Puhu snatched Man Dudaru's blade and kicked the Hua Xia captive, who was laughing eerily and horrifying, into a corner. His body was curled up into a ball and he was still snoring on the floor. Amidst his laughter, he was even humming an eerie melody.
"Huhuhu, hehehehe, a big river … the waves are wide … Man Dudaru … cough cough, can't get to the shore, hehehehehe … a big river …"
This might be the last thing that could make him happy. Starlight shone in through the tiny window. The lights in the cell flickered, casting everyone's shadows on the gloomy walls. Gao Puhu was stunned for a moment in this eerie atmosphere. In the end, he still stood between the prisoner and Man Dudaru. Man Dudaru seemed to be frozen for a moment. Then, he slowly took off the black mask from his face. His gaze swept across everyone and he walked straight out of the cell.
They had snuck in secretly. The group of constables originally wanted to catch them, but at this moment, everyone knew about Man Dudaru's son. They couldn't help but look at each other. Gao Puhu was in a dilemma for a moment. In the end, he still waved his hand to let them pass. When Man Dudaru's figure was far away, he waved his hand and said in a low voice, "My condolences …"
"Hahahahaha …" Beside him, crazy laughter exploded. "My condolences, hahahahaha. Little Gao, you're too good at talking. Hahahahaha, my condolences hahahaha. Look, I like you. Don't hit me … cough cough cough cough …"
This unbridled laughter reached Man Dudaru's ears from afar. The veins on his forehead bulged. He wanted to raise his blade and charge back recklessly, but in the end, he gave up. He hurriedly left the prison and rushed towards his cousin's residence …
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