Shortly after Fang Zian arrived at the Yamen, two soldiers from the Huozheng Yamen arrived with a box of silver, which was the salary promised by Zheng Shee to compensate the soldiers who had been embezzled. Along with the money came an official document of temporary appointment signed by Zheng Shee.

The content is naturally to let Fang Ziquan act as the Lin'an security officer.

Fang Zian originally wanted Lao Ma and Laohou to notify the tower commanders to collect the money, but after thinking about it, he decided to go in person. On the one hand, he did not trust these tower commanders and team members, most of whom were appointed by Xia Liangdong.

Seriously, these people can do anything, who knows they won't deduct money again. On the other hand, this is your chance to win people's hearts, and it will be more beneficial to you to go there in person.

Fang Zian put the silver box on horseback and left the Yamen with Shen Ling'er. They started from the nearest fire watch tower station in Yongjinmen to return the withheld silver coins on the spot. Although the soldiers got the news yesterday that the Yamen was going to return the withheld soldiers' pay,

But many people were actually doubtful. They didn't expect it to be returned so quickly. They were all elated and overjoyed. Of course they understood that this was Mr. Fang's grace. As soon as Xia Liangdong died, such a good thing happened. All the soldiers asked Fang Zian

Naturally, I am grateful and full of gratitude.

Originally, when the chief officer of the Yamen died, the soldiers of the Fangyu Army should be feeling sad. But wherever Fang Zian went, there were thunderous cheers, and the atmosphere was as joyous as a festival. If Xia Liangdong knew anything about it, I don't know how he would feel.

Of course, every time he went to a station, Fang Zian would once again reiterate Xia Liangdong's heroic act of fighting the fire and dying. Fang Zian warned the superiors and subordinates to keep their mouths shut, and it was forbidden to spread rumors and tarnish the reputation of Mr. Xia's heroic spirit and the yamen.

. He told everyone that anyone who came to inquire about the news must be silenced. This was the order of Mr. Zheng, the fire official. He told them that if anyone asked about the cause of Xia Liangdong's death, they should go to the Yamen to ask. If

Any violation will be severely punished without resorting to military law. If any of the soldiers under his command talk nonsense, the captain and tower commander will be held accountable.

This is quite a hush-hush order. Fang Zian knows very well that at this time, no matter how suspicious outsiders are, it is most important to keep the mouths of insiders first. Once someone asks about something that should not be known to outsiders, then

It will cause a lot of trouble.

It took more than two hours for Fang Zian to visit more than 20 Fangyu Army stations under fire-watching towers in the city. More than three thousand taels of silver were scattered, and Fang Zian even got more than two hundred taels for himself.

.It is not ruled out that some people take advantage of the troubled waters and falsely report that they have been deducted from their pay. After all, most of the people in this yamen are not good people. And Fang Zian does not have an exact list of people who have been deducted from their pay. It all depends on the information provided by the team and the soldiers.

Self-reported, it is inevitable that someone will take advantage of the loophole. But at this time, Fang Zian does not want to pursue it. First, stabilize the situation of people's hearts, and after the matter has settled, he will conduct a thorough cleaning and rectification in the yamen. These people will

They would be picked out one by one, eaten and vomited out, and then kicked away mercilessly.

When he returned to the Yamen, it was already afternoon. After having some tea and some snacks he brought back from the street, Fang Zian planned to take a nap in the public room because he was really tired. But he just leaned on the chair

After closing his eyes, Wang Jin hurried in.

"Sir, there is a man asking to see you at the Yamen Gate. He said he is Song Tixing from the Punishment Department of Lin'an Prefecture, and he wants to see you by name."

Fang Zian was shocked, as expected, Song Xiang was haunting him. However, Fang Zian was also a little relieved. Song Xiang came to the Yamen to look for him, naturally he came to investigate the case. This means that Song Xiang must be

I didn't find any valuable clues elsewhere, so I had to come to the Yamen to look for myself. Yesterday's timely arrangement and the morning's trip to inspect and distribute money came in handy. The most terrifying thing is that Song Xiang has been checking, but he can't

Coming to ask yourself, that is what makes people feel uneasy.

"Invite him in." Fang Zian stood up, stretched, rubbed his swollen forehead and ordered.

Soon after, Song Xiang came to Fang Zian's temporary apartment with two followers.

"Mr. Song, I would like to ask you to be polite. This is noon.

Yes, the weather is hot, Master Song, are you still running around handling cases? It's really hard work." Fang Zian came outside and saluted with a smile.

Song Xiang did look a little tired. He was already slightly chubby, and the weather in mid-May was already quite hot. Especially at noon, the sun already had the power of summer. His forehead was covered with sweat, and he was somewhat out of breath.

"It is my duty to eat the emperor's salary and to be loyal to the emperor. It is my duty to investigate the cases and punish the guilty ones. The hard work is indeed hard, but it must be done. Mr. Fang, I am abrupt.

Come here, excuse me." Song Xiang said with cupped hands.

Fang Zian nodded and said: "That's very true. I admire you very much. Mr. Song, please sit down. Someone come and make some tea so that Mr. Song can quench his thirst."

Wang Jin agreed and went to make tea. Song Xiang thanked him and sat on a chair. Fang Zian sat down beside him. Song Xiang turned to look at the room and frowned: "Master Fang handles matters in a place like this.

Official business?"

Fang Zian said: "Our Fangyu Army Yamen can't compare with your big Yamen, so we can only make do with it. Besides, this wing is quite nice. It's warm in winter and cool in summer. It's very comfortable."

Song Xiang smiled and said, "I thought it was for other reasons."

Fang Zian smiled and said, "What do you think Master Song is doing?"

Song Xiang said: "I thought you were incompatible with Mr. Xia and didn't bother to work with him. It seems I'm overthinking it."

Fang Zian laughed and said, "You are indeed overthinking. I forgive you for being disrespectful. I think you who are investigating the case are all delusional, hahaha."

Song Xiang smiled slightly and said, "I hope so."

Wang Jin came in with tea. Song Xiang opened the tea cup, smelled it, looked at it, and praised: "Good tea, Mr. Fang is very particular about it. This tea must be worth a lot of money."

Fang Zi'an has a big head. Wang Jin has brewed new tea from Wuyi Mountain.

"It is indeed expensive, but it is nothing. Although Xiaguan does not come from a wealthy family, he can still afford tea." Fang Zian said.

Song Xiang smiled and said: "Oh? Mr. Fang's family is well off? But how come I heard that Mr. Fang was born in poverty and his livelihood was quite difficult before?"

Fang Zian felt a shiver in his heart. He knew that Song Xiang must have investigated his background. This was not difficult. As a criminal judge, it was easy to find out his past.

"Master Song, just because you were poor before, it doesn't mean you will always be poor. Who doesn't have hard times? Three years in Hedong and three years in Hexi. Don't Master Song know this?" Fang Zian said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, it's true. Look at my mouth. I didn't mean that. I just said that Mr. Fang was born in a poor family, but he didn't change his ambition. He finally jumped into the dragon gate, passed the imperial examination in high school, and lived a good life.

This is an inspiring experience, and I admire you very much. This is what I meant." Song Xiang chuckled.

Fang Zian said: "Sir Song is overrated. There are so many people who have gone through the same experience as me. Many people come from more difficult situations than me, and they are much more difficult than me. They are the inspirational role models. I don't dare to be called inspirational. I tell you the truth.

Mr. Song, this new tea was given to me by my friend to try. Usually I am reluctant to drink it, but today Mr. Song came here, so I took it out and brewed it. I didn’t expect that a cup of tea would lead to Mr. Song’s speculation. Wang Jin, come here

Come on, let’s change the tea, just last year’s crushed tea cakes, the ones we usually drink. This is such good tea that Song Tixing can’t get used to it.”

"No, no, no, I didn't mean that. Don't change, don't change." Song Xiang hurriedly picked up the tea and drank it.

Fang Zian sneered in his heart. He couldn't be polite to this executioner. Chatting with him might cause him to think twice about every word he said. That would be too tiring. He had to be sent away.

"Master Song, are you passing by here, or are you here specifically to see me?" Fang Zian asked.

"Of course I came to you specifically. Mr. Guiyaxia's case has not been concluded yet. I am looking for clues. The identities of yesterday's deceased have been confirmed. Except for the five restaurant staff, the rest are from your Fangyu Army Yamen.

Man. Hey, this is really sad. You guys are guarding the army.

The yamen suddenly killed twenty people including the chief officer and the soldiers, Mr. Fang must be feeling very sad." Song Xiang said.

Fang Zian said: "Of course it's uncomfortable. All the good people were burned to death, so it's naturally very uncomfortable."

Song Xiang said: "But I don't seem to see how sad the people in your yamen are. To be honest, Mr. Fang, I have visited several of your camps, and the soldiers don't seem to be sad."

Fang Zian frowned and said: "Master Song is here again, why don't you talk nicely? Why do you have to be so weird? Do you want to say that all of us in the Yamen are not sad but also very happy because of Master Xia's death? What can be inferred from this?

Bad motives, to satisfy your twisted psychology of turning this accident into a bizarre case of murder, body burning and annihilation? Mr. Song, it is natural to feel sad when a person dies, but there is no need to cry and fight for the ground. I am guarding Yu Jun.

The Yamen is an army. Although it is an army that puts out fires, it also understands the truth of life and death. When a fire breaks out, someone may die, and everyone knows this. Is it possible that when someone dies, everyone will cry loudly, like mourning an heir?

Can’t make it?”

Song Xiang frowned and said, "Why is Mr. Fang so excited? I didn't say anything. How did you elicit such fierce words from Mr. Fang?"

Fang Zian sneered: "Master Song wants to say again, am I guilty of being a thief?"

Song Xiang said: "That's what you said, not what I said. You do have a guilty conscience. If not, why did everyone refuse to accept my questioning when I went to your various locations to inquire? Why?

I have been to seven or eight places in the morning, but all of them have been rejected. Mr. Fang, it is official business for me to ask the Criminal Division to investigate the case, and you must cooperate. If it is not a guilty conscience, why should I obstruct it?"

Fang Zian laughed and said: "Master Song, you are so slanderous. Who is stopping you? Didn't you enter the yamen and talk to me face to face? Isn't the subordinate answering your questions? If it is to prevent you from handling the case. If so, you should be turned away now."

Song Xiang frowned and said, "But those people below you..."

"Sir Song, the yamen have yamen rules. If you mention the Yamen of the Criminal Division, can anyone else speak on your behalf? There are more than a thousand people in the Fangyu Army. If every one of them intervenes, you will Just tell me, what should it be like? If you want to check, you should come to me instead of going to the station below my Yamen to check. Don’t you understand this truth? Everyone talks nonsense with their mouths. That’s not true. Is it a mess? They are not at the scene of the crime. It is against the rules for you to ask the soldiers below. I even doubt whether you are investigating this case, but to use it to make some tricks." Fang Zian said calmly. She interrupted him loudly and said coldly.

Song Xiang stood up, glared at Fang Zian and said, "Master Fang, don't you think you are overreacting?"

Fang Zian sneered: "Sir Song, someone died in my yamen, and we can't laugh or cry now. If you speak louder, you will think you are overreacting. So what do you want from us? I am not interested. It goes with your mood, Mr. Song, because you are too difficult to maintain."

Song Xiang nodded slightly, looked at Fang Zian with bright eyes and said: "Sir Fang, there is never a doubt in my hands. My intuition has never been wrong. This is not an accident at all, it is definitely a case of murder and corpse burning. Mr. Fang, no matter how you cover up or speak sharply, you can't escape my eyes. I will definitely get to the bottom of it."

Fang Zian chuckled and said: "If you want to get promoted and make a fortune, you have to work on a big case, right? I understand! Mr. Song, go ahead and do your work. When handling a case, you need to rely on evidence, not intuition or bragging. Do you doubt it?" Am I? Then go look for evidence, and if you find it, come and take me. Otherwise, don’t talk nonsense in front of me. I am busy with business, so I won’t keep Lord Song here. See you off!"

Song Xiang put away his smile and sneered: "Okay, Fang Zian, we'll see."

"Wang Jin, see off the guests!" Fang Zian shouted loudly.

Wang Jin hurriedly came in, bowed and said with a smile: "Sir Song, please!"
Chapter completed!