Wang Yan immediately notified Su Yan of the news, and also reported it to the Ministry of Punishment. The Ministry of Punishment immediately sent personnel to secretly place them outside the gambling house for peace talks, waiting for five days to come.
Su Yan was not idle either and quietly went to the Ministry of Revenue to look for Wang Liang's documents.
Five days later...
In the dimly lit official residence, Wang Liang left Tan's mansion and got into a double-column carriage. Several pairs of eyes, shining with faint green light in the night, kept staring at his whereabouts, like wolves. Only the sound of the trees could be heard. A very low voice sounded: "Wu Cheng and your people will continue to stay and watch. The rest of you will catch up with me!"
A group of people suddenly appeared from the originally silent bushes. There were not many of them, about seven or eight, and they chased after Wang Liang in the direction where Wang Liang had left.
Wang Liang didn't go anywhere else, he went to the gambling house. As soon as he stepped in, he suddenly felt a gust of cold wind behind him. Just as he was about to turn around to check, there was a sudden heaviness on his body. Before he could react, he had already fallen to the ground. A strong man was pressing on him, and his hands had been tied behind his back at some point. Wang Liang's face turned pale for a moment, and he struggled hard, but only received a punch and a kick.
Today's gambling house is very strange. There is not a single customer. In the empty lobby, only the shopkeeper is huddled in the corner. At this moment, the door behind him suddenly slams shut, and a corner of skirt appears in front of him. Wang Liang already knows that the situation is serious. , but calmed down, looked up and saw that this person was none other than the person who came to him to write a letter that day.
After Su Yan ordered someone to help him up, he dragged him to a stool and sat down, then said slowly: "Wang Liang, whose original name is Chen Zhong, is from Suzhou. He started to take the imperial examination ten years ago and failed the first time. On the eve of the second imperial examination , that is, three years ago, you were imprisoned for half a month for manslaughter, but strangely, the case was dropped in the end, and you also changed your name and lived in seclusion in Qinghefang. Am I right?"
"I don't understand what you said." Wang Liang looked at her warily and said.
Su Yan still said calmly: "I don't understand? Then you should know the records of the Ministry of Household Affairs, right? Whether it is a beggar living here or a high-ranking official, they all have detailed records! But your records are different from others, there is no Parents, no parentage, scrawled in a few words, really clean, so clean that one has to doubt that the identity of Wang Liang may not belong to you. I checked the major and minor events that you registered that year, and it was a calm year. , the Criminal Department is very idle and handles very few cases. There is only one case that made me find clues, which is the one I just mentioned. Therefore, I connected Chen Zhong in that case with you, and I took I found the wife of the deceased with your portrait, guess what the man said?"
Wang Liang panicked and looked at Su Yan nervously. Su Yan said to him: "That person recognized the murderer at a glance. It was you. You are Chen Zhong!"
"Ridiculous! Ruoshui, who I just came to three years ago, has records in the documents. They are just two people who look alike, and you jump to conclusions! Who are you? Do you have any evidence? Do you have a warrant from the Ministry of Punishment? If you dare to arrest someone privately, I will sue you!"
Unexpectedly, the person who was calm just now suddenly became irritable. Su Yan secretly cursed: A dead pig is not afraid of boiling water!
"Of course there is evidence. If you roll up your sleeves, you must still have the scar from that scratch, right?"
Wang Liang was stunned for a moment, feeling clammy sweat seeping out from his hair, and couldn't help but tremble.
Su Yan added: "The fastest and most accurate way to investigate a person is the documents from the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Husbandry. The Ministry of Husbandry records your life, and the Ministry of Punishment records your crimes. Everything you have done will be recorded, even if you change your name. , we can also trace the source, it is just a matter of time. I have said this, and you still think that I am just a nobody? How dare I arrest people late at night without an order from the Ministry of Justice?"
When Wang Liang heard the word "Ministry of Justice", his inner defenses finally broke, and he said in a trembling voice: "What are you trying to do by investigating these things?"
"Your past has nothing to do with me, and I am not interested in exposing you. After all, someone paid compensation for you at that time, and that family will not have to worry about food and clothing in this life. But... you have to tell the truth about everything you know. You must file a lawsuit, otherwise, I am very willing to bring the old case again, and I am afraid that the prestige and reputation you have established in that busy city will not be maintained."
Su Yan looked at him with a half-smile but not a smile. The strong sense of oppression made Wang Liang couldn't help but tremble, and finally confessed: "It's Mr. Tan! Three years ago, I went to a gambling house because I was too stressed, and I accidentally killed him. Man, I was very scared at the time. I thought I would be in jail for the rest of my life! Unexpectedly, one day, someone came to see me and said that as long as I did things for them, they could save me. Later I found out that that person was Talk about your lord’s subordinates, Yu Zhixiao!”
"Yu Zhixiao? What does this person look like?" Su Yan asked him.
"He has a full beard and a strong physique. He is very sincere to Mr. Tan."
Unexpectedly, this person was responsible for every one of Tan Cen's deeds. Su Yan suddenly noticed something strange. Could it be that Tan Cen did this so that one day the incident would be exposed and he could be blamed?
Wang Liang continued to confess: "He paid me a large sum of money to get the woman to withdraw the complaint. Later, they helped me create a false identity at the Ministry of Household Affairs and asked me to go to Qinghefang and gave me a month." It’s time to find out the situation of all the residents in the downtown area, just...just..."
"Most of the people living in the downtown area are outsiders who come here to make a living. Most of them are illiterate. You write letters for them to communicate with their families. Over time, you gain their trust. At the same time, you also use your letters to communicate with them. You have a clear picture of the family, and you are also pulling the strings to cover up the subsequent purchase of the population, right?"
Wang Liang nodded. It was unclear whether he was ashamed, but it was certain that he had peed his pants.
"Yu Zhixiao said that those transactions were not visible to the public, and they could not be allowed to complain to the Ministry of Punishment. Let me negotiate with the Ministry of Punishment on behalf of those people. Every time I pretended to be positive, and then lied to them that the Ministry of Punishment could not find the whereabouts of the missing person. After a long time, they gave up."
Su Yan had already guessed half of what he said, but when he said it, he still couldn't help but feel angry. Those old people worked hard all their lives, but their families were ruined!
Su Yan stood up angrily: "What a good plan. As a scholar, you don't know the etiquette, justice and shame. You have helped the emperor do evil for three years. How many families have you harmed!"
At this time, Wang Yan arrived late, saw a pool of liquid under Wang Liang's knees, and saw Mr. Su's furious look, and he didn't know how serious it was.
"Mr. Su, the people who watched Tan Mansion reported that there was no movement in Tan Mansion, and no one came in or out after Wang Liang left."
Wang Liang hurriedly explained: "I'm just going to get paid. I will go there at the end of every month to inform me of the conditions in the busy market that month, and then Yu Zhixiao will give me a sum of money."
"Yu Zhixiao meets you every time? Where is Tan Cen?"
"He never shows up, and every time we meet, the location is different. Sometimes we are outside the city, sometimes in a brothel, and rarely we talk about houses. It's just a coincidence that you guys bumped into me this time."
Su Yan felt something was wrong, but it was Wang Yan who said, "Since Tan Cen never shows up, why does he have to meet you at Tan's Mansion again?"
"This has to start with my first imperial examination..." Speaking of this, Wang Liang was full of resentment. "The first imperial examination was when Tan Cen was the examiner. My article was clearly very good that time, but I couldn't figure it out. Why did I fail? Later I went to see the list and I knew the top pick. Before the exam, we had attended Ruoshui’s famous literary class together. At that time, I discovered that although this person had literary talent, his knowledge was too simple and unreliable. He might beat me! I didn’t think anything of it, until I saw the top pick’s paper, I realized he had used my name and stolen my essay!”
Su Yan suddenly realized: "It seems that Tan Cen has been planning this for a long time!"
"That's not true. It's just that the No. 1 scholar's family is rich and powerful. They have long been eyeing my poor family. I lost my father in my early years and only have an old and frail mother. They expected that I would not be able to make trouble, so they colluded with Tan Cen."
"What does this have to do with your appearance in Tan Mansion?"
"Originally, it was Yu Zhixiao who always contacted me, and he would only dare to see me in disguise. Until one time, Yu Zhixiao asked me to register on the downtown list, saying that the master above needed to screen out those who were still worthy of use. Later, Yu Zhixiao When Zhixiao returned the list to me, I suddenly felt that the cinnabar check mark on the list was very familiar to me. When I got home, I remembered that the article that was stolen from me had the same mark! Only then did I conclude that that The master is Tan Cen!"
"So you're going to have a showdown with them? I don't think you still have the guts!" Su Yan couldn't help but mock him.
"He jumped over the wall when he got angry! He made me lose my reputation and forced me to do so many things. At that time, I really wanted to fight with him!"
"Then why do you continue to work for him?"
He suddenly blushed: "Now that the matter has come to this, what can I do? It's better to use money to do things than to be silenced! It's not a pity for me to die. Someone has to die for my elderly mother!"
"It's ridiculous! Your mother is a life, but those women who were abducted and trafficked by you are not? God is looking at what you do, and one day you will not end up well!"
Wang Liang curled up and said in despair: "Anyway, if you catch me, I'll kill you or cut you into pieces. I just feel sorry for my mother. My son is unfilial!"
"It's still too late to repent. Tell me the whereabouts of the trafficked woman, and then be a witness to testify against Tan Cen."
Wang Liang sat up in shock: "I don't know the whereabouts of those people. My role is to appease their families and just keep an eye on the busy city! Those things were all done by Yu Zhixiao, and if you asked me to be a witness, wouldn't you be sending me there? die!"
"Now that you're scared, what did you do in the first place? There are only two options in front of you. Either go to the Ministry of Criminal Justice and go to jail. The crime of murder is enough to get you jailed; or you can be a witness. Don't worry, I won't let you come forward until the last moment. .”
"Are you sure?"
Su Yan smiled: "I don't do anything I'm not sure about!"
Wang Liang got up from the ground and said excitedly to Su Yan: "Then you go and arrest Yu Zhixiao. Tan Cen entrusted him with all those deeds. If you catch him, he must know everything!"
Wang Yan suggested: "Why not use Wang Liang as bait, we can ambush secretly, and we will surely catch Yu Zhixiao, and this case will be solved easily."
"It's a good idea!" Su Yan sighed sincerely: "It seems that this case is almost over!"
Although the idea of using Wang Liang as bait is feasible, it is a bit difficult to implement. First of all, Wang Liang has already received remuneration this month, so using remuneration to lure him out will definitely not work. Secondly, Yu Zhixiao looks like Being cautious is definitely someone not to be trifled with. There seems to be hope in this matter, but in fact it is hopeless.
Su Yan slumped on the chair. Outside the window, the darkness turned from the dark night to the cool morning. In the blink of an eye, it was already noon the next day. Amin came in with a plate of food and said worriedly: "Sir, I have been sitting here all night, haven't you thought of a solution yet? Why don't you go to sleep after eating, maybe your mind will be clearer and you can think of a solution!"
Su Yan twisted his shoulders and sat motionless all night. Not only was his whole body aching, but his mind was indeed getting more and more confused. When he stood up, his eyesight went dark. If it hadn't been for Amin's support, he might have fallen down.
Ah Ni looked distressed and persuaded her: "Solving the case is the business of the Criminal Department. If you join in the fun, sir, even if you are entrusted with others, you can't take your own body seriously. What good will you gain in the end?" ?" She looked at Mr. Su's haggard face and summed it up: "Women are all the same!"
woman?
It was as if a ray of light suddenly appeared in Su Yan's mind. Her eyes suddenly became clear, and she thought of a good idea.
Su Yan happily pinched Ah Mi's little face and said, "You are really my lucky star. I will prepare delicious food for you when I come back!"
After saying that, he picked up his skirt and ran out, and there was no one in sight in an instant. Ayu stayed there in shock, scratched his head and muttered: "I didn't sleep well, did I get a devil's disease?"
Well, it seems that eating alone is not enough, you have to add some supplements!