Zhang Guan, a former member of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was not tall in stature but had bright eyes. Although he was idle at home, he was dressed as a scholar and had a serious and upright air. When faced with Su Ping, the eighth-rank inspector of the Ministry of Punishment, and Mei Ran, the ninth-rank swordsman,
There was no fear on his face.
He lives in Tongyuanfang, which is the most remote neighborhood in Luobei. The house prices in the neighborhood are not high. He lives in a two-bedroom apartment in a private courtyard. The courtyard in front of the door is really small. There are only three steps from the gate to the door of the house.
.There are no flowers and plants in the yard, but some vegetables.
Su Ping explained his purpose and walked into the house. Looking at the home of this former fifth-grade official, it could really be described as shabby.
Zhang Guan sat on the table and watched with cold eyes, as if Su Ping was not inspecting his home.
Seeing that Su Pingmei Ran couldn't find anything, Zhang Guan said in a mocking tone: "What else can be found in this shabby house?"
Su Ping glanced at him.
He waved his hand and said: "My room is simple and there is no good table. Please take a seat, two generals."
There was really nothing to investigate about this broken family, so Su Ping asked Mei Ran to come over and sit down.
Men in the Liang Dynasty had long given up sitting in the posture, but women still sat like this, as if they were kneeling there.
Mei Ran sat there expressionless, holding the handle of the knife in her right hand. Su Ping was not sure why this girl was so vigilant. In short, she always seemed a little excited every time she came out to handle a case.
Zhang Guan sat cross-legged on the mat, leaning forward, supporting the mat with one arm, staring at Su Ping, pointing with the other hand at the wall and window lattice of his house and said: "Master Su, does Zhang's home look like the home of a corrupt official?"
"
Su Ping smiled and said: "Good people may not all look good; evil people may not all look evil. Appearances cannot explain the problem. What do you think, Mr. Zhang?"
Zhang Guan snorted coldly: "Young man, I can tell you with all my heart that I am an honest official. There is no other official as honest as me in the whole city of Luoyang. I have been an official for ten years and I have earned a penny."
Neither of them are greedy. Do you think anyone can surpass me?"
Su Ping remained silent.
At this time, Zhang Guan's wife came in with three bowls of noodles. His wife was wearing the cheapest linen clothes. The upper body was original color, and the lower body was an old blue cloth skirt that was badly faded. She was only in her forties, but she looked very attractive.
He was old, with gray hair and a haggard complexion. If Zhang Guan hadn't specially introduced him, Su Ping would have thought he was a servant.
"Zhang is idle at home and doesn't have much to earn a living. Fortunately, Yuan Feng runs a private school at home and invites me to teach. He gives me one, two or three coins a month. Otherwise, I might not be able to afford these noodles."
Zhang Guan pointed to the two bowls of noodles in front of Su Ping: "Please don't dislike it."
Su Ping looked at the noodles. They were hand-rolled thick noodles and gray in color. There were a lot of vegetables in the noodles. It could be said to be half a bowl of noodles and half a bowl of vegetable soup.
Su Pingmeiran didn't even say she wanted to eat, so Zhang Guan asked his wife to bring the noodles.
Zhang Guan was not polite and started eating like a maniac.
Su Ping didn't want to watch his performance anymore and was about to leave, but Mei Ran suddenly kicked over the table in front of him, stood up, walked up to Zhang Guan, opened his mouth left and right, and beat Zhang Guan until he staggered around and lay on the ground in a daze.
Mei Ran pointed out: "I tell you, Zhang, to stop acting with us. I don't believe you are greedy for so much money without spending it. Let's see!"
Zhang Guan got up and roared angrily: "You are just a swordsman, why are you so rampant? Even if I am not an official, I am still a judge! There is no evidence, you dare to beat me? Who gave you the courage to dare to be lawless? I want to
Go to the Yushitai to submit a complaint and report it to you!"
Mei Ran snorted softly, raised his head and said, "If you don't admit corruption, do I have to admit beating people? You can go ahead and sue, it's fine if I don't admit it anyway."
Su Ping gave a bitter smile and took Mei Ran away. Zhang Guan chased her outside the house and cursed in the street.
Su Ping said that for a person like him who is good at hiding, it is difficult to find evidence of crime from his residence. He can only send people to keep an eye on him and find evidence before taking action. Otherwise, they will be impassioned and dare to insult the officials. And "staring"
Let the Red Flower Society take care of things like "people".
Whether the case can be solved or not, Su Ping is not sure. Sometimes solving the case also depends on some luck.
After "walking around" at Zhang Guan's house, Su Ping took the files to check at the homes of two other dismissed officials in Tongyuanfang. Su Ping found that officials who could actively choose to live in this suburb seemed to
They all have the same temperament. Not to mention that the family is in ruins, it's pretty much the same. In short, there's nothing wrong with it on the surface.
It was past noon and he was hungry. Su Ping took Mei Ran to a small restaurant that looked relatively clean and ordered two bowls of rice, a plate of fried pork belly, a plate of pig ears, and a bowl of fish ball soup.
Whether a restaurant is good or not depends on how many customers there are. If there are many customers, you are right. Su Ping is a slow and leisurely person who is not in a hurry for anything. Mei Ran has already finished eating for a long time, but he is still eating.
Chewed and swallowed the last piece of pork belly, took a big sip of the fish ball soup, wiped his mouth, and whispered: "We will visit three houses today. Then we will go to the Honghua Society to talk, and send six people to keep an eye on these three houses.
.As long as one company finds a problem, we will be successful."
Mei Ran said: "Although you lent the teahouse to the Honghua Society, it's a one-size-fits-all deal. If you use our people to do things, you have to pay them."
Su Ping shrugged: "Okay, I'll give you the money, but you have to do something first and then give me the money."
Mei Ran smiled: "It doesn't matter if you give first and then give. The key is to give."
Su Ping smiled slightly awkwardly.
Mei Ran frowned and asked: "If only one person is found, will the other two be let go?"
"Then it depends on how many people Xue Shilang wants to arrest." Su Ping patted the official document bag: "As long as he doesn't say it's over, these cases will continue to be handled. If the case is over and someone hasn't exposed his feet, then he is
Get out of this gust of wind."
"It's easy for these corrupt criminals!"
"Oh, there are more people escaping punishment than there are in prison."
Mei Ran said that those people would not admit it if they could not produce evidence, so Su Ping's "visit" was meaningless. But Su Ping said that it was just a plan to alert the snake. I came to beat them deliberately, and maybe they would
You will feel restless. You might be caught off guard if you are not sure.
Mei Ran felt that Su Ping was casting a wide net. He wanted to mobilize the entire Red Flower Club. As many people as there were in the Red Flower Club, he had to keep an eye on as many corrupt officials as there were in the files. As for which fish he could catch, it would not matter.
knew.
In order to better cooperate with the Red Flower Society, Su Ping went to the Ministry of Justice to talk to Xue Pang about this matter. Su Ping was worried that when the Honghua Society performed its tasks, it might be violated by the Fang Bureau, the county, Jingzhao Mansion, or even the Jinwu Guards.
Keep an eye on them and catch them as little thieves.
Xue Pang said, you can make a record first and I will sign it. If they are really encountered by any Yamen, tell them not to resist, just go with the people from the government, and then you can take the documents to arrest them.
Then Su Ping took the official document to Chengfeng Teahouse, went to the second floor, and met Miss Tongtianyan Guanye of the Red Flower Club.
That night girl, my heart really beats every time I see her. She has an indescribable charm. In contrast, Mei Ran does not have it. If we only talk about appearance, Mei Ran is not bad, but she lacks that charm.
So cool. This is something deep in your heart and cannot be imitated.
In fact, it is not accurate to use the word "saucy" to describe Ye Guhong. There is also a touch of fragrance on her body. This fragrance is not smelled, but the feeling of being among flowers and plants. Mei Ran also has her own characteristics, the girl is heroic and heroic
, seeing her is like bathing in a clear stream.
Ye Guhong said, I have many experts in the Red Flower Club, and "watching" and "following" are just tricks. There is no need to arrange two people to keep an eye on such literati.
Su Ping said, of course it is best. As many such masters as you have, I can monitor as many corrupt officials at the same time.
Ye Guhong said, let’s say at least twenty.
"so much?"
"Why, Mr. Su, is it too much?"
Su Ping smiled implicitly: "I'm worried that I can't afford to hire so many people."
The handsome and steady Miss Ye asked in a gentle tone: "Does Mr. Su need to pay for this money himself?"
"I can go to the Ministry of Punishment to make a payment." Su Ping shook his head: "Unfortunately, the price of foreign labor hired by the Ministry of Punishment is very low..."
Miss Ye frowned and said, "Mr. Su, what you said is unreasonable. Not to mention that there is nothing to do in Honghua Club now. Even if there is something to do, we will help because of Mei Ran's reputation. Mr. Su doesn't have to worry about this money issue.
Give as much as you have."
It gave Su Ping a feeling that the Red Flower Club was a strict organization. They used to be very busy, but for some reason, they suddenly became idle.
Regarding such a question, Su Ping simply tested it, but Miss Ye remained cryptic, so Su Ping stopped asking. Then Su Ping just walked around the Chengfeng Tea House to appreciate his first investment.
Although this caused famine, Su Ping was still very satisfied.
As for the twenty-eight taels he owed Mei Ran, Su Ping had already planned to pay it off within three months.
Su Ping's salary is not high, only five taels of silver per month. It is worth mentioning that the salary paid by the Ministry of Punishment may not necessarily be money, but may also be grain or cloth. According to the market price, it is equivalent to five taels of silver.
Therefore, with salary alone, the debt could not be paid in three months, so Su Ping planned to do something else. Mei Ran asked Su Ping, where did he want to get money from? Su Ping said, from the homes of corrupt officials. Mei Ran was quite disdainful.
, squinting his almond-shaped eyes.
"I almost forgot that the fourth son of the Tang family wants to ask the Honghua Society to help him."
Mei Ran asked: "What's the matter?"
Su Ping suddenly said with great interest: "Did you know, that little cherry is actually Tang Kuan's mistress?"
Mei Ran blinked.
Su Ping continued: "And Little Cherry gave birth to a daughter for Tang Kuan. Unfortunately, Tang Kuan accidentally offended her, and she suddenly disappeared with her daughter. Tang Kuan looked for her everywhere but couldn't find her. I hope Honghua will help look for her. If