Zhong Yan did not speak, but pointed at a bottle of Guo Shi Wushuang on the wine table. Everyone was shocked, knowing that Zhong Yan was not referring to the wine itself, but the meaning behind the Guo Shi Wushuang.
"I just came to the Yamen to report that there was unstable news from Delong Bank today. I heard that the shopkeeper has disappeared. The exchange business with Guangdong has been suspended in the afternoon," Zhong Yan paused and continued:
"There will probably be a long queue at the entrance of Delong Bank tomorrow, and all the housekeepers will be busy for a while."
"He is such a good living person, how come he is nowhere to be seen in the clear sky?"
"Could he be hiding?"
"Back then, Delong almost closed down, and he only disappeared for a few days. Now everything is calm, why is he gone?"
"It's hard to say..."
There were divergent opinions and everyone was confused. When news of the fall of Guangzhou came, there was also news of instability in Delong Bank, which once triggered a run. Shuntian Mansion had to send people to protect and maintain order. But it didn't happen.
After a while, this uneasy atmosphere disappeared. Zhong Qian had not yet been appointed as the governor of Shuntian Palace at that time, but it was probably said that because this bank involved too many dignitaries, especially eunuchs in the palace, it was finally settled.
When Zhong Meng became the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, he paid a lot of attention to this bank. However, Delong always acted in a low-key and rigorous manner. Except for visiting customers' homes, the shopkeeper rarely went out on weekdays. The door was strictly guarded, and outsiders were not allowed to approach.
, can't even hear a word in it.
The important responsibility of Shuntian Mansion is to maintain local security. As time went by, Zhong Yan saw that there was no movement from them and there was no order from the court, so he gradually stopped paying attention. Unexpectedly, such a case suddenly appeared!
Needless to say, tomorrow's posts asking him to help "investigate" this matter will be filled with posts on his desk - not only him, but also the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, Dongchang, Jinyiwei...anything involving the robbery and security of the capital.
The Yamen will probably receive it. If the matter is not handled well, the Emperor will probably be alerted.
Thinking of this, Zhong Yan had no intention of drinking any more, and asked his subordinates and friends to "continue to have fun". However, he quietly left Liuquanju with his servants and returned to Shuntian Mansion Yamen in a sedan chair.
The clerk on duty saw Mr. Fu Yin coming back suddenly and hurriedly got up to greet him. Zhong Yan looked at the objects on the table, his face became more solemn, and he asked without nonsense, "Is Mr. Liu who is in charge of the office not here?"
The clerk said: "Master Liu has already gone home when he wakes up..."
"Send someone to Mr. Liu's house immediately and tell him that I will ask him to go back to the Yamen immediately."
The clerk did not dare to neglect and hurriedly responded. The secret agent in charge of the execution next to Zhong Yan said: "Master, it is almost the third watch now. If you have anything to do, we can talk about it tomorrow morning. Why call Master Liu here in the middle of the night?"
This person who is fooling around in vain will not be able to solve the case..."
"No, we need to make arrangements for this before dawn." Zhong Yan whispered, "There are too many gods and goddesses in the capital, and a shopkeeper Leng is missing. I don't know how many people will be involved. There will probably be many tonight.
People can't sleep - just bring him here and I'll ask him personally."
What made him return to the Yamen immediately was not the rumor of Delong's instability, but a more unexpected news. This news to some extent confirmed the rumors of Leng Ningyun's disappearance.
After a while, the yamen officer brought the reporter over. Zhong Yan saw that the person who came had a poor appearance. He was wearing linen short brown clothes that were already hundreds of knots. He was covered with a sheepskin vest and his calves were also wrapped in
Sheepskin leggings - this outfit is that of a coachman taking a long journey.
"What's your name?" Zhong Yan asked.
The coachman was already confused: he had never entered such a big yamen. At this moment, the dark hall was lit up like a bean, and in the middle sat an official in a red robe and a crown, like the city god in the temple, he had been frightened for a long time.
His soul was gone. He knelt on the ground and trembled, unable to speak even a single word. The government servant next to him kicked him and asked him to reply.
"Don't frighten him and ask him to answer calmly." Zhong Yan instructed the yamen servant and asked, "I am the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture. You have a case to report today, so don't miss it!"
"Yes, yes," the coachman came to his senses and hurriedly reported: "The young man's name is Jiang Quanwang, and he drives a carriage for a living. Last night, the young man went to Haidian to pull goods. When it was getting dark, he was still outside Xizhimen.
There are four or five miles of land, and you encounter thieves..."
To say that he was robbed, it was not that he was robbed, but that a large car in front of him was robbed by bandits. Although the dusk was low and it was difficult to see clearly, he could still make out the sound of fighting.
Jiang Quanwang naturally did not dare to move forward - fortunately, he had an empty cart and the steering was flexible. He immediately drove the mule off the road and took shelter in the graveyard beside the road.
"...After half a while, I heard a horse team galloping past on the road, heading northwest. After they passed by, I drove the car back."
After walking less than two miles, I saw an overturned carriage on the side of the road.
This vehicle is neither a flatbed cart that can be used to pull goods or people, nor a "mule cart" that ordinary people hire to travel long distances, but a four-wheeled "Australian" carriage that has only become popular in recent years. This kind of carriage is because
Comfortable to ride and beautiful in appearance, it quickly became popular among wealthy families in the capital, and some car dealers also bought this kind of carriage to provide rental services.
In short, the people riding the Australian carriage were either rich or noble, so Jiang Quanwang had an evil thought and wanted to see if there was anything else he could pick up in the carriage. He immediately got out of the car and touched it.
"...There were four corpses inside and outside the car. The ground was covered with blood, and swords were left behind." Jiang Quanwang was shocked when he said this. He rummaged around in the car and on the corpses, and actually found some small objects and a few taels for him.
silver.
I originally thought I had made a small fortune, but when I entered Xizhimen, the soldiers at the door saw blood stains on my clothes, and I was immediately detained. After some torture, I arrived at Shuntian Mansion.
"...Master! Master! This man was not killed by a young man! He did not do anything to the man who was obsessed with money and went to search the body but did not do anything!!!!"
Jiang Quanwang kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy. He had already suffered a lot at the city gate, and he was so frightened that he was caught in the Shuntian Mansion Yamen. If the murders of these four people were held on their heads, they would be dead and dead!
Zhong Yan ignored him and only asked Master Xing: "Has Wanping County gone to the site to conduct a survey?"
"When this man entered the city and was arrested, the city gate was almost closed..."
Once the capital city gate is closed, no one can open the door key to enter or exit unless there is a special order, so the on-site inspection can only wait until tomorrow morning.
There are pedestrians on the main road early in the morning, and people and cars on the official road. These days, poor people are very courageous. When they see an overturned carriage, they will most likely go to "get a handful" like Jiang Quanwang did. If they go there too late, they might not even be able to connect.
The cars are gone.
At this time, someone came to report that Official Liu had arrived. Zhong Yan ordered the officials to take Jiang Quanwang into prison for custody, and told the master:
"Go to the prison and question him carefully. From beginning to end, don't let go of anything."
"Yes, students will go now."
The master took the order and left. Liu Yike, the official of Shuntian Prefecture, had already arrived.
Liu Tuiguan was woken up from his bed in the middle of the night, already suffocating with anger. Although Tuiguan was a subordinate of Fu Yin, they were both imperial officials, and there was no distinction between them, so he pulled a
He came over with a face and muttered: "What's so important? I have to do errands in the middle of the night!"
However, Zhong Qian was known for his "uprightness and uprightness", and Liu Tuiguan did not dare to touch this bad luck. Zhong Qian, who had met Li Cao, did not treat him politely and introduced the current situation to him.
Liu Yike became more and more dissatisfied after hearing this. Cases of robbing and killing pedestrians and carriages are nothing new nowadays. Even though the capital is the best place in the Ming Dynasty, the public security is actually not good. Not to mention the official roads outside the city, even in the city and even in the city.
In the Royal Garden, cases of robbery and murder are also common.
Nine times out of ten in these cases, the murderer cannot be apprehended. Even Zhong Yan, who has always been known for his integrity, did not fundamentally reverse the situation after taking office, but only slightly improved the situation.
"Fu Yin means..."
"As soon as the city gate opens tomorrow, you will take people to the site to investigate." Zhong Yan said, "This case is of great importance, and I am afraid that the emperor will also ask questions."
When Zhong Yan said this, Liu Yike became alert and said: "Who is involved in this case?"
"Delong's cold shopkeeper."
"It's him?!" Only then did Liu Yike realize the seriousness of the matter. Not only was Delong involved with the Kun thief, but he was also involved with many big guys in the palace. If something happened to this person, the capital would be in trouble immediately.
There was an earthquake. He quickly asked: "This shopkeeper Leng..."
Zhong Yan took a coarse cloth bag, opened it and spread it on the table. Inside was the scattered things Jiang Quanwang collected from the victim. A few pieces of silver, a portable ink cartridge, an abacus, a stack of pocket paper, and a small tin medicine
The box... is mostly something that people carry with them when they go out to do errands. When you open the small medicine box, you will find an inconspicuous small ox-horn seal inside. It is engraved with obscure bird seal script. Zhong Qian recognized it.
It’s just the word “cloud”.
Zhong Yan had seen this secret seal - it was the one used by Leng Ningyun. In addition, the ink cartridge and abacus both had the words "Delong Bank", so he concluded that there were not only people from Delong on the robbed carriage.
, also related to condensation clouds.
From this alone, it cannot be concluded that something happened to Leng Ningyun, but judging from the discovery of this secret seal, there is a high possibility that Leng was on the carriage.
"This small horn seal is the secret treasure of Shopkeeper Leng. He always carries it with him."
"So..." Liu Yike said.
"That's right," Zhong Yan nodded, "The situation is still unclear. I want your brother to go to the site to investigate. I will send someone to Delong to check again. If Shopkeeper Leng is safe, that would be the best. Otherwise,
I’m afraid you and I will both have a headache.”
"I'll go as soon as daybreak." Liu Yike responded immediately without any reluctance, "I'll take all the veterans in the class with me."