Chapter 17 The Past
Orphan girl, cousin...
Zhao Yan was speechless. Could it be...
Anfu was shocked when he heard this. The previous third wife seemed to be from Quanzhou, also an orphan. She divorced three years ago and returned to Quanzhou. This couldn't be such a coincidence...
He stole a glance at the young master's face, which remained unchanged. He exhaled and hid the thought.
Afraid of encountering something even more difficult to deal with later, he immediately called Uncle Ji to go back...
…………
Inside the county magistrate's residence, upon seeing Yan Quan return, Hua Shi leaned over, gathering her hair and jokingly said, "You've returned from a gentle journey today. I wonder if your soul has returned."
Yan Quan recalled the governor's behavior today and replied, "You're wrong. We did have singing girls and dancers, but Governor Zhao dismissed them immediately after arriving and only drank a few glasses of wine. Later, I deliberately tested him with the livelihood of the people, but who knew he was truly concerned and asked me to send the files over tomorrow."
Fancy wondered, "Could it be that he just came here and wants to be respectable."
Yan Quan took off his coat, washed up, and lay down on the bed, letting out a long breath. "No matter what he thinks, as long as I have my official hat, that's all I need."
He added, "This is when I feel comfortable."
Hua Shi saw that what he said was true, and remembering what everyone else said, he pushed him and said, "Hey, that governor really gave birth to a child more beautiful than his daughter."
Yan Quan nodded in agreement, "He truly has the bearing of a dragon and a phoenix, a graceful figure, as handsome as Pan An. As expected of someone from the capital, his whole demeanor is truly captivating."
"Is this gentleman satisfied with your arrangements today? After all, whether I can be promoted this time depends on him."
Yan Quan sighed, "This gentleman is probably unpredictable. His retreat from the dancer today wasn't entirely a pretense."
He added, "Forget it, we just need to keep this important person company. There's no point in thinking about anything else. Let's go to sleep."
Seeing that he had no interest in the new governor, Hua had no choice but to go to bed.
The next day, when Yan Quan arrived at the governor's mansion, he saw Zhao Yan in official uniform.
A large number of files on land tax, levies, miscellaneous duties, and skills filled up the desk. Yan Quan was dumbfounded. Now he finally understood that this gentleman was not joking.
He scribbled his hands awkwardly, thinking about how to get away with it. He hadn't even had time to sort out the files on folk arts. "Um...why don't you take a few days off before coming back to work? After all, you've been traveling so long..."
Zhao Yan replied, "That's fine. It's good to understand these things sooner rather than later."
Yan Quan sat on the table and chair next to him and asked, "Are you sleeping in the government office now? It's a bit shabby here. If you need a place to stay, I can help."
As Zhao Yan read the documents, he said, "It's not shabby, as long as it's habitable."
Yan Quan added, "Then the master needs servants. I see that the master only brought one follower. How about I recommend a few maids to manage the household chores for the master?"
Zhao Yan shook his head, "No need."
Yan Quan was about to say something when a bang was heard from the courtyard in front.
"I have grievances..." The drums outside the hall were being beaten loudly.
Yan Quan was so shocked that he almost jumped up and turned to look at Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan put down the family file, stood up from the desk with an expressionless face and went to the main hall of the government office.
Yan Quan followed behind him, puzzled as to why he had been wronged today. Sweat finally fell on his forehead. The first day in office for the new official was already so turbulent.
Arriving at the main hall, Zhao Yan banged the gavel.
A group of people came in, supporting each other, all crying. It turned out that the defendant was Wang Zhong and the plaintiff was Wang Lin's father.
Wang Lin?
Zhao Yan remembered the man who frightened the horse last night. It seemed that his name was Wang Lin.
Wang Lin's father said, "That damned Wang Zhong was jealous of my son's job on the merchant ship, so he killed him at night."
As Wang Lin's father said, Wang Lin died shortly after returning home last night. Before his death, he was drinking with Wang Zhong on Heyuan Street.
Wang Lin's father sued Wang Zhong for murder.
Zhao Yan frowned and asked Wang Zhong where he had been drinking yesterday, when they had left, and if there was anyone who could provide evidence.
Wang Zhong replied, "We drank at the third shop on Heyuan Street, and it ended at midnight. There's no witness. But Wang Lin was fine when he left. How could I have murdered him? My lord, Wang Lin's father is a blackmailer. I'm afraid he wants to take advantage of me and extort money, my lord."
Zhao Yan signaled Yan Quan to ask someone to call over the wine shop staff and all the people who were on guard at Heyuan Street that night.
Then ask the coroner to perform an autopsy.
The final conclusion was that Wang Lin did not die of food poisoning, but was injured by a sharp weapon and died from a flying knife piercing his brain.
Wang Lin's father cried even louder when he heard this. "This vicious kid must have had bad intentions. He followed my son and killed him."
Zhao Yan remembered that last night, Wang Lin was indeed on his way home alone and did not see anyone else. He also saw the coroner present relevant evidence of Wang Lin's death, including some clothes and a lantern.
Because it was close to noon, the rural families were complicated and some dark relationships did not necessarily need to be discussed openly, so Zhao Yan ordered them all to be detained and retrial in the afternoon.
Back in the government office, Zhao Yan asked, "What does Lord Yan think?"
Yan Quan thought of the evidence and said, "Since the king was still looking at the lantern before he died, it seems the lantern may have been tampered with. My Lord, why don't you call in Madam Qiaodeng for questioning? The craftsmanship of this lantern is obviously Madam Qiaodeng's."
Zhao Yan thought of Madam Qiaodeng whom he had heard others talk about before and did not say anything.
Yan Quan wanted to show off and get closer to him. "Speaking of Madam Qiao Deng, her ex-husband was also an official in the capital. You may know him."
Zhao Yan lowered his eyelids, expressionless, "Who's your last name? Who's your first name?"
"I don't know about that. I only know that the family was a high-ranking official, and they looked down on Madam Qiaodeng, so they divorced three years ago. Madam Qiaodeng's grandfather was also a Beijing official, and he had arranged a marriage for his granddaughter since she was young. But the family fell on hard times, and they ended up living in Quanzhou. Now, her only granddaughter, Yu Huatang, must have been heartbroken by the marriage, so she returned to Quanzhou and learned a craft."
His suspicions were finally confirmed. Zhao Yan trembled, raised his head, and asked in disbelief, "You said that the clever lantern lady was called Yu Huatang."
Yan Quan didn't know why the man in front of him changed his tone. "I can confirm that's his name. He's good-looking, has a connection with my wife, and saved my youngest son."
Long-lost memories broke through the shackles, and he remembered the woman who came from Quanzhou to marry him. Three years ago, she calmly said that she wanted a sum of money as a condition for divorce, and he agreed.
In her memory, she was always in that remote courtyard of Jingya Hall, looking for opportunities to talk to him from time to time.
She was quiet and had little presence in the mansion. Sometimes, if the servants hadn't reminded her, he would even forget that he had a wife.
But in my memory, she was humble, cautious, and the same person who was skilled and admirable as Yan Quan described her as?
Seeing Zhao Yan's silence and change of expression, Yan Quan smiled cautiously and said, "Since you are from a high-ranking family, you certainly don't know that family. I heard that they treated Miss Yu very badly. It's possible that the young master has a lover outside and found an excuse to force a divorce. After all, Miss Yu is an orphan. Even if she has a cousin with the same surname, he can't support her."
Zhao Yan calmed down and asked, "Why did she come back to Quanzhou?"
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