The county magistrate knelt on the ground and let Deputy General Sun curse him, not daring to utter a sound. In fact, such things are not uncommon in officialdom. People take money to do things and money to avoid trouble. It's just that it seems particularly dark when it is suddenly brought into the open.
"Where is that letter? Let me see it."
Li Chang'an, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up. She had thought about the whole thing from beginning to end and felt that it was mostly aimed at her. Perhaps it was someone in the court who was secretly behind it.
To be fair, the county magistrate wasn't too stupid. He had kept the letter of dubious origin hidden in his inner pocket, so he quickly took it out and handed it to Li Chang'an, hoping to use this opportunity to redeem himself.
The letter was written on very fine paper; neither the envelope nor the paper inside was something an ordinary family could afford. At this moment, Feng Beichuan naturally moved closer to Li Chang'an.
As soon as the letter was opened, the two of them simultaneously smelled a faint, refreshing fragrance.
"This smells like ambergris."
Feng Beichuan frowned slightly, sniffed carefully again, and was absolutely certain.
What kind of person would add ambergris to ink? That's incredibly extravagant!
Li Chang'an's heart was also in turmoil. When she thought of the people in the world who could use ambergris, she couldn't help but think of the one in the Golden Palace.
"Could it be him?"
Feng Beichuan gently waved the folding fan in his hand, his eyes narrowed, and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.
I never imagined that old man's reach could extend so far. It's really a pity that his illness hasn't fully healed yet.
"Without substantial evidence, we cannot draw any conclusions yet. At most, he is a suspect, but it is also possible that someone else did it."
Li Chang'an shook her head slightly, her fingertips gently tracing the handwriting on the letter. It was different from the handwriting of the person she remembered, but she couldn't rule out the possibility that it was written by someone else.
He fell into deep thought for a moment.
"Ouch, have mercy! I'll never do it again!"
A weak groan broke Li Chang'an's thoughts. He turned his head and saw Zhao Cai lying on the ground convulsing. He didn't know when Zhao Cai had been able to speak.
"It's almost time; the effects of the medicine are wearing off."
Zhuque glanced coldly at Zhao Cai and suddenly felt that it would be a waste to use the hidden weapons she had worked so hard to make on such a person!
Now that the other witness is able to speak, it means there's still a chance to change the course of events.
Feng Beichuan walked straight up to Zhao Cai, looking down at the man on the ground: "Now it's your turn. Please make sure you explain everything clearly. I don't want to miss a single word."
The man's voice wasn't loud, but it was incredibly imposing, causing Zhao Cai's heart to tighten and a chill to seep into his bones.
Under such imposing pressure, Zhao Cai confessed everything he knew.
Compared to the box of gold of dubious origin and the mysterious letter that the county magistrate had just confessed to, Zhao Cai knew far more details.
First of all, he shouldn't be the one telling stories in the teahouse today, but the teahouse owner suddenly notified him to fill in for another storyteller for a day, and since there was money to be made, he went.
Just half an hour before he was to go on stage, someone suddenly called him out and gave Zhao Cai a thick stack of silver notes and a thin booklet.
This person claimed to be a playwright, but his stories were met with setbacks everywhere. So he asked Zhao Cai to tell his stories on stage as a storyteller.
Faced with the enormous temptation of money, Zhao Cai thought it was just a matter of talking, so why not? Thus, he agreed to the person's request.
"I still have the booklet that person gave me. If you want it, I'll go get it right away!"
Zhao was unusually proactive in order to save his own life.
Do you remember what the person who came looking for you looked like?
Li Chang'an asked with a solemn expression.
“I remember, I remember. Although I’m not good at anything else, I have a very good memory. I can usually remember people after seeing them. I just flipped through the booklet he gave me and remembered about 80 or 90 percent of the contents.”
When talking about his professional skills, Zhao Caidao showed a rare hint of pride, but then, as if suddenly remembering something, he exclaimed excitedly, "I also remembered that person; he doesn't seem like a playwright at all!"
What do you mean?
Feng Beichuan also became interested at this moment, so he raised his eyebrows and asked.
"I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just felt that the person's clothes, manner of speaking, and overall demeanor didn't seem like that of a scholar. Instead, he exuded an air of servility..."
As he spoke, Zhao Cai carefully recalled the strange person's every move when he came to find him, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
"Besides that, did he say anything else to you?"
Li Chang'an found things to be getting more and more interesting.
"Oh, right, that person also showed me a portrait in the booklet, saying that the person in the portrait was his enemy, and that if he heard the story I wrote, he would definitely cause trouble. He told me to keep an eye out, and once I saw this person, I should find a way to arrest him and send him to the yamen. He also said that I would get more rewards after I succeeded."
Zhao Cai looked around and suddenly pointed at Deputy General Sun, saying loudly, "That's right, the person in the portrait looks a lot like him!"
Deputy General Sun was also completely bewildered. He had no idea when he had made such a big enemy in the capital, that someone would go to so much trouble to send him to prison.
The interrogation of the people was almost over, so Feng Beichuan instructed Cangyun to keep an eye on Zhao Cai and go to retrieve the booklet, while he and Li Chang'an waited in the yamen.
Cangyun reluctantly followed Zhao Cai, inwardly complaining, "Why do I always have to do these errands?"
The matter has been temporarily settled, and Feng Beichuan has kept his word, sparing the county magistrate's life.
However, he was going to lose his official hat, but even so, the county magistrate still trembled and kowtowed on the ground to express his gratitude. He knew that the people he had offended today were all ruthless and heartless, and that he was already lucky to be alive.
As for the position of county magistrate, he had already made a lot of money in that position over the years, enough to live a comfortable life for the rest of his days.
The judge didn't dare to utter a sound from beginning to end, secretly rejoicing that he hadn't colluded with these people. Although he was a bit useless, he would never do such harmful things.
After waiting a while, Cangyun and Zhao Cai returned with their things.
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