Chapter 69 Song Ming
The county magistrate of Baoji County is surnamed Song and given the single character "Ming".
Song Ming is only 27 years old this year, but he is young and promising. Eight years ago, he passed the imperial examination and gave up the opportunity to stay in the capital. He asked for the seventh-rank county magistrate in this small Baoji County. He worked for eight years, working diligently and conscientiously, protecting the people of this land to live and work in peace and contentment.
Song Ming has a habit of visiting the prison every once in a while to see if there are any prison guards beating prisoners. After all, in the past, many places have seen prison guards torturing prisoners for fun or threatening the prisoners' families to give money.
Today, he was patrolling the prison as usual, but he never expected to see Tang Shuli and Zhao Qiang here.
"Someone filed a complaint this morning, and the suspect is Coach Zhao. The complainant did not write a complaint, so Tang Shuli asked them to go back first, and then he came to the prison to question Coach Zhao." The jailer at the side stepped forward and whispered to Song Ming about the situation.
"Sir Song, do you want to call Tang Shuli out? After all, they are relatives..." The jailer speculated on Song Ming's thoughts and suggested.
But Song Ming touched his chin and thought about it, and still refused. He stood in the blind spot of the two people's vision until he finished listening to their conversation, and then he came out from the dark.
Tang Shuli and Zhao Qiang knelt nervously, waiting for Song Ming to speak.
In this situation, Tang Shuli, as an official, contacted the suspect in private without going through the court, and bypassed his immediate superior, the county magistrate, which was already an act of usurpation. If Song Ming wanted to report him, I'm afraid his position as an eighth-rank clerk would be unstable.
"Sir Song, I have never colluded with Zhao Qiang. It's just because he is your nephew. I was in a hurry and wanted to understand the case, so I lost my sense of proportion. Please forgive me!" Tang Shuli said, with a layer of cold sweat on his forehead.
Song Ming is an upright person. Tang Shuli is not afraid that Song Ming will take the opportunity to make things difficult for him. He is afraid that Song Ming will not let him intervene in the case in order to avoid suspicion. Then Zhao Qiang will be hopeless, right?
Song Ming glanced at Tang Shuli indifferently, and just said, "Prison is not a place to discuss official business," and then walked out.
Tang Shuli immediately stood up and wanted to follow Song Ming.
"Uncle, I won't get you into trouble, will I?" Seeing that Tang Shuli was about to leave, Zhao Qiang hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and asked, his eyes full of worry and deep self-blame.
"It's okay!" Tang Shuli patted Zhao Qiang's hand and gave him a reassurance: "Lord Song is a good official, and we have a clear conscience. There is no problem!"
Zhao Qiang loosened his hand and watched Tang Shuli chase him out through the prison door.
Song Ming did not walk far, and waited for Tang Shuli in the yard outside the prison cell.
After Tang Shuli came out, he was not nervous when facing Song Ming alone. He acted in a businesslike manner: "Sir Song, I have the audacity to ask, how much of our conversation did you hear?"
Song Ming did not hide it and said frankly: "From the beginning to the end, not a single word was missed."
Hearing this, Tang Shuli laughed. If Song Ming only heard half of it, he would be worried that he would misunderstand it out of context. It would be better if he heard the whole thing. After hearing the whole thing, he would know that he and Zhao Qiang did not conspire to collude, but were just analyzing the case.
"I wonder what Sir Song thinks of this case?" Tang Shuli asked with a smile.
Song Ming could see that Tang Shuli wanted to reduce the charges for Zhao Qiang, but he did not know much about the case. It was biased to make a rash judgment based on the conversation between the aunt and nephew in prison.
"Let's wait until the case is submitted tomorrow before deciding."
Song Ming said this first, and then continued: "But Tang Shuli, let me give you a warning in advance. Even if your speculation just now is true, Zhao Qiang was deceived and stole money, but he used his position to drug others, break into people's houses, and intend to steal. These are all things that are nailed on the board. According to the laws of Daliang, he will inevitably be beaten with a stick, and it is impossible for him to serve as a teacher in the government office again."
Tang Shuli has been with Song Ming for eight years. He knows the temper of this county lord and can also guess his thoughts. He knows that his words are a warning to him, so that he will not have the illusion that he can let Zhao Qiang get away with it.
So Tang Shuli said no more and just said, "Yes, I will take my leave now."
Song Ming said "hmm". After Tang Shuli bowed and stood up, he said meaningfully, "Tang Shuli, I am very curious. You are obviously smart and thoughtful. Why do you pretend to be a mediocre person?"
Tang Shuli was stunned and said hesitantly, "I don't understand what you mean, Mr. Song."
Song Ming chuckled and said, "You only listened to a few words from Coach Zhao and you were able to detect that something was wrong. Then according to his description, you can deduce the cause and effect of the whole thing. You have such ability to solve cases, but you are willing to be a small eighth-rank clerk for twenty years. Isn't this 'a treasure covered by dust'? "
Tang Shuli looked at the county magistrate who was younger than Zhao Qiang, pulled the corner of his mouth and smiled calmly: "Sir Song, you are a proud child of heaven, with extraordinary talent and knowledge. If you stay in the capital after passing the exam, you must be a loyal minister. Sirs have their own choices, and I have my own choices. It's just 'everyone has their own ambitions'. How can there be a saying of 'a treasure covered by dust'? "
"Hahaha..." Song Ming suddenly laughed out loud. He and Tang Shuli have worked together for eight years. Today is the first time they have a heart-to-heart talk. He didn't expect that the clerk who can be his father at this age can live so transparently.
Tang Shuli saw that the two had nothing to say, and bowed again: "I will take my leave."
Song Ming watched Tang Shuli walk away, and then walked into the backyard of the government office, where the chief constable rested.
"Go to Lotus Village and find a man named 'Hu Zi'. If he is not in Lotus Village, go to Jinyufang." Song Ming ordered.
What Zhao Qiang said just now should be true. As he said, he stayed at Hu Zi's house until the evening. Hu Zi didn't know that he went to Lotus Village to steal money. It was only because of the monkey that he let him sit in his house for an afternoon.
Regardless of whether Hu Zi knew that Zhao Qiang was going to steal money, it is certain that he is inseparable from Jinyufang, and it is very likely that he knows the inside story of the arson.
Song Ming tapped his chin lightly with his index finger. This is his habit of thinking.
What interests Song Ming the most about this case is who the girl is who fought with Zhao Qiang without losing. Zhao Qiang just called her "bitch" and seemed to not know her name.
And Song Ming always had a hunch that this murder case hidden under the theft case was related to that girl!
Why didn't he suspect Liu Ming'an? That's because Song Ming knew that Liu Ming'an was a scholar.
There are a total of six towns and thirty-three villages in Baoji County. Among the twenty-nine people who passed the examination this year, only three were from the village, and the rest were from the town. Therefore, Song Ming remembered the name Liu Ming'an.