Zhao Hao is not a coward, but this time he was really scared.

These two account books are really fatal. Once leaked, not only will thousands of lives be lost, but I will also definitely be killed.

The wealthy businessmen represented by "Taohua Mountain", "Jiulong Mountain" and "Guishan Mountain" would certainly eat alive and grind to dust anyone who leaked the information.

After thinking it over, he realized that his only option was to deny it - the account book was not with me at all, and I had never even looked at it, so he decided to see if he could get away with it this way.

After thinking about his response, he first extracted important information from the two account books, such as the mountain names, bank information, and the names of the payees and payees...

And to be on the safe side, this coward used English.

For example, Jiulong Mountain is written as 'Jiulong Mountain', Taohua Mountain is written as 'Peach Hill'...

When he finished copying, he threw the two account books into the fire with trembling hands.

The golden seal could not be destroyed for the time being, so Zhao Hao could only hide it properly for later disposal.

After doing all this, he called Gao Wu, Cai Ming and that person in again and explained the pros and cons to them in detail, letting them know that what was more terrible than death was leaking out the secret of last night.

The three men were all sensible. This was the first time they saw the young master's face turn pale, so they knew the seriousness of the problem. They swore that they would not reveal a single word even if they died.

"Well, go ahead..." Zhao Hao nodded sadly, thinking that according to the routine of the costume drama, the three of them should be silenced...

It’s just that Mr. Zhao currently has neither the ability nor the heart to do so.

When Gao Wu reached the door, Zhao Hao remembered something and ordered, "Oh, send the thief to Daxing County Office at dawn. Just say that he came to steal something last night, but you shot him in the ass, and then his accomplice ran away. Don't say anything else."

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, if someone breaks in at night, it is not against the law to kill him on the spot, let alone shoot him...

Gao Wu nodded and gave the young master a comforting smile.

Zhao Hao smiled bitterly and nodded, "Don't worry, everything will be over."

~~

At daybreak, Gao Wu followed the instructions and took two people to carry the thief, who had been tortured half to death, to the Daxing County Government Office.

When the county officials heard that someone had dared to break into the residence of a third-rank official at night to steal, they did not dare to be negligent and immediately reported the matter directly to the county magistrate.

The master was also shocked. No matter what the case was, as long as it involved important people, it was a major case. It must be treated as a major matter. Regardless of whether the case could be solved or not, the attitude must be correct first.

So he immediately ordered the bailiff to bring the prisoner to the second hall and prepare to interrogate him.

But who would have thought that just as he was about to strike, his staff came over and whispered, "Ni Tuiguan from Shuntian Prefecture is here."

"Come if you want to. Can't you see I'm investigating a case?" The master was unhappy to hear that.

Although Shuntian Prefecture was in charge of all aspects of the county, according to official rules, officials from the prefecture were not supposed to come to the county office. Anything had to be communicated through official documents to show that they would not interfere too much in the county's affairs.

Especially in this situation where the prefecture and the county are in the same city, we should avoid suspicion.

"He came here just for this case..." The aide lowered his voice and said, "He said it was the order of the prefect."

"Oh?" Upon hearing that it was an order from the third-rank governor of Shuntian Prefecture, the master finally softened.

"Take the prisoner away first, I will re-examine the case later." He slammed the gavel and said, "Adjourn the court!"

The officers looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering what's wrong with the master today? He has all his weapons ready, is he here to play tricks on us?

They had no choice but to detain the prisoner first and then find a doctor to treat his wounds to prevent him from dying when the trial began.

~~

After the court session was adjourned, the magistrate hurried back to his signing room, where he saw the Shuntian Prefecture's Ni Tui Guan sitting in an official hat chair in the outer room waiting for him.

The magistrate and the county magistrate are both equal seventh-rank officials in other places. If the newly-appointed Jinshi candidates are sent to other places, they usually start their official careers from these two positions.

But Shuntian Prefecture was a prefecture in the capital, and Daxing County was a county in the capital, so the situation was different - the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture was one level higher than that of other places, and was of the sixth rank. The magistrate of Daxing County was two levels higher than that of other places, and was of the sixth rank.

So the magistrate Ni stood up and bowed politely to the magistrate.

"Your humble servant pays his respects to Magistrate Qiu." Only the magistrate of a county in the capital can be called "magistrate".

"This is a rare guest," County Magistrate Qiu smiled. After having tea served, he and Magistrate Ni sat down as host and guest.

"I wonder what business the accountant has come here for today?"

Zhanggan is an elegant name for the Tuiguan, although I don't know where the elegance lies...

"It's official business." Ni Tuiguan smiled and handed a note to Magistrate Qiu, saying, "I'm under the order of the prefect to bring the thief who broke into Zhao Zhongcheng's house last night to Shuntian Prefecture for interrogation."

"Oh?" Magistrate Qiu took the note solemnly and saw an order scribbled on it, using the private seal of the prefect instead of the official seal of Shuntian Prefecture.

"I'm afraid this is not in compliance with the regulations?" Magistrate Qiu was a little embarrassed. When the prefecture wanted to recruit someone from the county, it needed to issue a formal document.

"Hasn't the county court heard the case yet?" Ni Tuiguan smiled and said, "The government has already taken over the case of the Southern Zhili candidate being robbed. Just think of it as the government arresting the man directly."

"this……"

What Ni Tuiguan said is reasonable, and there will be no violation if we make some adjustments.

But whoever could be the magistrate of Wanjing County was not a smart man, and he could sense something unusual when he heard the words - in the past, the prefecture and the county would shirk responsibility and argue, but at least Shuntian Prefecture would not take the initiative to ask the county to transfer the case.

Sometimes, even if the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple sent letters to urge them, Shuntian Prefecture would just follow the procedures and remain unmoved...

The Shuntian Prefecture Governor was a third-rank official, and not just an ordinary third-rank official.

Generally, the third-rank yamen used copper seals, except for the Shuntian prefect, who, like the governor and governor-general, used silver official seals and was regarded as a frontier official.

Therefore, the prefect only needs to be responsible to the Emperor and obey a few bigwigs such as the Prime Minister, the Heavenly Official, and the Chief Censor.

How could such an honorable prefect be so concerned about such a small matter?

I'm afraid there must be something serious behind this case, which is why the mansion is behaving so abnormally...

Thinking of this, the county magistrate did not dare to meddle in other people's affairs. He stood up quickly and said in a low voice: "I will obey your order."

"Thank you very much for your leniency, Lord Magistrate. I will surely reward you handsomely in the future." Magistrate Ni breathed a sigh of relief.

~~

Magistrate Qiu wrote a note and asked his staff to take Magistrate Ni to take away the prisoner who had just been detained.

Judge Ni did not go out the front door. Instead, he took two people and carried the thief onto the carriage through the back door and drove away.

The staff curled their lips and thought, is this a sign of releasing the prisoner secretly?

Since Shuntian Prefecture Yamen and Daxing County Yamen were just across the street, if one really wanted to go to the Yamen, why would one need to take a carriage? It would be much easier to just carry the door panel over.

I just don't know how a petty thief with an arrow in his buttocks could be so proud that he actually asked the dignified Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate to help him through the back door.

What is surprising is that even Lord Lingyin did not dare to meddle in such trivial matters, but as a small aide, he carefully wrote down the details on a small piece of paper after returning to his residence, and no one knew which god he would report it to.

ps. The second guaranteed update is here, please give me monthly votes and recommendation tickets~~~