Chapter 123 Black Tiger

"Hush!" Ming Huashang looked at Xie Jichuan solemnly and said confidently, "We are handling a case, so please don't interfere with our work. A gentleman's appearance cannot defeat his mind, and his mind cannot defeat his tactics. As long as his mind is upright, why should he care about the outside?"

Xie Jichuan looked at her silently, raised his eyebrows, and asked: "If that's the case, then why do you cover your face?"

Ming Huashang subconsciously touched the cloth on her face and said righteously, "That's because I'm afraid of scaring Widow Hu."

"Don't say anything." Ren Yao leaned on the wall and said quickly, "She came into the room, and I couldn't see what she was doing. What should I do?"

Ming Huashang silently tied a knot around the mask and said, "Go in and eavesdrop. No, continue the investigation."

Ren Yao was the first to fall into the wall, and Ming Huashang was stepping on the wall like a gecko. Although it was not very beautiful, she got in anyway. Ming Huashang's hair bun was loosened in the twilight, and a gold ingot-shaped comb fell on the side of her hair, swaying and about to fall off.

Xie Jichuan's eyes fell on the tinkling tassels under the comb, and he found that she really liked things like Yuanbao and Ruyi. If I remember correctly, her maid was also named this. Ming Huashang saw that Xie Jichuan didn't move, and shouted at the top of her voice: "Hurry up, she will find out soon!"

Xie Jichuan looked at her a few more times, then slowly climbed over the wall, holding onto the top of the wall with one hand and leaping down. He landed lightly and silently, stirring up only a little dust.

Ren Yao quickly found a hiding spot and stalked over like a cheetah. Ming Huashang bent over, tiptoed behind Ren Yao, and cautiously poked her head out, looking like a thief.

Xie Jichuan looked at their actions and sighed again. His reluctance was too obvious, and he didn't even want to hide, and walked past them with his back straight.

Ming Huashang caught a glimpse of him and waved her hands vigorously, signaling him to squat down quickly. Xie Jichuan held up his clothes and reluctantly squatted in the corner, asking, "What are you going to do?"

"Not sure, let's wait and see." Ming Huashang stared at the inside with all her eyes, and said in a low voice, "We'll act according to the circumstances."

Inside the house, Widow Hu looked around and took out a piece of paper from the cabinet. She talked to herself for a while, then took out a tinderbox and tried to light it.

Ming Huashang instinctively felt that this was evidence, and said vigilantly: "No, we can't let her burn it."

She wanted to say that she would create a commotion to lure Widow Hu out, and Ren Yao and Xie Jichuan would take the opportunity to go into the house to collect evidence. However, before she could even say it, Xie Jichuan had already picked up a stone and quickly threw it out the window.

Widow Hu felt a pain on the back of her hand, and the lighter in her hand fell to the ground, rolled around and went out. Widow Hu stood up hurriedly and asked, "Who is it?"

Xie Jichuan stood up calmly and exposed his whole body: "I am Ming Huazhang, the Junior Magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture, and I am here to investigate a case. What is that in your hand?"

Ming Huashang was startled and raised her head angrily: "What did you say?"

Xie Jichuan lowered his head and looked at her righteously: "Didn't you say that a gentleman's heart is not his appearance?"

Ming Huashang shouted angrily, "Then why are you using your own name to impersonate my second brother?"

"I'm not a gentleman, he is."

Ren Yao was quite disgusted with the two people, so she suddenly stood up, climbed through the window, jumped into the house, and snatched the paper away before Widow Hu could react. Widow Hu was shocked and instinctively snatched it back: "Give it back to me!"

Ren Yao stepped back and easily avoided Widow Hu. She saw the contents clearly and was stunned for a moment: "A talisman for seeking a child?"

It's not a written evidence, but just a talisman for blessing the birth of a son?

While Ren Yao was stunned, Widow Hu rushed over again and took away the talisman paper. Widow Hu glared at her fiercely and said sternly: "How dare you break into a private house, you bold lunatic? Get out now, or I will report you to the police!"

"No need to report, we are the officials." Xie Jichuan pushed the door open and said, "I'm sure you've heard about the Jinxiulou shopkeeper's story. Madam Qian reported you to the police, saying that you are pregnant with a bastard from somewhere, and you are pretending to be the shopkeeper Qian's posthumous child in order to steal his property. Hu, do you want to confess yourself, or do you want us to take you to the prison as Madam Qian wishes? The prison is cold and it's hard to say whether you can save the baby in your belly."

Ming Huashang came in last. She glanced at Xie Jichuan and thought to herself that this man was really insidious and kept making up nonsense to instigate others.

As expected, Widow Hu got excited when she heard this and cursed, "Liu is such a bastard! Madam Qian, bah! She is a second-time wife, so she is nothing but a shitty Madam Qian. My lord, the child in my belly is the real blood of the Qian family. Liu said that just to get rid of my child so that she can embezzle the family property. My lord, please help me!"

Xie Jichuan stood with his sleeves folded, refusing to touch anything from Widow Hu's house. He said slowly, "Now that Qian Yi is gone, who can prove that this is his child? Even if it is indeed his flesh and blood, Liu has given birth to the eldest son. Jinxiu Tower and all the property of the Qian family should be inherited by her son. Regardless of whether your child is a boy or a girl, you have no right to touch Jinxiu Tower."

Widow Hu was extremely angry and shouted loudly: "That bastard Yang Hua was able to kill Feng the shopkeeper and remarry Qian Yi. Who knows if she was the one who killed Qian Lang this time?"

After saying this, Widow Hu realized something and hurriedly covered her mouth. However, it was too late. Xie Jichuan looked down at her and said with a smile: "What did you say? Liu killed the shopkeeper Feng?"

Widow Hu panicked and turned around quickly, her fingers unconsciously crumpling the talisman for a child into pieces: "I was just talking nonsense. I've had severe morning sickness these past two days, my head is groggy, and I've been talking nonsense a lot. Please don't take it to heart, my lord."

Ren Yao was annoyed by the widow Hu's hesitation and said anxiously, "What do you know? Tell us quickly so that we can find out the truth."

Widow Hu still lowered her head, unmoved. Ming Huashang carefully observed Widow Hu's expression and said, "Did Qian Yi tell you something?"

Widow Hu hunched her shoulders and looked away: "No, I don't know."

Ming Huashang wanted to persuade her with emotion and reason, but Xie Jichuan raised his hand to stop her, and shot a cold look at Widow Hu, saying: "Our patience is limited. I advise you not to be rude. If you don't say it, then I can only tell Liu what you just said. Then you won't have the chance to tell the government anymore."

Xie Jichuan turned and left without mercy. Widow Hu was frightened and hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Sir, please stay. I dare not."

Ming Huashang and Ren Yao sat at the table, while Xie Jichuan still stood with his arms crossed, not wanting to touch even the corner of his clothes. Widow Hu sat opposite and said, "What I said was not groundless, but... but Qian Lang once told me that he dared not sleep soundly in Jinxiu Tower, fearing that he would follow in the footsteps of Feng the shopkeeper. He also said that he wanted to leave Jinxiu Tower to our children, and if something happened to him one day, we should be careful of Liu."

Ming Huashang and Ren Yao looked at each other, and Ming Huashang asked, "Why should we be careful of Liu?"

"I don't know either..." Widow Hu stammered, "Qian Lang said that three years ago, Liu asked him to buy a medicine. He thought his master's medicine was not enough, so he went without thinking much. After returning, Liu boiled the medicine herself, and the next day, his master died of a sudden illness at night."

After saying this, Widow Hu looked at Ming Huashang and Ren Yao expectantly and asked, "Sir, if Liu really poisoned her first husband, should she be sentenced to death?"

Ming Huashang saw the greed and expectation that almost burst out of Widow Hu's eyes, and she didn't have the heart to expose her. A wife killing her husband is a capital crime. Widow Hu was thinking that after Liu died, no one would compete with her for Jinxiu Tower, and Qian Yi's property would naturally fall to her children. But she didn't know that if Qian Yi's purchase of medicine was true, then Qian Yi would not be able to get rid of the charge of murdering his master, which was also a capital crime. Jinxiu Tower would not be awarded to Qian Yi at all, but would be returned to the Feng family.

Ming Huashang said nothing, but asked: "When did he tell you?"

"Just a few days ago, when I was diagnosed with pregnancy," said Widow Hu, "Qian Lang was very happy when he found out. He drank a few more glasses and then told me these words."

It turned out to be drunken talk. No wonder Qian Yi would reveal his crime. Ming Huashang asked, "Did he ever tell us who he bought the drugs from?"

Widow Hu hesitated, and Xie Jichuan coldly said, "If you don't tell us the time and place, how can we prove that what you said is true? As long as there is evidence that Liu did buy the medicine, she will be convicted of murdering her husband."

When Widow Hu heard this, she immediately said happily, "Don't worry, sir. Let me think about it. I remember Qian Lang mentioned a name... I think it was called, Black Tiger?"

Ming Huashang and the other two walked out of Widow Hu's house. When no one was around, Ren Yao asked, "Who is Hei Hu?"

"I don't know." Ming Huashang said, "The problematic aconite will definitely not be bought in a regular pharmacy. Go ask the old constable in Jingzhao Prefecture and the people who sell the illegal medicine in the West Market. They should know the number."

However, when Ming Huashang asked, the old men in Jingzhao Prefecture all looked embarrassed: "Second Madam, the West Market is full of people from all over the world, and there are all kinds of people. Merchants, monks, and foreigners come and go from all over the country. If it is a rare herbal medicine, it's fine, but aconite is the most common medicine, I'm afraid it's hard to find."

"What if you already know his name is Black Tiger?"

"This must be an alias. Black market traders change their names every now and then. This is from three years ago. It's hard to believe."

After asking several people, they all shook their heads. But since it had come to this point, how could Ming Huashang give up? She said, "It's not impossible, just because it takes a long time. Let's go to the West Market and I'll look for it myself."

The people from Jingzhao Prefecture looked at Xie Jichuan behind them, not daring to refuse, and raised their hands to agree, "Yes."

Ming Huachang and the other two were looking for someone in the West Market, while Ming Huazhang and Jiang Ling also spent a day on their side. Jiang Ling found that accompanying Ming Huazhang in investigating the case was more tiring than training for a whole day.

He walked out of the house exhausted, as tired as a dog, and said weakly, "This is the fourth house. Apart from a few unfinished firecrackers from the Lantern Festival, no other gunpowder was found. Do you want to check more?"

Jiang Ling had a very fulfilling day today. They went to the Feng family first. Ming Huazhang questioned everyone, from the master to the servants, even the old servant who poured swill. The Feng family said that on the day of the Huichun Hall explosion, Feng Liang was a guest at a friend's house, and many people could testify. Then Ming Huazhang led people to search the Feng house, and they almost pried up the floor tiles to have a look.

No suspicious traces were found in the Feng family, and Jiang Ling thought that was enough. Unexpectedly, Ming Huazhang rushed to the next house without stopping and repeated the above process.

Ming Huazhang checked all the relatives and friends who were close to Feng Liang during this period, and he could prove that Feng Liang was not lying, so he could probably rule out his suspicion. Ming Huazhang crossed out Feng Liang's name on the paper and said, "Let's leave it at that for today. I'll make a list tonight and continue tomorrow."

Jiang Ling looked at Ming Huazhang, who was in high spirits and had no change in expression, and asked curiously, "Is it like this every day in Jingzhao Prefecture?"

"Well?"

"That's it. I go to four or five places every day."

Ming Huazhang didn't even raise his eyes, and said nonchalantly: "This is just a small amount. Compared with the pile of unsolved cases in Jingzhao Prefecture, it's nothing. You don't feel tired, do you?"

Jiang Ling sighed, speechless, and finally patted Ming Huazhang on the shoulder and asked seriously, "Are you planning to investigate all the cases?"

Ming Huazhang finally raised his head and glanced at Jiang Ling in surprise and as if it was his duty: "What else?"

Officials in Jingzhao Prefecture were frequently transferred, with fifteen Jingzhao Yins having been replaced in the past decade. This resulted in upper-level officials only wanting to protect themselves, and lower-level clerks also trying to be content with their situation, with flattery becoming the norm. How could anyone investigate cases?

Therefore, in the past ten years, Jingzhao Prefecture has accumulated a large number of unsolved cases and redundant cases. After the people reported the cases, they fell into oblivion and received no response at all. Even if they were investigated, it was like the case of Feng Zhanggui, and the officials went through the motions and no one investigated it properly. In the long run, it is no wonder that the people of Chang'an do not trust the government.

Although those cases occurred during the tenure of the previous officials, the term of office of officials has an end, but do the grievances of the people also have an end? Since he is now the Shao Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture, he should assume the responsibilities of the parent official of Chang'an, and he should make up for the responsibilities that the previous officials neglected.

Jiang Ling was silent for a moment as he looked at Ming Huazhang's clear and determined eyes. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Did you enter the officialdom to become a good official?"

Ming Huazhang slapped his hand away, brushed his shoulders, and strode forward: "What else?"

The sun was setting in the west, and the weary birds were returning to their nests. Jiang Ling shouted, and followed the golden afterglow of the setting sun to catch up with the tall and slender young man in front of him: "Okay, it's time to go to court. Don't be so serious. What do you want to eat? I'll treat you!"

"No need. I'm going to pick up Shang Shang."

"You two are so cheesy. She's already grown up and can walk. Do you really need to carry her around? The West Market is just ahead. I heard there's a new restaurant there. The food is good, especially the snacks. Shall we go try it?"

Jiang Ling came to put his hand on Ming Huazhang's shoulder, but Ming Huazhang moved right without making a sound and dodged his hand: "If you don't want some snacks, I won't go."

Ming Huazhang was chasing people when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. Ming Huazhang turned around and saw a group of people standing not far away. One of the young ladies saw him and waved her hand vigorously: "Second brother!"

Ming Huashang ran over and said happily, "Second brother, it's really you. Why are you here?"

Ming Huazhang looked in the direction of Jinxiu Tower and frowned at her: "Why are you here?"

"We got a clue unexpectedly and have been looking for someone in the West Market all afternoon today." Ming Huashang said, "We are planning to have dinner at the newly opened restaurant in the West Market. Are you coming?"

Jiang Ling sat in the private room, glanced at the menu, and went over to ask Ming Huazhang: "Don't you want a snack?"

He had offered to treat the guests at the same restaurant, but Ming Huazhang refused without hesitation. But when Ming Huashang asked, he silently agreed.

It's really unfair.

Ming Huazhang ignored Jiang Ling. He only took a glance at the menu and handed it to Ming Huachang, letting her decide. He asked Xie Jichuan, "What did you find today?"

"Nothing." Xie Jichuan said, "Qian Yi's mistress said that he once confessed when he was drunk that three years ago he and a man named Hei Hu bought a medicine. We don't know whether it's true or not. We have been looking for Hei Hu in Xishi all afternoon today, but to no avail."

"Black Tiger." Ming Huazhang silently repeated the name and asked, "Did Hu say that?"

Xie Jichuan nodded: "Yes."

Ming Huazhang seemed to be thinking deeply: "I will send more people tomorrow, and I will search with you. Did you find out anything about Liu?"

Xie Jichuan shrugged and pointed at Ming Huashang: "You have to ask my second sister."

Ming Huashang was comparing dishes with Jiang Ling, and took a break from her busy schedule to say, "Liu's son is sick, and she has been busy taking care of him these days, with witnesses around her all the time. I felt that provoking her would not work, so I did not bring up the case. But she must know something. When I said that Chu Ji, the doctor at Huichun Hall, was killed in the explosion, her expression was obviously wrong."

Ming Huazhang nodded and said, "You are right. For someone like her, attacking her heart is far more effective than intimidation."

"I knew that Second Brother would understand me." Ming Huashang's eyes were full of light, proud and arrogant. Xie Jichuan felt uncomfortable for no reason and said quietly, "You didn't tell me these words."

"How dare you say that to me!" Ming Huashang glared at Xie Jichuan and complained angrily, "Second brother, he pretended to be you today!"

Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I just did what you said. Why, other people's reputations are so bad, but Ming Huazhang can't do it?"

Jiang Ling hurried over to join in the fun: "What's going on?"

Ren Yao said: "We followed Qian Yi's mistress today. I don't think it's a big deal, but Xie Jichuan insisted on climbing over the widow's wall. It's immoral."

Jiang Ling hissed and slammed the table, saying, "I wanted to say this this morning. I want to join your team. If I had known it would be so lively, I would have gone no matter what!"

Ming Huazhang said it several times, trying to get the topic back on track, but the four people were chattering away and he couldn't hear anything. Ming Huazhang pressed his ears and felt a headache: "It's so noisy."

Ren Yao asked: "What about you guys?"

When Jiang Ling was mentioned, he became excited and groaned, "Don't mention it. I went to four places today, questioning and searching. It was more tiring than the training of the Yulin Army."

"That's because you were lazy. The commander was embarrassed to expose you for the sake of Marquis Jiang An." Ren Yao glared at him unhappily and scolded, "Don't bring shame to our Yulin Army. The other people in the Northern Court are not as useless as you."

"Who are you calling trash?" Jiang Ling slammed the table angrily, "Am I not better than Ming Huashang?"

Ming Huashang was having a strange exchange with Xie Jichuan, when she suddenly heard Jiang Ling openly insulting her. She said angrily, "What are you talking about? Which is the most expensive dish? Add it all to me. Let him treat us today!"

Xie Jichuan held a cup of tea and said leisurely: "One dish is not enough. With the reputation of the Marquis of Jiang'an, it's no problem to invite the whole building."

Seeing that the duel had turned into a melee, and Xie Jichuan was still provoking him, Ming Huazhang could no longer tolerate it. He suddenly lowered his voice, knocked on the table and said, "That's enough. The store is still here, don't make fun of us."

The waiter stood at the door, not knowing whether to go in or leave, and said awkwardly: "I came at an untimely time. Please feel free to come back later."

"No need." Ming Huazhang took the menu and said, "Just add the dishes I just mentioned. I'll treat you today. Is that ok?"