Chapter 95: "Some extraordinary measures were used."...
Seeing Lord Song's frown growing tighter and tighter, Mu Tong knew the importance of the matter and stopped keeping it a secret.
He swept his hands, clearing a small space on the table, and most of his body blocked Song Linsheng's sight, no longer allowing him to see the scroll below.
"Your Excellency knows that I haven't been serving in Jiangyang long, so I don't have a deep understanding of past events." Mu Tong pulled a scroll from the stacked wooden box and unfolded it before Song Linsheng. "Today, I went through all the files in the government office and discovered that they only contain records from the past ten years."
Mu Tong picked up a long brocade box from underneath and held it in front of Song Linsheng, motioning to him.
"In recent years, all the files and records have been stored in this type of brocade box, which is a uniform style."
Song Linsheng stared at the brocade box in front of him and nodded slightly to show his agreement. The volumes he had read before were indeed stored in brocade boxes like the one in front of him, and were definitely not the wooden boxes that filled the room now.
"So I retrieved all the case files from the treasury from twenty years ago." Mu Tong glanced at the wooden box on the table with a look of expected surprise. "The files inside this wooden box are all from more than ten years ago."
However, everything was locked, and he didn't know where the key was. If it was in Lord Jia's hands, he wouldn't want to disturb him rashly. In order to access the contents, he had to resort to extraordinary means.
"Transferred?" Song Linsheng asked doubtfully. He didn't doubt the weight of Lord Mu's words in the government office, but the case file was transferred at this time...
"Ahem." Mu Tong coughed lightly, then paused for a moment before adding leisurely, "They used some extraordinary measures."
Mu Tong raised his hand and touched the tip of his nose. It seemed that the dust rising from the scroll that had been sealed for many years made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"As far as I know, Lord Jia has only been in office in Jiangyang for a dozen years." Mu Tong changed the subject. He swept his eyes across the room, scanning the wooden boxes again and again. "The files from the past twenty years are all here, covering water conservancy, security, criminal cases, household registration, and all sorts of complicated matters."
Upon hearing this, Song Linsheng also looked over, and moved along with Mu Tong's gaze, taking in all the files in the room.
It turned out that the government office had changed the style of the scroll once, which led to the difference between the wooden box and the brocade box.
Just as a tree as tall as two men's arms grows from a tiny seed, a towering building is built from piles of earth. No matter how big a matter, its true significance is always revealed in the details. During the years that Lord Jia had been in office, the Jiangyang government office had the financial resources to replace the wooden boxes used to store the files with brocade boxes...
Song Linsheng's eyes were like the lonely sky, with occasional wild geese flying by without leaving a trace.
He suddenly remembered that some time ago, he had checked almost all the records of the government finance department, but with little success and could not find any clues.
I think the key point is not in the last ten years, but earlier, like more than ten years ago.
Just because of Chen Mian, he thought that the incident happened recently and only focused on the existing case files, without thinking of checking the records of earlier years.
Song Linsheng shook his head helplessly. He was just blinded by one thing.
"What did Lord Mu look at?"
Song Linsheng knew that Mu Tong was a capable person, but as he looked at the room full of scrolls, he knew in his heart that these few hours were too short, and no matter how capable Mu Tong was, he would never be able to read them all.
Mu Tong turned around to confirm before replying to Song Linsheng.
"We've checked all the recent cases, and there's nothing special. As for those from ten years ago—"
"That man is not only harmful to Lord Song, but also..." Mu Tong concealed the second half of the sentence and did not say it out loud. As long as the two of them kept it to themselves, it would be fine. Why would he say it so clearly? "So, I have investigated the criminal case first."
"Did you gain anything?" Song Linsheng was still holding the file he had picked up earlier, which recorded the criminal case.
Mu Tong reached out, spread out the scroll on the table, and took out an inkstone to press down a corner.
"Master Song, please look——"
Song Linsheng lowered his eyes as he was told and fixed his gaze on the table in front of him. However, the scroll that caught his eye made him somewhat puzzled.
"This is……"
Mu Tong could understand Lord Song's hesitation. When he saw this scroll before, his expression was the same as Lord Song's.
He took over the conversation from Lord Song and told him in detail the clues he had discovered earlier.
"Sir Song, when recording each file, it is particularly important to have both witnesses and physical evidence, and to have complete facts and confessions."
"Therefore, when handling a case in the government office, all the information from the beginning to the end of the case must be recorded one by one."
Song Linsheng nodded when he heard this. He knew this. Even though he had only devoted himself to studying and teaching in the past and had never held the position of prefect, he could still get a general idea from what his father and brothers had said.
Seeing this, Mu Tong continued, "I have reviewed all the cases here. The materials and evidence for each case are complete, and there are no omissions."
When Mu Tong said this, his tone couldn't help but carry a hint of praise. At least this could explain a lot of things from the side, just like Lord Jia's subordinates seemed to have never had any unjust, false or wrong cases.
But these words made Song Linsheng even more confused. If he followed Lord Mu's words, then... how could he explain the matter concerning Chen Mian?
Song Linsheng lowered his head again to look at the case file in front of him. At this moment, he completely put down the scroll in his hand and put his heart on the table.
"However, after carefully checking all the case files, I suddenly discovered that somehow only this one volume remained."
He raised his hand and pointed at the scroll in front of Song Linsheng.
"There's no record of the case, nor anything else to supplement it." Mu Tong pondered for a moment, not knowing where this solitary scroll came from. "Perhaps it fell out of the records of a certain case, or perhaps someone compiled some information and mixed it up with the criminal case records."
However, it looks more like a record compiled based on certain specific clues when handling a case, or a person who was screened out.
Thinking it might be useful, he picked it out and placed it separately for Lord Song to take a look.
Song Linsheng's gaze, as calm as water, slowly flowed across the scroll. He felt there was something odd about it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Thinking of some things that had come to mind in the meeting room earlier, Song Linsheng paused for a moment, then he called out to Mu Tong, and waited for him to bend down before he began to speak...
…
The sun sets in the west and the twilight is pleasant.
Outside the courtyard, Xiyan could only hear the sound of the wind entwining with the flowers and plants in the courtyard, accompanied by bursts of fragrance, and occasionally a slight sound.
His heart finally calmed down a little. This place was only a hundred steps away from the inner room, and he was afraid that someone would take the opportunity to hide in the dark and spy on him.
Now that he couldn't hear any sound from inside while guarding here, he thought that even if there was someone else lurking in the dark, it would be a waste of effort.
Thinking of this, Xiyan's heart finally calmed down a little. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh, as if exhaling all the turbid air in his body.
“Squeak—”
The door opened and closed, startling Xiyan so much that he turned around suddenly. After seeing that it was Lord Mu in a goose yellow gown behind the door, Xiyan obviously breathed a sigh of relief.
He was so frightened that even the sound of Lord Mu pushing the door frightened him so much.
Xiyan swallowed for no reason, causing the wound on his neck to itch.
"Master Mu?"
There was a gap in the middle of the half-open door, the width of a forearm, revealing Mu Tong's elegant and handsome face.
Mu Tong was obviously also startled, as if Xi Yan had been startled. He had not expected Xi Yan to be so honest and actually stay here for so many hours.
"Wash the inkstone."
Mu Tong nodded and greeted Xi Yan, then turned around and glanced into the yard, but soon turned back to face Xi Yan.
He looked at Xiyan from head to toe, and finally moved his gaze upwards to the wound on Xiyan's neck.
Despite such injuries, he still had to stand in the wind to guard the gate. It was really a blessing for Lord Song to have such a considerate attendant as Xiyan.
"I have to go out for something. Your master is still busy in the inner room." Mu Tong raised his eyebrows and gestured for Xi Yan to go inside. "Why don't you go in too? Don't just stand here and get blown by the wind."
Xiyan opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the cool night breeze rushed into his throat hurriedly, making the root of his tongue feel cold, and then he started coughing.
"Ahem." Xiyan's throat was aching, but he still insisted on greeting Master Mu. "Master Mu, do you need my assistance?"
Although he couldn't ask Lord Mu directly why he went out, he could help if Lord Mu needed him.
As for whether he can get some breeze or not, he is not that delicate at all.
Seeing that he couldn't stop coughing, Mu Tong shook his head helplessly and refused, "It's not a big deal, I can handle it alone. You should just listen to me and go in and serve your master."
As he spoke, Mu Tong opened the courtyard door completely with both hands and stepped out. As he passed by Xi Yan, he quietly added, "Your master can't leave for a while. You can't just stand there like this and get blown by the wind."
After washing the inkstone, Lord Mu seemed to have something else to say. He automatically ignored Mu Tong's caring words and only kept repeating the words "I can't leave".
He understood what he meant, thinking that the young master must have something else to investigate.
"Okay, Master Mu, please get back to your work."
Xiyan did not hesitate and decided to stay here.
Mu Tong was about to leave, but when he turned around, he saw Xi Yan standing in the distance, unmoved. He stopped trying to persuade him, thinking that there was something really important that needed to be done quickly. He just sighed and left.
Xiyan watched Lord Mu's figure gradually disappear from his sight, and finally turned to the other end of the corridor and disappeared from his sight.
Although he was somewhat curious, he had no intention of prying into the matter.
A breeze blew from behind Xiyan, blew up the door leaves, and made the door creak.
Xiyan quickly turned around, put his hands on the door, and then closed the door gently, isolating the tactless Qingfeng and himself who was tactful, for fear of disturbing the young man in the inner room.
The sky was low, the moonlight filled the ground, and the night was as gloomy as a bottomless pool of water. The silent government hall was immersed in it silently.
The lights in the room were turned on at some point, and in an instant, soft light flooded the entire room, stretching Song Linsheng's shadow long and casting it obliquely on the window.
Song Linsheng sat at the table, the scroll before him no longer the one Mu Tong had unfolded. He looked at the label on the ridge of the wooden box he had opened: "Water Conservancy."
He started learning to read at the age of three and learned to read at the age of five. He was very good at reciting poems and lyrics since he was a child. After years of practice, he developed the ability to read ten lines at a glance and remember everything he saw.
At this moment, his eyes swept across the scrolls at a very fast speed, and the scrolls he had read beside him piled up half a person's height.
Just as he was about to finish reading the scroll in front of him and habitually reached for another one, he suddenly stopped. His hand was suspended in mid-air, as if it weighed a thousand pounds, while his eyes were fixed on the scroll spread out before him, unblinking.
This is……
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