"Key?"
Looking at the brass key that had suddenly appeared, everyone present immediately realized that since Zhen Changzhi had hidden it so carefully, it must have locked away some great secret—perhaps even the key to uncovering the conspiracy between Zhen Changzhi and the murderer.
"Everyone, thoroughly search the Zhen residence at once! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find the lock that matches this key!" Ling Yuanbao immediately gave the order, and the Ministry of Justice and Imperial Capital Guard personnel sprang into action with thunderous efficiency.
The Zhen residence was not large. The group spread out inside and out in a carpet-style search, yet even by the third watch, when the moon hung high in the sky, they had found nothing.
Hu Tiehan said, "Constable Ling, it seems we will have a hard time gaining anything tonight. My brothers still have to patrol the streets day and night. Why not let them return early to rest? Tomorrow, you can gather the Ministry of Justice's best men and search again."
Though Ling Yuanbao was unwilling to accept it, the Imperial Capital Guard were not her direct subordinates after all, and the search had indeed reached a deadlock. She could only reply, "All right. Seal everything here, and tomorrow I'll have my superior send additional manpower."
"Ah." Liang Yue sighed.
It seemed that catching the murderer quickly and thoroughly clearing the two brothers of suspicion would not be so simple.
"Ah." Chen Ju looked toward Ling Yuanbao and sighed as well.
"What's wrong with you?" Liang Yue asked.
"I fell in love with Miss Ling at first sight, but she barely pays me any attention. My heart is truly miserable." Chen Ju shook his head and sighed.
"Give it a rest. Just a few days ago, you said you'd fallen in love with Miss Wen at first sight." Liang Yue could not be bothered with him.
"Yeah." Chen Ju turned his head and added, "If I could marry Miss Wen in this lifetime, I'd even gladly accept promotions and noble titles."
"Why are you trying to eat your cake and take it too?" Liang Yue was speechless.
Good heavens.
The moment night fell, he had gone straight into fantasy time.
"I once heard a saying: 'Lust is a young man's first trial.'" Chen Ju said solemnly, "This is precisely the trial I am facing now. Whenever I see a beautiful woman, affection wells up in my heart. I hope I can see through it soon."
"I've heard a saying too: 'A man remains a youth until death.' I'm afraid you won't get past this trial in your whole life," Liang Yue said mercilessly.
"Huh?" Chen Ju's face instantly filled with despair.
As they spoke, Liang Yue looked around and asked, "Where's Da Chun?"
He had been entirely focused on solving the case just now, only to realize that he seemed not to have seen Pang Chun for quite some time.
"There." Chen Ju pointed toward the shadows by the courtyard wall. "He's been slacking off there ever since we came in."
Liang Yue walked over and saw Da Chun standing in the shadows, his forehead against the wall as he dozed. His black Imperial Capital Guard uniform truly was hard to spot in the night.
"Da Chun!" Liang Yue called out. Seeing that he did not move a muscle, he lowered his voice and quietly said, "Braised pork for a late-night snack? Wouldn't that be too greasy?"
"Not greasy!" Pang Chun's ears immediately perked up. Before his eyes had even opened, he mumbled, "Braised pork is my favorite."
Once he saw the scene before him clearly and realized he was still inside the murder house, he was instantly disappointed. "A Yue, why did you trick me?"
"I couldn't wake you otherwise. We're about to wrap up, so stop sleeping." Liang Yue laughed. "Honestly, slacking off so openly in front of the Ministry of Justice people—aren't you afraid Brother Hu will scold you?"
"Hehe, I've used this trick several times. When we go out on missions at night, I face the wall and doze off. Our uniforms are the same color as the wall, so no one has ever noticed." Pang Chun grinned smugly.
"You really are a little genius," Chen Ju teased.
At first, Liang Yue had been about to laugh at those words too, but for some reason, a brilliant light suddenly burst from his eyes!
He looked at Da Chun and said sincerely, "That's right, Da Chun. You really are a genius!"
Over there, Ling Yuanbao was calling for the Ministry of Justice men to finish up. "We'll stop here for today. Seal up everything in this place. Do not leave anything out."
Her expression carried a faint trace of disappointment.
After all, though they had gained something today, they had ultimately not found the true murderer, nor had they uncovered any hidden great secret.
She had only recently been promoted and had the least seniority among the Ministry of Justice constables. She had happened to be on duty today, which was why she had taken charge of such a major case for the first time. If she solved it, she would make a name for herself in one stroke; if it dragged on until tomorrow, the case might not remain under her control.
Ending things this way, a rookie constable could not help but feel regret.
Hu Tiehan was also calling for the brothers stationed in Fukang Ward to form up. Just as the men had lined up and gathered, three people suddenly ran over from beside the wall. Liang Yue, at the front, shouted, "Wait! I think I've guessed where Official Zhen hid his secret!"
"Hm?"
Fresh light immediately appeared in Ling Yuanbao's disappointed eyes. When she looked over, she discovered it was that subordinate guard from earlier.
Liang Yue.
Him again.
At that moment, in Ling Yuanbao's eyes, Liang Yue seemed to be radiating light from head to toe.
"Oh? You found it?" Hu Tiehan was equally delighted.
Before the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Capital Guard had always been regarded as inferior—reckless brutes who could not solve cases and only ever served as assistants. Today, Liang Yue had repeatedly distinguished himself through his wits, truly bringing great honor to the Fukang Ward station.
"Not yet, but I have a guess." Liang Yue strode back into the study. "Everyone, come in with me."
He stood before the partition wall in the center of the study, pointed at it, and said, "This study originally had an open north-to-south layout, but this wall forcibly cuts it off. Official Zhen was responsible for construction blueprints in the Ministry of Works. He was an expert in this field and especially should not have made such a mistake. The presence of this wall in his study is all the more suspicious."
"You suspect..." The moment Ling Yuanbao heard this, she guessed Liang Yue's thoughts and continued, "He hid something inside this wall? Yes, that is indeed highly possible!"
Her voice gradually grew excited.
Anyone entering this room might have found the wall strange at first glance, but they would only take it for some unusual design. Once they got used to it, they would not think further about it.
If not for Pang Chun's ingenious idea of "disguising himself as a wall," Liang Yue would never have connected it to this.
So Da Chun truly deserved the title of genius.
Only after hearing Liang Yue's words did Chen Ju understand why he had suddenly become excited. He raised a thumb at Pang Chun and said, "Men with Chun in their names really are different, huh?"
"Hehe." Da Chun gave a simple, foolish grin and scratched his head.
So I really am a genius?
"Whether it is or not, we'll know once we open it." Over there, Liang Yue declared loudly.
"Bring two men!" Hu Tiehan called. "Smash this wall for me!"
At once, two burly Imperial Capital Guards carrying iron hammers stepped forward. One strike from the left, one from the right—they began pounding the wall!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump...
The two burly men hammered away for a long time. Aside from some dust and plaster flaking off, the wall did not budge in the slightest—not even a single crack appeared. No one knew what method had been used to build it.
"There is most likely a formation on it," Hu Tiehan said with a frown.
"Move aside." Seeing this, Ling Yuanbao pushed through the crowd, waved off the two burly men, and faced the solid wall alone. She shouted, "Hah—"
She leaped up and kicked!
BOOM!
At the tremendous blast, everyone present could not help but twitch their brows.
What tremendous strength.
Ling Yuanbao's kick struck the wall, after which she coolly withdrew her leg and took two steps back. At the first instant, the wall showed no change at all. But after a breath, a tiny crack suddenly appeared, then one fissure after another spread from it... In the blink of an eye, spiderweb cracks had crawled across the entire wall.
Whatever formation it had possessed was shattered by sheer force in a single blow.
Crash!
As the broken wall crumbled and fell away, what lay within was revealed.
"Whoa—"
A wave of astonished cries rose as well. Every onlooker was struck dumb with amazement.
Because once the surface vanished, what appeared behind it was a wall glittering with silver light. Bright rectangular silver ingots had been stacked together, forming an entire towering wall!
Silver, silver, all silver!
Too much to count.
It was practically a miniature silver vault!
Whether they were Ministry of Justice constables or Imperial Capital Guard Official Guards, their yearly salaries might not equal even one of those ingots. Zhen Changzhi was a Sixth Rank Official famous for his incorruptibility; if he wanted to save up this much hidden silver through salary alone, he would probably have to work without eating or drinking for several thousand years.
"Holy..." Even Chen Ju, an aristocratic young master accustomed to wealth and luxury, could not help saying bitterly as he stared at the silver before him, "Zhen Changzhi... that bastard truly did not die unjustly."
It's only Monday, and the new book rankings have been reshuffled. If you have monthly tickets, please cast a few, thank you! The end of the month is coming anyway, and there's no use keeping them in your hand. Cast monthly tickets and watch the author kowtow.
Before you continue