A Well-Trained Parrot

At Steward Hu's words, he stopped blocking them, though his face remained cold as he threatened, "Constable Qian, think things through before you act. My master has gone out and will return later."

With that, Steward Hu flicked his sleeve and strode back into the residence.

"Move!"

Jiang Yun, Qian Bochou, and the many constables quickly escorted the old woman back to the prefectural yamen.

While riding back to the yamen, Jiang Yun gave an advance warning. "Constable Qian, ride slower..."

"Don't worry, brother."

"Hyah."

Qian Bochou lashed the horse's rump with his whip, and they once again galloped at full speed.

After returning to the yamen, Qian Bochou cursed, "Take this old woman to the prison and beat her hard."

"Chief, is there anything we need to interrogate her about?"

"Interrogate my ass. Just beat her."

The constables escorted the immobile old woman toward the dungeon.

Though Qian Bochou dearly wanted to go to the prison and take revenge himself, he knew that after arresting Xia Lingxian's guest, he had to inform the current Prefect.

Jiang Yun stood at the entrance of the yamen with his arms folded, pondering where that Evil Haunt could possibly be hiding.

Logically speaking, that Evil Haunt's abilities should not have allowed it to conceal its Evil Qi so completely that not even a crack leaked through.

Yet the paper crane had indeed flown into the yamen.

At that moment, Qian Bochou suddenly asked, "Brother Jiang, how about you go to my residence and rest for a while first?"

The two entered the yamen and headed toward Qian Bochou's residence. Along the way, Jiang Yun curiously asked, "Constable Qian, aren't you afraid of retaliation for arresting Xia Lingxian's people like this?"

Qian Bochou, who was walking ahead, paused briefly before continuing. "Brother, you're a scholar. You don't understand the officialdom of our Zhou Dynasty very well."

"Master Xia truly has tremendous influence in Nanzhou Prefecture."

"From top to bottom in the entire Nanzhou Prefecture yamen, many people were promoted by him."

"Not to mention that he has many colleagues, classmates, and fellow examination graduates in the capital. Having served as an official for so many years, who knew how many former students and old subordinates he had."

"A great figure like that—so long as he stayed local, even if he murdered and set fires, no one could do anything to him."

"Everyone, high and low, is his man."

At this point, Qian Bochou stopped and said in a deep voice, "That is, provided he hasn't colluded with Evil people or Demons and Monsters."

"As long as he has colluded with an Evil Spirit, even his rank as a fourth-grade high official won't save him."

Hearing Qian Bochou's words, Jiang Yun nodded. It seemed that colluding with Evil Spirits was the bottom line of officialdom throughout the Zhou Dynasty. Jiang Yun said, "The methods that old woman used should be some rare Evil Arts. Once she is interrogated, we should have answers soon enough."

A smile appeared on Qian Bochou's face as he gritted his teeth. "That old bastard Xia Lingxian was really damned crooked in how he did things."

"I gave him who knew how much money in the past, and he refused to accept a single coin."

"I thought his appetite was huge, so I desperately saved up money until I finally had a full five hundred taels of silver!"

"But he still wouldn't take it, and even gave me a savage scolding."

"He said that the rotten atmosphere in officialdom had been ruined by people like me."

"So many scholarly masters devoted heart and soul to the country and its people had been harmed by black sheep like me giving them money."

"That bastard made me waste so many years for nothing."

"Fortunately, I didn't lose heart. I worked hard and forged ahead, and in the end, I finally became a constable chief."

Thinking of all that had happened, Qian Bochou could not help sighing with emotion. More than anything, he was grateful that his efforts had not been in vain.

Qian Bochou lamented, "The current Prefect is still kindhearted. He takes the money and gets things done. What a good man."

Jiang Yun: "..."

Then Jiang Yun found it rather strange and asked in confusion, "Since Xia Lingxian never accepted money, why does he live in such a grand residence? And that moneylender Peng San seems to have quite a connection with him as well."

Qian Bochou nodded. "Brother, let me tell you, people who take money and get things done are the good ones. Their prices are clearly marked, and they cheat neither old nor young."

"People like Xia Lingxian, who open their mouths only to speak of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, are the worst sort."

"I really thought he was an upright and impartial official. Turns out he was a bastard colluding with an Evil Haunt. Nine times out of ten, his money was earned through colluding with Demons and Monsters too."

Jiang Yun could not help asking, "Then what do you call someone like you, who takes the money but still doesn't get things done?"

Qian Bochou froze for a moment, then gave an awkward smile. "I..."

After returning to Qian Bochou's residence, he hurried off to find the Prefect, while Jiang Yun stayed in his room to rest, still pondering where that Evil Haunt could possibly be concealed.

First of all, every place had already been inspected by him and Qian Bochou.

If the monster had hidden in one of the rooms, Evil Qi would certainly have leaked out.

Where exactly could it be?

Jiang Yun racked his brains, but could not figure it out.

Qian Bochou wore his constable's uniform and carefully straightened his clothes before heading to the rear hall of the yamen.

The rear hall was where the Prefect worked. Of course, the Prefect rarely came during ordinary days, usually arriving only in the afternoon.

But lately, because Xu Suwen had come to Nanzhou Prefecture, the Prefect had been arriving every morning instead.

When he entered the rear hall, he immediately saw Lord Zhang Wenqi, dressed in brocade robes, sitting in his wooden chair, humming a little tune as he teased the bird inside the cage on the desk.

This bird was a rare thing called a parrot. It was said to be able to speak human words, and was deeply loved by the powerful and wealthy in the capital.

Zhang Wenqi had come from the capital, so naturally he had brought his parrot with him.

"Oh, Constable Qian is here." Zhang Wenqi looked up and said with a beaming smile, "What brings you over to visit me today?"

"Didn't I tell you to spend more time with Lord Xu? It would benefit both you and me."

Qian Bochou's face sank as he said quietly, "My lord, I have an urgent matter to report."

"Hmm?" Zhang Wenqi frowned. He did not like hearing those words from the people below him.

He had studied bitterly for years and years, and he had not come to Nanzhou Prefecture to become some parental official.

Nanzhou Prefecture was a wealthy region in Jiangnan, rich in produce and especially abundant in silk and tea. It was one of the most lucrative posts around.

For this position, he had begged every grandfather and grandmother in the capital and spent an unknown amount of money.

He had come here for only three things.

To rake in money, to rake in money, and to fucking rake in money.

Anything unrelated to making money felt like trouble to him.

Zhang Wenqi frowned and asked, "What is it?"

Qian Bochou quickly recounted the entire matter from beginning to end.

When Zhang Wenqi heard that it involved the previous Prefect, and that the former Prefect might have colluded with an Evil Spirit, his expression finally changed.

"Constable Qian, th-this is a major matter."

Qian Bochou nodded and said in a deep voice, "That is why I have come to ask the Prefect for help. Please issue a search warrant. I want to search Xia Lingxian's residence!"

Before Zhang Wenqi could speak.

The parrot in the cage heard the word "ask," as though it had triggered some keyword.

In an instant, it cried loudly, "One hundred taels, one hundred taels!"

At that, Zhang Wenqi hurriedly coughed, trying to make it shut up.

But that cough triggered another keyword.

The parrot continued shouting, "Five hundred taels, five hundred taels."

"Cough, cough."

The well-trained parrot cried, "One thousand taels, one thousand taels, this matter is difficult to handle."

There was another chapter.