Confiscating the Household

Seeing Xu Suwen's embarrassed expression, Qian Bochou quickly changed the subject, and also looked into the dungeon, "Brother Jiang, where are my subordinates?"

"Over there." Jiang Yun pointed to the pile of charcoal on the ground.

"Huh? I don't see them."

Following the direction he pointed, Qian Bochou didn't see his subordinates. His smile gradually froze as he stared at the scorched black charcoal on the ground.

"They, they..."

Jiang Yun sighed helplessly, "By the time we arrived, they were already dead..."

Afterward, Jiang Yun briefly recounted the events. After listening, Qian Bochou remained silent for a long time, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

After a long while, he finally exhaled and said, "Encountering Yao, it's fortunate that only this many people died."

"I heard that two months ago, Qingyun County had a Yao incident. They sent dozens of constables to help search, but they all died."

"And only seven people died this time..."

Bang.

Qian Bochou suddenly punched the wall fiercely. A crack appeared on the wall. His already scabbed fist began to bleed again.

But Qian Bochou seemed to feel no pain.

Jiang Yun first sent Xu Suwen back to the inn where she was staying to rest, and then went directly to the Xia Mansion.

The Xia Mansion was located in the most prosperous area of Nanzhou Prefecture. Originally, it was the residence of a wealthy merchant. More than ten years ago, when Xia Lingxian first arrived in Nanzhou Prefecture as the prefect, he passed by and praised the mansion, saying that its feng shui was probably good.

Then, the wealthy merchant sold it to him at a low price of one hundred taels of silver.

Although he no longer held an official position, Xia Lingxian's former status was undeniable. Several strong young men stood guard at the entrance of the Prefectural Yamen.

Ordinary people who passed by the Xia Mansion and even glanced at the entrance would be verbally abused by these strong young men.

At this moment, over a hundred constables had gathered at the entrance of the Xia Mansion.

Among them, more than fifty surrounded the four sides of the Xia Mansion to prevent anyone from escaping.

The other forty-odd were at the main entrance, waiting for something.

Qian Bochou held his steel saber, his expression stern.

"Boss, this is Master Xia's residence. What happened?"

"Boss, are we going to arrest Master Xia?"

Qian Bochou glared and cursed, "Shut up, what Master Xia, what Master Xia."

"He has no official position, he's just a rich old man. We are legitimate constables of the Yamen, he should be calling us 'Master'!"

Seeing Qian Bochou's fiery temper, these constables dared not persuade him further, as Qian Bochou held an arrest warrant for Xia Lingxian.

Doing so was legal.

Strangely, Qian Bochou had not yet given the order to enter.

It seemed he was waiting for something.

Finally, from the distant street, Jiang Yun, dressed in a scholar's robe, ran up to Qian Bochou, panting.

"Is Lord Xu all arranged?" Qian Bochou asked.

"En." Jiang Yun panted for a while before looking up at the Xia Mansion.

Qian Bochou thought of the fate of the seven constables before and still felt a little uneasy. Before entering, he whispered a reminder, "Brother Jiang, you'll have to protect me at all times later."

Then, he said loudly, "Enter!"

The strong young men at the entrance, who usually acted arrogantly, dared not be so overbearing when they saw a group of fierce constables.

Seeing that these constables were about to force their way in, they quickly stepped forward and said to Qian Bochou, "Constable, this is Master Xia's residence. Don't blame me for not warning you."

Qian Bochou slapped the young man to the ground, "Arrest them, don't let any of them go."

The young man, pinned to the ground, shouted, "Qian Bochou, don't think you're so capable. You're just a constable. With a word from Master Xia, you'll be kicked out of the Prefectural Yamen immediately."

At this moment, many onlookers on the street were watching the scene with confusion.

Qian Bochou took out the arrest warrant and said loudly, "Xia Lingxian is suspected of colluding with Demons and Monsters. I am ordered to arrest him and bring him back to the Prefectural Yamen for investigation!"

"Hahahaha, you want to..." The young man on the ground laughed heartily, but after hearing the charges clearly, he quickly shouted, "Master Qian, Master Qian, I'm just a doorman, I don't know anything."

More than forty constables rushed into the residence like wolves and tigers. Inside the mansion, everyone, regardless of age or gender, was tied up.

Gold, silver, and jewels were all moved to the front courtyard and gathered.

Boxes upon boxes of jewels, and groups of beauties were brought to the front courtyard.

A rough estimate showed that there were probably thirty to forty servants.

And there were seventy to eighty beautiful women in groups.

Among them, more than a dozen women were pregnant, their faces ashen.

"Hiss."

"This old thief is still vigorous."

Qian Bochou saw the scene before him and thought of his main wife and seven concubines at home, who already overwhelmed him.

He hadn't expected this fellow to be so fierce.

There were more than fifty chests of gold and silver treasures. As the constables carrying them were descending the stairs, one almost fell. Qian Bochou quickly stepped forward to support him, saying, "Be careful."

Then he heard a sound.

Several silver coins fell from the constable's person.

"Cap...Captain..." the constable was a bit embarrassed. Qian Bochou picked up the coins and stuffed them into his pocket, saying, "It's perfectly reasonable to carry some money for breakfast when you're on duty."

Bang. Another constable put down his chest, and a pearl bracelet fell from him.

"Old Chen, why did you bring your wife's bracelet?"

"Old Liu, I told you last time not to bring that gold ingot passed down from your great-grandfather. It's too flashy..."

As this group of constables walked, gold and silver treasures were scattered all along the way.

It was mainly because they had packed too much, stuffing even when the chests were full.

Qian Bochou turned a blind eye to this.

Jiang Yun, standing nearby, couldn't help but open one of the chests. It was either gold and silver treasures or famous calligraphy and paintings.

Just how much money had this guy extorted?

Qian Bochou also came over and couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse, "This guy is truly scum. No wonder he looked down on the five hundred taels of silver I sent him."

A constable beside him kindly reminded him, "Captain, why don't you grab a handful yourself and put it in your pocket?"

Normally, Qian Bochou was very active when it came to confiscating goods, but today he stood rooted to the spot, not taking any money.

If Constable Qian didn't take any, they felt uneasy too.

Qian Bochou glared at the constable, thinking to himself, Could I be the same as these guys?

He paused, then said loudly to the constables, "These are all evidence of crimes. We'll transport a chest to my home later, and I'll investigate it thoroughly."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's also send four chests to the Prefect. Everyone knows the Prefect is a divine investigator; with his help, our investigation will be like adding wings to a tiger."

"The Vice-Prefect also knows a thing or two. Three chests."

"Take two chests to the Lord Vice-Prefect."

"Alright, everyone did a great job today. We've found these forty chests of evidence."

Just then, a constable ran over in a hurry and said urgently, "Captain, we've caught the person. He's in the cellar."

"Cellar?" Constable Qian's eyes lit up as he looked at Jiang Yun beside him.

After seeing the tragic state of the dungeon, he was becoming psychologically traumatized by such places.

"Let's go." Jiang Yun had been silent all this time. Hearing that Xia Lingxian had finally been found, they quickly followed the constable to a cellar entrance.

The cellar entrance was quite wide. The constable led the way with a torch, and the two of them followed him down.

The cellar was dimly lit and had a broken door, which had already been smashed open.

It was likely that Xia Lingxian had been hiding inside before and the constables had smashed it open after finding him.

In the dim cellar, five constables held knives to Xia Lingxian's neck.

Xia Lingxian's hair was somewhat disheveled, and he was sitting on the ground, but he didn't seem flustered. Steward Hu beside him was trembling slightly.

Jiang Yun frowned and heard the cry of a baby.

In this spacious cellar, there were layers of baby cribs, dozens of them.

"There are also five or six children inside."

Why would there be children in a cellar?

"This is a frame-up! I will definitely go to the capital to file a complaint!" Xia Lingxian said calmly. "The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is my classmate and friend. He will certainly not stand idly by."

"The Secretary of the Ministry of Rites is my former student..."

"..."

As he listed his connections, Qian Bochou felt a tremor of fear, finding the situation troublesome.

He subconsciously looked to Jiang Yun for help, his eyes seeming to ask, What should we do?

Jiang Yun whispered in his ear, and his words enlightened him.

"If he doesn't die, we might all be in trouble."