Late at night.
At the Su Residence, lanterns hung high beneath the eaves. Three martial guards patrolled the courtyard, yet a figure slipped over the high wall and moved like the wind along its dimly lit base, his footsteps all but silent.
Inside the heated chamber, Su Chongshan slept soundly with his beautiful concubine in his arms.
Jia Huan stood beside the bed, looking down at the old beast with his honest-looking face and goatee.
He raised his hand and slapped him.
Smack!
"Ow!"
Su Chongshan jolted awake in pain. Seeing someone beside his bed, his hair stood on end, and his soul nearly scattered in terror.
"Master."
Disturbed from sleep, the concubine murmured a petulant complaint in her honeyed voice.
Jia Huan leaned over and struck the back of her neck with the edge of his hand. Before she even opened her eyes, she lost consciousness again.
"Some-"
Before Su Chongshan could call out, a blade gleaming with icy light rested across his throat.
Jia Huan dragged the old dog into the dark study.
"H-how much silver do you want? Name your price." Su Chongshan looked ready to cry, trembling all over in terror.
"Are those dog eyes of yours blind?" Jia Huan stared coldly at him.
Only then did Su Chongshan notice the Flying Fish Uniform. In an instant, terror shattered his courage and swept through his innards, yet he forced himself to sound composed and barked:
"Where is your Arrest Warrant from the Northern Commandant Office? Where is the court's Approval Seal? A mere foot soldier like you dares break into a fifth-rank official's private residence at night? Are you tired of living?"
"You flout the law and defy your superiors! Get out this instant, or I'll submit an impeachment against you and have you thrown behind bars! Your entire family will suffer with you!"
Jia Huan's expression remained unchanged as he said icily:
"My surname is Jia, and I come from a duke's household. Where does a fifth-rank old dog like you find the nerve to threaten a duke's household?"
Su Chongshan's face went rigid.
Jia Huan flicked the hilt of his saber and said in a chilling voice:
"Tonight, you either die or confess your crimes. There is no third choice."
"Escort Chief Zhou has already signed and put his mark on a confession. He named you as the mastermind."
"I thought martial men of the Jianghu were arrogant brutes who rejected imperial authority. It turns out the most vicious ones are the court's dog officials. Sitting high in their halls, a single order from them leaves their people wailing across the land."
"You dog, you beast without a shred of conscience!"
Su Chongshan crumpled to the floor. The moment he heard Escort Chief Zhou's name, all his spirit drained away, and terror nearly choked the breath out of him.
Jia Huan pressed his blade an inch closer.
"Spare me..." The sharp pain brought Su Chongshan back to his senses. His face filled with pleading, and tears streamed down his aged cheeks.
Jia Huan looked down at him.
"You sent men to destroy the Xinchang Dam. When Liu Strongman found a lead, you ordered the Zhoulong Escort Agency to murder him!"
"Why did you destroy the dam? Who was backing you? The prefect of Xinchang? Or someone else? Tell me the truth!"
Su Chongshan wept bitterly and wailed:
"I regret it!"
Jia Huan watched coldly. Now that his crimes had come to light, he regretted them. A moment ago, he had been enjoying himself with a beautiful concubine in his arms.
After grieving for a while, Su Chongshan recounted everything:
"The Prefect entered office through the imperial examinations. He only cares for lofty, empty discussions and ignores practical affairs. He knew nothing about this."
At this point, maliciously implicating someone else served no purpose.
"You could shoulder all this alone? Who else was involved?" Jia Huan's voice grew harsher.
Su Chongshan ground his teeth. "The Ministry of Works!"
The Ministry of Works?
For an instant, Jia Huan actually thought of his father, Jia Zheng, who served as an assistant director in the Ministry of Works.
Of course, that was impossible. Jia Zheng might have been pedantic, but he was utterly timid, and he had not sunk to the point of losing all conscience.
"Who was the mastermind?" Jia Huan's gaze burned into him.
Su Chongshan's lips moved, and he uttered a name and title:
"Yuan Yong, Right Vice Minister of Works."
As those words fell, Jia Huan slowly closed his eyes.
He knew the door to becoming an Embroidered Uniform Guard Hundred-Household Commander was about to open.
A junior third-rank official of the court!
The third-highest official in the Ministry of Works!
Now this was a big fish!
Not enough seniority?
Then make up for it with merit!
Was solving a major case and arresting a local official not enough? Then what about arresting a junior third-rank official?
As long as he substantiated the crimes and put the culprit behind bars, no matter how the Southern Office weighed the matter, the Hundred-Household Commander post would be his. He would rise through genuine merit, leaving no one the slightest grounds for objection!
A silver-white Flying Fish Uniform and access to the Archive of All Under Heaven-this would be a leap to an entirely new level!
"Vice Minister Yuan Yong?" Jia Huan grasped it at once and said icily:
"You used the flood as a cover to destroy the dam, then he requested reconstruction funds from the court. The two of you worked the scheme from above and below, raking in silver!"
"After the flood, grain prices in the prefectural city were sky-high, and the prefect was a derelict fool who did nothing but spout lofty talk. You destroyed the people's fertile fields, then secretly instructed the grain merchants to sell at inflated prices. Silver came pouring in, and post-disaster reconstruction gave you another excuse to demand funds from above. A few moves, and your mouths were dripping with grease!"
"The people wailed across the land, starving refugees were everywhere-but what did that matter to you? Put on an energetic show of disaster relief, and you could even earn a reputation as upright officials!"
"Beasts worse than pigs and dogs!"
Had this man not been an important witness, Jia Huan would have chopped off his dog head on the spot. This bastard's sin value had to be at least sixth grade!
Su Chongshan's face was deathly pale as he said fearfully:
"Yuan Yong was behind it. I had no choice but to obey. The largest grain merchant in the city is a distant relative of his daughter-in-law. Please show leniency, my lord, since I have confessed truthfully."
Jia Huan found an ink pad in the study, brought over a Wolf-Hair Brush and some Xuan Paper, and said in a tone that brooked no argument:
"Write out the entire course of events yourself, down to the smallest detail, including the trusted men who took part in destroying the dam. Then confess your crimes, sign it, and affix your fingerprint!"
With trembling hands, Su Chongshan slowly wrote on the Xuan Paper. A quarter of an hour later, he pressed his inked fingerprint at the end.
"Move!" Jia Huan roared.
Su Chongshan's legs had gone so weak that he could not even stand.
Jia Huan forcibly dragged him out of the heated chamber. The martial guards finally heard the commotion.
"Lord Su!" The three guards braced as though facing a formidable enemy.
A flicker of hope kindled in Su Chongshan's despairing eyes. If the guards he had hired at great expense killed this Embroidered Uniform Guard, might this major case simply disappear?
Yet that hope vanished in an instant.
Jia Huan rushed forward in a few swift strides and casually raised his palm. Before one guard could react, he was already wounded on the ground.
He said coldly:
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is investigating a case. Anyone who obstructs us dies!"
"Please, go ahead." The other two guards stepped aside and watched their employer being dragged out of the residence.
If they could not win, they could hardly throw their lives away for silver. Besides, their opponent belonged to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Office.
Beneath the locust tree outside the residence.
"Boss!" Six men came crowding over.
Jia Huan tossed Su Chongshan to Twin Whips, then said gravely:
"The mastermind is Yuan Yong, Right Vice Minister of Works. We leave for the capital tonight. There can be no delay!"
Boom!
Scholar, Twin Whips, and the others stared in stunned disbelief.
"Holy shit!"
The third-highest official in the Ministry of Works?
This...
The merit from this...
Hahaha! General Banner Zhao and General Banner Qian had competed bitterly for two years, all for nothing. The Hundred-Household Commander post at the Celestial Pivot Office could belong to no one but the boss!
"Who is the largest grain merchant in the city?" Jia Huan demanded coldly.
Su Chongshan had long since resigned himself to his fate. In a hoarse voice, he said:
"Shopkeeper Qian. He is seven chi tall, fat, with a birthmark beside his ear. He is the distant relative of Yuan Yong's daughter-in-law."
Jia Huan looked at Twin Whips and Biaozi and instructed them sternly:
"We'll go on ahead. You two arrest Shopkeeper Qian, then ride hard to catch up with us."
"Yes, sir!" Twin Whips dared not delay and immediately set off.
If their boss truly earned a promotion, they would gain posts along with him. They absolutely could not afford any mistakes in this case!
Jia Huan continued giving orders:
"Scholar, return to the Zhoulong Escort Agency. Have Escort Chief Zhou bring the clansman who personally killed Liu Strongman and come with you. Don't worry. With his vast business and the dozens of people in his household at stake, Escort Chief Zhou won't dare try anything."
"Yes, boss!" Scholar accepted his orders and left.
Jia Huan commanded:
"Return to the capital immediately!"
Once Yuan Yong learned the news, he would call on his connections and pull strings everywhere. Their hard-earned merit might come to nothing. They had to hurry.
As for the Prefect of Xinchang Prefecture, time was pressing. They would leave that fellow alone for now.
If he had known and failed to report it, he was guilty of shielding criminals!
Not knowing was a crime too. How could a rotten log who neglected his duties be allowed to govern a region?
Even if he had not participated, his official career was finished.
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