Qingzhou Prefecture.
Constable Wang arrived at the second hall. "Sir... the thief impersonating a constable from Jing'an Prefecture has been taken into custody. He can be interrogated once the effects of the drug wear off."
Zhu Huaizhang was checking this year's accounts when he gave a soft "hmm," and asked, "Have you seen them?"
After a moment of silence, Constable Wang truthfully, "The leader is Fang Rui, the head constable of Jing'an Prefecture. I met him once a few years ago when I was handling a case in another city."
Zhu Huaizhang's gaze fell from the case file to Constable Wang, his expression unreadable.
"You recognized me?"
"I don't know... When I arrived, they were already collapsed on the ground," Constable Wang carefully observed Zhu Huaizhang's expression and said cautiously, "Should we go and verify the information?"
Zhu Huaizhang put down his brush, leaned back in his chair, and pondered for a long time. "Did the transgressions also occur when Prefect Su was in office?"
"When Lord Su first took office, everyone in the government, from the gatekeeper to the assistant prefect, joined forces to ostracize him. They even 'lost' the tribute. Neighboring prefectures also made things difficult for him both openly and secretly."
Within a year, Lord Su uncovered irrefutable evidence that the Assistant Magistrate had secretly set up a " Fortune-Seizing Formation " at the Jade Terrace House. Following the clues, he investigated and investigated from top to bottom, from the gatekeepers embezzling salaries to the granary officials stealing and selling official grain.
That autumn, notices announcing vacancies were posted on an entire wall outside the government office; most of the staff in our government office were recruited at that time.
Since then, no one has dared to treat Qingzhou Prefecture as an easy target.
Zhu Huaizhang hadn't expected Su Wenqian to arrive in such a chaotic state. Staring at the ledger, he said in a deep voice, "If this were Su Wenqian, what would he do about this?"
Constable Wang's heart tightened. He wondered what Lord Zhu meant by asking this question. He quickly considered the pros and cons and chose the safest option to answer.
"If it were Lord Su, he would lock him up... until the Prefect of Jing'an Prefecture personally comes to his door and thoroughly humiliates him with a barrage of beatings and insults."
"Then let it stay locked up." Zhu Huaizhang lowered his eyes and continued working.
"Yes..."
Seeing that Constable Wang was standing still, he asked, "Is there anything else?"
"My lord... Jin Shanyao is outside waiting for you to distribute the reward money."
"What reward?" Zhu Huaizhang looked at Constable Wang in confusion.
"During his tenure, Lord Su established a rule that anyone who exposes, reports, or arrests a criminal and brings them to the authorities... would be rewarded with one to twenty taels of silver after the facts of the crime were verified."
Zhu Huaizhang suddenly realized, then frowned and said, "How come I've never seen this part of the expenditure?"
"This money was deducted from Lord Su's salary."
"I see," Zhu Huaizhang nodded. "You call Jin Shanyao in; I have a few questions to ask her."
Upon Constable Wang soon led the Jin Shanyao officer into the second hall before withdrawing.
Zhu Huaizhang cut to the chase, "What did these people say when they arrived?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Shanyao instantly lost her composure and began to wail as she complained, "They said there was a murder in Jing'an Prefecture and they want me to go with them... That's blatant lying! What does it have to do with me if someone dies in Jing'an Prefecture?"
During this period, I haven't even left the Qingzhou Prefecture. A basin the size of a murder case was suddenly dumped on my head. I don't know what's wrong with me this year; I seem to run into all sorts of things."
Zhu Huaizhang's expression was serious, and he thought to himself, "To commit murder, one must have the time, the tool, and the motive."
Since Jin Shanyao had not left Qingzhou Prefecture, she was naturally not a direct suspect and only needed to cooperate with the questioning. Their large-scale operation and overstepping of authority were clearly unreasonable.
But what are they after?
In a flash, he remembered the matter of borrowing grain before the New Year. It wasn't that Jing'an Prefecture wanted to investigate the case; they clearly wanted to detain people.
Zhu Huaizhang had heard from his colleagues that some prefectures and counties in the north operated like this: once someone was brought into the yamen, even if they were innocent, they would be skinned alive, and they wouldn't be able to get away without paying a hundred or eighty taels of silver.
Once you understand this, when you look at Jin Shanyao again, you feel like she's a walking piece of gold, and everyone who sees her wants to take a bite.
Jin Shanyao blinked her big eyes twice. "Sir... a reward?"
"No reward... you may leave."
"Ah, I caught six human traffickers... thirty taels of silver," Jin Shanyao, puzzled. Usually, the government office would deliver the money to their door, but since she had nothing else to do today, she came with Constable Wang.
Who knew there would be no reward? Jin Shanyao somewhat bewildered.
Zhu Huaizhang continued checking the ledgers. "In the past, the rewards were all paid from Su Wenqian's salary. I don't have as much money as him, so I didn't receive any rewards."
Jin Shanyao there stunned. Every time Su Wenqian rewarded her with silver, he would say it was a reward from the government or the imperial court, never mentioning that it came from his own pocket.
Could it be...?
Seeing her looking at him suspiciously, Zhu Huaizhang said unhappily, "Would I lie to you..."
Their eyes met... sparks flew, and Zhu Huaizhang was defeated.
He reluctantly got up and took a new booklet from the bookshelf. "Okay... I'll write down the reward money. When Qingzhou Prefecture has the money, I'll make up the difference for you, alright?"
Jin Shanyao glanced down at the account book from her high vantage point.
Zhu Huaizhang quickly closed the account book, cleared his throat twice, and said, " Shopkeeper Jin, listen to me: Spring plowing is coming soon... I want to buy some seeds for the people. I also need to set aside some money to hire people to make new farm tools."
He got up and walked to Jin Shanyao's side, pushing her towards the door. "You don't know, Qingzhou Prefecture governs eight counties, and each county has at least twenty villages. They come to the prefectural government office every day to cry poverty, and I don't even have enough money."
Jin Shanyao her head and glared at him angrily, "Liar... I've never seen anyone from Willow and Poplar County come here to complain about being poor."
Zhu Huaizhang pushed the person to the door and said perfunctorily, "Soon... he'll be here tomorrow," and then slammed the door shut.
Jin Shanyao stood outside the door, staring incredulously at the tightly closed door... She had actually been kicked out.
Anzhi was still waiting for her to take the reward money back... and she was kicked out?!
Jin Shanyao Huo Teng leaped up, reaching out to push the door open but failing. " Zhu Huaizhang... you big liar! You didn't give me any reward money and even kicked me out! Shameless..."
Zhu Huaizhang's heart tightened. He hadn't expected Jin Shanyao so shameless. He flung open the door and pulled the man inside, shouting, "What are you yelling about?"
"You big liar, you didn't give me my reward money..."
"Stop, stop, stop..." Zhu Huaizhang's face was ashen. "I'm asking what you're yelling about..."
"You big liar, you didn't give me my reward money..."
Zhu Huaizhang felt a mouthful of blood choke in his throat. "Are you playing dumb with me? There are people everywhere in the government office. What are you doing shouting so loudly outside?"
Ugh... I just asked her what she was shouting, and now she's complaining that her voice is too loud. Isn't that just picking a fight?
Jin Shanyao was displeased. She glared at him and said angrily, "You won't give me a reward, and now you won't even let me shout?"
Zhu Huaizhang's anger surged to the top of his head, and he spun around in a rage. He hadn't expected Jin Shanyao so persistent. "Didn't I tell you I registered you?"
"No... Anzhi Hall does not offer credit," Jin Shanyao her head, as if to say that this matter would not end until the money was paid.
Zhu Huaizhang had to lower his voice and tell the truth, "The people you arrested weren't human traffickers; they were really constables from Jing'an Prefecture, so you didn't get a reward."