The three essentials of socializing

The jailer shouted a few more times, but Magistrate Zhao remained unmoved.

Xu Qi'an's heart sank, and he said, "Open the door."

The jailer pulled out his key, opened the door, and angrily reached out to grab Magistrate Zhao: "Are you deaf?"

Magistrate Zhao's body went limp and he rolled over.

At this moment, the jailer also realized something was wrong. He checked the patient's breathing and his face changed drastically. "Dead, dead."

Xu Qi'an sighed inwardly that he had arrived too late.

The magistrate of Taikang County arrested and imprisoned him last night. He received the news this morning and came immediately, but he was still a step too late.

The murderer was either someone inside the government office or someone who had been monitoring Magistrate Zhao's movements; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to kill him in time to cover it up. Xu Qi'an pried open Magistrate Zhao's eyelids, opened his lips to examine his tongue, then removed Magistrate Zhao's prison clothes and examined the body.

"No signs of poisoning, no signs of struggle before death, lividity was only recently formed, and the time of death was no more than five hours ago. The cause of death is currently unknown." Xu Qi'an made his judgment and said, "Leave two people to guard the body; the rest of you come with me to see the prefect."

The prisoner died in the government office, and Prefect Chen Hanguang has to take the blame.

Xu Qi'an found his way to the inner hall and learned that Prefect Chen was still sleeping. After the yamen runners announced his arrival, he waited outside for about half an incense stick's time before he saw Chen Hanguang was dressed neatly.

Prefect Chen's expression remained unchanged, showing no signs of having just woken up. He smiled and asked, "What business does Lord Xu have with me?"

The morning court session started at the beginning of Mao Shi (5-7 AM). Generally speaking, civil and military officials would be waiting at the Meridian Gate by Yin Shi (3-5 AM).

Therefore, it was standard practice in the officialdom of the Great Feng Dynasty to return to the yamen (government office) to catch up on sleep after the morning court session.

"I came to interrogate Magistrate Zhao of Taikang County, only to find that he died in prison this morning," Xu Qi'an said bluntly.

"What?!" Prefect Chen was shocked.

The jailer brought by Xu Qi'an said tremblingly, "Reporting to you, sir, it's true."

Prefect Chen frowned, but didn't think it was a big deal. After all, Magistrate Zhao was a death row inmate who would be executed the following autumn.

"How did he die?" Prefect Chen picked up his teacup.

"They were silenced," Xu Qi'an said.

Prefect Chen's hand trembled slightly, spilling scalding tea, but he didn't seem to care, his eyes widening. "Silence him?"

Clearly, Old Chen hadn't grasped the seriousness of the situation. Xu Qi'an explained, "Sir, how do you think the Demon Race discovered the saltpeter mine? Mount Huang is such an ordinary place; even the nearby gray households didn't know it existed. How could the Demon Race race have found it?"

Prefect Chen stood up in surprise. "You mean..."

Xu Qi'an nodded. "I suspected it was related to the magistrate of Taikang County, so I came to interrogate him today, but I was too late; he had already been silenced."

"The case has gone cold again. Sigh, His Majesty ordered me to find out the truth within half a month. This is so difficult. Oh, by the way, a young eunuch from the Bureau of Astronomy came today and asked me to report on the case's progress on time."

Prefect Chen's expression changed several times as he bowed and said, "Lord Xu, the prefectural government is willing to assist you. All departments and offices of the prefectural government can be mobilized by you."

Xu Qi'an laughed and said, "Lord Chen is generous. Magistrate Zhao's unexplained death in prison was an accident."

No one cares about the life or death of a death row inmate, but what if that inmate is connected to the Sangbo case? Especially with the Capital Evaluation imminent.

Such a huge piece of dirt, if made public, would likely lead to Prefect Chen's demotion. But for Xu Qi'an, the man is already dead, so pursuing Prefect Chen is pointless. It's just a matter of saying it or not.

Then, Lü Qing, who had just been promoted to chief constable, was summoned in. Prefect Chen said sternly, "From this day forward, you will follow Lord Xu and await his orders."

I'll follow Lord Xu and await his orders. The Prefect said the other day that this was an opportunity; if I could solve the case, he could enter the Grand Secretariat. Does he want me to "infiltrate" Xu Qi'an's side as a spy?

Lü Qing thought in surprise.

"Don't let your mind wander; just focus on assisting Lord Xu," Prefect Chen said in a deep voice.

It's true? He... he actually managed to make the Prefect submit?!

Lü Qing stared at Xu Qi'an for a few moments, then said, "This subordinate obeys."

Soon, Magistrate Zhao's autopsy report came out: natural death.

The more flawless it is, the more it suggests something is amiss. First, we can rule out the possibility that the martial artist was trying to silence them. Xu Qi'an frowned and pondered.

Violence is synonymous with martial arts; crushing Magistrate Zhao is as easy as crushing an ant, but it is absolutely impossible to do it silently and without leaving any flaws.

Xu Qi'an's first thought was of the Daoist School Yin Gods, because in ancient times, the Daoist School Yin Gods were also known as soul-reaping messengers, who could take the lives of people and dogs in their sleep.

"First, let's rule out that old bastard, Master Jinlian. He has no connection to the Sangbo case, so that leaves only the Human Sect."

Xu Qi'an scratched his hair in frustration, feeling his hairline receding.

Why are you dragging the Human Sect into this? Is the Human Sect someone I can investigate? Not to mention that the leader of the Human Sect is the National Preceptor, and the leader of the Earth Sect is a second-rank official, the leader of the Human Sect shouldn't be much lower in rank.

They squeezed my legs together so tightly they almost killed me!

"Well, it might not necessarily be the Daoist School. I don't know much about other systems, so I can't draw any conclusions too early. Sigh, while I still have this gold medal, I'll try to find some time to learn more about the secrets and inside stories of the various systems."

Xu Qi'an noticed that Lü Qing was secretly observing him; the pretty face of the female constable showed signs of fatigue.

"Officer Lü, you haven't been getting enough rest lately, have you?"

Lü Qing smiled and said, "I'm busy with official duties."

She already knew the reason for Prefect Chen's compromise. Although Xu Qi'an had gotten away with it, it was not an easy thing to do. If he hadn't realized in time that the Magistrate of Taikang County had a problem, the matter might have been suppressed by the Prefect.

"Officer Lü is a woman who is just as capable as any man," Xu Qi'an complimented.

She is probably between 25 and 30 years old. At such a young age, she has become the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, and her future is limitless.

And he's still unmarried!

In his previous life, Xu Qi'an didn't have any promising female friends around him; all he had were older single women who were always having trouble getting their boyfriends to talk to them.

When Xu Qi'an left the government office, he was accompanied by six quick-witted men from the government office, who were at his disposal. They were all quite skilled, with two at the Qi Refinement and four at the Essence Refining stage.

He sat astride his horse, pondering what he should do next.

Half a month is neither a long nor a short time. Solving a case requires following the clues and cannot be rushed.

Instead, Wei Yuan's attitude puzzled him; was it too cold?

"Wei Yuan definitely knows something. Emperor Yuanjing's attitude is ambiguous, and the Supervisor is feigning death. This doesn't make sense. Even excluding any power struggles between important figures, the fact that the first Supervisor escaped is undeniable. I can't be reassured by their composure, because those in high positions may not care about the lives of ordinary people."

"No, I must find out about the first supervisor. Wei Yuan seems to not want me involved, worried that I'll be implicated. I can take a roundabout approach. I'll subtly reveal this matter to the Princess—not reveal, but hint—a subtle hint, letting her figure it out herself."

With that thought in mind, Xu Qi'an no longer hesitated and said, "You all go to the yamen and wait for me. I'm going to the palace."

Everyone looked on in confusion.

Xu Qi'an explained, "I'm going to see the Eldest Princess."

He actually got to see the Eldest Princess? Xu Ningyan not only had a good relationship with the Warlock of the Bureau of Astronomy, but he also had a connection with the Eldest Princess. Lü Qing's heart skipped a beat.

The others were filled with doubt and shock, Li Yuchun remained the calmest. He knew that Xu Qi'an's entry into the Nightwatchers's office was entirely due to the recommendation of the eldest princess.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Xu Qi'an spurred his horse toward the imperial city.

The eldest princess had long since come of age and had her own residence in the capital. When Xu Qi'an arrived at Huaiqing Prefecture, he asked the guards and learned that the eldest princess usually lived in the palace and rarely came back to stay.

So he rushed to the Imperial City, which was a smaller version of the Inner City. The Imperial City contained ancestral temples, government offices, inner court service agencies, warehouses, city defense buildings, as well as gardens and parks.

The outer city was inhabited by ordinary people, the inner city by high-ranking officials and nobles, and the imperial city was inhabited by princes and ministers.

Without a gold medal, Xu Qi'an wouldn't have made it in.

As for the palace, also known as the imperial palace, it was the emperor's home, where his concubines, princes, and princesses lived. Of course, adult princes and princesses had to move out of the palace and into the imperial city.

However, Emperor Yuanjing had devoted himself to Daoist cultivation in recent years and paid little attention to his concubines, so the rules in this regard had become lax.

Even today, many adult princes and princesses still live in the palace.

Xu Qi'an couldn't enter the palace, even with the gold token bestowed by Emperor Yuanjing. He was about to ask the guards to pass on a message when he suddenly heard the rumble of wheels.

Peeking inside, a long convoy of cars was driving out.

Made of golden nanmu wood reserved for royalty, with a yellow silk canopy, inlaid with gold pieces and jade, it exudes luxury and grandeur.

Xu Qi'an said with a sigh, referring to the fleet of top-of-the-line sports cars.

The guard, who had taken three taels of silver from him, laughed upon seeing this, "The second carriage belongs to the Princess. Look at the 'Qing' character embroidered on the yellow silk of the carriage. It seems we don't need to announce your arrival."

The guard returned the silver to Xu Qi'an.

"You're too kind, you're too kind," Xu Qi'an said, pushing the offer back. "I'll need your help again sometime in the future, brother."

He planned to get on the good side of the princess and cling to her powerful backer, as he might come to "build rapport" from time to time in the future. Therefore, it was essential to establish a good relationship with the guards beforehand.

As the saying goes, cigarettes can open a man's mouth, money can win a man's heart, and eating seafood together can make you two kindred spirits.

The three essential elements of social interaction!

The guard admired Xu Qi'an and advised him, "The first carriage is for His Highness the Crown Prince, the third for the Second Prince, and the fourth for the Second Princess. They're probably going somewhere to hold a banquet. If you can attend, remember to perform well, and you'll rise through the ranks without a doubt."

"Your Highness, this humble servant Xu Qi'an requests an audience!" Xu Qi'an called out loudly.

P. S.: Please mention any typos in this chapter! Requesting monthly votes! We're back in the top ten! So happy!