There is a god in the sky

Chapter 418 Tracking

Xiao Ji led his men to the villa to count the treasury silver.

Qian Tai gave him the county government's account books, and the amount of treasury silver matched, but it was much less than when he was in office.

According to the account book, Magistrate Zhou allocated a large sum of money to repair the city wall and dig the canal, but in reality, the project was only just started, and the money disappeared.

"Have you searched Magistrate Zhou's house?" Xiao Ji asked bluntly.

Since Qian Tai had taken away the treasury silver and knew that Zhou Dingyao was corrupt by nature, how could he have overlooked the Zhou family?

Qian Tai shook his head helplessly: "The Zhou family consists of the elderly, women and children. I hate Zhou Dingyao, but I am not a murderous maniac. I can't bring myself to harm the Zhou family."

“In that case, Mr. Qian, please come with me to the capital. I will explain the situation to His Majesty and ask for leniency.”

Qian Tai wanted to prove to the world that he had not wronged the people of Tongzhou, nor had he wronged the imperial court.

He stretched out his hands and let the officers put shackles on him without any resistance.

His servants and guards rushed out, drawing their swords and aiming at the group of officials from the Ministry of Justice.

Clearly, they would do anything to snatch people from the government at Qian Tai's command.

Xiao Ji whispered something to Qian Tai, who waved his hand and said, "Everyone, go back to the old house in Shu and wait for me. I will return home in my lifetime."

"master……"

"No need to say more, let's go."

After the Qian family servants left, Xiao Ji took Qian Tai back to the inn.

As the sun rose in the east, its rays shone on the earth, and the people finally felt some warmth.

Xiao Ji asked Qian Tai curiously, "You only killed Magistrate Zhou, so why has Tongzhou County become so quiet? All the shops around here are closed."

Qian Tai said embarrassedly, "Perhaps the commotion was too great. The local people looted the government offices, and the others, not knowing what was going on, thought that bandits had entered the city and killed people, so they all hid in fear."

"So, not many people know that you killed Magistrate Zhou?"

"Many of the people in the county government office witnessed it firsthand."

In fact, not only did he witness it firsthand, but the county magistrate and the registrar even helped him clean up the mess, but he shouldn't have implicated them.

Xiao Ji entered the inn and found that there were several strangers there.

When they saw Qian Taishi, they excitedly shouted, "Lord Qian..."

Once they saw the shackles on his body, they probably understood who had captured them.

“My lord, Magistrate Zhou deserved to die. We can all testify for Qian Tai…”

"There's no need for perjury. I want to know where Zhou Dingyao's body is hidden?"

The men exchanged glances, and finally the county magistrate stepped forward to answer: "Magistrate Zhou's body... was thrown into the river by us, and it has probably been washed away long ago."

Xiao Ji raised an eyebrow, stunned by their audacity.

It seems they truly respect Qian Tai and are willing to be his accomplices.

Qian Tai said anxiously, "Lord Xiao, this matter arose because of me, so I will take full responsibility."

Xiao Ji was not an unapproachable person, and he immediately agreed.

"I am entrusted with an imperial mission, not only to find out the murderer of Magistrate Zhou, but also to recover the treasury silver."

Now that you gentlemen have helped me recover the treasury silver, your merits and demerits cancel each other out, so I will not pursue your crimes.

"But let me make this clear: the people of Tongzhou County are currently in a state of panic. If you cannot appease them soon, you will not escape punishment when the Emperor finds out."

Seeing them standing there in a daze, Qian Tai scolded, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and thank Lord Xiao!"

Everyone thanked Xiao Ji, overjoyed.

Xiao Ji intended to let them leave, but suddenly remembered something and asked them, "Have you gentlemen seen anyone from the capital since this case occurred?"

"No," they answered in unison.

Xiao Ji was also bothered by the incorrect roster, feeling that there were some details he had overlooked.

However, these people in front of me don't seem to be lying; perhaps they genuinely don't know.

“However…” Qian Tai said.

Seeing Xiao Ji looking over, he chuckled and said, "It's nothing. I just recruited a few chivalrous people from the martial arts world. They helped me kill the people and protected me during my evacuation afterwards. Some of them have a Beijing accent."

Qian Tai grew up in Beijing and is very familiar with the Beijing accent.

Of course, these wandering figures from all over the country must have come from all corners of the world, which is not surprising.

"Oh? Where are they? I don't think I saw those people you mentioned today."

“They’ve left. They helped Mr. Qian, and Mr. Qian can’t let them get into trouble.”

Shen Lan asked, "When did they arrive in Tongzhou?"

"About two weeks ago, they caught a pickpocket on the street. They were quite skilled, so I remembered them."

"Was it Master Qian's own decision to kill Magistrate Zhou, or was he instigated by someone else?"

“Of course it was my own decision,” Qian Tai replied unhappily.

After ascertaining the time of Magistrate Zhou's death and combining it with his earlier words, Shen Lan was almost certain that Qian Tai was not the killer, but he was willing to take the blame.

Xiao Ji gave Sui Feng a wink, and the latter quickly stepped forward to untie Qian Tai's shackles.

Once he felt lighter, Qian Tai asked in surprise, "What does Lord Xiao mean by this?"

“Since it wasn’t Lord Qian who killed him, I naturally won’t arrest people arbitrarily. However, Lord Qian still needs to come to the capital with me to explain everything regarding his theft of the treasury silver.”

"So, Lord Xiao, do you intend to pursue those chivalrous individuals?"

Xiao Ji looked at him with a half-smile and said, "I admire Mr. Qian's kindness and willingness to take the blame for the murderer, but is it possible that those people came to Tongzhou specifically to kill someone?"

"This...how is this possible? They have no grudge against Magistrate Zhou, and they don't even know where the gate of the government office is."

Xiao Ji wasn't sure either, but the most urgent task now was to issue an arrest warrant and bring them to justice.

But they had planned this all along, and by now they've surely vanished without a trace.

"We ask for your cooperation, Mr. Qian. The Criminal Investigation Department will draw up their portraits and issue arrest warrants. If the murderers can be arrested and brought to justice, Mr. Qian will have done a great service."

Qian Tai's eyes flickered as he looked at Shen Lan.

He had naturally heard of Shen Lan's deeds, but he still did not agree with Xiao Ji's speculation.

Xiao Ji put the inventoried silver back into the treasury and then sent people to conduct a large-scale search for the murderer in the city.

Catching the murderer was secondary; the main thing was to let the people know that the imperial court had arrived, the bandits had fled, and the city was safe.

After the government office was repaired and the officials returned, the county town gradually returned to its former bustling state.

By this time, it was already the eve of the Lunar New Year.

"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Are you going back to the capital to celebrate the New Year?"

When Shen Lan came out at night, she saw Xiao Ji standing in the courtyard in a daze and assumed he was homesick.

Xiao Ji composed himself, turned around and said, "Even if we set off early, it would be difficult to make it in time. Let's forget it and walk slowly on the road. The roads are slippery in the snow. Safety is the most important thing."

"Did you send a letter to the master and mistress to inform them, so they won't worry?"

Xiao Ji put his hands behind his back and shook his head: "No need, they expected this."

He stepped forward, touched Shen Lan's cold cheek, and urged, "Come inside quickly, it's cold outside."

Only after Shen Lan entered the room did he pull out the letter he had just read, his face darkening.

He had sent a letter home three days earlier, simply because he suspected that the case was related to someone in the capital.

To his surprise, the reply he received today mentioned something that made him uneasy.