Chapter 8 Who is the Extra

  After a few cups of tea, someone came from outside to report: "Sir, people from the county government office have arrived."

  The king said calmly: "Call him in and let's talk."

  Two men in mourning clothes came in, the older one had a worldly air, while the younger one looked somewhat inexperienced. However, Wang Gong recognized one of them, who was wearing a suit and tie - Xu Qian.

  Xu Chang was originally a county official, so he was quite proper. As soon as he came in, he smiled and greeted Wang Gong with a bow.

  As for Xu Qian, who was not very good at wearing uniforms, he was a bit awkward and deliberately pretended to be inexperienced, barely giving Wang Gonggong a courtesy.

  The king's face was calm and collected, first sizing up Xu Chang before his piercing gaze fell on Xu Qian. "I suppose you're both aware of the situation," he said. "If we find out who did it, there will be a heavy reward. If not..." The king picked up his teacup and began to play with the lid in a nonchalant manner, continuing in a very calm tone, "then don't bother leaving."

  Xu Chang hastily said: "Yes, yes."

  Xu Qian could clearly feel the murderous aura in Wang Gonggong's words, this was a matter of life and death, Wang Gonggong was not joking.

  Wang Gong lay on the chair, his eyes half open and half closed, saying: "Why are you all still kneeling? Stand up and talk."

  After hearing Wang Gong's words, everyone was like a great amnesty, and they all stood up. Many people couldn't help but steal glances at the two runners, and in their hearts, they were very dismissive of them, especially Zhang Qin, the head of the inner court, and Jiang Kun, the accountant, who almost looked at Xu Qian and his son with mocking and scornful eyes.

  The yamen runners in the county government may be able to bully ordinary people, but in the eyes of these high-ranking officials, accountants and receptionists in the Wang Gong Gong's mansion, this father and son are nothing more than lowly servants, not even worthy of being seen. It's hard to understand what Wang Gong Gong is thinking, even if it's about catching thieves, let the guards do it, why bother inviting a few lowly servants?

  Xu Qian felt the unfriendly eyes of the people in the hall on him, but he didn't mind.

  Xu Chang was an old official, and he was even more familiar with such situations. He bowed to Wang Gonggong and said: "Gonggong, this calligraphy was stolen last night, and the security in your mansion is very strict, so ordinary thieves can be ruled out. I think this must be the work of a thief within the household."

  Wang Gong sat comfortably in his pear-wood armchair, his face stern as he said, "Since it's a thief from our own household, how can we investigate?"

  Xu Changdao said, "This is easy. Those who can come and go here must have some status in the government. Just gather everyone together and then search their bedrooms one by one. Who knows, maybe the thief will make a mistake and reveal himself."

  The king looked at the people under the hall, and said coldly: "This is a good way, indeed a way to eat official rice. Everyone has gathered here, go down and search one by one."

  Xu Chang hastily replied with a "yes sir", then gave Xu Qian a signal with his eyes and quickly left.

  After seeing Mr. Xu and his son leave, Old Man Wang slowly got up, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and coldly looked at everyone: "Who stole this painting? It's best to confess honestly. If it's really investigated by the authorities, don't blame me for being ruthless later. I'm giving you one chance, don't be ungrateful."

  The hall was silent as a tomb, with no one daring to make a sound, only faint breathing could be heard.

  Wang Gong saw no one responding, so he smiled and leaned back in his chair, tapping out a rhythm with his fingers.

  Actually, Old Master Wang was nervous in his heart. That young Xu only said that as long as he did what he said, the calligraphy would definitely be found, but it's easy to say that. Although Old Master Wang temporarily believed him, since it involved himself, he couldn't calm down in his heart.

  He was secretly guessing what kind of tricks this father and son could come up with, whether it was a treasure map or searching every room, did they think that the thief who really stole the true work would hide the calligraphy in his own bedroom?

  What kind of world has Wang Gong not seen? He believes that the thief who stole his calligraphy is no ordinary thief, but a cunning person who thinks he can find the real thing by searching his bedroom, which is simply ridiculous.

  He remained expressionless, but in his heart, he was coldly sneering: "I hope this Xu kid doesn't only have the skills of a three-legged cat. If that's the case, our family won't be able to find the calligraphy, and today we'll take him down first."

  It took a lot of effort to search through more than ten bedrooms, and it took almost half an hour before the two bailiffs finally returned.

  Everyone couldn't help but look at this pair of father and son, seeing that Xu Chang and Xu Qian both had a joyful expression. Some people in their hearts couldn't help but think: Could it be that they really found something?

  Xu Qianxing hastily said: "Found it, please take a look, Your Honor." He held a torn mounting paper in his hand and presented it to Judge Wang.

  The old man hastily took it, held the mounting paper in his hand and examined it carefully. After a moment, he furrowed his brow and said faintly: "This fragment is somewhat similar to the mounting paper of that calligraphy."

  Xu Qian said: "It was found in a clean guest room with the surname Lin."

  The whole room was in an uproar.

  Everyone's eyes were either envious, worried or complexly looking at a dignified-looking middle-aged Confucian scholar wearing a traditional robe. Some people couldn't help but think: "It was actually him? I didn't expect Mr. Lin, who is normally knowledgeable and reasonable, to also be a thief."

  Some people, however, were not convinced and cast a cold glance at the two bailiffs. In their hearts, they couldn't help but think that Mr. Lin was still a decent person, and if it was said that he liked to take some small advantages, there might be someone who believed it. But if it was said that Mr. Lin dared to steal, some people would only shake their heads in their hearts, and the gaze towards Xu's father and son became even more contemptuous.

  "Menial tasks are just menial tasks, merely scraps of written work, yet they're also used to curry favor. Most likely it's because the princes and dukes rushed things too much, who knows what kind of tricks they've been playing behind people's backs."

  In the midst of everyone's attention, Mr. Lin Qing suddenly frowned and hastily said to Wang Gong: "The student is a good person, how can he possibly do such a sneaky thing? Please, sir, be discerning." He then looked at Xu Qian with disdain, full of contempt, saying: "You're using this dubious piece of evidence to frame me? You should take responsibility for your own words. I, Lin, am a person with a reputation, you'd better not speak nonsense, or else I'll sue you for slander."

  There was a threatening element hidden in his words, and Xu Chang felt somewhat guilty. Upon learning that the other party had an official title, his arrogance was immediately doused with a bucket of cold water, disappearing without a trace.

  Xu Qian looked at him and didn't blame the old man for being timid. It was just that in this era, having a good reputation really made one different from ordinary people. He calmly and fearlessly scrutinized Lin Qingke and said: "Since you say it wasn't you who did it, then come explain what's going on with these painting fragments? Why would they appear in your bedroom?"

  Lin Qing's smile grew even colder as he said, "Why would I appear in Lin's bedroom? How would I know? Lin rarely comes to this flower hall, so how could he have stolen that calligraphy? Moreover, last night, Lin was reading books in his room and never left the door. You say the calligraphy was stolen last night, but can Lin really pluck things out of thin air and take things from the flower hall into his bedroom?"

  Lin Qingke's words were clear and to the point, hitting at the crux of the matter. Since he hadn't gone out last night, there was no way to talk about stealing.

  Xu Qian couldn't help but ask: "You say you've never been out, who can be your witness?"

  Lin Qingke's face changed slightly, and he hesitated for a moment. He had never been out of the house, so where could he find someone to testify?

  Lin Qingke could not help but scold: "I am a scholar, can't I even deceive you? After dark, I returned to my bedroom and never came out again. In these years at Wang Gong's mansion, Lin Mou had long been accustomed to going to bed early. You, a small and cheap servant, dare to frame me?"

  Wang Gongzi narrowed his eyes, watching Lin Qingke and Xu Qian argue, but in his heart, he couldn't help but feel suspicious of Lin Qingke. He stared at him coldly, this gaze carrying an oppressive aura that made Lin Qingke reveal a few hints of panic.

  As for the others in the hall, when they heard that Lin Qingke had scolded Xu Qian as a lowly servant, they felt somewhat pleased in their hearts. In their opinion, a lowly servant was just a lowly servant. Someone who usually didn't even dare to appear before them, and yet he dared to enter the hall and interrogate them with an air of importance, what kind of thing were they?

  Neifu's master Zhang Qin was even more obvious, using only the corner of his eye to glance at Xu Qian, and didn't even bother to look back.

  Jiang Kun, who was standing beside Zhang Qin's tent, had his head lowered, as if he had thought of something. He observed Wang Gonggong's expression and seemed to have something to say.

  After a long hesitation, Jiang Kun suddenly said: "Lin Qingke is telling lies. He said he was reading books in the house all night yesterday, but I clearly saw him wandering around the flower hall at midnight last night. At that time, I happened to get up for the night and saw him wandering around there with a distracted expression, and even greeted him.

  As soon as the words fell, the whole hall was in an uproar.

  Everyone looked at Jiang Kun in shock, and Jiang Kun continued: "If I said a single false word, may heaven strike me with lightning!"

  Lin Qingke had previously been disdainful, although he found some things in his own bedroom, but this does not mean that he stole the calligraphy, however, Jiang Kun suddenly stood up to correct him, and instantly made him a little flustered.

  Xu Qian took the opportunity to say: "Mr. Lin, do you have anything else to say? The fragments found in your room are physical evidence, and just now someone testified that you appeared near the flower hall last night. With both human and physical evidence, do you still want to deny it?"

  Lin Qing was stunned, his shoulders slightly trembling, and he must have also realized the severity of the problem. He hastily looked at Wang Gonggong with a pleading expression and stammered: "Gonggong, they are talking nonsense, they...he is speaking randomly. The student is a clean person, and at midnight, he was already asleep, how could he still be wandering outside? And how could he greet Jiang Fangzheng... Normally, the student has no grudges against Jiang Fangzheng, but...but..."

  Jiang Kun interrupted Lin Qingke in a calm tone, saying: "Brother Lin, what are you talking about? Last night's matter, we both know it clearly. It was obviously your reckless and arrogant behavior, because you listened to rumors from the streets and were blinded by self-interest, that led you to take such a crazy risk."

  Lin Qingke argued without being able to refute, for a moment he was speechless, and Wang Gong at this time was also looking at him coldly, making his heart feel hairy, his face pale and terrifying.

  As soon as he finished speaking, Xu's father and son rushed up with an iron ruler and a rope, but Lin Xiao knelt on the ground with his eyes closed, waiting to be captured. However, after a long time, there was no movement, which made him feel strange. He secretly glanced at them and found that these two 'officers' were actually rushing towards Jiang Kun.

  What's going on here again?

  Jiang Kun suddenly saw the two bailiffs approaching, first stunned and then greatly shocked. Seeing Xu Chang rushing towards him, he hastily retreated backwards, his hand coincidentally landing on the tea table behind him. With a swift motion, he grabbed the teacup from the table and flung it at Xu Chang.

  Xu Chang didn't expect Jiang Kun's reaction to be so quick, and he couldn't dodge in time. Fortunately, Xu Qian, who was beside him, reacted quickly and was furious in his heart. This scoundrel actually dared to hit his own father! As a dignified transmigrator, I wouldn't even dare to touch my father's finger, this is simply unreasonable.

  He hastily stretched out his hand to block it, the teacup crashed with a loud noise, emitting a dull thud, and was immediately bounced back. Xuan Qian's forearm was smashed by this blow, sending a piercing pain throughout his body.

  This finally enraged Xu Chang, who rushed towards Jiang Kun like a furious Buddha, colliding with him like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep. Jiang Kun stumbled and fell to the ground, just as he was about to counterattack, when Xu Qian rushed up from behind, ignoring his pain, and together with Xu Chang, pinned Jiang Kun firmly to the ground.