Chapter Eleven: The Prime Suspect

  The people in front naturally parted to the left and right, letting Qian Yiqun go forward. Qian Yiqun was also seeing an official for the first time and didn't know what etiquette to follow, so he could only kneel down and respond: "Reporting to the honorable father and mother, my father Qian Datong is bedridden and cannot get out of bed, I have let my parents down, I am filled with remorse, and specially ordered me to come and take his place." After finishing speaking, he secretly raised his eyes to take a glance at the official sitting on the public platform.

  The county magistrate, surnamed Chen, was no more than thirty years old, with a few whiskers on his pale and clean face. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be from a family of poetry and etiquette, and was a jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) in the 1st year of Chongzhen's reign, ranking 39th in the second class. For some unknown reason, he gave up his position in the Hanlin Academy and instead took up the post of county magistrate, only to encounter the unfortunate event of his concubine being abducted.

  Young and vigorous, he couldn't swallow this breath. When he came out to be an official, his elders at home had also told him about the "officials cheating officials" affair, so when he arrived in Wu County, he took establishing prestige as the main goal, and was not lenient with the clerks under him.

  Magistrate Chen snorted: "You're just a young kid, what use are you?"

  "Parents," Qian Yiqun looked up and said, "If it's about handling affairs, I naturally can't compare to Father's stability and capability. But now we're going to catch a thief, and as the younger generation, I'm more vigorous than Father, please make a clear judgment."

  The county magistrate listened and indeed it was this reason, he coldly snorted and said: "At such a young age, how can you lead the team? Go down and listen to orders!" At that time, there was a deputy team leader Zhu Yunsheng who came out to receive orders, who was Qian Yiqun's maternal uncle. Qian Yiqun stood behind his uncle, with several quick-handed men in the team. Looking around, all the quick-handed men only held iron rulers and carried ropes in their bosoms, Qian Yiqun suddenly felt a sense of superiority.

  This waist-worn cross knife is made according to the specifications of the Embroidered Spring Knife, slightly shorter than a long sword and slightly longer than a single-edged sword. It is light, narrow and long, making it easy to carry. The back is thick and the blade is thin, like a razor. The handle is quite long, allowing for both single-handed and double-handed use. According to legend, in the hands of a master knife wielder, its power is immense, capable of chopping off a horse's head with a single stroke.

  Qian Yiqun was the one who had long been predetermined to take over, and Qian Datong naturally taught him a few knife techniques. However, the Qian family was originally a semi-professional catcher, and their methods were nothing more than rough and shallow moves like chopping and stabbing. Moreover, in Wu County, a prosperous and bustling place, Qian Datong had been on duty for thirty years, and the number of times he drew his knife could be counted on one hand.

  The three classes heard the county magistrate's order and immediately divided into east, south, west, and north to search for the flower thief throughout the city. Although the county magistrate vowed to bring the thief to justice, the runners below did not have such high enthusiasm. Most of them were bachelors who didn't need to worry about the flower thief, but instead, the appearance of this lustful thief added a lot of gossip and material for their fantasies, so they just wanted to get through the task perfunctorily.

  Qian Yiqun followed Zhu Yunsheng out of the county yamen, looking at this eight-foot-tall robust uncle and said: "Uncle, will that thief wait for us to pass by without catching him?"

  Zhu Yunsheng looked up at the sky and said heavily, "When dealing with this kind of thief, how can we be so ostentatious? They must have escaped long ago. In fact, it's just a show for those wealthy families to see, lest they say that County Magistrate Lao Ye doesn't do practical things."

  "Rich family?" Qian Yiqun asked strangely, "Whose rich family has been affected?"

  "It's the Zhang family." Zhu Yunsheng said, "In Muxia there is also a large mulberry garden, and dozens of family members are raised. As a result, in broad daylight, thieves broke into Miss's boudoir. When the housekeeper went in, the person was already cold."

  Qian Yiqun took a deep breath, his eyebrows slightly furrowed: rape was already shameless enough, and now murder! This guy was truly depraved! As soon as he thought of this, his hand tightened its grip on the long knife.

  Zhu Yunsheng stopped in his tracks, glared at Qian Yiqun and said, "You're so young, where did you get such a strong killing intent?"

  Qian Yiqun was taken aback: "What killing intent?"

  Zhu Yunsheng's lips moved, knowing he had spoken too heavily. Young people, with a sense of justice and indignation, bursting with murderous intent is normal, no need to say more. However, this killing intent in the eyes of an old Jianghu is like the bright moon in the night sky, a lamp in a dark room, and it's inevitable to suffer losses when encountering a master.

  He said: "Anger without killing is the right way. Look at your father, no matter how angry he gets, he can hold it in and not let it out, this is true skill."

  Qian Yiqun's heart sank, knowing that he had just been discovered by his uncle. Surprised and suspicious, he also couldn't help but admire him. However... "Does my dad know martial arts? Is he a master?" Qian Yiqun asked with great interest.

  "Where in life is there no cultivation, who says it must be hard work?" Zhu Yunsheng grasped the iron sword in his hand and said, "Later when we really fight, you stand far away, don't accidentally hurt your own people."

  Qian Yiqun only then discovered that those miscellaneous soldiers were actually four or five steps behind, and had no intention of rushing forward to capture the enemy.

  In the 100,000 households of Wu County, heaven knows where that thief will hide. Qian Yiqun thought to himself, this guy is so diligent in committing crimes, it's as if he has an insatiable desire. How did he manage to hold back for so long before? Speaking of which, being a flower thief isn't exactly a profession with extremely high technical requirements, is it?

  A bolt of inspiration suddenly struck Qian Yiqun's mind.

  If it wasn't for this person who had just arrived in Wu County, then it was someone who had been suppressed for a long time and suddenly gained the capital to commit crimes. Think about those few families who were victims, they were either rich or noble, but their daughter had never been known for her beauty. If he was a real flower thief, shouldn't he have targeted the legendary beauties? But this guy seemed to be taking revenge instead.

  Thinking of the "Bai Mei Tu" in his hand, Qian Yiqun broke out in a cold sweat. If there was anything that gave people the capital to do evil, then Zhou Tian's charming spirit was the first culprit!

  Qian Yiqun thought about it and realized that the timing was just right. Could it be that the charming spirits he had released had possessed a man who was often oppressed, causing him to use deceitful means to avenge his past grievances? Those wealthy families with grand houses would naturally not remember which day they had given a kick to some beggar... but that one kick was enough to make the beggar turn over and take revenge.

  And he's always staring at other people's wives, it seems this man has been taken advantage of by women.

  "What are you thinking about?" Zhu Yunsheng asked as he saw his nephew slowing down and finally stopped.

  Qian Yiqun told his inference to Zhu Yunsheng, and then said: "Instead of casting a wide net like this, why don't we go back and investigate, see where Miss Zhang has been and who she offended."

  Zhu Yunsheng listened to his nephew's analysis, his mouth dry and his face showing a bitter expression. "No need to investigate further," he said. "If what you say is true, I already know who this person is."

  "Who?" Qian Yiqun asked curiously.

  "Protect Lao Gou." Zhu Yunsheng spat out three words and let out a sigh.

  Weilao Gou, just hearing it is a name of an oppressed class of poor and lower-middle peasants.

  Qian Yiqun wanted to know even more what this person's origin was, so he asked: "Who is this person?"

  "It's not necessarily him." Zhu Yunsheng suddenly changed his tone, almost as if he was doing a comedic "take-back" like in a crosstalk show. He seemed to have found an excuse for himself: "I was just randomly guessing, let's pretend you didn't hear that."

  The next task was much easier, Qian Yiqun clearly found that this uncle was absent-minded. He looked at the dark sky and felt the cool breeze blowing, so he made an excuse to disperse and go home. Of course, there were still some miscellaneous tasks to continue patrolling the streets, but they also got a few copper coins from the deputy captain to drink wine, and they were happy without complaint.

  Qian Yiqun returned home to find the main hall brightly lit, with everyone still awake. His mother had been back from Xuanmiao Temple for some time, holding a string of prayer beads in her hand, her eyes slightly closed and shining, silently reciting the sacred name of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun.

  When Qian Yiqun returned, his mother opened her eyes, her voice trembling with tears, and said: "My son, where have you been these past few days?"

  Qian family's second old age was nearly thirty when they had a son named Qian Yiqun, which can be considered as an old-age child. Especially Qian Mu, who belonged to the high-aged pregnant women at that time, hid a saw under the bed sheet before giving birth, and if there was a difficult delivery, she would let the midwife cut open her pelvis to take out the baby, which also completed the task of passing on the family lineage.

  Fortunately, Qian Yiqun was reborn with Su Hui and did not make a fuss when he was born. He cooperated hard, so the mother and son were safe and sound. In ancient times, there were examples of mothers hating their sons because of difficult childbirth, so it is natural that Qian's mother dotes on this easy-delivery hero.

  Qian Yiqun stepped forward and bowed to his mother, smiling: "I have a predestined relationship with the immortals. In the mountains for a moment, in the red dust for three days, actually there is no feeling at all."

  Her mother's mouth twitched, and she said displeased: "You little monkey is always coming up with ways to coax me. Is there really a god in this world? Sit down quickly and let me take a look, you've lost weight these past few days."

  Qian Yiqun felt helpless in his heart and muttered to himself: Since you don't believe in gods, why bother burning incense and worshiping them?

  Qian Datong had just been scolded by his old wife for a long time, and he was also very regretful that his son had taken risks. Seeing his son return safely, he cleared his throat and asked, "Is there anything?"

  Qian Yiqun told the whole story from beginning to end before asking: "Father, who is that old dog Wei?"