Inference

  Min An clarified the suspicious circumstances of Mao Shi San's murder case, and many contents were also guessed by Li Pei Nan beforehand. The two stayed in the study to continue discussing, but only one place was inferred without reason: why Wang Huai Li had to kill Mao Shi San.

  Li Peinan, as a person who oversees the overall situation, naturally left a few more eyes. He called Li Qun to go out for a trip and secretly met with Li Fei Ge, asking him face-to-face if he had hidden anything that hadn't been reported upwards.

  Li Fei Ge rolled up his sleeves and smiled slightly: "Since the prince asked me directly, I won't decline anymore. I was personally appointed by the king, so naturally I am also a person under your command."

  The cunning and treacherous Li Fei immediately switched sides, revealing his true intentions to Li Peinan. Prior to this, he had also been secretive towards Min An, hinting that she shouldn't casually reveal the secrets within the yamen. This was because he initially adopted a wait-and-see attitude, intending to gauge how far Li Peinan could investigate. If Li Peinan's methods proved to be formidable and surpassed his own, he would naturally know what to do.

  So when Li Peinan asked in person, Li Fei immediately revealed some secrets. These were indeed secrets that had existed for years and coincided with Wang Huaili's time as an official in Qingquan County, only to be uncovered now. Li Fei remained silent and lay low in Qingquan County for eleven years, gathering astonishing information along the way.

  Wang Huaili was corrupt and lawless, but he wasn't just an ordinary pawn in the Peng Ma faction - he was a crucial link in the middle, the accountant. Having been the accountant for many years, he must have had some records, detailing the flow of dark money between the imperial court and various provinces and counties, where the silver he embezzled went, who took what percentage... all these situations were recorded in an account book wrapped in yellow sheepskin paper.

  Li Fei once accidentally stumbled upon Wang Huaili's concubine, who was deeply trusted by him, handing over the account book to her. The concubine had a habit of meddling in other people's affairs and had offended the servants of the county government, so she ran away with the account book, probably to use it as leverage to save her life if she was caught. However, she later joined Mao Thirteen's gang and even lured away Mao Thirteen's military advisor, and the two of them went into hiding, their whereabouts unknown. Mao Thirteen had spread rumors in the countryside that if the military advisor was willing to return, the position of second-in-command of the Green Eyebrow Stockade would be reserved for him.

  Min An heard this and asked Li Fei Ge: "Why did Mao Shi San insist on the military advisor returning?"

  Li Fei Ge sneered: "Mao Shi San is a rough man, except for Liu Er, who can play some small tricks, who else can help him make decisions? The king's aunt fled to Mao Shi San and it's very likely that she let Mao Shi San see the account book. When Mao Shi San saw that things were serious, he would rely on the military advisor's decision even more. That aunt was good, and she happened to abduct the military advisor. When King Wang heard about this, he wanted me to post a notice in Xuanhua Fang, claiming that the imperial court sympathized with the people and those who mistakenly entered the green eyebrow could be exempt from punishment. He hoped they would come to the government office to surrender. The notice was posted on the sign of the Fang, and passersby could see it. But where were the people who surrendered? Not one."

  Min An thought for a moment and asked: "How can we be certain that the account book is definitely in Mao Shi San's hands?"

  Li Fei shook his head: "It can only be speculation. I guess the reason why Wang Daren secretly killed Mao Thirteen is that he was afraid that Mao Thirteen would use this account book to frame him. If Wang Daren had already found the account book, he could have sent Mao Thirteen to the Ministry of Punishment for detention without exposing himself, and waited for the superior to make a judgment."

  Li Peinan silently agreed with their inference.

  Min An asked again: "What's the origin of this classic history?"

  Li Fei indeed was the first to gather news from within the yamen, and he had never let Li Peinan down. He replied: "The new bailiff arrived after Wang Huaili's concubine ran away, his name is Zhu Qiming. From the letter of introduction he brought with him, it can be seen that he came from Zhujiazhai in Yunqiao Road, Sanhua County, and had served as a clerk in the yamen of Minzhou Sanhua County for several years before being appointed here by the magistrate of Sanhua County. After Zhu Qiming arrived, he was incorporated into the official roster, and soon after, the Ministry of Justice issued an appointment letter, making him the new bailiff of this county."

  "Zhu Qiming... Zhu Qiming..." Min An muttered to himself, feeling that the name was unusually familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

  Li Peinan, who had been silent all along, said: "After the account book was lost, Zhu Qiming came to the county government office, it can be seen that he came to help Wang Huaili solve this problem. In the end, Zhu Qiming pretended to commit suicide out of fear of punishment and cut off the clues of the case, also in order to protect Wang Huaili's position and avoid suspicion."

  Li Fei grasped his sleeves and sighed: "Zhu Qiming is indeed a good man."

  "No." Li Peinan's words were astonishing, "Whoever can mobilize him is a kind and meticulous person."

  Li Fei raised an eyebrow: "The young master has a discerning eye?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "That's good, that's good... " Li Fei Ge let out a long sigh, "No matter how cunning, they can't escape the palm of the young master's hand."

  Min An thought to herself, is this flattery? She couldn't help but smile slightly.

  Li Qun walked in to add tea, and brought three plates of pastries and fruit. Min An's eyes were stuck on the osmanthus cake, pointing to her own mouth, silently asking Li Qun: "Can I eat it?"

  Li Qun smiled and nodded.

  Min An looked at Li Peinan's reaction, and Li Peinan spoke to Li Fei Ge while pushing another fruit plate in front of Min An. Min An was overjoyed, grabbed a fragrant pear and took a big bite.

  Li Fei Ge asked: "Does the Crown Prince know who is behind the scenes?"

  Li Peinan didn't respond, but instead turned to Lijun and instructed: "Go get the original appointment letter of Zhu Qiming, check who signed it, and who arranged for him to stay in Qingquan County. Also send an urgent express mail back, thoroughly investigate the background of the county magistrate of Minzhou Xianhua, I'm waiting for a detailed reply."

  Li Qun hastily withdrew his hand and left.

  As soon as he finished speaking, Min An had already eaten a pear and a piece of cake, and was about to reach for the second piece of pastry when Li Peinan suddenly used his tea clipper to sweep all three plates to his side.

  Min An's hand stretched out into mid-air, hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly withdrew.

  Li Peinan asked: "You are from Minzhou, can you recognize the county magistrate of Sanhua County?"

  Min An thought for a moment with a bitter face and replied: "I don't quite remember."

  Li Peinan called the maid to come in, removed two plates of fruit, and left only the plate of osmanthus cake. He took an empty plate and placed it in front of Min An, using chopsticks to pick up a piece of cake and ask: "Can this make you remember something?"

  Min An picked up a pastry and took a bite of the corner, saying: "The county magistrate and my father were both scholars who passed the imperial examination in the same year."

  Li Peinan handed over another piece of cake and Min An said: "His name is Zhu Youcheng."

  Li Peinan took a third piece, and Min An followed up by saying: "He is the only one who passed the 'Book Judge Outstanding Class' imperial examination, my father calls him the top talent of the Huachao era, no one can compare to him."

  Li Peinan picked up his fourth piece of cake, but Min An remained silent.

  "Is it over?"

  Min nodded: "I knew it would be like this."

  Li Fei sat quietly on one side, observing with a calm and collected expression.

  Li Peinan said: "People with quick minds are often the ones who manipulate from behind the scenes. If I'm not mistaken, Peng Yinxin and others will still be controlled by this talented person."

  Although Zhu Youcheng's current official position is much lower than that of Peng Yinxin and Ma Zhongshu.

  Min An grasped his forehead, hesitating to speak, and Li Peinan asked: "What's wrong?"

  Min An replied, "I remember that Lord Zhu sent two surnamed Zhu bailiffs on an official trip outside, one of whom stayed in our Huangshi County and was named Zhu Liutou. Unfortunately, he was killed by Liu Er. In his personal notes, it was recorded that the customs of the Zhu family village at Yunqiao Road, Sanhua County were the same as those of Zhu Qiming, indicating they came from the same origin."

  Li Peinan stood up and took two steps away, then paused for a moment before looking up and saying: "Zhu Youcheng has sent members of his family to various states and counties, with only one purpose -"

  Li Fei said: "Wherever they go, there must be party members of the same faction, and they need to be monitored."

  Min An was shocked. It seemed that his master, Bi Si, was also among the corrupt officials, and now that the young master had control of the information, the outcome would likely be dire.

  After figuring this out, Min An thought of another thing: Bi Shuang sent Mo Shi San over in the middle of the night, obviously under Wang Huai Li's orders. If he and Wang Huai Li weren't on the same side, according to Wang Huai Li's temperament of hating Dong Jia for being incompetent, Dong Jia would have been dealt with long ago.

  Min An's palm was slightly sweating, and he had been thinking in his heart about how to save the master's life.

  Li Peinan looked at Min An's expression, seemingly thought of something, and immediately gave him an order: "You move into the mansion to live, not allowed to return to Huangshi County, then follow me to the capital to participate in the imperial examination."

  Min An was still pondering his worries, Li Fei couldn't bear it and pulled on his sleeve saying: "Don't you hurry up and thank him?"

  Min An's voice was as soft as a mosquito: "Thank you, Young Master, for your kindness."

  Although there was no news of Li Qun's return, Li Peinan could infer that the mastermind hiding behind the scenes had already reduced the difficulty by half. He threw some minor matters to Min An to deal with and asked Min An to find out where Wang Huaili's account book went.

  As for the crimes committed by Wang Huaili, there is currently no direct evidence to prove that he borrowed a knife to kill someone. Li Peinan temporarily does not want to disturb him and only marked his memorial as "read" without assigning any opinion.

  Min An floated out of the main building, looked up and found that the sky was already late, a moon like a round plate hung on the soft night curtain. He reached the courtyard of Fei Yi's residence and saw Fei Yi sitting at the eaves, guarding a trellis of flowers.

  Min An climbed up the ladder and sat on a glazed tile roof, choosing a place far away from Lifen's clothes to sit, holding his face to look at the moon.

  For a moment, both of them were speechless, basking in the bright moonlight.

  Seeing Min An being so quiet, Fei finally asked: "What's wrong?"

  Min An replied listlessly: "Did you already know that something was wrong with my boss?"

  He was a man who wouldn't answer if he didn't want to, but once he opened his mouth, he would never deceive others. He replied directly: "Yes."

  "How can you tell?"

  "The silver notes I issued can always be exchanged for silver in Bisu, which shows that he has a way to sell them internally and externally. Other county officials cannot do this."

  Min said anxiously: "Why didn't I realize it earlier? Maybe there's still a chance to make up for it."

  Fei Yi said faintly, "You're really devoted to your master, following him all the way to collect debts and even trying to make up for his mistakes. Such sincerity is truly rare in this world."

  Min An smiled wryly: "Don't mock me."

  "I'm telling the truth."

  Min An fell silent, then whispered: "You said... if I go to beg the Young Master... will the Young Master spare my master?"

  Fei Yixin thought to himself, "This kind of calamity won't even spare me." When he saw Min An's hopeful gaze, his tone softened slightly as he said, "We can give it a try."

  Min An's eyes lit up slightly: "Then... how can we move the young master?"

  Fei Yi didn't want to answer anymore, closed her mouth and sat on the side watching the moon. Her eyes seemed to be affected by the moonlight, also becoming cold. Min An thought for a moment before murmuring: "Why not cater to his taste..."

  Thank you, Huai Zi's four landmines, 987 two landmines, Pig Ear's three landmines: ) Thank you, Apricot Kernel and Kite's landmine: )

  Insert Bookmark