Chapter Nineteen The Biggest Winner

  "It's really unjust!" The servant called out to Tian Qu, who said: "I've been in the mansion for five or six years, and I've always been honest. Both Master and Young Master know that."

  "Yes, he's not bad." Yang Huan also said: "This person is called Yingming, although he is not an old man in my family, but he has been diligent for several years and has no problem. He usually doesn't go out of the house when there's nothing to do, how could it be him who made trouble?"

  It's not just them, but also Mendan who doesn't quite agree with Zhang Jiamu. The details of the people in the mansion had been thoroughly investigated by the Jin Yiwei, and with a slight nod from him, a school lieutenant stepped forward to report: "Sir, we've checked this guy out, he's an old resident of Beijing's North Gate De Sheng Men North Guan Jiao Zhong Fang, honest and upright, worked at Yang Fu a few years ago, never caused any trouble."

  "Mm," Mendan nodded and said with a pale face: "Take another look!"

  Zhang Jiamu completely ignored Yang Huan, staring at the servant named Yingming and asking: "On the day of the thunderstorm, it rained in the evening. You went out against the wind and rain, where did you go?"

  "Back to the master," he replied, straightening his back and speaking boldly: "My duty is miscellaneous tasks. When I need to buy something, I go to Old Qin in the accounting room to get the silver, then go out and make the purchase."

  He thought for a moment and said: "That day, I bought an ink stick, two bundles of paper, and some miscellaneous items. The total expenditure was eleven taels of silver. All these are accounted for!"

  Old Qin, the accountant, who was standing nearby, hastily interrupted: "That's right, that day it was Xiao Ren who asked him to buy something, and after he came back, he reported the account. I checked that the money and goods were balanced, so I recorded it, there's nothing else."

  Yingming also followed with a cold smile: "In the mansion, day and night, there are always many people coming and going. Master, you can't just randomly take out innocent people to solve the case."

  He turned his head and rushed towards Yang Huan, knocking his head loudly: "Master, please do justice for me."

  This guy is really good at singing, reciting, acting and fighting, Zhang Jiamu wanted to give him a small golden man. He said: "You're not bad at acting. However, I'll help you take off the painted skin."

  He gave a slight nod, and Li Xiangzi and Xue Pangzi came over. Zhang Jiamu said: "What else has this fellow done besides buying sundries? You tell me!"

  Li Mangzi showed his face in front of everyone, looking very pleased with himself. He said: "Yes! After the master's instructions, I came to the Yang residence to investigate. On that day, seven people went out, three of whom were visiting their hometowns and have not returned yet. Three others just turned around at the alley entrance, chatted with someone for a bit, and then returned home. These small matters were all investigated clearly by us. Only Yingming was suspicious, saying he went out to buy things, but took an entire half-day? We found this suspicious!"

  Xue Baozi didn't want him to be the only one showing off, so he immediately picked up where he left off: "Feeling suspicious, we followed the shops where he bought things and retraced our steps again, using more than half a time unit to return... This method was taught by the adults, now we can ask him, where did he go for such a long time?"

  "Yes." Zhang Jiamu smiled slightly and asked Yingming, who was already in a daze, "Where did you go?"

  This method seems clumsy, but it's actually the simplest way to recreate a case. At that time, even experienced criminal investigators couldn't think of this approach. Zhang Jiamu didn't understand forensic science, but after understanding the situation on that day, he felt that Yingming was the most suspicious. However, because the accounts were clear, the Jin Yiwei (Brocade-clad Guards) did not include Yingming in the list of suspects. He then asked a few rascals to investigate, and it turned out that Yingming's alibi didn't match!

  Pressed with such questioning, an ordinary person would naturally be unable to withstand the pressure. However, Ying Ming's expression remained unchanged as he replied: "I was just strolling around on the road, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with going out to have some fun after being cooped up in the mansion all day?"

  "Moreover," he continued, "this house was struck by lightning. What can a little person like me do? Sir, I am not the Thunder God, able to strike people with thunder."

  "Sly and cunning fellow, how detestable!" Menduo heard this and also felt that this person was the most suspicious. He glared at the other flag-bearers, the implication clear: can't you even catch such a simple mistake?

  A group of people in embroidered uniforms naturally felt ashamed, so several of them stepped forward and politely said to Yingming: "You'd better speak up, otherwise you'll be the one who suffers."

  "This...the tactics of Jin Yiwei are known even by the children in the capital who still drink milk. Even if Ying Ming is as tough as can be, he would also turn a bit pale at this."

  However, he still gritted his teeth and refused to give in: "The petty person is not convinced, the heavenly thunder strikes people, what does it have to do with the petty person?"

  "Fart!" Zhang Jiamu finally burst out, this son of a bitch, if he doesn't give him some color to see, does he think the master is an idiot? The Imperial Guard didn't expect it, but he had thought of it long ago.

  What dog fart thunder strikes people, this winter thunder can strike people originally rare, can shake a still quite solid house into that state, even more is nonsense.

  If Zhang Jiamu had some doubts in his heart before, after arriving at Yang's house and taking a look, he completely understood.

  The house was not struck by lightning and then burned down, it was blown up by explosives. The entire roof flew off, the surrounding walls were also shattered, and it wasn't just blown up by explosives, but a large amount was used.

  Since the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming Dynasty established the Shenji Camp, the Ming Dynasty's use of gunpowder and firearms has been extremely advanced. It can be said that at that time, the standard of fire control in the Ming Dynasty was not only not lagging behind the world, but on the contrary, it was fully ahead.

  In the city of Beijing, there was a specialized agency for storing and manufacturing gunpowder called the Firearm Bureau. Because civilians were banned from using firearms, gunpowder was used very little, except during festivals when people would set off some firecrackers and fireworks, which is similar to later times.

  This case was done by that scoundrel Yingming. He did it quite skillfully, taking advantage of the rainy day and thunder to use gunpowder to blow up a room, killing several people in the process. As soon as this happened, rumors spread like wildfire, and Yang Huan couldn't defend himself no matter what, and was on the verge of losing his official position.

  Even among the Imperial Guards, there are probably very few who would think of using gunpowder to blow up a house.

  This is a cognitive problem, something that modern people can easily think of, but ancient people do not have the concept at all. After all, the use of firearms was only in its infancy at that time, and using gunpowder to blow up houses was unprecedented.

  Zhang Jiamu scolded and then stretched a piece of paper in front of Yingming's nose, saying: "What is this?"

  There's nothing more to say about this!

  This is a bit of gunpowder residue that Zhang Jiamu just swept out from the house. On a rainy day, and in a house that had been struck by lightning, no one bothered to investigate what happened, so it was easy for him to find the remaining gunpowder.

  However, there is one thing that's strange - with such a large amount of damage, the amount of gunpowder used must have been huge. At that time, it was impossible for ordinary people to get their hands on so much gunpowder. Where did this guy Yingming get his gunpowder from?

  "He sneered: 'Good dog thing, using gunpowder to blow up the house, killing so many people, but you're fine as if nothing happened?'"

  The Yang mansion was in an uproar, and no one suspected the loyal and honest-looking servant. Moreover, no one thought that the house had been blown up with gunpowder.

  Originally, I just asked this official to investigate whether Yang Huan had any unjust circumstances or was a scapegoat, but unexpectedly, this official, looking young and composed, solved the case with ease!

  "Oh heavens!"

  Suddenly, Old Man Yang was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down his face. The old man rushed to Zhang Jiamu's feet and kowtowed repeatedly: "Great heavens! You are truly a reincarnation of Judge Bao, your judgments are divine, your judgments are divine!"

  "Heaven is reborn, heaven is reborn!"

  "Bao Gong is no match for Di Gong!"

  Below, a group of people were shouting and Zhang Jiamu's head had grown bigger. He was also very pleased, today he had revealed his face again. Now, not to mention the gate guards, even the Jin Yiwei flag bearers present, although they were old hands, all showed expressions of admiration for him. When the gate guard reported the incident, not only Li Chun, Ha Ming, and Yuan Baihu, but also Wang Ji old master, as well as a group of high-ranking officials in the country, even the Emperor himself, would likely know the name of this small Jin Yiwei flag bearer. Today's hard work was worth it!

  He was pleased with himself, but there were still doubts about the case, and he was eager to continue questioning.

  However, Yingming didn't let him ask further.

  Under the gaze of everyone, Ying Ming stood up calmly and gave Zhang Jiamu a thumbs up, revealing a smiling face. Such a big crime was discovered again, but this guy was still so calm, for a moment, everyone was stunned.

  "Master Men, take a look at this."

  Ying Ming suddenly walked up to Menda with a swagger, pulled out a small iron plaque from his pocket and tossed it at Menda.

  "Damn thing!"

  Men Da's face turned dark as he threw the iron plate back to Ying Ming, shouting: "Get out! Tell Officer Wang to come to my house and give me an explanation!"

  "Alright," Ying Ming smiled and bowed, saying: "Don't worry, I'll definitely not make things difficult for you."

  He just shook his head and walked away after finishing speaking.

  "Jiamu," Menduo said with a serious face as he watched Yingming leave, "You've handled the task beautifully, I'll tell Lord Bo about your merits. But this matter, we don't need to bother with it anymore!"

  Menda finished speaking and shouted orders, then led his troops away just like that.

  Only the Yang family members were left staring at each other in confusion, truly unaware of what had just happened.

  Will something big end in such an anticlimax?

  Zhang Jiamu had many doubts in his mind, but fortunately, one thing was certain: today's events could only make him the biggest winner!

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  Dear book friends, the plot of this book has become more intense, with various forces in chaos and the protagonist's light will only get stronger. Please read, collect and click recommend!!!

  Tonight is Sunday, I will post another chapter at 12 midnight, brothers who are still awake, please take a look and give me some recommendation tickets, thank you!

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