The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

This Zhou Ruqing…

Was he crazy?

Standing in front of the locked-down Wangjiang Tower, Sun Shaozong frowned and pondered for a while before turning around and returning.

On the ninth day of the lunar month, soldiers from the Governor's Office and the Surveillance Commissioner's Office searched and arrested in every direction.

After searching for two days, more than a dozen wealthy gentry in the city were captured, and two or three other officials were mixed among them. According to the information Sun Shaozong heard, it seemed that they were all in charge of the corruption of money and food.

This posture didn’t seem like searching for prisoners, but rather like taking advantage of the opportunity to collect money!

However, he was going to be beheaded soon, what could he do by collecting these fortunes?

Wait!

Sun Shaozong suddenly paused and turned his head to look at the docks that had been depressed due to the ban. He saw countless ships of various sizes, densely packed on the shore, the most prominent of which, of course, were the three "wooden house warships" of the Korean Mission.

His gaze rested for a moment on the wooden house warship, then turned to other large ships. Although most of them were inland ships, not a few could go to sea. A cursory glance revealed at least a dozen.

And this was just where his vision could reach…

Sun Shaozong frowned a little tighter, slowly withdrew his gaze, and walked towards the inn again.

But when Sun Shaozong returned to the inn where he was staying, he was wondering whether to order something to eat and have the waiter take it to the East Cross Courtyard or simply use it in this hall when he heard a loud noise in the West Cross Courtyard.

A high-pitched voice exclaimed, "Why are you arresting me?! Although I am a fellow of the Cangzhou Government, the lion dance team was not invited by me!"

There was a strange voice, "Lord Xiang, we are also under orders. If there is any grievance, it will not be too late for you to shout again when you arrive in the prison."

Tch!

The officers and soldiers of the Sentencing and Prosecuting Department unexpectedly came here to arrest people!

It seemed that Xiang Yi, a fellow citizen of Cangzhou Prefecture, was arrested.

Although Sun Shaozong was not familiar with this person, he vaguely remembered that since he arrived at the Jinmen Mansion, he had been staying in the inn and rarely went out. Even when he would go out, he always traveled with other people.

At any rate, he didn’t seem to be the mastermind behind the scenes.

With this in mind, Sun Shaozong simply went to the West Cross Courtyard and looked in at the door. He saw several officers and soldiers surrounding Xiang Yi, but it was not anyone else who was in charge. It was Ge Yan, the Captain of Zhou Ruqing's troops.

They were not soldiers of the Inspector General, but soldiers of the Governor's Office.

Looking at those soldiers who reached up and arrested without listening to his sayings, the Cangzhou Prefecture colleague Xiang Yi's face turned red, and he angrily said, "I have a clear conscience, and I have never been like some people who have been stabbed in the pain and bitten like a mad dog! Why should I go to any of the prisons with you?"

This remark clearly referred to Zhou Ruqing!

Upon hearing this, Ge Yan's originally smiling face suddenly sank.

He stepped forward and pushed Xiang Yi forward, cursing, “What are you? How dare you insult the Commander! I think that even if it's not you, the mastermind must be tied to you somehow. Someone tie him up!'"

"Yes sir!"

Several officers and soldiers immediately unhooked the rope from their waists and stepped forward to press and hold Xiang Yi's shoulders, about to tie him up in various ways!

"Stop it! I am the Court's Official! I am a fifth-grade official in the Imperial Court!" Xiang Yi struggled excitedly. "Without a bit of evidence, how dare you abuse lynching against me?! Is there no royal law in this Jinmen Mansion?"

"The royal law?"

Ge Yan sneered, lifted his whip, and said sharply, "In this Jinmen Mansion, our Governor's Mansion is the king's law!"

As he spoke, the whip in his hand suddenly swung, and he pulled it straight up.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Xiang Yi had to lower his head to cover his face and prepare to resist the whip with a celestial cover.

He just grinned and waited for a while, but the pain never came.

Xiang Yi looked up in confusion and saw the whip hanging in the air, tightly clenched by a fist the size of a vinegar bowl!

Looking up along the fist, a young face followed suit.

Xiang Yi couldn't help but blurt out, "Lord Sun?!"

This sudden stop on Ge Yan was naturally Sun Shaozong.

He didn't speak to Xiang Yi either, but with a calm face, he sneered at Ge Yan and said, “I don't know if what you just said was your own meaning or Lord Zhou's?"

Ge Yan held the horsewhip in both hands and tugged desperately, but in vain, like a dragonfly shaking a tree.

He simply let go of his horsewhip in anger and shame. With a loud clatter, he pulled out half of his waist knife and said with a look, "Why, does Lord Sun want to disobey the order of the Governor? If not, quickly move away from me, otherwise, I will recognize you, but this steel knife won't recognize you!"

Sun Shaozong held the whip in his palm with his backhand and waved it like a fly, saying, "Since you are also acting under orders, let's quit first. You guys don’t have to bother investigating Lord Xiang. I'll make it clear."

"You..."

"What are you?"

Ge Yan stared, but Sun Shaozong condescended and shouted, "I have been ordered to cooperate with the Chief Provincial Judge in investigating this case and naturally have the right to interrogate any suspects. Why, do you want to disobey the order of the Governor?"

This move treated him in his own way, but Ge Yan choked heavily and glared at Sun Shaozong for a while. Finally, he stamped his foot and said, “Let's go!"

Seeing Ge Yan leaving with his people, he shrugged off the support of his servant and approached him with a slightly sheepish expression, saying, “Thank you for your kind words just now, otherwise, I might be..."

"Sigh I just went to the Governor's Office yesterday to speak, hoping not to casually harm the lives of Cangzhou people, but unexpectedly caused a disaster of imprisonment!"

"The way that Lord Zhou acted really made us disappointed."

This Western Cross Courtyard was different from the Eastern Cross Courtyard. It was a quadrangle pattern, with at least three or four family members living in it. Although they didn’t approach them at this time, they were also secretly spying in the corner.

Sun Shaozong hesitated for a moment and then said, "Lord Xiang, to avoid something like that happening again, why don't you move to the East Cross Courtyard first and live with me?"

Xiang Yi had been avoiding him, but at the moment, when he listened to his invitation, he couldn't help but beg to agree.

He quickly agreed, but still couldn't help but complain in a low voice about the other colleagues in the West Cross Courtyard, saying that they usually call each other brothers and sisters. At present, they didn’t even ask about his well-being.

During the conversation, the two of them first arrived at the East Cross Courtyard. As for the luggage and other items, naturally, servants were responsible for carrying them.

Seeing that no one else was visible around, Sun Shaozong immediately grabbed Xiang Yi and asked, "Lord Xiang, how many people in your hands can you trust and do things?"

Xiang Yi was stunned for a moment, then cautiously asked, "I wonder what Lord Sun wants my people to do?"

"Naturally, to help me verify whether my inference is true or not!"