Nightwatcher

# 186. Deduction

The Transport Office was divided into two departments: the Shore Patrol Division and the Transport Division. The highest-ranking official was the Transport Commissioner, of fourth rank, overseeing nearly a thousand personnel both inside and outside the office.

"Of all the government offices, the Transport Office is the most lucrative. In the 20th year of Yuanjing, the court sold official positions, most of which were related to transport," Inspector Zhang explained as he led the way, his tone grave.

"In the 22nd year of Yuanjing, the policy of selling official positions was abolished by Duke Wei and Prime Minister Wang working together. But in just those two years, the number of useless officials who infiltrated the system was appalling. Even to this day there are still many officials in high posts who are about as useful as a rock."

Xu Qi'an wasn't too concerned about Inspector Zhang's indignation. Rather, through the Inspector’s words he caught onto some interesting points.

If it required the combined effort of Wei Yuan and Prime Minister Wang, who were archenemies, to suppress the policy, then who was the one selling the official positions?

There was no doubt about it — it was Emperor Yuanjing.

There were many emperors in history who sold official positions, and Emperor Yuanjing was not an exception. These emperors all had one thing in common: they spent money like water.

And the historical evaluation of such emperors was generally not favourable, with their actions often being criticized.

The Yuzhou Transport Office came into view, and seeing a large group approaching with a high-ranking official in a crimson robe and a Gold Gong carrying Nightwatcher, the runners rushed to report the matter, not even daring to question them.

A few minutes later, the Transport Commissioner of Yuzhou, a fourth-rank official, hurriedly came out to greet them personally.

This Transport Commissioner was over fifty, with greying hair, ordinary features, and a black mole between his eyebrows that added a distinctive touch to his otherwise plain appearance.

"I am Zhang Xingying, on an imperial mission to investigate a case in Yunzhou. Here is the official document from the Cabinet," Inspector Zhang said, producing a thin booklet and handing it over.

"Ah, Inspector. My deepest apologies, please come inside," after reading the document, the Transport Commissioner said respectfully, before gesturing to invite the party in.

The group entered the office, and the Transport Commissioner led Inspector Zhang to the main hall. After seating them and offering tea, he smiled and said, "Inspector, you've had a long journey. Are you planning to rest in Yuzhou for a few days?"

He discreetly observed this Inspector General from the capital, and all he could see was that this was a stern and uninteresting person. Since he met the man, the Inspector had not smiled once.

*Are all officials from the capital so arrogant?*

*...This Transport Commissioner has no idea how serious the situation is.* Inspector Zhang waved his hand, "Whether I stay here depends on the progress of the case."

"What do you mean by that?" the Transport Commissioner asked, puzzled.

Inspector Zhang looked outside the hall and called out loudly, "Bring them up!"

Along with the bearded man Fang He, sixty-two members of the Yellow Banner Gang were brought in, each bearing wounds of varying severity and looking very dispirited.

Seeing these people, the Transport Commissioner stood up in shock and confusion, pointing at them and looking at Inspector Zhang, "What's going on? Why are they wearing the uniforms of my Transport Office?"

"This is why we are here to visit you," Inspector Zhang replied.

He then detailed the entire situation to the Transport Commissioner, who turned pale and slumped back into his chair, muttering, "How could this be… how could this be…"

*Tsk tsk, his composure is really poor. Compared to the officials I've dealt with in the capital, this Transport Commissioner is a complete novice...* Xu Qi'an thought, while observing the Transport Commissioner's expressions and subtle movements.

Inspector Zhang spoke sternly, "Transport Commissioner, do you know about this case?"

The Transport Commissioner quickly shook his head, desperately trying to explain, "I truly have no knowledge of this, Inspector..."

Ignoring him, Inspector Zhang turned to the white-robed arcanists in the crowd, who nodded slightly, indicating he was telling the truth.

After a moment of contemplation, Inspector Zhang asked, "Is the Shipping Administrator in the office?"

Only then did the Transport Commissioner focus on the main culprit, furious that someone under his command had betrayed him. He said in a stern voice, "Shipping Administrator Yan Kai is off today and not in the office. I will immediately take the Inspector to apprehend him."

…

Outside the residence of Shipping Administrator Yan Kai, Inspector Zhang waved his hand, directing the Huben Guards to spread out and surround the mansion.

Yang Muhua, the Transport Commissioner who had accompanied them, also brought twenty constables.

Once the Huben Guards had spread out, Jiang Lyuzhong led his men to break down the door, subduing all the servants and guards in the mansion.

The combined forces of the Huben Guards, Transport Office constables, and Nightwatchers swept through the entire Yan residence with lightning speed, leaving no chance for resistance.

"Sir, he's in the study."

The Transport Office constables were the first to find Yan Kai. By the time Xu Qi'an and his colleagues arrived at the study, it was too late. He saw the floor covered in thick, freshly spilled blood.

Shipping Administrator Yan Kai lay lifeless in a large chair, his head tilted to one side, a deep gash in his neck, and a dagger on the floor to his right.

This outcome clearly caught Transport Commissioner Yang and Inspector Zhang off guard. Shock quickly gave way to anger that filled their chests.

However, their anger differed. Commissioner Yang's was more akin to impotent rage, knowing that with Yan Kai's death, suspicion would fall squarely on him first.

Inspector Zhang's fury was that of seeing a duck you’d just boiled up and fly away.

*There’s too many people, it could compromise the crime scene... and there was no guarantee the murderer wasn't among them, potentially tampering with crucial evidence...* Xu Qi'an remained the calmest, quickly deciding:

"Everyone, leave the study and wait outside."

Inspector Zhang’s spirits shook, as he scanned the room and commanded, "Everyone out, wait outside."

Soon, only Jiang Lyuzhong, Xu Qi'an, and the two officials remained in the study.

"Inspector, Yan Kai must have killed himself out of guilt. This case has nothing to do with me," Commissioner Yang piled on mountains of excuses, eager to distance himself from any suspicion.

Inspector Zhang ignored him, turning to Xu Qi'an, "Xu Ningyan, take a good look."

Commissioner Yang glanced at Xu Qi'an but quickly dismissed him, focusing on explaining and proclaiming his innocence to Inspector Zhang.

"The blood has coagulated into clumps, indicating he died not long ago, but just before we entered the mansion," Jiang Lyuzhong noted.

"Roughly around the time we entered the Transport Office," Xu Qi'an nodded.

He briefly examined Yan Kai's body. The wound was so obvious that a full autopsy wasn't necessary; he had died from a severed carotid artery.

After inspecting the body, Xu Qi'an meticulously searched every corner of the study for any potential clues.

The entire process took only five minutes. Xu Qi'an sighed, "Inspector, he was murdered, not a suicide."

Inspector Zhang nodded, "What makes you say that?"

The chatter from Commissioner Yang ceased as he turned to listen.

"If the carotid artery is severed, a person would struggle and flail due to lack of oxygen... driven only by survival instinct; they wouldn't remain seated like this. Of course, that's not enough to conclusively say he was murdered," Xu Qi'an explained.

"Yan Kai was left-handed, wasn't he?"

Transport Commissioner Yang was stunned. "How do you know?"

"His left middle finger has a thick callus, from years of holding a brush. Normally, calluses would be on the right middle finger, so I deduced he was left-handed.

"Now look at the wound on his neck—it's deeper on the left and shallower on the right. This indicates it was made by someone holding the knife in their right hand."

*Amazing…* The Transport Commissioner looked at Xu Qi’an in shock, no trace of contempt left in his eyes. It hadn’t been half an incense stick’s worth of time, and he had already found several clues, and deduced the true cause of death.

*Impressive...* This was the first time Inspector Zhang had witnessed Xu Qi'an's investigative abilities first-hand, though he had heard of them. No matter how the capital's official circles gossiped about this little Bronze Gong, hearing about it and seeing it were two different things.

*But there’s still no bloody use, no use in helping solve the case… the cause of Yan Kai’s death was simple throat slitting; it’s not as elaborate as a Warlock killing someone in their dream. But, exactly because this is such a simple and brusque method, it makes it much harder to identify the perpetrator… without any surveillance, solving this case would take far too much effort.*

"The doors and windows show no signs of tampering or breaking. The killer and the victim were obviously acquainted. Interrogate the household staff to see if anyone visited recently or if they heard Yan Kai calling for help. Also, question everyone in the Transport Office, including the Transport Commissioner, and search them to ensure they don't have artefacts that can conceal their qi, hindering the arcanists' detection," Xu Qi'an suggested.

Inspector Zhang said, "Commissioner, please cooperate with us."

For the couple hours, three arcanists from the Sitianjian continuously observed the officials and clerks of the Transport Office.

But they found nothing. With Shipping Administrator Yan Kai's death, the "insider theft" case's lead went cold.

Accompanied by Jiang Lyuzhong, Inspector Zhang went to the Yuzhou Criminal Investigation Bureau, the office responsible for judicial matters and also the imperial oversight body, under the Censorate.

Inspector Zhang, as an associate censor, was the superior of the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

In the golden evening light, Xu Qi'an sat on the rooftop of the Transport Office, bathed in the sunset, replaying the case in his mind.

*With the death of the Shipping Administrator, the case's trail ended. Hah, this is also a clue, suggesting that the mastermind doesn't control the entire Transport Office.*

*This indicates it's not merely a simple case of embezzlement... The Minister of Industry has already fallen, yet Yuzhou's Transport Office continues its covert operations, smuggling iron ore to Yunzhou... This means someone is still manipulating events behind the scenes. This person doesn't have much power, able to control only the Shipping Administrator. Or perhaps they do, but must act covertly.*

*If I hadn't stumbled upon this by sheer luck, the iron ore smuggling might have continued indefinitely.*

*If there's smuggling of iron ore, could there also be smuggling of government salt and saltpetre? The court must thoroughly investigate the Transport Offices in all provinces.*

*This trip to Yunzhou might be more dangerous than I imagined,* Xu Qi'an thought worriedly, when he suddenly heard someone calling him from below.

"Ningyan, come on, let's go to the Jiaofangsi for some fun," Song Tingfeng stood in the courtyard, waving to him.

"No. I'm thinking about serious matters," Xu Qi'an replied irritably.

"Come on, I heard the courtesans in Yuzhou are very good at serving people," Song Tingfeng coaxed.

"All you think about is the Jiaofangsi. Be careful, you might never get promoted," Xu Qi'an responded, exasperated.

…

The Jiaofangsi, Yuzhou.

Amid the melodious sound of strings and woodwind, Xu Qi'an raised his wine cup, laughing heartily, "Come on, let's drink! After drifting on the water for six days, I've got cobwebs down there!"

The Nightwatchers raised their cups in unison, each accompanied by a delicate beauty, drinking and laughing merrily.

As expected, Xu Ningyan ended up coming along. Song Tingfeng was not surprised by this; in fact, he had anticipated it. Back in the capital, Xu Qi'an never went to the Jiaofangsi of his own accord. It was always Song Tingfeng's idea, and then Xu Qi'an and Zhu Guangxiao would join him.

Sometimes, when Xu Ningyan was training, he would curse loudly, "Song Tingfeng, if you had even a shred of conscience, you'd stop interrupting my practice!"

But after cursing, he'd pat his butt and follow them anyway.

The Jiaofangsi in Yuzhou was different from the one in the capital. It wasn't as large, but it was built by the river, with six courtyards and two tall buildings, boasting an elegant landscape.

The rippling water distorted the reflections of the red lanterns, and the sound of string and woodwind floated through the courtyards, drifting across the shimmering river.

Given their status and rank, Xu Qi'an and his companions naturally wouldn't drink in the buildings with the mixed crowds of patrons. Led by officials from the Transport Office, they arrived at the courtyard of an orian named Hongxiu.

However, the courtesan named Hongxiu seemed somewhat reluctant. It had been nearly half an hour since the group started drinking in the courtyard, and she still hadn't made an appearance.

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