Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the eastern district market, a man was lying in a pool of blood, surrounded by onlookers.
Yan Luoying and Su Wen arrived at the scene.
“What happened?”
Yan Luoying asked when she saw patrol guards that were on scene.
The guard bowed and explained.
“This deceased’s surname is Sun. He’s the third in his family, and sells buns on this street. Today, a local gangster came to collect protection fees from him. If Sun San did not want to pay, so he got stabbed to death on the street!”
Yan Luoying said angrily, “Who is the murderer? There are so many people here. It’s impossible that no one knows him, right?”
“The murderer is Liu Dahu from the Green Snake Gang!”
“Then why aren’t you getting him?”
“We’ve already sent people after him. It’s just that after Liu Dahu killed the deceased, he went back home to pack up his belongings and left the city. As for where he went, we do not know.”
The guard’s answer was flawless. He seemed to have done everything he could, but everything was a step too late.
It was to the point that Yan Luoying could not fault him for anything.
Su Wen was among the crowd and did not make a sound. He was looking at the people around him as well as those guards on patrol duty.
The surrounding peddlers and commoners all looked terrified.
As for the patrolling guards, they were mostly expressionless and cold.
However, there were even some people who had relaxed expressions and looked around like Su Wen.
At this point, Yan Luoying could only ask the deceased’s family members to identify the corpse. At the same time, she started to question the surrounding people about the details of the case to confirm the murderer.
After that, she ordered her men to look for the leader of the Green Snake Gang, Du Ping.
After returning to the Patrolling Guards Office, Du Ping was soon brought over.
He was in his thirties and had muscles all over his body. It was winter right now, but he was only wearing a vest and his upper body was covered in tattoos.
Yan Luoying, Su Wen, Wen Jinming, and Sun Wei were all gathered in the conference room.
As Du Ping entered, he kneeled on the ground and kowtowed, “This commoner is Du Ping. Greetings, Lords.”
Although he looked fierce, he did not dare to act rashly in front of the guards.
Yan Luoying snapped, “Du Ping, what’s your relationship with Liu Dahu?”
Du Ping replied, “Liu Dahu? He’s just an ordinary friend, we drank a few times.”
Yan Luoying was furious. “Nonsense. As far as I know, Liu Dahu is a member of your Green Snake Gang!”
Du Ping complained, “Ma’am, you can’t speak nonsense. There’s no Green Snake Gang, it’s just those people making up stories about the commoners. Liu Dahu and I are just ordinary friends, and we’re not that close.”
Yan Luoying frowned. Du Ping’s answer was flawless. He neither admitted to the gang nor his relationship with Liu Dahu.
“You were the one who arranged for Liu Dahu to collect protection fees today. You dare to deny it?” Yan Luoying shouted angrily.
How could Du Ping admit it? He immediately said, “Ma’am, you can’t wrongly accuse this commoner. What Liu Dahu is doing, what does it have to do with me, Du Ping? The two of us are just ordinary friends. I like to make friends, and I have hundreds of friends in the capital. Could it be that everything they do is directed by me? Ma’am, please understand where I’m coming from!”
Yan Luoying immediately felt a headache coming on.
She was really not good at such things.
Interrogation was not as easy as she thought.
“How dare you quibble! Punish him!”
But no matter what, Yan Luoying would not let Du Ping off easily. At this moment, Liu Dahu had already escaped. If she did not dig something out of Du Ping, the case would be unsolved.
Moreover, Yan Luoying knew very well that if there was no result, the prestige of the guards in the hearts of the people would plummet.
At that time, if there were more gangs oppressing the citizens, the citizens might not even dare to report to the authorities.
However, just when she finished her sentence, Wen Jinming spoke out, “Lady Yan, there’s no nothing pointing towards Du Ping being the instigator, and we don’t have any evidence either. If we torture him like this, I’m afraid that it will be against the rules.”
Yan Luoying turned around and glared at Wen Jinming.
Wen Jinming’s words, firstly, questioned her authority, and secondly, revealed a lot of information to the criminal.
However, Wen Jinming spoke the truth.
Without any hesitation, Yan Luoying rebuked, “This person and Liu Dahu have an unclear relationship. If we don’t punish him, how will he tell the truth? Give him 80 hits of the paddle first!”
Du Ping looked terrified. He had to admit that this person was ruthless.
No matter how Yan Luoying interrogated him and even beat him until his skin and flesh were torn, Du Ping refused to admit to anything.
In the end, Du Ping was carried out of the Guard Office by his family, covered in blood. However, Yan Luoying did not get the statement she wanted.
After Du Ping was carried away, Wen Jinming sneered, “Lady Yan’s punishment is against the rules, and I will report it to the Royal Censor.”
“Up to you!” Yan Luoying gritted her teeth.
Wen Jinming immediately stood up and left, followed by Sun Wei.
Only Su Wen remained in the hall with a smile on his face.
Yan Luoying rubbed her eyebrows and said, “I’m afraid these guys are connected! Yesterday, I touched on their source of benefits, and today, Wen Jinming and Du Ping joined forces to put on a good show. As long as Du Ping is safe and sound, the people will definitely be afraid of him! I can only torture him and injure him. At the very least, the people will feel more at ease.”
Yan Luoying also knew that torture would not be effective.
But if Du Ping walked out of the guard post unscathed, what would the citizens think?
Su Wen asked with a smile, “Then what if Liu Dahu really went to collect protection fees himself and it has nothing to do with Du Ping?”
Yan Luoying came to an abrupt realization.
Was there such a possibility? It was indeed possible.
However, after a comprehensive analysis, the possibility was relatively low.
Once such a situation occurred, Yan Luoying’s actions today would undoubtedly be that of an evil official.
Su Wen smiled and said, “You said that you want to be a good official. If Liu Dahu really went to collect protection fees by himself today, then if you beat Du Ping up, you would be beating up innocent people for no reason. Is that still being a good official?”
Yan Luoying frowned and said, “This person established the Green Snake Gang and roped in the idle ruffians, resulting in such a scenario. It’s not too much to beat him up!”
Su Wen shook his head and said, “How can you prove that the so-called Green Snake Gang really exists? Do you have any proof? Do you know what the Green Snake Gang has done? Do you know the structure of the Green Snake Gang? You don’t know anything. Everything was given to you by Wen Jinming, along with your subjective imagination.”
“Have you ever thought that perhaps the Green Snake Gang doesn’t exist at all and Du Ping and Liu Dahu aren’t related at all? Perhaps Wen Jinming purposely wanted you to torture Du Ping today.”
Yan Luoying’s face darkened.
She realized that after hearing Su Wen’s words, she could not figure out what was going on.
There were many possibilities in a seemingly simple and straightforward case.
Most importantly, unknowingly, all her actions today seemed to be under Wen Jinming’s control.
Su Wen said, “After you arrived at the scene today, all the information you gathered was gathered through the guards. However, after removing the benefits of those people yesterday, do you think they will help you willingly? That was why the guards ‘couldn’t catch’ Liu Dahu. The information you’ve obtained might not be accurate either.. If this continues, I can guarantee that you won’t be able to solve any case in your lifetime.”
