Chapter 31: Handling Cases Alone
Baijie Hall.
You Xu was discussing matters with several captains.
One of the lieutenants suddenly asked, "Lieutenant You, you just assigned the Tongjifang case to Jiang Zhou, right?"
You Xu smiled and said, "Why, do you have other opinions?"
"That's not the case."
The captain shook his head and said, "I have long disliked Jiang Zhou. He is just a lowly refugee. He is lucky to be able to work in the Sujing Division."
"Now that we are all disgraced by the incident with the Goddess of Yanshan, he has achieved merit instead?"
He said disdainfully, and then showed some worry: "But he was appointed by the general himself after all. If something goes wrong, won't it be difficult for us to explain it?"
Another person nearby said, "Not only that, I heard some rumors that this Jiang Zhou seems to be from a prominent family. He is not a refugee, but comes from a certain immortal sect. This is why General Li reminded him."
Someone laughed and said, "It's impossible. You also said it was just a rumor. If he was really a disciple of the Immortal Sect, it would be easy for him to enter the Sujing Division. Why would he hide so shamefully? And why would he pretend to be a refugee just to come in and be a knife bearer?"
"That may not be the case. The actions of the Immortal Sect are inherently profound and unpredictable..."
You Xu interrupted their argument and said, "Alright, suppressing demons and pacifying the country is the responsibility of our Suppression Division, and patrolling demons and investigating cases is also our job. This lieutenant is just following the routine."
"What does it mean now that you say that? Will this lieutenant deliberately embarrass the people below and make things difficult for them?"
When several people heard this, they all laughed and stopped discussing the matter.
It's not that they can't think of some possible unexpected consequences. On the contrary, they are all old officials who have been in the business for many years. They know some things better than those high-ranking officials.
Let’s not talk about whether Jiang Zhou has any connection with the above.
Even if we take a step back and say that he really has Li Xuance as his backer, the others have thought about the consequences.
It is true that Li Xuance is the number one person in Nanzhou Sujingsi , but Sujingsi is not just his Sujingsi.
The Sujingsi, who is in charge of such an important place as Nanzhou, does not hold a high position but has great power and is very important.
Many people were waiting for him to make a mistake so they could kick him out.
Do you really think that you can do whatever you want in Daji just because you have the power?
You are great, but there are many people who are better than you.
…
In a family in Wu County.
Jiang Zhou was wearing the black uniform of a demon patrol officer, and opposite him was a young woman in white mourning clothes.
This was the Mrs. Wu whom we met on the street, who endured the humiliation of the crazy beggar in order to save her husband.
The way her husband Wu Shusheng died was exactly the same as that of Yi Sanliu.
In all likelihood, it was the same murderer.
That's why he's here.
"Madam Wu, so your husband might have been killed by that concubine?"
"It must be that bitch!" Mrs. Wu gritted her teeth in hatred.
Mrs. Wu was quite beautiful, but at the moment she was dressed in white mourning clothes, with tear marks on her face, like a pear blossom in the rain, and she looked quite pitiful.
But Jiang Zhou was like a piece of wood and could not appreciate this beauty.
He did not comment on her anger: "You said that you have not seen that concubine since your husband got into trouble?"
"Yes, if not, why would she suddenly disappear at this time? She must have harmed her late husband and then fled!"
Mrs. Wu said bitterly, "My late husband took pity on her and took her home. He doted on her in every way, but he never granted her any request."
"I didn't expect her to be so cruel and heartless!"
Jiang Zhou had heard her say this before .
Wu Shusheng met the concubine on the outskirts of the city on his way back from an outing.
According to Mrs. Wu, the woman was lying in the middle of the road with her hair disheveled and her clothes in disarray.
The woman was extremely beautiful, and Wu Shusheng, perhaps out of pity or something else, rescued her and brought her home.
When the woman woke up, she said that she had been robbed and her whole family had been killed, except for her who had escaped.
Jiang Zhou could believe such a clichéd plot with so many loopholes. He had no other explanation except that Mr. Wu was blinded by lust.
Then what happened was just a matter of course.
In return for saving her life, the woman pledged her love to him and became Wu Shusheng's concubine.
But the person was already dead, so Jiang Zhou couldn't despise him.
Then he asked, "Mrs. Wu, as far as I know, your husband once met a master who gave him advice, but he didn't believe it at first, and then he went out to seek help from that master. Why is that?"
Wu Fu said, "Your Excellency, you don't know that before my husband was killed, an evil ghost climbed over the wall and entered. My husband sent his servants to chase it, but there was no trace of it."
"Now that I think about it, the evil ghost is clearly that bitch! The evil ghost fled to that bitch's yard and suddenly disappeared."
"Also, the old shoe that the master gave to my late husband... a magical instrument. When it was hung, the family was at peace, but that little bitch took it down desperately. My late husband met with harm that night. Isn't this obvious?"
Mrs. Wu cried, "Sir, you must make the decision for us!"
"Don't worry, Madam Wu. I will get to the bottom of this matter and give your husband justice."
After Jiang Zhou finished speaking, he asked a few more questions and then said goodbye and left.
Standing in front of the Wu family’s door, he looked back.
The melodramatic plot of meeting a beautiful woman in distress on the road and promising herself to her;
The evil spirit climbed over the wall and entered the house, then disappeared into the concubine's yard;
When Wu Shusheng got a pair of old shoes, his concubine insisted on taking them off .
Then Wu Shusheng died tragically.
These few pieces of evidence are enough to confirm that the murderer must be related to the concubine.
Even the concubine is the murderer.
Reality is not a TV series. There are not so many incredible surprises and ups and downs.
Jiang Zhou unfolded the scroll in his hand.
This is the portrait of the concubine that Mrs. Wu gave him.
Fortunately, this portrait is not as abstract as the ones in the TV dramas I watched before. If you use it to look for people, eight out of ten can be matched.
The painting is so lifelike, just like a photograph.
Coincidentally, Mr. Wu was a student of Bailu Academy and was very good at painting.
The painting style popular among Daji was quite different from his impression of Chinese painting, which pursued artistic conception, resemblance, or a painting style between form and spirit.
On the contrary, they value neatness and pursue similarity in form.
Mr. Wu has profound attainments in this area.
With this painting, it would still be possible to find the important person as long as he is in Wu County.
The fear is that this person does not exist.
Jiang Zhou was very sure that the murderer was the same person as the demon in the Tongjifang case that Su Jingsi had been investigating.
If it was so easy to find, why would it have taken until now?
First of all, Wu County has a population of over one million, and even though Daji has a strict household registration system, it is difficult to completely control it.
Secondly, it was a demon, and no one knew what strange abilities it had.
At this point, no matter whether we can find it or not, we have to find it first.
Jiang Zhou put away the scroll and left Wu Mansion.
After walking a few steps, I saw that most of the street in front of me was occupied by crowded people, and I had to squeeze to get through.
Upon closer inspection, I found that it was a rice shop.
These people are all here to buy rice.
A waiter was holding a sign and hung it in front of the door: Today's rice is sold out.
Suddenly, complaints arose and people cursed and yelled, but they could only slowly disperse.
Jiang Zhou saw the crowd disperse and continued to move forward.
Nanzhou is known as the land of fish and rice in Daji, and Wujun is the best place in Nanzhou.
Rice is the most valuable yet the least valuable thing.
It can save lives for the refugees outside.
But for the people in Wujun City, it is nothing.
Normally, you would rarely see such a scene of people rushing to buy rice.
But Jiang Zhou seemed to have seen it several times recently.
Perhaps it was because more than a month ago, the Goddess of Yanshan flooded the fertile fields for hundreds of miles outside the city.
Thanks to his Taiyi Wuyanluo, and the fact that Wujun seemed to have made plans in advance, he did not suffer an unbearable impact.
But the impact is still very bad.
It is said that not long ago, at the headquarters of the Sujing Division in Yujing Divine Capital, a third-rank Sujing general personally brought the demon-binding chain, one of the three most valuable treasures of the Sujing Division, to Yunmeng Lake and locked the Goddess of Yanshan back to Yujing Divine Capital and pressed her under the Demon-Suppressing Tower.
Jiang Zhou was surprised for a long time at that time.
The goddess of Yanshan can control the three thousand miles of water in Yunmeng. With this ability alone, she is like a human-shaped nuclear bomb, able to wipe you out at any time.
He would never forget the devastating scene that occurred over Wu County that night.
Such a person was unexpectedly attacked at home and locked away so easily.
However, the even more powerful Jinghe Dragon King, who was said to be the goddess's man, didn't even fart.
The water in Daji was truly far more unfathomable than he had imagined.
Not only the Goddess of Yanshan, but now the Sujingsi in various places in Daji are attacking from all sides, and the number of demons killed every day is several times or even more than before.
But Jiang Zhou didn't see any fewer monsters, but instead there seemed to be more of them.
Take the Wujun City for example. According to the patrolling demon guards in the office, although there have been demons that harmed people in the past, at least few dared to cause trouble in the county city.
Now, whether it is the knife-wielding men or the demon patrolling guards, half of the missions they receive are in the county town.
The rest are mostly in the counties and villages under the jurisdiction of Wu County.
It was as if the demons were provoked and attacked human territory one after another.
"Hey, isn't this Jiang Zhou? No, isn't this Master Jiang?"
Jiang Zhou arrived at the Ministry of Justice's office, and the constable standing guard at the door started to joke with him when he saw him.
