Chapter 98: Murder of Wife
"A young man wanted to climb up the social ladder, so he secretly killed his first wife and married a daughter of a wealthy family ."
Yan Xiaowu said with a bit of disdain on his face:
"Let me tell you, that boy's name is Xu Wenshan. He was originally just a farmer's son. I don't know how he got lucky, but he married a beautiful, well-educated and well-mannered woman."
"Although the girl's family is not rich, they are also a family of scholars. Her father is a private school teacher. Seeing that Xu Wenshan is smart and studious, he made an exception and accepted him into the private school. Not only did he not charge him tuition, but seeing that his family was poor and had only one meal a day, he often brought him home to entertain him."
"After a few visits, I got to know the school teacher's daughter."
"This boy surnamed Xu had some talent in studying. He lived up to the expectations of the gentleman and soon passed the examination to become a scholar. The gentleman then married his daughter to him."
"Several years after the marriage, Xu passed the imperial examinations again and was appointed a county magistrate. He took his wife with him to the post. He served in the post for three years. Just a few days ago, he was suddenly promoted to the position of Wujun Ceremonial Department Supervisor and was about to be transferred back to Wujun."
"The family of the private school teacher thought they had waited for their son-in-law to return home in glory and their beloved daughter whom they hadn't seen for years, but who knew that they were waiting for a nightmare."
Yan Xiaowu shook his head and said, "A few days ago, Mr. Wang, oh, that private school teacher, came to the Judicial Department to report a case, accusing his son-in-law Xu Wenshan of killing his beloved daughter and marrying another woman out of greed for fame and wealth."
When Jiang Zhou heard this, he couldn't help but ask, "Whose noblewoman is Xu Wenshan going to marry?"
Yan Xiaowu sneered, "Hey, this person has a big background. She is the daughter of a retired official from the capital. I heard that she is related to the Chief Censor of Rites of the Tianguan Palace."
Jiang Zhou suddenly understood when he heard it.
Although he was in the Sujing Division and dealt with ghosts and weirdos all day long, he also paid attention to many things.
Among the six departments of Daji, the Department of Ceremonies included almost 90% of the civil servants in the court.
Although they are very different, their powers are comparable to the three provinces and six ministries in ancient times.
The six offices were divided according to functional responsibilities: Heaven, Earth, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
Each has its own powers, some of which are similar to the six-department system.
It is almost equivalent to a small six-command.
However, they do not perform the duties of the Six Departments, but rather perform the duties of governance and supervision.
To some extent, the Department of Ceremonies can be said to be the head of the six departments and the superior of the other five departments.
The Tianguan Palace is the head of the six palaces of the Ministry of Rites and the head of all officials.
Among them, Jiang Zhou guessed that the title of Chief Censor of Rites was probably similar to the Minister of Rites.
He is also a person standing in the forefront on the Golden Palace of Emperor Mang.
It's no wonder that one would take such a risk if he could establish a relationship with such a person.
Xu Wenshan was a county magistrate after all. If the temptation had not been too great, he would not have done such a risky thing as killing his wife and marrying another one.
Jiang Zhou asked curiously, " How did the teacher know whether his daughter was killed by someone else or by his own son-in-law?"
Yan Xiaowu scratched his head and said in distress, "Mr. Wang's daughter fell into the water and drowned when she was out for an outing with Xu Wenshan. Xu Wenshan said she slipped, but Mr. Wang insisted that it was Xu Wenshan who killed her in order to kill his wife and marry another one."
Jiang Zhou suddenly realized the purpose of Yan Xiaowu's visit.
He squinted his eyes and asked, "You mean there is no evidence and it's all based on speculation?"
Yan Xiaowu said anxiously, "No, I can tell at a glance that Xu is a toad with chicken feathers stuck on its butt - it's not a real bird! There must be something wrong with this kid, he is not a good person!"
Jiang Zhou didn't comment: "You came to me for this matter? But I still don't understand what this has to do with me?"
Yan Xiaowu smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just had nothing to do so I wanted to chat with you."
"I happened to be going to a banquet today, and I remembered you, brother? Let me tell you, this banquet is hosted by a prominent family in Wu County, and the fine wines and delicacies are unheard of by ordinary people. How could I forget you for such a good thing?"
Jiang Zhou sneered: "Oh, a clay Buddha statue."
Yan Xiaowu was stunned: "What do you mean?"
Jiang Zhou glanced at him and said, "You haven't reassured people."
“…”
Yan Xiaowu scratched his head and frowned: "What's wrong with your head? Even this thing is better than mine. It's so annoying that I can't even get angry when you scold me."
Jiang Zhou didn't have the time to talk nonsense with him: "If you don't say anything, I'll go back. I have a lot of things to do and I don't have time to fool around with you."
“No, no, no!”
Yan Xiaowu quickly stopped him, not daring to hide it any longer: "In fact, today's banquet is the wedding banquet for Xu Wenshan to marry his new wife."
Jiang Zhou laughed angrily: "So you said you were going to treat me to a feast, but you're trying to trick me? And you're taking advantage of others' generosity!"
Sure enough, this kid's treat is definitely not good news .
Last time I invited him to dinner at Yanbo Tower, I cheated him. I haven’t even taken revenge yet, and now he’s doing it again?
"No, why do you think so badly of me?"
Yan Xiaowu smiled and said, "To be honest, I have been following this case for a while, but Xu is a very cunning guy, and the Song family is very powerful. I have run into obstacles everywhere. Even the Ministry of Justice would not let me investigate, and asked me to close the case as a false accusation by Mr. Wang."
"You are a talented man, Mr. Jiang, and you have extraordinary wisdom and ideas. I really have no other choice. Aren't I asking for your help?"
The Chief Censor of Rites was named Song.
With the surname of such a big shot, not to mention ordinary people, even a county governor would not want to offend him easily.
"You don't have any clues, what can you do now?"
Jiang Zhou curled his lips, but didn't show any intention of turning around and leaving.
After hearing what Yan Xiaowu said, he was actually a little interested in this matter.
Maybe... there is actually a Conan halo hidden above his head?
He secretly complained.
"Hmph, even if I can't do anything, it's good to disgust Xu Wenshan."
Yan Xiaowu hummed.
Jiang Zhou shook his head.
This guy seems to have always been like this. In the last Hong Ni case, he seemed to have disgusted Wang Jinfa again and again...
Jiang Zhou suddenly stopped.
It turned out that the two of them were walking and happened to pass by Liang Lane.
As the name suggests, this street is almost entirely lined with grain shops.
When he investigated the case of the Painted Skin Ghost, the home of Wu Shusheng, one of the victims, was in this Liang Lane.
It seems that Mr. Wu's family has been grain merchants for generations.
"What's going on? Is Wujun still short of food?"
Jiang Zhou saw that the grain lane was already crowded with people.
People were crowded in front of the grain shops, buying grain like crazy, just like what he had seen among the refugee groups before.
Yan Xiaowu took a look and said, "Recently, the grain price in Wu County has skyrocketed. There are rumors that grain merchants are hoarding a large amount of grain. The grain price will continue to rise, and there is no end in sight, so everyone is rushing to buy grain."
Jiang Zhou was slightly stunned.
Soaring food prices?
Although the work in Sujingsi is dangerous, he never slacks off on eating.
So he can be said to have no worries about food and clothing in there, and has never paid attention to these things.
Yan Xiaowu dragged him and said, "Alright, this is none of our business. The time has come. If we don't go now, we will miss it."
Jiang Zhou looked back and frowned. He felt something strange in his heart, but he couldn't figure it out.
I had to put it down temporarily and let Yan Xiaowu drag me away.
After a while, Yan Xiaowu brought him to East City.
The layout of Wujun City is also clearly divided.
The South City is mostly populated by businesses and markets, while the West City is where wealthier common people live.
As for the poor? They simply cannot afford to live in the city, and can only live in the suburbs or in the countryside.
Most of the powerful and wealthy live in the East City, while most government offices are in the North City.
Just as they reached the entrance of an alley, they saw several men who looked like servants, leaning on sticks, guarding the intersection and stopped them.
"Today is the wedding of Miss Song. No outsiders are allowed to pass by here."
