Though Jiang Mu had said he would not go, considering that the current Madam Tang was like a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest spark, he still went to the Patrol Yamen after eating, lest she make life difficult for him in the future.
There was no helping it. An official several ranks above you could crush a man to death.
A backside one size larger could crush your kidneys.
Holding the pass Tang Jinxian had given him earlier, Jiang Mu entered the Patrol Yamen without obstruction.
He had not gone far when he heard a woman’s furious, tear-choked voice from up ahead.
“What right do you have to arrest my son!?”
“Tell Chief Commissioner Tang to come out. This humble woman demands an explanation!”
“You arrest people at will without distinguishing right from wrong—is there no law left!?”
“Even if you are the Patrol Yamen, you should not disregard the laws of Great Qian like this! If you do not give me an explanation, then even if I must risk my noble title, I will submit a memorial to the court!”
“…”
Jiang Mu raised his eyes and looked over.
He saw Madam Wu, the woman in plain white whom he had met yesterday, now with reddened eyes, emotionally berating several yamen guards blocking her path.
After all, she was a fifth-rank Yiren personally conferred by the emperor, a woman of esteemed status.
Though the yamen guards had orders to stop her, they did not dare use force to drive her away, and could only carefully try to appease her.
“They’ve already made the arrest so quickly. Their movements are quite fast.”
Jiang Mu rather admired Tang Jinxian’s decisiveness and efficiency.
He went around the front courtyard and arrived outside the council hall, where he heard another fierce argument coming from within.
Jiang Mu moved closer to observe.
Inside the hall, several people were either seated or standing, all important figures of some standing within the Patrol Yamen.
Tang Jinxian sat in the main seat at the very head, her expression calm.
The woman had changed into a more dignified long dress of slate-blue, the fabric crisp and the tailoring exquisite, wrapping her plump, proud figure tightly from head to toe.
Amid that solemnity, it made her slender neck and coldly beautiful features appear all the more striking.
“Chief Commissioner, Wu is a xiucai scholar, and his mother is a fifth-rank Yiren conferred by His Majesty. To rashly arrest and detain him without any conclusive evidence is highly inappropriate, whether in terms of reason or propriety.”
“Indeed, Chief Commissioner. If this is mishandled, it may well draw criticism from both court and commoners.”
“My lord, although our Patrol Yamen handles cases in a special manner and does not wholly rely on evidence, this case has a tremendous impact. To act so hastily may make it difficult to convince the public!”
“…”
Everyone in the hall voiced their opinions one after another.
Faced with their doubts and opposition, Tang Jinxian’s expression remained cool. Her beautiful eyes shifted and fell upon a middle-aged man seated below her, and she spoke indifferently.
“Deputy Commissioner Yu, what do you think?”
As the deputy chief commissioner of the Yan City Patrol Yamen, Yu Zhengqing was around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, handsome in appearance, with an elegant, gentle scholarly bearing.
At first glance, he looked more like a teacher.
Hearing Tang Jinxian’s question, he cupped his hands in salute.
“Since the Chief Commissioner has already made a decision, this subordinate will naturally do his utmost to cooperate with the investigation. It is just that although Hall Master Yan is Wu’s maternal uncle, the two families do not interact closely on ordinary days. To isolate and investigate him as well now—is that not perhaps… a little too hasty?”
“I recall that at the very beginning, this spirit calamity case was assigned to Yan Qingshan to investigate, was it not?”
Tang Jinxian did not answer directly, but instead posed a question.
Yu Zhengqing was startled when he heard this, seemingly understanding the deeper meaning in her words, and nodded.
“In reply to my lord, it was indeed Hall Master Yan.”
“Then whether he failed to discover the true culprit in time due to incompetence, or… deliberately concealed and protected him, he ought to be isolated and investigated.”
Tang Jinxian’s tone was flat. “Of course, if it is ultimately proven that the truth has nothing to do with him, the Patrol Yamen will naturally clear his name.”
Yu Zhengqing frowned, but could say nothing more.
At that moment, Tang Jinxian caught sight of Jiang Mu outside the hall, poking his head around furtively. She immediately rose and ended the argument.
“Enough. Since the man has already been brought in, I will personally interrogate him. Deputy Commissioner Yu, take men to the Wu residence at once and search it carefully. Do not let off any corner.”
With that, she ignored the varied expressions of the crowd and walked out of the hall.
As she passed by Jiang Mu, she gave him a look.
Jiang Mu understood and silently followed her.
“Wu has already been brought back and is being held in the dungeon for now. Come with me for the interrogation.”
Tang Jinxian did not stop walking, her tone leaving no room for refusal.
Jiang Mu followed behind her. His gaze inadvertently swept over the woman’s waist and hips, which swayed as she walked, forming a smooth curve beneath the taut fabric of her dress. He frowned and asked,
“Why do you insist on bringing me along?”
Tang Jinxian abruptly turned around.
Her skirt flared out.
She looked at Jiang Mu, her phoenix eyes deep and quiet.
“This time, I trusted you completely, which is why I directly arrested Wu. You saw the situation in the hall just now. If we cannot convict Wu, both you and I will be in great trouble.
“Of course, at worst I will lose my office and return to the capital. But you may lose your life. You are no longer the fool you once were. You know I am not being alarmist.
“So this time, you must ensure that this Wu is the mastermind behind the spirit calamity case!”
Jiang Mu nodded and said helplessly, “I understand.”
Tang Jinxian walked up to him and raised her hand to brush a fallen leaf from his shoulder.
“Mu Jiang, An Chenghu was right. The deeper you get involved in this matter, the more troublesome it becomes.
“But you forgot the most important point. What happened in that cave has already tied the culprit together with you and me. You want to extricate yourself—do you think that is possible?
“Don’t worry. With me, Tang Jinxian, protecting you, no one will dare touch you, nor will they be able to.”
The woman said no more and turned to continue forward.
Jiang Mu’s expression turned strange.
Why does that sound… like I’m being kept by a rich woman?
…
Tang Jinxian brought Jiang Mu into the Patrol Yamen’s prison.
The dungeon was gloomy, damp, and heavy with moisture.
Wu was being held alone in a stone chamber.
The man wore a green robe and looked far more disheveled and wretched than when Jiang Mu had seen him yesterday. His hair bun was slightly loose, but the refined, scholarly air between his brows still remained.
“My lord.”
Tang Jinxian’s personal female officer, Xiuxiu, came forward and handed her a stack of freshly organized records.
“We have already made a preliminary inquiry into Wu’s recent movements. This is the schedule he provided. As for whether it is true, this subordinate has already sent people to verify it.”
Tang Jinxian gave a slight nod. “You have worked hard. Go outside and wait for now.”
“Yes.”
Xiuxiu cast a somewhat curious glance at Jiang Mu, then led the other two yamen guards out of the prison area.
Wu was somewhat surprised when he saw Jiang Mu.
“Are you not the officer who came to our home yesterday? Officer, what exactly is going on? Why was I suddenly brought to a place like this?”
Tang Jinxian pulled over a chair left by the yamen guards and sat down, folding her arms before her chest as she looked at him coldly. “What? Even now, you still intend to pretend you do not know me?”
Jiang Mu stood behind the woman, acting as her little attendant.
It was just that from his position above and behind her, when the woman folded her arms, her lapel opened slightly, and he could clearly see the edge of a water-blue satin dudou, as well as the exaggerated snowy curve beneath it…
Jiang Mu immediately lowered his gaze, looking straight ahead at Wu opposite them without turning his eyes aside.
“My lord, this student truly does not understand what you are saying. Have we met before?”
Wu looked utterly bewildered.
A cold curve appeared on Tang Jinxian’s red lips. “You put on quite an innocent act.”
Although the black-clothed man had worn a mask at the time and deliberately altered his voice, Tang Jinxian’s intuition told her that Jiang Mu’s analysis was absolutely correct.
The Wu before her was that black-clothed man.
“My lord, officer, what crime has this student committed?”
Wu still looked confused.
“You don’t know what crime you have committed, is that it?”
Tang Jinxian’s slender finger suddenly flicked.
The straw rope wrapped around her slim waist shot out at once, coiling around Wu and binding him tightly.
“My lord, what are you doing!?”
Wu’s tone grew agitated, and he struggled with all his might.
“This student is a xiucai scholar with an academic title. According to the Laws of Great Qian, I may not be casually subjected to torture! How can you disregard the law like this? My mother is a fifth-rank Yiren personally conferred by His Majesty and has the right to submit a memorial directly to the emperor. She will surely report this to the Son of Heaven!”
A cold gleam burst from Tang Jinxian’s beautiful eyes.
“When you abused and humiliated those innocent women, did you ever think that one day, you too would taste the same pain?”
“My lord, I am wronged! This student has no idea what you are talking about!”
Wu cried out loudly in grievance. “This student has always abided by the law and devoted himself to his studies. I have never committed any criminal act. If you do not believe me, go ask my mother. You cannot torture me! This is against the law!”
Tang Jinxian was too lazy to waste words with him. She circulated her power and brought her slender fingers together to form a spell seal.
The rope binding Wu immediately began to tighten slowly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Ah—”
In just moments, the rope had squeezed Wu until his face swelled red and purple, and he began to howl in agony.
“Even now, you still refuse to admit that you are the murderer who tortured and killed those women? Speak. Who is your other accomplice?”
Tang Jinxian pressed him harshly.
“I… I truly do not know… ah… I am wronged…” Wu forced out broken groans of pain through gritted teeth.
Tang Jinxian’s gaze turned colder, and she formed another hand seal.
The straw rope tightened further.
One could even hear the faint cracking sounds of Wu’s joints being compressed.
Jiang Mu stared fixedly at the screaming Wu, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.
For some reason, he felt a strong sense that something was off.
“This isn’t right.”
“What?”
Tang Jinxian turned her head to look at him.
Just as Jiang Mu was about to voice his doubts, the prison door was suddenly pushed open. The female officer Xiuxiu returned, hurrying to Tang Jinxian’s side with a grave expression and reporting in a low voice,
“My lord, someone just filed a report. Madam Yan of Wenji Trading Firm has been kidnapped. A passerby claims to have witnessed the culprit’s movements, and Deputy Commissioner Yu has personally led men to pursue and investigate.”
Madam Yan?
Hearing that familiar name, Jiang Mu could not help but pause.
Was she not the forceful widow he had visited on the first day of the investigation?
Her son, Wen Yu, had even childishly threatened him at the time to stay away from Shi Xueying.
“That woman was actually kidnapped…”
Jiang Mu subconsciously looked at the howling Wu, and a thought suddenly arose in his mind.
“Chief Commissioner Tang, we may have been set up.”