Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

Zhang San walked into the cell where the hornet was.

In fact, he had no hope of getting any information from the wasp.

“Which one are you drawing now?”

The painter said, "I am painting Luo Awu."

Zhang San picked up the unfinished portrait and examined it carefully while saying, "You know what, it really does look like Hu Zi without a beard..."

The wasp looked at Zhang San in slight surprise and said nothing.

Zhang San said, "Let's not beat around the bush. Just explain it yourself."

Ma Feng smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, since you asked me to explain, then I guess what others have said does not satisfy you. I don't need to repeat what others have said, and I can't explain what others have not said."

After saying that, Mafeng closed his eyes, leaned against the wall, and ignored Zhang San.

Although Ma Feng didn't say anything, Zhang San was basically certain from his words that these people's affairs were indeed not that simple.

If it were that simple, what difference would it make if we hired two more people?

Could it be that those two people will reveal what they have done?

……

After the second jump, he started sweating profusely from the moment Li Si said that Asong and Abai had already confessed.

"Now that Asong and Bo have confessed, there's no need for you to cover up for them. Tell me, how did you get separated from Alu and Aze?"

Er Tiao raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his forehead and said, "My Lord, we were dispersed by other bandits."

Li Si frowned: "Were they dispersed in Yun Province? Didn't they come here with you?"

Er Tiao's eyes wandered back and forth: "No, we were just there and were dispersed by other bandits."

"I think you are the one who is not telling the truth. Others have said that Alu Aze came here with you guys, and you are still fooling me."

As he spoke, Li Si winked at both sides.

The officer on the side received the instruction and immediately pinned Ertiao down and prepared to beat him.

Er Tiao shouted hurriedly: "Sir, Sir, we really were dispersed."

Li Si ignored him and just watched him shouting.

Ertiao shouted for mercy while insisting that they were to be dispersed.

After beating for a long time, Li Si saw that it was impossible to get any more out of the man, so he ordered his men to stop.

"I don't care how you guys dispersed. Now let the artist draw a portrait of Aluaze. You'd better cooperate. Otherwise, don't blame the board for being ruthless."

After saying this, Li Si turned and left.

After asking questions, Zhang San and Li Si met up to discuss the matter, and both felt that they would probably not reveal any useful information in the future.

I guess once those two people are found, they could lead to a bigger case.

As expected, soon, the portraits of Aluaze drawn according to the descriptions of several people were completed.

Well, the portrait was drawn, but it seemed to be based on the beardless Luo Awu.

But they couldn't find any fault. After all, Luo Alu and Luo Aze were brothers, so it was normal for them to look alike.

The two men went to see Qin Yunhe with the portrait and the questions they had asked.

"...They didn't even admit to having committed any crime on the way here. Could it be that they committed a serious crime on the way here that they can't admit to?"

"Did you ask them the route they took when they came here?"

"Your Excellency, I have asked. That route is the usual route to Yun Province. I am planning to check later to see if there have been any major cases along this route in recent years."

Qin Yunhe nodded and said, "No matter whether these portraits are correct or not, let's post them first. Also post the portrait of Luo Awu without a beard together.

Send more runners to deliver portraits to various counties. After they have delivered them, they don’t have to rush back. They can wait until everything is done and see if anyone reports to the authorities before returning.”

Zhang San hesitated and said, "Sir, wouldn't it be a bad idea for our staff to stay there and watch the postings..."

It seems as if he doesn't trust the local county government.

Li Chang said, "Tsk, why would you ask such a question? When an official is on a business trip, he naturally has to go shopping and buy some local specialties."

Zhang San also laughed and said, "That's right, I actually forgot."

Many copies of the new portrait were drawn, and a new round of posting began in full swing from the government office to the counties.

Ten days had passed since Qin Yunhe was called in for questioning. The prefect did not receive any news about Qin Yunhe's case being closed, but instead received another reward for his portrait with great fanfare.

I only found out about this after I called them over and asked them.

We said before that if there were no new clues the case would be closed, but now, even though there are clues, there really hasn’t been much progress; and even though there are no new clues, there haven’t really been any discoveries.

This would make it difficult for Qin Yunhe to close the case.

But when I saw Gu Zhi again the next day, I couldn't help but shake my head.

"...This is the first time that this kind of investigation has been seen. So many rewards have been offered for one case. Brother, you are really..."

Gu Zhizhi smiled and said, "Otherwise, how can we say that Yunhe is lucky to have a boss as tolerant and considerate as you, sir..."

Qi Tong was once again amused by Gu Zhi's familiar flattery, and raised his finger to point at Gu Zhi: "You, Minqian, I think your flattery skills can be improved to a higher level just for your junior brother."

After saying this, both of them laughed at the same time.

Qi Tong looked at the chessboard, pondered with the chess pieces, and suddenly said, "Hey, it suddenly occurred to me that the magistrate of Pingle County seemed to have served in Tashi County."

He raised his hand and called over an officer: "Go to the government office and tell Qin Tuiguan that Zhao Youwei, the magistrate of Pingle County, once served in Tashi County. It would be better to ask him about the situation in Tashi County."

The officer took his orders and left. Qi Tong returned to the chessboard and suddenly came to his senses. He smiled and said, "How could I be so crazy? I was thinking about some clues about Tashi County while playing chess..."

"Your Excellency is wise and dedicated to public affairs, haha..."

Gu Zhi put down a piece, picked up several black pieces and threw them into the Go pot beside him.

Qin Yunhe was overjoyed when he received this information. He quickly wrote a letter and ordered a runner to rush to Pingle County at full speed.

A few days later, the messenger came back first.

"…Sir, Zhao Da asked me to report to you that when the notice was posted over there, a yamen runner said that he seemed to have seen a person who looked very similar to the portrait and often went to see their squad leader Pan Qing.

But what happened is that when Zhao Da wanted to find Pan Qing, the yamen runner said that Pan Bantou had been missing for several months..."

"How many months has he been missing?" Qin Yunhe stood up excitedly: "How did he disappear? Didn't Pingle County look for him? Why did Luo Awu go looking for him?"

"I heard from him that the magistrate had posted a notice offering a huge reward to anyone who could provide clues. But several months have passed and the man has still not been found."

"Have you asked Pan Bantou's family? Doesn't his family have any clues?"

"Your Excellency, I have asked around, and the Pan family has been in a mess these past few months.

Pan Qing came from another place to take up the post with the county magistrate. He had no regular relatives here, but only a few concubines.

After Pan Qing disappeared, the family was leaderless. Some of the concubines who saw the opportunity early packed up their belongings and ran away; some greedy ones secretly sold off their family property, hoping to take more away. Some who had nowhere to go stayed in Pan's house and quarreled all day long.

It is said that the county government had sent people to frighten them and make them behave themselves."

Qin Yunhe calmed down after hearing this, sat back down and asked, "Where is this Pan Qing from?"

"I asked the yamen runners there, and they all said that Pan Qing claimed to be from the south, but he didn't specify where his ancestral home was. We, as runners, can't ask Magistrate Zhao about this, but Zhao Da guessed that he probably came here from Yun Province."