All rivers and mountains are safe

Shen Mingan knew that what Wei Boran said was true, but this doubt was enough to show that the case back then was not that simple, so he forced himself to calm down, "Can we find out that the case was handled by those people?"

"Do you suspect that there was a problem with the trial of the case back then?"

"Ah."

Wei Boran got up and walked behind the wooden frame, "I'll go and have a look, I should be able to find it."

Shen Mingan responded, his face flushed slightly, and he coughed uncontrollably while propping up the wooden frame, Liu Heyu patted his back lightly to help him breathe.

Liu Heyu helped Shen Mingan hold the paper in his hand, looked over and over at the paper with the long machete drawn on it, and muttered in a low voice, "Isn't this a Husa knife?"

Shen Mingan subconsciously asked: "What knife?"

"Husa Knife." Although Liu Heyu didn't know why Shen Mingan suddenly came to Dali Temple to look for files, but from the conversation between Shen Mingan and Wei Boran just now, he could also know that this matter was important. He said uncertainly: "I got lost when I was a child. Before I was taken in by my husband to the Imperial College, I had been begging for a living in the suburbs of Shangjing. There are everyone in the suburbs, and some people sell this kind of knife. It looks similar to the one in this picture."

"Then do you know who is selling the knife?"

"They spoke with an accent, saying that this knife is also called Achang knife, which is unique to their hometown. It is soft and sharp, but very few people buy it. Later, I curiously asked the person who brought me to beg, Only then did I know that this knife came from the Northwest."

Shen Mingan felt strange, "Since this knife is sharp, why are there so few people buying it?"

"Because very few people know how to use it." Liu Heyu said: "This knife can be worn around the waist when not in use, and it can be turned into the original shape when it is pulled out when in use. The people who sell it are Rong people, and many people don't know how to use it, so Most of the people who buy knives are Rong people."

When Shen Mingan heard his words, his complexion suddenly became very bad. He really remembered that when he was hiding in the closet, the few people he saw had different looks, and they also spoke with foreign accents.

If so, the murderer of the Shen family extermination case is most likely not a bandit, but a Rong.

Wei Boran walked around from behind the two of them, he obviously also heard what Liu and Yu said just now, "Did your parents ever feud with the Rong people?"

"Never."

Jiangzhou is located in the south, far away from the northwest, and it is not a transportation hub. There are few Rong people, and the Shen family has no contact with the Rong people.

Wei Boran handed the stack of papers in his hand to Shen Ming'an, "The people who handled the case back then are all here, and I also found out the records of their promotion and transfer, you can take a look first."

The case took place in Jiangzhou, and all the people involved were officials who worked in Jiangzhou at that time.

Shen Mingan looked through it carefully, and saw a familiar name in an inconspicuous corner. His heart was shocked, and he looked at Wei Boran, "Was the county magistrate Wu Jitong when he tried the case?"

Wei Boran thought the name was familiar, but couldn't remember where he had heard it before, and looked at him in confusion.

Shen Mingan said in a difficult voice: "A few years ago, he served as the magistrate of Tongzhou. He was intervened because of the collusion between the government and businessmen. The case was tried in Dali Temple. Last year when Lu Ciheng and I went to Yizhou for inspection, we found that he was the magistrate of Yizhou. At that time, we also lived in his residence."

As soon as Shen Mingan mentioned it, Wei Boran came to his senses, "I still have an impression of this person. I suspected that his official was bought, but there was no evidence, so I had to give up. I remember that the first emperor demoted him to Tongzhou. , In just a few short years, he actually climbed to Yizhou Zhizhou again."

"The county magistrate returned home during the trial of this case. After the case was over, Wu Jitong was promoted to magistrate." Shen Mingan read it carefully, took a deep breath, but still couldn't stop his trembling hands, "that is It is very likely that Wu Jitong is solely responsible for the trial of this case."

The official position of the county magistrate is second only to the county magistrate, and the magistrate is usually assisted by the county magistrate when adjudicating cases. The magistrate retires halfway and returns to his hometown. The government cannot find a replacement for the time being. It is reasonable and very possible for the county magistrate to handle the trial on his behalf. .

Although Wei Boran didn't like Wu Jitong's character, his reaction to Shen Ming'an was a bit unclear, so he asked, "Is there something wrong with this person?"

Shen Mingan was tense and didn't know how to speak.

From this case alone, it doesn't mean that the Shen family's case was heard by Wu Jitong, but before in Yizhou, Wu Jitong once said that Wang Xingyan was his close friend, and Wang Xingyan even stayed in Wu Jitong's house all the time. Even the jade pendant was given to him by Wang Xingyan.

And his parents didn't have any contact with the Rong people, but Wang Xingyan was a businessman, so it was inevitable that he would deal with the Rong people. What's more, when Shen Mingan was in Wang Xingyan's residence when he was young, he often heard people say that he had always had business with the Rong people. But Shen Mingan didn't care about it at all.

Shen Ming'an felt cold all over his body, he had a faint guess in his heart, he couldn't help thinking that maybe Wang Xingyan and Wu Jitong had known each other as early as when Wu Jitong was the magistrate of Jiangzhou County.

Wei Boran saw that Shen Mingan was in a state of anxiety, and was about to ask again, when he heard a young man knocking on the door of the filing cabinet, urging him respectfully, "Master Wei, it's almost time."

"Okay." Wei Boran straightened his wrinkled official uniform, and said to Shen Ming'an: "Today there is a case to be tried in Dali Temple, and the time is almost up, so I can get through it now."

Shen Mingan clutched the paper in his hand, feeling a bit out of sorts, "Well, I'll look at it myself, I'll trouble you today."

"A few years ago, Wu Jitong's case file was on the shelf near the door. You should be able to find it if you look for it." Before leaving, Wei Boran seemed to want to say something to Shen Mingan, but after hesitating for a moment, he didn't make a sound, and stepped out. gone.

It took too much time to find the dossier, now it was past noon, the rain and snow outside were gradually increasing, the door of the dossier pavilion was half closed, the wind blew moisture in from the outside, Shen Mingan's hands and feet felt cold, and he felt a little unwell.

He walked to the wooden shelf next to the door, and glanced over the rows of wooden shelves. On the top floor, he saw the file of Wu Jitong's trial a few years ago. He raised his hand to take it, but he hadn't touched it yet. The child in the womb kicked him a few times, moving very frequently, Shen Mingan stretched his hand halfway, and suddenly grabbed the partition of the wooden frame, the veins on the back of his hand protruded, his forehead rested on his forearm, and he couldn't help panting for pain. .

He put his palm on his stomach to comfort him, "Don't move, be more obedient."

As if he could understand Shen Mingan's words, after a few breaths, the child in his womb really settled down gradually, and didn't move around anymore.

Shen Mingan slowed down for a moment, then stood on tiptoe and took down the file from the shelf.

Shen Ming'an was no stranger to the content in the dossier. At that time, Wu Jitong was involved in the trial. Shen Ming'an attended the whole process. Wu Jitong was involved in the case because of the collusion between officials and businessmen when he was an official in Tongzhou. The evidence was solid, and Wu Jitong himself admitted it.

But at this time, Shen Ming'an dug up these things again, only to find that Wu Jitong's relevant materials during the trial did not mention that he had served as county magistrate and county magistrate in Jiangzhou, as if he had suddenly become magistrate of Tongzhou.

Not only that, Wu Jitong's name did not appear in the entire file of the Shen family. If Wei Boran hadn't found out the official who handled the file, Shen Ming'an would not have thought of Wu Jitong at all, nor would he have noticed him.

Wu Jitong didn't leave his name in the dossier, in order to clear the relationship. The place where the presiding judge of the case was left was the county magistrate who had retired and returned to his hometown at that time. Wu Jitong, as the county magistrate, did not appear at all.

But he can't hide from the list of officials who handled the case. In other words, unless the case has problems and needs to be reopened, the officials who handled the case will not be found out at all. Wu Jitong doesn't care about this. On the contrary, he can use this case to be promoted .

Shen Mingan guessed that Wu Jitong had not been serving as the county magistrate and county magistrate in Jiangzhou for a long time. He regarded this period of experience as a way of transition and promotion, and after he successfully took the post of magistrate of Tongzhou, his period of office was deliberately wiped out. went.

As for why it was erased and by whom, Shen Mingan didn't dare to think about it.

But he suspects that it has something to do with the Shen family's case back then.