Chapter 82 Case Facts
Chapter 82 Case

Ye Xuan understood that the stack of files in front of him must belong to Fatty Huang.

He concentrated and thought quietly as he flipped through the pages. After about a quarter of an hour, Ye Xuan put the file down with a heavy face.

"How about it, what did you find out?" Mao Xiang raised the corner of his mouth slightly and looked at Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan did not answer immediately, but continued to think for a while.

The records in the file were naturally more detailed than what Huang Ying said, and because of this, more details were revealed to Ye Xuan.

According to the file records, one of Fatty Huang's informants was named Zhao Wu, who was originally a local scoundrel. He was recruited by Fatty Huang as an informant because he was familiar with the area. The two of them had similar interests and got along very well, and often got together to visit brothels and drink wine.

Ever since Fatty Huang got a promotion, Zhao Wu has become more and more flattering to him, and their relationship has become better and better, until in the end they are like real brothers.

One day, Zhao Wu approached Fatty Huang and told him that a family in the south of the city who ran a restaurant had borrowed twenty taels of silver from him and had been reluctant to return it, so he asked Fatty Huang to help him collect the debt.

It can be said that Zhao Wu is a scoundrel and debt collector. He is good at collecting debts and there is no need for him to ask Fatty Huang for help.

But according to Zhao Wu, this family had some connection and actually knew a squad leader of the Yingtian Prefecture Yamen. A rogue like Zhao Wu was most afraid of people in government offices, fearing that he would not be able to control the situation and would end up getting himself into trouble.

Fatty Huang didn't want to go at first. After all, it wouldn't look good if it were known that a deputy captain of the Imperial Guard was collecting debts from a scoundrel.

But he couldn't resist his friendship with Zhao Wu, and after being pestered for a long time and finally promised a reward of ten taels of silver, he agreed for some unknown reason.

That day, Fatty Huang came to collect the debt. Because he was worried about the trouble caused by the leader of Yingtian Prefecture mentioned by Zhao Wu, he deliberately wore the official uniform of the Jinyiwei.

However, the foreman was never seen and the money was not returned.

Because the male head of that family refused to admit that he had borrowed money from Zhao Wu, he suspected that Fatty Huang was blackmailing him by relying on the name of the Jinyiwei.

The hostess of one of the restaurants was even more aggressive. She rolled around in front of the restaurant, saying things like "Jinyiwei smashed the store and extorted money" and so on, attracting a crowd of diners and passers-by in the restaurant.

With so many people, no one was afraid of a single Jinyiwei. They accused Fatty Huang of bullying others by abusing his power and said they would file a complaint with the emperor.

Fatty Huang was now scared. He was afraid that if the matter got out of hand, he would get into trouble for his job, so he did not bother to explain to the people and went home in disgrace.

But the strange thing is that before Fatty Huang had a chance to show off his power that day, he was pointed at by thousands of people and had to flee early.

Normally, the matter would end here, and Fatty Huang would definitely not go to collect debts on behalf of Zhao Wu again.

But the restaurant owner and his wife hanged themselves together, and left a blood letter before they died, accusing Fatty Huang of blackmailing them by relying on his status as a Jinyiwei and threatening to marry their daughter to him if they didn't have money.

The couple was forced into a desperate situation and had no choice but to hang themselves!

As the news spread, the people in the south of the city were immediately outraged. At the recommendation of the people, the local elders went to Yingtian Prefecture to file a complaint.

But no one dared to offend the Jinyiwei, and the government office had no right to arrest the Jinyiwei, so the prefect of Yingtian reported the matter to the emperor. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's personality, he bullied men and women and forced the people to death, so there was no need to say anything, just execute him!

But after all, this matter involves the Jinyiwei. If it gets out of hand and the civil and military officials in the court get hold of it, the impeachment memorial will surely drown Zhu Yuanzhang.

After all, the Jinyiwei is an organization that supervises all officials, and there are countless officials who have committed crimes. Who wouldn’t hope for the death of the Jinyiwei?

So Zhu Yuanzhang rarely suppressed the matter and secretly ordered Mao Xiang to investigate the truth as soon as possible.

If Fatty Huang has nothing to do with it, that would be the best. But if Fatty Huang really forced the people to death, then he should be executed in a low-key manner.

As for the group of people who filed complaints, Zhu Yuanzhang had secretly ordered Yingtian Prefecture to appease them privately. However, there is no wall that is impenetrable. In the past two days, some officials have begun to speak ill of the Jinyiwei in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that they were forcing the people to death.

But since no victim showed up, he could only make indirect attacks.

But this situation will not last long. There are too many people in the south of the city who know about this. Sooner or later, it will be revealed.

The only thing Mao Xiang could do was to settle the case as soon as possible. If he really couldn't prove that Fatty Huang had nothing to do with the case, he could only give an explanation to the victims and the people by taking his head.

Otherwise, the officials in the court who wished the Jinyiwei would be wiped out would definitely use this incident to impeach the Jinyiwei and demand that Zhu Yuanzhang reduce the power of the Jinyiwei or even abolish it altogether.

But the Jinyiwei was a powerful tool for the emperor to monitor all officials. How could Zhu Yuanzhang, a great founding emperor, be willing to give up his military power?
However, this would inevitably lead to fierce conflicts with the civil and military officials. Although Zhu Yuanzhang had plenty of means to deal with these corrupt scholars, he did not want to see discord between the emperor and his subjects.

So Mao Xiang's hair has almost turned white due to worry these two days. When he saw Ye Xuan coming, he thought it was the emperor coming to urge him again.

Ye Xuan touched his chin and expressed his thoughts: "I know Fatty Huang. Although he is a bit unreasonable, he definitely doesn't have the guts to force someone to death or even threaten to forcefully marry a woman."

"This is exactly what's strange." Seeing that Ye Xuan and he were thinking the same thing, Mao Xiang nodded in appreciation and said, "But if he didn't force them to death, then why did the shop owner and his wife hang themselves and leave a blood letter to prove Fatty Huang?"

Ye Xuan was also puzzled and asked, "Is it possible that the blood letter was forged?"

Mao Xiang's admiration grew stronger, but he shook his head and said, "I've asked a senior Jinyiwei to compare the store's account book, and the handwriting is exactly the same as the one written in blood. It can't be a forgery."

This is where the contradiction lies. Fatty Huang said that he did not force anyone to death, but the deceased left a blood letter, which clearly pointed out that Fatty Huang was the one who forced them to death.

Who is lying?
After thinking for a moment, Ye Xuan suddenly said: "We all overlooked one person, that is Zhao Wu!"

"Zhao Wu?" Mao Xiang looked at Ye Xuan in confusion. After a moment, his eyes lit up. "You are so smart. I am really old. I didn't even think of such a big loophole!"

Ye Xuan said modestly, then clasped his fists and asked: "Master Mao, I request that Zhao Wu be arrested immediately!"

Mao Xiang immediately stood up and said solemnly, "Approved, this case will be fully under your charge!"

(End of this chapter)