Chapter 179: Missing
Hearing that a Lady Shang had come looking for him, Dan Dajun set down his tea cup, pondered for a moment, picked up the hat on the table and put it on, gripped his saber, and strode out.
Shang Wan had come to gather information; she wanted to know if Lin Jianshui had confessed about that whole mess behind the scenes as agreed.
Of course, she couldn’t ask directly like that, since in Dan Dajun’s eyes, she shouldn’t know about these matters at all.
“It’s been two days with no news; the villagers are worried about being implicated and asked me to inquire if the Lin Family’s forging of the official seal has been settled?”
Dan Dajun gave her a look with unclear meaning. “That family has been crying injustice ever since they were thrown into prison, claiming they were framed, and that they never forged the official seal.”
Shang Wan pretended not to notice the depth in Dan Dajun’s eyes, raised her eyebrow slightly, and asked curiously: “So what does the county magistrate mean? If it’s cleared up, I can go back and explain to the villagers; everyone’s been on edge day and night, unable to even sleep well.”
Seeing Shang Wan’s expression unchanged, Dan Dajun’s eyes flickered slightly; he glanced around and, seeing no one paying attention, said in a low voice: “The lord’s meaning is that the human evidence and physical evidence are conclusive.”
After speaking, he casually bent his finger and tapped on the hilt of his official saber.
Seeing his action, Shang Wan lowered her gaze, her thoughts racing.
Since the Lin Family wouldn’t admit to forging the official seal, there was naturally no confession; with only physical evidence, how could it be called conclusive human and physical evidence?
For Dan Dajun to say this now was nothing more than giving her a hint that something had changed in this case.
Tapping the official saber likely had two meanings: first, the Lin Family members were surely doomed; second, the change was related to an official.
It seemed Lin Jianshui had indeed kept the agreement and spilled everything in prison.
This case involved many people; as long as the county magistrate wasn’t a fool, he would suppress it immediately, whether investigated or not.
The subsequent handling would either keep it suppressed forever or toss this hot potato.
Dan Dajun had always wanted to transfer to the prefectural city to handle affairs for Lord An, and since Lord An looked upon her favorably, he was willing to do her favors on many matters.
Now that Dan Dajun was willing to give her this hint, the county magistrate must have chosen the second option: to bring this matter to Lord An and let her take over.
With Lord An taking over, they wouldn’t have to worry about the case anymore.
Figuring out the twists and turns, Shang Wan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that her days of effort hadn’t been wasted.
“Then I can go back and give the villagers an explanation. Thanks, officer.” Shang Wan smiled, flicked her wrist lightly, and bid farewell to Dan Dajun.
Watching the ox cart drive far away, Dan Dajun reached into his sleeve, pulled out a small piece of silver fragment, and weighed it—it was about two taels.
This Lady Shang was not only skilled in lightness kung fu, but her hand kung fu was also impressive.
His lip corner curved up; he put the silver back into his sleeve, hands behind his back, and leisurely returned to the county yamen.
It was a clear, cloudless fine day, with the scorching sun enthusiastically embracing the earth.
Unable to bear such enthusiasm, as the sun rose higher, fewer and fewer pedestrians were on the road.
Shang Wan stopped the ox cart at the doorway of a restaurant and said to the three people on the cart: “Let’s eat lunch here; there are plenty of people, so the meals should taste good.”
Though the restaurant’s facade was small, it was cleaned spotlessly, with waves of meal aromas wafting out, tempting one’s appetite.
“Gurgle~”
Chu Xu’s stomach called out right on cue; he clutched his belly, his face flushing red.
Shang Wan smilingly ruffled his head and lifted the child down.
Xiao Huan also carried Yuan Yuan off the cart; a shop assistant came out to take the ox cart and tied the reins to a nearby tree trunk, with someone specially watching, so there was no worry about things on the ox cart being stolen.
The restaurant had plenty of dishes; Shang Wan told the three to order first while she stepped out.
Xiao Huan didn’t ask what she was going to do and focused on helping the two children order.
Shang Wan walked out of the restaurant, turned into a small alley, leaped onto the rooftops, and moved like a gust of wind, vanishing in a flash.
“Long Ling Escort Agency?” The information broker squatted at the alley mouth, chewing on a stalk of grass. “If it’s big news, they say the second boss of Long Ling Escort Agency has gone missing, and the escort agency folks are searching everywhere for him.”
Missing?
At this critical juncture, going missing—could Sang Qi have gotten wind of something?
Shang Wan frowned, arms crossed against the wall, staring at the grass bobbing up and down in his mouth, and asked: “Where is he?”
“Add money.” The information broker turned his head and straightforwardly held out his hand.
Shang Wan’s eyes darkened slightly; Qiao Yu’an’s men sent to tail him had all lost him, yet the information broker knew Sang Qi’s whereabouts—this guy indeed had some skills.
She stared at the information broker’s open palm and asked: “How much to add?”
“Ten taels.” The information broker spat out the grass stem, as if knowing what Shang Wan would say, he raised his index finger and wagged it at her. “Flat price, no haggling.”
Shang Wan narrowed her eyes slightly and expressionlessly began rolling her wrists.
Seeing this, the information broker’s eyelids twitched; he quickly said: “Buy one get one free; I can throw in a piece of news.”
Shang Wan paused her movements and glanced sideways at him. “What news?”
“Related to you.” The information broker quietly backed away; leaning against the wall felt safer.
“Investigating Sang Qi’s whereabouts cost me quite some effort. For an old customer, ten taels buy one get one free is already a great deal.”
“Five taels.” Shang Wan immediately cut it in half.
The information broker: “…”
He cursed under his breath and turned to run.
Shang Wan’s figure flickered, and she grabbed him back like catching a chick.
“No one does business like you!” The information broker struggled furiously in her grasp, inwardly cursing himself for not bringing a guard. “Let go! I’m not selling the news anymore!”
Seeing she’d truly annoyed him, Shang Wan said calmly: “Four taels.”
The information broker doubted his ears.
Four taels should be less than five, right?
He stopped struggling and looked up at Shang Wan with the eyes one uses for a weirdo.
How could such a young person’s brain go wrong?
Shang Wan raised her hand and smacked his forehead. “Two taels, plus doing one thing for you—deal?”
The information broker’s head buzzed from the slap; he was about to refuse when he heard the added condition and immediately stopped struggling, lowering his eyes to think.
He scowled and twisted a bit. “Let me go.”
Shang Wan released him as told; the information broker lowered his head to straighten his disheveled collar, and once he looked presentable again, he looked at Shang Wan. “Anything goes?”
Shang Wan gave him a blank look and added conditions. “Nothing against morality, nothing endangering family.”
The information broker pondered for a moment and nodded. “Fine, deal.”
He pulled out paper and pen from his bosom, scribbled a note, and handed it over for Shang Wan to sign.
Ever since deciding to properly learn to read and not be illiterate, Shang Wan hadn’t slacked off.
Through day after day of effort, though her writing still looked like dog scratches, basic common characters no longer stumped her.
After all, she wasn’t truly starting from zero; once she grasped the patterns, she could recognize most characters by guessing.
The note contained their agreement; she glanced at it and saw no issue, so Shang Wan took the pen and signed.
