TGCFNM -Chapter 214 Boss Bao Reports a Case

After taking the sheet of paper and examining it carefully, Chu Ling hesitated and said, “This looks like a banknote… but not quite a banknote. Yet it has denominations and official seals on it.”

“Let’s ask Sanjin when we get back. His family runs money houses—he should recognize it,” Su He said.

Chu Ling nodded and carefully put the paper away. Then she looked at Su He and instructed, “Scorch the clothes a bit—make them look like they’ve already been burned.”

Su He acknowledged and returned to the morgue to burn the clothes.

At that moment, the Shangguan brothers, along with Zhao Yu and Nangong Yuankang, brought over the charred corpse. Chu Ling told them to carry it straight inside.

After setting down the body and coming back out, Chu Ling thanked them. “You’ve worked hard. Go back for now. If we uncover anything, we’ll open court and try the case.”

They agreed, cupped their fists in farewell, and left one after another.

Nangong Yuankang hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, “The elders in the Nangong family said they’ll handle it. And I think the Sun family doesn’t dare continue that business anymore.”

Chu Ling nodded. “As long as they stop selling Yuling Powder, then everyone will be fine.”

Nangong Yuankang instinctively asked, “And if they dare to continue?”

“When Nangong Baihu arrives, I’ll inform her first. If anyone truly dares, she’ll clean house for His Majesty,” Chu Ling replied.

Nangong Yuankang shuddered and hurriedly cupped his fists before running off.

Chu Ling couldn’t help curling her lips into a smile. With her hands clasped behind her back, she said, “If Nangong Baihu finds out, she’ll likely handle it quietly. If a collateral branch makes one wrong move, it will also affect the main family in the capital.”

Ghost Scholar lightly shook his folding fan and said, “The Nangong family is deeply trusted by His Majesty. As long as their ambitions aren’t too great, even if the dynasty changes, they won’t be too severely affected.”

“Let’s hope so.” After speaking, Chu Ling turned to look at the half-closed doors of the morgue, waiting for Su He’s autopsy results.

An hour later—

Su He opened the door with a weary expression and stuck his head out. “The autopsy is finished.”

Chu Ling glanced at the visibly nervous Madam Qi and asked in a deep voice, “What are the findings?”

Su He let out a long sigh, bracing himself against the doorframe, his face full of exhaustion and reluctance. “There was a large amount of sedative in Madam Qi’s body—enough to keep her unconscious for three days and three nights. And the effect of this drug is such that even upon waking, her body would remain stiff and require a full month to recover.”

“What?!” Chu Ling clenched her jaw. “What else?”

Su He frowned, his expression grim. “Madam Qi was burned extremely severely. Her chest and nasal cavities were filled with smoke and soot. Her internal organs were badly scorched, her blood nearly burned dry, and her legs were completely deformed. I also noticed a strong smell of fire oil on her body, so it’s likely her clothes were set on fire first.”

Chu Ling cursed outright, “This was clearly deliberate! This is murder!”

What nonsense about dying for love—this Qi family truly has no shame!

“Open a case file immediately for Madam Qi’s death. Her remains will be temporarily kept in the morgue. No one is allowed near them or to take them away. The same goes for Master Qi’s remains.” Chu Ling then looked at Su He again. “Borrow some men from Qinglong to guard the morgue. No idle persons are to approach.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Chu Ling unconsciously touched her sleeve and murmured softly, “The origin of this incident is likely because of this sheet of paper. I must find out exactly what it means.”

—

After returning to the yamen, Chu Ling went straight to find Wan Sanjin. She handed him the piece of paper and asked, “Do you know what this is? Is it a banknote?”

Wan Sanjin looked at the paper, one corner of it burnt away. He turned it over and over, examining it carefully before saying in confusion, “It looks like a banknote… but it also doesn’t quite look like one.”

“You don’t know either?” Chu Ling rubbed her temples with a headache. “This is key evidence Su He found hidden in the lining of Master Qi’s clothes, yet we can’t even figure out what it is.”

Wan Sanjin folded the paper again and said to Chu Ling, “No matter. My elder brother will be arriving soon. He’s seen much and knows much—he should recognize what this is.”

“Your elder brother is coming?” Chu Ling asked in puzzlement. “What is he coming for?”

Wan Sanjin handed the paper back to her and said with a grin, “My Lord, have you forgotten? Didn’t you gift all of Miss Cheng’s IOUs to my elder brother? Naturally, he’s coming this time to dominate Dongle City and squeeze the aristocratic families’ businesses until they can’t survive.”

Chu Ling looked a little surprised. “Of course I remember. I just didn’t expect him to come so quickly.”

“That’s only natural. This time, my elder brother is coming for revenge,” Wan Sanjin said.

Chu Ling propped her chin on her hand with a faint smile. “It’s good that your elder brother is coming. He can deal with those collateral branches of the great families here and make life difficult for them.”

“My Lord, rest assured. My elder brother is definitely here to settle scores. He absolutely won’t let them off easily,” Wan Sanjin patted his chest in guarantee.

Chu Ling nodded in relief. “Then I’m at ease.”

At that moment, Zhang Dong hurried over, cupping his hands toward Chu Ling with an anxious expression.

“My Lord, Boss Bao requests an audience. There’s been a death.”

Chu Ling’s expression changed. “Bring him in.”

“My Lord, Boss Bao is already in the main hall of the yamen, beating the grievance drum to seek justice,” Zhang Dong said.

Chu Ling frowned slightly. “Understood. I’ll change into my official robes at once. Advisor Wan, go and make preparations.”

Wan Sanjin acknowledged and quickly went ahead with Zhang Dong to stabilize the situation.

After changing into her official robes, Chu Ling hurried to the main hall of the yamen.

Upon arriving, she glanced at the bloodstained stretcher below the hall, then took her seat beneath the plaque and struck the sounding block with a sharp crack. “Who reports this case? What grievance do you present?”

Boss Bao cupped his hands, his eyes red. “My Lord, it was this commoner, Bao Hu, who beat the grievance drum to report the case.”

With that, he dropped to one knee and pulled away the white cloth covering the stretcher, revealing a face beaten so badly it was a bloody blur.

“My Lord, I have a grievance! I accuse the Lin family’s servant of beating my brother to death! He was only in his twenties. He married just last year—his daughter is still in swaddling clothes. How could they be so cruel?!”

Chu Ling frowned and ordered, “Men! Go to the Lin residence and bring the person here.”

Boss Bao bowed again from his kneeling position. “My Lord, this commoner is willing to lead the way and capture that villain himself!”

Chu Ling nodded in agreement and selected several constables to accompany Boss Bao to arrest the suspect.

Wan Sanjin leaned in at that moment and lowered his voice. “I made some inquiries among the townsfolk. The deceased’s name was Liu Fu, one of Boss Bao’s men. He usually did manual labor like hauling goods to earn some hard-earned money. With Boss Bao backing him, no one ordinarily dared to bully him, so he managed to live decently.”

Chu Ling understood. The deceased was one of Boss Bao’s underlings, and now that underling had been beaten to death for no apparent reason. Whether to preserve his own authority or to give his brother justice, this was something Boss Bao had to take charge of.