As he stepped into the hall, Xu Qian could feel the razor sharp gaze on him.
The one in the goose-patterned scarlet robe would be the governor. The middle-aged man with the silver embroidery would be the Night Squad. 'Damn, the lady is pretty… I wonder if she's married?'
A quick glance at her chest stemmed his excitement.
Xu Qian lowered his head to express his obeisance.
On the high seat, Governor Chen adopted a strict demeanor as he questioned, "Xu Qian, why did you not reveal the information three days before when we found you? Do you know the penalty of withholding information?"
The governor was a seasoned court official—although he was anxious to hear what the prisoner had to say, he refrained from revealing his eagerness.
Being granted an audience meant Xu Qian's plan was halfway to success. He maintained his composure as he said, "Governor, I only received the investigation details when Xu Xinnian visited me."
First, tell the truth.
The trio knew Xu Pingzhi's eldest son because they had interrogated him as well.
"What does it have to do with what you know?" Governor Chen asked.
"I deduced the truth from the details written on the scroll."
"Hold on," the governor interjected and leaned forward. "The scroll?"
That was not what he was expecting.
Xu Qian nodded and said, "I have solved the case."
Governor Chen held back from chasing the man out of the room. With a stern expression, he warned, "Say your piece but let me warn you, nonsense will get you 200 lashes that will strip your meat from your bone."
"The disappearance of the tax money was done by humans, not monsters."
The statement shocked the trio.
Governor Chen slammed his hand down on the table and shouted, "Nonsense! Guard, take him back to jail. Add 200 lashes to his punishment."
The robbery was done by monsters—it was the consensus they had come to.
Any hope for a breakthrough was utterly dashed after hearing what Xu Qian had to say.
Evidently, it was an act of desperation.
Curiosity flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. He waved away the bailiff and said, "Governor Chen, let's not be hasty."
He turned to Xu Qian with an expectant look. "Carry on."
Governor Chen was a temperamental man. Xu Qian knew he had to take this opportunity to showcase his skills. "According to the city guards on the gates, my uncle entered the city at 6.30 in the morning. At 7.15 in the morning, the group arrived at Guangnan Street. At that point, a demonic wind blew and the spooked horses ran into the river."
Xu Qian made sure his voice was calm and level in order to appear confident.
Governor Chen nodded. "We surmised the monster was hidden in the river to ambush the cargo."
"No!" Xu Qian rebuked. "The demonic wind and the river explosion were just distractions. There is one discrepancy that tipped off the mastermind's plan."
"What's that?" Governor Chen asked eagerly.
The middle-aged man leaned forward, straining his ears to listen.
The young woman dressed in a yellow robe suckled on her honey-coated candy. Her sharp, animated eyes locked onto Xu Qian, an amused expression on her face.
They had gone through the scroll many times and knew the case like the back of their hands. What did they miss?
"My uncle was delivering a cargo of 150,000 silver taels. Do any of you know the actual weight of the cargo?"
The middle-aged man was stoic. The young woman angled her head, deep in thought.
Unimpressed, Governor Chen said, "Don't beat around the bush."
Xu Qian had intended to drop hints so the trio could arrive at the correct conclusion themselves. His intentions were clearly not appreciated.
'You ancient people are a bit slow, aren't you?' Xu Qian thought. "The answer is 9,375
Based on the traditional unit of mass, 16 taels made 1 catty—150,000 silver taels was 9,375 catties heavy.
The middle-aged man frowned. Had he caught onto something?
"What is the significance?" the young woman asked.
Her voice rang clear as a bell.
'Clearly you're not the brightest bulb,' Xu Qian thought.
"How far are the city gates to Guangnan Street?
The middle-aged man replied, "30 miles."
"How many towns are on the way?"
"Four."
"What is the pace of tired horses?"
"Tired horses…" The middle-aged man's eyes widened. He rose from his seat.
The man was enlightened as evidenced by his shocked expression.
Three days of tracking and hunting had proved fruitless. As an experienced member of the Night Squad, he had an inkling something was not right.
However, he could not come up with a better explanation so he went along with the monster theory.
Governor Chen felt his skin prickle. His inability to solve the case led to a bruised ego.
He shot a glance at the young woman and was relieved to find her looking clueless as well.
The young woman asked in a bored tone, "Where's the problem?"
The middle-aged man said excitedly, "The timing doesn't fit. Guangnan Street is 30 miles from the city gates and they had to pass through four towns. If they entered the gates at 6.30 in the morning, they could not have reached Guangnan Street at 7.15."
He had latched onto the most obvious theory that a monster was involved in the disappearance of the tax money. However, with Xu Qian's help, Li Yuchun was able to see the discrepancies.
The young woman said in a crisp tone, "Eyewitnesses can corroborate the cargo was on Guangnan Street at 7.15 in the morning. There's no way the common folk lied."
"That's right." Governor Chen agreed.
The middle-aged man turned to look at Xu Qian.
Xu Qian said with unshakeable confidence, "The load they were escorting was not silver taels."
"Nonsense! Are you saying your uncle and the escorting soldiers are blind? There were many bystanders on scene to witness the silvers fall into the river," Governor Chen retorted.
He waved the scroll in his hand and asked, "Are you telling me even the script is a lie?"
"The eyes can be fooled. I can illustrate my points. Can I have some paper and ink?" Xu Qian gestured to the stationery on the table.
Governor Chen gave his consent.
Xu Qian dragged the manacles with every step he took. He added some water into the inkstone and began grinding. He spread out some paper and got to work.
He wrote down his request and handed it to Governor Chen. "If you could please arrange for these to be prepared."
Governor Chen read the request and was confused.
"Allow me." The young woman wanted to join in on the fun and asked for the sheet.
She was equally confused.
Li Yuchun glanced at the paper and maintained a stoic expression. He flattened the paper before handing it back to the governor.