Young Master Xianya departed with a flourish, leaving Yuan An seething with anger. She turned back and glared at Zhao Lanzhi, shouting, "Constable Zhao! Constable Zhao! You let the murderer go! You let the murderer go!"
Zhao Lanzhi stood his ground, feeling justified, "I've already said it before, there is not enough evidence. We cannot conclusively determine that Young Master Xianya is responsible. Master Ye, let me handle the case."
Yuan An coldly sneered, "You people, you protect each other!"
Enraged, Zhao Lanzhi grabbed Yuan An's small arm and pulled her close, "How many times have you insulted me? Didn't your elders teach you anything? Do you think you are the most outstanding, intelligent, and righteous? You look down on everyone else, don't you? Let me tell you, you are far from it!"
Yuan An shook off Zhao Lanzhi's grip, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears, "No, Constable Zhao! I don't look down on everyone else! I just look down on you! That day, I asked you for three days, and I wanted to prove to you that Xiao Yu is innocent. Now the time has come, I have evidence, I caught the culprit, but you don't believe me! Let me tell you, I won't give up! Not only do I want to clear Xiao Yu's name, but I also want to catch that Third Young Master of the Pei family red-handed. I want him to pay for the lives lost!"
After saying this, Yuan An turned her head and ran outside.
Zhao Lanzhi was once again subject to her scolding, infuriating him, "This- this little rascal!"
Alone, Zhao Lanzhi walked out of the teahouse, feeling annoyed and stifled. On that day, at the ghost market's poison shop, he did indeed find Young Master Xianya's name recorded in the account book. He was surprised but didn't reveal it in front of Yuan An to avoid her rashly concluding that Young Master Xianya was the murderer and had deliberately faked his drowning in the river to lose the account book. He approached Young Master Xianya twice to get an explanation about this, but the sudden visit of Princess Xinghui interrupted him at the Imperial tutor's mansion, and he lost the chance to continue questioning Xianya. After finally managing to bring Xianya out this time, he intended to thoroughly interrogate him, but Yuan An had interfered with his plans. Zhao Lanzhi harbored a grudge against Yuan An's impulsive behavior, but at the same time, he admired her genuine determination. After all, she cared deeply about Xiao Yu.
As Zhao Lanzhi was riding through the streets, contemplating the next steps in the case, he suddenly witnessed a commotion up ahead. Many people were clamoring and competing for something, causing a chaotic scene on the street. Zhao Lanzhi was puzzled and watched from his horse. He noticed a person in the midst of the crowd throwing money around, shouting, "There are gold ingots! Come and pick up the gold ingots!"
Zhao Lanzhi was taken aback, "Is this person crazy? Causing chaos in public?"
Upon closer inspection, he understood the situation. On the other side of the street, several menacing-looking figures were chasing the person who was throwing money. However, the crowd hindered their efforts to catch the person.
"Are they catching a thief? Why don't they shout?" Zhao Lanzhi wondered, "Is the person throwing money a thief? Why are they attracting attention?" he further questioned.
As the saying goes, 'The time that one hesitates is the opportunity that another seizes.' While people were busy bending down to pick up the money, the henchmen noticed the person throwing money and quickly brandished their weapons, heading straight for him. Zhao Lanzhi was shocked, thinking, 'How can they risk people's lives in public? No matter the situation, take them back to the county office for further investigation!' With agile movements, he used qinggong skills to step over the backs of the crowd and dashed toward the person who was throwing money.
When the henchmen saw an officer approaching, they turned and left. The money-thrower shouted with relief, "Thank you! Thank you! Sir, you've saved me!" Extending his arm in a bow, the person revealed a distinct flying eagle tattoo on his wrist. Zhao Lanzhi grabbed him and with a wry smile said, "I've been looking for you for a long time. Let's have a chat at the Luoyang County Office." The person named Li Gui closed his eyes in remorse, muttering, "I can't escape from the temple even if I can outrun a monk."
This person was Li Gui, the salt smuggler who Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan An encountered at the Qianduan Pavilion earlier. On that day, amidst the chaos of the crowd, Li Gui had jumped into the canal, evading Zhao Lanzhi's pursuit. However, he was quickly doublecrossed by his accomplices, who stabbed him and threw his body into the water. Miraculously, Li Gui survived, resurfaced from the water, and escaped to the shore. Because of his wounds, he remained in Luoyang, carefully evading capture for two days. His purpose was to find the underground bank where the salt smugglers stored their ill-gotten gains and reclaim his share, even if it meant risking his life.
The bookkeeper of the bank did not cause any trouble for the desperate fugitive and handed him a considerable amount of gold and silver. However, as soon as Li Gui left the bank, the bookkeeper notified the henchmen, "You didn't do a thorough job before! You left a witness, and he took a large sum of money with him!"
As a result, Li Gui found himself being closely followed by the henchmen, who kept getting closer and closer. Although he had some martial arts skills, facing four enemies at once was a dead-end. But die? Hmph, Li Gui had a plan. How could he die when he had money in his hand?
Suddenly, he threw out some gold and silver coins while shouting, "Look! There are gold ingots! Come and pick them up!" The people on the street saw gold ingots on the ground and rushed over, causing a commotion that hindered the henchmen. Li Gui thought he could escape the pursuit this way, but his clever plan backfired, and he ended up delivering himself into Zhao Lanzhi's hands.
In the grim and chilling prison of Luoyang County Office, the previously captured salt smugglers were brought in to identify the person. One of them saw Li Gui tied to a pillar and exclaimed, "Yes, it's him! I bought salt from him!"
Li Gui wore a rogue-like expression and laughed as he looked at the salt smuggler, "Hahaha, this man is your small officer? The officials are trying to frame me! You think you can plant false charges on me like this? Let me tell you, I am a legitimate businessman with my own timber business. I don't sell any illegal salt! Catching thieves and confiscating stolen goods, catching adulterers and taking bribes—you want to frame me with this kind of person? Dream on!"
In the end, even though he was caught, Li Gui didn't take Zhao Lanzhi and his team seriously. He knew that if he confessed to the entire network of illegal salt transactions, not only would he lose his life, but his wife and children might not survive either. On the other hand, the officials didn't dare to do anything to him without evidence. Even if he ended up in prison, he could still preserve his life. Considering all this, he believed that this place was perhaps the safest place in the world for him. He grinned.
Zhao Lanzhi looked at Li Gui with a faint smile and asked, "What can you say now?"
Li Gui responded dismissively, "There's nothing to say." Then, he suddenly coughed loudly.
Xiaohu reminded Zhao Lanzhi, "Sir, he still has knife wounds."
Zhao Lanzhi said, "In the end, this is a difficult man. The usual methods to deal with salt smugglers might not work on him. Let's have the doctor check his wounds and give him some medicine."
Li Gui smiled, "Sir, your false compassion won't work on me! Even if you cure my athlete's foot of more than twenty years, I still won't say anything."
Zhao Lanzhi remained silent and gave a few instructions before turning and leaving.