Chapter 592: Burning the Barn

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Zhi and the others simply washed the dust off their bodies and came to look for Lin Su to tell him about discovering the fire. Lin Su noted down Wang Zhi’s words and asked him to sign before letting him go.

Then, he asked a few bailiffs. A strong bailiff said to Lin Su, “Advisor Lin, I was resting in the house when I suddenly heard Wang Zhi call for water. That’s why I ran out.”

The tall and thin bailiff said, “When Wang Zhi came, he was talking about eating with Hou Wen when he came back. His stomach felt uncomfortable from the wine. Did he eat something unclean?”

Lin Su looked at them. “Then did you notice anyone suspicious sneaking into the county office?”

They said in unison, “No. We ran out of the room when we heard the shout.”

Lin Su recorded their words and got them to sign. Then, he stood up and walked to the backyard.

Seeing that he had returned and asked him to sit down, Li Qing said, “Mr. Lin, Brother Liang and the others found out that Magistrate Wang was actually in charge of the government affairs in Le County and even sent his family away early. Since Lord Liu is so sick that he doesn’t even have the energy to deal with the government affairs in the county office, why didn’t he submit his resignation to the Imperial Court? He insisted on holding on and only left after his term was over. Also, why did his Madam leave her seriously ill husband behind and leave with the child? Isn’t she afraid that he won’t be able to return if he gets sick?”

Lin Su frowned and stroked his beard. “Yes! I’ve thought about that too. Do you think he’s pretending to be sick?”

Li Qing felt that Advisor Lin’s thoughts were the same as his. He nodded and said, “That’s possible. Then let’s get Brother Hu and the others to go to the inn to investigate.”

“Alright, they’re already back. I’ll tell them now.” Private Advisor Lin left to look for Hu Zhong.

Liang Cheng went back and changed into a dark brown suit. He took his mask and walked towards the warehouse northwest of the city. There was not even a star in the sky and he could not see his fingers.

More than an hour later, Liang Cheng arrived at the Le County warehouse.

The door was tightly shut, and a wind lamp hung high outside the door, emitting a dim yellow light.

Liang Cheng bent down and turned under the wall of the warehouse to a slightly lower place. He took a long breath and quickly walked forward. He used the force of his feet to pivot on the ground and leaped up. He stepped on the wall and flipped into the courtyard. When he entered, he realized that there were a total of nine warehouses inside.

Liang Cheng approached the closest one and walked to the door. He gently pushed the wooden door open. The door creaked open. Liang Cheng looked around and walked in to blow on the lighter. He saw that it was empty and there were many grains scattered on the ground.

Liang Cheng came out from inside and walked towards the other room. He saw that there was still some sorghum rice piled inside. It was at the bottom of the pile in the warehouse.

After walking a few rooms in a row, he realized that some of them had half a warehouse of old grains, and some did not have any food at all. Liang Cheng walked around inside, but no one came out to check. He quietly walked to the small house at the door.

When he reached the door, he heard a snoring sound that almost pierced through the roof. He saw two guards sleeping soundly inside.

Liang Cheng spat and was about to retreat to the courtyard wall and climb over it when he suddenly heard someone approaching the door. In a breath, he saw a dagger reach in through the crack and flick the latch.

Sure enough, someone was here! Liang Cheng simply stood there and waited for the person to walk in.

After a dozen breaths, the door chain was placed on the ground and the door was gently pushed open. A masked man walked in with a sharp knife in his hand and turned to close the door.

Liang Cheng reached out to slap his neck. The man quickly tilted his head and dodged the blow. He swung his saber at Liang Cheng, who dodged to the side and grabbed his wrist with his left hand like an iron claw. The sharp saber in the masked man’s hand fell to the ground.

Liang Chen’s right hand clenched into a fist and suddenly slammed toward the man. Then, kicked the man out and slammed him into the wall. The man let out a strange cry and hit the wall with another muffled sound. He fell to the ground and his head tilted before he stopped moving.

“Are you dead?” Liang Cheng went forward and twisted his head. Black blood flowed out of his mouth and nose and he was no longer breathing. Liang Cheng searched his body and glanced at the warehouse manager who was sleeping soundly on the bed. He closed the door and climbed over the wall to disappear into the night.

When he returned to the county office, he saw Li Qing place a water bag on his table and told Li Qing about the situation and his encounter with the man in black.

“Master, I left that person in the warehouse. I found a water bag on his back with kerosene in it. Fortunately, we went to the warehouse tonight. Otherwise, the warehouse would have been set ablaze by now.”

Li Qing was so angry that he slapped the table. “The nine warehouses are all empty. How dare they be so brazen? Where did those grains go? Did the officials and merchants collude to sell them?”

Lin Su frowned and said, “Even if the officials and merchants colluded, they wouldn’t dare to empty the warehouse! There must be something we don’t know. Master, we can’t let County Magistrate Liu go easily.”

Li Qing nodded and took a deep breath. He said to Liang Cheng, “Brother Liang, it’s been hard on you.”

Liang Cheng smiled indifferently. “Master, I think the waters in Le County are very deep. You have to have someone by your side at all times. I’ll protect you tomorrow.”

Li Qing stood up and bowed to Liang Cheng. “Thank you, Brother Liang.”

Liang Cheng hurriedly returned the greeting. “You’re too polite. I’ll go back first.”

After Liang Cheng left, Li Qing and Lin Su discussed a way to deal with County Magistrate Liu.

Lin Su thought for a moment and said, “County Lord, these people are so vicious. As soon as you arrived in Le County, the county office caught fire one after another. The people are stupid. When the time comes, they will spread some rumors and to play the blame game that you brought a fire and burned their life-saving food.”

Li Qing shuddered when he heard that. He gritted his teeth and said, “We can only force County Magistrate Liu to tell us what he knows.”

County Magistrate Liu and Advisor Liu also learned that the account books had been burned. Advisor Liu looked at County Magistrate Liu with a smile. ‘My guess is right! That dog Wang Ping is more anxious than us!”

County Magistrate Liu also felt relieved and sighed. “Sigh! I really didn’t expect them to be so bold as to burn those accounts.”

Advisor Liu stood up and rubbed his face. “This is great. Now that Li can’t find a reason not to settle the handover procedures with us, I’ll go pack up and set off after the handover.”

Ding Yi lay under the eaves of the inn that County Magistrate Liu had rented and watched as the two of them lowered their voices. What were they discussing? Ding Yi looked at County Magistrate Liu’s actions and felt that he did not look like someone with an incurable illness at all.

After returning to the county office, Ding Yi told Li Qing what he had seen. Ding Yi’s discovery confirmed Li Qing’s guess that County Magistrate Liu was pretending to be sick.

The next day, Hu Zhong went to the barn at the northwest corner of West Main Street at dawn.

As he hid in a tree not far from the warehouse, he saw a person run out of the warehouse in a hurry an hour later.

Hu Zhong followed him..