Chapter 186: Quite A Lot of Stories
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Tan Xueqing shook her head. “No, I only saw a little of the contents of the letter before I was discovered by my grandpa. After that, I never saw that letter again.”
I guess I need to ask Old Master Tan about this… Chu Qingzhi walked towards the head constable and whispered something to him. The head constable nodded and brought Old Master Tan to a room alone.
At this moment, Old Master Tan was very flustered. His face was a little pale as he sat on the chair. Soon, his mind wandered.
When Chu Qingzhi walked into the room, Old Master Tan did not react. She walked in front of Old Master Tan and asked in an oppressive tone, “Old Master Tan, you are wondering why your enemies would come looking for him, right?”
Caught off guard, Old Master Tan replied on impulse, “Yes…” Then, he immediately corrected himself. “No, no…”
His eyes were filled with panic, but he quickly hid it and composed himself.
This reaction was enough to explain everything… Chu Qingzhi sized up Old Master Tan. “Old Master Tan, you should tell me what you know. Otherwise, no one can save your family.”
Old Master Tan had already calmed down. As the head of the family, he would not be coerced so easily. “1 don’t know anything. If I knew, I would tell you.”
Chu Qingzhi thought to herself, It seems like I have to use some methods. A light spot entered Old Master Tan’s body. She asked, “Where is the letter that records the secret?”
Old Master Tan wanted to say that he didn’t know what you were talking about, but the words that came out of his mouth were, “In the secret compartment in the study.”
When Old Master Tan heard his own words, he felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up and widened his eyes at Chu Qingzhi.
Chu Qingzhi said nonchalantly, “You said it yourself. I didn’t force you, nor did
I threaten you.”
Old Master Tan felt his vision go dark. He couldn’t believe that he would tell the truth.
The head constable standing at the door could not help but reveal a look of admiration on his serious face. He had underestimated Chu Qingzhi. He immediately said, “Miss Chu, I’ll bring someone to get it immediately.”
Chu Qingzhi waved her hand. “Go.”
After the head constable left, two constables walked in and stood at the door to keep watch. Chu Qingzhi continued to dig for secrets. “Old Master Tan, who are your enemies?”
Old Master Tan looked like he was struggling, but in the end, he couldn’t help but say instinctively, “They’re my friends.”
Chu Qingzhi’s tone was calm. “Your friends became your enemies and even wanted to kill your family. What did you do 20 years ago?”
Old Master Tan clenched his fists and tried to stop himself from speaking, but he realized that it was useless. “I informed on them to the Lord of the Northern Border, and the Lord of the Northern Border killed them all.”
It turned out that he was a big traitor. He killed everyone and came here to live a peaceful life…
Chu Qingzhi stared at Old Master Tan for a while. “Tell me, what happened?”
Old Master Tan felt like he was about to break down. He looked up at Chu Qingzhi and felt that she was a demon who could lure people to reveal their deepest secrets…
More than 20 years ago, the late Emperor (the now Emperor’s grandfather) was in power. At that time, the late Emperor was old and muddle-headed.
There was a garrison near the northern border with about 50,000 soldiers.
For nearly half a year, the Imperial Court did not distribute food to them. Every time they submitted a memorial asking for food, the Imperial Court would say that the treasury was empty and ask them to fend for themselves.
Disappointed, the generals wanted to rebel. Since they could not survive, they might as well give it a try.
However, one of them was timid and extremely selfish. When everyone was about to stage an uprising, he informed on them.
The person he went to inform was the former Lord of the Northern Border.
After the former Lord of the Northern Border found out about it, he subdued the generals who were preparing to rebel. He also killed their families and incorporated the garrison. His power quickly grew and he became the most powerful among the various feudal lords. By the time the Imperial Court found out, the matter had already become a done deal. Later, even the Imperial Court was afraid of the former Lord of Northern Border.
The informant received a large sum of money and moved away with his family.
He was quite smart and knew that the most dangerous place was the safest. He chose a county under the capital and hid his identity to live a rich and idle life.
When Chu Qingzhi heard Old Master Tan’s words, she felt that he deserved it. He had harmed so many people.
“If it’s your enemy taking revenge, why did they kill Tan Maozhi first?”
Tan Maozhi was neither the oldest nor the youngest. He was neither the most outstanding nor the least outstanding. There should be a reason why he was killed first.
In addition, she couldn’t be sure that it was an enemy taking revenge, so she said if.
Old Master Tan looked flustered. “No, Tan Maozhi is not the first. The first one is my eldest son. At that time, I was terrified, so I chose to keep it a secret.” “The second is my wife, and the third is Tan Maozhi.”
Chu Qingzhi’s eyes narrowed. “Your eldest son?”
“My eldest son died seventeen years ago. At that time, our family’s business had just started. He worked very hard and often ran around.”
“It was a rainy night. He was escorting goods to Lin County. At night, he stayed in a dilapidated temple and was killed.”
“You didn’t find the killer?”
“At that time, I thought that he was killed by my enemy, so I didn’t dare to investigate further. I reported the case, but the officials couldn’t find the murderer, so this matter was gradually forgotten.”
This Tan family has quite a lot of stories… Chu Qingzhi said, “Why are you so sure that your wife was murdered?”
Old Master Tan said, “My wife has always been healthy. It’s impossible for her to die in her sleep. Someone must have plotted against her. However, I was afraid that what happened back then would be exposed, so I kept quiet. As for why Tan Maozhi was killed next, I don’t know.”
“Did you just say that your eldest son was also killed?”
Old Master Tan’s eyes turned red. “Yes, he was stabbed seven times with a dagger and died of blood loss.”
Chu Qingzhi lowered her eyes and analyzed, “Your eldest son was killed with a dagger, and your wife and grandson were killed by an unknown method. From the looks of it, they shouldn’t be done by the same murderer.”
Old Master Tan became agitated. “What do you mean?”
“It means in a literal sense,” Chu Qingzhi said. “He was stabbed seven times in a row. It can be seen that there’s a deep hatred between the two of them. By the way, you said that your eldest son was escorting the goods. What about the goods?”
Old Master Tan immediately said, “The goods were untouched..”
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