The Killer's Cleansing Manual

Chapter 125 The truth comes out

Wang Xing, Zhao Chuan, Xu Feng, and Du Nan.

The four of them have been friends since childhood. They went to school together when they were young and studied for the imperial examinations together when they grew up.

Among the four, only Wang Xing's family was relatively well off. His family members felt sorry for his hard work in studying and never let him work in the fields.

But Wang Xing's talent is limited, and he is not as good as Zhao Chuan, who follows his parents to the fields to plant crops every day.

Zhao Chuan is well-known in the town for his literary talent. He can compose poems and essays fluently and has insightful and unique views on current affairs.

The four of them all have a crush on the village beauty Xiaolian, but the village chief only cares about Wang Xing's family background, so he arranges the marriage with Wang Xing's parents.

But half a month before the marriage, Xiaolian admitted that she was pregnant with Zhao Chuan's child, so she had no choice but to marry Zhao Chuan.

The hatred of having his wife stolen from him made Wang Xing completely hostile to Zhao Chuan, but the imperial examination was approaching and it was always unsafe to go to the capital alone, so the four of them decided to travel together again.

Among the four, Du Nan loves Xiaolian very deeply, and often joins Wang Xing in mocking Zhao Chuan.

After arriving in the capital, the four of them shared a room. Wang Xing didn't want to live under the same roof with Zhao Chuan, so he went out to get some fresh air.

It was also because of this opportunity that he discovered that there were many literati competing in poetry in the teahouse, and there were also wealthy people who were willing to buy some literati to fight each other like cricket fighting. Whoever won would earn money, and even if they lost, they would get a commission.

Thinking of Xu Feng who was kicked out because he had no money, Wang Xing realized that his wallet was not very full either, and this was a great opportunity to make money.

But his literary talent was not high, so he secretly told the news to Du Nan, and the two of them worked together to trick Zhao Chuan into writing poems every day, and then took them to the teahouse to sell.

Half a month later, Wang Xing was brought into the Palace Scholar's Mansion by someone and met Qin Wenxiang, the head of the civil officials.

He did not dare to deceive this high official and told him the truth. Qin Wensheng immediately asked him to bring Zhao Chuan to him, and then used threats and inducements to make Zhao Chuan work for the Grand Tutor after he passed the exam.

But Zhao Chuan was a stubborn person and refused without mercy.

Qin Wenxiang lost face and was angry, so he and Wang Xing came up with this plan to steal the show.

Wang Xing first asked Zhao Chuan to write a fu using the topic Qin Wenxiang told him as "practice", and then recite and copy it.

On the day of the imperial examination, he knocked Zhao Chuan unconscious, and Zhao Chuan didn't wake up until three days later.

But during this period, Wang Xing had already rewritten his essay using the pseudonym "Chu Kuo", and according to the agreement, he changed the two dots of "会" (will) which were not obviously wrong into a horizontal line, so as to provide a mark for Qin Wenxiang, who was marking the papers, among the many test papers.

The reason why this character is used is because this is the name of Wang Xing’s deceased grandmother. For so many years, he has always been superstitious about this and has avoided writing this character.

After the results were announced, Zhao Chuan knew everything. He angrily found Wang Xing and wanted to speak up for himself.

It just so happened that Du Nan also guessed the inside story and used it to blackmail him.

It was troublesome both ways. After Ji Shihan found out, he simply asked Chu Kuo to kill both of them. To be on the safe side, he also left Xu Feng to take the blame.

If the suicide note is not suspected, then Zhao Chuan committed suicide; if it is suspected, then Xu Feng can be the scapegoat.

By then, everyone's attention will be on the four names "Wang Xing, Zhao Chuan, Xu Feng and Du Nan". They will bribe Xu Feng and then find a dead body to pretend to be Wang Xing and ask Xu Feng to identify him.

After Xu Feng was convicted, Ji Shihan, with his ability, could have easily saved his life. He returned home with the money and wealth, while Wang Xing, under the alias "Chu Kuo," continued to be Ji Shihan's pawn, and everyone was happy.

It’s a pity that this seemingly perfect case still had a flaw in the end.

After he finished speaking, the families of the four people were all shocked.

Zhao Chuan's father was even more grief-stricken. He still couldn't believe it and stepped forward tremblingly:

"Chuanzi...Chuanzi, just...died like that?"

Even though Du Nan took the opportunity to blackmail and brought disaster upon himself, Zhao Chuan had honestly done farm work and studied for half his life, but in the end he ended up like this because he refused to curry favor with the powerful.

His fame and fortune were taken away, and his life was lost. How miserable it was.

Wang Xing didn't dare to look at anyone, including the mute girl Xiaolian, whose tears were falling at the moment. He clenched his fists tightly and cried bitterly.

He shouldn't have done this. He shouldn't have done this in the first place.

Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now...

Wang Xing was heartbroken and told the place where Xu Feng was hiding, looking at Lin Shanjuan with an hesitant look.

She guessed that there was something more important to say, so she winked and told the officers to drag the wailing family members away.

Soon, she, Qi Zhen, and Wang Xing were the only ones left in the room. Lin Shanjuan folded his arms and looked at him: "If you have something to say, stand up and speak."

Qi Zhen spread out the paper and prepared to write his confession.

Wang Xing looked at her gratefully, hesitated for a moment, and finally told her everything:

"Everything I did was orchestrated by Qin Wenxiang, a scholar in the palace. He resented that Zhao Chuan's talent could not be utilized by him, so he deliberately leaked the topic to me, allowing me to trick Zhao Chuan into writing the poem and then bewitch him..."

"...The Palace Scholars personally admitted that over the years he has served as an official, he has repeatedly abused his position to buy and sell official positions, and has placed officials in various positions for his own benefit."

"Prime Minister Qin Wen accepted bribes of up to ten thousand taels of gold every year, all from 'students' from all over the country."

Finally, Wang Xing sighed, feeling relieved that he had finally gotten his shit off.

"I once secretly saw where he kept his account books. There was a secret door under the flower pot in his study. There were several account books inside. I'm not sure if they are what you need."

Lin Shanjuan and Qi Zhen exchanged a glance, but did not write this sentence down. Seeing that Wang Xing had explained everything, he took it and asked him to sign it.

Wang Xing looked at his testimony in a daze. He smiled bitterly and pressed his fingerprint on it.

Qi Zhen couldn't empathize with him. He had always disliked Wang Xing, so he just asked a routine question:

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

Wang Xing shook his head, looked at Lin Shanjuan, and smiled sadly: "...what is stolen will not last forever."

Lin Shanjuan moved his fingertips slightly, said nothing, and watched Qi Zhen take him away.

Yes, how can something stolen last long?

Those maggots that have occupied the nest for so many years finally have a chance to be cleaned out!

However, she still needed to confirm whether the account book really existed.

Qi Zhen returned soon after, and Lin Shanjuan gave the order directly - to attack tonight. She would first enter the mansion to check whether the account books were still there, and then surround the palace of the Palace Scholars and capture Qin Wenxiang.

But before that, just to be on the safe side...

At night, the officials of the Qingzhengsi hid in the darkness and ambushed in Heji Lane where the Palace Scholars' Residence was located.

Bai Shu looked at Lin Shanjuan worriedly: "Boss, you must be careful!"

Lin Shanjuan waved his hand and jumped straight into the mansion without looking back.