Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 319 - 305: Don’t believe me? Use Xiezhi Questioning the Heart, I, Zhang San, fear nothing!

Chapter 319: Chapter 305: Don’t believe me? Use Xiezhi Questioning the Heart, I, Zhang San, fear nothing!

Shen Erxian was in thought when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind.

He turned around and saw it was Shen Wei.

"Minister Shen, what guidance do you have for me?"

Shen Erxian bowed with folded hands, deeply respectful.

Shen Wei curled his lip and kicked toward Shen Erxian.

"Cut the crap, tell me, what exactly is going on here today?"

Shen Erxian pretended to look at Shen Wei with a puzzled face, and asked, "Isn’t it the message sent by your people?"

"What!?"

Before this, Shen Wei had always thought that it was the Shen Family that was orchestrating this affair.

The four Legalist families, the Shen Family now controlled the Ministry of Punishment; the Merchant Clan also had many people in the Ministry of Punishment; the Shen Family had not managed to outdo the Shen Family in the past, so there were very few of them in the Ministry; as for the Han Family, though there were individuals, the Han Family was rather arrogant, so their relations with the other three were not good, and the most promising person in the entire Ministry had been Han Yanxia, who was then killed on the street by Zhang San.

"The intelligence I got here is not as complete as yours. Look, this piece of paper only has half of the information, it was placed on my desk in the Ministry. There’s another half of the information that was secretly sent to Shang Bufa."

Upon looking, Shen Erxian realized that although the two pieces of paper in Shen Wei’s hands contained information about Shen Wen’s wrongdoing, the specifics weren’t convincing and differed greatly from what he had.

Could it really be that it was Shen Bao who struck it lucky and made a good friend?

"Shall we go ask Shang Bufa about it first?"

Hence, Shen Erxian did not first go back to the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture’s Government Office but went straight to the Ministry of Punishment and found Shang Bufa, who was sorting out the case files of Shen Wen.

After both of them asked around, they realized that even Shang Bufa didn’t know about this matter.

"Not right! Shang Bufa must know this person, he just doesn’t know who it is," surmised Shen Erxian, guessing based on his son, Shen Bao’s words.

Shen Wei, standing beside him, nodded slightly as well.

"I think Shen Erxian is right. Shang Bufa, think about it, the half sheet of information you have and the half I received, when put together, make a complete set of information. The Ministry of Punishment would only act if pieced together. After earning merit, half of it would be mine, and half would be yours. Would anyone give you such great merit for no reason?"

Having said this, Shen Wei suddenly realized something, glanced at Shen Erxian, and said, "But if that’s the case, you should know who this person is!"

Shen Erxian smiled wryly and retorted, "If I knew, why would I come to the Ministry looking for Shang Bufa? Let’s go, I suspect the problem with Shen Wen might lie with the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture’s Government Office. Don’t forget, we went there early this morning just as dawn broke, and we saw a masked person being surrounded by people from the Government Office. That person might be the real key."

So, Shen Erxian and Shen Wei, along with Shang Bufa, went to the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture’s Government Office.

Although the official documentation process from the Ministry of Personnel had not yet been completed, someone had already been dispatched to take care of the Government Office side of things, and the new Magistrate of the Metropolitan Prefecture was Shen Er, the second eldest from the Shen Family, Shen Erxian himself.

Therefore, as soon as Shen Erxian arrived at the entrance of the Magistrate of the Metropolitan Prefecture’s Government Office, many officials inside had already been waiting for quite some time.

Shen Erxian then exchanged pleasantries with the officials there.

After all, he would need to rely on them greatly in his forthcoming work.

Meanwhile, Zhang San also arrived.

"Town Martial Office’s Zhang San greets everyone here. I’ve come to look at the information of the victim in the Floating Corpse Case. May I know if it’s convenient now?"

Shen Erxian glanced at Zhang San and said in a low voice, "Wait a moment, I will arrange for you as soon as I’m done here."

Having said that, Shen Erxian turned to look at the crowd of officials and observers in the Government Office and said coldly, "I dislike hassle, just say things directly. This morning, someone posted a lot of information about the criminal Shen Wen at the entrance of the Government Office, calling on those who knew to come forward and report. I’m asking you, do any of you know who posted these things?"

At that moment, although no one said a word, many eyes turned towards Zhang San.

Shen Erxian followed everyone’s gaze and turned to look at Zhang San.

But Zhang San seemed not to notice everyone’s gaze, as he was chatting with Shang Bufa.

"I’m terribly sorry. I had just arrived in Daxing City that day, and I really didn’t know that Han Yanxia and Zheng Zaisuang were people from your Ministry. Had I known they were, I could not have cut them down, considering your face!"

Shen Wei, standing beside Zhou, heard Zhang San’s words clearly and felt annoyed in his heart!

So the face of I, the dignified Minister of Punishment, is less persuasive than that of a mere Officer in the Ministry, huh?

Zhang San continued, "Luckily, Kaihuang is wise. Even though I killed thirteen people with a single stroke, it didn’t cause any trouble. As you can see, I’m fine now."

Upon hearing Zhang San finish speaking, the government officers from the Government Office who had just looked at him either looked up at the sky or down at their own feet.

At this point, Zhang San turned his head to look at the crowd in the Government Office and asked, "Everyone seemed to be looking at me just now, is there something wrong?"

"No, no!"

"Didn’t see, didn’t see!"

At this moment, Shen Wei’s face turned dark.

And Shen Erxian had already understood everything.

"Zhang San, since you’re here to check the files, come inside," Shen Erxian said.

"Thank you," replied Zhang San as he followed Shen Erxian into the Government Office.

Shen Erxian asked around, then led Zhang San and the others to his own office.

Once inside, Shen Erxian gestured for everyone to sit down and then settled himself behind his desk.

Although Zhang San sat down and Shen Wei did too, Shang Bufa saw Shen Wei sit down and felt it wasn’t quite right for him to sit next to the Minister as equals; however, going over to sit next to Zhang San didn’t seem quite right either.

He had no choice but to stand next to Shen Wei.

At that moment, Shen Erxian smiled and bowed to Zhang San, saying, "Zhang San, you should know that our Shen Family, Shen Family, and the Merchant Clan are, in essence, branches of Legalism, all one family. As for you, I feel a kindred spirit upon our first meeting. Now, there are only the four of us in this room, no outsiders. I have a question for you, and you must answer me truthfully."

Zhang San nodded repeatedly, "I will withhold nothing and tell all."

"Is it you who investigated the matters concerning Shen Wen?"

Zhang San shook his head, "Not me."

Shen Erxian felt that Zhang San was not telling the truth.

"Zhang San, you must understand, you have offended the Crown Prince, and Shen Wen is the Crown Prince’s man, which is why Shen Wen withheld the Floating Corpse Case files from you before. Otherwise, you wouldn’t come asking for the documents just as the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture has been replaced. After all, having been involved in the case investigation for so long, you shouldn’t be coming for the files only now."

"Trust me, as long as you tell me the truth, I will give you these documents. After all, I am not the Crown Prince’s man, nor do I help anyone. I only know that Shen Wen has fallen, but I don’t know who acted against him in the shadows. It’s unsettling to me."

Zhang San smiled, bowed to Shen Erxian, and said, "If the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture is uneasy, it’s quite simple. Aren’t you a follower of Legalism? Within the Name Punishment Technique, there is a technique called ’Xiezhi Questioning the Heart.’ Why don’t you use ’Xiezhi Questioning the Heart’ on me, then ask me again whether I’m telling the truth or not? Wouldn’t you then know?"

Internally, Zhang San said: I didn’t investigate; I just directly took the results that someone else had looked into.

I didn’t lie! What’s there to fear!

Shen Erxian pondered for a moment, glanced at Shen Wei beside him, and patted Shen Wei’s shoulder lightly.

"What do you think?"

Of course, this question was ostensibly for Zhang San to hear, but the moment Shen Erxian patted Shen Wei, he had already transmitted a message clandestinely using Qi.

"I can’t perform ’Xiezhi Questioning the Heart,’ do it!"

Shen Wei also pondered and then patted Shen Erxian’s shoulder, saying, "I believe Zhang San didn’t lie to you."

Of course, this statement was also ostensibly for Zhang San to hear.

In reality, he transmitted a message using Qi to Shen Erxian, "Coincidentally, I can’t do it either."

Shen Erxian cursed inwardly: Bloody hell, you can’t do even this!

"Very well, since Minister Shen has vouched for you, I’ll get the documents for you."

Shen Wei was furious!

When did I ever vouch for him! Shen Er, you really have no shame at all!

Yet, facing Zhang San, Shen Wei still had to maintain a smile.

Shen Erxian got up to fetch the Floating Corpse Case files for Zhang San, while Shen Wei sat across from Zhang San.

For a while, silence filled the room.

Shang Bufa, standing beside Shen Wei, happened to block the view from outside the door, making it look as though Shang Bufa who was standing and Zhang San who was sitting, were the only ones in the room.

At this moment, Shen Bao ran in from outside, exhilarated.

"Shang Bufa, I specifically went to the Ministry of Punishment first to look for you, and they said you have come to the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture’s Government Office. Zhang San, you are here too, great. Let’s go, let’s go have a drink! Young Master Shen has money today!"

With that, Shen Bao pulled out a bag of gold from his own pocket.

Then, he took out another bag with even more gold.

Zhang San was stunned, his eyes widened as he looked at Shen Bao, "Did you steal from your grandpa’s treasury?"

"What are you talking about! Didn’t my grandpa become the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture? I asked him for some money, see, pinching every penny, only this one bag. Then I ran back home and told my uncle everything; he praised me for knowing how to make friends. He gave me this big bag of gold! Hehe... one effort, twice the pay! Let’s go..."

Shen Bao turned around and noticed someone sitting next to Shang Bufa—it was none other than Minister of Punishment Shen Wei.

"Uncle Shen, you’re here too! About today... Do you think Shang Bufa could take some time off?"

Shang Bufa stood beside, head bowed, not daring to say a word.

Shen Wei restrained his laughter, maintaining his seriousness.

"The business at the Ministry of Punishment is quite busy today. However, by the edict of Kaihuang, Shen Wen’s house is to be searched first, and the rest of the cases will be investigated slowly. So, Shang Bufa, you have a half-day off from now. Go and enjoy yourself."

By then, Shen Wei had understood everything.

The intelligence was provided by Zhang San.

Zhang San and Shang Bufa had a good relationship, and he shared half the credit with him.

Shen Bao must also have a good relationship with Zhang San; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come looking for Zhang San to drink together once he got some money.

Zhang San, blocked by Shen Wen from getting the Floating Corpse Case files, investigated Shen Wen for revenge, and replaced him with someone from the Shen Family who was on good terms with him as the Magistrate of Metropolitan Prefecture.

Everything was connected.

Hearing that Shang Bufa could take time off, Shen Bao grinned happily, elated beyond measure.

"Let’s go! The expenses today will be paid by Young Master Shen!"

"Grandpa’s bag of gold! Uncle’s bag of gold!"

"Today, we will splurge like there’s no..."

Unnoticed, at the position where the back room adjoins, Shen Erxian, holding two files in his hand, was watching his son with a hawkish gaze.

Shen Bao’s joy came to an abrupt halt.