Chapter 106: The Annihilation of the Gan Family (Part II)

Chapter 106: The Annihilation of the Gan Family (Part II)

Weilin Prefecture oversees six counties. After the merger of Niushou, Tongwu, and Fenglin, only four counties remained.

Prefect Chen Ruxu of Weilin Prefecture was still able to remain calm upon learning about the merger of the three counties. However, when he found out that the top imperial scholar, Fu Jiaze, had been assigned here, he was so shocked that his jaw dropped.

Chen Ruxu had been waiting for Fu Jiaze to take office. When he finally met Fu Jiaze, the only thought in his mind was that this top imperial scholar was no ordinary person and intended to achieve great things by relying on the newly merged Tongwu County.

These three counties were close to the Di border and had suffered greatly for years. The tax revenue collected each year was pitifully small, and every year the county magistrates would come to the prefect to complain about the poverty of their counties, begging the Ministry of Revenue for funds.

Chen Ruxu thought that regardless of whether this top scholar could achieve anything, at least one thing was certain: his teacher was Vice Minister Pei Jin of the Ministry of Revenue, which made it much easier for the entire Weilin Prefecture to obtain funds.

Chen Ruxu had indeed been considering when to visit Tongwu County, but he never expected that just a few days after Fu Jiaze took office, he would receive a letter from General Jian He, urging him to come to Tongwu County immediately.

This top scholar was truly remarkable, having a teacher like Pei Jin and even connections with General Jian He.

With such thoughts in mind, Chen Ruxu arrived in Tongwu County and saw the secret passage excavated in the county yamen. His heart nearly stopped, and his knees buckled, causing him to kneel on the ground, his forehead drenched in sweat.

Tongwu County was already close to the Di territory, and the presence of such a secret passage in the county yamen indicated that the previous magistrate had colluded with the enemy. As the prefect, he would not escape punishment!

The more he thought about it, the more desperate he became. Chen Ruxu's lips trembled as if he could already see himself kneeling on the execution ground, the executioner raising his blade to behead him!

Fu Jiaze quickly stepped forward and supported Chen Ruxu, "Your Excellency, there is no need to worry. General Jian only wanted to inform you that this secret passage has existed for at least ten years and must be reported to the court."

Hearing Fu Jiaze's words, Chen Ruxu immediately grabbed Fu Jiaze's hand, his tone urgent, "Is what you say true? Has General Jian really determined that this secret passage has existed for over ten years?"

Actually, Fu Jiaze had figured it out himself, but he suspected that if he shook his head now, Chen Ruxu would faint from fright.

So Fu Jiaze nodded, "General Jian has confirmed that this secret passage has existed for at least ten years, possibly left over from when Tongwu County was once occupied."

Chen Ruxu had thought that his official position and life were both doomed, but now that he heard he could be spared, he felt a great relief.

He sat on the ground for a moment, trying to stand up, but found that he couldn't muster the strength.

A hand with distinct knuckles appeared before him, and Chen Ruxu used Fu Jiaze's strength to stand up, only to realize that everyone else had been dismissed.

After standing up, Chen Ruxu said, "Has General Jian already left?"

"General Jian is busy with affairs and left a letter about the Gan family before departing."

Upon hearing the words "Gan family," Chen Ruxu shuddered, trying to read something from Fu Jiaze's face but finding nothing.

Since Fu Jiaze had agreed with Jian He to keep Gan Tian'er's involvement a secret, he would not reveal anything now, pretending that he had discovered it himself. In a way, this was true, as he had indeed forced the information from Gan Tian'er that day.

"Truly remarkable, this young man," Chen Ruxu thought. How long had it been since Fu Jiaze had taken office, and he had already uncovered the Gan family's secrets?

Fu Jiaze handed the letter to Chen Ruxu.

Perhaps because he had initially thought that Tongwu County had a case of treason, the fact that the Gan family had bribed officials to use exiled convicts seemed minor in comparison.

"We should go to the Gan family now."

Seeing the sweat on Chen Ruxu's forehead, Fu Jiaze sincerely said, "There's no need to rush. It's late now. Why don't we go to the Gan family early tomorrow morning?"

Chen Ruxu shook his head, refusing, "Let's go."

/

When they reached the gate of the Gan family's residence, someone was knocking loudly at a side door, but no one responded inside. Fu Jiaze gestured, and one of his guards brought the person over.

This person was from the Gan family's estate and came to deliver fruits and vegetables at the end of each month, also settling accounts. He found it strange that no one answered the door after knocking for a long time.

Fu Jiaze's heart skipped a beat. For a wealthy family like the Gans, even if the main gate was closed, there would usually be an old woman guarding the side door. The lack of response was highly suspicious.

Chen Ruxu also found it strange.

"County Magistrate Fu, your guards are skilled. Why don't they open the main gate for us and let us take a look inside?"

A former imperial guard stepped forward, using a dagger to pry open the lock, and soon the main gate was opened.

As Fu Jiaze ascended the steps, he looked at the plaque above the Gan family's gate. The gilded characters, under the fiery glow of the evening sky, seemed ominous.

This ominous feeling soon turned into reality. As they approached the main hall, they detected a faint smell of blood. The main hall was tightly shut, and when they opened it and went to the back courtyard, even the experienced imperial guards were momentarily stunned.

In the open space of the back courtyard, bodies lay scattered in all directions. It seemed that the entire Gan family, numbering over thirty people, was here.

One of the bodies had been chopped into pieces, with only the head remaining, hung on a tree.

Chen Ruxu, who had never seen such a terrifying scene, bent over and vomited. Fu Jiaze took a deep breath and instructed his guard, "Go fetch the coroner. Secure the Gan family's premises and do not allow anyone to enter."

Fu Jiaze then said to Chen Ruxu, "Prefect Chen, if you feel unwell, why don't you rest at the county yamen first?"

Chen Ruxu also wanted to leave, but the exiled convicts were working for the Gan family, and now that the entire Gan family had been massacred, this major case would likely involve the Supreme Court. Even if he were not in Tongwu County, he would have to come here, and now that he was already here, he could not leave.

Chen Ruxu said, "I think I'll sit in the main hall for a while and drink some water to calm down. I'm getting old, and I've never seen such a scene; I can't bear it."

"Your Excellency might not want to drink the water here. If I'm not mistaken, the water or food here is likely poisoned. The perpetrators first drugged the Gan family to render them immobile before dragging them here and slaughtering them one by one."

Hearing this, Chen Ruxu dared not drink the water and laughed dryly, "Then I won't."

But he had another question, "How did you know?"

Fu Jiaze replied, "Some of the bodies have little blood on their faces, and you can see traces of vomit at the corners of their mouths."

Chen Ruxu was increasingly amazed. Fu Jiaze was incredibly bold, glancing at the bodies while he himself was too frightened to look closely.

Chen Ruxu didn't dare to drink water and felt a chill as the sun began to set. Fu Jiaze, however, dared to examine the bodies carefully.

"It's getting late," Fu Jiaze said. "Your Excellency has traveled far and endured much. Why don't you return to the county yamen to rest tonight? If possible, please mobilize the coroners from the surrounding counties. Although Tongwu County is a merger of three counties, it only has one coroner, and the entire Weilin Prefecture may not have enough. You might need to invite some additional coroners to assist in handling the bodies."

Chen Ruxu, finding something to do, immediately said, "You're right. We don't have many coroners in the entire Weilin Prefecture. I'll write letters to summon all the coroners, and I'll personally invite a renowned coroner family from Guangling Prefecture to help solve this case in Tongwu County."

A skilled coroner can make the dead speak, but Fu Jiaze felt that in this case of a family massacre, the method was simple and brutal, suggesting it wasn't the work of one person using elaborate techniques. It was likely done by a group, so perhaps they didn’t need such an excellent coroner.

However, Fu Jiaze did not voice these thoughts. The poor Prefect Chen had been through enough shock today; it would be better for him to have something else to focus on rather than these bodies.

As Prefect Chen was about to step into his carriage, he suddenly remembered something and said to Fu Jiaze, "It's already very late. Let the county magistrate arrange for someone to guard this place and return to the county office together."

Fu Jiaze wanted to check if a certain person was among the dead. He was looking for Gan Tian'er, who had been persuaded by him to leave Tongwu County and go to her maternal grandfather’s home.

Fu Jiaze said, "The coroner hasn’t arrived yet. I’ll ask what measures need to be taken to preserve these bodies properly."

"Yes, yes, I must hurry back and write letters."

After seeing Prefect Chen off, Fu Jiaze waited for about half an hour before the coroner rushed over.

This was the first time the coroner had seen so many bodies, and with the dim light of the flickering flames, it made his heart tremble.

"Sir."

"Before moving the bodies, see what measures or records need to be made. After that, I need all the bodies to be face up."

The coroner replied, "I'll draw the scene now."

Fu Jiaze had already asked for rice paper and had sketched out the arrangement of the bodies on the ground. He now handed it to the coroner, "Does this look good?"

The coroner nodded in surprise, as Fu Jiaze’s drawing was even better than his own. He said, "Sir, I will turn the bodies over."

As the coroner turned each body, Fu Jiaze did not see Gan Tian'er’s body, which relieved him. He then said to the coroner, "Can you clean this head first?"

Fu Jiaze knew that the Gan family had a pair of twins. After the coroner cleaned the head, Fu Jiaze recognized that this person was likely Gan Tian'er’s brother, the eldest son of the Gan family, who bore some resemblance to her.

The eldest son of the Gan family was named Gan Xingning, who had been studying at the academy. He had only returned to Tongwu County recently because the second branch of the family had good news.

What could this scholar have done to bring about such a tragedy?

Gan Tian'er should still be alive, so he needed to find her. One, to prevent her death, and two, to see if she knew anything.

At that moment, a guard came to report, "Sir, we are waiting outside the courtyard gate. A carriage wants to enter the Gan residence. The person leading them claims to be Miss Gan Tian'er of the main branch of the Gan family."

Upon hearing that it was Gan Tian'er, Fu Jiaze immediately said, "Let her carriage come in, but do not let her enter the back courtyard. Have her sit in the main hall."

Fu Jiaze did not want to use the water from the Gan family, so he had some water bought from a water carrier. After washing his hands, he went to the main hall to meet Gan Tian'er.