I Am A Husband Curser, And You Are A Wife Curser. - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Way a Small Figure Handles Affairs

After seeing Uncle Chen off, Yang Tongchuan returned to his room and opened the satchel. Inside was a bank note for fifty taels of silver.

This is bad.

Yang Tongchuan’s heart skipped a beat. Usually, for this kind of inquiry, ten or twenty taels was the ceiling. Now that Uncle Chen had dropped fifty taels at once, he feared there truly was something unspeakable hidden in that warehouse.

With a mind full of worries, Yang Tongchuan couldn’t sleep well and woke up very early the next morning.

“Why so early? Why not sleep a bit more?” Xiangxi was a light sleeper; as soon as Yang Tongchuan moved, he woke up.

“There’s a lot to do at the yamen these few days. I’ll head over early and skip breakfast at home. Tell Mother for me.” Yang Tongchuan coaxed Xiangxi to go back to sleep while it was still cool.

“Okay,” Xiangxi murmured and drifted back to sleep.

Xiangxi no longer had to get up to help Yang Tongchuan dress. Yang Tongchuan preferred to spoil him. Those small hands, which had once been dry and calloused from overwork, now didn’t have to touch a single chore.

On his way to the yamen, Yang Tongchuan bought a good amount of food. He headed straight for the interrogation cells where the people arrested from the docks the night before were being held. The jailer at the door was dozing off.

“Brother? Wake up, time for breakfast.” Yang Tongchuan spread the food out on a table, the aroma instantly whetting the other’s appetite.

“Oh, Brother Yang is here! And you brought food, many thanks!” The jailer was well-acquainted with Yang Tongchuan and, being younger, respectfully called him “Brother Yang.”

“It’s been a whole night; how’s the interrogation going?” Yang Tongchuan asked casually.

“We put them through one round of torture, but didn’t get anything useful. These people don’t look like they’re playing dumb; they really seem to know nothing about the forged paintings.” The jailer pointed toward the cells. Yang Tongchuan looked at the blood-stained men inside; among them were the few Uncle Chen had specifically asked to look after.

“Did anyone search the warehouse?”

The jailer checked to make sure no one else was around, then leaned into Yang Tongchuan’s ear and whispered, “Head Constable Wang took men to search it yesterday. I was on the night shift and saw him haul a cart of things back from the docks. He sent them straight to the County Magistrate’s private residence.”

“What kind of things?”

“How would I dare look? I just know it was heavy; the wheel ruts were incredibly deep.” The jailer took a bite of a flatbread and washed it down with tea.

After chatting for a bit more, Yang Tongchuan saw the timing was right. He slipped fifteen taels of silver into the jailer’s hand.

“This is from the dock manager to buy the brothers some drinks. Since it looks like these laborers have nothing to do with it, I hope you brothers can stay your hands and stop the heavy torture.”

“Sure, sure! Since Brother Yang has spoken, it’s a done deal.” The jailer tucked the money into his robe. Such things were all too common in the prison. In fact, the jailer had likely guessed what Yang Tongchuan was there for the moment he showed up at dawn.

As they were talking, someone called from outside. “Brother Yang? Head Constable Wang wants to see you!”

“Coming!”

Yang Tongchuan left the cells and went to see Head Constable Wang. It turned out that since no useful info was found at the docks, Wang had changed tactics. He had summoned all the vendors who used to have stalls near the docks for questioning. Although Xiang Qiang had moved his stall before the case broke, he was still on the list.

“Don’t overthink it. It’s just a formality for your brother-in-law. Nothing will happen,” Wang said, showing Yang the list.

“Head Constable is doing things by the book; my brother-in-law should cooperate. I have no objections,” Yang Tongchuan replied with a smile.

“Your spouse is heavily pregnant right now; I was worried if I scared his family, you’d blame me,” Wang joked.

“Not at all, he’s very sensible.”

“Alright then. The vendors will be arriving shortly. Don’t go out today; take some men to comb through their stories and see if you can find anything useful. I’m going to catch a wink; these two days have exhausted me.”

Yang Tongchuan took a colleague and set up several rooms to conduct separate inquiries. Throughout a full day of questioning, he actually found a lead.

There was a middleman at the docks who specialized in damaged goods. On the surface, he ran a small tea stall. In reality, he made his money buying “tail-end” goods—tea leaves soaked in water, stained fabrics, or any “worthless” defective items. During the questioning, Yang noticed this man’s eyes were darting and he trembled whenever he spoke. Knowing the man had a secret, Yang handed him over to the jailers.

By the next morning, they had squeezed information out of him. On the last night of every month, this middleman would go to a specific haystack to pick up items. The next day, someone would come to collect them. The collectors were different every time and never paid him in cash; it was always bartering. Sometimes they left him fine furs, sometimes jewelry. The last time he went to the haystack, there was nothing there. He told the collector the next day, who thought for a moment and told him not to go there anymore, leaving him a decent agate bracelet before disappearing.

He had never even seen Zhao the Scholar and had no idea he was caught up in a forgery ring.

“Everything is a single-line contact,” Head Constable Wang complained, his head throbbing. “To run such a massive operation… I’m afraid we’ve poked a hole in a very big case.” After reporting to the County Magistrate, the official rushed to discuss the matter.

Not long after, the Prefectural Government sent officials to take over the case. They took Zhao the Scholar and the middleman away. They also investigated every notable scholar in the county, arresting several more suspects for interrogation. For a time, the county was paralyzed by fear.

Yang Tongchuan lived at the yamen day and night, waiting for orders from the Prefectural officials. In this situation, a “small figure” like him only hoped for no mistakes rather than seeking merit. Fortunately, until the suspects were hauled away, the higher-ups didn’t make things difficult for the local constables and even gave them a verbal commendation.

It wasn’t until six months later that Yang Tongchuan heard the final outcome. The Prefectural officials had used that thread to dismantle a fraud ring in the Capital. The officials involved were rewarded, but those honors had nothing to do with a lowly constable in a small county.

Yang Tongchuan didn’t care. He wasn’t some master detective; he just held a job and earned a wage. Now, he cared more about taking care of Xiangxi so he could give birth safely.

As for what “unspeakable” things were in that warehouse? Yang Tongchuan guessed they were either smuggled goods or contraband—regardless, it was all about money. Better to have one less trouble than one more; the County Magistrate’s path to wealth was not something a small person like him could block.