jdhmnovel Chapter 358: Report to the authorities, is it the work of an internal traitor?
Chapter 358: Report to the authorities, is it the work of an internal traitor?
"Father, what's so shameful about this? You are an official appointed by the court. If such a big thing happened in your mansion, and if your concealment caused other ministers' homes to be robbed again, that would be a crime! Besides, such a thing happening in the capital is the dereliction of duty of Jingzhao Prefecture. If we report it to the authorities, it will surely attract attention, and the things will definitely be recovered as soon as possible."
"Yes, Wen Ting, the eldest girl is right. The warehouse was stolen, and all the valuables in our Shangshu Mansion were inside. If we don't get them back, how can we live? Reputation can't be eaten. Finding the things is the top priority." The old lady also felt that they must report to the police. There were so many valuable things in the warehouse, all of which were Chen Shuhua's dowry. Although Chen Shuhua refused to take them out because she was angry, she was a member of the Shangshu Mansion, and her son and daughter's surname was Shen. These things would be spent on them sooner or later, so how could they be given to outsiders?
Except for Shen Wenting, everyone agreed to report the matter to the police. In the end, he had no choice but to follow the old lady's instructions and ask the steward to go to Jingzhao Prefecture.
Soon, the head of Jingzhao Prefecture heard about this and personally brought his men to investigate the matter: "Sir Shen, I am deeply shocked to hear that your mansion was robbed. Such a bold and reckless thing actually happened in the capital. Sir Shen, rest assured, I will do my best to investigate this matter thoroughly and give justice to the Shangshu Mansion."
This Lord Lu was honest and upright. He upheld the principle of fairness and selflessness, served the people wholeheartedly, was upright and never accepted any bribes. He remained unshakable in the face of coercion and inducement from the powerful, and was therefore highly valued by the emperor. Whether facing the powerful or the common people, he treated them equally and handled matters fairly. He was a rare good official.
"Thank you, Lord Lu. You must catch the thief. Everything in our storehouse has been stolen." The old lady was full of resentment. What a damn thief.
"Excuse me, was it only the warehouse that was stolen? Could you take me over to take a look?" Lord Lu asked politely. As they were all officials in the court, he attached great importance to this matter.
"Lord Lu, please come this way." Chen Shuhua and others personally led people over. When they arrived at the warehouse door, the situation was just as the nanny said. The entire warehouse had been looted and was spotless, as if... it was an empty house.
Jingzhao Yin looked around with a serious expression, and ordered his men: "You must carefully investigate the scene and not miss any clues. Ask everyone in the mansion to see if there are any suspicious people or unusual situations."
The servants responded in unison: "Yes, sir!" and then took quick action. Some searched for clues throughout the mansion, while others began to question the servants and maids in the mansion.
Jingzhao Yin turned to Lord Shen again and bowed slightly, saying, "Lord Shen, have any strangers come in and out of your house recently? Or has anything unusual happened before the theft?"
Shen Wenting frowned, thought for a moment and then said, "I have been busy with official duties recently and did not notice anything unusual in the mansion. I only learned about this incident when the servants reported it this morning."
Jingzhao Yin nodded and took his men to carefully check every corner of the warehouse, not missing any clues. After careful investigation and questioning, they gradually got some clues.
After a long while, Lord Lu came out of the storeroom and said, "Lord Shen, Madam Shen, may I have a word with you for a moment?"
"Lord Lu, please." Shen Wenting looked in the direction of the warehouse, then restrained his expression, made a gesture of invitation, and invited the person to the main hall. As they were officials in the same dynasty, he did not act too much.
Lord Lu ordered his men to gather all the people in the Shangshu Mansion together and guard them, and also had people sent to guard the front and back doors of the mansion.
When Shen Wenting saw his scene, he began to look unhappy: "Lord Lu, what do you mean by this?"
"Don't worry, Lord Shen. I am just trying to help you find the stolen items. Let me explain it to you in detail."
"Suddenly so many soldiers surrounded the Shangshu Mansion. If you don't know, you might think that I have committed some crime! Humph! I want to see how you are going to find the things out!" Shen Wenting flicked his sleeves, obviously dissatisfied with his behavior. He sat down on the main seat in the main hall.
"Lord Shen, don't worry. I am doing everything according to the legal procedures, which is reasonable and legal. Once the matter is clarified, I will explain it to the people in person and will not let the reputation of the Shangshu Mansion be damaged." Lord Lu said respectfully.
In terms of official position, he is of higher rank than Lord Lu, and he has to listen to me. Now that there has been such a commotion in the mansion and things have gotten out of hand, how can I have the face to work in the court?
"Lord Lu, please tell us quickly, how is the investigation going?" A whole morning passed, and Chen Shuhua and others got up without even having breakfast, as they all wanted to know the truth of the matter as soon as possible.
"Reporting to Madam Shen, I initially suspected that there was a thief in the Shangshu Mansion, so I had everyone in the mansion called here and questioned them one by one." Lord Lu said calmly.
"An internal thief?" Everyone looked at him in surprise. This was impossible, right?
"Yes, after careful investigation, we found some clues. Only the storehouse was stolen in the entire Shangshu Mansion. This shows that the thief has a clear goal and is very familiar with the Shangshu Mansion. Otherwise, it would be impossible to do it so quietly.
It would be difficult to transport so many things out of the mansion, unless the other party had enough manpower. If there were too many people, it would be impossible for no movement in the mansion to be detected.
I asked someone to carefully question the palace guards who were patrolling last night. They passed by the storehouse door twice that night and didn't hear any movement, which shows that the thieves are very clear about the security layout of the Shangshu Mansion. "
"Lord Lu, it is too one-sided to conclude that there is a thief in the mansion based on just these things." Shen Wenting said in a cold voice.
"You are right. These alone are not enough to prove that it was done by someone in the Shangshu Mansion. It is possible that the thief is very skilled in committing the crime and came to the Shangshu Mansion in advance to investigate and plan, and the arrangement is also very sophisticated.
But this statement is unlikely, because I just asked someone to inquire and found that no strangers or outsiders have come to the mansion recently.
Moreover, I have had people try all the routes out of the house near the warehouse. There are more than a dozen people in my team, all of them are young and strong guys with good skills. It is impossible to carry so many things out in a short time without leaving any traces!
My preliminary judgment is that there is a thief in the mansion, and the things must still be in the Shangshu Mansion."
Based on Lord Lu's many years of experience in handling cases, he had already investigated almost everything, and now all he needed was witnesses and physical evidence, so he had people guard the front and back of the Shangshu Mansion to prevent any suspicious persons from escaping.