Chen Nan was amused by him, "If you casually haul a sack of walnuts, and there are other things in the cart, wouldn't you have to sort through them to determine which bag is the walnuts?" The middle-aged man scratched his head awkwardly, embarrassed by his words. Indeed, constables were meticulous.
Chen Nan casually opened the sack, took out a walnut, and squeezed it gently. The shell immediately cracked, revealing the plump kernel. He tossed it into his mouth. It was crisp and delicious. He then asked, "These walnuts taste good. By the way, which dried goods shop are you from? When I'm off duty, I'll buy some to take home to my wife."
The middle-aged man quickly replied, "We are from Qian Ji Dried Goods."
"Alright, you can get back to work," Chen Nan dismissed him.
At this moment, Old Meng, the breakfast stall owner, smiled and said, "Officer, you don't have any children yet, do you? If you want children, you should eat more nuts. That way, your children will definitely be fair-skinned, plump, and very intelligent."
"Oh?" Chen Nan's interest was piqued. "Is there such a saying?" Nuts were rich in protein, and eating more was indeed beneficial to the human body. However, Chen Nan had never heard that eating more nuts would result in intelligent children.
Old Meng said, "You don't know about this?"
"Benefactor Zhang always eats nuts, sometimes even treats them as a meal."
"In the past two years, he has had two sons and one daughter. They are all fair-skinned, plump, and very intelligent, and lovable."
Before Chen Nan could speak, Song Yunfei smiled bitterly, "With our meager income, how many nuts can we afford?"
Old Meng gave an awkward smile. That was true. Nuts were expensive. Even with the constables' monthly salaries, they couldn't afford many pounds of nuts. Let alone eating nuts as a meal.
"Old Meng, do you know Benefactor Zhang well?" Chen Nan asked abruptly.
Upon hearing this, Old Meng's smile widened, "We are neighbors. Without being immodest, I watched Benefactor Zhang grow up."
"I felt from a young age that this child would achieve great things."
"Although he was quite wayward in his younger years, often verbally abusing his wife."
"But who is without fault? He has long repented and is now very good to his wife."
"As you saw earlier, he even came out to buy breakfast himself."
"He is incredibly attentive to his wife."
"He is not only Benefactor Zhang but also a model husband recognized on our street."
Chen Nan asked again, "When did he repent?"
Old Meng thought for a moment, "It's been over three years, roughly!"
Over three years ago again? At this moment, even Song Yunfei felt that something was very strange. Over three years ago, the Zhang family rapidly rose to prominence by inventing rat poison. Over three years ago, Zhang Mingquan, who used to abuse his wife, repented and became a model husband. Was this merely a coincidence?
After leaving the breakfast stall, Chen Nan and the other five continued their patrol.
Song Yunfei whispered, "Boss, do you have any leads? Why do I feel like Zhang Mingquan has been possessed? In normal circumstances, a person wouldn't undergo such a drastic change."
Chen Nan felt a chill down his spine. He was now wary of the word "possession" and feared arousing curiosity.
"Even if a vengeful spirit possessed someone, they wouldn't dare expose themselves in broad daylight," Chen Nan said. "Rather than saying Zhang Mingquan was possessed, I'm more inclined to believe that the real Zhang Mingquan died long ago."
Song Yunfei couldn't help but ask, "Then who did we see before?"
Chen Nan shook his head. Although he had an answer, as a constable, he couldn't speak carelessly without confirmation. However, the truth would surface tonight. As long as he took Old Deng's shift at the morgue, he would surely uncover the truth behind the hundred wrongful deaths.
The work of a constable was relatively easy. If there were no cases, they would only patrol three times a day. However, they couldn't return home freely and had to remain at the county yamen to be able to respond to any emergency cases immediately.
Upon returning to the yamen, Chen Nan went directly to the archive room where the case files were stored. Besides many case files, there were also many books. He wanted to learn more.
The clerk guarding the archive room apologized profusely, "Constable Chen, I cannot let you in. To enter the archive room, you need the permission of Assistant Magistrate Gong."
"So, I need to get Assistant Magistrate Gong's permission before I can enter the archive room?" Chen Nan thought of the old man who had targeted him in court yesterday.
The clerk nodded, "This is the yamen's rule. I hope you won't make things difficult for me."
Chen Nan naturally would not make things difficult for the clerk. Confirming that Assistant Magistrate Gong had arrived at the yamen, he went directly to Gong Ping's office. Although Gong Ping had confronted him yesterday, blaming him for executing Liu Zhiyuan and Liu Qingfeng in court, Chen Nan did not take it to heart. He felt that what he had done yesterday was indeed a bit extreme. As the Assistant Magistrate of Tongcheng County, Gong Ping had the right to point out his shortcomings. Moreover, he even had the responsibility to supervise Yuan Zun.
"Your subordinate, Chen Nan, greets Magistrate Gong," Chen Nan bowed to Gong Ping.
Gong Ping, who was reading, raised his eyes. Upon seeing Chen Nan, he said sarcastically, "Constable Chen is a favored subordinate of Lord Yuan. He will surely soar to great heights in time. You don't need to be so polite in front of this old man. Speak, why have you come to see me?"
Chen Nan said, "Your subordinate wishes to enter the archive room."
Gong Ping chuckled, "Just for this? Go ahead."
Chen Nan: "However, the clerk said I needed your permission."
Gong Ping angrily put down his book and said, "Come, I'll take you to the archive room. I want to see who is so bold as to stop you."
Chen Nan was a little bewildered. This old man clearly showed disdain towards him, yet why was he so enthusiastic now? He found it hard to understand. But he didn't ask any further questions. He followed Gong Ping to the archive room.
"Greetings, my lord!" The clerk quickly stood up to welcome them.
Gong Ping let out a heavy snort, not hiding his anger, "Was it you who stopped Constable Chen just now, preventing him from entering the archive room?"
The clerk nervously replied, "You instructed that no one should enter the archive room without your permission."
*Slap!* Gong Ping slapped the clerk across the face, furious, "Open your dog eyes and see clearly, Constable Chen is a favored subordinate of Lord Yuan."
"As the saying goes, one must consider the owner before hitting the dog. Who gave you the courage to stop him?"
"Do you still want this job?"
"This subordinate knows his mistake, this subordinate knows his mistake!" The clerk, terrified, immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.
Chen Nan frowned. A cold glint flashed in the depths of his eyes. At this moment, he finally understood why Gong Ping had brought him to the archive room. Comparing him to a dog was an insult, trampling on his dignity. This was a declaration of war.
"Very good, excellent. When the imperial envoy investigating the Imperial Pardon arrives in Tongcheng, the Imperial Pardon will appear in your home!" Chen Nan felt that keeping the Imperial Pardon with him would be very useful. Look, wasn't it coming in handy now?