As Lin Qingge's voice fell, the door in the center of the second floor was pushed open from the inside, and a man with a thick beard and a rough face walked out, smiling.
"Hahaha, Lord Lin graces our gambling house. We apologize for not meeting you sooner. Please don't blame us, Lord Lin."
Hearing the other party reveal his identity with a single sentence, Lin Qingge first raised an eyebrow, and a look of understanding flashed in her eyes.
Those who do business in gambling houses, if not vigilant in all directions, must at least be well-informed.
Such a major event as changing prefects would surely have attracted attention long ago.
So, from another perspective, recognizing her as the prefect but not intervening when the thugs caused trouble clearly indicated they weren't playing by the rules!
She should have smashed a few more things earlier…
As Lin Qingge fell into thought, the man had approached her and cupped his fists:
"I am Tu You, the proprietor of the Hengtong Gambling House. Greetings, Lord Lin.
If Lord Lin wished to see me, a simple message would have sufficed. Why go through such trouble?
If others were to see the esteemed Prefect gambling in a gambling house, it might tarnish your reputation, Lord Lin."
Listening to the veiled barbs, Lin Qingge's lips curved into a wry smile:
"Proprietor Tu, one can eat whatever they wish, but they must be careful about what they say.
I am upright and act with integrity. I am here on account of a murder case.
As for gambling, it is entirely baseless!"
Saying this, Lin Qingge pointed to the trembling squirrel hiding under the table and said with a straight face:
"His name is Lu Mingxuan. He is a delinquent inmate used for odd jobs at the yamen. Due to his gambling addiction, he stole Master Hua's money and came here for a few bets.
After I caught him red-handed, he showed no remorse. I can only confiscate all the gambling winnings he accumulated and turn them over to the public treasury."
???
Hearing this half-hearted explanation, Lu Mingxuan’s eyes widened, and he even forgot to tremble.
Lin Qingge, having activated the correct prisoner-handling protocol, ignored the bewildered or constipated expressions of the onlookers and asked with a serious tone:
"Proprietor Tu, is Zhao Si one of your employees?"
"Lord Lin, that Zhao Si owed gambling debts he couldn't repay, so he essentially pledged himself to the gambling house to run errands.
Strictly speaking, he is not an employee of the gambling house."
"But I heard that Zhao Si was collecting debts for your gambling house?"
"Lord Lin, hearsay is not to be trusted."
Seeing that the other party was unwilling to cooperate, Lin Qingge put on a stern face and said forcefully:
"Proprietor Tu, I need a list of all your debtors."
"Lord Lin, this is rather irregular, wouldn't you agree?
While we conduct business openly, some respectable individuals occasionally slip up and incur small debts.
For the sake of Hengtong Gambling House's business today, and for the reputation of our patrons, I cannot possibly submit such a list."
Lin Qingge, neither angry nor annoyed by Tu You's refusal to cooperate, pointed again at Lu Mingxuan under the table:
"Proprietor Tu, I just received a report that someone stole money from your gambling house.
To determine the exact amount and thus the severity of the theft, I require you to provide all of the gambling house's accounts, including a list of individuals who owe gambling debts."
Unexpectedly, Lin Qingge was so unreasonable, Tu You glared at Lu Mingxuan, "He reported the case?"
"No, he is the one who stole the money. I am the one who reported the case."
Lu Mingxuan: …
Feeling as though he had been toyed with, Tu You nudged his upper teeth with his tongue, and after a long pause, squeezed out from between his teeth, "Lord Lin, are you crying 'stop thief' while being the thief yourself?"
"How can you call it crying 'stop thief'?
You must know that I am famously incorruptible and upright.
If you don't believe me, you can go to Changzhou County, where I was previously stationed, and ask anyone.
If anyone speaks ill of me, find someone else. You're bound to find someone who tells the truth."
Yan Tinghao, standing nearby, nodded heavily in agreement, "That's right, Lord Lin loves his people like his own children. If anyone dares to speak ill of the Lord, I, Yan Tinghao, will be the first to deal with them!"
"Lord Lin, Great Xia has never had such a preposterous situation where the reporter is also the presiding officer."
"But where in Great Xia's law does it state that a prefect cannot be both the presiding officer and the reporter?"
Lin Qingge retorted with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, then instructed someone nearby:
"Constable Yan, take Master Hua to check the accounts!"
"Yes!"
Knowing he couldn't escape this predicament today, Tu You winked at his subordinate. The latter, understanding the signal, stepped forward to lead the way, and then, in front of Yan Tinghao and Hua Jinrong, quickly tore the account books and name lists to shreds.
Seeing this, Yan Tinghao, who couldn't stop him in time, couldn't help but sigh:
"Alas—
I thought this time Qin Han wouldn't be involved, but I didn't expect to encounter this here."
With that, Yan Tinghao skillfully pulled out a piece of cloth and gathered all the shredded paper.
At the same time.
Hua Jinrong reported the destruction of the account books and name lists to Lin Qingge.
Unexpectedly, Tu You possessed a meticulous mind that belied his rough exterior. Lin Qingge shifted to asking who Zhao Si usually associated with and who he had closer relationships with.
After a round of questioning by Hua Jinrong, it was revealed that Zhao Si had a close friend named Wang Ergou and a mistress named Ling Lan.
Watching Lin Qingge and her group leave, the subordinate who had torn the account books and name lists approached Tu You and said indignantly:
"Brother Tu, that Lord Lin is too arrogant. Should we…?"
At the end, he made a throat-slitting gesture.
Tu You, although frowning, immediately rejected the idea without a second thought:
"Absolutely not! kuAiδugg
Our master specifically instructed us before that this Lord Lin acts erratically and has many skilled individuals around him. Therefore, no matter what happens, we must not act rashly."
"But Brother Tu, what about this gambling house?
What if they really manage to piece together those shredded documents and discover something they shouldn't through the financial transactions?
It's all my fault!
If I had known they would even piece together shredded paper, I would have burned it with a fire starter!"
"What's done is done. Have the brothers pack their things. We'll leave Fengtian Prefecture tonight."
"Brother Tu, what about this gambling house if we all leave?"
"Since we've been entangled by that Lord Lin, the gambling house will surely not be able to operate. The Xiangtang Pavilion is a prime example.
At this rate, we might all be ruined.
Therefore, to avoid disaster, we can only abandon this gambling house."
"Ultimately, it's all Zhao Si's fault!
If he hadn't died inexplicably, that Lord Lin wouldn't have come looking for us!"
On the other side.
Yan Tinghao, walking out of the gambling house, hugged the bundle in his arms and asked curiously:
"My Lord, why did you insist on seeing the account books and name lists of the Hengtong Gambling House? Is there a necessary connection to the case?"