“Open the door, open the door! If you don't open it, we'll kick it down.”
Judging by the voice, the person outside wasn't Zhang Maolin.
“What’s the rush? Disturbing my sleep in the dead of night, and you're still rushing?”
Han Mo muttered complaints as he cleaned up the bloodstains on the ground.
Fortunately, this small courtyard wasn't very large, and Han Mo was extremely familiar with the surrounding environment. Moreover, it was the dead of winter, with snow blanketing everything.
The bloodstains on the ground were truly conspicuous, almost instantly visible even at night.
After confirming there were no more bloodstains in the courtyard, Han Mo finally stood up and leisurely walked to the door, opening it.
“Someone, search this place!”
As soon as the main door opened, dozens of archers rushed forward.
In the torchlight, Han Mo realized that there were indeed quite a few people present today.
“Stop!”
Seeing them about to charge inside, Han Mo directly blocked them.
“Young sir, judging by your appearance, you must be a scholar. Are you trying to obstruct the officials of Kaifeng Prefecture from carrying out their duties?”
To Han Mo’s surprise, the person leading them had an extremely tough attitude.
“Who is this?”
Han Mo frowned, scrutinizing the unfamiliar man before him with some curiosity.
“This is the Commandant of Xiangfu County!”
Xu Sanbao quickly stepped forward to introduce him.
“So, it’s the Commandant of Xiangfu County! It’s truly strange, since when did the officials of Xiangfu County have jurisdiction here?”
Han Mo asked, frowning.
Although Han Jiayan’s manor was located outside Kaifeng Prefecture and still some distance from Bianliang City, it was definitively under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng County.
It was indeed peculiar for the officials of Xiangfu County to be venturing into Kaifeng Prefecture.
“When has the government ever needed to explain itself to you? Although I am overstepping my bounds, I have a written order from Junior Official Nie!”
If this wasn't Han Jiayan’s manor, Ning Zhiyuan wouldn't have bothered explaining so much to him.
“I apologize, Commandant Ning. My courtyard houses female residents, and you’ve arrived in the dead of night with so many people, armed and visible. It’s quite inconvenient. I heard no unusual sounds throughout the night. Perhaps Commandant Ning could patrol elsewhere!”
Han Mo smiled and said.
“That may not be up to you. This villain is extremely vicious and actually wounded the third young master of Prime Minister Cai’s family. We must investigate this matter thoroughly. Besides, searching is for your own good, isn't it?”
Ning Zhiyuan frowned and said directly.
“Your words are quite interesting, Commandant Ning. Are you implying that my Han family is connected to this villain who assassinated young Master Cai?”
Han Mo hadn’t expected the woman to be so bold as to injure Cai Shu single-handedly. This truly settled a grievance for him.
For this reason alone, he wouldn't hand the woman over.
Chun Tao still needed some time, and he had to stall for now.
“You! When did I say that?”
The Han family of Xiangzhou had held official positions for generations. How could a mere county commandant slight him?
Everyone in the imperial court knew that the Imperial Son-in-law Han Jiayan had an exceptionally close relationship with the current Emperor.
If he were to report this directly to the Emperor, his position as county commandant would be in jeopardy.
It was true that the Great Song Dynasty favored civil officials, but it favored those who had passed the imperial examinations. He, however, had only come from the Mingfa科 (a departmental examination). In the eyes of those high-ranking officials, he wasn’t even considered a scholar.
He dared not accept such a label!
“Didn’t you? Someone from the Cai family had an incident, and you came to my Han family to investigate. Are you implying my Han family is easy to bully?”
As Han Mo spoke, his voice rose by another octave.
This surprised even Xu Sanbao.
He hadn't considered this angle before. Now that Han Mo had reminded him, it did seem to be the case.
If someone were actually caught in the Han family, it would be like mud falling into the crotch of his trousers – whether it was shit or not, it would certainly look like it!
“We followed the bloodstains all the way here!”
Ning Zhiyuan hadn't expected Han Mo to be so glib-tongued.
“Commandant Ning, do bloodstains have names written on them? Think carefully, this is the別院 (separate villa) of the Imperial Son-in-law Han. We also sympathize with the incident involving Prime Minister Cai’s family. However, without any concrete evidence, you are coming to my Han family to conduct a thorough search with torches and weapons based solely on a pool of blood. How will those who are unaware of the truth perceive this?”
Han Mo chuckled and twisted the narrative.
Even if it was human blood, so what?
In this era, they couldn't conduct DNA testing. Who could prove that the blood outside the Han family belonged to the assassin?
“A well-spoken, insolent civilian!”
Han Mo’s few casual words had truly cornered Ning Zhiyuan.
But they had tracked the scent all the way here. At this point, asking them to give up felt truly unwilling in his heart.
“Insolent civilian? Commandant Ning, I cannot agree with that statement! Although my father held a humble position, he was at least a Judicial Officer of Meng Prefecture. As a member of the Han family, I, Han Mo, am currently a student in the Inner Division of the Imperial Academy. You tell me clearly, who is the insolent one?”
Han Mo’s original intention was to delay time. Now that he had grasped Ning Zhiyuan’s weakness, he naturally wouldn't back down.
This statement truly left Ning Zhiyuan somewhat speechless.
The constables accompanying him were also dumbfounded. The situation had escalated to this point, and it seemed there was no easy way to resolve it.
“I will not engage in these sophistries with you. Today, whether you agree or not, I will search!”
After struggling for a moment, Ning Zhiyuan seemed to have made up his mind.
“Commandant Ning, ordinarily, allowing you to search would be acceptable. But if you intend to use your authority to intimidate me, then we will have to discuss this further!”
The more resolute Ning Zhiyuan’s attitude became, the more peculiar Han Mo felt.
He had already made his position clear, even invoking Han Jiayan’s name. Why was this fellow still so stubborn? This situation seemed a bit off!
If he merely wanted to curry favor with Cai Jing, he had already achieved enough by this point.
After all, the Han family was not to be trifled with, and considering Princess Qi, Zhao Shu, had a very close relationship with the current Emperor, escalating this matter would embarrass even Cai Jing.
Could that damned woman have taken something important?
At this moment, a bold guess suddenly popped into Han Mo’s mind.