Ji Cai’s words were quickly confirmed!

The remaining corpses were also found and pieced together to form a complete body.

According to Wu Bucai, the person had died two days ago. Although the appearance of the corpse had changed slightly, it did not change as quickly as in summer due to the cold weather. After the dirt on the face was cleaned off, the deceased was still easily recognizable.

“The deceased’s surname was Feng. He was one of the Shilling¹ managing this marketplace, and his age and other details all matched the conclusions Wu Bucai had reached,” the constable came over to report. “As for physical labor… this Feng had still been a dockworker helping move cargo at the Weishui riverside wharf three months ago. He had only recently become a Shilling.”

Hearing this, Lin Fei raised his hand and asked, “What about the old and new abrasions on Feng Shilling’s hands? Even if three months isn’t a long time, he wouldn’t need to move goods at the docks after becoming the Shilling. Where did he get these abrasions?”

The constable had already asked about this.

“Feng Shilling disappeared five days ago. He was moving before he went missing,” the constable said. “From where he used to live as a laborer to his new home. He bumped and bruised himself, and these abrasions on his hands are from that time.”

Lin Fei nodded and asked the constable, “Where is Feng Shilling’s new home?”

“Lin’an Hutong.” Before Lin Fei could ask any more questions, the constable finished speaking, saying, “That area is now home to many shop owners and such, and it’s much better than where he used to live.”

Although he hadn’t yet visited Lin’an Hutong, after the constable mentioned who lived there, Lin Fei immediately understood: “Let’s not go into how he went from a dockworker who had been carrying goods for years to becoming the Shìlìng…”

The constable’s expression turned strange, and he subconsciously nodded in agreement. While the Shìlìng’s position wasn’t a high-ranking official post, it was a coveted job for a dockworker who toiled daily carrying goods and endured harsh conditions. Such a coveted position was highly sought after by dockworkers, so becoming the Shìlìng was no easy feat. Without connections, even a top-ranking dockworker couldn’t become the Shìlìng.

The Shìlìng’s rise to power was quite suspicious, but it hadn’t been thoroughly investigated yet.

Lin Fei, of course, knew this matter needed careful investigation, so he didn’t pursue it further and instead brought up another matter.

“So, even if he became the Shìlìng, after only three months, he can afford to live in a house in Lin’an Hutong?” Lin Fei shook his head and said, “Not to mention buying it, even if it’s rented, as far as I know, renting a house in Chang’an usually requires a deposit of three months to six months or even a year’s rent. How could the money the Shìlìng receives in these three months be enough to cover the deposit?”

The constable shook his head and admitted, “I still don’t know where this Feng Shilling got his money, but in these three months, the man surnamed Feng has indeed been somewhat… uh, somewhat flamboyant in the market, attracting some attention.”

“As for how he attracted attention”, the constable said with a strange expression, “it’s probably because he’s been a laborer for many years, accumulating a lot of resentment. He’s always resentful of those better off than him, deliberately picking fights…”

And this nitpicking wasn’t limited to those better off; Feng Shilling was equally critical and contemptuous of those worse off.

“He looked down on those who are miserable, constantly using words like ‘lowly’ and ‘despicable’.” The constable shook his head, saying, “He’ll step on the high and then the low. Therefore, Feng Shilling is very unpopular in the market; you can’t find anyone who likes him.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuan suddenly realized, “So… this Feng fellow is a petty man who suddenly gained power.”

The constable nodded and said, “What everyone said is indeed true. Before Feng Shilling disappeared, whenever people in the market saw him come, they would whisper, ‘The King of Hell, Feng, is here again!’”

Such a person was truly disliked. Liu Yuan thought for a moment and then asked, “Then who had he offended…?”

“Quite a few”, the constable replied. “Most of the stall owners in this market have had direct conflicts with him, and even those who haven’t had direct conflicts have complained and cursed him in private.”

This was because he had offended too many people; his enemies were spread throughout the entire market, making it extremely difficult to investigate.

As Liu Yuan was sighing, he heard Bai Zhu’s voice ring out from the side: “What about Hu Siming? Has he had any conflicts with him?”

Hu Siming, a key suspect, was still being held in jail at the time.

The constable nodded and said, “That’s exactly what I was going to talk about. The two of them had a conflict.”

“He was one of the people who caused the trouble of switching chickens and ducks,” the constable said. “He brought a chicken to be slaughtered, and the people who had been waiting all morning complained that ‘it’s not good for the Shìlìng to cut in line.’ When Hu Siming saw this, he spoke up for his regular customer, saying, ‘It’s not good to cut in line,’ and so on. Of course, since he was the Shìlìng, no vendor in the market dared to offend him, and Hu Siming was no exception. In the end, he still slaughtered the chicken for him, but then the man complained that Hu Siming was too quick and suspected that he had switched the chicken. In the end, he emptied the swill bucket before he was satisfied!”

Hearing this, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh: “He really was a complete scoundrel!”

Wasn’t he? The constable coughed lightly and said, “In short, everyone hated him, so when he didn’t come, everyone just assumed he was sick, but no one wanted to go and see him.”

This guy wasn’t a good person anyway, so why would anyone bother to see him? Did they want to be ridiculed?

Hearing this, Lin Fei nodded and said, “Have Wu Bucai investigate the specific cause of death. Let’s go to Lin’an Hutong and take a look.”

Lin’an Hutong was just one of many hutongs in the north of the city where many people gathered. Because of the shopkeepers’ “gathering,” there were many peddlers coming and going to buy and sell goods, making the hutong bustling and noisy.

Seeing Lin Fei stop at the alley entrance and scan the alleyway, the constable hurriedly said, “Lin Shaoqing, this alley is quite crowded and chaotic. Feng Shilling is a newcomer and hasn’t done anything like some commoners who would buy cakes and pastries as ‘housewarming gifts.’ So, unless the neighbors saw him carrying things in and out, they wouldn’t know the house was rented out. And this Feng shìlìng has never made friends with his neighbors, so even though he’s been missing for several days, no one has reported it to the authorities.”

Lin Fei nodded, looking at the house at the end of the alley where several constables stood guard at the gate; although there were no housewarming gifts, a red banner was pasted on the gate—”Swallowing Gold and Treasures”.

Whether this house could actually swallow gold and treasures was unknown, but for this Feng Shilling, this house certainly could swallow people.

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. Shìlìng (市令): a minor market administrator responsible for overseeing a marketplace and maintaining order.