The Vigilant Guardian

Eleventh Chapter: Touching Fish

In the capital of the Great Feng Dynasty, the assessment system for capital officials, known as the "Jingcha," is carried out once every three years. It uses the "Four Qualities" and "Eight Laws" as the standards for promotion and demotion. Unqualified officials may be downgraded or even dismissed from office.This is a matter of great importance, as it concerns the future of officials. For example, the Zhang family in Changle County had a case of a backlog of murder. The head of the household, Zhang Yourui, is a wealthy local."On the 4th day of the 11th month of this year, Zhang Yourui went down to the countryside to collect rent. When he returned home in the middle of the night, he was killed in the inner courtyard of his house. His wife, Yang, heard a strange scream and went out to check. She saw a black shadow climbing over the wall and fleeing." A colleague described the case."Why is it so strange?" Wei Wuji, a fast-handed clerk in the county yamen, asked casually while handling official business."The wife said that when she saw the black shadow, a gust of wind blew, and she clearly saw that the black shadow was holding a vase in its hand. But when we searched the courtyard, there was no vase at all. And there were no footprints or traces of flowers and plants being trampled outside the wall." The colleague frowned."Could it be that the thief took the vase and flew away?" Another clerk joked.Everyone laughed, but Wei Wuji pondered. "There are many strange things in this world. Maybe there is some mystery we haven't discovered yet."He decided to go to the crime scene to investigate carefully. Maybe he could find some clues that others had overlooked.Wei Wuji slowly walked around the inner courtyard, his eyes scanning every corner. Suddenly, he noticed a faint mark on the ground that seemed to be different from the surrounding soil. He squatted down and carefully observed, it looked like a partial footprint, but it was very faint."Could this be the clue left by the murderer?" Wei Wuji's heart moved. He continued to search around and found a few strands of hair on the edge of the wall. The hair was long and black, not like the hair of the Zhang family members."Wei Wuji, what did you find?" A colleague came over and asked.Wei Wuji pointed to the footprint and the hair. "Look at these. Maybe they are related to the murderer."The colleagues looked at it and nodded. "It seems that you have found some important clues. Let's continue to investigate."Wei Wuji felt that this case was not as simple as it seemed. There must be some hidden secrets waiting to be uncovered. He was determined to solve this case and find out the truth.