Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Chapter 694 is in the northwest corner!
The whole area was filled with the smell of burnt wood.

At this time, people from the Ministry of Works had already begun to enter the file room to check the burning of the files.

And prepare a new room and move the remaining files away to avoid further accidents.

"Master Shen, this is it."

Du Chuke spoke to Shen Lian.

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He looked forward.

The file room of the Ministry of Works was located in the northwest corner of the yamen.

Because this is a corner and the wind is not strong today, the file room burned more severely, but it did not endanger other areas.

The archive room is a two-story building.

The area is not small.

The area worst burned was the second floor.

There are six windows on the second floor, but now, three of them have been completely burned out.

The wall on one side was also burned black.

The roof collapsed because the beams above were burned off.

The second floor now looks very dilapidated.

Shen Lian said: "Let's go in and take a look."

Du Chuke hurried to accompany him.

When I opened the door on the first floor, the smoke from the fire hit my nose.

Fortunately, the place was well ventilated and the windows were burned out, so the smoke dissipated quickly and did not prevent them from entering.

However, just in case, Shen Lian still got a piece of cloth, poured water on it, and then covered his mouth and nose with it.

He entered the first floor and saw a place that looked like a counter.

This is the file room where files are kept and where file transfers are recorded.

At this time, this place was still intact and the fire was put out before it affected this place.

Du Chuke said: "Fortunately, the fire started at night, so it was discovered as soon as the fire appeared."

"Also, the Ministry of Industry had some tasks to catch up with tonight, so most people stayed here. That’s why they rushed over to put out the fire as soon as it appeared."

"Otherwise, if we discover it too late or the government office is short of manpower, I can't imagine what the consequences will be."

Shen Lian nodded.

Walking around the counter, you can see bookshelves behind you.

The entire first floor is almost filled with bookshelves.

And the bookshelves are full of files.

Because the main area destroyed by the fire was the second floor, although some of the files on the first floor were also affected, most of them were preserved.

This can be considered a blessing in misfortune.

Du Chuke said: "The files on the first floor are from the last eight years. Fortunately, most of them have been preserved."

"But the files on the second floor..."

He raised his head, his eyes full of pain: "There are only a limited number of people who can stay."

Are the files on the first floor files from the past eight years?

So, the files that Mrs. Han mentioned about Han Qian renovating the building ten years ago are placed on the second floor?
But the second floor was already more than half burned.

........................

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes.

He walked up the stairs to the second floor.

As soon as you enter the second floor, you can see what it looked like after the fire.

More than half of the bookshelves had been burned.

Only a few corners of the file can be seen.

The other files that were not burned were also soaked because they were just poured with water to put out the fire.

Shen Lian made a preliminary estimate and found that three-fifths of the files on the second floor were burned.

Less than half remained.

It was the first time for Du Chuke to go up to the second floor since the fire.

........................

Even though he already had a bad feeling in his heart, he was so distressed that he couldn't breathe when he saw that the files were half burned.

After all, those are the foundation accumulated by the Ministry of Industry over decades.

Now, it's all burned.

Shen Lian said: "Where is the file from ten years ago?"

"Ten years ago?"

Du Chuke glanced at the second floor, then pointed at the ashes and said, "It's all there."

Shen Lian's eyes flashed.

Sure enough, everything was as he expected!
He came to the ashes, squatted down, and could only pick up some burnt scraps from the side.

Shen Lian took a deep breath and said, "Master Du, was there anyone in the file before the fire?"

Du Chuke said, "There is only one chief clerk, who is in charge of the file room here."

"Does he know what caused the fire?"

Du Chuke shook his head: "He said the fire started on the second floor, but at the time, he was on the first floor. There was no one on the second floor, let alone a stove or anything like that, so he was very confused as to why the second floor suddenly caught fire."

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes when he heard Du Chuke's words and asked, "Are you sure there was no one else on the second floor when the fire broke out?"

Du Chuke said, "That's what he said. I'll call him over and ask Lord Shen about it."

Shen Lian nodded: "Okay."

At the same time, he also said to Du Chuke: "Lord Du had better count the number of people in the Ministry of Works to see if there are people who should be here but are not in the office now."

When Du Chuke heard this, a gleam of light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

He immediately understood what Shen Lian meant.

"Lord Shen is worried... Han Qian has an accomplice in the government office. Who set the fire and has already escaped during the chaos?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Any possibility is possible, so I asked Lord Du to investigate first."

Du Chuke said without hesitation: "Okay, let's do it right away."

Du Chuke quickly turned and left.

Leave Shen Lian behind to continue inspecting the scene.

The scene of a fire is therefore more like the scene of a homicide.

There are always some clues or evidence left at the scene of a homicide.

But at the fire scene, because the fire was so thorough, many traces were burned away by the fire.

In other words, the cause of the fire may have already been burned out.

If it were in the future, with the help of some special equipment, it might be possible to find out the point of fire and the cause of the fire.

But it was very difficult for the Tang Dynasty.

At best, we can only make guesses based on the testimonies of others, the severity of the burning at the scene, and some experience.

Therefore, in ancient fires, it is much more difficult to find out the truth than to find the murderer.

"what?"

At this moment, Shen Lian suddenly let out a light exclamation.

He squatted down and picked up the files that were burned, leaving only some corners.

Looking at these remaining scraps of paper, Shen Lian narrowed his eyes.

He raised his head and looked at the remaining files.

Shen Lian suddenly stood up, walked to the files, picked up one and took a look.

This file is from twenty years ago.

It records various drawings of the construction of a royal palace twenty years ago.

The file was covered with dust and had some water stains on the surface. The paper was already a bit brittle from twenty years ago, so it would break if touched lightly.

Shen Lian quickly put the file back where it was.

These files were first burned by fire and then soaked in water, and have been severely affected.

Next, the Ministry of Industry will arrange personnel to re-transcribe these files and then re-archive them.

Shen Lian looked at the surviving files on the bookshelf, then looked at the corner of the file in his hand, and fell into deep thought.

At this time, footsteps came from behind.

"Master Shen, you are looking for me."

A voice sounded.

Shen Lian turned around and saw a middle-aged man in his forties standing behind him.

This person is the chief clerk who guards this place.

Shen Lian didn't waste any words and asked directly: "Were you on the first floor when the fire broke out?"

The chief clerk nodded quickly: "Yes, today I am in charge of guarding the archives room, so I will be here all day."

Shen Lian asked: "What were you doing when the fire broke out?"

The chief clerk said, "I am copying files on the first floor. The Ministry of Works built the venue for the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce a few days ago. Now we need to summarize the relevant contents and create a file, so I will sort out these contents after get off work..."

Shen Lian nodded.

The Wanbang Chamber of Commerce had indeed just ended not long ago, and he had used the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce to plot against Beichen once.

"Did you hear any noise on the second floor before the fire started?"

The chief clerk shook his head and said, "There was no movement. It was very quiet at the time. I didn't hear any sound."

"And I went to the second floor to check an hour ago."

"An hour ago, it was normal to go off duty. Before going off duty every time, I would inspect the entire file room, sort out the scattered files, clean up, and then leave."

"However, because I have other tasks today, I did not leave after the inspection."

Shen Lian said: "So, when you checked, you didn't find anything abnormal?"

The chief clerk shook his head: "Everything is normal."

Could it be that someone climbed over the wall and entered the second floor?

However, the Ministry of Works has always been patrolled by guards, and it is not easy to hide the secret from them.

Shen Lian thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Did you smell any special smell when the fire broke out, or before it happened?"

The chief clerk thought for a moment, and suddenly, he looked at Shen Lian and said, "When I discovered the fire, I really smelled... what seemed to be the smell of kerosene."

"Also, I heard a loud bang. It sounded so loud that I thought it was the bookshelf falling down at first, but now that I think about it, it sounded like something breaking."

"The smell of kerosene?"

"The sound of something breaking?"

Shen Lian listened to the chief clerk's words and looked towards the burned area.

There was only dust everywhere, and collapsed beams and tiles. If you don't clean it up, you won't be able to see if there is anything buried inside.

Shen Lian pondered for a moment, then said, "Come here, clean up the tiles and beams there."

Upon hearing this, the runners from the Ministry of Works hurried to move things.

Shen Lian retracted his gaze and continued to look at the chief clerk, saying: "Apart from these, have you found anything else?"

The chief clerk shook his head: "No more."

"Because I was already off duty at that time, no one would come to borrow the files, so I remember it very clearly."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He had been paying attention to the chief clerk. When the chief clerk said these words, his eyes were calm, without any flicker, and he did not make any other subconscious movements.

From this we can temporarily judge that the chief clerk did not lie.

Soon, the tiles were cleared aside and the charred beams were carried away.

Shen Lian walked over.

He came to where the burn was worst.

Normally, the place where the fire starts is where the fire is most serious because it burns the longest.

Based on these, we can temporarily determine the approximate range of the fire point.

When Shen Lian came here, he could still find some bookshelves that were only half burned.

He picked up a piece of burnt wood and scratched it in the ashes.

Suddenly, a somewhat crisp sound was heard.

Shen Lian's eyes flashed, he lowered his head, cleaned up the ashes, and then found some broken porcelain pieces inside.

Shen Lian picked up the porcelain piece and saw that its surface had been burned black by the fire. If he hadn't carefully searched with a piece of wood, the porcelain piece would have been difficult to find as it was hidden in the ashes.

Looking at the porcelain piece, he narrowed his eyes.

I recalled what the chief clerk said, that when the fire started, I heard a bang.

Some speculations gradually took shape in his mind.

Shen Lian stood up, walked to the chief clerk, and said, "How many people have come to borrow files today?"

The chief clerk thought for a moment and said, "There are five people."

Then he said, "If you want to know, I have recorded the time when everyone came in."

Shen Lian said: "Bring it here."

The chief clerk did not dare to delay and quickly returned to the first floor. When he came back, he had a book in his hand.

He flipped open the book and said, "This is the borrowing record for today."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He looked at the name and time on the book.

Suddenly, Shen Lian's gaze fixed on a record.

This is the record.

"Minister Zhang Qin came at 3:30 pm and left at 1:15 pm."

The records did not specify what file Zhang Qin borrowed.

It's just like a library here. As long as you don't take the files out, you can look through the files at will.

So it is impossible to record in detail.

But the time of arrival and departure is recorded very clearly.

"Zhang Qin...he is here today too!"

"Besides, there is no record afterwards, which means he was the last person to come to the dossier room!"

Shen Lian was not at all surprised to see Zhang Qin's name appear in the book.

After all, that's who he came for.

He asked the chief clerk, "After Zhang Qin, no one else came, right?"

The chief clerk nodded hurriedly: "That's right, when Master Zhang left, we were almost done with our shift, so there was no one else."

"Do you know which files he has read?" Shen Lian asked.

The chief clerk shook his head and said, "Master Zhang went to the second floor to look through the files. I was on the first floor the whole time, so I didn't know."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He said, "I have learned most of what I have learned. You can go ahead and do your work. I will call you if I have more questions."

The chief clerk nodded quickly and left quickly.

His task was heavy, including counting the lost files and organizing the other files.

At this moment, a sound of footsteps quickly came from the first floor to the second floor.

The Minister of Works, Du Chuke, upon seeing Shen Lian, immediately said, "Sir Shen, I just counted the staff of the Ministry of Works."

"I discovered that one person is missing!"

Shen Lian's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Who?"

Du Chuke took a deep breath and said, "Minister, Zhang Qin!"

Du Chuke took a deep breath and said, "Minister, Zhang Qin!"