Miss Truth
Chapter 276 - 174: Despicable Characters_2

Chapter 276: Chapter 174: Despicable Characters_2

Just the other day, County Magistrate Song had shown great enthusiasm, sending men to the Su Mansion to catch a person of suspicion. Although they failed to arrest anyone, they had a chance encounter with Zhuang Yin. It was like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.

Zhuang Yin forced a smile, leaned slightly forward, and a lustful, sinister grin spread across his bearded face, "The fame of the beautiful widow of the Su Family is widespread. Isn’t getting her in hand far better than being a bandit?"

Xiao Song’s pair of pitch-black eyes stared at Zhuang Yin, staring until his smile froze on his face, then suddenly burst into a hearty laugh, "Haha, I can understand."

Just when Zhuang Yin thought he had managed to bluff his way through, Xiao Song’s laughter came to an abrupt halt, and he said indifferently, "Assistant Minister Zhuang, I really don’t want to extract a confession by force, but my benevolence has been taken for folly. Do you doubt my means? Would you like to witness them firsthand?"

The oppressive atmosphere inside the room became so intense that it left people breathless; Xiao Song’s imposing aura was unrelenting like the tide, causing even the Government Officials standing on each side to sweat profusely at the temples.

"Spare my brothers, and I will tell you anything you want to know," Zhuang Yin finally surrendered, realizing there was no chance of winning this standoff.

"This can be discussed, but please answer my questions before my patience runs out," replied Xiao Song as he flicked a stray droplet from his slender finger and set down his cup, looking at Zhuang Yin with an ease that belied the tension, "Otherwise, wouldn’t it be unfortunate if your brothers were to die violently in prison? Don’t you think?"

Zhuang Yin’s eyes widened in disbelief. He could not believe what he had just heard from the mouth of this upright Assistant Minister of Ministry of Justice! At the same time, he profoundly regretted making the request, for he had exposed all his vulnerabilities to this cunning fox.

"Every member of the Xiao Family is known for their integrity and uprightness. Assistant Minister Xiao is truly exceptional!" Zhuang Yin said with sarcasm.

Xiao Song simply smiled an unruffled smile, undisturbed by the provocation.

After a pause, Zhuang Yin finally began to confess, "Ten years ago, in the Jushui County prison, I bribed several prison guards with one thousand taels of gold to find a death-row prisoner to substitute for me. To deceive the forensic doctor during the examination, they tried to find a gentleman with a body shape and age similar to mine, even in appearance. One day, they brought me a drunk who bore a three-to-four parts resemblance to me..."

For some reason, Zhuang Yin recounted the process of deceiving the heavens and crossing the sea from ten years ago.

Xiao Song quickly sensed the issue, "Is the drunk gentleman related to Lady Su?"

Zhuang Yin looked at Xiao Song admiringly, then hung his head and said, "Correct, that gentleman was her husband. Back then, the Su Family was a major household in Jushui County. I didn’t realize that one thousand taels of gold would drive those prison guards to such extremes that they even dared to kill the Su Family’s son-in-law. They took half the gold upfront and agreed to meet at the burial site to hand over the rest, after the deed was done. Three people went that day, one named Ze San, another named Feng Zhao, and one named Wang Si..."

...

Ten years ago, in the western part of Jushui County town.

Night had just fallen when Ze Pingzhi and Feng Zhao, carrying a sack, hid in the woods and waited. Suddenly, a dozen sword-wielding men dressed in black appeared from the trees.

Ze Pingzhi, sensing their murderous intent, quickly said, "We’ve only brought half of the corpse today. If we don’t return by sunrise, someone will take the other half of the body to the Government Office and report the case. If we die, we all die together!"

The motions of the men in black hesitated, and Zhuang Yin stepped out from behind a thick, dead tree, laughing loudly, "They mean no harm; it’s just that bandits tend to look a bit fierce." He glanced at the sack, "Open it and let’s have a look."

Ze Pingzhi quickly untied the sack, spilling half a corpse from it. Upon seeing this body, split from the middle into two halves, even Zhuang Yin, who was accustomed to violence, couldn’t help feeling his scalp tingle. To save their lives, they had indeed resorted to doing anything!

"Bring out the gold!" Zhuang Yin commanded.

Just then, the nearby underbrush stirred slightly.

Zhuang Yin made a gesture to the nearest black-clad figure, who promptly leaped into the bushes.

"Ah! Help..." A shrill cry for help came from the bushes, but was abruptly cut off mid-shout.

Soon after, the black-clad person dragged out a youth clad in blue-ash clothing from the bushes. Seeing the faces of Ze Pingzhi and the other two, the youth’s face turned deathly pale.

"This kid knows our business, we must kill him to silence him," Ze Pingzhi said immediately.

Although Zhuang Yin was a bandit, he carried the spirit of chivalrous righteousness, usually targeting only officials who plundered the people and corrupt merchants, disdaining to harm ordinary good citizens. He felt genuine disgust for the actions of Ze Pingzhi and his associates and objected, "We must not kill the innocent indiscriminately."

Having said that, he turned to the youth and said, "Swear an oath to gouge out your own eyes if you ever reveal what happened today, and I will spare your life."

Jushui County was small and people were generally acquainted with each other, so naturally, Ze Pingzhi and the others were not comfortable with leaving the youth alive. However, the youth was Liu Wen, a well-known young talent of Jushui County. Being prison guards, they were in contact with all sorts of people on a regular basis and always had something to hold over Liu Wen.

"Later, I learned that the person who died in my place was actually the son-in-law of the Su family. At that time, I made a false plot, leading the Su family to mistakenly believe that Mr. Mu had eloped with another girl," Zhuang Yin still felt guilty.

The Su family was a prominent household; family scandals could not be made public. Not long after, word spread that Mr. Mu had passed away from illness. Since Mr. Mu was an outsider who had married into Jushui County and seldom left his home, specific details were unknown to outsiders.

After hearing Zhuang Yin’s account, Xiao Song paused for a moment and then called out, "Come forth!"

The ones who ran in were County Magistrate Feng and Assistant Minister Song, accompanied by two arrest officers. Xiao Song glanced at them and ordered, "Arrest the owner of the Yuelai Inn, Ze Pingzhi, and the others involved in this case."

"Yes!" County Magistrate Feng replied eagerly and then quickly directed Assistant Minister Song to deploy.

Watching the group’s frantic and disheveled actions, Zhuang Yin suddenly burst out laughing. He looked at Xiao Song and said, "I thought it was cowardly enough for me to bow and scrape before a young official, but now I see a bunch of real losers."

County Magistrate Feng really wanted to curse Zhuang Yin with his finger pointed at his nose: You’re just spilling your guts under duress, while we all have families to feed! Walking on thin ice in the officialdom, what does a bandit like you understand!

Feeling secretly relieved by his internal tirade, County Magistrate Feng couldn’t be bothered to argue further, deeming it more crucial to attend to the tasks handed down by his superiors!

Xiao Song did not respond but simply smiled faintly, his long fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk. After a while, he stood up and walked outside. Passing by Zhuang Yin, he said with a smile, "I’ll also go pay a visit to the charming widow of the Su family."

"She’s not the murderer," Zhuang Yin said, somewhat anxiously, affirming, "I’m afraid those people will harm her, so I’ve already placed my men around the Su residence. She couldn’t possibly go out and commit murder."

"Did I say she was the murderer?" Xiao Song casually dropped this line and instructed the Government Official, "Take him back to his cell!"

***

Alas, no one is paying attention to the case... I’m heartbroken~~~~ Sigh!!! Lately, the Su Fu faction has nearly drowned in handkerchiefs, and I must say something to everyone. Sir Su will appear in the next few days. The initial plan was to arrange it on February 14th, but the estimates for the handkerchiefs have always been unreliable, so I didn’t dare tell everyone in case it changed earlier or later, for fear of getting bricks thrown at me.

Also regarding the male lead, this story is about a love affair and forensic investigation; it won’t delve too much into married life. Which woman doesn’t have a past before getting married...

Of course, who that past involves remains to be seen. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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