She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 426 - 425

Chapter 426: 425

Qin Xiao knelt on the ground in a wretched state, his hair hanging down, slowly straightening his back, his hands swept his hair back behind his head, and the smile on his face was very strange.

"Hao Ren, even if I gave you a hundred guts, would you dare to lay a finger on me?"

Even if he admitted that it was he who had a hand in the croupier siblings’ fate, so what?

He had the backing of the Grand Tutor from the Qin Family.

Hao Ren, a mere seventh-rank County Magistrate, what could he do to touch him?!

Hao Ren didn’t answer but retorted, "So you admit it was you who had someone deal with the croupier siblings! I now want you to hand over the person who did it, and you must also explain your motive for wanting the croupier siblings dead!"

The gavel came down with a bang, the government officers to both sides shouted firmly, "Speak!"

Qin Xiao was startled and trembled all over.

His gaze was gloomy, and he still refused to speak.

Hao Ren sneered, "You won’t speak, eh? Let me speak on your behalf."

"That croupier discovered that you, the boss of Tianxiang Gambling House, were secretly trafficking young girls. His family was poor, his sister was ill, and the silver he earned was nowhere near enough to cover her medical treatment. So, he thought to extort you, but who would have thought you would be so heartless and ruthless, to have someone kill him outright. To prevent word from getting out, you went all the way, poisoning his sister too, and staged it to look like she had hung herself in a suicide!"

"Nonsense! All this is your wild imagination, County Magistrate Hao Ren. Do you have any evidence?" Qin Xiao retorted loudly.

He could admit to the death of the croupier siblings.

But the disappearance of the girls in Luzhou County over the past twenty years, that he could never admit!

If he implicated the people behind him, even ten of his lives wouldn’t be enough to pay.

Just thinking about it filled Qin Xiao with dread.

"It’s true that I dealt with the croupier siblings—they stole the silver from the gambling house and wouldn’t admit it when caught, so my subordinates went to confront them, which led to physical conflict and they were accidentally killed. The croupier’s sister, in a moment of despair, drank poison and hung herself. As the manager of the Tianxiang Gambling House, I feel that this was my fault, and I admit it. But, County Magistrate Hao Ren, you shouldn’t pin this baseless accusation on me! As for the missing girls, it is clearly due to your incompetence as a magistrate!"

"Besides, it was only after you took office that Luzhou County started to see continuous disappearances of young girls. If anyone should be suspected, it’s none other than you, County Magistrate Hao Ren!"

Qin Xiao had been the boss of Tianxiang Industry for many years, and he indeed had a way with words.

Quickly, he seized on the loopholes in Hao Ren’s argument, launching a rapid counter-attack.

Hao Ren’s face turned red with anger on the spot.

"Incorrigible! It seems you won’t cry until you see your coffin!" He grabbed the gavel and gave it another bang, pulled out a command plaque from the container and threw it fiercely to the ground: "Execute the punishment!"

"Hao Ren, you dare!" Qin Xiao glared at him furiously: "Without a shred of evidence, you dare to administer punishment on me?! Those croupier siblings had sold themselves into the Tianxiang Gambling House; taking the silver was a capital offense to begin with. As their master, it’s only right for me to discipline them—how could this be wrong?! I see you, Hao Ren, are just using your authority recklessly, like searching for a scapegoat in the dark!"

"What are you all standing there for? Give him twenty heavy blows with the paddle first, dull the sharpness of this boss of Tianxiang Gambling House!" No matter what, the blows must be dealt today.

Hao Ren had wanted to take action for a long time.

Now that he had found a chance, how could he let it go?

"My lord, taking action without evidence might not convince the public," the meticulous government officer stepped forward and saluted.

Hao Ren gave him a meaningful look: "And what do you think should be done?"

His sneer deepened, "How about, I let you sit in my seat, and you can wear this official cap, how about that?!"

"This subordinate wouldn’t dare!" The government officer immediately knelt down.

"What don’t you dare? Over the years, you’ve been colluding with Qin Xiao, skimming plenty off the top at Tianxiang Gambling House, right?" Hao Ren pulled a stack of papers from his sleeve and tossed them to the ground.

The government officer realized something was amiss. Upon picking up the papers and looking at them, his face turned deathly pale. He crawled forward on his knees, "My lord, these were all given to me by Qin Xiao, this subordinate had no choice, my lord..."

"I was wondering who could be so bold as to present Pear Blossom Intoxication to Qin Xiao. I never expected to have such a disloyal dog lurking beside me." Hao Ren smacked the gavel resoundingly: "What are you waiting for! Give each a punishment of twenty heavy paddlings, then drag them here for questioning after!"

No one dared to plead for mercy this time.

They directly dragged Qin Xiao and that stern-faced government officer away.

Qin Xiao was defiant, shouting manically, quickly subdued on the tiger bench, as the wooden paddle swiftly descended, instantly flaying his skin and bursting his flesh.

Having lived a life of luxury, Qin Xiao had never suffered such agony and immediately began to howl in pain.

The stern-faced government officer, after all, was an officer, enduring in silence for more than a dozen strikes until, at the last few, he couldn’t help but hum out in pain.

After the beating, half-dead, they were dragged back into the main hall.

Qin Xiao’s lower body was soaked in blood as he glared at Hao Ren, perched above him.

He never expected where Hao Ren got the audacity to pick this particular day to deal with him!

"Speak, are the hundreds of missing girls’ cases, big and small, in Luzhou County related to you, and where have these girls ended up?"

This was Hao Ren’s obsession, he bellowed the question.

Upon seeing this, Qin Xiao let out a low chuckle.

"As an imperial court official, you accuse me, Qin Xiao, of the missing girls’ case without any proof. It’s utterly ridiculous. Have you, Hao Ren, eaten the courage of the bear and leopard to slander me so? Or is it that you’ve recently gained someone’s backing, and from now on, you’ll no longer regard the Qin Family?"

He still wouldn’t admit anything.

The situation once again reached a deadlock.

Hao Ren indeed didn’t have any solid evidence.

All he had was the record of Qin Xiao colluding with his subordinates.

The rest was information he had collected over the years but had no tangible evidence to present openly.

Now, cornered by Qin Xiao’s demand for evidence, Hao Ren was in a difficult position.

Could it be that the opportunity he’d waited more than twenty years for was about to slip through his fingers?

He couldn’t bear the thought!

Hao Ren’s lips thinned into a line.

Seeing this, Qin Xiao was even more certain Hao Ren had no evidence.

"I’ll remember this debt today," he said with a sinister smile.

For the near loss of his life from those twenty heavy strikes, Hao Ren would have to pay!

"In front of the high court, you brazenly threaten an imperial court official, how bold of Mr. Qin from the east." Just then, Yan Wanqing changed into fresh clothes and walked in slowly from outside, with the Crown Prince closely following behind. Behind them trailed five or six sister flowers, an impressive procession.

The moment Qin Xiao heard that voice, his ears ached.

"This is a public court, what are you doing here?" Qin Xiao said with a hostile expression.

He fell into this trap because of this woman’s intervention.

Yan Wanqing spread her hands, and Yan Hongzhao immediately presented a piece of paper: "Since the Tianxiang Industry has already been lost to me by Mr. Qin from the east, naturally it requires a signed and sealed agreement. In a moment, I will go to check the accounts to prevent some people from transferring assets."

Qin Xiao gagged mid-breath, cursing at Hao Ren: "What kind of public court is this where even cattle and horses are admitted? Is there no dignity left!"

He didn’t want to talk about this at all right now!

Nobody should remind him that he had just lost to a woman! Lost all his fortunes!