The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 797 - 785: Inquiry

Chapter 797: Chapter 785: Inquiry

County Magistrate Tang also instructed him, "In small villages and towns, there’s hardly anything that can be hidden from the local chief. You should ask the chief, and if you still can’t get any information, find a villager who is timid, afraid of trouble, and is poor. Arrest them on any pretext, scare them a bit, and you will get your answers."

"Interrogating a case also requires some tactics. Once you’ve arrested someone, don’t inquire progressively, just ask the question you most want to know, the one you are sure the other party knows. Even if you can’t get an answer from their mouth, you should be able to tell from their face, from their eyes."

County Magistrate Tang knew that his classmate and good friend was not very familiar with criminal law, and considering that Luojiang County was a small county, he feared it might not even encounter a homicide case in three years. Expecting him to accumulate much experience with criminal cases during his three-year tenure as county magistrate was impossible.

Therefore, in his letter, County Magistrate Tang asked, "What’s this, has your county experienced any major theft or robbery cases? Do you need me to come over for official duties for a few days to give you a hand?"

County Magistrate Yang set that question aside and began to ponder.

Thinking that he still had a few days before he had to leave, and plenty of time, he had the chief of Qili Village summoned.

Within less than half an hour, County Magistrate Yang had sent the chief away, watching him depart from afar, with Xiaos Wantian also standing behind him.

When everyone had left without a trace, Wantian saw that his young master still hadn’t moved an inch and thus asked, "Young Master, shall we not return? The chief seemed truly ignorant."

"Ignorant?" County Magistrate Yang lowered his eyes in thought for a long time before murmuring, "But I always feel that he is lying to me."

Wantian scratched his head, "The chief has always been respectful, and answered whatever you asked, where has he lied to you?"

County Magistrate Yang gave a faint smile, "Maybe I’m overthinking it. By the way, didn’t Manbao mention before, what is the name of the poorest family in their village? The one who is lazy and likes to gamble."

Wantian’s ability to remember people was always good. He thought for a moment and said, "There’s a guy nicknamed Lai Tou, he’s even younger than Miss Man."

County Magistrate Yang nodded and said, "Have the bailiffs keep an eye out. If he comes to the county town to gamble again, bring him here."

He thought he would probably have to wait until he returned from the capital city to meet the person, as after all, Qili Village was not very close to the county town, and it was still January. Even if the person liked to gamble, he couldn’t possibly come to the county town every day.

Who would have thought that just after he gave the order, the bailiffs took a round around the gambling shops on the street and brought back Lai Tou, who was huddling his neck in fear.

County Magistrate Yang almost spat out the tea in his mouth, staring at the filthy Lai Tou for quite a while before asking, "It’s only the seventeenth day of the first month, why are you out gambling?"

Lai Tou knelt on the ground with a plop and kept kowtowing, saying, "I will never dare again, never again, I beg for mercy, County Grandee, spare my life..."

County Magistrate Yang stretched out his hand to interrupt him, but noticing that Lai Tou kept kowtowing without even looking at him, he withdrew his hand and let him continue.

Lai Tou kept kowtowing with a thud; after a long time, his forehead hurt, and he felt dizzy. Seeing that the person sitting above had been silent the whole time, he finally stopped and quietly raised his head to look over.

County Magistrate Yang smiled at him slightly, asking, "Can we talk properly now?"

Lai Tou nodded his head desperately, his voice shaking, "Whatever you want to ask, Your Honor, I will answer truthfully."

County Magistrate Yang then asked, "Then tell me first, why are you gambling during such an auspicious month?"

Lai Tou said softly, "There’s nothing for me to do at home, I thought of coming out to earn some household money..."

"By gambling?" County Magistrate Yang scoffed, "So did you earn it?"

Lai Tou flushed red, hung his head, and shook it.

County Magistrate Yang asked, "Where did you get the money for gambling?"

"It’s after the New Year, there’s still some savings in the house..." As County Magistrate Yang’s gaze became increasingly colder, Lai Tou gradually fell silent.

County Magistrate Yang remembered the conversation he heard between Manbao, Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang that night, and started to ponder what the effect of a gambling ban across his county would be.

In the Great Jin, gambling was not prohibited, from cockfighting and dice to even human fighting; as long as the gambling house had the official document from the governor’s office, it was legal.

Imposing a nationwide gambling ban was impossible, and he, a mere county magistrate, didn’t have that power – he feared even both Prime Ministers combined could not achieve it.

However, imposing a gambling ban in Luojiang County seemed very possible.

As the local parent official, he had the authority to add these rules.

County Magistrate Yang looked at Lai Tou and fell into deep thought.

Seeing the County Grandee remain silent for a long time, Lai Tou couldn’t help feeling trembling fear. He shakily continued kowtowing and said, "Your Honor, I know I was wrong, I, I will never dare again."

County Magistrate Yang picked up his teacup and took a sip before saying, "Oh? I will try something now. I will ask you some questions and if you answer truthfully, I might just believe you this time."

Lai Tou nodded desperately, his eyes full of longing as he looked at County Magistrate Yang.

County Magistrate Yang lost his smile, leaned forward slightly, stared intently at him, and asked, "I’m asking you, has Zhou Yin returned to Qili Village?"

Lai Tou’s face turned pale with sudden terror upon hearing the name Zhou Yin, and after a moment, he stammered in response, "Zhou, Zhou Yin?"

"You don’t know Zhou Yin? Isn’t he your neighbor?"

Lai Tou involuntarily swallowed, sweat beading on his forehead as County Magistrate Yang slapped the table and demanded, "Speak quickly!"

Lai Tou shivered in fright, flopping completely to the ground, tears and snot flowing together as he shook his head, "I don’t know, I haven’t seen him, I haven’t seen him..."

By insisting he hadn’t seen him, even the old doorkeeper at the gatehouse, blind with age, wouldn’t believe him, much less County Magistrate Yang.

He asked sternly, "Still lying? I’ve inquired about it all, tell me, in which year and month did Zhou Yin return to Qili Village?"

Lai Tou kept shaking his head, crying, "No, I don’t know, please don’t ask me, I really don’t know..."

County Magistrate Yang watched him intently for a moment before throwing down a token and ordered, "Someone, take him to sober up."

A bailiff approached to drag him away, but finding him limp and unmovable, he called another person over. Together, they dragged away Lai Tou, who was like a lump of mud.

"To sober up" indeed meant just that. The bailiff splashed his face with cold water and casually grabbed a rag to wipe his face, surprisingly cleaning much of the dirt off his filthy face.

But washing your face with cold water in the middle of the big New Year, and on top of that, getting water on the neck, made Lai Tou shiver with cold, instantly sobering him up.

Once fully awake, his complexion grew even paler.

The bailiff then dragged him back to the main hall.

County Magistrate Yang came down from his seat, walked beside him, crouched down to look at him, and staring into his eyes, he asked, "I’m not fond of using torture, but if you force me to, I can definitely resort to it. Tell him about the eighteen severe punishments in the County Governmental Office."