The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 867 - 845: The Second Question

Chapter 867: Chapter 845: The Second Question

"They were wearing masks, I really can’t distinguish, it was either five or six of them."

"Five or six, so they killed you guys before turning back to look for Zhou Yin and his wife?"

Erji lifted his head, "Zhou Yin and his wife?"

"The couple to whom you entrusted the evidence, they were also killed on the same day. If they killed you first, confirmed you didn’t have the items on you before chasing after Zhou Yin and his wife," County Magistrate Tang looked at him with piercing eyes and asked, "how long did you run before they caught up with you, and, they didn’t find your body, so how were they certain that the items weren’t on you but with a third party, had they met Zhou Yin and his wife? Or did you tell them?"

Erji shook his head with trembling lips, "No, I, I didn’t say anything, I don’t know if they saw them, maybe they did, yes, it was all so rushed, the master told them to escape quickly, and then he pulled me to divert them, they were chasing us so desperately, they might have seen them."

County Magistrate Tang watched him for a long while, until cold sweat poured from his forehead, then he asked, "Do you remember everything that happened that day now?"

Erji nodded repeatedly, affirming, "I remember, I remember."

County Magistrate Tang then looked towards Bai Shan, gesturing for him to take out the item.

Bai Shan pursed his lips, took out a folded piece of paper from his chest, and unfolded it to show them.

It was a map he had drawn based on the cleared path; County Magistrate Tang stared at Erji, pointing at spots on the map and said, "This is Yizhou City, this is Luojiang County, and this is Qili Village, this path is the one you fled to here, isn’t it?"

Erji looked for a while then nodded, "Yes."

"Then tell me, where did you encounter Zhou Yin and his wife?"

Erji hesitated for a moment, then with trembling fingers pointed to a place and said, "Here."

County Magistrate Tang saw it, raised his eyebrows slightly, and Bai Shan also expressed surprise, asking, "That’s the road leading to Qili Village, weren’t you supposed to be heading to Luojiang County, why did you turn here?"

Erji wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "We were supposed to go to Luojiang County, but, they were chasing us so closely, the master was injured, and we wouldn’t have gotten far on that road, so when we saw a small path, we turned into it."

At this time, Erji finally realized that he might have made a mistake. He had never been shown a map and asked to identify places before. Old Madam had asked him where they had run into trouble, and he had said it was within the borders of Luojiang County.

Back then, as they fled towards Luojiang County, pursued by assassins, they encountered a passing couple on the road, and the master had given the items to them to carry away...

With a guilty conscience, he looked at Daji and asked, "Big brother, did I say something wrong, that place, that place is still within Luojiang County, right?"

Daji patted him reassuringly on the shoulder and said, "It is within Luojiang County, you didn’t say anything wrong."

Erji breathed a huge sigh of relief.

County Magistrate Tang made a mark on the map with his pen, then continued to ask, "At this place, did you run into Zhou Yin and his wife, or did you catch up with them?"

Erji thought for a while then said, "Caught up with them, their cart was moving slowly at that time, we caught up from behind, the man, just, just Zhou Yin, he turned back and saw us, then intentionally stopped the cart to wait for us."

Erji paused there, his lips quivering as he went on, "At that time, he asked us if we wanted a ride, if we were going to Qili Village, Dali Village, or White Horse Pass town..."

County Magistrate Tang asked, "Then what?"

"Then the master took out his official seal to show the couple, explained the situation, and requested that they hide the items until Lord Tang inspected this area and hand them over to Lord Tang."

"Wait a moment," County Magistrate Tang sat up straight and asked, "Where is that official seal?"

Erji was stunned, then said, "He gave them that too, the master said with the seal it would be easier to ask to see people."

"What else did County Magistrate Bai give them besides the official seal?"

"Evidence, oh, and some gold pieces from his own person, saying if they needed money they should use it."

County Magistrate Tang asked further, "What happened after they were given the items?"

"The master told them to hurry away, then he took an empty bag with him to lead me back, out of that small path, and towards Luojiang County. Not long after we left, the assassins caught up with us, the master said we had to lead them away, we absolutely couldn’t let the assassins find out the items weren’t on us, so he planned to head into the mountains, and we split up to escape for our lives..."

"Who was carrying the empty bag?"

Erji said with trembling lips, "It was, it was the master..."

County Magistrate Tang slapped his hand on the bed, shouting angrily, "You’re lying! Tell me, who was really carrying the empty bag as a decoy?"

Erji broke out in cold sweat, his whole body trembling.

Daji couldn’t help but hold him tightly, gripping his arm until it hurt and then said, "Erji, tell County Magistrate Tang, who had the empty bag?"

Erji’s tears and snot ran down his face, and he looked towards Bai Shan and Manbao with a shaky, stammering gaze.

Bo’an couldn’t help but step forward and exclaimed, "You’re scaring my uncle."

Erji let out a cry and began sobbing, the grown man crying like a child, wailing, "It was me, it was me, the master couldn’t run fast, he was hurt, he said he couldn’t escape, he told me to take the items and run as fast as I could, if I could run then run, if I couldn’t then to throw the items in a gorge... I, I intended to throw them into the gorge, but they caught up too fast, when the sword swung my way, I don’t know why, I just threw the bag out to block it, I didn’t say, I didn’t tell them it was they who took the items, I didn’t say anything, I jumped into the hillside, I, I don’t know anything after that..."

Daji pressed his lips together without a word, but still held Erji without letting go.

Bai Shan and Manbao stood quietly aside, their sleeves touching, and Bai Shan looked at Manbao with concern, then quietly held her somewhat cold hand.

County Magistrate Tang watched Erji for a while, waited until he had almost stopped crying, then continued to ask, "What was in the bag?"

Erji calmed down a little, wiping away tears and said, "There were account books, a registry, and some letters."

"What kind of account books, what registry, and whose correspondence were the letters?"

Erji shook his head, "I don’t know, the master never showed me, I only overheard the master and Deputy Magistrate He saying that the items absolutely must not be compromised, or not only would their lives be at risk, but the whole of Yizhou City could be implicated."

"Was it related to the Prince of Yizhou?"

Erji hesitated and then nodded, "Yes."

County Magistrate Tang looked at him again and asked, "Can you still remember what happened twelve years ago? That’s to say, the half-year period before the incident."

"I remember," Erji said, "I’ve thought about the past every day and night for these twelve years, so I remember very clearly."

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