Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 214 Confession
Daming Prefecture, County Government Office.

The county magistrate, Cao Rui, and the county assistant were both sitting in the prison cell.

The two men took turns keeping watch all day, not daring to leave the prison empty for even a moment. This was because the man who attempted to assassinate Xie Qi last night was nearly strangled to death.

Fortunately, the county magistrate remembered to inspect the prison cells, which alerted the jailers who were about to take action.

The jailer who made the move showed no fear whatsoever in front of the county magistrate. In the end, it was the county magistrate who drew his long sword and forced the jailer to leave.

Given the jailers' arbitrariness, it's easy to see who they obey.

“I will go to find that jailer again today,” the county magistrate said, “but he has already disappeared.”

Such matters are impossible to investigate. Prefect Liu could easily send people to the army, and it's not impossible that they could become junior officers in the blink of an eye.

“They’ve become so blatant in their actions,” Cao Rui said. “If that person dies, he can’t recant his testimony. They’re trying every means to solidify the case.”

“We can’t tell outsiders that the man is still alive,” the county magistrate said, his eyes gleaming, “to avoid a second occurrence.”

When the prison guard who had done the crime was not present, they had someone announce that the prisoner had fainted and was probably not going to make it.

Cao Rui said, "Whether we can turn the tables in the end is not up to us." Even if they conclude the case, the Liu family can at most shift the blame to others.

To put it bluntly, unless the case in Daming Prefecture blows up to the heavens, no one can shake Prefect Liu's position. With such a powerful figure in Daming Prefecture, there will never be an end to the underlings under him to be caught.

The county magistrate asked, "What should we do then?"

Cao Rui pondered for a moment: "While someone has been killed, we should interrogate those who need to be interrogated and prepare everything. As soon as we get the chance, we will hand over all the evidence."

With someone dead, the other prisoners will surely be like frightened birds, and with a little maneuvering, they are not afraid of not being able to get the truth out of the interrogation.

These confessions are all true, and the case has made progress, but... if the Liu family tries to suppress them, there's nothing they can do.

Now they are hoping that He Tan can win this game, although it seems a bit unlikely.

The county magistrate nodded in agreement. After discussing it, the two got up and went to inspect the prison.

After someone "hanged themselves" last night, the atmosphere in the prison was somewhat delicate, especially for Xie Chongjun. After all, he had been in charge of the Xie family for many years and was more perceptive than others. He saw through the clues from this incident and guessed that someone was preparing to settle these cases.

Therefore, he had been intentionally or unintentionally keeping an eye on his steward in the opposite cell all day. That steward was sent by the Xie family to take the blame when Xie Yuyan sued the Xie family for human trafficking. Xie Chongjun had trusted Steward Xu very much, and the original plan was that after Steward Xu was released from prison, the Xie family would return the sales documents to him and help him to establish his own household.

Who knew that He Tan and Xie Yuyan would hold on to the case so tightly that a verdict has yet to be reached.

Especially after he was also imprisoned, Steward Xu's attitude clearly began to waver; he often saw jailers bringing him better food. How could this be unless he had secretly reported something to the authorities?

Xie Chongjun's eyes held a hint of warning and intimidation, so that Steward Xu would stop talking nonsense.

Seeing the master's expression, Steward Xu secretly groaned. He hadn't said anything, but the yamen's actions had clearly aroused the master's suspicion.

As he was pondering this, he glanced around and saw a dead rat in the corner.

Manager Xu's heart was immediately gripped by an invisible hand, and he became even more flustered. After the incident in the prison yesterday, he dared not eat. Some of the spoiled food spilled out, obviously eaten by the rats.

Sometime during the day, the rat died here.

Manager Xu was immediately out of breath. Those people had killed the thug, and sure enough, they were going to kill him too.

"Have a meal."

The jailer brought food again and put it into the prisoner's broken bowl.

The sound of chewing immediately filled the air, and Steward Xu's stomach rumbled, but he dared not touch the rice bowl in front of him.

"Eat or not?"

Seeing that Steward Xu was shrinking back instead, the jailer immediately drew his whip and lashed out. Steward Xu felt a burning pain all over his body, and the whip seemed to never stop, making him roll around in the cramped cell.

"Don't eat?"

The jailer simply picked up his rice bowl and threw it at Steward Xu.

Soup and water splashed all over Steward Xu's face. He frantically wiped it away in alarm, afraid of getting even a drop on his face.

The shadow of death loomed over him, and his heart was filled with endless terror.

He's destined to die here tonight.

Silently, like that mouse.

"stop."

A command rang out, and the whip finally stopped falling. Manager Xu, who had narrowly escaped death, was panting heavily, feeling both relieved and terrified. He couldn't help but sob.

"What are you doing?"

The county magistrate walked into the prison and angrily rebuked the jailer.

The jailer hurriedly and respectfully said, "Sir, this prisoner is not behaving properly. Not only does he refuse to eat, but he also insults the magistrate."

"No," Manager Xu said hurriedly, "I didn't say anything, I didn't say anything."

He didn't scold the county magistrate, nor did he reveal the Xie family's secrets. He clearly did nothing wrong, so why would they plot against him?

"My lord, save me!" Steward Xu clung tightly to the county magistrate's leg as if grasping at a straw, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Unable to break free, the county magistrate could only frown and say, "Take him to the torture chamber."

The jailer responded, pressed down on Steward Xu's shoulder, and half-dragged, half-pulled him out of the cell.

"If you don't want to die... then don't talk nonsense."

Xie Chongjun's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth as he coldly stared at Steward Xu: "Don't forget, you still have... family..."

The jailer grabbed a stick and struck Xie Chongjun.

As Steward Xu heard Xie Chongjun's muffled groan as the stick fell, his whole body trembled even more violently. The master must hate him to the extreme. If the master could get out of here, he would definitely find a way to kill him.

After walking a long way, the group did not enter the torture chamber, but instead arrived at a room deep inside the prison.

The county magistrate usually interrogates important prisoners here.

Manager Xu was thrown to the ground, his body limp and powerless. He could only lie half-prostrate, begging for mercy: "Sir, someone wants to kill me, please save me... I have a wife and children outside, I don't want to die..."

The county magistrate let him wail, and after a long while he said calmly, "Whether you live or not depends on yourself."

Steward Xu raised his head in a daze, and after a long while he seemed to understand something: "Sir, I said... I said it all, the Xie family... the Xie family gave brocade to the Western Xia people and bought salt from them."

"Brother Yang Liu... was also killed by them."

"The master proposed a ghost marriage with the Yang family in order to compensate them and also to bind the Yang family to this cause."

The county magistrate frowned, not expecting to ask about such a case.

"Didn't Yang Liu die in battle?"

Manager Xu shook his head: "No... When Brother Yang was guarding Jinming Village, he saw Yang Mingshan and the Xie family interacting with the Western Xia people, and even tried to find evidence... Fearing that the matter would be exposed, Yang Mingshan joined forces with the Xie family... and killed Brother Yang."