A grandmother and granddaughter swap souls, causing chaos throughout the entire court.

As soon as Zhang San finished speaking, the air in the front yard seemed to be sucked out instantly.

Wei Changgeng raised an eyebrow, his face darkening as he coldly demanded, "What have you done? Tell me the truth!"

Zhang San's eyes remained unfocused.

"Five years ago... my subordinates killed a family of six from a moderately wealthy household in our hometown of Tongzhou. After taking all their gold, silver, and valuables, we burned their house down."

These words shocked the entire courtyard.

"hiss--"

The surrounding constables all gasped in shock, instinctively gripping the hilts of their knives, and looking at Zhang San as if he were a complete stranger, a demon.

Wei Changgeng was struck dumb, his pupils suddenly contracting.

He never imagined that the honest constable under his command, who was usually too shy to even raise his voice and always had a smile on his face, was actually a heinous criminal with six lives on his hands!

Zhao Lihua's face turned ashen.

She had originally hoped that Lord Wei could expose the old madman's tricks, but now, Zhang San had even revealed a capital crime that would lead to the extermination of nine generations of his family. How could this be the old lady controlling him to talk nonsense?

Who would risk their life just to play along with someone else's act?

Granny Liu was so frightened that she forgot to cry. She collapsed on the ground, trembling like a lump of mud, completely overwhelmed by despair.

"Guards!" Wei Changgeng suddenly snapped back to his senses, shouted sternly, and made a hand gesture at the same time.

A dozen or so strong officers immediately drew their knives, and with a series of clanging sounds, the sharp blades instantly surrounded Zhang San, leaving him no way out.

Wei Changgeng stared intently at Zhang San: "You beast! What exactly happened? Tell me the whole story, word for word!"

Zhang San ignored the gleaming steel knives around him and replied without any emotion.

"That year, I was working as a helper in a small restaurant in Tongzhou. One evening, a wealthy gentleman dressed in silk came into the restaurant and bought a lot of fine wine and meat, saying that he was rushing back to celebrate his youngest son's birthday."

"When my subordinate saw that his money bag was bulging, he had a wicked idea. While he was in the kitchen packing up the food, he put a heavy dose of sleeping pills in the dishes."

Zhang San's face remained expressionless, as if he were recounting a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.

"At midnight, my men found the family. The whole family had been drugged and were fast asleep. My men ransacked the place and took all the silver notes, jewelry, and loose silver coins hidden in the secret compartments and cellar."

"Before leaving, to avoid future troubles, my subordinates piled up some firewood in the kitchen, poured strong liquor on it, and set the house on fire."

"When the authorities investigated later, they concluded that the fire had simply started while the family was cooking, and closed the case as an accidental fire."

Upon hearing this confession, Wei Changgeng's face turned ashen, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

In Tongzhou, a family of six's birthday night is tragically cut short by a fire...

These fragmented clues were quickly pieced together in Wei Changgeng's mind.

He suddenly remembered!

Five years ago, one of his closest friends was transferred to Tongzhou as a county magistrate. When the two were drinking, his friend sighed and mentioned this tragedy.

The friend lamented that the family was usually kind and generous, but they ended up being wiped out by the fire, which was truly an injustice of fate.

Who would have thought that this was not a natural disaster or accident, but a deliberate attempt to murder for money!

"What a convenient accidental fire!" Wei Changgeng trembled with rage, pointing at Zhang San's nose and cursing, "You heartless beast, how dare you deceive the authorities right under their noses and even get a job in the Jingzhao Prefecture!"

He waved his hand sharply: "Seize this villain and throw him in the death row!"

The fierce-looking constables on both sides immediately pounced forward, and in a few quick moves, they pinned Zhang San to the ground and tied him up tightly with a cowhide rope.

"Wait!" Wei Changgeng suppressed his anger, his eyes like knives as he stared at Zhang San, who was being held down on the ground. "You say you killed people and set fires, but do you have any solid evidence? In such a horrific case of annihilation, without irrefutable proof, how can I convict you based solely on your one-sided account!"

Zhang San's face was pressed firmly against the cold blue bricks, but his mouth still opened and closed uncontrollably.

"There is...there is evidence."

What he said next made everyone present feel nauseous.

"Not only did I set fire to destroy the evidence... but that night, I saw that the lady of the house and her young daughter, who had just come of age, were beautiful. So, while they were unconscious, I... raped them."

There was no shame in Zhang San's voice, only a statement forced out by the truth talisman.

"When we were halfway through doing that, the effects of the drug wore off a bit, and the daughter suddenly woke up. She struggled and resisted desperately, biting my subordinate several times."

"She bit off a small piece of flesh from my right earlobe, and there's a very deep tooth mark on my left shoulder. If you don't believe me, sir, you can strip me naked to examine it; the tooth mark is still there!"

The courtyard was deathly silent.

The only sound was the rustling of the lanterns in the wind.

Wei Changgeng, his eyes bloodshot, roared through gritted teeth, "Strip him of his clothes! Examine him!"

An officer immediately stepped forward, ripped open Zhang San's collar, and roughly pulled off his right ear.

By the light of the surrounding fire, everyone could clearly see that Zhang San's right earlobe was indeed missing a piece, with an old scar at the cut.

On his left shoulder was a stark, dark brown tooth mark that had almost bitten off a chunk of flesh.

The proof is like a mountain!

Wei Changgeng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his chest heaved violently.

This vicious criminal, responsible for six deaths, brazenly infiltrated the Jingzhao Prefecture and served under his very nose!

If this matter were to reach the Censorate, he would definitely be charged with "negligence"!

Wei Changgeng gritted his teeth: "Besides this tragedy, what other heinous crimes have you committed? Spit them all out to me!"

Zhang San was pressed to the ground, his cheek pressed against the cold blue bricks.

Under the suppression of the mantra, there was no fear of being exposed in his eyes, nor any tearful pleas for mercy, only a chilling calm.

"That's all," Zhang San said woodenly. "After receiving a large sum of money that time, I fled to the capital, paid a bribe to get a job as a yamen runner, and haven't killed anyone since."

Enraged, Wei Changgeng closed his eyes, waved his hand, and roared, "Lock him up with iron chains and gag him! Take him back to the prison and keep him under strict guard. I will personally interrogate him first thing tomorrow morning!"

Two officers quickly pulled out some walnuts and stuffed them into Zhang San's mouth. They then tied him up with thick hemp rope like a rice dumpling and dragged him aside.

After dealing with Zhang San, Wei Changgeng's sharp, scrutinizing gaze slowly shifted to Li Si beside him.

Li Si was someone he specifically picked out.