"It's quite a surprise that a young lady like you has come to the yamen. When will you finally release me? I've been wronged, and you can't keep me trapped like this forever."

Yun Ruochun had no idea what had happened, and only asked:

“Everyone who comes in here claims to be innocent. If you were innocent, Officer Huang would have released you long ago. Why would he keep you here and put you on the tiger bench? Hurry up and tell the truth so we can solve the case sooner.”

The female prisoner shook her head repeatedly, and tears streamed down her face.

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me. I just happened to pass by that house. I didn't kill anyone. I'm just a weak woman, how could I do such a thing?"

Yun Ruochun was somewhat at a loss. Looking at this person's physique, he certainly didn't seem like someone capable of doing something vicious, so she asked again:

"Why did you pass by that house? If it was a coincidence, why did you get arrested instead of someone else? Is it because you have some connection to the deceased?"

“Now that things have come to this, I accept it. I am a respectable woman, but because of my outstanding appearance, I was targeted by a dissolute man who lived in the same alley. They took me home and tried to do something to me. I pulled out my hairpin and tried to commit suicide to preserve my innocence, but a group of gamblers suddenly broke into the house and started killing everyone inside. I was lucky to escape.”

"But the people in the county government couldn't find those gamblers no matter what they tried. They wanted to close the case as soon as possible, so they arrested me and tried to force me to confess. I refused, so they kept torturing me."

The female prisoner's eyes immediately locked onto Yun Ruochun, and she began to speak rapidly, almost frantically.

“I have truly been wronged. You are a woman too, and you know the helplessness we women face, don’t you? Shouldn’t you help women?”

Her gaze seemed to possess a magical power, firmly locking onto Yun Ruochun's eyes, forcing Yun Ruochun to nod as if possessed, and then she went out.

Yun Ruochun put herself in the shoes of the female prisoner. She recalled how she had been forced by Master Song and shamelessly framed by the third son of the Lin family, almost ruining her life. Therefore, she felt even more sympathy for the female prisoner's experience.

Yun Ruochun turned to find Constable Huang and told him about it, hoping to save the female prisoner's life, but instead received a cold laugh.

"If you readily believe the words of criminals, you will never become a female constable in this lifetime."

Yun Ruochun pursed her lips, and then heard Constable Huang continue:

"She is the biggest liar in the world and the most capable murderer. She uses various disguises to get close to men of different backgrounds, swindles them out of all their money, and then kills them. At the same time, she is also the head of the biggest human trafficking ring. She was only recently arrested by us in cooperation with Yuncheng."

Yun Ruochun was suddenly struck by the realization and was shocked. She couldn't believe that the body possessed such abilities and a vicious heart.

"Officer Huang, I'll go in and interrogate her one more time."

"No need for that. Just stay put or go clean the outhouse to learn your lesson."

Officer Huang gave Yun Ruochun a cold look, turned around, put his hands behind his back, and muttered to himself as he walked into the cell.

"She thinks she can be a female constable? I think the yamen runners here are all capable, but she's not up to par. When you ask her to interrogate criminals, she actually pleads for them. I think she should stay in Fujian and become a goddess Mazu instead of a yamen runner."

Yun Ruochun heard every word of the teasing and sarcastic remarks, and felt an indescribable sadness in her heart. She suddenly missed everything about home.

She missed Grandpa and Grandma Yun, she missed the times she went up the mountain with Yun Ling to catch pheasants, she missed the times when the whole family would gather together, chatting and laughing.

She seemed to have no desire to be a yamen runner anymore; the clothes weren't very nice, and she didn't really want to wear them.

Just as Yun Ruochun was enveloped in negative emotions, a familiar voice pulled her back to reality.

"Chunniang, what's wrong?"

When Yun Ruochun saw Qin Yu, she was completely shocked, especially since the clothes he was wearing were exactly the same as hers. She was speechless and could only keep pointing at Qin Yu.

"You...you...you..."

"I'm here, don't be afraid."

"I, I, you, you're a yamen runner?"

Qin Yu nodded vigorously. In this county government office, apart from his identity as Master Qin, which he couldn't fake, everything else was just a matter of him saying a word.

It took Yun Ruochun a while to come to terms with this fact, but at the same time she was secretly happy. She and Qin Yu were acquaintances, and with a familiar person by her side in this unfamiliar place, she believed she could adapt quickly.

“Chunniang, I think Officer Huang is quite gentle with you. Unlike me, when I first came to work at the yamen, he berated me for an hour, and in front of so many yamen runners.”

"Oh? Then you must have been feeling really bad? How did you manage to cope?"

"I only listen to the useful things he says, and I treat the useless and sarcastic things as nonsense."

Yun Ruochun burst out laughing, and the bad mood that had been building up in her heart dissipated considerably.

Qin Yu sensed the change in her emotions and continued speaking:

"He was right when he told you not to easily believe what prisoners say."

"You are a woman, so it's understandable that you feel pity for other women. But you must remember that bad people in this world are not only men; they can also be women, old men, old women, children, relatives, or acquaintances."

"If we can catch someone in jail, we should pry information out of them, instead of letting them lead us by the nose, don't you think?"

Yun Ruochun thought Qin Yu's words made a lot of sense, so she nodded repeatedly.

Qin Yu's trial of the criminal was too difficult for Yun Ruochun, simply because she was too kind and honest, easily trusting others, and thus could be led astray, losing her right to judge.

However, you can't eat a fat person in one bite. These things have to be done slowly, just like he and she have to take it slowly.

"You've arrived early today. Have you had breakfast yet? I have some snacks here. Would you like to try some?"

"I've already eaten, you can eat it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Ruochun's stomach rumbled. In the past, even for breakfast, she would eat two bowls of porridge and four or five steamed buns. Today, thinking that she should come early for her first day of reporting for duty, she hurriedly ate two or three steamed buns, which was naturally not enough.

Qin Yu smiled and brought the pastries wrapped in a handkerchief to Yun Ruochun.

"Eat quickly, or if Officer Huang finds out, we'll both be cleaning the outhouse."