Chapter 525 Cooperation

"Innocence? Your brother-in-law still has a clear name?" Qin Shousheng also frowned and warned rudely, "Yuan Ze, Madam has told me everything about her past. If you are using your power for personal gain and are trying to protect Fan Tong, don't blame me for putting justice above my own and disregarding our long-standing friendship."

Shen Yuanze was stunned. Chen Ruolan was so cruel that she actually told Qin Shousheng about her shameful past.

He felt a chill on his back, his expression panicked, his voice trembling, "Sir, this is all a misunderstanding. How dare my brother-in-law covet the lady? He was framed by someone else!"

"Okay, I don't want to dwell on the past, but—"

Qin Shousheng said this with a gloomy face and a long tone.

"But—do I need to tell you what your brother-in-law is like?

Everyone in Qingshui Town knows that Fan Tong is the local bully.

Over the years, he has been bullying the people in the village, bullying men and women, and doing all kinds of evil. The people hate him to the core and have filed countless lawsuits against him. Any of these cases could result in the death penalty for him.

Every time I did it, I was forced to do it by you. If you didn't consider the face of our colleagues, you would have been dismissed and investigated and exiled to the frontier for protecting your relatives and friends.

What innocence do you still want now? Is it because you have lived a good life for too long that you have forgotten your identity?

Shen Yuanze's face turned pale as he recalled the scene ten years ago.

At that time, he was twenty years old, handsome and dashing. He passed the imperial examination and became famous for a while, becoming the youngest county magistrate in Anyang County.

Logically, he should marry a woman of equal social status, but he prefers to have affairs with decent women.

Whose wife would let him play with her for free? Later, he came up with an outrageous idea and built a small temple in the suburbs and named it the Temple of Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth.

He built one of the rooms tightly, leaving only a small door for entry. Women who came to burn incense had to be chaste and free of disease, and had to stay in the temple overnight, and men were not allowed to follow.

No sound could be heard outside the room, and he had dug a tunnel under the bed. Whenever a woman stayed overnight at night, he would quietly crawl in and have sex with her.

He expected that those women would not tell anyone about it for the sake of their reputations, and just as he expected, his dirty deeds were not discovered for three consecutive years.

As luck would have it, Qin Shousheng's original wife had no children. When she came to Anyang with Qin Shousheng to take up his post, she heard about this temple and stayed there at night.

Shen Yuanze came to ask for sex at night, but was subdued by Qin Shousheng's wife and sent to Qin Shousheng.

Qin Shousheng originally wanted to kill him, seeing that he was eloquent, and thinking that he had just come to Anyang to take office and needed people, he kept him, and used this matter as a threat to force himself to work hard for him for so many years.

Now he could hear the strong warning in Qin Shousheng's words.

Shen Yuanze couldn't help but curse Qin Shousheng's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart.

This greedy official is so shameless that he even has the nerve to say these things. He always took money to suppress the matter.

Now he is acting like a grandson and putting all the responsibilities on others.

If this crooked official really drives me crazy, I will bite him to death even if I am exiled or beheaded!

He glanced at Chen Ruolan, who was full of pride. "You vicious bitch, even though you are having fun now, I will find you to make a list later.

Shen Yuanze gnashed his teeth in hatred, but now he was working for Qin Shousheng, so he had to endure it.

If he angered this pair of dogs, and these beasts gave him trouble behind his back, his life would be over.

Thinking of this, he did not dare to quibble any more and nodded repeatedly, "Your Excellency's teaching is absolutely correct. I will never ask about Fan Tong's affairs again."

Qin Shousheng smiled with satisfaction, "That's right, but don't worry, given our relationship, I will never make things difficult for your brother-in-law. Let him stay in jail for a few days and then let him go home after a while."

"That's great. Thank you, sir." Shen Yuanze didn't dare to mention the gold, silver and treasures that were confiscated. He had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"Alright, alright, let's not be polite." Qin Shousheng said, then changed the subject, "Yuan Ze, has Chen Qingqing signed her confession?"

Shen Yuanze suppressed the hatred in his heart, a slight smile appeared on his face, and he reported truthfully, "Sir, I have already ordered the jailers to torture Chen Qingqing severely every day, but she is stubborn and refuses to confess or sign her confession."

"It's been so many days, and they still haven't gotten the prisoner to confess. What a bunch of useless trash!" Qin Shousheng couldn't help but curse, then looked at Chen Ruolan, "Madam, do you have a good way to make him confess his crime?"

Chen Ruolan gritted her teeth, murderous intent surging in her. "I don't believe she's made of iron. In my opinion, those men didn't beat her hard enough. They should have just beaten her to death all day long until she confessed."

"Yes, ma'am, what you said is absolutely right." Qin Shousheng was a complete bastard. He obeyed Chen Ruolan's every word and continued to give orders to Shen Yuanze.

"Go to the prison right now and begin torturing Chen Qingqing. Stop when she confesses. No matter what, you must compile the case file today so that it can be reported to the Ministry of Justice as soon as possible. If you do a good job, I will let your brother-in-law go home tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. I'll do it right away." Shen Yuanze obeyed the order and left the room. He couldn't help but spit on the ground and cursed softly, "Damn Qin Shousheng, damn your ancestors, you're a mean-spirited person who forgets his principles when you're greedy. If I had known that this corrupt official was so black-hearted, I would have died rather than go along with you."

Thinking that the money he earned from the business partnership with Fan Tong had gone into Qin Shousheng's pocket before they had time to divide the spoils, Shen Yuanze was so angry that his heart ached, but he did not dare to delay and went straight to the prison.

Chen Qingqing was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, when suddenly, Prisoner Sun came running in, looking very anxious.

"Miss Chen, something's wrong. County Magistrate Shen is here. Please cooperate quickly."

"County Magistrate Shen? Let him come if he wants. What does it have to do with me?" Chen Qingqing disagreed and did not move.

"What are you talking about, Miss Chen? How can this have nothing to do with you? County Magistrate Shen came here specifically for you."

Prisoner Sun was sweating with anxiety. "You don't know, County Magistrate Shen has long ago ordered us to torture you severely every day. If he comes in and sees you lying here like nothing happened, wouldn't it be a revelation? Miss Chen, please cooperate with us. If you can just send him away, I will immediately worship you as an ancestor."

"So that's how it is. Okay then!" Chen Qingqing stood up. "How do you need my cooperation?"

"That's easy. Tie you to the execution stake with ropes and let them watch you as if you've been severely tortured. That'll fool them."

Chen Qingqing frowned unhappily, "He still needs to be tied up! Prisoner Sun, you are not mistaken!"