"President Jing, you clearly promised me before that as long as I got the property deed, you would return the guarantee and the adultery agreement to me!"

Even though he was trembling with anger, Magistrate Xu still tried one last time: "A real man's word is his bond. What's said is like water spilled on the ground. How can President Jing go back on his word? If this gets out, how embarrassing will it be for President Jing?"

Jing Zhe glared at Prefect Xu and cursed, "Go to hell! You think I'd give you evidence to kill you?"

"..."

Upon hearing the word "beheading," Magistrate Xu went completely blank.

Then Jing Zhe reached into his robes, pulled out the adultery letter and the guarantee, and waved them in front of Magistrate Xu. Before Magistrate Xu could take them back, Jing Zhe put them away.

"Adultery with a married woman is punishable by drowning in a pig cage! So, based solely on this letter of adultery, it wouldn't be unfair to drown you both in a pig cage, would it?"

Jing Zhe felt that some of the laws of this era were quite good, such as the severe punishment for adulterers. In contrast, his era was chaotic and unbearable. Some people could not only sleep with other men or women, but also chase after and beat the original wife. It was insane!

"..."

Prefect Xu could only remain silent, unable to utter a word.

"Adultery is the first crime, and embezzlement is the second! You colluded with the old monk Kongjing to defraud the people of a total of 20,000 taels of silver. This alone is enough to imprison you for life! Both crimes are punishable by death according to the law!"

Jing Zhe wasn't just talking; after he finished speaking, he casually pulled out the Emperor's Sword and pointed it at Prefect Xu.

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"..."

Prefect Xu was jolted awake, snapping out of his daze. Was he planning to execute him right there without even a trial?

"President Jing...you can't just kill me like this!"

Why?

Jing Zhe continued to observe him coldly.

"President Jing, as a fourth-rank official, even if I were to commit a crime, shouldn't I be sent to the capital for execution or torture, and only His Majesty should issue the order?"

According to the laws of Da'an, as long as an official's rank exceeds the fourth grade, the local government can convict him, but in the end, all executions must be carried out by sending him back to Jingzhou for Emperor An to announce. Prefect Xu seized this opportunity to prevent Jing Zhe from beheading him.

After listening, Jing Zhe put down the Emperor's Sword. Prefect Xu was overjoyed. He wanted more than just to go to Jingzhou. According to his crimes, even if he went to Jingzhou, the outcome would not change. He had been too greedy, and even Bai Qingyuan could not protect him!

He only said he was going to Jingzhou to buy time!

He still believes that it won't be long before Jingzhou starts an uprising, and Jing Zhe will have no time to care about him. Once Grand Tutor Bai succeeds, he will be pardoned!

But his joy lasted only a few seconds before Jing Zhe raised the Emperor's Sword again: "Your argument may apply to ordinary people and ordinary cases, but do you think I'm an ordinary person? Or is the Emperor's Sword in my hand ordinary? The Emperor's Sword can kill without His Majesty's decree!"

"..."

Seeing that Jing Zhe was determined to kill him, Prefect Xu felt some regret.

I shouldn't have written that adultery agreement and guarantee to leave evidence! If things are exposed, so be it, I can just deny it to the death. But now he has all the evidence, I'm practically committing suicide!

Just as Prefect Xu had completely resigned himself to his fate, Jing Zhe did not rush to make a move. Instead, he said, "Xu Wenchang, I can give you one last chance. If you can confess honestly, I can spare your life. I will not kill you now, but send you to Jingzhou for His Majesty to deal with!"

The eyes of Prefect Xu, which had dimmed, suddenly lit up again after hearing these words.

"What opportunity?"

"I ask you, who set fire to the Zhou family's house? Who killed the Zhou family members? Who robbed the Zhou family's restaurant? Did you do it? If you confess honestly, I promise I won't kill you now!"

Jing Zhe asked.

"President Jing, I'm innocent! I didn't do any of these things!"

"Don't lie."

"No... How could I dare to lie?"

Prefect Xu quickly shook his head. He wasn't lying, nor did he dare to lie, because he didn't want to be beheaded on the spot by Jing Zhe.

"Come in!"

Jing Zhe didn't reply to him again, but called out to the door. A young man in his twenties walked in. Magistrate Xu looked him over carefully and was sure he had never seen him before, but he still felt that the man looked somewhat familiar.

"Do you know Xu Wenchang?"

"No...I don't know him!"

As he said this, Prefect Xu was still recalling.

"His name is Zhou Hongtao, do you remember him?"

"Zhou Hong...you're that kid from the Zhou family?"

Magistrate Xu's eyes suddenly widened, his face filled with terror.

Zhou Hongtao bit his lip, trembling all over, and said, "You surnamed Xu, did you never dream that I would still be alive?"

"..."

Magistrate Xu stood there, speechless.

"I'll ask you one more time: did you order someone to do what happened back then? If you tell the truth, I will keep my word!"

"President Jing, it definitely wasn't me!"

After a moment of hesitation, Magistrate Xu raised his head and said seriously, "I'm not lying this time! Although I offered suggestions for burning down the Zhou family's house and looting their restaurant, it was the Feng family who ultimately carried them out! Moreover, my suggestion was only to rob the restaurant; I never intended to kill anyone! It was Feng Huanyou who felt it was necessary to eliminate any potential threats, which is why he ordered the arson!"

"What you said... is true?"

“Every word is true! If I were to lie even once, I wouldn’t need to be sent to Jingzhou for execution; I’d be struck by lightning!”

Magistrate Xu raised his hand and spoke earnestly.

Jing Zhe glanced at Zhou Hongtao and nodded to him, while Zhou Hongtao clenched his fists, veins bulging on his face.

"Feng Huanyou... is indeed extremely vicious! When he went to see my father, he called me a close friend and chatted and laughed. I never imagined that he was more vicious than anyone else behind my back!"

Zhou Hongtao gritted his teeth and said, and Magistrate Xu took two steps back, afraid that Zhou Hongtao would rush up and bite him.

“Nephew Zhou Hongtao, everything I said is true. If Feng Huanyou hadn’t wanted your Zhou family’s restaurant, and if he hadn’t bribed your servants to put sleeping pills in your food that day, how could your Zhou family have been destroyed?”

"Just as I expected..."

Zhou Hongtao started muttering to himself. After he survived, he felt something was very wrong. Even if there was a fire, it was possible that none of the Zhou family members could escape. It turned out that they had put sleeping pills in the food!

Whether it was luck or tragedy, Zhou Hongtao didn't eat that night because of an upset stomach; he only drank some water. That's why he got up in the middle of the night and escaped disaster!

"The Feng family... they deserve to die!"

Zhou Hongtao's eyes reddened as he spoke, word by word.

————