"Are you really unaware, or are you pretending not to know? This knife in my hand shows no mercy." After saying that, Shan Qiu held the knife up in front of Jin Shi again.
Jin stubbornly insisted, "Sir, using torture is against the law!"
"Then we'll see if you tell me the truth! Taking the law into your own hands is illegal, but as long as you don't lose your life, no one can do anything to me. Have you thought it through?" Shan Qiu narrowed his eyes, and the veins on his hand gripping the scabbard bulged.
When Sun Miao'er last met him, she thought he was an upright and honest person. She didn't expect him to have such unique methods when investigating cases. There was no other way to deal with someone like Jin Shi. The only way was to fight evil with evil.
Jin stood up from the ground, realizing that Shan Qiu was serious, and said timidly, "Sir, I've been married for many years and haven't been back to my parents' home. How could I possibly know what my parents are doing now..."
“According to the witnesses, the Jin couple have been doing this job for over twenty years. You’ve only been married into the family for a little over ten years. How could you not know anything about it?” Shan Qiu didn’t believe Jin’s explanation at all. He had a hundred ways to get her to confess. It all depended on whether she was honest or not.
Now that I think about it, he doesn't seem like a good person.
Jin panicked and hurriedly said, "I'll talk, I'll talk!"
“My parents did take in some girls from the village, but it was all consensual. Some farmers were so poor they couldn’t afford to eat and had to sell their children. My parents helped them!” She tried to argue her case, but was afraid of being labeled an accomplice.
Dan Qiu's lips curled into a sinister smile as he retorted, "Is that so? Then why did they take someone's girl, go back on their word, and refuse to pay her, instead hiring thugs to threaten others? Isn't that blatant robbery?"
Knowing she couldn't hide it any longer, Madam Jin gritted her teeth and refused to admit it. "Sir, it was all done by those two. I was just a girl back then, and these things have nothing to do with me. Sir, you must investigate thoroughly!"
Jin didn't know how the two of them had been sent in. Over the years, she had managed to get things sorted out, and neither the people of Yingzhou nor the people of Huizhou were her problem. Yet, at this very moment, they were sent in.
"As long as you confess their crimes, their good deeds will offset their bad deeds, and you won't have to go to jail." When the threats failed, Shanqiu tried a different way to coax her.
Sun Miao'er stood aside and watched coldly. No need to go to jail? Wouldn't that be too easy on her? Wasn't Song Shi tricked by her?
However, once Jin is imprisoned, it will be difficult for Xiaoman to take the imperial examination and enter officialdom in the future, since her biological parents have a criminal record.
Thinking of this, she suppressed the idea of exposing Jin Shi, deciding to see if she herself was willing to confess and receive leniency.
Danqiu's trick worked. When Jin heard the words "merits and demerits cancel each other out," she immediately changed her tune. "Sir, my father used to work in a brothel, and my mother was a girl there. Later, she followed my father and left the brothel. The two of them started buying and selling respectable women. Although I couldn't stand them doing such things, I was young at the time and just a child. My words don't count!"
“My poor brother later developed a strange illness, and the two of them had to pool their money to treat him. I couldn’t just let him die of the disease!” Jin said, tears welling up in her eyes. Her acting was very realistic.
Dan Qiu glanced coldly at Jin Shi, unmoved by her genuine emotions. "Your brother is dead, do you know that?"
"What?" Jin's pupils suddenly contracted, and her whole body went limp as if all the energy had been drained away.
Sun Miao'er caught a glimpse of rare melancholy in her eyes, which vanished in an instant.
Madam Jin murmured in disbelief, "How could this be? How could he die... It was all because of him! How could he be so useless!"
"Jin Lao Er died the night before Jin Lao Er and his wife were sent to the authorities for investigation. The coroner confirmed that he died of illness," Shan Qiu explained truthfully.
Jin quickly recovered from the grief of her brother's death and continued to defend herself, "Sir, I didn't lie to you, did I? My brother was really sick. All their money was used to treat the second brother, and not a penny went to me!"
Dan Qiu turned his head and looked at Sun Miao'er, saying, "Miss Sun, you usually share a room with her. Has she ever seduced any women?"
Sun Miao'er wanted to expose her for driving Song Shi crazy, but considering Xiaoman, she said in a moment, "She usually likes to play leaf games with the women in the village, but I haven't seen her interact with those girls."
Dan Qiu had hoped to get some clues out of Sun Miao'er, but he couldn't get anything out of her. Could it be that the eldest daughter of the Jin family really had no problems?
It was already quite dark outside. Shan Qiu wanted to visit the village again, so he made an excuse, saying, "It's getting late. If the government sends a message, I'll come to visit. Goodbye."
After Shan Qiu finished speaking, Madam Jin breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said with a smile, "Please take care, sir. Remember to give my regards to my cousin."
When Jin saw Shanqiu leave without looking back, she was overjoyed, having escaped a disaster. She turned to walk into the house, but was stopped by Sun Miao'er.
"What are you doing? You brat, you think you can do whatever you want just because I went out for a bit?" Jin said irritably.
Sun Miao'er withdrew her outstretched hand and gave Jin a pure and innocent smile, "Second Aunt, do you really think everything is alright?"
"What do you mean by that?" Jin Shi never dreamed that Sun Miao'er would find out about Song Shi's affairs, and she looked completely self-righteous.
The girl's voice was clear and cold, like the tinkling of bells, and her dark pupils flickered, reflecting the moon in the sky. "Second Aunt really doesn't know how my mother went mad?"
"You don't know, but I do."
Before Jin could speak, Sun Miao'er answered for her.
She cleared her throat and said slowly, "My mother was driven crazy by you, Second Aunt, and then lured to Dahuai Village, right?"
"And that little house, it's really dark, there are a lot of rats, and it smells like a dead person."
The gentler Sun Miao'er's tone, the more frightened Jin Shi became.
Jin's shoulders trembled as she asked, "You've been to my house?"
"Otherwise what?"
Not only did I visit, but many interesting things also happened there.
Suddenly realizing what was happening, Madam Jin pointed at Sun Miao'er and cried out, "It was you! You're the one who sent my parents to the authorities! It must have been you!"
"Second Aunt, you overestimate me." Sun Miao'er laughed dismissively. "Old Man Jin has some martial arts skills and knows a bunch of thugs. How could a little girl like me have such abilities? I'd be lucky if they didn't tear me apart!"
Jin's large, round eyes stared intently at the girl before her. Was this a little girl? No, this was a demon.
It's a vicious and wicked star that's come to take her life.
Sun Miao'er strode forward and grabbed Jin's chin, "You live a life of luxury in the Sun family, while my poor mother has been kidnapped and sold somewhere, and her whereabouts are still unknown!"
He released his grip, violently shoving Jin's chin away and slamming her head against the wall. Jin screamed in pain, her forehead immediately swelling and turning red.
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