Different from the last time when he gave orders to his subordinates, the governor's voice this time was also cold and low, but it revealed a sense of indifference, as if he did not have much respect for Shuntian Prefecture.
This is natural. Even though Lord Yao Yuan is a third-rank civil official in charge of 24 counties in Shuntian Prefecture, his relationship with the emperor is not as close as that of the Jinyiwei officials who were promoted all the way to the first-rank left and right governors and were close ministers to the emperor.
The duties of the Jinyiwei meant that they could act as they pleased as long as the emperor gave his approval.
Jiang Lingyao knew very well that even if it was Lord Yao who was leading the people of Shuntian Prefecture at this moment, this young Jinyiwei official would probably not show much respect to him.
However, the other party's attitude has nothing to do with Jiang Lingyao who wants to solve the case as soon as possible.
Therefore, she politely greeted him: "I am the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, my surname is Qiao, and I have seen... seen you, my Lord."
Jiang Lingyao is a woman, so she only needs to say her surname, not her name.
Behind the screen, the stern-faced soothsayer froze when he heard the light voice.
He turned his head and looked out through the screen.
In the dim light and shadow, a tall crow-green figure was seen standing at the door. Due to the screen, the guard could not see the face of the visitor clearly.
But the voice was so familiar, as if I had just heard it this morning.
While he was in a daze, the other party had already said, "Sir, are you going to interrogate the suspect this time? If so, we would like to listen in and report the clues we just found to you."
Although she didn't know what this Jinyiwei Zhenfu was up to and why he was mysterious and missing all day, Jiang Lingyao still spoke earnestly and expressed her desire to assist in the trial of the case.
Behind the screen, the man's handsome brows were still slightly frowned, for no other reason than that the voice was too familiar.
But this judge Joe's behavior was so capable and decisive, and his words were so clear that the man could not compare him with the people he was familiar with.
Thinking of this, the governor said decisively: "Yes, but since Shuntian Prefecture wants to interrogate him, let's wait until the Jinyi Guards have finished their interrogation. Don't interrupt the Jinyi Guards' work."
Jiang Lingyao's brows relaxed and she said, "Yes, I will follow your orders, sir."
At this time, Zheng Feng and Pei Yu had already stood in the interrogation room. Jiang Lingyao was invited to sit at the table. Everyone's eyes fell on the suspect tied to the rack.
Jiang Lingyao saw that he was about thirty years old, did not look tall, and had a thin build, so she guessed that he was Chen Shuangxi, the third child of the Zuo Yongjian.
He must have just been tortured, his body was wet with blood, and there were not too many wounds, mostly whip marks.
Glancing sideways again, one can see the Jinyiwei rider standing next to the rack holding a whip in his hand, and one can tell that the Jinyiwei only used flogging.
This is already a gentle measure.
The chief judge is Pei Yu.
He still had a warm smile on his face, and his long, slender eyebrows seemed even softer than Shen Suning's.
He stood in front of Chen Shuangxi with his hands clasped across his chest and said softly, "Chen Shuangxi, do you want to fight me or not?"
He was so gentle, but Chen Shuangxi trembled when she heard his voice.
"Sir," Chen Shuangxi cried, "I have said everything I can. What else do you want to ask? I really didn't kill him."
As he spoke, he started to sob and looked very pitiful.
Pei Yu had a smile on his face, but his voice became cold and chilling.
"Have you really confessed everything? Chen Shuangxi, if you say even a single word wrong, you will be sent to prison."
No one wants to enter the Jinyiwei prison.
Chen Shuangxi shuddered and burst into tears, but still didn't say a word.
Pei Yu sighed: "Why are you so stubborn? I have the best temper in the East Office."
Pei Yu said, raising his hand: "Hit!"
Following his order, the captain swung his whip and started hitting.
In an instant, the smell of blood spread, and Chen Shuangxi screamed continuously. His wailing was the only sound left in the entire interrogation room.
Jiang Lingyao sat upright on the chair, her face calm and composed, as if she was not afraid of the scene before her at all.
After twenty lashes, Chen Shuangxi was already dying, his eyes were a little dull.
At this moment, the peacemaker behind the screen suddenly spoke up: "Before the 12:00 p.m. last night, you suddenly appeared in Tonghua Lane. What were you doing?"
This question was like a thunderbolt, which frightened the dying Chen Shuangxi into a state of sudden consciousness.
"I didn't go there at that time..." He subconsciously refuted, but as soon as he said it, he knew he had been deceived.
Chen Shuangxi's face turned even paler than before.
He choked with sobs and swallowed the blood foam in his mouth. Finally, he couldn't resist anymore and said with a sigh, "I'm going to Tonghua Lane to look for... to find Mr. Liu Er."
Yesterday, the Jinyiwei only interrogated them as usual with such a gentle attitude that he and several other craftsmen found it incredible. But today, just after noon, they were "invited" to the west room one after another, and then everyone heard the sound of torture.
Then came everyone's pleading and crying.
Chen Shuangxi thought they were just trying to force a confession out of him, but he didn't know that the Jinyiwei had already obtained the key information and were beating him first and then interrogating him, which was decisive and swift.
He never imagined that the Jinyiwei had already found out whether he had been to Tonghua Lane.
At this moment, Chen Shuangxi felt hopeless.
He was timid to begin with, and panicked when faced with such a thing. Under the whipping of pain, he blurted out the truth in a trance.
Once the first sentence is said, the second sentence will be easy to say.
Sure enough, without waiting for the Jinyiwei to ask, he said with blood foam in his mouth: "I think you know what Mr. Liu does. I went to find him just to make some money for my retirement."
Jiang Lingyao didn't know what Master Liu was doing, but Li Da was very considerate and explained in a low voice: "Master Qiao, Master Liu is a black pawnshop in Tonghua Lane. He dares to accept anything and sell anything."
Jiang Lingyao thanked him and immediately understood that Chen Shuangxi had concealed his whereabouts yesterday because he had stolen and sold the things that were kept in custody.
Chen Shuangxi coughed and spat blood foam onto the ground, then laughed miserably, "Yesterday, after eating vegetarian noodles with Lao Xu, we went back to the prison together. When I came back, I took advantage of the fact that no one was in the prison and secretly took the gold and stone I had collected to Tonghua Lane to sell them for thirty taels of silver. It was already dark at that time, and I was in a hurry, so I hurried back before the night curfew."
This time he was quite detailed.
However, the adults of the Royal Guard refused to let him go.
The soothsayer behind the screen said coldly, "You lied."
Chen Shuangxi was stunned. He opened his mouth and tried to explain himself, but the peacemaker did not give him a chance.
"According to your previous statement and the testimony from Song Wu Niang Noodle House, you ate noodles at the beginning of the sunset at the hour of You. It took about a quarter of an hour to walk from Song Wu Niang Noodle House to Yu Yongjian, and less than two quarters of an hour to walk from Yu Yongjian to Tonghua Lane. If you want to count the round trip, it would be about three quarters of an hour."
That is to say, even if Chen Shuangxi stayed in Liu Erye's pawnshop for a little longer, he still had a whole hour vacant during the entire You hour, so it was not as rushed as he said.
This time, Chen Shuangxi couldn't even spit out blood.
He had already said everything he could, and he knew that after this confession, he would no longer be allowed to stay in the prison, and would be sent back to his hometown and have his property confiscated for stealing and selling illegal goods. But even so, the Jinyiwei would not let him go.
Perhaps for this reason, after being forced to this point by the Zhenchao, Chen Shuangxi changed his usual timid attitude. He laughed twice and said, "Sir, you just focus on me and Old Xu, why don't you investigate Rong Jingui's precious apprentice?"
After these words were spoken, Zheng Feng spoke up: "Chen Shuangxi, don't be distracted. Tell the truth and you will have a good ending."
Chen Shuangxi said, "But I did only go to Tonghua Lane. Selling stolen goods is a serious crime. The lightest punishment is confiscation of all property. If I want to cover up other words and deeds, why would I lie about this?"
But killing Rong Jingui is a capital crime. As long as he denies it, he will lose his money and his job, but his life will be intact.
Pei Yu was about to ask another question when Chen Shuangxi added, "Sir, for a craftsman in the Yu Yongjian, if he can no longer create amazing works and change the family with his excellent skills, what good is there in life?"
Chen Shuangxi seemed crazy, but he was quite organized. Every word he said hit the point, making people think deeply.
For a moment, the interrogation room became a little quiet.
Seeing that the other Jinyiwei officials were speechless, Jiang Lingyao spoke carefully, "Sir, I have something to ask you."
Zhenfu raised his deep peach blossom eyes slightly and looked outside the screen: "Speak."
Jiang Lingyao thanked him and then looked at Chen Shuangxi: "You just said that Rong Jingui's apprentice was suspicious. What is the suspicion?"
Chen Shuangxi had just been beaten unconscious and was interrogated repeatedly, so he was already confused. When Jiang Lingyao asked him about it, he realized that the adult in the crow green official uniform seemed to be a woman.
But women and men had nothing to do with him anymore.
Chen Shuangxi coughed and then muttered, "Does everyone say that Rong Jingui treats Feng Shuanzi the best? He takes him with him wherever he goes, teaches him the craft himself, and even gives Shuanzi half of the rewards from above."
He did not need an answer, and said to himself: "But have you ever thought about why this is? What kind of person is Rong Jingui? I believe you have already asked clearly. In order to maintain his position as the number one master, he often harms other craftsmen. I am the one who has been harmed the most by him."
"How can such a person have a conscience?" Chen Shuangxi's voice turned cold, and his tone was full of resentment.
If it weren't for setting up the scene of Rong Jingui's death and taking a lot of time and effort to send him to the top of the tower, Chen Shuangxi would still be in Tonghua Lane and unable to commit the crime. Otherwise, he would have been the last one to be interrogated for his unusual behavior.
Jiang Lingyao's voice was cold, but her tone was calm: "You haven't answered my question yet."
Chen Shuangxi paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Sir, don't you understand yet? Rong Jin is a noble man who does not get up early if there is no benefit. If Feng Shuanzi was useless to him, why would he take him with him to do everything? He is not taking an apprentice at all. He is letting Feng Shuanzi do all the work for him, and then he takes the reward in his own name."
"And I also heard that he threatened Feng Shuanzi that if Feng Shuanzi didn't do the work for him, he would immediately report Feng Shuanzi as a military household escapee and make him unable to stay in the prison."
Hearing this, both the peacemaker and Jiang Lingyao's eyes lit up.
They almost asked in unison, "Is this really true?"
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