Chapter 49 How could there be such a terrifying woman in this world?
Jiang Yu could sense Zhang Xiangling's subtle hostility towards her, but she didn't take it too seriously. Firstly, her mind wasn't on the power struggles within the household. Secondly, although Zhang Xiangling came from a noble family, her behavior still showed her dependence on Jiang Jiarong, even though Jiang Jiarong was incompetent.
Therefore, if one truly wants to fight Zhang Xiangling, all that's needed is to control Jiang Jiarong. Jiang Jiarong is currently in the dungeon, and she vaguely senses that in this matter, Jiang Jiarong's sins are actually greater than Jiang Chengye's.
At this moment, the butler Li Zhong took two steps closer to her, wanting to report something to her, but Jiang Yu gave him a look, and Li Zhong immediately took two steps back and followed her into the dungeon.
Li Zhong glanced at Jiang Yu's tall and straight back, thinking to himself that since nothing major had happened at the Duke of Chu's mansion in recent years, he hadn't been as careful as before. Now was definitely not the time to report confidential matters. Don't be fooled by the fact that there was no one around on the surface; who knew if there were people hiding in the shadows?
He reminded himself that he must never be so careless when working with the young lady again.
Upon arriving at the dungeon, the eldest son of the Chen family, the madam, and the boatman were all bound hand and foot and thrown to the ground. The three looked terrified upon seeing their newcomers, but their expressions turned to confusion when they saw Jiang Yu.
They already knew this was the dungeon of the Duke of Chu's mansion, and of course, they knew why they had been captured. They thought the Duke of Chu would be the one to interrogate them, but they didn't expect it to be a woman.
Jiang Yu took in the fascinating expressions on their faces, walked to a chair, sat down, pointed to the boat captain, and said, "He can go first."
The dungeon inmates seemed to be used to Jiang Yu's interrogation. As soon as she finished speaking, someone took away the eldest son of the Chen family and the madam. The boatman lay on the ground, blinked twice, and made two muffled noises.
Jiang Yu gestured for the gag to be removed from his mouth. A man squatted down and pulled the rag out of his mouth. The boatman spat twice, then looked at Jiang Yu and said, "You must be the young lady?"
"You seem to know a lot." Jiang Yu smiled, appearing very sunny and harmless.
The boatman chuckled twice, "This servant was sold to the young master along with the boat, and this servant is also a servant of the Duke of Chu's mansion."
Jiang Yu nodded and had the ropes on his legs untied. The boatman immediately knelt down, a fawning smile on his face.
"Whose servant were you before?" Jiang Yu asked.
The boatman sighed, "I used to work for the Chen family in Jiangzhou, but later the son-in-law of the Chen family fell from grace, and the boat was sold to the young master, so I started working for the young master."
"It's been quite a journey," Jiang Yu said with sympathy, then asked, "Have you ever married and had children?"
The boatman glanced at her furtively and, seeing her looking curious and listening to the story, relaxed considerably. He said, "I have a wife and children, all in Jiangzhou."
"How old is the child?" Jiang Yu asked again.
The boat captain said, "It's ten years old."
Jiang Yu: "Have you been reading?"
The boat captain said, "He's only been studying for a few days; he's not cut out for studying."
Jiang Yu looked knowing and said, "If you're going to be a servant, knowing a few words is already pretty good."
The boat captain chuckled and said, "Yes, he's quite clever and thorough in his work."
Jiang Yu nodded again and asked, "What did Kong Wenjie do back then?"
The boat captain shook his head, "How would this servant know? We servants know nothing about what our masters are doing."
Jiang Yu: "Oh, so Kong Wenjie is your master."
The boat captain froze for a moment, then his eyes widened in horror. "No, no, no, I'm not from the Kong family. I... no, I'm not from the Kong family. I was originally from the Chen family, and later I served the young master."
Jiang Yu looked down at her slender, fair fingers and said, "You know what you've done. You're definitely going to lose your life. Think it over carefully whether you want to sacrifice your son's life to protect your so-called family secret. I'll give you ten breaths to think it over."
After saying that, she leaned back in her chair, lost in thought, still appearing completely naive. But the boatman could no longer believe her deceptive appearance; sweat began to pour down his forehead.
At this moment, Jiang Yu's voice rang out again, "Don't be delusional that I can't find your son. Weren't you arrested without any warning?"
The boat captain's hands had begun to tremble, and Jiang Yu was lost in thought again. Ten breaths passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Yu said, "Will you talk or not?"
The boat captain knelt there, trembling and silent. Jiang Yu said, "He seems to be a loyal man. Let's get started."
"Young Miss, what torture device should we use first?" the burly man asked.
Jiang Yu: "Whatever."
"Alright!"
The burly man took out a pair of pliers and walked up to the boatman, chuckling twice as he said, "Last time, Miss saw you pull out fingernails; this time, I'll show you how to pull out teeth."
As soon as he finished speaking, another burly man grabbed the boat captain's head, and the burly man with pliers shoved the pliers into his mouth. With a forceful pull, a bloody tooth was ripped out.
"ah..."
The boat captain couldn't help but cry out in pain, while Jiang Yu asked the burly man pulling teeth curiously, "Aren't children's teeth easier to pull?"
The big man thought for a moment and said, "This servant has never pulled a ten-year-old child's tooth before, so it should be easier. Let's bring his son here and this servant will give it a try."
Jiang Yu hummed in agreement, and without asking the boatman whether he would tell her or not, said, "Let's continue."
"Alright!" The big man picked up the pliers and was about to continue, saying, "I'll pull out a few of your teeth, and then I'll pull out a few of your son's. A child's cries are much nicer than yours."
"I'll talk, I'll talk..."
Jiang Yu gestured for the burly man to stop, but the man still seemed unsatisfied. Jiang Yu was somewhat speechless; this guy had a penchant for acting.
"Did the boat belong to Kong Wenjie, the former transport commissioner of Jiangzhou?" Jiang Yu asked.
The burly man stared at Jiang Yu, his mouth full of blood. She was an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl with a beautiful face, dressed in a blue dress. She looked so clean and harmless, but it was this girl who had unknowingly exposed his true nature. It was also this girl who had casually said that she would not only take his life, but also his son's.
How could there be such a terrifying woman in this world?
"The boat is a joint venture between the Kong and Chen families. The Chen family usually manages it, but they give the Kong family a share of the profits every month," the boatman said.
Jiang Yu glanced at Xia He, who was diligently taking notes, and asked again, "Was the smuggling of salt on the ship led by the Kong family or the Chen family?"
The boat captain was shocked again, but upon further reflection, he realized that if the Duke of Chu's mansion hadn't known that the ship was carrying smuggled salt, they wouldn't have made such a big fuss.
He resignedly replied, "It's the Kong family."
Jiang Yu: "Where does the salt come from?"
The boat captain shook his head. "I don't know. Every time I receive a notification, I pick up the goods at Wujiatun in Jiangzhou and then load them onto the boat."
Jiang Yu: "Does the Kong family have an upstream relative?"
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