"Master, you mean that one—"
Halfway through his sentence, Jian Yi realized something was amiss and quickly pursed his lips.
Fu Zhun looked down at the broken cup and saucer, and gave a cold, dismissive smile. "I reckon it is."
"Continue the investigation. Also, send a few highly skilled guards to lie in wait outside the prison to protect her safety."
...
After He Wangshi's death, Su An was able to change to a solitary cell as he wished, and managed to sleep through the night, feeling half worried and half distressed.
I was so anxious and restless that I soon developed dark circles under my eyes.
To avoid worrying herself to death, she simply started doing radio calisthenics.
"One, two, three, four; two, two, three, four..."
When Lin Yong entered, he saw Su An in the cell twisting his waist and back, sometimes raising his hands and sometimes kicking his legs, jumping around, and he was immediately surprised.
"Miss Su, what brings you here?"
"Oh." Su An turned his head upon hearing this and saw the magistrate opening the prison door and entering, looking even more surprised than he had.
"What brings the county magistrate here? No, I mean, what brings you here so suddenly?"
Lin Yong secretly observed her strange movements and nodded, saying, "You've come to investigate a case. It seems you've come at the right time. You look very energetic."
Su An couldn't help but touch her nose, feeling that Lin Yong's gaze made it seem as if she was about to call a doctor to check her brain.
"This is a set of radio calisthenics that has been passed down in my hometown. It's good for your health and longevity, and you can do it without making a sound."
"I see." Lin Yong was enlightened and slightly surprised. "No rush, let's discuss it after you finish practicing."
Su An didn't stand on ceremony and generously invited, "Want to jump around for a bit?"
"No need, no need."
Lin Yong stepped back, silently memorizing Su An's training movements.
Such a good thing as prolonging life should naturally be kept in mind.
After Su An finished her routine, she was covered in sweat, and her mind became much clearer and more alert.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two sat down at the table.
Lin Yong sat upright with a resolute expression and said frankly, "There are usually procedures for questioning cases, but I am here today because I want to inquire about the young lady on my own, so there is no need to be reserved."
"..." Su An glanced at his serious expression and wondered who was the one who was reserved.
She sighed helplessly, "I don't know the details of Ni Dagui's death, but I did see He Cheng that night. He suddenly appeared on my way home and attacked me."
As he spoke, Su An seemed to remember something and rolled up his sleeve.
"The only piece of evidence I have that isn't really evidence is these bruises on my wrist. Look, he grabbed them!"
There were indeed scratch marks on her slender, fair wrist, enough to show how ruthless she was.
But no one believed her claim that He Cheng was the one who did it, even though it was just empty talk.
The only eyewitness that night, Jian Yi, was also Fu Zhun's bodyguard, and his testimony alone could not refute He Cheng's claims.
Mentioning the matter made Su An grit his teeth in anger, and he raised his voice, "Magistrate, are you aware of the bribery being accepted in the prison?"
"As long as we investigate the prisons where bribery has been committed, we can always find clues to prove that someone let He Cheng go that night!"
Su An stared intently at Lin Yong, but to her surprise, Lin Yong showed no surprise, as if she already knew.
He frowned and sighed silently, "Miss Su, I have heard of bribery in prison. These corrupt officials are impossible to eradicate. In the past, under my crackdown, bribery in prison was limited to buying and selling."
This kind of trend cannot be eradicated, and the prison guards are well aware of this, so they will not go too far.
"But this time, it's because of the intervention of a high-ranking figure!"
After saying that, Lin Yong clenched his fists, his face was very ugly, and stared at Su An to ask: "I came here this time specifically to ask you, young lady, do you know who is the person behind this?"
Su An raised his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting that the county magistrate had also noticed.
Unfortunately, she herself wanted to know, so she could only shake her head regretfully.
"You yourself said he's a big shot, how could a nobody like me have the ability to get in touch with him?"
"Very well." Lin Yong frowned deeply, then stood up and said, "Since that's the case, I'll have to look for other clues."
Su An followed him to see him off, and asked casually, "If clues are found, how does the magistrate plan to deal with He Cheng?"
After all, he's some kind of "big shot"!
"We will handle this impartially!"
Lin Yong's brows furrowed with a stern expression. After leaving those words, he resolutely strode away.
Su An was slightly shaken, and his admiration for Lin Yong instantly reached a new level.
Even Bao Gong would have to address this county magistrate as "You are the Upright Heaven"!
Just then, Lin Yong stepped out of the prison gate and bumped into Xu Datong, who had been waiting for a long time.
He immediately frowned and rebuked, "Didn't I say that no one was needed to stand guard during the trial? What are you doing here?"
Besides, it was not far from the prison gate, which made it highly suspicious of eavesdropping!
Xu Datong, however, didn't seem to care and gave a perfunctory clasped-fist salute.
"Your Excellency, I just wanted to give you a word of advice: the people above are not people you or I can afford to offend!"
"How dare you!" Lin Yong roared angrily, his eyes flashing with sharp light.
"This is my duty to handle cases; how dare you interfere!"
Xu Datong narrowed his eyes and straightened his back. "Your Excellency, I was just offering a reminder. Why are you so ungrateful?"
"If you mess with the wrong person, you might end up seeing a ghost in broad daylight and dying with your eyes wide open in disbelief!"
Such a blatant threat did not deter Lin Yong from taking a single step back.
He scoffed and bumped into Xu Datong's shoulder, saying, "Only a spineless coward like you who only cares about profit deserves to be haunted by vengeful spirits."
"Even if I lose my official hat, I will not stoop to your level!"
Having said that, he swung his robes away forcefully and turned away without looking back.
"That damned old stubborn!"
Xu Datong stared intently at his retreating figure, a murderous glint in his eyes.
He then looked around and quickly slipped away through a side path.
He first entered a secluded teahouse, and after turning left and right, he activated a mechanism to reach a secret room.
The room was filled with the fragrance of incense, and just smelling the aroma made Xu Datong feel weak and restless.
He swallowed hard, went inside, and immediately knelt down before the person behind the screen.
"Reporting to Master, He Wangshi has failed. The secret guards suddenly appeared and rescued Su An, and even severed He Wangshi's arms. This pawn is probably useless now!"
Before long, a woman's languid and charming voice came from behind the screen, "Hmm, indeed an interesting piece has been lost."
"I didn't expect them to send Jian Yi to make a move. It seems that Su An is indeed highly regarded by them."
Xu Datong gritted his teeth, "But master, this matter has alerted the enemy. Even the county magistrate has noticed something amiss and has vowed to investigate thoroughly, even if it means losing his job!"
"That old stubborn fool is so obstinate, should we..."
A glint of greed flashed in his eyes; he was just waiting for Lin Yong to die so that the position of county magistrate would be his!
If they continue to cling to their master's coattails, they might just rise to the top!
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