"No noise is allowed in the interrogation room! Anyone who violates this rule will be punished with a beating," the clerk said sternly.
The two of them immediately shut their mouths, looking embarrassed.
Song Anxin remained silent, pondering how to get Zhang Mei and her brother and sister-in-law to tell the truth themselves. This would both protect Zhang Mei and Lin Fengnian's reputations and prevent them from revealing that Meizi had been bought by their family.
She had been so busy lately that she had forgotten all about it, treating Zhang Mei as her own daughter-in-law. She would have to go to the government office to have Zhang Mei's status as a slave removed another day.
At this moment, Song Anxin caught sight of Lin Gangzi standing on the outer edge. He was hiding behind the crowd, afraid that others would see him. Song Anxin immediately had an idea.
She looked at Zhang's brother and sister-in-law with a smile: "Brother and sister-in-law Zhang, you are right. You are Meizi's brother and sister-in-law, how could you harm our family? I believe you have been bewitched by some wicked person. Why don't you tell us who it is, and our family can live in harmony again."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Daniu realized that Granny Mei was planning to let him go; as long as he wasn't locked up in the yamen, everything would be fine.
"Oh, so someone is behind this?"
"Zhang Daniu, why don't you confess quickly? Do you want to be tortured before you'll talk?" Yan Shuping said threateningly.
With Song Anxin's agreement and the county magistrate's intimidation, Zhang Daniu immediately spilled everything.
"Your Excellency, no, no, I'll tell you. It was Lin Gangzi from Linjia Village. He came to my house a couple of days ago and said that Meizi's family made a lot of money with some kind of 'rich and oily' duck egg recipe. He asked my wife and me to steal their secret recipe for duck eggs, saying that he would give me fifty taels of silver if we succeeded. That's why I dared to steal it."
Zhao was so angry that she wanted to go up and pinch Zhang Daniu, but she didn't dare because the county magistrate was watching from above.
Why did this damn man blurt everything out? Isn't that the same as admitting guilt? All the things she said on his behalf before were just lies to the magistrate. How could the magistrate possibly forgive them? He's just incredibly stupid!
But no matter how many times she tried to signal to Zhang Daniu, he didn't even bother to look at her at that moment.
As soon as Zhang Daniu said this, the villagers who were watching immediately started discussing it.
"I never expected it to be Lin Gangzi! Oh my! We're all from the same village, how could he do this to Aunt Lin's family?"
"I think he's probably holding a grudge against Aunt Lin because the manager kicked him out of the restaurant."
The village head's son, Lin Dazhuang, had already recovered and said to the crowd:
"He blames others for his own incompetence. He's not a real man. And what kind of scholar is he? Bah! All his education has gone to waste!"
"......"
Lin Lizheng was furious when he heard this, his beard bristling and eyes wide with anger. He never expected that such a scoundrel had come from his Lin Family Village.
At this moment, Lin, the drunkard in the crowd, holding a wine gourd, slurred:
"Lin Gangzi? Heh... He's just wasted his education. He even came to me asking me to help him steal the secret recipe for duck eggs from Lin Ersaozi's house."
Thankfully, I kicked him out, otherwise I would have been the one kneeling there and going to jail.
Reeking of alcohol, he approached Lin Lizheng and said with a fawning smile, "Uncle, see? I didn't embarrass you or cause any trouble, did I...hehe..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Lizheng felt a sense of relief, even though his nephew usually caused him a lot of worry.
“Lai Zi, you did the right thing. Shi Tou’s mother also works at Feng Nian’s family. You can’t do such an ungrateful and dirty thing.”
The villagers standing nearby never expected that Lin Gangzi, who always prided himself on being a refined scholar, was not as good as this drunken Lin.
"Men, seize Lin Gangzi immediately!" Yan Shuping ordered.
Lin Gangzi was in the crowd when he heard Zhang Daniu implicate him. He tried to run away but was spotted by the villagers around him.
"Officer, officer, Lin Gangzi is here!" Lin Dazhuang and Erzhuang grabbed him in one swift motion.
Lin Gangzi was immediately escorted to the middle by the yamen runners.
When Lin Tietou and his wife saw this, they rushed over, exclaiming, "Oh my son! My son wouldn't do such a thing! It must be Zhang Daniu talking nonsense. He's trying to find someone to take the blame!"
But they were stopped by the constables surrounding them and could only shout from the outside.
The clerk immediately shouted, "Silence! The magistrate will decide who is right and who is wrong."
The Lin family relatives standing nearby quickly covered the mouths of the two people.
Yan Shuping said to Lin Gangzi, who was kneeling below, "Lin Gangzi, Zhang Daniu said that you instructed him to steal the secret recipe for duck eggs from the Lin family workshop. Do you admit it?"
Lin Gangzi quickly calmed himself down, his face showing no trace of the panic he had just displayed. He replied respectfully:
“Your Excellency, Zhang Daniu’s words are pure slander. I have never approached them, let alone asked them to steal the Lin family’s secret recipe. I had some disagreements with them before, and that must be why they want me to take the blame.”
Lin Gangzi was very confident in himself. He went to see Zhang's brother and sister-in-law in a very secretive way, always going through side paths so that no one saw him. He didn't give Zhang's brother and sister-in-law any proof, and they couldn't convict him just by talking.
Song Anxin thought to himself, "Lin Gangzi is indeed educated; he has some brains when it comes to doing things. The Zhang couple have no evidence, so it will be difficult to determine Lin Gangzi's guilt."
However, since Zhang Daniu has already admitted to his crimes, at least she can eliminate this obstacle first.
As for Lin Gangzi, there's still a long way to go. As long as he's still under her watchful eye, she can settle this score with him slowly.
At this moment, Lin Jiugui, who had received praise from the village head, said loudly, "I can testify that Lin Gangzi also came to me about stealing the secret recipe for duck eggs from Lin Ersaozi's house. It must have been him who instructed me to do it."
Lin the Drunkard loves nothing more than stirring up trouble for others, especially since he's currently on the side of justice.
Lin Gangzi looked at Lin the Drunkard with disdain: "Your Excellency, this man is notorious in the village for his drinking and troublemaking. How can you believe the nonsense of a drunkard?"
Some villagers also felt the same way. They thought Lin, the drunkard, was someone who was always drunk and out of control. How could they believe what such a person said?
Lin Lizheng, however, absolutely believed his nephew. He said, "Lai Zi, what evidence do you have that he came to you about this? Tell me quickly."
Lin, the drunkard, let out a burp: "What evidence could there possibly be for this..."
Yan Shuping saw that the man reeked of alcohol and spoke with a slurred speech, offering no other evidence besides his words. He ordered the constables to take him away, as the words of a drunkard could not be used as evidence in court.
Lin Gangzi lowered his head, a smug smile playing on his lips, his eyes full of mockery. How could these country bumpkins possibly be a match for him?
Zhang Daniu was furious when he saw that Lin Gangzi had completely absolved him of any responsibility. He went up to punch him, but was pulled back by the constables.
He roared, "You bastard, you actually turned around and accused me! If it weren't for you, would I have even thought of coming to Linjia Village? If you hadn't promised me fifty taels of silver, would I have been able to sneak into their workshop and steal their secret recipe?! You still won't admit it? Let me go! Let me go! I'm going to beat this son of a bitch to death!..."
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