Chapter 114 Zhao Yunjing, come back to the yamen with us!
Officials?
Zhao Yunjing stood up abruptly, and Zhou Mujiao followed him out.
Outside the door stood Constable Liu and a dozen or so constables. Constable Liu had a dark expression on his face, and upon seeing Zhao Yunjing, he immediately waved his hand and said, "Take Zhao Yunjing away!"
A dozen or so constables rushed forward, but Zhou Mujiao stopped them, saying, "Wait! Officer Liu, what's going on?"
"Miss Zhou, I am on official business. Please do not make things difficult for me or obstruct me!"
Zhao Yunjing offered his hand to the nearest officer, who quickly bound it.
Officer Liu then explained, "This morning, a murder occurred in both Lotus Village and Camellia Village. The victims were two students from Huilan Academy who had also visited the magistrate's residence last night."
As he spoke, Constable Liu glanced at Zhao Yunjing, and Zhou Mujiao immediately grasped the key point: "Are those two students related to Brother Zhao?"
"Both of them left suicide notes beforehand, saying that they had offended Zhao Yunjing and that if they died, it was definitely not suicide, but Zhao Yunjing who did it."
Officer Liu glanced at Zhao Yunjing again. "Last night, the two students had some conflict with Zhao Yunjing, and some of his personal belongings were left at the scene. I'm sorry, Miss Zhou, but Young Master Zhao must come back to the yamen with us today."
To say that Zhao Yunjing committed murder is utter nonsense!
Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao came out just in time to hear what Constable Liu said. Their faces changed immediately, and they drew their knives from their waists to slash someone, but Zhou Mujiao held them down: "Uncle, Brother Zhao couldn't have killed anyone. The real murderer must have framed him."
"Yun Jing certainly didn't kill anyone, Ajiao, we can't let them take him away!" Uncle Zhao was still very anxious. "If the people at the academy find out he's been arrested, even if he's eventually exonerated, his reputation will be damaged! What about Zhu Yan? Zhu Yan! Drive them all away!"
Zhu Yan, who had just returned from the Zhou family, did not make a move. She looked at Zhou Mujiao and asked, "Master?"
Zhu Yan's aura was different from that of ordinary people. As soon as she appeared, Liu, the head constable, and others became alert. More than a dozen people surrounded Zhao Yunjing and drew their swords.
Officer Liu's face darkened even more: "Miss Zhou, I only told you those things because of Young Master Chen, so you can't make things difficult for me!"
Zhou Mujiao shook her head at Zhu Yan and said to Uncle Zhao, "Uncle, Officer Liu and his men are handling cases impartially. Even if they detain him, Brother Zhao's suspicion will not be cleared. Since it has already happened, we can only face it and solve it actively. Hiding it won't help."
“Uncle, you come with me to accompany Brother Zhao to the yamen to find out what’s going on. Zhu Yan, you and Aunt Zhao stay home and look after the children. Aunt, don’t worry, no one can pin a crime on Brother Zhao for something he didn’t do. Besides, Brother Zhao is a student of Huilan Academy. I believe Huilan Academy will not stand idly by if its own student is framed.”
“Mother, I will be fine. What Ajiao said is exactly what I wanted to say. No one can pin the blame on me for anything I didn’t do.”
Zhao Yunjing remained calm. "No matter how meticulously the scene was arranged, as long as the murderer made the move, there will definitely be loopholes. I believe in Officer Liu's ability to solve cases, and I also believe that Lord Chen will not let the real murderer go and thus wrong an innocent person."
Even so, how could Aunt Zhao truly feel at ease when it was her own son who was being taken away?
"Auntie, I'm entrusting Xiao Wu to you."
Aunt Zhao waved her hand dejectedly and slowly retreated back inside the door. Inside the door were four children with terrified expressions.
Aunt Zhao hugged all four children tightly, and the five of them cried together.
Zhu Yan sat outside the door, her lips tightly pressed together, exuding an aura of unyielding strength.
Just past noon, groups of villagers stood on the village road, whispering about the strange thing that had just happened at the Zhou family's house—a short time before, Zhou's eldest uncle was found hanging from a beam, just a hair's breadth away from dying.
The villagers were all talking about whether he couldn't bear the poverty at home and tried to kill himself, or whether he had been traumatized and gone mad.
Just as the discussion was getting into place, everyone was stunned to see Zhao Yunjing being escorted away by officials.
Chen Dalang was leading a small security team from Xiaochatou when he saw the scene and quickly led his men over: "Liu Ya, what happened? Why are these officials arresting Yun Jing?"
Zhou Mujiao calmly said, "There's been a little trouble, but it's not a big problem. Dalang, pass down the order to strengthen patrols in the village from now on."
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone in the back of the group shouted, "This is no small matter! Zhao Yunjing was taken away because he killed someone! I heard it with my own ears!"
It was Wang Yibo, the son of the cook, Aunt Wang. Aunt Wang lost her job because of plagiarism, and her daughter-in-law was beaten half to death by Sister Ye's men. Wang Yibo was originally an apprentice at a blacksmith shop in the city, but Sister Ye's men came to cause trouble every day, which led to his dismissal.
Wang Yibo blamed everything on the Zhao family and Zhou Mujiao, praying to gods and Buddhas every day for something to happen to the Zhao family, and finally his wish came true.
"Zhao Yunjing killed someone, and his father is so fierce, he might kill someone too! Everyone should be careful in the future and stay away from this family of murderers. Being poor is nothing, but losing your life is not good!" Wang Yibo gloated.
Officer Liu hurriedly escorted Zhao Yunjing on his way. Zhou Mujiao had nothing to explain. Before the truth came out, anything she said would be just sophistry. Once the real culprit was caught, the villagers would naturally shut up.
"Pass on what I told you, and also to my house, send a few more people to guard it."
Chen Dalang hurriedly went back to make arrangements, and the news of 'Zhao Yunjing's murder' immediately spread like wildfire throughout Peach Blossom Village and several neighboring villages.
On the way, Zhou Mujiao asked Liu, the head constable, some more details. Liu was very wary and refused to say anything more no matter how she asked.
They arrived at the government office quickly.
Chen Shanhai, Hu Peiran, and He Jiu were already waiting at the entrance. Even Feng Wei was there. Because of the "Oath of the Peach Garden" last night, even though it was inconvenient for Lord Fang to come in person, he sent his personal attendant to check on him.
They all expressed their belief that Zhao Yunjing did not commit murder, and hoped that the government would handle the case impartially, without abusing its power for personal gain or forcing confessions.
Zhao Yunjing cupped his hands in greeting: "I will remember your concern and trust. Please rest assured, I did not kill anyone. Even if you beat me to death on the spot, I will still say the same thing: I did not kill anyone!"
After watching Zhao Yunjing enter the government office, Zhou Mujiao and Chen Shanhai went to the Good Luck Restaurant immediately. Boss Tang, Liang An, Ma Dalang and others were all waiting there. As soon as they saw her, they came up to greet her.
Mr. Tang said, "I've heard about what happened with Young Master Zhao. What does Miss Zhou want to do?"
"Miss Zhou, set a time and a plan, and we can rescue Young Master Zhao from prison at any time!"
Du Zhusheng frowned: "Are you planning a prison break? Miss Zhou, this is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Of course I won't break him out of prison. Brother Zhao didn't kill anyone in the first place. If I break him out of prison, he'll be considered dead even if he didn't kill anyone."
"So, Miss Zhou, what are your plans?"
Zhou Mujiao frowned.
The incident happened too suddenly, and there are no surveillance cameras in this era. It's unknown how long the investigation will take. If the murderer is a novice and leaves many clues, he might be caught in a few days. But if he's an experienced killer, it's anyone's guess how long it will take.
At this moment, Jiang Wuyu, who was in the corner, slowly spoke up: "I have a way to get Young Master Zhao home immediately."
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