Chapter 118 Assassination in the Middle of the Night
It was past midnight when the guard on duty let out a big yawn. He pulled his coat tighter around himself, but he still felt cold.
A jailer looked around and bowed as he approached the head jailer: "Old Zhang, I have some good stuff here, do you want it? If not, my fourth brother and I will eat it."
"What good stuff?"
"On such a cold day, of course we should drink. I took a taxi this afternoon and secretly brought it in when Officer Liu wasn't looking. The night is long and freezing, so a cup or two is just what we need to warm up."
Old Zhang, the prison warden, had no other hobbies except for enjoying a couple of drinks. He could tolerate the guard's mention of alcohol, but now, the mere sound of the word "alcohol" completely shattered his willpower.
Led by the jailer, the four guards drank the entire jar of wine, taking turns sipping it.
The night watchman rang the hour outside, and soon all five men were asleep, slumped over the table.
A slender figure slipped inside and headed straight for the innermost cell. He was dressed as a jailer, his hat pulled low, and he walked silently. The prisoners inside were all snoring, and no one noticed him.
The innermost cell was a single room, not large, but relatively clean. A candle was burning, and only a third of it remained. Zhao Yunjing was still reading by candlelight.
Suddenly, the candlelight flickered, and Zhao Yunjing looked up to see a thin jailer. He closed his book and said, "Sir, you've come so late at night. Is there any progress in my case? Does Lord Chen want to interrogate me overnight?"
No.
The jailer's voice was hoarse, as if his vocal cords were injured, making it very unpleasant to listen to. "Officer Liu has ordered that you have extra hot water added twice tonight. It's already past midnight, Young Master Zhao should get some rest. Perhaps there will be progress in the case tomorrow."
"Thank you, sir."
Zhao Yunjing got up to get water. Just as he took the water bottle and was about to thank the guard again, the guard suddenly attacked, pressing down on his neck with his left hand and stabbing him hard in the abdomen with a sharp knife in his other hand!
Blood gushed out, and Zhao Yunjing collapsed to the ground. Within moments, a pool of blood lay beneath him. The jailer opened the door, went in, and confirmed that he was dead. He then bowed to the shadows and said, "Sir, he is dead."
The 'lord' stepped out from the shadows; he was none other than Magistrate Chen Zhi of Peach Blossom County!
Chen Zhi stood in front of Zhao Yunjing's corpse, looked at the blood on the ground, and suddenly laughed: "You are very talented, and I have high hopes for you. It's a pity that you don't know how to appreciate it. People who don't know how to appreciate it don't deserve to live. Your two classmates don't know how to appreciate it either, and they actually tried to threaten me. Heh, I never accept any threats! Xiaoman, give me two more blows."
Xiaoman responded with a "yes," and raised her knife to deliver two more blows, when a slender figure floated down from the top of the prison and deflected Xiaoman's knife.
The long sword fell to the ground with a clang.
Xiaoman was stunned, but Chen Zhi reacted faster and ran away. Before he could run two steps, the slender figure caught up with him and held a sword to Chen Zhi's neck.
Her face was radiant!
Zhu Yan said coldly, "Where does Lord Chen think he's going?"
At this moment, a large group of people came out of the cell next door. The person in the lead was Constable Liu, and next to him was Zhou Mujiao.
Zhou Mujiao wanted to rush into the prison, but her sharp eyes caught Zhao Yunjing, who was lying in a pool of blood, smiling at her. She breathed a sigh of relief and stared at Chen Zhi: "Lord Chen, why did you kill Brother Zhao?"
Officer Liu looked at Chen Zhi in disbelief: "Miss Zhou kept saying it was you, but I never believed it. But sir, how could it be you? Sir, why did you kill Young Master Zhao?"
"I am doing this to lure out the real culprit! The Zhao Yunjing case is full of suspicious points, and the people are watching our yamen closely. It deserves our close attention, and we must give the people an explanation!"
Do you think your subordinates will believe that?
When Liu, the head constable, heard Lord Chen say he would deliver two more blows, his faith crumbled. Lord Chen was an official of the imperial court; how could he kill someone? Especially someone who had been framed!
Does that mean that the one who killed the two students and framed Zhao Yunjing was actually Lord Chen? Just because Zhao Yunjing didn't accept Miss Chen's love and caused the Chen family to lose face?
"I have my own rules for doing things, and I don't need to explain them to you! Now I order you to seize this woman immediately!" Chen Zhi shouted. "Are you still standing there? Do you want me to go and invite her one by one?! I said, seize this bitch immediately!"
Liu, the head constable, made a move, but not to arrest Zhu Yan. Instead, he and the other officers parted to make way for her.
A round, chubby middle-aged man walked in.
The middle-aged man, dressed in dark casual clothes, had a round and plump appearance, but lacked the comical charm one would expect from someone of that size. Instead, he had a stern and murderous look on his face: "Lord Chen, you have quite the air of authority. So, if I'm going to ask you, Lord Chen, there's no need for you to explain the reason for the murder?"
It is Prefect Zhao Jing of Yuzhou!
"This humble official has nothing to say."
Lord Zhao was not annoyed: "Alright, I will investigate the case of the murder of the two students from Huilan Academy from the beginning. There is another matter that I need Lord Chen to answer truthfully."
"Whatever Lord Zhao wants to ask, I only have four words to say: I have nothing to say."
Lord Chen looked behind Lord Zhao as he spoke: "My lord, you arranged all of this, didn't you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. It was Zhu Yan who had pressed the knife down!
Chen Zhi squinted: "You—"
"It's you!"
Zhu Yan slashed Chen Zhi's arm with her knife, and blood splattered everywhere. "You're the one who told me Li Luo was in Peach Blossom County! You tricked me into coming here, then sold me into the brokerage firm, and kept me trapped there for over ten years! It was you! I will never forget your voice!"
"You've mistaken me for someone else—ah!"
The other arm was stabbed, but it wasn't Zhu Yan who did it; it was Jiang Wuyu, who was behind Lord Zhao!
Jiang Wuyu suddenly appeared in front of Chen Zhi, glaring at him intently: "Twenty years ago, it was you who took Xiao Luo away?!"
"It's me!" Chen Zhi laughed loudly. "Too bad I misjudged you. You're all about love! You've been ruined by love your whole life! You too! Zhu Yan! Hahahaha! You're all fools! You deserve to be fooled, hahahaha..."
Jiang Wuyu swiftly chopped off Chen Zhi's hands and threw him in front of Lord Zhao. Meanwhile, Zhou Mujiao rushed into the prison.
Zhao Yunjing got up from the pool of blood and smiled at Zhou Mujiao: "Your blood bag is really good at fooling people."
Xiaoman suddenly realized that no wonder he felt something was wrong when he stabbed the person. It turned out that he hadn't stabbed the person at all, but had only punctured the blood bag!
Zhou Mujiao pulled Zhao Yunjing and asked Lord Zhao, "You saw and heard what Lord Chen did and said just now. My brother Zhao is not the murderer. Can Brother Zhao leave now?"
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