As soon as Jing Zhe finished speaking, the pressure returned to Prefect Xu.
I barely passed the first hurdle, but what about the rest?
If the prisoners in front of him were indifferent to Magistrate Xu, how could the prisoners behind him communicate with him effectively?
Prefect Xu thought it was unlikely, but the die was cast and the die was cast. Even though he knew these people wouldn't cooperate with his work, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue.
In the next cell, the prisoner finally spoke after being warmly greeted by Magistrate Xu.
"Hmph, no wonder they're officials, so hypocritical!"
"That's right! If you're really that kind, why don't you let us go!"
"It's just a pretense of kindness!"
"..."
He did speak, but his words were not pleasant to hear. After hearing them, Magistrate Xu's face turned ugly.
"Don't push your luck! Magistrate Xu's visit to comfort you is a sign of his kind heart; don't be ungrateful!"
Prefect Xu hesitated to speak because Jing Zhe was right beside him, but the constable next to him couldn't hold back any longer and started criticizing him.
"Oh, we really have to thank you!"
"Yes, thank you for putting us in jail!"
"You are all so kind, thank you so much, your whole family!"
"..."
"you--"
"Never mind, never mind..."
The constable wanted to say a few more harsh words, but was interrupted by Prefect Xu, who was afraid that another conflict might break out and it would be even more difficult to handle in front of Jing Zhe.
"Prefect Xu, don't be alarmed. These people are just stubborn!"
Jing Zhe comforted Prefect Xu, then pointed to the rows of prison cells behind him and said, "But it doesn't matter, there are still so many prisoners left. Prefect Xu can just try them one by one, there's bound to be a good one!"
"..."
Magistrate Xu was in a bind; it seemed he had no choice but to "visit" every single prison cell.
...
The "condolences" continued, but the results remained dismal.
When they passed a cluster of prison cells in a corner, both Magistrate Xu and the constable quickened their pace and walked directly past the cells without stopping.
"etc!"
Upon seeing this, Jing Zhe immediately called for a halt.
"Prefect Xu, there's still a prison cell here, why don't you go and offer your condolences?"
"Um, President Jing..."
As Magistrate Xu was organizing his thoughts, a constable spoke up first: "Chief Jing, these cells hold serious criminals; there's no need for us to offer our condolences."
Jing Zhe's eyes lit up, but his face remained impassive: "Prefect Xu, that's not right! Serious offenders deserve even more comfort and support to show that Prefect Xu treats everyone equally! What, Prefect Xu, you haven't been trying to comfort and communicate with them all this time, have you?"
"We offered our condolences and communicated with them!"
Magistrate Xu hurriedly said, "However, I usually choose to visit these serious criminals last, so I was thinking of skipping them for now. But since Chief Jing has spoken, let's visit them first today!"
Jing Zhe clapped his hands and said, "That's more like it! I knew Magistrate Xu wasn't lying!"
"..."
The group then returned.
"Oh my, isn't this Magistrate Xu?"
When they returned to the cell in the far corner, before Magistrate Xu could speak, the person inside the cell spoke first.
Jing Zhe glanced inside and saw that the person speaking was bald, with a face full of scars and a fierce look, looking like someone who was not to be trifled with.
At this point, Jing Zhe also understood why Prefect Xu didn't want to visit these prison cells to offer his condolences—they were all troublemakers!
However, Jing Zhe was secretly very happy!
"Bald guy, our magistrate has come to see you. You better behave yourself!"
Perhaps fearing that the bald man might say something inappropriate, the constable spoke up beforehand, as if to give him a heads-up.
However, the bald man didn't even respect Prefect Xu, so why would he be afraid of a mere constable? He immediately glanced at him and sneered, "Who do you think you are? I'm talking to your master, do you need to interrupt?"
"You...don't be ungrateful! You're still in jail!"
The constable was so angry at those words that his face turned red, but he couldn't resort to violence. He could only give the bald man a warning to make him understand the situation.
Upon hearing this, the bald man let out an even louder, cold laugh.
"Heh, so what if I'm in jail? You want to send your constables to beat me up again? Go ahead and beat me, kill me if you dare! Otherwise, believe me, I'll kill your whole family when I get out!"
The bald man continued, "I advise you to kill me. I, Baldy, am a single person with no family to worry about. What am I afraid of? Do you think I'm afraid of a lowly constable like you threatening me? I'll remember you. Even if I, Baldy, can't get out, my brothers outside will remember you!"
"..."
Now, the constable's face turned ashen. This bald man was a tough nut to crack; he had already taken many lives. Logically speaking, executing him wouldn't be too much. But this bald man wasn't alone; he had many daring brothers outside. If he were killed, who knew how they would retaliate? So, he had been imprisoned until now.
Upon hearing him say he wanted to take revenge, the constable felt it was unlikely, but he still felt uneasy and immediately fell silent.
Jing Zhe, however, asked from the side, "Prefect Xu, judging from what you just said, are you using torture in our prison? You just send someone to beat them up if you don't like them?"
"No, no! Don't listen to their nonsense!"
After cursing the constable in his heart, Magistrate Xu quickly denied it and then said to the prison cell, "Baldy, you've been arrested for a while now. How have I treated you? When have I ever sent anyone to make things difficult for you?"
"Heh, that's because you don't dare!"
"..."
Magistrate Xu was almost silenced by a single sentence, so he could only continue, "Baldy, now that you're locked up in jail, what you need to do is reform yourself. If you reform well, it's not impossible for you to be released! But remember, once you're out, never do anything that is immoral or immoral again!"
Upon hearing this, the bald man showed no gratitude, but instead began to sneer and mock: "Heinous crimes? I was acting on behalf of Heaven! People like this who steal other men's wives deserve to die! My biggest regret now is why I didn't kill all the adulterers in the world? As soon as I get out of prison, I'll kill every single one of them I see, and if I see two, I'll kill them both. I'd be happy if I killed none of them!"
"..."
Jing Zhe pulled the constable over and asked him a few questions before he learned that the bald man was originally a hoodlum in Jiangling City, with a bunch of underlings who caused trouble on the streets every day, and no one dared to make a fuss about it.
But evil deeds have their retribution. His wife was having an affair with his old neighbor, and the bald man happened to catch them when he returned home early. Without saying a word, the bald man picked up a sickle and killed the adulterous couple, which is why he was arrested.
That's why he said things like "acting on behalf of Heaven," and given his experiences, his strong hostility towards adulterous couples is understandable.
————
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