Jing Zhe's words were like a knife, piercing Master Kongjing's heart.
At that moment, he knew that either he or his fellow Daoist had to die.
He definitely didn't want to die; if he had to die, he would rather die than die at the hands of Prefect Xu.
Just because Prefect Xu had come to instruct him earlier, he hadn't forgotten to suppress him and kill him, Master Kongjing felt no burden.
"President Jing, I'll write it all this time!"
Master Kongjing chuckled twice and then said, "However, could President Jing give me a hint? Because a large portion of the incense money collected by Peach Blossom Temple was given to Prefect Xu. I don't know exactly how much President Jing is referring to."
"More than half?"
Jing Zhe thought for a moment and said, "For example, this morning at the temple, we found more than two thousand taels of silver. If Prefect Xu also took two thousand or four or five thousand taels, it wouldn't be much different from what you did! So if you are convicted in the end, you two will be about the same!"
"..."
Master Kongjing thought this wouldn't do. Judging from Jing Zhe's attitude towards Prefect Xu, he clearly wanted to kill him. If he were in a similar situation, wouldn't he also die?
So he immediately said, "President Jing is joking. When I said 'more than half,' I was just being vague. In reality, Prefect Xu took far more incense money than 'more than half'!"
"Oh, how much? As a government official, and of a high rank, if Prefect Xu dares to accept incense money from temples, he must be sentenced to death once it is verified. As for you old monks, unless Prefect Xu accepts incense money starting at ten thousand taels, which you are far from enough, I can help you old monks and give you a lighter sentence."
Upon hearing this, Master Kongjing realized that Jing Zhe had made it clear that he was asking him to exaggerate the amount of incense money that Prefect Xu had embezzled!
However, Master Kongjing had no psychological burden about this, because Magistrate Xu had indeed taken the lion's share of the incense money over the years, and it was more than ten thousand taels!
Fortunately, Jing Zhe came to interrogate him. If he had questioned Prefect Xu first, he believed Prefect Xu would have praised him too highly!
So the two of them should be called the elder brother but not the younger brother, after all, it's for survival, there's no shame in it!
Master Kongjing had already made up his mind. Instead of writing it down first, he decided to find out what Jing Zhe was capable of.
So he tentatively asked, "President Jing, this Prefect Xu embezzled ten thousand taels of incense money from Peach Blossom Temple. Do you think that's too much or too little?"
"There are many."
Jing Zhe nodded. "If Prefect Xu embezzled ten thousand taels by himself, while the three of you embezzled more than two thousand taels, then Prefect Xu's embezzlement is more than ten times that of each of you alone. So, if Prefect Xu is beheaded, how about you are imprisoned for life?"
"..."
Master Kongjing was about to cry. The reason he cooperated so readily was not just to get a "life sentence"!
However, he was also glad that he was smart. Luckily, he had tested Jing Zhe's limits. Jing Zhe's words meant that he was definitely not satisfied with the amount! So he immediately changed his tune and said, "President Jing, I'm getting old, and my memory isn't what it used to be. I just remembered that this 10,000 taels was only what Prefect Xu embezzled in the later stages. He had more in the earlier stages!"
"Oh, how much is left?"
Jing Zhe glanced at Master Kongjing and thought to himself, "You're smart to know what's good for you."
Five thousand taels?
Master Kongjing continued to probe, saying that this amount was already very close to the amount of incense money that Magistrate Xu had actually embezzled; it wouldn't be much more or less.
"Fifteen thousand taels!"
After Jing Zhe finished speaking, he was still a little excited. After all, this amount was the same as the amount in the guarantee that Madam Feng had written earlier, which showed that he had been farsighted.
However, he was not satisfied with this.
"I never expected that Magistrate Xu would be so greedy. With this additional five thousand taels, Magistrate Xu deserves to die, and we old monks can keep him locked up in this cell forever!"
"???"
Master Kongjing was stunned again. What was going on?
When it was 10,000 taels, it was "life imprisonment". How come it's 15,000 taels now and it's still "life imprisonment"? What's the point of adding 5,000 taels?
When he asked this question, Jing Zhe said, "Just now, I was going to take you to the Jingzhou prison and lock you up for life. After all, as monks, you extorted so much incense money, which had a really bad influence. However, I later heard that Prefect Xu collected much more incense money than you. In comparison, your crimes seem less serious. So I've decided not to send you to the Jingzhou prison. I'll just keep you here. After all, this is your hometown, so you won't miss home when you go to Jingzhou!"
"..."
Master Kongjing almost cursed. He's already locked up in jail, what does it matter if he misses home or not?
However, Master Kongjing also learned that Jing Zhe was still not satisfied with the price of 15,000 taels, so he immediately said, "Oh dear, President Jing, look at my brain, it's just too old! I've forgotten some money!"
"Old monk, you'd better remember this carefully. If you forget even one more thing, believe me, I'll really lock you up here for the rest of your lives."
Jing Zhe glanced at him and said with dissatisfaction, but in his heart he was very satisfied with Master Kongjing's performance.
"President Jing, I've remembered everything this time!"
Master Kongjing gritted his teeth, thinking to himself, "Prefect Xu has collected a total of twenty thousand incense coins in donations—"
"Twenty thousand taels?"
Jing Zhe was already satisfied with the amount, so he didn't let Master Kongjing shout any higher. Instead, he interrupted him, saying, "I really didn't expect that Prefect Xu would be so greedy. He actually took 20,000 taels of your incense money! The three of you only got 2,000 taels, which is insignificant compared to his 20,000 taels!"
"President Jing, you don't have to lock us up now, right?"
Master Kongjing wiped the sweat from his brow and asked.
"How is that possible?"
"???"
Master Kongjing is about to explode. So all my words were for nothing?
He had made up his mind that if Jing Zhe continued to imprison him, he would stop writing and just let himself die; Jing Zhe was truly unreliable.
Then he heard Jing Zhe say, "Although the amount of incense money you extorted from the people is small, it's still several hundred taels per person, isn't it? So we still have to lock you up for a few days, otherwise the people won't agree, right?"
"Yes, yes, President Jing is so thoughtful!"
Master Kongjing wept with joy.
"As expected of President Jing, his thinking is much more comprehensive than that of us ordinary people!"
Then, Master Kongjing showered him with flattery, and he wasn't just randomly praising him; it was a genuine compliment. He had previously thought that he only needed to implicate Prefect Xu, but after all, Xu had committed a crime. If he did that, wouldn't the common people know about their deal?
As for Jing Zhe, he thought of things so thoroughly. He decided to lock him up for a while before releasing him, so that the common people wouldn't have anything to say. This idea was really brilliant!
————
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