Afterwards, Jing Zhe followed Magistrate Xu back to his room.
After closing the door, Magistrate Xu asked, "Chief Jing, what exactly is this good thing you're talking about?"
As they spoke, Prefect Xu poured Jing Zhe a cup of tea.
Actually, Magistrate Xu was in a good mood. Although he was caught in adultery by Jing Zhe, the outcome was good for him.
Not only was his affair with Madam Feng not exposed, but he was also able to get a lot of money from Jing Zhe. As for whether the Feng Family Restaurant belonged to the Feng family or the Jing family, he didn't care.
And then there's the bald guy. Just because he insulted him like that, Magistrate Xu had long wanted to kill him. But Jing Zhe couldn't help but take action, which actually helped him, so Magistrate Xu was naturally happy.
Jing Zhe took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "Prefect Xu, you must have collected quite a bit of incense money from Peach Blossom Temple over the years, right?"
"..."
Prefect Xu was taken aback and immediately realized that Master Kongjing had confessed. However, he then wondered if Jing Zhe was trying to trick him by asking such a question.
So he smiled and said, "President Jing, you shouldn't say things like that carelessly."
"Nonsense?"
As he spoke, Jing Zhe took out the "blood letter" from his pocket.
"Prefect Xu, open your eyes and look at this blood-written letter. It was written by Master Kongjing himself. If you don't agree, we can confront each other face to face. However, if we confront each other face to face, everyone will know about it. In that case, Prefect Xu will not only lose his official position, but he may also lose his life!"
"..."
Prefect Xu remained silent for a moment, clearly analyzing the situation.
At this point, Jing Zhe said again, "Prefect Xu has committed such a serious crime that even if he is spared the death penalty, he will not escape punishment! However, I did not choose to make it public, but spoke to Prefect Xu privately. Don't you think this is a good thing?"
"..."
Prefect Xu looked up at Jing Zhe. Hearing Jing Zhe's analysis, it seemed that he was helping him, which was indeed a good thing. But would Jing Zhe be so kind?
Prefect Xu was somewhat skeptical, but since Jing Zhe had this leverage over him, he had no other choice.
Then he took another closer look at the blood letter, and when he saw the amount of 20,000 taels, he jumped up instantly.
"He's talking nonsense, utter nonsense! How could it possibly be twenty thousand taels?"
"What amount does Prefect Xu think is appropriate?"
Upon hearing Jing Zhe's words, Prefect Xu shuddered.
At this moment, Jing Zhe continued, "It's written in red ink on paper, and there are witnesses. Does Prefect Xu still want to make excuses?"
Prefect Xu took a breath, preparing for a final struggle, and said, "Chief Jing, we are both officials of the court. When officials handle cases, they value witnesses and physical evidence. You only have witnesses, so can you convict me? Does that mean I can just find a few people to speak ill of Chief Jing and convict you?"
"It's no good if you condemn me. But if I condemn you, then there's no problem."
"..."
Prefect Xu was so angry that he was about to say that Jing Zhe was bullying the weak—of course, "weak" here does not refer to age, but to official rank.
Before he could speak, Jing Zhe pulled out the Emperor's Sword from his robes and slammed it on the table. He then slammed the gold medal bestowed upon him by Emperor An on the table as well. After a moment's thought, he felt it wasn't enough, so he also slammed the Jinghong Iron Cavalry token that Liu Jinghong had given him on the table. He said coldly, "Open your eyes and take a good look. With these tokens in my hand, do I need evidence to arrest you? I've found a witness for you, which is a favor. Don't be ungrateful!"
"..."
Prefect Xu broke out in a cold sweat. Looking at the Emperor's Sword and the token on the table, he recalled the rumors he had heard that Jing Zhe dared to kill people directly in Jingzhou. In addition, he had just killed the bald man in prison, which showed that he was extremely violent and not as gentle as he appeared on the surface.
After thinking about it, I decided to accept my bad luck and not provoke him unless absolutely necessary. If he accidentally killed me, who would I complain to?
Anyway, he won't be able to keep this up for much longer!
Magistrate Xu consoled himself in a very self-deceptive way, saying, "Chief Jing, I accept these twenty thousand taels!"
"Wouldn't it have been better if you had been this smart earlier?"
Jing Zhe clapped his hands and said, "Besides, Master Kongjing is a monk. Monks don't lie, so why would he cheat people? If he says it's twenty thousand taels, then it's twenty thousand taels. Prefect Xu can't deny it!"
"..."
Prefect Xu cursed Master Kongjing's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart.
"Besides, the reason I chose to speak to Prefect Xu in private is because I didn't want to bring this matter into the open. After all, when it comes to officials, who doesn't know who else? A clean prefect can earn 100,000 taels of silver in three years, while Prefect Xu only has 20,000 taels. How much is that? In the end, we can only blame that old monk Kongjing. If he hadn't accepted incense money, how could Prefect Xu have made such a mistake?"
"President Jing...you are right to teach me a lesson."
Prefect Xu nodded, continuing to curse Master Kongjing's ancestors for eighteen generations, while pondering what Jing Zhe really meant by saying that. If he said all officials in the world were so greedy, did that mean he was also greedy? Was he implying something about him?
"Prefect Xu, I don't need much, just give me five thousand taels!"
Just as Magistrate Xu was struggling with his decision, Jing Zhe spoke up.
"..."
Goodness, I actually guessed it!
At this moment, Prefect Xu was overjoyed.
"What, Magistrate Xu won't agree?"
"Yes, yes!"
Problems that can be solved with money are not problems.
"President Jing, please wait a moment!"
Magistrate Xu acted quickly. He went out for a short while and returned with several silver notes, which he handed to Jing Zhe. The total amount was five thousand taels.
Seeing Jing Zhe put the silver note away with satisfaction, Magistrate Xu cautiously asked, "Chief Jing, now that you've accepted the silver note, shouldn't you give me this blood-written letter?"
Magistrate Xu's meaning was clear: Jing Zhe accepted the money, gave him the blood letter, and the transaction between the two was complete.
To everyone's surprise, Jing Zhe suddenly changed his expression: "A letter in blood? What letter in blood? Why would I give you a letter in blood?"
"???"
Magistrate Xu was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage.
"President Jing, this is really unfair of you. I've already given you five thousand taels of silver, and you still won't give me a letter written in blood?"
Jing Zhe laughed: "Prefect Xu, have you lost your mind? You embezzled 20,000 taels of incense money, and you didn't even need to report it to His Majesty. I could sentence you to death right now. I'm already giving you face by not killing you. You think you can buy a 20,000 tael blood oath with a mere 5,000 taels? Even if you really want to clear the evidence in my hands, you should at least give me 20,000 taels, right? Buying a blood oath with 5,000 taels? Dream on!"
"..."
At this moment, Prefect Xu was trembling all over, and his hands and feet were cold with anger. He finally understood that Jing Zhe was indeed not kind!
In addition to sending greetings to Master Kongjing's ancestors for eighteen generations, Prefect Xu is now also sending greetings to Jing Zhe's ancestors for eighteen generations.
————
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