Looking at Magistrate Xu's silly and naive face, Jing Zhe didn't know whether he should laugh or not.
"Bullshit! When did I ever say such a thing?"
Jing Zhe immediately cursed, and Magistrate Xu was stunned, saying, "These are clearly the words of President Jing himself, otherwise why would I kill them both? Am I stupid?"
"..."
The group of people looked at Magistrate Xu and nodded in unison: He's not stupid, he's incredibly stupid...
"You're about to die, and you're still spouting nonsense? I just clearly sentenced all three of you to beheading. When did I ever say anything about three people surviving and one going to live? Have you lost your mind?"
"..."
At first, Magistrate Xu was bewildered, and then he became indignant.
Seeing this, Jing Zhe turned around and asked, "Did you hear what I said?"
"No, we only heard from President Jing that the three of them are guilty of heinous crimes and should be executed according to the law."
Yes, yes!
A group of constables responded.
Magistrate Xu glared fiercely at the constables, thinking to himself, "Once I get out of here, none of you will be able to keep your jobs!" The constables, who had been following Magistrate Xu all along, suddenly felt inexplicably afraid after being glared at by him, and their eyes darted away.
"They were all outside just now, how could they have heard us?"
Prefect Xu said with dissatisfaction.
"They went out, but the prisoners didn't, right? Then let me ask you, did I just say that?"
When Jing Zhe asked, the prisoners quickly shook their heads: "No, we didn't hear President Jing speak. We only saw that guy surnamed Xu started beating people like a madman, muttering something about getting revenge for what happened earlier!"
The other prisoners nodded in agreement.
Jing Zhe glanced at the prisoners and nodded slightly, thinking to himself that they were really good at figuring things out. The constables believed the prisoners' words even more, because Magistrate Xu was currently in a somewhat insane state, very much like someone who had beaten people for revenge.
Of course, whether it is true or not, they all hope it is, and they hope even more that Jing Zhe will kill Prefect Xu as soon as possible. Otherwise, every day he lives, these constables will worry, fearing that if he comes out one day, he will really cause them trouble!
"Xu Wenchang, did you hear that? Nobody has heard what you said. What else could it be but deliberate slander against me?"
Jing Zhe sneered repeatedly: "You already have multiple crimes to be punished, and according to the law, you should be executed. Now you have openly committed murder, killing two people. There's no need to send you to Jingzhou. I will just execute you directly! It's better to keep you alive as a menace!"
With that, Jing Zhe drew his sword and walked toward Prefect Xu.
At this point, Prefect Xu was well aware of Jing Zhe's meaning.
From the beginning, Jing Zhe never intended to let Prefect Xu go. However, after Prefect Xu said that he had no right to execute him, Jing Zhe became afraid and deliberately let them kill each other as a reason to execute him on the spot. And he fell right into the trap!
All I can say is, Jing Zhe is the truly wicked one!
As the saying goes, a dying man's words are kind. Seeing that his time was running out, Prefect Xu blurted out, "Jing Zhe, damn it..."
"Pfft~"
Before he could finish speaking, the Emperor's Sword pierced his chest.
"You're older—"
"Pfft~ Pfft~"
Jing Zhe drew his sword again and stabbed Xu several times. Poor Magistrate Xu died before he could finish a sentence.
Jing Zhe withdrew his sword, expertly wiped it with Prefect Xu's clothes, and said, "A dying man's words are good; it seems that's true! Even on his deathbed, Xu Wenchang didn't forget to praise my high official rank!"
"..."
The group of constables were completely bewildered, while those familiar with Magistrate Xu had already guessed what his last words were, as they knew that greeting all too well. Nevertheless, they nodded in agreement.
Seeing that all three people were gone, Jing Zhe was very satisfied. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about them not being punished after leaving Jiangling.
"Post a notice tomorrow, listing all three of their crimes and how they died."
"President Jing...should we write it as it is?"
"I asked the constable."
"Of course I wrote it the truth!"
Jing Zhe glanced at him and said with displeasure, "What are you afraid of? Xu Wenchang committed murder, and then I, the official, punished evil and promoted good. Isn't this something the common people would love to see? Write it down truthfully, and I believe the people of Jiangling City will definitely sing my praises!"
"Yes, President Jing..."
The constable agreed and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Chief Jing, where is Madam Feng?"
"Oh, I almost forgot about her. How is she?"
"The situation is not good. She hasn't eaten anything since she was put in jail."
"Oh, then I'm not hungry. I'll eat when I get hungry."
Jing Zhe showed no sympathy and said nonchalantly.
"Should we execute her, President Jing?"
In the eyes of the constables, Madam Feng's crimes were not much different from those of Master Feng. Master Feng had already been beheaded, so why should she be the one to suffer the consequences?
Jing Zhe thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No need. Keeping her alive will make her suffer more than killing her."
"Yes, President Jing!"
...
When Jing Zhe came out of the yamen, it was already quite late.
As Jing Zhe walked through the increasingly bustling streets of Jiangling and returned along the banks of the Yunling River, he couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, mixed feelings).
Jiangling is known as the first city of Anguo, and March is the best time to visit Jiangling. However, during his few days there, apart from visiting Peach Blossom Mountain to admire the peach blossoms on the first day, he spent very little time lingering in the city.
Moreover, all three of his older sisters live in Jiangling, but he hasn't been able to spare a single day to spend with them, which is a bit embarrassing to think about.
Feeling ashamed, Jing Zhe returned to the Lin family.
The sun was setting, and the sky was ablaze with evening glow.
Pei Yunxi and Lin Wan'er stood in the courtyard, pacing back and forth, occasionally turning their heads to look towards the gate. In fact, they had been in this position for almost the entire afternoon.
As soon as Qingqiu and Jingzhe left, the two suggested taking a stroll in the courtyard and chatting, but their real intention was not to chat; they were both hoping that Jingzhe would return as soon as possible.
At first, the two of them could chat casually, since neither of them revealed the other's secrets, and they both pretended to be just out for a stroll out of boredom.
But they waited for an hour, then two hours, until they had nothing more to say to each other. So they stopped talking altogether and fixed their gazes on the doorway, their brows furrowing slightly, as if they were waiting to see when Jing Zhe would return!
Finally, hard work pays off.
Just before the sun was about to completely disappear into the western sunset, Jing Zhe appeared at the door.
The two women, who had been standing there all afternoon, finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was unclear whether they were relieved because Jing Zhe had returned or because they no longer had to wait.
————
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