Chapter 356 Monster Hospital (Fifty-Five)
"I thought there would always be one or two people who would speak up for him," the county magistrate stood in the lobby of the government office, looking at the empty door and the crowd of people talking not far away, while looking up at the four characters "A Clear Mirror Hanging High" on the plaque, feeling sad. "After all, last year, when the harvest was poor, it was his family who paid to help many people through the difficult times. Although it is normal for neighbors to have small disputes on weekdays, he has never refused to help anyone with any problems. It's a bit too sad now."
"Mr. County Magistrate, the matter has been determined, so don't think about it anymore."
The lawyer consoled him with some concern and asked about another matter. "It's just that Boss Sun in the prison has recovered. Although he doesn't know what happened outside, he and his wife are in love. Once he knows that he is indeed the murderer and the county magistrate has not redressed him, he might cause trouble. Who knows, since the deed has been done, you might as well cut the grass and eradicate it..."
The county magistrate was a little surprised by the sudden change of words of the lawyer, but he did not show anything on his face. He just said with a bad look, "Let me think about it. Keep an eye on him first, and don't reveal any outside news to him."
The government office, which was bustling during the day, was exceptionally quiet at night. The weather was not very good tonight, and even the moon did not appear. In the silent night, a black shadow flashed in the corner of the wall.
Dongyang County is not a big place and there are not many extremely serious criminals, so as of today, only Boss Sun is detained here for serious criminals. Logically speaking, this kind of place should be strictly guarded and there should be many guards, but for some reason, there is no one here tonight.
The dark shadow at the door walked in so openly and used the key to open the door of the cell where Boss Sun was. Although Boss Sun had regained consciousness, he was still in a bad state and was in a coma most of the time. The dark shadow's face could not be seen clearly because of his hood. When he bent down and straightened up Boss Sun who was sleeping on his side, and wanted to feed him something, he found that the other person had his eyes open all the time. Moreover, the other person was not Boss Sun, but the county magistrate.
"I never thought that you would be the one who did it," the county magistrate sat up, and the guards outside the door rushed in and surrounded the cell tightly. "Did the Minister ask you to kill to silence the witness?"
The black hood was lowered, revealing the old face of the master, but he did not look too panicked, nor did he show too much fear of the guards who suddenly appeared around him. He just looked at the county magistrate in front of him leisurely, "I didn't expect the county magistrate to appear here, but the county magistrate has a change of heart and wants to save Boss Sun's life, or does he have other plans? For example, privately handing a letter to the high officials in the capital?"
The county magistrate didn't expect that the legal advisor knew about something he hadn't told anyone. His face changed drastically, but before he could react, he heard hurried footsteps outside the prison. Soon, a face he least wanted to see appeared.
"Mr. County Magistrate, how are you?" The Minister waved his hand, and the provincial government officers and soldiers behind him came forward and surrounded everyone. Then he spoke slowly, "Come here, the county magistrate of Dongyang County is suspected of killing five women from neighboring counties, including this county, and colluding with the owner of the Nanyue Inn, intending to collude with the other party, and also trying to frame the court official. Tie him up for me..."
There was too much information in these words. Except for the calm lawyer, the county magistrate and the yamen runners were all stunned. Then the county magistrate was the first to understand, "The letter I wrote to the governor of Jiangzhou was intercepted by you..."
"Hey, what are you talking about? The prefect of Jiangzhou was originally a student of my father. When he saw the urgent letter from the magistrate of Dongyang County, he naturally thought that something had happened to me. I didn't expect to find out that you had falsely accused the court official. I have reported it to the court. The court sent the prefect of Jiangzhou to investigate the case and clear my name. Please send the magistrate and the prefect to the lobby."
For a while, the county magistrate was confused. He watched helplessly as his respected master and beloved wife came forward one after another to make accusations.
"Your Excellency, the prefect, after the murders of the women in Lin County, the county magistrate looked interested and kept asking for news from Lin County. On the night when the proprietress of Nanyue Inn was murdered, I did not find the county magistrate in the study. He ran in from outside in a panic, as if he had been frightened by something..."
"Your Excellency the Prefect, I found several hundred taels of silver in my husband's study. They were all stolen money from his conspiracy with Boss Sun. I heard their plan with my own ears..."
It was ten o'clock in the night, and the government office of Gaoyang County was brightly lit. Witnesses came forward one after another in the courtroom to recount how he and Boss Sun had colluded to pin the crime of murder on the Minister. However, these facts were full of mistakes and omissions, and they did not make sense, and it seemed as if no one had noticed.
Even the people closest to him stood against him, saying with certainty that he was a murderer and unworthy of being an official.
It seems that his original plan had long been leaked to the Minister by people around him. The other party wanted to completely nail himself and Boss Sun down and find a murderer for these murders. Even the case files from Lin County had been transferred over.
He originally wanted to convict Boss Sun first, and then convey the facts to his superiors in the form of a letter to seek justice for Boss Sun and his wife. However, he did not expect that the letter would be intercepted, and the other party would not only not let it go, but also wanted to solve his own trouble as well.
"Tell me quickly, where did you send your accomplice to avoid physical pain?" Under the gavel, his crime had been determined in just a quarter of an hour. They were eager to know the whereabouts of the other insider and wanted to kill him.
Under the severe punishment, the county magistrate, in severe pain and with his eyes blurred by blood, once again looked at the four characters "a clear mirror hanging high" and couldn't help but wonder in his heart: among those officials and those who had committed crimes, how many of them believed in these four characters when they were tried?
The sensational murder case finally had a result. This time, there were still many people gathered near the notice board at the government office gate. Just like a few days ago, the official who loved the people like his own children turned into a murderer overnight. It seemed that it made no difference to them.
"Oh, I always thought the county magistrate was a good man. Now it seems that he has done so many bad things and killed so many people. He really broke the law knowingly..."
"I said, every time I see the county magistrate on the street, he looks at me with a smile. He is not a good person. Look, he raped and killed all those women. If he hadn't been caught, who would be the next one?"
"Forget it. You still call him the county magistrate. He is simply a beast. Boss Sun once asked him to find a doctor for his wife. At that time, everyone said he was a good man. Maybe he has already had such an idea. Look, there is no such a high-ranking official..."
Crowds came and went, and the few words on the notice were seen by people and passed through their hearts, but nothing was left. The political achievements of the past few years were so lightly destroyed by a piece of notice.
"Even his closest people can betray him for money and status. How can those who have been innocently favored by him think that they are being wronged?"
Bei Xi looked at the bustling crowds coming and going, and couldn't help but sigh, "He was very careful. Whether it was writing letters, collecting evidence from Lin County, or secretly asking someone to perform an autopsy, he did it all by himself. He didn't tell his master or his wife, but they were people around him after all, and they still noticed something was wrong. One didn't want to offend the powerful and wanted to enjoy his old age, and the other was as beautiful as a flower and didn't want to waste time in Dongyang County. When the Minister of Revenue left, he already knew these things. Even if his letter hadn't been stopped by the prefects of Jiangzhou and Qingzhou, it would definitely not have reached the capital. This is not his fault."
“But even at this point, he still didn’t tell these people where Boss Sun was.” Nan Huan, as a person with a God’s perspective, knew that the county magistrate had sent Boss Sun away only to protect his safety, and because the notice had already been posted, he did not look for the people of Dongyang County, so he escaped the disaster. Maybe he was disheartened and didn’t want to involve more people, or maybe he was still brooding over the fact that he had not cleared his name, so the county magistrate kept his mouth shut.
As a heinous criminal who had killed several people, and also because he was an official appointed by the imperial court, the county magistrate was not executed on the spot, but was escorted to the capital for execution.
On the day he left, citizens of the entire county lined the streets and sighed. Although there were no rotten vegetable leaves or eggs, the indifferent and resentful faces were still reflected in the county magistrate's eyes.
"There's no way he could make it to the capital alive," Nan Huan glanced at the guard of the Minister of Revenue who had been following the escort team, "Boss Sun has not been found yet. In order to let things end here, he is likely to die on the way."
The case has been concluded. Whether the murderer committed suicide out of fear of punishment or died suddenly on the way, it will not cause any more waves in this matter. Boss Sun has been wanted. As long as he dares to show up in his true appearance, he will be dead. There is nothing to be afraid of.
This is also the reason why the county magistrate could not survive in the capital. The assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue wanted to make sure that he did not speak again to give him a chance to refute.
As Nan Huan expected, when the prison cart reached a remote location, it had quietly trailed at the very end of the team, and finally stopped directly on a narrow road, losing contact with the large escorting force. The assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the guards who had been following it also revealed their true identities.
"You could have saved yourself from death, but you insisted on making a big deal out of it," the Minister of Revenue looked at the county magistrate with a fierce expression on his face, "You are a lowly official of the ninth rank, but you have done your job conscientiously. When you get to the lower levels, you can continue to be a lowly official."
The county magistrate seemed to have anticipated this fate and did not show any surprise. "Why did you kill those women?"
His tone was very calm, as if he just couldn't figure it out, or as if he simply wanted to know what the other person was thinking at the time.
The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was probably very happy to see that the other party was not going to resist or struggle, or he was relieved because the matter was finally settled, so he answered the question mercifully, but his face was still full of disdain, "Why? There is no reason. Do you know what the tension of near-death experience brings? I don't think you know, but your wife is quite pretty. Maybe one day when I'm interested, I'll let her have a taste?"
At this point, his tone became vulgar and complacent. After a moment, he sighed in a fake manner, "The proprietress of that inn is indeed graceful and charming. If she hadn't been bumped into by that blind boss, I might not have taken action. Do you really think there are any good treasures hidden in your remote place? They are just a few country women. It doesn't matter if they die. Maybe their husbands will be happy. After all, they can marry beautiful women. People like you have a bright future, but you don't know how to flatter others. Isn't being an official for fame and fortune? Do you really think you are a parent official? Look at how many people still remember what you did when you left the city. You are really stupid..."
As he finished his last words, the guard's sword had already pierced his chest. Blood splattered all over the ground, taking with it the breath the county magistrate had been holding.
The sound of horse hooves faded away, but one could still vaguely hear the voice, "The county magistrate was so ashamed that he committed suicide..."
The grass and forests in the mountains swayed, like a silent sigh, or a mournful wail.
The county magistrate fell on the path, but his heart was very calm. He had lived a very ordinary life. He thought that being a county magistrate would be like this for the rest of his life. From the moment he became an official, he did not think about fame, wealth or power, but just wanted to be a good official. He thought it would not be difficult, but he did not expect that he would end up losing his life for it.
He didn't know whether he had any hatred in his heart, he was just glad that he sent Boss Sun away before he died, and the other party had never been found, so he saved a life.
In a trance, he felt his consciousness was gradually disappearing, his eyes were dizzy, everything around him became blurry, and a golden figure seemed to appear in front of him. He didn't know whether it was real or an illusion of his last burst of light.
"If you hadn't died here today, would you have kept your identity secret and lived like this in the future?"
The god had appeared in front of the county magistrate at some point in time. Perhaps because the other party's endings in the previous two lives were not very good, this time she did not save the other party quietly, but asked a question first.
Those people are already dead. As long as he stops pursuing the previous cases and changes his identity, he can die peacefully.
The man on the ground was already very confused, but he still shook his head with difficulty, "I won't... It's better to die now than to live like that..."
The god seemed to not understand why the other party would make such a choice even though it was at a critical moment of life and death. "Why?"
"Because I won't give up."
I am unwilling to accept this. Why did a good person with a clear conscience become a murderer after being oppressed and having nothing to lose, betrayed by his relatives and looked down upon by the people he had served? And the person with blood on his hands became the one who manipulated it all.
Who is the "mirror hanging high" in the lobby for? Is the injustice of heaven just because the people involved are in high positions, powerful and wealthy?
He is unwilling to accept this. He is unwilling to accept this.
The last tear overflowed from his eyes, as if it was the true cry of his heart, and then he closed his eyes, waiting for death to come, but the imagined darkness never came. Instead, the pain in the place where his chest was hurt gradually disappeared, and his body became lighter.
Half a quarter of an hour later, he opened his eyes and found that the knife wound on his body had healed somehow, and there was no scar left, but there was no one around.
"She heard the other party's answer and knew that the other party would not give up, but she still chose to save her." A few minutes ago, Bei Xi and Nan Huan looked at the god with their own eyes. Although they did not understand the other party's answer, they still chose to save her. "I thought that with the experience of last time, she should be more cautious."
"No, the Heavenly Dao said that everything is predetermined. Even the birth and intervention of gods may be part of the Heavenly Dao. She may just want to take a look. Maybe someone will go beyond the Heavenly Dao."
Nan Huan had a different opinion. It was not known whether she understood the god's feelings a little bit, or because the two of them were the same person, so she knew that what the other party cared about was not whether this person would hurt other people again after being saved, or whether he had a good end. Or maybe she cared about more than just these.
"Do you think it's possible?"
Bei Xi didn't know why she suddenly became interested in this question, or maybe she just cared about Nan Huan's attitude and wanted to know her opinion on this matter. "This may also be an important part of the system's attempt to influence our choice."
"I think it's possible, or I'm sure someone can do it."
Unexpectedly, Nan Huan answered very straightforwardly without any hesitation, "I always believe that man can conquer nature. Even if nature can control many things, humans will always give unexpected answers to unexpected small details, so 'miracles' are born."
Bei Xi raised an eyebrow at this statement, a little surprised. "This is not what you would say. Normally, you wouldn't pin your hopes on such a slim hope. Instead, you would hold all the choices in your own hands. In this way, even if you lose, it is the result of your own efforts, and you won't have any complaints. Why did you suddenly change your mind?"
Nan Huan smiled. Both her mood and mentality were much better than when she first started this mission and saw these scenes. "Of course, I still have to work hard on what I can control. As for the parts that I can't decide, I'll leave them to the common people. Just like the god just now, she was able to save the county magistrate's life, but she knew that she could only save his consciousness. She couldn't change his thoughts and choices, so she could only make the choices she could make. She wanted to see the rest."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com