Chapter 68 Re-interrogation of the driver
The sky gradually darkened, the north wind howled, and not even a ghost could be seen on the empty streets.
In order to save lamp oil, people living on both sides of the street went to bed early, and there was no light at all on the street.
At this time, the mayor's house in the east of the town was brightly lit.
Several huge candles were lit in the spacious main room, illuminating the entire room.
The mayor was sitting on the kang above, which was warm, and he had a pipe in his mouth.
After a burst of puffs of smoke, the cigarette slowly rose, swirled above the mayor's head, and gradually disappeared.
There was a burning brazier on the floor of the main room, and a thick cotton curtain hung at the door.
The whole room was so warm that it made one want to take a nap.
The housekeeper Yuan Zhong, at this time, stood not far from the brazier with his hands hanging down and his body slightly bent, respectfully reporting to the mayor what he had investigated.
"Master, we have already found out that the child that the Golden Axe Gang is looking for today is the eldest grandson of the Lu family in Beijing. He came to the border with his uncle to study, but he was accidentally kidnapped and his whereabouts are still unknown.
However, the robbers died at the bottom of the slope outside the town, and the surviving driver was captured by the Golden Axe Gang, who said that the child was rescued by a young man. The Golden Axe Gang searched the entire town but could not find the young man the driver mentioned.
The mayor exhaled a puff of smoke and tapped the pipe on the edge of the kang. He slowly raised his drooping eyelids and glanced at the housekeeper standing below with his bulging eyes. He asked in a somewhat indifferent tone: "The Lu family in Beijing? Why haven't I heard of this person? Is he very powerful?"
Yuan Zhong despised Wang Xingwang in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He still said respectfully, "Master, you haven't heard of him. It may be that the Lu family is not well-known. They are a family of scholars with countless students. They are quite famous among scholars. Master, you don't have to care too much about this. Anyway, our people haven't seen this child, so it won't cause any trouble to us."
Wang Xingwang filled another pot of tobacco leaves, lit the candle on the table, took a sip, and then continued: "What about the Lu family and the group of exiles today? Let Xiong Ying take good care of them and see if we can find some things. I see that there are quite a few children here this time. Go and see if there are any children you can use and take them away to sell. You don't need to report such trivial matters to me anymore."
Yuan Zhong didn't move after hearing this, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Wang Xingwang leaned on the head of the kang and glanced at Yuan Zhong.
"What? Is there something else? When did you become so hesitant?"
Yuan Zhong quickly bowed and said, "Master, Xiong Ying is injured. Our people had some accidents on the way to escort the exiles to the prison today. Xiong Ying is still lying in the infirmary. Several other people have also been injured to varying degrees. I haven't seen the prison yet, so I don't know what the situation is now."
"Injured? How did you get injured?" Wang Xingwang's eyelids twitched, and he immediately sat up straight, staring at Yuan Zhong, his face becoming more serious.
"Nothing, just some accidents. I slipped and was hit by the icicles on the eaves. There was a bloody hole on my head. Now I am fine."
Although Wang Xingwang didn't care much about these servants, he was always cautious. After thinking for a while, he said, "Go to the prison now to see if there is any trouble there."
"Yes, sir."
After Yuan Zhong left, Wang Xingwang was still worried. Ever since this group of prisoners entered the prison, his house began to feel uneasy and he felt a little nervous.
Wang Xingwang quickly got off the kang, ran to the next room in his shoes, and took out a stack of information from the cabinet.
These were exactly the information about the prisoners that Li Zuo handed over to him today. He grabbed the information and strode back to the kang with his back hunched.
By candlelight, he carefully read through the information page by page.
There were 78 people in total, but Li Zuo said that there are only 26 left now. More than 50 people died on the road. This is all my money! The relatives of this official must be beautiful women. He can sell them for a lot of money, and the children can also be sold for a lot of silver. Now they are all gone.
After reading the information, Wang Xingwang patted his chest in pain.
Suddenly he paused, thinking of the young man the housekeeper mentioned. He quickly looked through the information again and found that there really was a young man on the list. The Wan family was a family of military generals, so it was not surprising that he knew kung fu.
It seems that the only people entering the town today are this wave of exiles. The escorting officers and soldiers probably won't interfere. After Wang Xingwang realized this, his heart began to pound. If this is true, then wouldn't the Lu family's children also be imprisoned now?
Once this idea entered Wang Xingwang's mind, he couldn't get rid of it.
Although Yuan Zhong did not mention the status of the Lu family just now, it can be inferred from Yuan Zhong's words that the fact that they have countless disciples is enough to make Wang Xingwang, who is only half-baked, know how powerful the Lu family is. Thinking about this clearly, Wang Xingwang suddenly felt confused.
The documents in his hand were thrown randomly on the kang, covering a large area. He could no longer sit still, so he quickly put on his shoes and prepared to go to the prison in person.
But he hesitated again. If he didn't go, he could still make excuses and say he didn't know. But if he went, what should he do? Send the child back in person? He couldn't bear to apologize.
Should he bring the child back? That would be even worse, as the other party would easily mistake him for having stolen the child.
Wang Xingwang's footsteps were fixed in place, thoughts arose in his mind one after another, and he suppressed them one by one.
Finally, he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, looking impatient.
Also brightly lit was the Golden Axe Gang on the west side of town.
The Golden Axe Gang occupies one-third of the entire town, but its territory is different from that of the mayor's family.
There is a clear boundary between the mayor's house and the entire town, but the Golden Axe Gang is integrated into the entire town, with only the main courtyard being relatively grand.
Jiang Hu returned to the Golden Axe Gang and told the gang leader Shen Qinghan about this matter.
Shen Qinghan glanced at Lu Changxin who was sitting below. Lu Changxin was Lu Jingyu's uncle.
Lu Changxin is only twenty years old this year. He wears a soft hat made of fox fur with exquisite fur trimmed on the edge, a thick royal blue brocade robe, a mink cloak with a high collar, and a pair of deerskin boots on his feet.
His usually gentle face was now chilly, his eyelids drooped slightly, and his thick eyelashes hid the coldness in his eyes.
After Jiang Hu finished his report, he didn't dare to breathe, and lowered his head without daring to look around.
Lu Changxin, who had listened to the whole story, was now leaning on a mink-covered cushion, playing with a jade ring on his thumb with one hand and supporting his temples with a half-clenched fist with the other.
He said calmly: "Bring the driver up."
Jiang Hu did not dare to hesitate at all, and immediately answered yes, then bowed and retreated. Soon the heavy cotton curtain was lifted, and a chill penetrated straight in.
"Kneel down!" Jiang Hu held the driver in his hand and kicked him hard in the knee.
The driver was kicked to his knees and groaned.
"Master, I have told you everything I know. Please let me go. I am just a coachman. I don't know anything."
The driver knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shouting that he was innocent.
Lu Changxin sat there without moving, just frowned slightly. However, Shen Qinghan glanced at Jiang Hu.
Jiang Hu understood and kicked the driver's butt. "Shut up! You are not allowed to speak unless asked. Just answer whatever Master Lu asks you. If you keep howling, I will cut off your tongue."
The driver stopped talking in fear and immediately covered his mouth with both hands. He looked at Jiang Hu with horror and shook his head vigorously, indicating that he would stop talking nonsense.
Shen Qinghan had a guilty look on his face. He stood up and walked down the stairs. He bowed slightly to Lu Changxin and said, "Mr. Lu, if you have anything you want to ask, just ask."
Lu Changxin then raised his eyes to look at the driver and said, "Just tell me everything about the places you passed through in the town, the people you saw, and their characteristics."
The driver also discovered that the most distinguished person in the room was probably this handsome young man. He looked directly at Lu Changxin, knelt on the ground and crawled towards Lu Changxin.
"Sir, this town is so remote, and we didn't meet anyone along the way. When we were at the entrance of the town, I seemed to see a group of exiles. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, and drove the carriage out of the town. After that, I didn't meet anyone else. Oh, now I remember, that young man seems to be one of those exiles."
After hearing this, Jiang Hu felt a chill down his spine. The driver actually concealed such important information.
Jiang Hu was so angry that he wanted to punch the driver to death.
Shen Qinghan immediately looked up at Jiang Hu.
"Why don't you go to the prison right away? My cousin must have been arrested as an exile. How can such a filthy place be for someone as noble as my cousin?"
Jiang Hu nodded repeatedly, but was stopped by Lu Changxin.
"No need, Master Jiang, please go to the mayor's house and ask him to go to the prison immediately. If he is delayed for a quarter of an hour, his position as mayor will end."
After Lu Changxin finished speaking, he stood up, tightened his cloak, and walked out.
Shen Qinghan didn't dare to delay and immediately followed Lu Changxin closely. When passing by Jiang Hu, he gave Jiang Hu a look.
Jiang Hu understood, and after the two of them left the hall, a muffled groan was heard from the room, and a faint smell of blood drifted in the room. Soon the driver's body was carried out and thrown into the wolf cage in the backyard.
Jiang Hu and his men immediately rushed to the mayor's house in the east of the town.
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