"You keep saying that he is your cherished son, so how do you explain this?" The boy's dark and bright eyes stared directly at the couple, making them feel uneasy.
Magistrate Zhou slammed the gavel, "Tell the truth now."
“Th-That’s…”
Governor Fang snorted coldly, "If you still don't tell the truth, we'll use the torture instruments here on you in turn. If you want to try, just shut up."
The middle-aged couple could not bear the fear and knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "Sir, please spare our lives. We have no choice but to do this."
"How things go, what you do will be revealed."
The middle-aged man knew his lie had been exposed and could no longer be concealed, so he naturally dared not hide it and confessed honestly, "At noon today, a servant gave us a bag of silver and told us to wait in front of the teahouse on Changsheng Street at 3:00 p.m. We saw someone hit a carriage and said the person was my son. I was greedy for money at the time, but I didn't harm anyone."
Lord Zhou looked at the yamen runners, "What about you?"
The yamen runner said stubbornly, "Sir, we just happened to pass by there."
"Coincidence?" Lord Zhou sneered, "Even now, you still refuse to tell the truth."
"Sir, it's really a coincidence." The bailiff complained and cried out for injustice.
"I remember that when the officers came over, they only listened to what they said and didn't even ask you any questions. They detained us without saying anything. Isn't that unreasonable? Did you prepare there in advance just to capture us?" Hua Ziyun asked.
"That was my dereliction of duty, it doesn't mean anything." The bailiff argued cunningly.
The lawyer walked to the ear of Magistrate Zhou and whispered a few words.
Magistrate Zhou slammed the gavel and said coldly, "What a dereliction of duty! At this time in the past, you would have been patrolling Yongsheng Street. Why did you go to Changsheng Street today? Do you want me to send someone over?"
"Th-that's just a coincidence."
Xiao Zimo and Hua Ziyun could both see that there was something fishy about this yamen runner, but they had no solid evidence to prove that he was lying, so they could only bypass him and start from the direction of the jailer.
Hua Ziyun gave Governor Fang a look, and Governor Fang understood and reminded Prefect Zhou.
Magistrate Zhou followed his instructions and began to interrogate the jailer, "Tell me, why did you lock them up in the cell for serious criminals?"
"Sir, that's because all the other cells are occupied, and that cell has the fewest people."
Xiao Zimo said, "Just now, I walked along the road and saw that four of the cells only had two or three people imprisoned. I wonder if this jailer can't count heads."
The jailer immediately changed the subject, saying, "They killed someone, making them serious criminals. That cell for serious criminals really has the fewest rooms."
Hua Ziyun chuckled, "Do you think that just because I say that, I can do nothing to you? You are willing to take the blame for the people behind you. Wait until you die. Will the people behind you save you?"
"Master Fang, bring those prisoners up here. We have a way to make them tell the truth." Xiao Zimo said.
Seeing their confident expressions, Magistrate Zhou knew they were certain of their plan. He quickly looked at them and warned them, "Think carefully. If you tell the truth, you can still save your lives. But if they tell the truth, you'll lose your lives, and your families will be implicated."
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