Chapter Twenty-Six: Who Would Believe?
At that moment, Old Man Tang, with his buzz cut, suddenly stepped in front of Shen Zhiyi, looked coldly at Ge Ermazi, and said in a deep voice, "Speak up!"
Ge Ermazi shrugged instinctively, hurriedly took a few steps back, then steadied himself against the wall, repeatedly saying, "Father-in-law, I..."
"Who's your father-in-law!" Old Tang glanced at Shen Zhiyi out of the corner of his eye and said fiercely to Ge Ermazi, "You answer whatever my daughter asks! If you dare to look around again, watch out..."
"No, no," Ge Ermazi hurriedly replied, his gaze immediately becoming obedient.
At this moment, Shen Zhiyi spoke up: "You don't know who took the child away, but you do know where they took him?"
Ge Ermazi remained silent.
“It seems they don’t know.” Shen Zhiyi said confidently, then turned to look at Old Man Tang and the others, “Let’s go, we won’t get any information from him anyway, why waste time on him.”
Shen Zhiyi is now certain that it wasn't good luck at all; rather, this person had been secretly following them ever since they left the clinic. His sudden appearance now is anyone's guess.
Given her negative impression of this person, Shen Zhiyi wanted nothing more to do with him.
Just a few steps out of the alley, Ge Ermazi suddenly shouted, "I know who took him away. Even if I tell you who it is, you can't afford to mess with them. Why bother? To drag a whole group of people down for one person."
Shen Zhiyi turned to look at Ge Ermazi, who was hiding in the darkness, and asked in a deep voice, "Who is it?"
Ge Ermazi lowered his head and remained silent.
“Even if you don’t tell me, I will find a way to find him,” Shen Zhiyi said seriously. “I don’t believe there’s no place in this world where justice is served!”
As she spoke, she seemed to radiate a dazzling light, making people want to look at her more.
At the same time, Ge Ermazi's dark eyes found light, and he couldn't help but look at Shen Zhiyi a few more times. That persistent and ardent emotion seemed to burn his blood, giving his decaying body a new lease on life.
"It was Ge Qi and Young Master Ge who took them away," Ge Ermazi said weakly.
After receiving the answer, Shen Zhiyi continued walking forward.
"Hey, the Ge family runs a martial arts business. If you go there looking for trouble, they'll beat you to death," Ge Ermazi shouted.
Shen Zhiyi stopped in her tracks, turned around, and walked straight toward Ge Ermazi.
"W-what are you doing? I-I told you everything I know," Ge Ermazi stammered, his back pressed tightly against the wall.
"You're not lying, are you?" Shen Zhiyi keenly sensed something was wrong. Why did you suddenly give in? "Could it be that you have a grudge against that Second Young Master Ge, and that's why you're saying this on purpose?"
"No!" Ge Ermazi's voice became shrill when he said this.
A vehement denial is more like a confirmation.
"Then do you dare to repeat what you told us in front of another person?" Shen Zhiyi asked seriously.
Ge Ermazi snapped out of his daze and asked uneasily, "In front of Young Master Ge?"
Seeing her terrified expression, Shen Zhiyi had other thoughts in mind and quickly replied, "No."
"I dare! I'm telling the truth, I'm not afraid at all!" Ge Ermazi said with absolute certainty.
"Alright, then come with us." Shen Zhiyi said, turning to leave. Seeing that Ge Ermazi hadn't followed, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at him. "You're not scared, are you?"
“Who’s afraid? Let’s go!” Ge Ermazi said, and followed after them.
Shen Zhiyi was quite pleased with how effective the provocation tactic had been.
They walked to the main street, and Old Man Tang slowed down, silently following behind Ge Ermazi. Whenever he noticed that Ge Ermazi was about to stop or go somewhere else, Old Man Tang would sternly snort, and only then would Ge Ermazi obediently follow.
When they arrived at the yamen gate, Ge Ermazi's legs were trembling, and his voice was full of fear: "You...no, you wouldn't be thinking of..."
Shen Zhiyi understood what Ge Ermazi meant and nodded in response.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Ge Ermazi was about to slip away, but Old Man Tang, who was following behind him, grabbed his belt and had to hurriedly cover himself.
Seeing that Ge Ermazi had been captured, Shen Zhiyi continued walking.
Perhaps because she had visited the county government office many times and left a deep impression, the guards at the gate let her through directly.
Such a convenient passage made Shen Zhiyi feel somewhat uncomfortable.
However, once she reached the inner courtyard of the government office, she had no idea where to go next.
"This is..." The voice came from behind Shen Zhiyi. She turned around and looked at the person who had come. The person said again, "Miss Shen, did Ge Er Mazi steal your things? I'll take him away right now!"
"no……"
"no."
Shen Zhiyi's calm voice clashed with Ge Ermazi's panicked denial. She glanced at the other side, who seemed to be terrified, and then said, "Officer Lu, we have a missing person. We've come to report it, but we don't know who to contact."
"This matter..." Constable Lu pondered, then, as if struck by a thought, spoke again, "Let's find the magistrate. Would you like me to show you the way, young lady?"
"Thank you for your help, Officer Lu," Shen Zhiyi said.
Officer Lu accepted this courtesy and led the way.
As they passed the fork in the road, they saw Xuan Yan emerging from another moon gate.
"Young Master Xuan Yan, they've come to Lord Lu to report a missing person case," Constable Lu said softly.
"Yes, come in with me." Xuan Yan replied with a serious expression, and then led them inside.
Ge Ermazi was always thinking of running away, but Tang Laohan, who had noticed his intention, pushed him into the house. They stayed outside and could hear the conversation inside.
Upon seeing the official sitting at the desk, Ge Ermazi's legs went weak and he knelt down, leaving Shen Zhiyi, who was standing beside him, at a loss for words.
After listening to Xuan Yan's soft reply, Lu Jingbai looked up and saw Ge Ermazi bowing deeply. He had a certain conclusion in his mind and couldn't help but ask, "When did your relative go missing? Where did they go missing? Are there any clues?"
"Ah, no, I..." Ge Ermazi tried to speak, but couldn't get the words out.
“It was San Tou. He also worked in the yamen, collecting chamber pot waste.” Shen Zhiyi glanced at Lu Jingbai’s expression, and seeing no disdain, continued, “He disappeared this morning in an alley while collecting chamber pot waste. His neighbors said that his house was ransacked after he disappeared, and even his mother was dragged out. Ge Er Mazi was a witness when San Tou disappeared; he saw who took San Tou away!”
After saying this, Shen Zhiyi and Lu Jingbai both looked at Ge Ermazi, who was kneeling on the ground with a pale face.
"Don't be afraid, Lord Lu is a good official. Just tell the truth." Shen Zhiyi spoke to Ge Ermazi in a rare gentle tone, her expression softening appropriately.
Terrified, Ge Ermazi seemed to hear heavenly music. Seeing the gentle woman before him, his eyes gradually regained focus. Guided by her soft voice, he slowly said, "I calculated the time perfectly that day. Ge Qi secretly came out of that courtyard at the second gong of the third watch. He originally intended to go up and get some money, but he accidentally bumped into the chamber pot and then took the person away."
"Are you planning to extort money from Ge Qi?" Lu Jingbai suddenly asked.
"No, no, no..." Ge Ermazi saw the fierce-looking magistrate in front of him in the blink of an eye, and immediately didn't know how to continue talking about his grudge with Ge Qi. He could only whisper, "He should have given it to me."
Shen Zhiyi wasn't there to pry into the feud between Ge Qi and Ge Er Mazi, so she quickly steered the conversation back on track: "Are you sure you saw Ge Qi take the person back?"
"Yes." Ge Ermazi nodded hurriedly. Seeing Shen Zhiyi remain silent, he hardened his heart and swore, "If I'm lying, may I die a horrible death!"
Shen Zhiyi was startled. She knew that the people here valued these things and would not easily say "may you die a horrible death." This was probably the most trustworthy way Ge Ermazi could use.
She continued, "Please, Your Honor, make the decision! San Tou is just a teenager, diligently doing the work assigned by the government, but unexpectedly he was dragged away by villains! If it had been any later, who knows what would have happened!"
"Besides him, are there any other witnesses?" Lu Jingbai asked.
Shen Zhiyi turned to look at Ge Ermazi, only to see him shake his head.
“In urgent situations, we must act expediently, Your Excellency…” Shen Zhiyi’s words were interrupted by Lu Jingbai: “Miss Shen, I’m afraid you don’t know this Ge Er Mazi. He’s a layabout in the city, good at petty theft, and occasionally harasses girls on the street, which has landed him in jail multiple times. How can I believe what such a person says?”
Shen Zhiyi pursed her lips and remained silent. She knew Ge Ermazi had a very low reputation, but she hadn't expected him to have such a long list of misdeeds. If she hadn't truly had no other choice, she wouldn't have trusted him so easily.
Putting herself in his shoes, she knew Lu Jingbai was right.
She quickly calmed down, but still couldn't help but speak up to argue: "What if it's true? Three heads were dragged away like that, and their house was smashed. No matter how you look at it, the other party is no good."
“Miss Chen,” Lu Jingbai said, “even I must act according to regulations. If there is nothing else, please leave.”
"Alright, then we'll take our leave." Shen Zhiyi looked down and saw that Ge Ermazi was still kneeling on the ground. She didn't want to pull him up, so she lowered her voice and said to him, "Get up quickly. We can talk about it outside."
It seemed she already had another idea in mind, just waiting to go out and put it into practice.
In a quiet environment, such a loud noise could not possibly escape the notice of the sharp-eared and sharp-eyed Xuan Yan.
Just after Shen Zhiyi and Ge Ermazi left, Lu Jingbai also heard the contents through Xuan Yan's narration.
"Go and take a look," Lu Jingbai said, seemingly helplessly. Seeing Xuan Yan's retreating figure, he couldn't help but add, "If it's not against your will, then help her."
The last words seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, and then he lowered his eyes as if he couldn't see them, looking down at the official documents spread out on the desk.
Xuan Yan understood his young master's dilemma, so he bowed respectfully and took his leave, his steps even more hurried, afraid that if he slowed down he would hear the regretful voice coming from the other side.
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