Chapter 121 Hook
The hidden power fell quietly, blocking out all prying eyes.
Qin Zhaoyue leaned lazily on the back of the chair, raised his head and glanced down at the people in the hall.
Qin Zhaoqiong stood up straight with a sharp gaze. After his promotion, his power became even greater than before.
The four people in the hall looked no different from the previous interrogation, but they were actually all secretly alert.
Any corruption case is just a cover-up. What we want is to refresh our minds at this moment.
Shi Zhongkui was born with a dark complexion, a full beard, and a short and stocky build, truly worthy of his name.
But at this moment, he was kneeling in the hall and shivering, his ferocious image completely destroyed.
"Look up."
“Yes, yes…”
Qin Zhaoqiong was intimidating without being angry. "You know what I want to ask you, right?"
"I know, I know. I embezzled two hundred taels of mercury."
Shi Zhongkui did not dare to pause and immediately confessed his crimes.
But the scene fell into dead silence, and only his rapid breathing could be heard.
"I didn't lie, I'm just a lowly clerk.
My superior took it, so I had to take it. Actually, the amount I embezzled was less than 200 taels..."
As soon as the words fell, Qin Zhaoyue sneered, "Sure, what's the stone? Forget it..."
She waved her hands repeatedly, "It doesn't matter. After all, your entire clan has been exterminated and no one will visit your grave. It doesn't matter whether you know your name or not."
Confiscating nine clans... Shi Zhongkui was stunned. "I... I only stole less than two hundred taels. Why would it be so..."
Bang!
Qin Zhaoqiong slammed his palm on the desk, "Don't cry until you see the coffin, Zhou Yanqing, the magistrate of Chiyan County!"
Shi Zhongkui sucked in a breath of cold air, the veins on his forehead suddenly bulged like earthworms digging in the soil, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Cold sweat oozed from the edge of his hat, soaking through the stand-up collar of his linen shirt.
"I...don't know!"
Shi Zhongkui immediately prostrated himself on the ground, banging his head loudly. After three or five bangs, his forehead swelled up and oozing with glaring blood.
He had a premonition that something would happen sooner or later, but he didn't expect
"Don't tell the truth, do you want to die?"
The fierce shout, accompanied by a surge of true energy, frightened him so much that he trembled.
"I dare not, every word I say is true..."
Shi Zhongkui confessed everything at the top of his lungs, but after hearing it, the four of them fell silent.
Yinzhe and Liuyan communicated with each other one after another. They were experienced and made judgments based on the other party's heartbeat, tone, expression, etc.
The two came to the same conclusion: the man was not lying.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Yan stood up, slowly walked to Shi Zhongkui's side and squatted down.
"Xuanji Wei, you know what I mean, right?
From today on, our people will secretly watch your every move.
Anyone who dares to reveal the content of today's inquiry will die.
If someone finds out that you are vulnerable, you will die.
Oh, no, as Your Highness said, it means the extermination of all nine generations of the family.
No one was spared, including your two-year-old son."
Shi Zhongkui kowtowed like crazy, "I understand, I understand!"
After he left, he called a few clerks.
In order to avoid revealing any flaws, some rough torture methods were used during the interrogation. After all, Shi Zhongkui's head was broken, so he had to be treated equally.
It took more than half an hour, and all the corruption crimes of the Longmen County government were recorded.
When there were only four people left, everyone's expressions were not very good.
"It's basically confirmed that Shi Zhongkui is just a worthless hook..."
According to him, he would go to Chiyan County to deliver messages about three to four times a year.
We will always inform you in advance through letters how to say it and what attitude to express.
The threats plus the twenty taels of travel expenses each time meant that it would take eight years to send him there.
After such a long time, it is impossible for Shi Zhongkui to know nothing.
But by the time I realized it, it was already too late. If I tried to withdraw, I would not only lose the job, but might even be in danger of being killed.
As for who delivered the letter, he had never seen the real person.
When we first met, the other party covered himself tightly, and I received letters directly at home afterwards.
I thought it was an important clue, but it turned out to be useless information.
Shi Zhongkui is like a bell used for early warning. Once someone touches it and makes a sound, it will alert the person behind the scenes that their actions have been exposed.
Apart from this identity, he could not provide any valuable information.
Fortunately, the investigation is now being conducted openly under the guise of a water management corruption case, and it should not have been exposed yet.
Canglan brought back news that the capital had begun secretly investigating the mansions that possessed camphor.
In addition, there are not many third-grade sorcerers in the world, which is also a clue.
At this moment, the imperial guards announced that someone was causing trouble.
At the gate of the county government office, the county magistrate and his runners blocked the group of people.
"Mr. Li, please go home and wait. This matter is still under investigation. The Imperial Envoy will definitely find out the truth..."
No matter how the county magistrate Ren advised her, the old lady turned a deaf ear and walked forward firmly step by step with her crutches.
She refused any support, and was followed by her children and grandchildren, with a group of people lagging far behind.
The old lady was wearing a blue silk Zhai robe. Although she was of the lowest rank, she was also a lady of honor bestowed by the imperial court.
As they got closer and closer to the county government office, the county magistrate became extremely anxious.
He encouraged all the officials in the county government to tell the truth, with the idea that the law should not punish everyone and that those who confess should be treated leniently.
Although it is impossible to completely escape punishment, it should not bring disaster to the family. If I am lucky, I can even be sentenced to exile.
We finally managed to appease the princess and her entourage, and we can't let this go to waste.
"Stop them!"
The county magistrate issued an order to forcibly send the old lady and her family away.
This was undoubtedly the right decision, but it was a little too late.
Qin Zhaoqiong and her sister had already arrived at the door under the protection of the imperial guards. "Wait."
With just one command, the county magistrate broke out in a cold sweat.
The old lady ignored him and squeezed forward. When she got close, she suddenly put down her crutch.
"I, Li from the Lu family, am a county lady bestowed by the imperial court.
I heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess killed my husband, and I came to ask why she killed him!
Qin Zhaoqiong remained calm despite such a small scene. He glanced at the people watching the excitement from a distance and replied loudly:
"Longmen County Magistrate Lu Zhaochuan assassinated me, and many people witnessed it.
I have interrogated the entire county government office and they have confessed to embezzling funds for the mercury control case.
And Lu Zhaochuan is the most corrupt among all the corrupt!"
The old lady's chest heaved violently, but she kept her back straight.
The bony joints on the back of his hand resemble the protrusions of an old bamboo, and his fingertips press tightly against the twisted grain of jujube wood.
It dug itself into the indentation of the patina on the top of the stick, as if it wanted to wedge all the wind and rain of its life into this piece of wood.
"My husband has been working hard in Longmen County for twelve years, caring about the people and devoting all his energy to them.
This! It is also obvious to all!
If it was an assassination, why would it be done in front of thousands of soldiers?
There was clearly something unclear, yet the Imperial Envoy disregarded the law and slaughtered my husband without any investigation."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He hammered the stone brick with his jujube wood cane three times, "Please, sir, give me an explanation!"
Oh, Qin Zhaoyue raised his eyebrows slightly, this old lady is indeed quite capable.
When I told her about the crime, she said there were doubts and pointed out problems with the judicial process.
Because of the bran incident, public opinion in Longmen County was already in turmoil, and the speech before returning to Longtan had limited impact after all.
Is this intended to stir up public anger again?
Huh... Qin Zhaoyue took a step forward.
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