Chapter 116 Hell is Empty
Two months ago, Xu Liangcai rented a small room for Yingge.
“If you stop playing the zither in Qulou, you’ll have nowhere to go, so stay here for now,” he said. “Don’t worry about food and clothing; I’ll take care of everything.”
Yingge only took a quick look, thanked him, and then left, saying she had other things to take care of.
Xu Liangcai had just had a huge fight with his wife, so he didn't want to go home and stayed at this inn, calling Yingge "husband" and "wife".
"Everyone can see how good I am to her," Xu Liangcai chuckled. "When we stayed at the inn, I paid for all her food, clothing, and daily necessities, so Yingge had no worries."
“But…” He took a deep breath, “That day, when I went to Qulou to pick her up, I saw a man. The owner of Qulou said that his wife needed some more time to get ready and asked him to wait.”
"I went up to him and greeted him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, I mentioned that my wife's name was Yingge and that I would be taking her away soon. The man was stunned."
“He said his wife was also Yingge.” Xu Liangcai said, turning his gaze to the side. “After that, he left in a hurry. Later, when Yingge came out, I talked to her about it, but she also made an excuse and left in a hurry.”
“I waited for her at the inn until evening. When she came to find me, she was different from usual.” He pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time. “I wanted to have sex with her, but she refused, pushed me away, and suddenly said solemnly…”
"She said...she said she wants to break up with me and never have anything to do with me again." Xu Liangcai's voice rose a few decibels as he spoke, becoming agitated. He patted his chest, looking incredulous. "She actually wants to never have anything to do with me again!"
"Me! I am Xu Liangcai! For her sake, my wife and I have been fighting like cats and dogs! I even considered divorcing her!"
His face turned red.
"I've spent a fortune on her! I give her money every day!"
He gritted his teeth.
"I ruined my business because of her! I just wanted to marry her properly!"
He was furious.
"That's when I realized how truly heartless a bitch can be! I was such a joke!"
“She has a husband and children!” He held up two fingers, “and two kids! She’s a middle-aged woman, doing such a despicable thing for money!”
Xu Liangcai took a deep breath and pounded his chest in despair: "What a disgrace to me!"
“I drew the watermelon knife that I always carried with me when I was traveling for business, for self-defense.” He sneered, then said calmly, “I drew it and stabbed her in the chest.”
At this point, Xu Liang wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, let out a long sigh, and revealed a relieved expression on his face.
"How many times were you stabbed?" Li Jin asked coldly.
"Eight cuts." Xu Liangcai laughed. "By the time I calmed down, she had already stopped breathing."
The more happily Xu Liangcai smiled before me, the more pain he felt inside: "Day and night, all I saw was the look of astonishment on her face when I stabbed her to death."
He adjusted his kneeling posture and pursed his lips: "I still love her. After she died, I cleaned her body, changed her clothes, dried them, and then dressed her in them."
“Sigh…” He took a deep breath. “Although we couldn’t give her a coffin, we did put her in bed, which can be considered a proper burial.”
After the case was closed, Xu Liangcai was being escorted to prison by the yamen runners when he came to his senses and looked at Li Jin and Feng Chao in surprise: "What? Such a trivial matter, and I have to go to jail?"
A hint of disgust flashed across Li Jin's face: "Why do you think you don't need to go to jail?"
"I personally killed a courtesan who deceived me of my feelings and money. I am the victim!" He pursed his lips. "So, I guess I can still be considered to have rid the world of a scourge?"
Seeing his surprised expression, Li Jin crossed his arms and snorted coldly, "Take him away."
He wouldn't say another word.
He deceived people's feelings while claiming to be doing a service to the people; how could he even bring himself to say that?
If he defines Yingge as a liar who deceives people's feelings, then he is also a liar who deceives people's feelings with his own wife.
If he defines Yingge as a woman who swindles money, then he is just as much of a swindler in Xu's Porcelain Workshop.
If his murder and concealment of the body can be defined as eliminating a scourge for the people, then Li Jin's decision to send him to prison is nothing short of a heroic act for Yingge's child and husband.
He simply thought himself irreplaceable, and his pride couldn't accept this outcome.
He's simply using hellish methods to excuse his twisted soul.
"He really dares to say that." Jin Shu stood aside, watching the direction Xu Liangcai left in, and shook her head.
"Oh?" Li Jin stood with his hands behind his back, intrigued. "What does Mr. Jin think?"
He smiled faintly, glancing at her face.
But Jin Shu didn't even turn around, coldly remarking, "Whose life isn't a life?"
Li Jin narrowed his eyes slightly: "Don't you think that people born into royalty already have a higher status?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Shu raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked him up and down: "What's expensive about it? Is it so that you won't die if it's stabbed in the heart? Or is it resistant to poison and corrosion?"
Li Jin paused.
“In the King of Hell’s palace, in the Book of Life and Death, everyone is killed with a single blow, there is no difference.” Jin Shu paused, then curled his lips. “If you have to point out a difference, it’s just that some people are better off dead than alive.”
"What do you mean?" Li Jin smiled and headed towards the door, gesturing for Jin Shu to follow.
Jin Shu smirked: "Hell is empty, all the devils are here."
She quickened her pace slightly, and before she could finish speaking, she bumped into his back.
Li Jin slowly turned to the side, looking down at the woman behind him rubbing her nose, and chuckled, "That makes some sense."
That day, Li Jin, dressed in court attire, had Feng Chao escort Jin Shu back to the Six Doors, while he himself entered the palace through Yong'an Gate, crossed the spacious Taihe Hall Square, and headed straight for the Imperial Study.
"It is inappropriate to appoint Jin Shu as a guard. I implore Father Emperor to reconsider."
With his hands clasped in front of him, Li Jin stood in the center of the study, his head bowed low.
Before him, Li Yi held a small wolf-hair brush, dipped it in vermilion ink, and without looking up, wrote "Understood" on the memorial in front of him.
The incense burner emitted wisps of smoke, and the aroma of dragon's blood permeated the entire study.
This father and son, one above, one below, one ruler, one subject.
It lacked the warmth and affection typical of ordinary families; it was so cold it was suffocating.
After an unknown amount of time, large beads of sweat slid down Li Jin's lowered face before Li Yi slowly spoke: "Raise your head." He said, "I heard from Yan Zhao that you intercepted the coroner of the prefect of Dingzhou during your trip to Jiangnan."
He raised an eyebrow: "What kind of extraordinary person is that coroner? Xu Weiyou says you're arrogant because of your talent every day. I'm tired of hearing it."
Li Yi put down his brush and looked at Li Jin with a meaningful look in his eyes: "The dignified Prince Jing, don't be so stingy."
He narrowed his eyes slightly: "Too stingy. Aren't you afraid that he has the ability to be valued by you, but not the fate to serve you?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Crown Prince's voice rang out from outside the hall:
"Who is this person, Father, who is so unlucky, blessed but without a life?"
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