Chapter 30: Prepared
Li Jin didn't sleep all night.
The next morning, his mood was visibly bad.
The faint smile that usually graced his face was gone. He stood in the courtroom of the Yiyang County Government, hands behind his back, waiting for Fang Qing, the wealthy merchant from Yiyang.
He held the small porcelain bottle in his hand, emanating a murderous aura that kept everyone at bay.
Du Jin, the magistrate of Yiyang, stood aside, sweating profusely. He kept glancing at Li Jin, his fingers clenched tightly in his sleeves, his palms sweating.
He was terrified.
Fortunately, he considered himself aloof and had been wary of those beauties and gems associated with Fang Qing, which allowed him to distance himself from him now. Otherwise, given the situation today, he might have lost his head.
Du Jin clutched the hem of his clothes, raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and took the opportunity to look around for a long time.
The two constables who came with Li Jin, one of whom looked fierce and menacing, with one hand gripping the hilt of his sword and never letting go of it, must be none other than Zhou Zheng, known as "Sword Like a Rainbow," Lord Zhou.
However, the other one had such a delicate appearance and a thin figure, looking like a bean sprout. He didn't carry a sword or a waist tag, and half of his body was blocked by Li Jin. He looked very different from the rumored "wise-eyed" Yun Fei, who came from a noble family.
Could it be that the information he received was incorrect? The person who came was not Yun Fei, but Prince Jing, Li Jin, from the beginning?
He didn't have much time to think. In the courtroom, at the main gate, Fang Qing arrived before he did, but his laughter preceded him. When he stepped across the threshold of the government office, everyone present was stunned.
This man, dressed in fine silks and satins, in bright red and purple, embroidered with floral patterns from head to toe, was like a dazzling rainbow. He laughed and cupped his hands in greeting: "Hahaha! Lord Du, it's been a long time! It's been a long time!"
These two simple pleasantries nearly scared Du Jin to death. He quickly flicked his sleeves, took a few steps back, and said sternly, as if afraid of losing him: "The Prince is here, do not be so insolent!"
Your Highness?
Fang Qing paused for a moment, the smile on his face froze, and his gaze fell on Li Jin, who was dressed in a light yellow robe. He looked her over for a moment, then bowed with some doubt.
He lowered his head, bent his back, but tilted his head to look at Du Jin and asked in a low voice, "Which prince?"
Which prince?! Du Jin felt a mouthful of blood rising in his chest.
There are only two princes in the current Wei Dynasty: one is the emperor's younger brother, and the other is his son.
Judging from age alone, it's not like you can't tell who the person in front of you is!
Du Jin's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth, introducing him with a look of disappointment and frustration: "This is His Highness Prince Jing." His arm was trembling slightly as he spoke.
Upon hearing the name Prince Jing, Fang Qing, who had been in high spirits, was stunned, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him.
The head of the Six Doors, Prince Jing, Li Jin, has been lazy and idle since taking over the Six Doors. However, he never fails to get to the bottom of any case he handles.
The presence of such "stubborn" people in Yiyang City at this moment is not a good omen for Fang Qing.
He quickly concealed his momentary surprise, then bowed even deeper into the deepest salutation: "This humble subject greets Prince Jing!"
In the lobby, Li Jin sized up Fang Qing, who looked to be no more than thirty years old. He was dressed in a gaudy outfit, with a large string of pearls on his chest and a set on each side of his waist. It was as if he had the words "rich" tattooed on his face.
The taste is very unique.
Li Jin didn't beat around the bush. He raised his chin slightly and asked directly, "Fang Qing, I've come here specifically to ask you two things."
"Please speak, Your Highness, please speak," Fang Qing nodded and bowed, responding cheerfully.
The Fang family was one of the most prominent merchants in Yiyang. When Li Jin sent someone to invite Fang Qing over, he learned a little about him from Du Jin.
Born into a merchant family, he took over his father's position at a young age. With his exceptional business acumen, he expanded the Fang family's clothing shop from Yiyang to three surrounding cities over the past decade.
It can be said that they made a fortune.
What caught Li Jin's attention most was that the Fang family had also opened a shop in Linyang.
Could there be some connection between this man and Yang An, the former magistrate of Linyang? If so, could Fang Qing also have some shady relationship with Su Taifu in the capital?
The more Li Jin thought about it, the more complicated the case seemed, and the more he felt that what he was seeing at this moment was just the tip of the iceberg.
But in reality, the current situation put him in a very passive position. Li Jin didn't have any solid evidence against Fang Qing and Miss Lian, only a few words of testimony from Granny Liu and a bottle of poison. If Fang Qing didn't confess, there was no way to convict him.
His gaze was intense. After a moment's thought, he stared at the top of Fang Qing's head and still chose to ask directly, "Do you know Miss Lian from Xiaolin Village?"
He wanted to take a gamble, hoping that Fang Qing would make a mistake and expose his true colors, or that, like Granny Liu, he would try to win him over to the same side.
No matter which step he takes, he always manages to reveal his true colors, giving Li Jin a direction for his next move.
But to everyone's surprise, Fang Qing didn't take the bait. As if he had been prepared, he nodded emphatically: "I recognize him."
Now, Li Jin's expression became even more serious; the person in front of him had clearly come prepared.
"I have something to report to Your Highness and Lord Du." He straightened up, his face showing grief, and sighed, "Although I am just a small-time businessman in Yiyang City, I have always been law-abiding and dutiful."
“But in the past two days, I have learned that Manager Cao of the clothing shop I own is actually running a private brothel, and is even using my name to abduct women. A year ago, he even committed murder in Xiaolin Village.”
As he spoke, he clenched his fists, his posture impeccably upright, perfectly embodying the spirit of a righteous man who speaks out against injustice and exposes evil: "The other day, he lied and said he had to go home to visit someone. When he returned that night, I happened to run into him. He looked terrified and was covered in blood. I immediately sensed something was wrong. After questioning him, I learned that he had actually killed that girl Lian from Xiaolin Village to cover up his past crimes, out of fear that they would be exposed. It was an utterly heinous crime!"
This impassioned speech was comparable to that of a leading actor in a theatrical troupe; his language, demeanor, and the aura of a righteous messenger were all perfectly executed.
Li Jin glanced at his face, and after a long while, let out a soft laugh, raising his official tone as he smiled and reassured him, "I see! Mr. Fang truly lives up to his reputation as a man of noble character in Yiyang. In this way, you have done me a great favor!"
On the surface, Li Jin smiled warmly, but inwardly, he was seething with hatred as he looked at Fang Qing's cunning and treacherous face.
He anticipated that Fang Qing wouldn't confess honestly, but he didn't expect that Fang Qing was so prepared, as if he had known he would come all along and had already paved his way out.
His words were full of coincidences and logical inconsistencies, but Li Jin couldn't refute them because he had no concrete evidence.
Where would a shopkeeper, an employee under him, get the capital to run an underground brothel in Yiyang? Where would he get the thugs to abuse and oppress those women? Even if he did have such wealth and connections, how could he be willing to be just a lowly shopkeeper, subordinate to others? And how could he personally take action to kill and silence witnesses in matters of life and death?
It was riddled with flaws! But Li Jin had no choice but to admit defeat, to retreat in order to advance, and to feign belief. He smiled, watching his composed demeanor, and gripped the bottle in his hand even tighter.
"In that case, Mr. Fang is indeed a friend of the Six Doors and a hero of the Great Wei."
God knows how much Li Jin wanted to raise her hand and punch that hypocritical face of his at that moment.
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