Chapter 188 I Want to See Lord Shen, Jiang Hongzhi's Secret
Feeling the pain of the dagger twisting inside his flesh, Jiang Hongzhi's vision went black, and he almost fainted.
He desperately tried to strangle the prisoner next to him with both hands.
The prisoner next door pulled out a dagger, smiled coldly, and stabbed again.
"Go to hell."
Despite the pain, Jiang Hongzhi gripped the falling dagger tightly.
The other person's grip was too strong; one hand covered his mouth, while the other held a dagger that gradually approached him.
The dagger was only a finger's width away from his throat.
It could pierce his throat at any moment.
Jiang Hongzhi had never felt death so close before, and a strong look of fear flashed in his eyes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a flying fish robe flashing by in the dimly lit corridor.
Flying Eagle Guards have come in to patrol.
Jiang Hongzhi kicked hard against the wooden railing with both feet.
Bang, bang.
The sound of the Flying Eagle Guards' footsteps quickly approached.
"Who goes there? Let go."
With a low shout from the Flying Eagle Guard, the cell door was kicked open.
The prisoner next door was kicked away by the Flying Eagle Guard.
Jiang Hongzhi clutched his abdominal wound, closed his eyes, and collapsed to the ground.
When I woke up again, it was already bright outside.
It took Jiang Hongzhi a long time to come to his senses.
His wounds had already been bandaged, but the pain made him acutely aware of one thing.
He was almost killed last night.
Who exactly wants to kill him?
Squeak.
The door opened from the outside.
Shen Chu walked in with her hands behind her back, and when she saw that he was awake, she raised an eyebrow.
"You're awake."
Jiang Hongzhi hummed in agreement. "Where is this?"
"This is a guest room in the county government office. Last night you were suddenly attacked, but the Flying Eagle Guards rescued you."
Your wounds have been treated. The doctor said it's fortunate you were rescued in time; any later, and we would have had to collect your body.
Jiang Hongzhi subconsciously reached out and touched the wound on his abdomen.
He could feel that the man had plunged the knife in very deep, and had even stirred it inside with a dagger.
It was clearly a deliberate attempt to kill him.
"Sir, where are the men who attacked me last night?"
Shen Chu said, "They have been arrested, and I have already interrogated them."
He said his family members all worked at the salt fields, and that your mistreatment of the salt workers led to the destruction of his family.
He deliberately got into a fight and got arrested so he could get revenge on you.
Salt workers?
Jiang Hongzhi clenched his fist.
Salt workers are utter bullshit.
How could a salt worker who had been mistreated for so long have such great strength?
That was clearly someone Second Master Feng had specially sent to kill and silence them.
The Feng family wanted to take this opportunity to kill him.
"Don't worry, I've already had him put in solitary confinement. He won't have another chance to kill you."
"Does the gentleman believe what he said?"
Shen Chu nodded. "He has no reason to lie, right? Or are you willing to confess everything you've done, and I'll help you analyze whether there are any other possibilities?"
Jiang Hongzhi pursed his lips and remained silent.
Shen Chu said, "Now that you're awake and out of danger, go back to the dungeon."
"Guards, take him back."
Two constables came in and took Jiang Hongzhi back to the dungeon.
The dungeon doors were wide open.
A group of yamen runners bustled in, escorting four or five people in.
One of them complained, "This is really weird today. Why are there so many fights and brawls happening?"
This is already the third wave of arrests. If any more come in, our little county government dungeon won't be able to hold them all.
Fighting?
Jiang Hongzhi perked up his ears warily.
As he walked further in, the people in each cell stood by the bars, staring intently at him.
As I passed the cell next door, I saw four tall, burly men sitting inside.
Seeing him approach, all four of them turned to look at him at the same time.
The fierce glint in his eyes sent a shiver down Jiang Hongzhi's spine, and he felt the wounds on his abdomen and back hurt even more.
He recognized the four people.
There's a notorious street bully in Anhua who collects protection money from stall owners.
I heard they are related to the Feng family, which is why they dare to act so arrogantly.
These four people have connections with the Feng family, so how did they get arrested?
Could it be that they're also here to kill him?
The Feng family won't rest until they've killed him.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go inside."
The bailiffs opened Jiang Hongzhi's cell and impatiently urged him on.
Jiang Hongzhi felt that his legs were too weak to move.
If he steps through that door, he probably won't live to see tomorrow's sun.
Jiang Hongzhi gritted his teeth, suddenly turned around and grabbed the yamen runner beside him, saying urgently, "I want to see Lord Shen."
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Jiang Hongzhi was taken to a separate room.
Shen Chu and Pei Yuan were both there.
Shen Chu said, "I heard you wanted to see me. It seems you've thought it through and are ready to confess?"
Jiang Hongzhi said, "What I'm about to say is of great importance. If I tell you everything, can you guarantee I won't die?"
Shen Chu and Pei Yuan exchanged a glance.
Pei Yuan sat there with an air of nonchalance, gently waving his jade-bone fan, appearing indifferent.
Shen Chu turned to look at Jiang Hongzhi.
"That depends on the details of your confession and the degree of your cooperation. If you cooperate well and are willing to identify the culprit, your punishment will be reduced when you are convicted."
Jiang Hongzhi pursed his lips, seemingly making a final struggle, and after a long while said, "Fine, I'll confess everything."
Shen Chu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't show it on her face. "Let's begin."
Jiang Hongzhi lowered his head and said in a low voice, "The story goes back to ten years ago."
Since my mother and Chen came to Anhua, my expenses have increased day by day, and the pocket money given by Zhang is simply not enough to support the family's expenses.
I then had the idea of starting a business to make money, but Zhang always urged me to study and refused to let me participate in the Zhang family's business.
I was very dissatisfied and secretly vowed to expand and strengthen my business so that one day the Zhang family would look at me with new respect.
But doing business requires capital, and I was afraid of being discovered by the Zhang family, so I didn't dare take money from home and instead borrowed money from underground banks at high interest rates.
Unexpectedly, I opened two or three stores in succession, and they all failed. People from underground money lenders were chasing me for debts every day.
Just then, Master Feng found me and said that if I did one thing for him, he would forgive all my usurious loans.
Chen Chu frowned. "What did you do for them?"
Jiang Hongzhi said, "I was desperate at the time, and when I heard that they could help me get rid of the usurious loan, I agreed."
A few days later, Master Feng brought me several letters.
He asked me to imitate the handwriting of the letter's author and write two letters, demanding that the handwriting be exactly the same, without any noticeable flaws.
Shen Chu paused for a moment, then suddenly a thought struck her.
She discovered that her father's case was related to the Feng family.
Exactly ten years ago, the Feng family had Jiang Hongzhi imitate and write the letter.
Could it be...?
He asked eagerly, "What letter? Whom do you want me to imitate?"
Jiang Hongzhi refused to speak further, asking, "Can you guarantee that I will live?"
Shen Chu became anxious and grabbed Jiang Hongzhi by the collar. "I'm asking you whose handwriting you imitated, and what letter you wrote?"
The urgency and anger in her voice startled Jiang Hongzhi.
Pei Yuan frowned, his gaze towards Shen Chu filled with a hint of confusion.
Shen Chu's attention was entirely focused on Jiang Hongzhi.
"Speak up, I'm asking you a question."
Jiang Hongzhi hesitated for a moment before speaking, "It imitates the handwriting of Shen Zhixing, the youngest son of the Marquis of Ning'an and the prefect of Liangzhou at the time."
Shen Chu's expression changed drastically.
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