Chapter 375 You two have a son
Shen Chu clapped his hands again.
This time, it was the jailer and the prison guard Cao Er who came in.
After the two entered, they poured out their hearts and explained everything clearly.
"...Lord Jiang promised that as long as we take full responsibility for this matter, we will at most be imprisoned for a few years, but he will give us a generous reward."
And our children will also be enrolled in the academy, which is why we took on this responsibility ourselves.
Prefect Jiang cursed, "You scoundrel, you're spouting nonsense!"
But his hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled slightly.
It turns out that Shen Chu's act of sending people to the prison to remove all the jailers this morning was a ruse; his real purpose was not just to re-examine the jailers.
It also served as an opportunity to question all the prisoners in the cell.
Damn it, although they administered the drugs that day, they didn't check whether all the prisoners had fainted.
Prefect Jiang was still in shock.
Shen Chu gave a cold laugh as he faced the somewhat enraged Prefect Jiang.
"Jueming confessed so readily at the time, he must have already made up his mind to use the 'golden cicada shedding its shell' method once he was caught."
Anyway, he's already saved enough money. He can go back to secular life, change his identity, and live a carefree life for the rest of his days, right?
Prefect Jiang's beard trembled, and he remained silent with a gloomy face.
Shen Chu continued, "Your plan was very well executed. If it weren't for the fact that Vice Minister Zhang suddenly woke up, your plan would have gone very smoothly."
But the problem is that exactly after you released Jueming, Zhang Shilang woke up the next morning.
We've always been puzzled as to why Jueming would still poison Minister Zhang after he had already confessed.
After much thought, there's only one possibility: there's an even more deeply hidden killer behind this case.
Zhang Shilang had clearly discovered the murderer, and even found that Jueming's face, which was revealed to the world, was just a human skin mask.
So, in a moment of desperation, the murderer prepared to kill Minister Zhang, but Minister Zhang was lucky and escaped and survived.
Am I right, Lord Jiang?
Prefect Jiang lowered his eyes, his expression blank, as if to say, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Shen Chu didn't care and continued, "You only think about poisoning Minister Zhang and blaming everything on Jueming."
Since we have a fake Jueming's body as a shield, we can pin everything on Jueming, and that will close the case.
Prefect Jiang's pupils contracted slightly as he recalled what had happened more than a month ago.
After arriving in Yangzhou, Vice Minister Zhang secretly investigated, and somehow managed to find his way to Qingshan Temple.
Jueming sensed something was wrong and secretly came to him one night to discuss something.
Unfortunately, Vice Minister Zhang overheard their conversation and their plan to escape unscathed.
In his shock, Vice Minister Zhang accidentally bumped into something nearby.
Hearing the noise, he realized someone was eavesdropping and quickly chased after them.
He finally caught up with Vice Minister Zhang halfway and smashed him on the back of the head with a hammer.
Zhang Shilang immediately fainted and lost consciousness.
Just then, a night watchman happened to be passing by nearby. Fearing that his face would be seen, he quickly and quietly left with Jueming.
Everyone thought that Vice Minister Zhang was doomed, but to everyone's surprise, he survived.
To make matters worse, he woke up suddenly the day after Jueming was released, forcing him to adjust his plans in time.
Prefect Jiang glanced at Chen Chu indifferently, "All of this is just your speculation. Do you have any evidence?"
Shen Chu chuckled, "It seems that Lord Jiang prefers the feeling of having others present evidence to slap him in the face."
Your personal attendant was just taken away. Lord Jiang, how long do you think he can hold out under the interrogation of the Flying Eagle Guard?
Prefect Jiang's expression changed drastically.
As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Yan dragged his limp servant in.
"The servant has confessed that it was Lord Jiang who instructed him to bribe the old woman in the kitchen of Vice Minister Zhang's residence, so that she could keep an eye on when Vice Minister Zhang would wake up."
The day before yesterday, when Vice Minister Zhang arrived, his attendant, on Lord Jiang's orders, gave the old woman a sum of money, instructing her to put Jueming inside.
A flicker of panic crossed Prefect Jiang's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
Minister Zhang woke up too suddenly, and the hastily arranged plan indeed had many problems.
But given his past actions, it's difficult to find any evidence against him.
He gave Shen Chu a sinister smile.
“Minister Zhang came to Yangzhou to investigate a case but was murdered. Is it wrong for me to care about him?”
The whole thing about bribing the old woman was done by that disobedient servant himself; it has nothing to do with me.
Besides, how could I, a dignified fourth-rank prefect, possibly collude with such a wicked and treacherous person as Jueming?
Shen Chu stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked at Prefect Jiang with a calm expression.
"That's a good question. Why would a dignified fourth-rank prefect like you collude with such a wicked and evil person?"
There's only one answer: you share a common interest, and you both have a son, Chiang Hsun!
Prefect Jiang's face paled, and he suddenly shouted, "Insolence! You..."
*Smack*
Before he could finish speaking, a figure flashed by.
Pei Yuan slapped Prefect Jiang hard across the face, so hard that Prefect Jiang's mouth swelled up instantly, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Pei Yuan flicked his hand and snorted coldly, "Who are you calling insolent?"
"You!" When Magistrate Jiang met Pei Yuan's icy face, he suddenly felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, chilling him to the bone.
The words that were on the tip of my tongue seemed to freeze, and I couldn't say them anymore.
Pei Yuan smiled slightly at Shen Chu, gently patted her shoulder, and gestured for her to continue.
Shen Chu stood up and stared coldly at Prefect Jiang, saying:
"Jiang Chen was a native of Daming Prefecture, Hebei Province. He was a second-class Jinshi in the tenth year of the Longqing reign. He lost both his parents when he was young and lived with his aunt.
Unfortunately, your good fortune didn't last long; you only enjoyed a little over two years at your aunt's house.
Your aunt's family suffered a tragedy; they were destroyed and everyone was killed, leaving only your cousin and you.
After that, you two brothers depended on each other for survival until you passed the imperial examination and became a second-class scholar.
However, studying and learning to write requires a lot of money, and your cousin has been looking for work everywhere to support your studies.
He would even become a monk for you, just because the temple not only provides accommodation but also ensures you get three meals a day on time.
"Jueming is your cousin, right? You were grateful for his love and sacrifices, so you secretly colluded with him to make huge profits using human skin, is that right?"
The prefect's face suddenly turned deathly pale, and large beads of sweat slid down his forehead.
He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again, his voice becoming very hoarse.
"My brother told you all of this, didn't he?"
Shen Chu stared intently at him, not answering her question directly, but instead sighing.
"You are a legitimate Jinshi graduate. If you take your official duties seriously, you will be transferred back to the capital in a few years and your official rank will naturally rise."
You said you had a perfectly good path to follow, so why did you choose to collude with Jueming and commit such a heinous crime?
"Bah!" Magistrate Jiang glared at Shen Chu with a ferocious expression and roared, "That's because you have no idea what my brother did for me!"
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