Chapter 183 Threat: I'll make you go eat rice noodles
Jiang Hongzhi stared intently at Shen Chu and Pei Yuan, his eyes filled with gloom.
The Sixth Prince and Shen Chu had actually arrived in Anhua long ago and even went to his salt field incognito for a private visit.
Damn it, how come he hasn't received any news at all?
When Jiang's mother saw that Shen Chu was indeed the Imperial Censor, her face turned pale, and she collapsed to the ground in fright.
"Lan'er, you can't abandon your father! He's your own father, you can't just watch him die!"
"If you personally send your father to his death, what will people think of you afterward?"
She cried out and rushed towards Zhang Lan, reaching out to grab the hem of Zhang Lan's skirt.
Zhang Lan took a step back and sneered: "When he was spending my mother's money to support his mistress and raise his children, did he ever think about how I, his own daughter, would view him?"
When he sent bandits to kill us, did he never think that I was his own daughter?
When he mistreated the people in the salt fields and sold smuggled salt, did he never think about how others would view his daughter?
Now that he has broken the law, you want me to forgive him? I don't have that kind of power to defy the imperial laws.
Shen Chu couldn't help but applaud Zhang Lan's words.
She's a brave and sensible girl.
She coldly ordered, "Jiang Hongzhi has committed numerous crimes, and his family members knew about them but did not report them. Take them all back for investigation."
Jiang's mother was so frightened that her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Chen's eyes darted around, and she grabbed her son with one hand and her daughter with the other, then knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Your Honor, we are innocent! Jiang Hongzhi's daily affairs have nothing to do with my son and me."
I saved his parents and accompanied them on their journey to find their relatives. But Jiang Hongzhi, seeing my beauty, took advantage of me and forced me into marriage.
It's pitiful that all these years I've had to serve him with resentment for the sake of my two children.
"Please, Your Honor, have mercy on us, my mother and I, for we knew nothing."
Jiang Hongzhi turned around in disbelief and said, "Ms. Chen, you're talking nonsense. You were the one who seduced me first back then."
He was covered in rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggshells, and his forehead and face were covered in blood, making him look terrifying.
Holding her two children, Chen said in a shrill voice, "It was you who forcibly took me. I have endured humiliation and lived in hiding all these years, just so that one day I could personally testify against you."
"You bitch!" Jiang Hongzhi jumped up angrily and kicked out.
Before he could even kick Chen, he was kicked hard by the Flying Eagle Guard.
Jiang Hongzhi lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes filled with hatred as he looked at Chen Shi, wishing he could tear her apart.
Chen shrank back and turned to Shen Chu, saying:
"Sir, I know where his ledgers for selling smuggled salt are. If I testify against him and hand over the ledgers, could you spare me and the children?"
Jiang Hongzhi's expression changed drastically. "You bitch, if I had known this day would come, I should have driven you away back then."
Seeing the two of them bickering like dogs, Shen Chu couldn't help but laugh.
What an unexpected bonus!
Pei Yuan finished interrogating Lei Ying.
Although Lei Ying confessed to selling smuggled salt, he was an illiterate bandit.
All he knew was that he would collect the full payment after each transaction and then distribute it among the brothers in the village.
There were no ledgers at all.
Without the ledger, it would be difficult to thoroughly convict Jiang Hongzhi and those behind him.
This is also one of the reasons why she arranged for the Flying Eagle Guards to demolish the Jiang family's house.
As Sun Yan just said, the house was demolished, but no hidden compartments were found, nor were Jiang Hongzhi's ledgers for selling smuggled salt discovered.
If the Chen family were willing to hand over Jiang Hongzhi's secret accounts, it would save them a lot of trouble.
Shen Chu said to Chen Shi, "That depends on whether the account book you handed over is genuine. If you are willing to cooperate, I will not deliberately make things difficult for you and your child."
Chen immediately beamed with joy, "I will definitely cooperate with you, sir."
Jiang Hongzhi's gaze at Chen was frighteningly sinister.
Shen Chu waved his hand, signaling the Flying Eagle Guards to take Jiang Hongzhi away.
Jiang Hongzhi looked at Shen Chu and suddenly revealed a sinister smile.
"Chen Chu, is it? I'll remember you, and I won't let you get away with this."
As soon as he finished speaking, a fan flew over and hit him squarely in the mouth.
Jiang Hongzhi screamed and spat out a bloody front tooth.
Pei Yuan reached out and retracted the jade bone fan, staring coldly at Jiang Hongzhi.
"A prisoner like yourself dares to spout such nonsense; you're courting death."
Jiang Hongzhi, his face dark, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
"Sixth Prince, you have quite the airs. You can capture me today, and you'll have to release me in the same way you did today."
What a boastful tone.
Pei Yuan scoffed, "Dream on. Take him away. I, the prince, will interrogate him personally."
Jiang Hongzhi was taken away.
The onlookers cheered.
Shen Chu and Pei Yuan exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of heaviness in each other's eyes.
It seems the waters of Changsha Prefecture are deeper than they imagined.
Pei Yuan said in a low voice, "I have already sent a team of Flying Eagle Guards to Changsha Prefecture to capture Yao Sihai."
Once Yao Sihai's mouth is pried open, the person behind him will be revealed.
Now that the two had revealed their identities, they directly requisitioned the Anhua County government office.
Just as they arrived at the county government office, the Flying Eagle Guards who had been dispatched returned.
I brought back bad news.
Yao Sihai committed suicide by swallowing gold at the government office yesterday.
They were still fighting the bandits of Leigongzhai yesterday.
Pei Yuan's expression turned cold. "It's likely that the Flying Eagle Guards were discovered as soon as they entered Changsha territory, so they dealt with Yao Sihai first."
Shen Chu read Yao Sihai's suicide note.
The suicide note stated that during his tenure as the prefect of Changsha, he used his power to threaten Jiang Hongzhi, colluded with Leigongzhai, oppressed the people, and sold smuggled salt.
Now that he knows the imperial court has sent a salt inspector to Changsha, he is filled with fear and trepidation, and therefore he is willing to die to atone for his sins.
"Doesn't Your Highness find this suicide note strange?"
Pei Yuan nodded, "It is indeed strange. Yao Sihai committed suicide and left a suicide note, yet he still went out of his way to exonerate Jiang Hongzhi."
He pointed to a line in the suicide note and said, “This is very strange. He admitted to colluding with the bandits of Leigongzhai, but when it came to Jiang Hongzhi, he said that he threatened Jiang Hongzhi with his power.”
A fourth-rank prefect actually exonerated a salt merchant in his will.
That's outrageous.
"Jiang Hongzhi just made a solemn vow, and he can be so confident. He must have something to rely on."
Pei Yuan tossed the suicide note onto the table. "For someone to sacrifice Yao Sihai, a fourth-rank prefect, to protect him, it seems Jiang Hongzhi has something special about him."
Shen Chu stood up. "I'm going to interrogate Jiang Hongzhi."
Pei Yuan shook his head, "You probably won't get any information out of me."
As Pei Yuan had expected, with Lei Ying's confession and the account books provided by Chen, Jiang Hongzhi admitted to selling smuggled salt.
But he kept insisting that everything was forced upon him by Yao Sihai and kept crying out that he was innocent.
They even claimed not to know where the smuggled salt went, saying it was all arranged secretly by Yao Sihai.
It's obvious that Yao Sihai was just pushed out to take the blame.
After the initial review, Shen was somewhat angry.
"Damn it, without further evidence, we can neither convict Jiang Hongzhi of the death penalty nor find out who is behind him."
The investigation stalled when it came to Yao Sihai.
Pei Yuan twirled his fan and chuckled softly.
"You're angry already? Where's all that energy you usually put into wits and battles with me?"
Shen Chu pouted, "Who said I was angry? I just... I just know that Jiang Hongzhi is a heartless bastard, but I can't convict him. This feeling is really hard."
Just like how he knew his father was innocent, but had no way to prove it.
"Seventh Brother".
Shen Chu turned around and saw Zhang Lan walking gracefully towards her.
After leaving the bandit's den and changing into new clothes, Zhang Lan seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, becoming a completely different person.
She bowed respectfully to Pei Yuan, then smiled and looked at Shen Chu.
“My mother said that Seventh Brother had just arrived in Anhua not long ago and was unfamiliar with the place, so she sent me to take Seventh Brother to the streets for a stroll.”
Please, Brother Qi, try some of our famous local delicacies.
"Seventh Brother, how about we go to the street and have some rice noodles together?"
Slurping rice noodles?
Suddenly, Shen Chu's eyes lit up.
Girls' favorite.
“Great! I’ve long heard that the rice noodles in Changsha are absolutely amazing. I’d be delighted if Miss Zhang would take me there.”
When Zhang Lan saw that he had agreed, her face turned red with excitement.
After a pause, she asked in a slightly polite tone, "If the Sixth Prince has time, you can come along."
Shen Chu waved her hand, "His Highness doesn't like these snacks."
Pei Yuan frowned slightly and said coldly, "You're not a mind reader, how do you know I don't like it?"
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