Chapter 174 One wave subsides, another rises
Madam Shen was worried that the Third Prince would try to stop her again, so she ordered her men to act quickly and arrest the man again.
Yun Zhaoxue said helplessly, "Who would leave behind the murder weapon and their name after killing someone? Besides, there are so many people with the surname Xiao in the entire Great Zhou, why are they targeting us?"
If this isn't resolved soon, Lao Liao is really going to take them down.
"Is this how the Xuzhou prefecture judges cases? If so, how many people have been wrongfully killed over the years?"
The surrounding onlookers nodded subconsciously in agreement. Yes, in Xuzhou, money could bribe the officials and allow one to do whatever one wanted.
Constable Deng roared, "Insolence! How dare you slander our Prefect! I can arrest you right now! He Laosan had a conflict with you the day before he died, and you injured him. You have a motive for murder, and we reasonably suspect that you killed him. We need to take you away for questioning. If you are innocent, we will release you!"
Old Liao used to be a prison guard, and he had seen this kind of childish framing tactic a hundred or two hundred times before. It was always something that superiors wanted to find a pretext to arrest people.
Once you're in jail, regardless of whether you're guilty or not, they might poison you or torture you to death and then fabricate a crime against you, and then you'll be guilty.
He pulled out the Dali Temple document, hoping to scare the other party away.
Officer Deng didn't give him the chance, raising his hand to order someone to arrest him, "Men, take him away!"
Yun Zhaoxue stood in front of the jailer, "Let's see who dares!"
"Such arrogance! You, a pregnant woman, think you can stop us?"
"What if I insist on stopping them?"
"Ignore her! Arrest her!"
"yes!"
The constable raised his hand, intending to push Yun Zhaoxue away.
Xiao Xuance gave a look, signaling Zhuiying to make a move.
Yun Zhaoxue raised her hand to stop Zhuiying from stepping forward, "I'll do it myself!"
With his other hand, he used a deft technique to intercept the hand of a constable who was swinging it out, and twisted it forcefully, "Crack!"
"Bang!" He raised his foot and slashed into his chest.
The bailiffs crashed down at Constable Deng's feet, "Ah!"
Two large slaps, one on each side, sent the person flying, "Slap! Slap!!"
Officer Deng waved his hand, "You, continue!"
"Wait a minute, they can't beat me. I'll have a fight with you. If I lose, you can take him away. If I win, let us out of the city right now!"
Officer Deng said, "I won't compete with you!"
"You thought you were so powerful just now? You wouldn't even dare to compare yourself to a woman like me whom you look down upon!"
She hates men who look down on women the most.
Constable Deng sneered, "It's not that I'm afraid of you, but I don't want to compare myself to a woman, especially a pregnant one. Besides, I have an important post, responsible for bringing the murderer to justice. If the murderer wins a fight with the officers and escapes, how can I face the officials and the people of Xuzhou?"
The surrounding people had strange expressions; they wanted to say something but ultimately held back, unable to speak the truth for fear of offending anyone.
Yun Zhaoxue calmly observed the expressions on the people's faces, then applauded for Constable Deng, "Clap clap clap!!!"
“Well said! These words are truly inspiring. However, I have not wronged you, and there is no evidence to prove that we killed the person.”
Furthermore, whose crime could be more serious than your young master's? He tried to abduct me in the street to be his mistress, and even made my husband watch me... consummate the marriage with him.
"Killing someone is just a matter of a beheading, but such skillful humiliation—this must be more than once, right? Luckily we had the ability to protect ourselves; others probably wouldn't have been as lucky as me."
"We're talking about the murder of He Laosan now. Stop beating around the bush. The dagger with the character 'Xiao' carved on it makes you the prime suspects."
Xiao Xuance asked, "What is your surname, Chief Constable?"
"Deng!"
“Officer Deng, I am disabled and in a wheelchair. I have not left the inn all night. Everyone in the inn can testify to this.”
Head Constable Deng raised a bloodstained dagger engraved with the character "Xiao," and said, "This dagger was pulled from He Laosan's body. Do you still dare to deny it?"
Xiao Xuance shook his head, "I have never seen this dagger before."
"Your name is engraved on it."
"Please hand over the physical evidence to me, sir, so I can prove my innocence."
"No, I can't give it to you because you destroyed the evidence and are now trying to renege on the debt. What will happen if the deceased can't rest in peace?"
He refused to give it to him, so Xiao Xuance took it himself, took out a long whip from the wheelchair behind him and swung it out, the end of the whip wrapping around the dagger.
Officer Deng instinctively reached out to grab it, nearly cutting his palm with the dagger, before quickly pulling his hand back. "What are you trying to do? Trying to destroy the evidence in front of everyone?"
Yun Zhaoxue glanced at the dagger. "The character 'Xiao' on this dagger looks freshly carved; the characters are crooked and uneven. Would we use a dagger like this? Who are we trying to insult?"
Xiao Xuance nodded in agreement and extended his hand.
Zhuiying handed over a dagger.
He channeled his inner energy into the dagger, almost teleporting, and wrote the character 'Deng' on the other side of the dagger.
He then threw the dagger at Constable Deng.
"If the inscription on the dagger can prove who the murderer is, then I inscribed the character 'Deng' on the dagger. Does that mean Chief Constable Deng is also the murderer?"
Constable Deng's expression changed slightly, but he remained unusually calm and said, "How could I be the murderer? I am a government official. What is the punishment for you to slander a government official?"
Old Liao said, "I've seen such a clumsy framing trick decades ago. They're not the murderers, so let them go immediately."
"The Xiao family members are not allowed to leave; they must come with me to the government office!" Constable Deng refused to let them go.
"Your young master must still have designs on me and wants me to be his mistress. He's deliberately making things difficult for us. I can't fight city hall. I'll go with you. Just don't make things difficult for my family. I'll kill myself and become a wandering ghost to come back and haunt you!" Yun Zhaoxue said, wiping away her tears.
Those who commit many unrighteous acts will surely perish. The Xu family was unpopular in Xuzhou, and the people were full of resentment, but dared not speak out against it.
The story of Young Master Xu forcibly taking a woman from the people stirred up feelings of guilt among them.
Three years ago, Xuzhou City suffered a famine. Most of the people in the city were starving and cold, let alone able to afford medical treatment. Many people caught colds but couldn't afford medical care. It was the Lin family, father and daughter, who provided free medical treatment and herbal medicine to the people on the street, saving them.
Last year, however, the beautiful and graceful Lin Yuxiu caught the eye of Xu Shi'an, a playboy, who ordered his servants to take her away. They stood by and did not dare to stop him.
Not long after, news spread that Lin Yuxiu was going to die. Most people were so frightened that they couldn't sleep. That night, someone dreamed of a woman in a wedding dress hanging from a beam in the house, crying and asking them why they didn't save her...
Some people fell ill from fright the next day and rushed to the temple to burn incense and pray for Lin Yuxiu's soul, just to reduce their guilt.
They were cowardly at the time and dared not offend the governor. They dared not stand up to stop it, which led to the tragedy. They had to stand up to prevent the tragedy from repeating itself.
The people were filled with righteous indignation.
"Who would be foolish enough to carve words on a dagger to leave evidence for someone to arrest them? It must be that damned beast who has taken a fancy to that young lady again and deliberately set her up."
"No crime, but being arrested and put in jail makes you guilty. I've seen this kind of thing many times. Last year, they kidnapped Miss Lin, who was about to get married. This young lady was already married, and they didn't even spare a pregnant woman. They're not human, they're beasts."
"Officer Deng, those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. You have been aiding and abetting evil, and you will get your retribution sooner or later."
The people raised their fists and shouted in unison, "Retribution! Retribution! Retribution!"
...
Head Constable Deng drew his sword and threatened them, "Shut up! How dare you discuss the affairs of the Prefect's family? Do you all want to die, or do you want to go to jail?"
Yun Zhaoxue bowed to everyone, sniffed, and said in a choked voice, "Thank you all. If anything happens to me, I can only repay you in the next life."
Having lived most of his life, Constable Deng had long seen through Yun Zhaoxue's scheme to incite the people to target the governor's mansion, forcing him to release the man.
He received a look from Madam Shen, and a calculating glint flashed in his eyes.
There's no way he couldn't beat a pregnant woman.
Officer Deng said, "I agreed to the bet. If I win, you will have to come with me to the government office."
At that point, it won't be an interrogation, but rather being thrown into prison.
Yun Zhaoxue readily nodded, "Okay!"
Xiao Xuance gripped her wrist tightly. "Xue'er, don't go, I'll do it."
"I don't need you. You can go up if I lose."
Shen Yan rushed over and gestured in front of her, "Uh...uh...uh..." [You can't beat Officer Deng. If you end up with this bastard child, come with me, and I promise I won't mistreat you!]
Yun Zhaoxue impatiently pushed the person away, "You mute, I can't understand what you're gesturing at, get out of here!"
Don't think she doesn't know it was him who did it. What are you pretending to be?
The banquet was overturned.
Zhao Jiu also looked worried and said, "Princess, I'll compete for you."
"Why are you meddling in this?" Old Liao pulled Zhao Jiu back and said to Yun Zhaoxue, "If you want to fight, then fight. I'll be your referee and stop when it's over."
It's not a good thing for either side to get injured; he just wants to get going as soon as possible.
Yun Zhaoxue said confidently, "Don't worry, Master Liao, I will definitely beat him down within twelve moves!"
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