bookrandom Chapter 225 County Government
Chapter 225 County Government
The tiger, who had been tough since childhood and was also very shrewd, knew that if he confessed that the four women had been thrown into the mass grave, their fate would only be worse.
So he gritted his teeth and endured it, groaning softly.
The mouse was different; it looked clumsy and stupid, and it couldn't withstand the torture for long.
He was covered in cold sweat, his body limp, hanging on the wooden frame as if all his strength had been drained. He gasped for breath from the pain and said, "Stop hitting me, Master, please make them stop. I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything."
Upon hearing this, Fifth Master and Tiger both turned their heads sharply to look at him, their eyes seeming to burn a hole through the rat.
They cursed inwardly: Fools, if they deny it to the death, they'll only suffer some torture at most, but if they confess, they'll only add insult to injury.
When the clerk heard that Haozi was about to confess, he raised his hand to signal the soldiers who were about to torture him to stop. He walked towards Haozi with his hands behind his back and said with a serious expression, "If you confess sooner, you can suffer less, right?"
"Tell me the truth: where did you take Lin Xiaotang and the other three young ladies?"
The clerk was very worried. If Lin Xiaotang and the other three young ladies had been sold by them, then it would be all over. The magistrate was not in the county, and he was just a lowly clerk. He was not as good at solving cases as the magistrate. What should he do if he could not find them?
Mouse glanced left at Fifth Master and right at Tiger. He was hesitant, but the wounds on his body from the whip, mixed with salt water, were so painful that he wanted to faint and end it all.
The advisor, his patience wearing thin, said impatiently, "I'll give you three counts. If you're just stalling for time and won't confess, then I'll keep beating you!"
When the mouse heard that the beating was going to continue, he was immediately jolted and began to tremble.
"Shishishi..."
"three!"
"two!"
"I'll talk, I'll talk, please don't be angry, I'll talk!"
With a gritted tooth and closed eyes, the mouse resigned itself to its fate and said, “There are three women and a little girl who have contracted the plague. They have red spots on their bodies and their skin has started to ulcerate. At first, they were weak and listless, but later they just lay on the ground and didn’t move.”
I was afraid the four of them would infect the remaining women, so when no one was looking, I secretly dumped her in a mass grave.
what?
Those three women and a little girl were thrown into a mass grave?
Have they all contracted the plague?
The advisor's pupils constricted sharply in shock. He asked in disbelief, "How do you know they have the plague?"
An epidemic can take the lives of tens of thousands of people; its horror surpasses that of floods and wild beasts.
While hissing in pain, the mouse replied, "That little girl said that their village had a plague, and all the pigs and cattle had died. The villagers even threw the pigs and cattle into the woodpile and burned them. I checked, and some of them really did have a lot of small red spots on their arms, and some had broken skin on their arms. What else could that be but a plague?"
The advisor was so shocked that he opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
If she really had contracted the plague, how could that woman have traveled from the village to Dushui County to be arrested by them?
This seems a bit unreasonable!
But the people have already been thrown into the mass grave by that damned bastard. If those four women really die, then we'll be in big trouble.
He immediately said, "Men, continue the interrogation! I'm taking men to the mass grave to find the person!"
When the mouse heard that the interrogation was to continue, its face turned green.
Fifth Master and Tiger were immediately dejected. After being whipped for half a day, and with the rat almost confessing, they still had to be interrogated and beaten. They might as well just die!
The clerk hurriedly left the dungeon and walked out, where he saw the officials who came to report to him.
"Chen Sheng, quick, send twenty men with me to the mass grave to find people. Some have already confessed; those women were thrown into the mass grave."
Chen Sheng immediately reported, "Master, the people have returned from the mass grave and are waiting in the front courtyard. Please send someone to call back the people who went out to look for them."
The advisor was immediately stunned. "What? You're saying they came back on their own?"
Isn't this incredible?
The clerk immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Come on, let's go see how they are! They're really surprising. Before we could even go looking for them, they came back on their own. The mass grave is quite far from the county government office. It's truly admirable that these seemingly weak women are so strong."
The clerk lifted his robe and hurried to the front yard, and Chen Sheng immediately followed.
When Lin Xiaotang saw the clerk come out, she immediately bowed to him. Jiang Yue and Mei'er also bowed to Xiaotang. Although Wang Jiaojiao was arrogant, she came from a wealthy family and naturally knew etiquette. She immediately gave a proper bow.
Jiang Yue and Mei'er said, "This humble woman greets Your Excellency."
The clerk quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no, I'm not the magistrate, I'm just a clerk in the county office. You guys are really brave. It was pitch black outside, and you actually managed to come back from the mass grave. You women are truly as capable as men, much stronger than men. Those villains in the dungeon couldn't even last a short while under torture."
Although Xiaotang and Wang Jiaojiao did not know the clerk, they had met the magistrate in person, so they did not mistake him for someone else.
Wang Jiaojiao, like a deflated balloon, finally breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground.
“Master, could you please send someone to take me home? My father is a wealthy man named Wang, and he’s quite a celebrity in our Dushui County.”
How could he not know the name of the wealthy Wang? He nodded and replied, "It's no big deal. As long as you're back, I'll arrange for someone to send you all back right away."
The advisor turned to Chen Sheng and told him to send a few men home and to call back the soldiers who were searching for Lin Xiaotang.
Chen Sheng immediately agreed and turned to find someone to make the arrangements.
As Wang Jiaojiao left, she held Lin Xiaotang's hand and said, "Xiaotang, my father is a wealthy man named Wang. Our Wang family lives right next to the West Market. If you want to find me, you can come anytime. Just tell the servants. When I get home, I'll ask my father to help you find a suitable shop."
Lin Xiaotang's eyes lit up instantly. She hadn't expected that the spoiled Wang Jiaojiao would be so righteous, actually keeping the matter of helping her find a shop in mind.
She smiled faintly and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you with your help, sister. If you can really help me find a suitable shop, we will pay the rent as usual. If you really can't find one, don't force it. After all, a suitable shop is something that can't be found by chance. Let's just leave it to fate."
Wang Jiaojiao ruffled Lin Xiaotang's hair. She thought Lin Xiaotang was very cute. Although she was only a few years old, she seemed more composed, calm and steady than them.
She chuckled and said, "I know, Xiaotang, you're still a little girl. Why are you making yourself so tired? You're so young and you're already learning how to do business. I think you should switch places with me and be my dad's daughter. My dad's business is thriving, but I, as his daughter, have absolutely no interest in it and have never learned anything from him."
Wang Jiaojiao comes from a wealthy family, so she doesn't need to go into business with her father. But it's different for her; if she doesn't take her parents with her to do business, her family will be so poor that they can't even afford to eat.