Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 198

Chapter 198 Breakthrough (3)

To the people of Daxing County Government, today was truly a day of experience. In the past, only the people from the Royal Guards had tried to force others to confess and torture them, but no other yamen had ever dared to torture them. But this time, it was good that Lu Zhen actually wanted to torture these people from the Brocade Guards. It really broke through the Heavenly Wilderness.

But at the same time, their county magistrate’s tough attitude also made them excited. Being able to work beside such bold and daring adults made their courage increase. After hearing Lu Zhen’s words, these people immediately scolded to increase their momentum, and at the same time, they also pretended to be really motivated towards them.

Qu Ping, who had originally underestimated the Daxing County Government, was finally a little nervous. Although he still shouted, “How dare you! I am the Royal Guard’s Thousand Households, the Imperial Court’s Priestess!” His body trembled uncontrollably. No matter how fierce he pretended to be, he could not change the nature of his weakness.

His fear was immediately captured by Lu Zhen. Without the slightest hesitation, he picked up the fire sign in the signature box and directly threw it to the ground, “How dare you roar at the court? Punish me!”

With this order, the servants boldly pounced over, and with a single push, they pushed them down on the ground, and then put the rod that still had the blood stains of the previous prisoner onto Quping’s ten fingers. When the ten fingers touched the ice-cold rod, Qu Ping trembled as if he had been struck by lightning. However, he was still tough. Even at this time, he still had no intention of admitting it.

Lu Zhen saw this, his heart is horizontal, to wait for the order to use punishment. He could tell that Qu Ping was on the verge of collapse. As long as he really suffered, he would definitely recruit. At this time, the government was different from the later generations. What evidence did they need to speak of? Even if they were tortured, it would still be acceptable.

However, just as he was about to give an order to use torture, Han Yue, who was being held down by someone, suddenly said, “Have you all thought about it? Are you really going to use torture on my Brocade Guards? At that time, he, County Magistrate Lu, will be able to leave. You people and your family will not be able to leave!” His tone was dense, carrying a deep sense of intimidation.

However, the effect of these words was immediate. When the servants who were about to make a move heard this, they stopped their movements and hesitated to retreat. Of course, they understood the meaning behind this. As an official of the Imperial Court, Lu Zhen had this amulet, so the Brocade Guards were indeed a little difficult to deal with him. However, for the others, their status wasn’t much higher than that of ordinary people. If the Royal Guards really wanted to retaliate, they could just find a reason to deal with them, let alone their relatives.

Even Lu Zhen stopped talking when he heard this threat. He knew very well that this person was not speaking empty words. The Royal Guards did have the ability and intention to do such a retaliatory act. He did not want to implicate the people in the county government because of his persistence.

This hesitation caused Qu Ping to react. Thinking back to his panic earlier, he suddenly felt a sense of anger and embarrassment. He immediately swept his eyes to the left and right. “Isn’t it just a stick? Come on, I can still take it. But the torture tools in our governor’s office are much more fun than this kind of thing. When the time comes, I will call you all back to pay your respects!” When he said this, his face was filled with ferocity.

The already uneasy servants were so frightened by him that they didn’t dare to make a move. They could only look up at Lu Zhen. They were indeed scared. The Royal Guards were not something a nobody like them could afford to provoke.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen felt a little helpless. At the same time, he had to admit that it was the infamous Brocade Guard. Even though it was at this time of weakness, it still caused people to feel fear and panic.

At this time, Qu Ping, who had already settled his mind, took advantage of the victory to chase after him and said, “County Magistrate Lu, I already said that this is a misunderstanding. What else can you do now? If you don’t let me go, I’m afraid that our governor will send more people over later. At that time, it won’t be impossible to take you to offend him. Do you understand?”

Lu Zhen fell silent for a moment. At this moment, he could clearly feel what it meant to be difficult to ride a tiger. Releasing someone, even if the case was completely ruined, it would not be easy to find clues even if he wanted to investigate. However, if he didn’t let go, the current situation wouldn’t allow him to be punished, and if he refused to admit defeat, there might really be people from the Royal Guards who came to ask for help, but what should they do at that time?

Was he really going to miss this time? They could only watch as the innocent people of the Green Bamboo Gang were framed to death?

Just as he was in a dilemma, a servant suddenly came to the front of the hall and said, “My lord, Zhu Chang is asking to see you outside.”

“Huh?” Lu Zhen was stunned for a moment before he understood. A glimmer of hope instantly arose in his heart, “Let him come in and reply!” Previously, Zhu Chang had asked for orders to investigate the gang members who harmed his brothers in the gang. He had not heard back before, but now that he had suddenly returned, he must have gained something. It was precisely because of this thought that Lu Zhen decided to let him in to speak.

However, Zhu Chang did not return alone. When he walked to the front of the hall with some difficulty, he even carried a rope in his hand, and there was an exceptionally sorry fellow tied to the rope. On the other hand, he also had wounds on his body, and his clothes were in tatters. He didn’t look much better than the other party.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen had already guessed the truth, and his spirits suddenly lifted. “County magistrate Lu, if you have something else, you can let us go and deal with it. If you continue to drag it out like this, you will have to pay the consequences!” Qu Ping and the others said impatiently.

“Who said this official is going to let you go? What evidence did you just say? Isn’t the witness here now?” Lu Zhen said, taking advantage of the man outside who had been brought up in a sorry state.

Qu Ping’s brocade guard was shocked when he heard this. He turned around and saw that he was facing that person. However, they were still confused. Only one brocade guard’s expression suddenly changed. He stared at that person with an incredulous gaze, and his body couldn’t help but tremble.

Zhu Chang struggled to cross the high threshold before greeting Lu Zhen, “My lord, I am fortunate that I did not disgrace my life.”

“Alright! Is this the person who tangled with you on the night of Shangyuan Festival?” Lu Zhen didn’t greet him and asked directly.

“Exactly. A brother told me about his appearance and identity earlier, so I was able to find him outside the capital. For this reason, I even fought with several of his accomplices before bringing him back!”

Although Zhu Chang said it lightly, he could tell from the wounds on his body that it must be a bitter battle. He was able to deal with many opponents with his own strength and finally capture the target alive. This was enough to show his determination and extraordinary skill.

As he spoke, several servants had already pressed the man to the ground under Lu Zhen’s signal. The injuries on his body were not light, so he was easily controlled by these servants. Lu Zhen immediately asked, “Who are you? Do you know why this official is questioning you today? If there is a single word of falsehood, the instruments of torture in my county government are not here to see!”

That person’s gaze was currently landing on a few torture tools on the ground, and his body trembled when he heard this. He had long since been frightened by Zhu Chang’s ruthlessness in capturing him. Now, he was in the court and didn’t dare to hide anything anymore. He immediately said everything, “Xiao Ren Niu Jiu, he is an idle man in the capital. He just joined the Dark Rat Gang not long ago …”

Lu Zhen was not interested in knowing his identity, so he patted his head and asked, “This official asks you, did you ever get into an argument with someone on the night of Shangyuan Festival and then set a fire?”

Niu Jiu’s body trembled and his face revealed fear. However, under Lu Zhen’s strong pressure, he obediently replied, “Indeed … there is indeed such a thing. That day, our gang leader received a request from an official friend to bring someone to fight with another group of people and then take advantage of the chaos to set the fire … The little one was there …”

“Come take a look. Do you recognize anyone here?” Lu Zhen pointed at the brocade guards.

Only then did Niu Jiu turn his gaze to the brocade guards in front of him. After all, he was a member of the Imperial Clan. He recognized these people as embroidered clothes guards at a glance. His face immediately turned deathly pale and his legs went weak. When he saw the embroidered clothes guard he knew, his expression changed even more. However, he could not say what he was saying when he saw the other person’s gaze.

However, this change completely fell into Lu Zhen’s eyes. Without hesitation, he pointed at the embroidered guard and shouted, “Is it him? He even ordered you to cause trouble and set fire, isn’t he?”

Actually, Niu Jiu’s answer just now was enough to excuse the people from the Green Bamboo Gang, because he had already admitted that they had set the fire. However, Lu Zhen was obviously not satisfied with this. He insisted on dragging the Royal Guards into the water.

It wasn’t that Lu Zhen insisted on being more true. It was really because under the current situation, he had long been opposed to the Royal Guards. Only by convicting them of the crime would he be able to protect himself, and he didn’t have to be afraid of being bitten back by them.

“Lu Zhen, this is a false accusation. This is a crime that you want to add!” Han Yue’s reaction was the fastest, and he immediately roared angrily.

However, Lu Zhen ignored his reaction and stared at Niu Jiu who was standing in front of him. He said anxiously, “Think about it clearly. If you don’t confess, all the crimes will be borne by you. At that time, not only will you die, but the punishment of your nine races will be light!”

The deterrent power of these words was simply too great. A nobody like Niu Jiu wouldn’t understand the seriousness of the case at all. However, Lu Zhen had already broken his courage, so he was really panicking. He immediately replied loudly, “That’s right, this person was the one who instructed us that day. At that time, he even told us to just hit people and set fire to them. They will deal with the rest …” As he said this, his finger pointed at the embroidered guard who had changed his expression long ago!

Lu Zhen heaved a long sigh of relief, and finally a smile appeared on his face. “Everyone, now that you have a witness, if you still refuse to confess, you can only make things worse. Even if you alarm Emperor this time, I will definitely get to the bottom of this case!” Once a breakthrough was found, his entire body’s essence, energy, and spirit would be different!