Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 53: You are so cruel!
"After causing trouble in Huaxiang Tower, I was taken back to the Shen Mansion by Miss Shen and Huo Anu," Xu Zun said, "You just thought I was being beaten and punished at home, but you didn't expect that at that time, we had already sounded the clarion call for counterattack!
"I knew that Captain Zhao Yu was the most crucial person, so I secretly went to Zhao Yu's home to meet him.
“Unexpectedly, Zhao Yu had already suspected you, so we hit it off and finalized our counterattack plan.
"We decided to start with these most suspicious people. As long as they confess, we will be invincible..."
At this point, Xu Zun came up to the four prisoners and introduced them one by one:
"Bai Xiaolong who picked up the jade pendant; Lu Qing who was particularly good at carrying the iron coffin; Ji Sheng, the jailer who ate candied haws; and Wei Zuoyan who guarded You Dalang...
"To be honest," Xu Zun said to "Qiu Yongnian," "At that time, we just wanted to solve the iron coffin case and the murder of You Dalang, and we only thought that you were the culprit of these two cases!
"We don't know what secrets are hidden in the jade pendant, nor do we know the real purpose of your investigation into the iron coffin case.
"Even if I suspect you are a fake county magistrate, it is just a suspicion. I sent Liu Dong to your hometown to check your background, just to confirm your identity.
"So, we never expected you to do such a big thing!"
"Yes," Zhao Yu agreed, "We just felt that you might make a move when the superior officials arrived in Xinye County, so we took the lead and secretly captured these important suspects and hid them in the cellar of my house, preparing to interrogate them thoroughly.
"But I didn't expect," Zhao Yu said, "that before we had the chance to interrogate them, Lord Cai wanted to arrest all the people in the county government for interrogation at the charity cemetery.
“I realised the situation was not good and took the opportunity to run away.
"After I ran back home, I thought my home was not safe, so I wanted to move these four people. But how easy is it to move four living people in broad daylight?
“So, I wanted to ask Mr. Shen for help, one is to help me transfer these four prisoners, and the other is to find a way to resolve the predicament of the county government.
"But I didn't expect," Zhao Yu said, "that when I arrived at the Shen Mansion, I found that the Shen Mansion was sealed!
"I asked around and found out that something big had happened! An iron coffin was found in County Magistrate Xu's house, and Mr. Shen's family was implicated.
"To be honest, I really didn't know what to do at the time. I didn't know who the good guys were," Zhao Yu said, pointing at the four prisoners. "I only know that these four are definitely bad guys!
“So, after I got back, I interrogated these four people like crazy, but they were very stubborn. I interrogated them until midnight and they refused to say anything even if I was beaten to death. They even tried to commit suicide.
"And just then, Lord Cai's guards rushed in. I thought I was at the end of my rope, but unexpectedly, the guards were not here to arrest me, but to invite me on Lord Cai's orders..."
After saying that, Zhao Yu glanced at Xu Zun, implying that Xu Zun should tell the rest of the story.
Then Xu Zun continued the narration:
"Originally, Lord Cai didn't believe me, so I made a bet with him, saying that as long as we set a trap, someone would go to the charity cemetery tonight to dispose of the body.
“Lord Cai promised me that if it came true, he would believe that I was innocent.
"As a result, they really fell into the trap." Xu Zun said, "So, I asked Lord Cai to find Zhao Yu overnight and bring these four major suspects back to the government office for secret interrogation.
"The methods used by the internal guards are truly eye-opening. In less than half an hour, these four people confessed everything honestly!
"Bai Xiaolong admitted that he was the one who placed the jade pendant in the ruins," Xu Zun pointed at the corresponding prisoner and said, "Lü Qing admitted that he and a large group of accomplices transported the iron coffin to Zhangqiao.
"Moreover, he also revealed that the base for manufacturing iron coffins was in an abandoned cave in Qijiawu, and how they built a fake iron coffin site under my house.
“The jailers Ji Sheng and Wei Zuoyan were also involved in most of the evil deeds.
"Ji Sheng secretly monitored me while I was examining You Dalang's body. After I found out, he was still eating candied haws beside me as if nothing had happened!
"Wei Zuoyan is not a good person either. He was involved in the entire process of You Dalang's murder.
"He has confirmed that You Dalang was murdered, and the murderer who killed You Dalang," Xu Zun looked at the fake Qiu Yongnian and said excitedly, "was also him!!!"
oh……
There were constant exclamations at the scene, and no one expected the truth of the case to be like this.
"Haha," Cai Kun said to the fake Qiu Yongnian with a smile, "We have all the evidence, what else do you have to say?"
"Humph," Qiu Yongnian snorted coldly, still unconvinced and said, "You can always find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. These people must have been bribed by you to conspire to frame me. I want to file a complaint with the emperor, and ask His Majesty to exonerate me!
"Everyone," he shouted to the crowd outside, "Look at what these people have been beaten into. This is clearly torture to extract confessions. I, Qiu, refuse to accept this!"
"How dare you!" Cai Kun glared angrily, "You are so shameless even when you are about to die! Do you also want to have a taste of our internal guards' methods?
"You have committed such a heinous crime, why don't you confess the truth? What is your intention in framing Mr. Shen like this?!"
"Master Cai," Xu Zun advised, "Don't be anxious. Killing someone will destroy his heart. I will make this fellow admit defeat today."
After that, Xu Zun said to the fake Qiu Yongnian: "Didn't you say that you could get a confession by torture? Well, I'll make you confess without being tortured."
The next second, Xu Zun turned around and walked up to the people who were arrested, pointed his finger and said:
"First, you should know clearly that the fact that we arrested you while leaving others behind means that we have completely grasped your crimes and are convinced that you are all the subordinates of this fake Qiu Yongnian.
"Second, you should know the consequences of your crimes. Framing an important official of the country will result in the death penalty, and harboring an assassin who intends to assassinate the royal family will result in the extermination of the entire clan!
"Third, now, Lord Cai is exercising his discretionary power according to the Queen Mother's decree. Lord Cai is kind-hearted and has shown mercy outside the law. Now there are three pardons for you. Whoever can confess before the first three can be pardoned!
“Please note that this is not a reprieve from death, but a reprieve from sin.
"I'll count to three. No more waiting after the time limit!" Xu Zun didn't give these people time to react. He raised his fingers and started counting, "1...2..."
As a result, before Xu Zun even called out "3", several people knelt down on the spot and shouted:
"I admit it!"
"I admit it!"
"My Lord, I admit it too!"
"I plead guilty. I should be the fastest. I was among the first three. I was among the first three..."
"Don't listen to him, sir. It's useless for them to confess. I know the most, and I am definitely the first one..."
In the blink of an eye, the criminals present rushed to shout "Confess", forcing the guards to use force to pin them all down.
"Haha," Xu Zun turned around and said to the fake Qiu Yongnian with a smile, "How about we compare the confessions of these people individually to see if they are consistent with others?
"I've said it before, these many subordinates of yours are your most fatal weakness!!!"
At this moment, looking at Qiu Yongnian again, he seemed like a completely different person.
But he had fierce eyes and a ferocious face, revealing an indescribable murderous aura.
"Stop, stop, stop..." Qiu Yongnian said angrily, "I never thought that we had carefully planned for so long, such a perfect plan, but in the end it was defeated by the most inconspicuous, most ignored and confused county lieutenant! I really... I really don't want to accept it, I don't want to accept it!
“Xu Zun, you are so cruel!” He said again with a heart full of grief and indignation, “But there are still a few things I don’t understand. I… wuuu… wuuuu…”
Unexpectedly, before Qiu Yongnian could finish his words, two guards suddenly rushed towards him.
One held Qiu Yongnian's body down, while the other roughly pinched open Qiu Yongnian's mouth and thrust a pliers-like object fiercely into his mouth...
