"I only stole the clothes. I didn't kill anyone."
The man was trembling as he shouted.
He knelt on the ground, his body lowered and his head not daring to lift even half an inch.
It was obvious how scared he was.
Jing Rong's sharp gaze swept over the man and then back to the pile of clothes. He seemed to have understood something.
He asked, "Did you steal the clothes that Song Zhi brought back to Wang Jun?"
Huh?
The man's hands tightened on the ground. Panicking, he quickly said, "Yes, I stole the clothes. But I only stole the clothes. I didn't do anything else. I didn't kill Wang Jun either."
He shook his head furiously.
It was just a few sentences.
The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the people from the troupe.
They were slightly shocked when they saw the scene in front of them.
One was standing!
The other was kneeling!
Beside him was a messy pile of clothes.
"What … What's going on?"
At the same time, someone recognized the man kneeling on the ground and pointed at him. "Old Qiao? Why are you here? Why are you still kneeling? "
Old Qiao buried his head even deeper.
It was as if he was ashamed of being recognized.
Why? Could this man be from the troupe?
Jing Rong asked one of the men from the troupe, "Is this man from your troupe?"
The man replied, "No, he comes every day to deliver sweet wine soup to our troupe."
"Sweet wine soup?"
"Young Master, you may not know this, but our troupe's actors drink a bowl of sweet wine soup before they go on stage because sweet wine moisturizes their throats. Old Qiao is in the sweet wine business and lives next door, so he comes every day to deliver sweet wine."
I see.
The man then asked, "But Young Master, what's going on?"
"It's not a big deal. Someone just stole something."
"Stole something?" The man immediately looked at Old Qiao on the ground. "Old Qiao, did you steal something? What … What's going on? You're an honest man! "
Old Qiao swallowed and twisted his body. He stammered, "I … I didn't steal anything valuable. I just stole the clothes that Song Zhi returned to Wang Jun."
"You stole those clothes?"
"I stole them, but I didn't kill anyone!"
From the beginning to the end, no one said that he had killed anyone!
Jing Rong ascertained the identity of this person and asked him, "Then why didn't you steal other valuable things? Why did you steal those clothes made of coarse cloth?"
"Because I don't dare to steal other valuable items, and … I can't fit them."
"Speak clearly." Jing Rong's tone became heavier. Old Qiao explained everything in detail, "I was possessed for a moment and lost my mind. That's why I did such a stupid thing! That day, I was going to give Wang Jun a bowl of sweet wine soup, but he wasn't there. Just as I was about to leave, I saw a bundle on the table. My curiosity was piqued, so I opened it to take a look. It was just a few clothes, and they weren't good clothes. I thought that they shouldn't be Wang Jun's because he usually wore good clothes, so … I got greedy and hid the bundle in my sweet wine basket. Then, I quietly slipped away from the back door. As for the expensive clothes, I didn't care.
How would I dare to steal! Just these clothes alone have been haunting me with nightmares for the past few days. I won't do such a thing for the rest of my life. "
"Then why did you secretly bring these clothes here?" "Because I didn't expect that this matter would land Song Zhi in prison. Perhaps … he might even be killed. This lowly one was greedy, but I didn't want to harm someone's life! These past few days, I have been having nightmares. I thought that if Song Zhi died, I wouldn't be able to absolve myself from the blame. My conscience wouldn't be at ease for the rest of my life, so … I wanted to take advantage of the time when the people from the opera troupe went to the yamen to secretly return the clothes, hoping to help Song Zhi escape punishment. But who would have thought that before I could return the clothes, they would return. I planned to come back at night, but young master saw me. Everything I said is true.
This lowly one didn't kill anyone! I really only stole the clothes. "
Old Qiao's voice was choked with emotion.
He was afraid that he would be taken to the yamen to be interrogated.
Jing Rong's sharp gaze didn't lose any of his sharpness. He sternly asked, "Did you really steal these clothes from Wang Jun?"
"Of course. If there's even half a word of falsehood, may I be struck by lightning."
So, Song Zhi was telling the truth when he said that he went to return the gifts to Wang Jun that morning.
Then, he could also be absolved of his crime!
The people from the opera troupe looked at each other in dismay.
"Old Qiao! You are usually an honest person. How could you do such a thing? Don't you know that if the magistrate concludes that Mister Song is lying, he will probably be beheaded? "
"I know. That's why I'm here to return the clothes."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I … I was scared!"
Only when he realized the seriousness of the situation did he rush over to return the clothes.
Everyone didn't know what to say after hearing the words' I was scared '.
Indeed, anyone would be scared when encountering such a matter of life and death. Fortunately, Old Qiao had a conscience.
But at this time …
Li Cheng, who had rushed over from the inn, had heard their entire conversation.
As soon as he came in …
"So, you are the culprit." Li Cheng's tall and slender voice was very recognizable.
Everyone looked at him.
He walked over with a purple folding fan in his hand.
From his posture, one could tell that he was a rich man. He walked straight to Jing Rong's side and patted him, complaining, "You are too mean. You didn't tell me when you found the murderer. You also didn't tell me when you went to the yamen this morning. If Brother Bai didn't remind me that you were here, I would have run to the yamen. Really, do you still treat me as your brother?
Little brother? "
I'm not familiar with you, thank you!
Jing Rong didn't like this sticky candy.
But he didn't hate it.
He only scolded Bai Yin in his heart. Why is she so talkative?
He glanced at Li Cheng and didn't want to say anything.
Then, Li Cheng nudged him. "What? Do you feel guilty? Then remember this next time. Don't leave me behind. I can't miss out on catching the murderer. "
It was obvious that he was just playing around.
Jing Rong was speechless.
Li Cheng didn't care. He pointed at Old Qiao, who was kneeling on the ground. "You, hurry up and tell me the truth. How did you kill Wang Jun?"
Old Qiao was scared out of his wits. He quickly kowtowed. "I didn't kill him. I only stole his clothes."
"Nonsense! The murderer is definitely you!"
"No, no …"
"It's you!"
Jing Rong couldn't stand it anymore. He said to Old Qiao, "You better go to the yamen and explain everything to Lord Zhuo. Don't hide anything."
Old Qiao was worried. "Then … will Lord Zhuo convict me?"
Jing Rong said coldly, "You can't avoid the charges of theft and concealment."
Only theft and concealment?
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