Another dead cat.
Bang!
Jing Rong slammed the table and stood up.
His face was full of anger. "Zuo Yao, you're still full of excuses."
"Your Highness, please forgive me!" He raised his hands high and threw himself to the ground again.
His body trembled.
"A human life is at stake. How can I forgive you?" Jing Rong walked in front of him and looked down at the dog official. His eyes were fierce. "You should be punished where you made a mistake. Don't you like to receive private money? Since you received it with both hands, you should return it with both hands. "
His tone was full of killing intent.
Zuo Yao didn't understand the meaning of his words. When he looked up, he saw Jing Rong stepping on the stick that was lying horizontally in front of him and rolling it.
He picked up the stick and caught it accurately in his hand.
He weighed it a few times. "Since Magistrate Zuo brought the stick, you must want to offer a humble apology. That way, I won't have to order people to find something to punish you."
"Your Highness …"
"What? Is Magistrate Zuo afraid? "
"No … Yes!"
Of course he was afraid. He was trembling with fear.
Jing Rong sneered and threw the stick to Lang Po.
He gave the order.
"Fifty strikes."
Lang Po fiddled with the stick. "Don't worry, Your Highness. This subordinate will not miss a single strike."
He was the best at beating people up.
Two guards pulled Zuo Yao out and tied him to a stool. His hands were raised above his head and his palms were spread open.
He looked like a salted fish on a skewer.
He was sweating profusely and his eyes were filled with fear as he looked at the rod that was about to fall. His lips trembled for a long time before he shouted at Jing Rong in the hall, "Your Highness, this lowly official knows his mistake. I can't endure these fifty strikes!"
Inside, Jing Rong was leisurely drinking tea.
"Bang!"
Lang Po didn't show any mercy.
He hit Zuo Yao again and again.
After a dozen strikes, Zuo Yao's palms were badly mutilated.
It was horrifying.
The two guards who tied Zuo Yao up were watching from the side. They were all tough men who were used to seeing bloody scenes. The blood was nothing to them.
One of them said, "Guard Lang, use some strength! If you beat him like this, fifty strokes of the rod will heal in two days. How is this punishing a person? "
The other one echoed, "Yeah, be more serious, or else you won't learn your lesson."
Lang Po glared at the two and extended his rod. "Come, come, come. You guys come."
"Forget it. His Highness told you to do it, not me."
They were not stupid enough to pick up a hot potato.
"Then why are you talking so much?"
"We were just speaking casually. Guard Lang, go ahead, go ahead."
How polite!
Have you ever thought about Zuo Yao's feelings?
He was in so much pain that his forehead was sweating profusely, and his lips were pale. His head was leaning against the bench, and he was about to faint. His hands were originally burning with pain, but now, they were completely numb.
Completely numb!
It was not that Lang Po didn't use any strength, but he was smarter than the other two. He knew that Prince Rong didn't really want to cripple Zuo Yao's hands. Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to just drag him out and cut off his hands? It was obvious that Prince Rong just wanted to teach him a lesson. He wouldn't really break his hands.
Therefore, he raised his rod, held back seventy percent of his strength, and hit Zuo Yao again.
Until the thirtieth stroke …
A voice came from the hall. "That's enough."
Jing Rong came out and walked to Zuo Yao. He coldly looked at Zuo Yao's battered hands.
"Magistrate Zuo, can you still take it?"
Zuo Yao lay there motionlessly. After a long time, he raised his head. "Your Highness … spare me."
"Magistrate Zuo isn't as tough as I thought."
"This official … won't dare to do it again."
"Alright, then I'll let you off this time."
How generous!
However, he continued, "But you better remember today's lesson. You accepted bribes and misjudged the case. If you refuse to mend your ways, not only will I remove your official hat, but I'll also kill you. However, if you want to clear your name, you'd better cooperate with me and investigate the case of the disaster relief funds. "
"Yes!"
His attitude was good!
Jing Rong motioned for the two guards to untie him and drag him up from the stool. His bloodied hands hung by his side, and his body hung limply.
He was half-dead!
But he still looked a little pitiful.
"Send Magistrate Zuo back to the yamen."
"Yes."
The guards dragged him away.
Lang Po stepped forward and asked, "Your Highness, are you letting him off just like that?"
Jing Rong replied, "The situation in the imperial court is not stable. The Ministry of Personnel's petition against me at this critical juncture was caused by the dismissal of officials by me. If I continue to dismiss this Yufu County Magistrate, the blame that was originally pointed at Prince Yi will eventually be pointed at me. Moreover, Zuo Yao has been the Yufu County Magistrate for so many years. He knows better than anyone else about the disaster relief funds. It's not a bad thing to keep him around for the time being."
"So Your Highness already has a plan."
"After today's lesson, he should have learned his lesson." Jing Rong guessed and looked at Lang Po. "How's the investigation of the merchant that I asked you to do?"
"I've already given the order. Ziran has also gone to investigate. I believe there will be news soon."
"Mm."
He nodded lightly and returned to the hall.
… …
Ji Yunshu immediately ordered Shi Zijin to secretly go to the Zhichun Brothel because of the smell of old tangerines on the scratches on the corner of her head.
She asked around.
It was already the next day when she returned.
"Teacher Ji, the Zhichun Brothel does have a lot of old tangerines. In order to get rid of the smell, the women would prepare some in their rooms. Almost everyone has some, but the smell is very faint."
"Everyone has some?"
"Mm."
Ji Yunshu looked up at the sky, pondering something. She took out the corner of her head again and looked at it.
"…"
She muttered, "Since these three scratches don't seem to be caused by human fingernails, what could it be? Miss Ye 'er is a songstress, so it's naturally impossible for her to have such a strong smell of old tangerines on her body. It's also impossible for the other girls. "
After a while, she thought of something and asked Shi Zijin, "Do you know who has the most contact with the old tangerines?"
"That cripple!"
"Liang Da?"
"It's him. He prepared all the old tangerines for the girls in the Zhichun Brothel."
This is …
Interesting!
At this moment, Qiao 'er came in and sighed.
Sighing, he said, "I don't know what happened, but another cat died."
Ji Yunshu put down the corner of her head and asked her, "What do you mean by another cat died? Do cats often die here? "
"Yes, many girls in our county like to keep cats, but one goes missing every few days. When they find it, the cat is already dead, and the way it died was very gruesome."
"Tell me about it."
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