Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Xiao Jingmo lowered his head, the corner of his mouth curving into a mocking smile.
He really had overestimated those three.
Using such a crude trick to set off this trap; wasn’t this just a blatant case of the thief crying thief?
Xiao Jingmo could understand it, though. After all, they were bandits by origin. Apart from breaking into homes, robbing people, and killing for goods, their brains truly seemed to serve no other purpose.
Sure enough, there was no need for Xiao Jingmo to act. Zhu Laosan voiced the doubt himself.
“How did you know my silver was missing?”
Ye Xiaotu froze. This was not how he had imagined things would go.
Shouldn’t they have arrested the Xiao Family directly? Why was he being questioned instead?
At that moment, everyone’s attention was fixed on Ye Xiaotu and the other two. No one noticed the other bailiffs.
Zou Yong suddenly sprang into action. He drew his long blade and swiftly slashed toward Xiao Jingmo’s arm.
He had not been standing far from Xiao Jingmo to begin with. He had been waiting for an opportunity all along.
Seeing that everyone’s attention was on Ye Xiaotu, he decided the time had come and struck without holding back in the slightest.
Fortunately, Xiao Jingxing’s attention had not been diverted by Ye Xiaotu at all. He had already learned that Zou Yong was the one who had cut off his second brother’s arm, so he had been watching him in secret the entire time.
The instant Zou Yong drew his blade, Xiao Jingxing also moved. He yanked Xiao Jingmo backward with force, narrowly helping him dodge Zou Yong’s attack.
Zou Yong’s sudden assault drew Zhu Laosan’s attention and, at the same time, helped Ye Xiaotu out of his predicament.
“Zou Yong, what are you doing?”
Zhu Laosan’s angry shout froze Zou Yong in place just as he was about to swing his blade again.
“Brother San, this man stole something. If we don’t punish him severely, everyone will learn from them. Then all our energy on this road will be wasted judging cases. Better to kill the wrong man than let a guilty one go. I’d say this counts as killing the chicken to warn the monkeys.”
Zou Yong spoke with perfect righteousness, hiding his murderous intent beneath a grand and noble excuse.
How could Zhu Laosan fail to understand? Zou Yong had clearly colluded with those three to set a trap for the Xiao Family.
Did this Zou Yong really think he was nothing more than a decoration? Jumping around like this, testing his patience again and again.
Last night, he had casually tried to pin the poisoning on him. Today, he was using the silver meant for rations as an excuse. Then in the future, if Zou Yong found him, the leader, to be in the way, would he make a move against him too?
The more Zhu Laosan thought about it, the angrier he became. But now was not the time to argue with Zou Yong.
If silver notes really were found on Xiao Jingmo, he would have nothing to say. Yet for some reason, he felt that Xiao Jingmo seemed far too calm.
In the capital, everyone said that the second young master of the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery had passed the county-level scholar examination at ten and the provincial graduate examination at eleven. He was the Descended Star of Literature. It was only later that, for some unknown reason, he had suddenly become muddleheaded. Everyone said heaven was jealous of his talent.
But over the past two days, Zhu Laosan had realized that this second young master was muddleheaded where, exactly? Not only was he not muddleheaded, he was sharp as a blade.
Rumors truly misled people.
With one hand resting on the whip at his waist and the other gripping his broadsword, Zhu Laosan walked over.
“Someone reported that you stole. For the sake of fairness, I can only search you in front of everyone.”
Xiao Jingmo nodded, raised both arms, and allowed Zhu Laosan to search him.
Zhu Laosan had only searched halfway when he pulled a stack of silver notes from Xiao Jingmo’s robes.
His expression unreadable, he glanced at Xiao Jingmo.
“How do you explain this?”
“What is there to explain? He stole it! Officer, hurry up and beat him to death as a warning to the others. And his whole family should be punished too. One hundred lashes each!”
The instant Li Duanjiang saw the silver notes, he knew the matter was settled. He was the first to jump out and clamor.
“Brother San, I wasn’t wrong, was I? The Xiao Family’s hands aren’t clean. If you hadn’t stopped me just now, I would already have beheaded this thief. Why waste words with them?”
Zhu Laosan looked at Xiao Jingmo. “I’ll give you one chance to prove your innocence.”
When Zou Yong heard Zhu Laosan say this, a flash of killing intent passed through his eyes.
With Zhu Laosan around, when would he ever be able to complete his mission? The man was nothing but a stumbling block.
Xiao Jingmo looked at the silver notes in Zhu Laosan’s hand.
“Officer, I didn’t steal them. I don’t know how those silver notes ended up on me either. If someone planted them on me, then from beginning to end, the only person who touched me was him!”
Xiao Jingmo slowly raised his hand and pointed at Yousha Ke.
Zhu Laosan had seen that with his own eyes. Back then, he had even shouted at Yousha Ke for it.
“Don’t you slander me! I did touch you, but that was by accident. What proof do you have that I was the one who put those things on you?”
Yousha Ke looked utterly fearless. He lifted his chin, his face practically spelling out the words: I set you up. What are you going to do about it?
“Officer, when was the last time you checked those banknotes?”
Xiao Jingmo no longer looked at Yousha Ke. Instead, he turned to Zhu Laosan.
“I remember it was before we went to search for Madam Chen, just as we were preparing to set out. I had checked my belongings then and glanced at the banknotes. They were still there at the time.”
Xiao Jingmo nodded.
“Officer, then I had no time to commit the crime. I was with you the entire time searching for her. I can’t split myself in two, searching for someone on one side while stealing banknotes on the other.”
Zhu Laosan came to a sudden realization. That was indeed true. How could one person appear in two places at the same time?
His banknotes had gone missing sometime after he left and before he returned.
“Then couldn’t your elder brother have stolen them and slipped them to you? Your elder brother was near you just now too.”
Seeing Zhu Laosan being persuaded, Yousha Ke began to panic and turned his accusation toward Xiao Jingxing.
Xiao Jingmo gave a cold laugh. “Just now, you were so certain the banknotes were on me. Why are you dragging my elder brother into this now? You’re practically shouting that you’re guilty. Besides, that officer can testify that my family never came over at all.”
At that, Li Si nodded to Zhu Laosan.
“They indeed never came over. There was a small incident in the middle, and the people of the Xiao Family Main Branch never took so much as half a step away from their area. Their suspicion can be ruled out.”
Li Si’s testimony also confirmed Xiao Jingmo’s guess. Li Si was indeed on the same side as Zhu Laosan; otherwise, Zhu Laosan would never have handed the silver to Li Si with such ease.
Along the way, he had been observing them. Zhu Laosan seemed to take rather good care of Li Si. The two of them might be more than mere partners.
Li Si continued, “But those three kept loitering around me. Ye Xiaotu in particular deliberately picked a fight with someone. I went over and gave them a lash, and only then did they stop causing trouble. During that time, the other two didn’t seem to have left either.”
By now, even the dullest person understood. This had been a frame-up directed and performed by Ye Xiaotu and his two companions, all for the sake of eliminating or severely injuring the Xiao Family.
Xiao Jingmo’s formerly calm expression suddenly turned agitated.
“Officer, please uphold justice for this convict. This convict wishes to accuse Ye Xiaotu and his two companions of framing us.”
“First, Yousha Ke deliberately approached this convict and planted the banknotes on me. As everyone knows, he is a famous master thief in the martial world. Among those present, only he could steal something without anyone noticing, then hide and transfer it elsewhere.”
“Second, based on the timing, we of the Xiao Family had no opportunity to commit the crime. Both officers can testify to this.”
“Third, Yousha Ke’s statements contradict each other. The moment he opened his mouth, he accused this convict of stealing the banknotes, as if he had planned it long in advance. When he saw the frame-up had failed, he shifted the blame to this convict’s elder brother instead, exposing the contradictions in his words. He has no evidence and is making reckless accusations.”
“Fourth, Officer Zou said you wished to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. Then please, officer, cut off both of Yousha Ke’s hands to establish authority before us. Though we are convicts, we still seek a fair ruling. Otherwise, people will be thrown into panic, which will not be conducive to the journey.”
“Fifth, the three of them dared to scheme against the officers. Their intentions deserve death.”
Xiao Jingmo bowed slightly. Every word he spoke was reasonable and well-founded, leaving Ye Xiaotu and his two companions unable to refute him for a moment.
Zhu Laosan looked at Xiao Jingmo with approval, then turned to Yousha Ke.
Yousha Ke’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. He relied on his hands to make a living. If both his hands were cut off, it would be no different from cutting off his path to survival.
He immediately looked to Zou Yong for help.
Zou Yong also knew that if Yousha Ke’s hands were severed, he would be as good as useless. No matter what, he had to protect him.
Zou Yong had just been about to speak when Zhu Laosan saw right through him.
“Zou Yong, are you thinking of pleading for them? Cutting off both hands was your idea. Don’t tell me you have some connection with this death-row prisoner?”
The words Zou Yong had been about to say were forcibly swallowed back down.
Seeing that there was no longer any room to maneuver, Yousha Ke’s mung-bean-like eyes darted about rapidly. Then he turned and ran into the woods.