Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Faced with such “gracious hospitality,” Ah Da was so frightened he could barely string a sentence together.

“My lord, I… I am not worthy…”

If this so-called “hospitality” had meant a beating, he probably would not have been this terrified.

But of all things, it had to be this…

The rumored Living Yama was treating him with courtesy and even wanted to share a meal with him. How could he not be afraid?

Ren Fengjue feigned surprise. “What do you mean by that?”

Ah Da was so scared that tears and snot ran down his face. “I… I’m a condemned prisoner. How could I be worthy of dining with you, my lord…”

“You are mistaken.”

Ren Fengjue reached out, picked up a white jade cup, personally poured a cup of wine, and set it before him.

“You did not kill anyone. You were imprisoned as a scapegoat. I intend to clear your name and restore your innocence.”

At those words, Ah Da trembled like a sieve, not knowing how to answer.

Ren Fengjue said again, “Sit.”

It was only one word. His voice was not loud, and his tone was even quite gentle, yet it carried an overwhelming force.

Ah Da did not dare disobey. He practically crawled and scrambled before he finally managed to support himself at the table.

The dishes before him were truly abundant.

He had been locked in the dungeon for half a year, and each day he could eat little more than scraps.

During the days when he had suffered most from hunger and cold, he had actually felt boundless regret. He had even silently prayed that the heavens would grant him a way to live.

Now, it felt as if he were in a dream.

Ren Fengjue gestured for him to eat.

“Please.”

Ah Da had no choice but to pick up his chopsticks with trembling hands. First, he took a bite of warm, soft rice. Then he picked up a large piece of braised pork.

Ren Fengjue watched him with a smile. “These are food and wine from Zuihua Restaurant. Are they to your liking?”

Ah Da did not dare nod, much less shake his head.

That was Zuihua Restaurant. He had lived half his life and had never once set foot inside.

The taste inexplicably brought tears to his eyes.

So he stuffed all the meat into his mouth at once…

Ren Fengjue quietly watched him devour the food as if a gale were sweeping the table clean.

Good. It was about time.

“Li Ah Da.”

He called his name, then took a bundle from Guan Yue at his side and gently placed it on the table.

“There are thirty taels of silver here, along with a change of clothes. Once you finish this meal, have Director Guan escort you out of the government office.”

“I have also already drafted the public notice declaring you ‘released without charge.'”

“From this moment on, you are no longer a condemned prisoner, but an innocent and free man.”

His words were sincere and natural, as though that truly were the case…

Yet Ah Da shuddered from head to toe as he listened, jolted awake as if from a dream.

He gave a violent tremble, and his chopsticks fell to the floor.

“My lord, you… what kind of joke is this?”

The smile on Ren Fengjue’s face did not fade. “What kind of man do you take me for? Why would I joke with you?”

Ah Da immediately knelt on the floor. “My lord, I am a condemned prisoner. I killed someone…”

“You cannot just let me go like this…”

A chill entered Ren Fengjue’s smile. “In that case, tell me how you killed them that day.”

Ah Da confessed at once. “That day, I dragged Liu Shi into a grove. I intended to… force myself on her!”

“She screamed and struggled with all her might, and the two children were crying beside us too. I was afraid their voices were too loud and that passersby would hear them, so I simply picked up a stone beside me and smashed them to death…”

“Wrong.”

Ren Fengjue slowly shook his head. “In your statement that day, the murder weapon you described was not a stone, but a sharp, thorny piece of wood.”

Ah Da froze.

Ren Fengjue asked again, “Think carefully. How many times did you stab Liu Shi with that piece of wood before she died?”

“I smashed… smashed her five or six times. Her head was split open and covered in blood…”

“Wrong again!”

Ren Fengjue’s voice gradually turned cold and grim. “There were no wounds on her head. Her chest was pierced through by a sharpened piece of wood, and she died from excessive blood loss.”

“How could that be?”

In an instant, Ah Da fell into confusion. He muttered under his breath, “She was smashed to death!”
“Think again.”

Ren Fengjue’s voice grew colder, and with it came an overwhelming authority. “Was she stabbed to death, or was she beaten to death?”

“Beaten… stabbed…”

Ah Da felt his mind go completely blank.

The “confession” he had repeated countless times half a year ago began to blur.

Panic, confusion, terror, doubt.

He could no longer tell them apart…

But Ren Fengjue had no intention of letting him off. Enunciating each word, he said, “You are not the murderer at all.”

“I am the murderer!”

Ah Da lay prostrate on the floor, utterly losing control as he nearly screamed, “I am the murderer, my lord! Please, stop asking. Lock me back in the dungeon…”

Ren Fengjue rose and slowly walked over to him.

“This official now asks you formally: who truly killed Liu Shi of Yan County and her son and daughter?”

“What benefit did that person give you, that you would willingly shoulder all the blame and become his scapegoat?”

“If you answer, I can guarantee your life.”

“If you refuse, I will have you thrown out of the Ministry of Justice Office this instant and announce it to the world.”

“When that time comes, you should know better than I what fate awaits you, shouldn’t you?”

Ah Da’s face drained of all color.

Having come this far, of course he was not afraid to die.

But what was more terrifying than death was fear of the unknown.

He knew that if he were declared innocent and released, “that person” would never let him go.

More importantly, his family would die because of it too.

His only path was death-death on the execution ground, death in the dungeon, or else…

The thought flashed through his mind, and he had no more hesitation.

He slammed himself desperately toward the wall beside him. But the death he expected never came. A force from behind hauled him back, sending his entire body flying the other way.

Ah Da crashed heavily to the ground, dizzy and seeing stars.

Ren Fengjue pinned him underfoot, then reached down and gripped his jaw to keep him from biting off his tongue.

“Li Ah Da, before me, you have only one choice-to tell the truth.”

“I, Ren Fengjue, keep my word. Since I have made you a promise, I will see it done.”

“If you could trust ‘that person,’ why not trust me just this once?”

With death beyond his reach and escape impossible, Ah Da looked at the young man before him, upright and incorruptible, and finally gave in.

“I’ll talk…”

“The one who killed Liu Shi was the Prefect of Shuntian-Zheng Daoyuan.”

“He… threatened me with the lives of my entire family and forced me to take the blame.”

“Lord Ren, it doesn’t matter if I die, but my family’s lives… I can only entrust them to you!”

Ren Fengjue released him at once and turned to instruct Guan Yue, who stood nearby. “You know what to do, don’t you?”

Guan Yue nodded hurriedly. “This subordinate understands. I’ll see to it immediately.”

After nightfall, inside the Shuntian Prefect’s Mansion, Zheng Daoyuan listened to the news his aide had brought from the capital dungeon and promptly collapsed into a chair.

“It’s over. If Ren Fengjue finds out about this, everything is over.”

The aide was deeply uneasy. “Given the situation, the only option is to see it through to the end. We must find someone reliable and send him into the Ministry of Justice!”

Zheng Daoyuan knew there was no other way. He simply waved a hand.

“Do it. Make it clean. As for his family, leave no survivors.”

“Yes.”

After the aide left, Zheng Daoyuan still could not settle his mind. He began pacing back and forth across the room.

Suddenly, there was another knock at the door.

A figure stood outside.

“Who is it?”

The person did not answer.

Zheng Daoyuan was already agitated and gave it no further thought. He strode forward and yanked the door open.

But by the light under the eaves, he saw a face both familiar and strangely unsettling.

“It’s… it’s you?”

His voice was filled with disbelief.

The newcomer curved their lips in a smile. “I need to borrow something of yours.”