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Chapter 74 It’s Him

Upon hearing this, Cao Tianbao stood up and walked out.

Lu Ze must have been feeling suffocated after such a long time, so he stood up and followed.

The others left the living room one after another. At this time, the boatman had been brought back by Lu Zhang's men. He was standing trembling in the yard. When he saw these nobles in gorgeous clothes coming out, he was so scared that he fell to his knees.

"Stand up and speak!" Cao Tianbao shouted, "Don't kneel there as if you've been bullied!
I ask you, do you recognize who is in that portrait?"

Lu Zhang's guard next to him was also very perceptive. When he heard Cao Tianbao's question, he immediately unfolded the portrait he had just held and placed it in front of the boatman so that he could take a closer look.

The boatman trembled as he looked at the portrait and shook his head: "Your Excellency, I don't recognize the person in this portrait."

When Cao Tianbao heard this, the gloomy expression on his face finally relaxed.

But before he could feel happy about what the boatman said, he heard the boatman continue, "I only know that he often hired me to row him across the river, and he was always very generous, so I was quite impressed."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Zhi forced himself to cheer up and sit up straight. Cao Tianbao's brows furrowed immediately.

Jingzhao Yin thought about it for a long time when he was outside just now, and felt that it would be better for him to ask about the matter clearly in front of everyone.

He had not known about this matter before, and no one had reported it to him at all. As a result, the matter was brought directly to Cao Tianbao. Regardless of whether Cao Chenfeng really had committed adultery and killed someone, he, as the Jingzhao Yin, was somewhat responsible for the failure to supervise.

So the person was brought back by Prince Yi Lu Zhang's people. No one can say that Jingzhao Prefecture deliberately shielded him. If I stand up now, no matter what the result is, at least I should show Jingzhao Prefecture's attitude of enforcing the law impartially, so as to avoid being held accountable later.

After thinking this over, he immediately stood up and asked the boatman loudly, "Where did the man in the portrait hire you to take him?"

"My Lord... He always asked me to wait for him at the ferry at night, and then row him to an embroidered building on the other side of the river. Then I would wait down there, and when he came out, I would send him back the same way.

The money this man gave me each time was more than what others would get by taking the boat back and forth several times, so I used to look forward to him hiring me to take him there.

But...but I haven't seen him for several days."

"The last time you saw him was also in that embroidery building?" Jingzhao Yin asked again.

"Yes, it's that embroidery building. Apart from that place, he has never asked me to take him anywhere else!

But in the past, he would take a long time to come down after going up, and sometimes I would have dozed off on the boat for a while before he came. But that day, he came out in a hurry in less than an incense stick of time, and asked me to row the boat away quickly.

I didn't know what was going on. Anyway, he gave me money and I didn't want to ask questions, so I hurriedly rowed the boat to send him back.

I haven't seen him since then, and I just found out that someone died in the embroidery building... My Lord, I just collected the boat fare, and I really don't know that person, nor are we an accomplice. Please don't punish me!"

It was obvious that the boatman was truly frightened, his voice filled with tears as he spoke: "My wife told me before not to make this kind of money, saying that people who go out to meet people late at night are probably not good people. What if something happens-"

"Okay, okay! Just answer whatever you are asked, and don't say anything if they don't ask you!" Jingzhao Yin saw that the more the boatman spoke, the more Cao Tianbao's face looked like a storm was coming. He was so scared that he quickly told the boatman to shut up, for fear that if he continued to talk nonsense without knowing the truth, Cao Tianbao would chop him to death on the spot, but it would be bad if he implicated himself.

After hearing what the boatman said, Cao Tianbao was indeed furious, but after all, he had been from the battlefield to the court for so many years, and he was not a brainless and reckless man.

Although Zhuang Zhi had accused him of many crimes with clear evidence, his nephew Cao Chenfeng now seemed to be a person who had committed adultery and murdered people to silence them, so that every word the boatman said seemed to be cursing Cao Chenfeng without naming him.

But suspicion is just suspicion after all. If he punishes the boatman out of anger before the crime is proven, he will be taking the blame for his nephew himself.

"My Lords, you all heard it! The boatman did recognize the person in the portrait, and that person did go to the embroidery building to see my daughter. He even murdered my daughter a few nights ago. Doesn't that make everything right?!
"Could it be that, just because that man is the general's nephew, you're all going to pretend you didn't hear anything?" Zhuang Zhi shouted at the top of his lungs, as if he had completely disregarded life and death, and was determined to seek justice for his daughter even if he was hacked to death on the spot.

When the boatman arrived, he only knew that someone from the general's side was questioning him. He never expected that someone wanted to identify the general's nephew as the murderer, and he was the witness. He was so scared that his bones went weak, and he fell to the ground, crawling and trembling, unable to get up.

Jingzhao Yin was also having a headache at this moment.

Things had come to this point, and he certainly knew what the next step should be. However, looking at Cao Tianbao who was on the verge of anger, he didn't dare to say it out loud.

So he turned to King Yi Lu Zhang for help.

Looking at the whole world, Cao Tianbao has only two people he never dares to disobey: Emperor Jin and Duke Yan.

He would be quite respectful to other princes and emperors when he was happy, but he might not give them face when he was really angry.

In comparison, Lu Zhang is the most reliable candidate. After all, he carries the face of both Emperor Jin and Duke Yan. If he says something himself, Cao Tianbao will turn against him on the spot, and if Lu Zhang says something, it may be useful.

Lu Zhang also understood what the look in Jingzhao Yin's eyes meant, but his grandfather had just hinted that he should try not to speak, which made him feel a little embarrassed now.

But he couldn't stand Jingzhao Yin's expression of seeking help, and after hesitating for a while, he said to Cao Tianbao: "General, whether it's a secret meeting between a man and a woman or murder, we can't just listen to one side of the story.

Although Zhuang Zhi's daughter is dead now, your nephew Cao Chenfeng is still alive and well. The dead cannot speak, but the living can.

Why don't we call him out and confront him face to face, then maybe the misunderstanding can be cleared up?

"How about we catch the real culprit in Jingzhao Prefecture? This will not only restore Cao Chenfeng's reputation, but also give an explanation to the village boss.

　Thanks to book friend 20230511121704767 for your monthly ticket!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)