Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

After the two of them had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhang Jingwei walked in slowly.

Zhang Jingwei first saluted, then sat on the ground and lowered his posture a lot.

Zhang Jingwei said, "I'm sure you two know you're not here to go to jail. I just want to start a conversation. I hope you can give me some advice."

Zhao Hao spoke first, "Master Zhang has been so generous as to spare me from the suffering of imprisonment. I am willing to cooperate with you."

Zhu Banshan also agreed, "Yes, my uncle and I are originally in a master-servant relationship. If you need me to do anything, just tell me directly."

Zhang Jingwei slammed the table and stood up, saying, "You two, be frank. Wang Heng and Wang Huang, those two bastards, framed me and put me in jail. I want to know some of their shameful deeds! I want to let them know the consequences of offending me."

“…” The two of them fell silent for a moment.

Zhang Jingwei then said, "I promise you that I can forgive all your crimes and give you a lot of rewards. As long as you are willing to ask for it."

The two remained silent.

As time passed, Zhang Jingwei's expression changed from expectation to displeasure.

Zhang Jingwei said slowly, "...According to the laws of the Celestial Empire, those who fail to report a crime will be punished as those who conceal it. And considering the crimes of the two Wang brothers, if you conceal it, you will be beaten with a stick! I'll even break your back!"

Zhao Hao swallowed his saliva first and said, "I am of humble status, just an ordinary yamen runner. I have said everything I need to say. This..."

Zhang Jingwei smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. What else do you know? Just tell me as much as you know, as long as you're willing to speak."

But the two of them looked around and didn't say a word.

Zhang Jingwei sighed, and Lu Hui and Liu Yanzhi, who were eavesdropping outside the cell, also sighed.

How could this be judged?

Lu Hui whispered, "Or, let's send him to the torture chamber."

Liu Yanzhi rejected the idea and said, "No, to use the criminal department, we need the seals of the prefect, the deputy governor, and the magistrate."

Liu Yanzhi thought to himself: Didn’t he ask for two cells?

One is decorated very gorgeously, and the other is decorated very shabby.

Moreover, the two cells could not transmit sound, and it took a lot of effort to clear out a cell hall that met the requirements.

Zhang Jingwei is just stalling for time.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The curfew sounded.

Zhang Jingwei waved his long sleeves and shouted angrily, "This young master has no time to play with you. Someone, take Zhu Banshan away!"

Zhu Banshan was shocked. Was he going to be tortured to extract a confession?

Why did they arrest only myself and not Zhao Hao?

The more questions he had in his mind, the more frightened Zhu Banshan became. He shouted, "No, Master Zhang, I really don't know anything. You can't force me to confess."

Two jailers dragged Zhu Banshan into another dark and dilapidated cell.

The cell here was empty, the floor was sticky and damp, there was a strong echo, and there was only a single candlestick that dimly lit it, unlike the luxurious private room just now.

Zhu Banshan shouted for a long time but no one responded, and the echo was so loud that it was scary.

So he leaned against the edge of the cell and waited, and gradually fell asleep.

Zhang Jingwei in the dark looked at him before closing his eyes and calling Lu Hui and Captain Yang.

Captain Yang walked up quickly, kicked open the cell door, grabbed Zhu Banshan and threw him aside, then moved a stool under the dim candlestick.

He shouted to Zhu Banshan, "Get up, get up! The governor will interrogate you personally, and you must tell the truth."

Zhu Banshan knelt there and took a while to come back to his senses.

"Your humble servant pays respects to the Governor!"

Lu Hui said, "Zhu Banshan, answer whatever I ask you. If you tell me even a single lie, I will tear your skin apart."

"Yes!"

"Wang Heng is your brother-in-law?"

"Yes, my parents died early, and my eldest sister raised me. Sister, my brother-in-law is my benefactor."

Lu Hui asked again, "Wang Heng is the housekeeper in the Marquis's mansion. Does he have any contact with Wang Huang?"

Zhu Banshan said, "President Wang is my brother-in-law's cousin, so naturally they have some contact."

……

Then some irrelevant questions were asked.

At the same time, in the luxurious private room, Liu Yanzhi and Zhao Hao were also asking some irrelevant questions.

Until a constable came up to Liu Yanzhi with a bag of money and whispered something in his ear.

Liu Yanzhi suddenly smiled.

"Hahaha, Zhao Hao, there's nothing for you to do here. This is your reward. Go home."

Zhao Hao was still confused and asked, "Sir, what's going on?"

He was released before he could find out the reason, which made me wonder.

Liu Yanzhi handed over the money bag and said, "This case is of great importance, so Governor Lu and I personally interrogated Zhu Banshan. Zhu Banshan has confessed. This case has nothing to do with you, so you can go home."

Zhao Hao smiled, took the purse and thanked him, "Thank you, sir, you are so perceptive."

Liu Yanzhi waved his hand and said, "Go back. If you have any clues, please provide them to me. I will reward you!"

"sure……"

Zhao Hao retreated while bowing, but stopped after taking only two steps.

"My Lord, I suddenly remembered something. It's not a big deal."

Liu Yanzhi's eyes lit up, and he stood up and walked towards Zhao Hao. "Oh? Tell me about it."

Zhao Hao said, "My hometown is in Yaozhuang, eighteen miles south of the city. I went home to visit my mother at the beginning of this month and saw Wang Tongpan and Wang the steward of the Marquis's mansion. However, Lord Wang was not wearing his official uniform, but plain clothes. I guess he was secretly visiting the people, so I didn't approach him to speak."

Liu Yanzhi narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems that Lord Wang really cares about the people! Continue."

Zhao Hao smiled and said, "Later, I asked around in the village and found out that there was a group of strangers who would come to Yaozhuang every now and then, maybe five or six times a month. I couldn't find out more than that."

Liu Yanzhi thought for a while and asked, "Who else have you told about this?"

Zhao Hao shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, I haven't mentioned it to anyone."

Liu Yanzhi's face didn't show any change in expression. He responded coldly and said, "Well, you can go back now. Just keep this matter to yourself."

After bidding farewell to the Tongzhi, Zhao Hao weighed his purse, wanting to see how much was in it. But for some reason, the detention center was either brightly lit or at least had candles to help illuminate it on weekdays, but tonight it was as dark as a dungeon.

Seeing a ball of light in the distance, he walked quickly forward, only to find that the prefect and Zhang Jingwei were interrogating Zhu Banshan.

Seeing his superior, Zhao Hao, he instinctively saluted: "Your humble servant greets the governor."

Lu Hui smiled and said, "It seems that the reward has been obtained. Let's go back."

Zhao Hao bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency, the Governor, and Master Zhang. I will take my leave."

After saying goodbye, Zhao Hao ran out. It was not because he had done anything wrong, but because the pressure from the prefect was too great.

Zhang Jingwei looked at Zhao Hao as he walked away and murmured to Zhu Banshan, "It looks like he has confessed."

In fact, all of this was planned just to let Zhao Hao walk past Zhu Banshan with the money.

When interrogating separately, the only message that needs to be conveyed is that the other party has confessed.

Zhang Jingwei's attack direction was Zhu Banshan.

He not only wanted Zhu Banshan to confess that Wang Heng hired someone to commit arson, but also wanted to get clues about Wang Heng and Wang Huang's corruption and bribery.

……

After a while, Liu Yanzhi entered the cell with two pieces of paper, handed them to Lu Hui, and said, "Zhao Hao has confessed. I don't think Zhu Banshan needs to be tried again."

Lu Hui took a look at it and handed it to Zhang Jingwei.

After taking a look, Zhang Jingwei walked up to Zhu Banshan, grabbed his collar, and shouted, "Are you still going to protect your brother-in-law?"

After Zhu Banshan broke free, he said in confusion, "Master Zhang, I don't understand what you are talking about."

Lu Hui said at this time: "Huh, you actually did such a thing, are you worthy of your sister? Yi San Clan, do you think you and your eldest sister can escape responsibility?"

Until now, he is still being deceived, and Lu Hui deliberately uses the heaviest punishment to scare him.

Liu Yanzhi also added pressure: "It doesn't matter if you don't speak up. Truth will come to light sooner or later. Zhao Hao's testimony is enough to get you into trouble."

Seeing that Zhu Banshan was silent, Lu Hui stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "Forget it. I gave you a chance. Take care of yourself."

After everyone shook their heads and turned to leave, Liu Yanzhi suddenly thought of something.

He said calmly, "Zhu Banshan, if you know everything... let me remind you, Zhao Hao is from Yaozhuang! He knows everything you've done."

Zhu Banshan was immediately shocked when he heard the word "wanted". "What? Please explain clearly, sir, what do you want to do?"

Liu Yanzhi ignored him and blew out the candle, leaving Zhu Banshan alone in the dark.