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

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the county government office was deserted. Last night, it was crowded with runners and clerks, shadows lingering, candlelight ablaze, but this morning, only a few runners were left on duty, and the occasional cough made the place seem particularly empty.

Zhang Jingwei sat at his desk, his fingertips tapping gently on the tabletop as his gaze swept over the mountain of documents—these were the case files Huang Liang had compiled overnight. He flipped open a volume at random. The ink was still fresh, clearly having been copied not long ago. He frowned slightly and looked up at Huang Liang, who was standing there.

"You stayed up all night just to show me this?"

Huang Liang's eyes were tinged with dark blue, and there were a few ink stains on the cuffs of his official robes, clearly having not slept all night. He saluted and said, "Your Excellency, although it's not all, it's enough to punish you!"

Zhang Jingwei sneered and slammed the case file shut. "There's nothing related to the three major families. Huang Liang, are you scared too?"

Huang Liang's expression froze for a moment, then he smiled bitterly, "Sir, I'm not afraid. Although the three major families control most of Gaoyang's industries, they are not criminals. They just helped Xiao Kewei or the former county magistrate..."

"Convenient?" Zhang Jingwei slammed the table, causing a few drops of water to splash out of the teacup. "That's bribery! If they make it convenient, how do you expect the people to view the government?!"

Huang Liang was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Well... Your Excellency, I suggest that you deal with the Jiacun Kiln Camp case first. Fang Yue is imprisoned without any charges, and the procedure is untenable."

Zhang Jingwei's eyes flickered as he heard this, as if he had been reminded of something. He slowly leaned back in his chair, tapping the armrest with his fingers, and said thoughtfully, "Yeah, I forgot about him."

He stood up, straightened his official robe, and said in a deep voice, "Then take them to the lobby first!"

Huang Liang cupped his hands and replied, "Yes!"

……

Fang Yue was dragged in by two burly officers, held by his arms. His frail body resembled a withered leaf in the autumn wind. The collar of his prison uniform was askew, revealing a fresh whip mark on his collarbone, still oozing blood.

"Hurry up!" The officer pushed him hard on the lower back.

Zhang Jingwei sat in the hall with a gloomy face, his eyes fixed on Fang Yue below. He saw that Fang Yue seemed to have aged ten years overnight. He used to be full of energy but now he looked haggard. This made Zhang Jingwei feel angry.

Zhang Jingwei slammed the gavel and shouted angrily, "Who ordered you to torture him? He's a student. How could you be so reckless and beat him like this?"

Seeing this, the jailer knelt on the ground and tremblingly explained, "Sir, please calm down! The prisoners who enter the prison must be beaten with twenty strokes of the cane. Otherwise, if they still have the strength, they might rebel!"

Zhang Jingwei frowned even more upon hearing this. He glared at the prison boss and said sternly, "You...are you the leader of the strong squad?"

The jailer kowtowed quickly and said, "It is indeed my humble servant! Sir, please rest assured, I am definitely not Xiao Kewei's man!"

Zhang Jingwei snorted coldly, clearly dissatisfied with the jailer's explanation. However, he didn't want to dwell on it any further, so he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll deal with this matter with you later!"

In fact, Zhang Jingwei originally just wanted to let Fang Yue stay in jail for a few days to teach him a lesson and make him remember it. However, he did not expect that the jailer would be so cruel and beat Fang Yue so badly.

Zhang Jingwei looked at Fang Yue's pitiful appearance, and the anger in his heart subsided a little. He said slowly, "Fang Yue, please raise your head."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yue slowly raised his head. There were still traces of beating on his face, and his eyes revealed a hint of fear and guilt.

Zhang Jingwei's heart softened upon seeing this. He sighed and asked, "Fang Yue, how much salary did you ask Junxing for?"

Fang Yue hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "Go back to the boss, a full twenty thousand strings of cash."

Zhang Jingwei's expression instantly turned serious. He asked, "What about the money?"

Fang Yue remained silent, just lowered his head, as if he didn't dare to face Zhang Jingwei's questioning.

Zhang Jingwei's face was as gloomy as water. He stared at Fang Yue intently and said sternly, "Let me ask you again, do you know anything about the incident in Jiacun where someone was maliciously beaten by the people from the kiln camp when he was asking for his wages?"

Fang Yue shuddered, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He stammered, "I... know."

Huang Liang, who was standing by, saw this and kindly reminded him, "Mr. Fang, you're asking for death by answering the master like this. Twenty thousand strings of cash is a huge sum of money, more than enough to beat you to death!"

Fang Yue's face was as pale as paper, and his lips trembled as he said, "Boss, I... I know I was wrong. But I want to ask, if I accept the punishment, will my uncle not be implicated?"

Zhang Jingwei snorted coldly and said, "The manager of the kiln camp is your uncle, and you actually want to take the blame for him!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Yue suddenly raised his head, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes. He said loudly, "Sir, when I was young, my father went into the army and disappeared without a trace. My mother also cruelly abandoned me and ran off with someone else. It was my grandmother who took me in and raised me with great difficulty. But after I passed the examination to become a student, she passed away. Later, it was my uncle who took over the burden of raising me. Although he is over 40, he has not yet married. It is all because of this burden! I once vowed to repay my uncle for raising me."

Zhang Jingwei couldn't help but feel a little moved after hearing Fang Yue's words, but he suppressed his emotions and said sternly: "Then you shouldn't use my money to repay him!"

Fang Yue fell to her knees with a thud, kowtowed repeatedly, and sobbed, "I know I was wrong. I... I plead guilty and accept the punishment!"

Zhang Jingwei looked at Fang Yue and sighed in his heart. He waved his hand helplessly and said, "You...Alas! Forget it, bring Chen Laowu in as well."

"Bring Chen Laowu!"

As soon as the yamen runners finished shouting, Chen Laowu came in with square steps. His prison uniform was clean and tidy, and even his hair was combed meticulously. The prison warden following behind him was smiling widely, looking like a real slave.

Zhang Jingwei narrowed his eyes and gently rubbed his fingers on the gavel.

"Kneel down!" Huang Liang shouted loudly.

Chen Laowu then knelt down reluctantly, his knees still three inches from the ground.

Zhang Jingwei suddenly asked, "Team Leader, how much silver did you take from him?"

The hall was completely silent. The jailer's face turned pale and he fell to his knees. "Sir, please understand. I..."

"I'll ask you again! If you answer wrong, I'll make you lose your head!" Zhang Jingwei's voice was as cold as ice. "How much did you collect?"

The jailer trembled like a sieve and took out a purse from his pocket: "Twenty, twenty taels..."

The silver coins fell onto the blue brick floor with a crisp sound. Zhang Jingwei sneered, turned to look at Chen Laowu and said, "It's OK to bribe the jailer to avoid the beating, but why did you go so far as to use such harsh measures on your nephew?"

Fang Yue raised his head suddenly, and the shackles rattled.

Chen Laowu stiffened his neck and asked, "What is the origin of this, sir?"

Zhang Jingwei raised an eyebrow and looked at Chen Laowu with disdain. "What are you talking about? Do you think your life is worth 20 taels?" Then, with a determined look on his face, he said, "I see your nephew's injuries are caused by a lot of lead. I've been in jail twice in Yunzhou, and I know that the killing stick can be filled with lead. Only those who receive 'special care' use that stick. The stick itself is nothing special, but with lead added, it can kill. You wanted the jailer to beat Fang Yue to death, but the jailer has been a police officer all his life and knows that if someone is killed during interrogation, he will also lose his head, so he spared your good nephew's life."

Chen Laowu's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly pointed at Fang Yue: "It's all because of this evil creature..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Jingwei interrupted harshly, "Just now Fang Yue was trying to take the blame for you, and you, as an uncle, are actually trying to put your own nephew to death?"

The hall was completely silent at the moment, but outside it was bustling with activity. Before they knew it, the outside was already crowded with people.