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

In the side hall of the second court of the county government, the atmosphere suddenly shifted from the initial official inquiry to an eerie place filled with personal grudges and the mystery of old cases.

Chang San was brought in. He looked to be in his early thirties, with dark, rough skin, the appearance of someone who had toiled for years. His eyes held the fear of a commoner meeting an official, but upon closer inspection, one could also detect a subtle shrewdness and evasiveness. He bowed deeply to the swollen-faced, disheveled "official" seated at the head of the table: "This humble commoner, Chang San, greets Your Honor!"

Zhang Jingwei waved his hand, his words somewhat slurred due to the swelling and pain in his cheek: "No need for formalities. I am not wearing my official robes today, so you can answer while standing." He tried to maintain his official demeanor, but with his multicolored face, the effect was greatly diminished.

Chang San hurriedly said, "Thank you, sir!" He straightened up, his gaze cautiously turning to Zhang Jingwei, as if trying to recognize something. When his eyes fell on Zhang Jingwei's face, which, though distorted, still vaguely revealed his features, he was visibly stunned for a moment, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes. He blurted out, "Sir... how... how is it you? Young Master Zhang...?" The address of "Young Master" came out very naturally, as if they were old acquaintances.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ergou, who was standing to the side, suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze piercing Chang San like a knife: "Hmm?!"

Zhang Jingwei himself was taken aback. He struggled to lift his swollen eyelids and sized up Chang San: "Heh heh, interesting. I've been beaten into this state, and you still recognize me. You call me 'Young Master Zhang'... Could it be that you've seen me in Yunzhou?"

Chang San seemed to realize his slip of the tongue, his eyes widening in panic. He quickly lowered his head, saying, "This humble servant... this humble servant dares not presume to associate with you, sir. It's just... just many years ago in Yunzhou, I had the good fortune to... meet you once." He then abruptly changed the subject, asking in a probing tone, "Then... that lady... is she a young lady from the Huangfu family?"

Zhang Jingwei frowned, his tone displeased: "You're a strange person! I'm the one asking you a question! And you're asking me the same question! Who my wife is is none of your business!" Suspicion arose in his heart.

Wang Ergou seemed to remember something. He stepped forward, staring intently at Chang San's face, his voice icy: "You... are the Chang brothers from Peng County?"

Chang San's body stiffened visibly, and his eyes were filled with wariness and doubt as he looked at Wang Ergou: "You... how did you know? You're also... from the Marquis's mansion?"

Wang Ergou didn't answer his question, but continued to press him, his tone filled with suppressed anger: "Chang San! I'm asking you! Was the strange fire at the Marquis's mansion last year your doing?! Back then, the head steward of the Marquis's mansion, Wang Heng, had very close ties with you, didn't he?!"

Upon hearing this, not only did Chang San's expression change drastically, but Zhang Jingwei and Yuan Liang, who was taking notes, also showed surprise.

"You...you..." Chang San pointed at Wang Ergou, his voice trembling, clearly having been hit where it hurt.

Zhang Jingwei was a little confused by the sudden accusation. He rubbed his throbbing temples and frowned as he asked, "Wait... Er Gou, I'm confused. What's going on?"

Wang Ergou turned to Zhang Jingwei and bowed, saying, "Young Master, this man, along with his two missing brothers, Chang Da and Chang Er, were once well-known 'undercover agents' in the Yunzhou area, specializing in shady dealings. Wang Heng, the former steward of the Marquis's mansion, secretly hired them to do many dirty jobs for him! When our woodshed caught fire in Yunzhou, I secretly investigated afterwards, and the clues vaguely pointed to the Chang brothers! However, at that time, they were elusive and under Wang Heng's protection, so we couldn't capture them. My guards have also dealt with their men a few times since then; these guys have some underhanded tricks and are very slippery!"

Upon hearing Wang Ergou reveal his past misdeeds, Chang San was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "No, no, no! Young Master Zhang... Lord Zhang! We're innocent! We brothers... we brothers were just doing our jobs for money, but we had our bottom line! Back then... back then Steward Wang only asked us to... to 'teach them a lesson,' to create some chaos, he didn't say anything about killing or arson! That fire... that fire was indeed started by us, but my eldest brother said that we should only burn down the uninhabited woodshed in the side courtyard, and absolutely not harm anyone! And... and we only did it once! After helping Steward Wang transport a 'special shipment,' we retired from our life of crime and left Yunzhou to return to our hometown of Yingzhou! We really haven't done anything else immoral! Your Honor, please see the truth!"

Zhang Jingwei was already agitated by this sudden resurrection of old grudges, and coupled with the pain from his injuries, his patience was wearing thin. He slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair and shouted impatiently, "Enough! Let's leave the old scores aside for now! Chang San, you've been beating the drum to plead your case, and you insist on seeing me and my wife. What is it you want?! How exactly did your two brothers disappear?! Tell me the truth! If you continue to dodge the question and conceal the truth, don't blame me for using torture!"

Startled by Zhang Jingwei's angry shout, Chang San trembled. Knowing that he might be in real trouble if he didn't get to the point soon, he quickly composed himself and began to speak:

"Reporting to...Reporting to Your Excellency! This is what happened. After leaving Yunzhou, the three of us brothers worked for a wealthy family on the outskirts of Yingzhou, looking after their estate. We had a decent job and lived a stable life. About...about two months ago, we went to the county town on business and stopped for a meal at a secluded inn..."

He swallowed hard, lowering his voice with the tension of discovering a secret: "The innkeeper looks to be around thirty, still quite attractive, and very warm and welcoming. But my eyes, Chang San's eyes, have been trained in the past to see into people's very bones! The more I look at her, the more I feel that her smile, the way she walks... she looks so much like... so much like the person on the wanted poster!"

Yuan Liang stopped writing and looked up sharply: "What arrest warrant? Explain yourself!"

Chang San quickly replied, "It's the official arrest warrant issued by the government! The portrait might be a bit distorted, but the features are clearly described! It's...it's that courtesan Ningxiang!"

"Ningxiang?!"

These two words were like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in the side hall!

Zhang Jingwei abruptly straightened his back in his chair, completely ignoring the excruciating pain in his ribs. A chilling glint flashed from the narrow slit of his swollen face! Yuan Liang, standing beside him, also abruptly stopped writing, looking up at Chang San with incredibly sharp eyes. Wang Ergou and Qian Ming clenched their fists instantly, their killing intent palpable.

Zhang Jingwei's voice was hoarse and distorted with excitement and anger. He stared intently at Chang San: "Are you sure... it's her?! Are you sure?!"

Chang San was terrified by the sudden and terrifying aura, nodding repeatedly: "Absolutely...I'm sure! Sir! I'd stake my life on it! Although she changed her appearance and hairstyle, and her looks have changed quite a bit, her eyes, the subtle movements of her mouth...it's exactly the same as described on the wanted poster! Back when I was in Yunzhou, I had a very 'deep' impression of this 'famous' Ningxiang girl!"

Zhang Jingwei suppressed the urge to rush out immediately and asked urgently, "And then?! You caught her? Where is she now?!"

Chang San's face showed a mixture of regret and fear: "We...we brothers discussed it and felt that this was a great achievement. Capturing her would not only bring us a reward from the government, but maybe...maybe we could even get a favor from you, sir. So, we found an opportunity and tied her up. We were thinking...we were thinking of directly escorting her to Gaoyang and presenting her to you for judgment, wouldn't that be better?"

"So you brought her to Gaoyang?" Zhang Jingwei's heart raced.

“Yes…yes. We were very careful on the way, avoiding the main roads. About a month ago, we arrived in Gaoyang. That noon, we reached a section of a canal and were exhausted, so we rested in the woods by the bank, leaving Ningxiang, whom we had tied up, nearby.” Chang San’s voice began to tremble. “Who…who would have thought! We only rested for a short while! For some reason, the upstream sluice gates suddenly opened, releasing water! The current was rapid and fierce, and we were completely unprepared! I was swept directly into the canal by a huge wave, choking and dizzy, and barely managed to grab onto the rocks on the bank to climb out…”

His face showed extreme fear and lingering dread: "When I went back to look... my eldest brother, my second brother, and... and Ningxiang who was tied up... they were all gone! There was only the rushing canal water! I searched downstream for a long time, shouting until my throat was hoarse, but I couldn't find them! They're nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead, sir!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingwei felt a surge of rage rise to his head. He glared at Chang San, speechless for a long time, his chest heaving violently. His enemy, Ningxiang, whom he had painstakingly schemed against and even risked everything to capture, had actually vanished right under his nose, led by these three idiots, and then… disappeared along with him in a bizarre incident involving the release of water from a canal?!

This is simply... simply like an absurd joke!

Qian Ming, who was standing to the side, couldn't hold back any longer. He pointed at Chang San and said angrily, "Young Master! I think this guy is talking nonsense! One minute he's a former arsonist, the next he's captured Ningxiang, and then they were all swept away by the water? What a coincidence! He's clearly playing you for a fool! Let me take him back to the jail and give him a good beating, then we'll see if he confesses!"

Although Yuan Liang also had many doubts, he immediately stopped him: "Qian Ming! No! Without solid evidence, how can we use torture to extract a confession? There are still many doubts in this case..."

"Enough!" Zhang Jingwei abruptly interrupted Yuan Liang. He gripped the armrest of his chair and slowly stood up. Though his movements were stiff from the pain, the suppressed rage about to erupt seemed to lower the temperature of the entire side hall. He stared at Chang San, who was kneeling and trembling on the ground, his voice as cold as a winter's wind:

"Chang San, I'm giving you one last chance. If you can tell me where Ningxiang is, I might be able to forgive your past misdeeds in light of your merit in capturing Ningxiang, and even give you a generous reward so you can live a worry-free life."

His tone suddenly shifted, becoming as sharp as a knife:

"But! If you dare to utter a single lie, conceal a single word, and try to play these deceptive and ambiguous tricks with me... don't blame me for showing no mercy with the firecrackers and whips in my yamen! I will show you what it means to wish you were dead!"

Chang San was terrified by Zhang Jingwei's almost murderous gaze. Tears streamed down his face as he kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Honor! Your Honor! Every word I've said is true! If I've uttered even a single lie, may I be struck by lightning! I truly haven't hidden anything!"

Seeing him like this, Zhang Jingwei felt a sharp pang in his heart, a string called "Ningxiang" plucked. His reason teetered on the brink of collapse under the onslaught of anger and old grudges. He simply couldn't believe things could be so "coincidental"!

"Every word is true?" Zhang Jingwei laughed in fury, the smile appearing particularly ferocious on his swollen face. "Good! Very good! Wang Ergou!"

"Here!" Wang Ergou responded and stepped forward.

"Drag him away!" Zhang Jingwei said, each word uttered clearly, his voice forced through clenched teeth. "Give him fifty strokes as a warning! Let him sober up and think about how he's going to tell me the truth!"

"My lord! You mustn't!" Yuan Liang hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him. "There are many suspicious points in this case. Although what Chang San said is absurd, it may not be entirely false. If we use torture now and kill or maim him, the clues will be completely cut off! Besides, abusing torture is against the law, my lord!"

Zhang Jingwei suddenly turned his head, his one barely open eye bloodshot, filled with a fury and obsession that Yuan Liang had never seen before: "Hit him!"

At this moment, all notions of legal procedures and the presumption of innocence were drowned out by his deep-seated hatred for Ningxiang and the sense of being fooled by Chang San's bizarre explanation. He only wanted the truth! Even if it meant using the most drastic means! He would not tolerate any mistakes or deception in this matter!