The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Sun Shan stared at the three people who were crying out for injustice, not believing a word they said.

It's a long way to go, are you going to Chenzhou Prefecture to work illegally?

This reason is too ridiculous.

How did these three people who had never traveled far come to Yuanlu?

This is Daqian. You can't just buy a ticket and go from one place to another.

You need to walk out bit by bit on your own two feet. If you have that kind of perseverance, you might as well become a salt merchant. You'll be thrown into jail anyway if you're caught.

Being a salt merchant allows you to pursue wealth and fame at a risky cost, but working illegally means you can't even get enough to eat and live.

Sun Shan listened and then walked out of the prison.

Inspector Liang and others also followed out.

Inspector Liang said, "Sir, the words of these three thieves cannot be trusted."

After he finished speaking, he took out two daggers and whispered, "Sir, look at these daggers. They are so sharp and worth a lot of money. No hunter in the mountains can afford such daggers, unless these three are tiger hunters."

After a pause, he added: "If you are a tiger hunter, you don't have to go to Chenzhou Prefecture to carry sacks."

The so-called tiger killer is literally a hunter who specializes in killing tigers.

If you're exceptionally skilled, killing a tiger can certainly make you rich. Tiger meat and bones fetch a fortune, and a tiger skin is worth even more.

Some brave hunters can become big tigers and make a lot of money. Of course, such hunters are very rare.

During the Republic of China period, there was a strange man named He Yewu in Hunan. He killed 305 tigers in his lifetime and was a professional tiger killer.

I heard it all depends on a secret medicine applied to the crossbow arrows. Once a tiger is shot, it will lick the wound with its tongue to relieve the itching. However, during the licking process, the secret medicine will also enter the tiger's mouth and throat. After this, the tiger's mouth and throat will swell up and become larger, until even the trachea is completely blocked, and the tiger suffocates to death.

He Yewu relied on this secret medicine to kill tigers and live a life of feasting and drinking.

As for the secret medicine for fighting tigers, it was eventually lost with He Yewu's death.

Wuling Mountain is covered with dense and lush vegetation, and is steep and dangerous, so it is normal to find tigers there.

But these three thieves only mentioned that they were hunters and did not mention hunting tigers at all, so it was impossible for them to afford such an exquisite dagger.

Inspector Liang brought over three more large swords and said, "Sir, look at these three swords. They are all made with the same exquisite craftsmanship. The blades are very sharp. You can tell they are not cheap."

Sun Shan asked, "Besides the daggers and swords, what else did you find on them?"

Inspector Liang replied, "I still have five taels of silver and twenty copper coins, nothing else."

The three thieves said that they had just arrived in Yuanlu County and rested in a cave for one night, leaving all the things they had with them in the cave.

I went into the city today because I didn't need to check my travel permit or household registration, so I bravely came here to buy some daily necessities.

Because it was the Lantern Festival, we watched the lanterns before going back.

Sun Shan thought for a moment and said, "Separate the three men and ask them where they got the knives. Find out how many days it took them to reach Yuanlu County. Furthermore, we need to ask what the mountain road from Yongshun Prefecture is like."

Inspector Liang responded, "Yes, sir."

So the three of them were questioned by Inspector Liang and Clerk Xia respectively.

They were not questioned separately before because after a night, the three thieves must have discussed their confessions.

Now let's ask them separately, focusing on the details. No matter how much they discuss, there will definitely be discrepancies in the details.

After Sun Shan handed the prisoner over to Inspector Liang, he returned to the yamen.

He said to County Magistrate Wang and Chief Secretary Wu, "Check the recent notices to see if there are any wanted notices for human traffickers, bandits, murderers, robbers, etc. See if you can match them up with the three of them."

The only thing that is certain at the moment is that the three strong men are from outside the area. As for whether they are from Yongshun Prefecture, Sun Shan cannot tell. It would be best to let a local person listen.

However, Yuanlu County is neither a commercial transit station nor a military stronghold, so few people from other places come here.

County Magistrate Wang asked curiously, "Sir, do you suspect these three people are wanted criminals?"

His eyes twinkled as he looked at Sun Shan, his eyes full of anticipation.

Sun Shan nodded and said, "I don't know if he's a wanted criminal, but he's definitely not a good person."

Wu Zhubo agreed with this view and echoed, "Sir, from what I just heard from the three prisoners, it's obvious they are lying. Even if they are looking for work, they are out now. If they want to go, they should go to Changsha Prefecture, why would they go to Chenzhou Prefecture?"

Wu Zhubo thought that since he was already on a dark road, he might as well go all the way to the most prosperous Changsha Prefecture. What was the point of working in Chenzhou Prefecture?

Sun Shan asked the two to help check the court bulletin, the wanted notice, or the announcement from Chenzhou Prefecture to see if there was any news about the three people.

I searched and searched, word by word, but none of the information matched.

County Magistrate Wang sighed and said, "Sir, there is no relevant information in Chenzhou Prefecture. It seems that even if these three people committed a crime, they did not commit it in Chenzhou Prefecture."

This reminded Wu Zhubo next door: "Sir, could it be that these three people committed a crime in Yongshun Prefecture and fled to Yuanlu County?"

Although Chenzhou Prefecture and Yongshun Prefecture are neighbors, the information is different.

If these three people committed a crime in Yongshun Prefecture, Yuanlu County would really not know about it.

At this time, County Magistrate Wang took a step forward mysteriously and whispered, "Sir, it seems that only torture can make the three prisoners confess the truth. We won't get anything out of them by interrogating them like this."

Upon hearing what County Magistrate Wang said, Wu Zhubo agreed as if it was normal: "Yes, sir, torture is the only option. These three thieves look like criminals, but now they claim to be innocent. Humph, if we don't torture them, they won't confess."

When it comes to torture, Sun Shan always just talks about it and never really uses it.

The ideological scars from my previous life were so deep that I became numb when I heard about torture.

Sun Shan was kind-hearted and soft-hearted, and he really didn't dare to use torture at will.

So he said calmly, "Unless it's absolutely necessary, torture shouldn't be used. If it gets out that a confession was forced upon you, it would tarnish the image of the government."

County Magistrate Wang and Chief Secretary Wu couldn't help but look at each other and secretly rolled their eyes: When you were killing the bandits, you didn't even show mercy?

Lord Sun is such a good pretender. If no one is around, he'll be the first one to be tortured!

After a while, Inspector Liang and Clerk Xia came in.

Inspector Liang said, "Sir, the three men insisted that they found the three knives and two daggers in the mountains. Since then, they have been using them for self-defense."

Then he continued, "But the three of them had different answers about how they crossed Wuling Mountain, how many days they walked, and where they passed. These details are full of loopholes. My lord, there must be something wrong with these three men."

After a pause, Inspector Liang asked again, "Sir, do you want to be punished?"

Xia Dianli also echoed: "Sir, they won't cry until they see the coffin. I believe that only torture will make them confess the truth."