If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

A middle-aged man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face was staring menacingly at the county magistrate.

"Vice Chief Wu, what are you doing here? What if someone sees you?"

"Hmph, what's there to be afraid of? If that troublemaker dares to gossip, my Axe Gang will make sure he never sees the sun rise again."

Wu Lou's Axe Gang was the largest gang in the capital, with more than a thousand members. It was called the Axe Gang because all its members were equipped with an axe. The Axe Gang was able to rise to prominence in the capital in just a few years mainly because it colluded with the magistrate of the West Market and worked together to almost monopolize the underground industry in the West Market.

"Don't be so arrogant. This is the capital city after all, full of high-ranking officials and nobles."

The magistrate practically roared it out.

In the past year or two, the Axe Gang has grown far beyond the magistrate's control. Their rapid expansion has made them increasingly arrogant, even disregarding the magistrate himself. The reason they wrongly accused Zhou Wu this time was because the Axe Gang also received news of a mysterious wealthy man in the capital, and learned that this wealthy man was actually in the hands of the magistrate of the West Market. How could the Axe Gang let go of such a fat sheep delivered to their door? Thus, the scene at the beginning occurred.

"The gang leader asked me to ask the county magistrate if Zhou Wu's case can be resolved."

Although Wu Lou was very unhappy with the county magistrate, he could only suppress his anger because the other party was an official. He brought up the gang leader, and sure enough, when the other party heard the name of the gang leader, his angry expression immediately calmed down.

"Tell the gang leader that I will handle it and that he need not worry."

"hope so."

Wu Lou simply replied with a curt remark and then left. However, he had already made a mental note of the magistrate's favor and would repay him slowly in the future.

Seeing that the other party had left, the magistrate plopped down in his chair. He now deeply regretted cooperating with and supporting the Axe Gang back then. The Axe Gang was clearly no longer under his control, especially its leader, Wang Hu, whose notoriety had spread far and wide over the years. The magistrate had witnessed Wang Hu's methods firsthand, and his title as magistrate clearly held no deterrent effect over him anymore.

But since we're already on this path, it's too late to regret it now.

--------

The next day.

Zhou Wu was brought before the court again. This time, the magistrate was clearly fully prepared and did not give Zhou Wu any chance to defend himself. He directly questioned the thin man and then asked Zhou Wu whether he would confess or not.

"You audacious suspect, now that we have both witnesses and physical evidence, will you confess or not?"

All morning, Zhou Wu had been listening to the skinny man and the county magistrate putting on a show. He almost burst out laughing. The witness was the skinny man himself, the suspect, and the physical evidence was even more ridiculous—the crossbow bolt he used in self-defense, which he claimed was a murder weapon. A hard-of-hearing night watchman said he overheard Zhou Wu robbing Scarface outside the inn, and that they even had a dog with them. He claimed to have witnessed Zhou Wu kill someone, but couldn't express it clearly.

"Go to hell! Even if you want to frame me, can't you at least put in a little effort?"

"I'm sorry, time is of the essence, there really isn't enough time."

The county magistrate felt a little embarrassed after Zhou Wu's remark and quickly explained, hoping that Zhou Wu could understand.

“Sir, you don’t need to explain to him.”

The clerk, witnessing this scene, wanted nothing more than to slap his master. "You wronged someone and then apologized? Did you leave your brain at home this morning?"

"How dare you! The prisoner still refuses to confess! Come on, give him forty more lashes!"

The magistrate realized what was happening and immediately tried to cover up his embarrassment by ordering severe torture. This tactic always worked; no matter how tough a man was, forty strokes of the rod would leave him half-dead, and he would have no strength left to plead his case.

"You bastards, how dare you? I am the commander of the Qingyang Army, an official appointed by the imperial court. Do you dare to force a confession out of me?"

The situation had become extremely urgent, and Zhou Wu no longer cared about concealing his identity. After all, he couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be punished.

As expected, the scene fell silent as soon as Zhou Wu said this, especially the county magistrate. However, the die was cast and the matter was already set in stone. The magistrate could no longer worry about anything else. If the other party was really the commander of the Qingyang Army, then there would be no turning back.

"Hmph, you are nothing but a mere scholar, impersonating an official of the imperial court. Your crime is aggravated. Come and give him eighty strokes of the cane."

Zhou Wu never expected that his opponent would make such a desperate gamble, threatening to kill him with eighty strokes of the cane.

Just at the critical moment.

"The Crown Prince has arrived."

A sound came from outside the county government office.

Upon hearing this, the magistrate's heart sank even further. Let alone the Crown Prince, even his superiors would never come to the West Market County Office, let alone someone of the Crown Prince's noble status. Moreover, why did he have to come at this particular time? Could it be such a coincidence?

Zhou Wu's feelings were completely different. He was the one who had saved the Crown Prince's life, and now their positions had been reversed.

"Zhou Wu!"

When the Crown Prince entered, he was quite surprised to see Zhou Wu being forced to lie face down on the ground. To be honest, the Crown Prince had come to the county office specifically to find Zhou Wu.

Zhou Wu's fleet was supposed to leave the capital and return to Qingyang County yesterday, but it's already the second day and the fleet is still not moving. Moreover, his men reported that the sailors are secretly searching for Zhou Wu, so it's clear that Zhou Wu has disappeared.

Although he hadn't had much interaction with Zhou Wu, Zhou Wu was, after all, his savior, and he hadn't yet repaid him. The Crown Prince immediately dispatched his own people to secretly participate in the search for Zhou Wu. Fortunately, the incident at the inn caused quite a stir, and the news of Zhou Wu's arrest by the Xishi County government appeared on the Crown Prince's desk in less than an hour.

At this time, the Crown Prince was still unaware of the specific reasons why Zhou Wu had been arrested; he only knew that a life was at stake.

"Your Highness, I am innocent! They are trying to torture me into confessing."

Zhou Wu cried so hard, as if he had suffered a great injustice. If the Oscar judges were there, they would probably give him an Oscar.

"Oh."

The prince looked coldly at the magistrate, a glance that sent chills down the magistrate's spine.

"Present the evidence."

The Crown Prince demanded evidence directly, but when there was no response for a long time, his guards rushed to the clerk next to him, snatched the dossier that was being recorded, and handed it to His Highness the Crown Prince.

Crown Prince Li Junren carefully examined the records in the dossier, his brows slowly furrowing into a deep frown. The idea that a deaf man and a dog could serve as witnesses was utterly absurd. Finally, in a fit of rage, he threw the dossier directly at the magistrate's face.

"You scoundrel, is this how you handle cases? Come here and imprison the magistrate of the West Market, but I will report to His Majesty for a decision."

"promise,"

“Zhou Wu, I will report this matter immediately. You will have to bear with it for a few more days.”

The Great Dragon Empire governs by law. Although Li Junren is the Crown Prince, he cannot overstep the law to release Zhou Wu directly. At most, he can only find out that the county magistrate has problems and then change the person to investigate the case.