The Beacon of Kyushu

Zhao Tingmei thought he was teasing him, so he raised his hand and wanted to slap him twice to teach this ignorant guy a lesson. But before he could hit him, Zhao Yuanzuo blocked his hand and said, "Uncle Wang, no one in the martial arts world knows Ying Fei's life story. If it is really as he said, you shouldn't hit him again."

"This..." Zhao Tingmei was hindered by Zhao Yuanzuo's status as a prince, and secondly, the uncle and nephew had a deep relationship. This time they were able to catch the thief thanks to Zhao Yuanzuo's great help. Now that Zhao Yuanzuo pleaded for mercy, even though he was reluctant, he had to stop as he was told.

Zhao Yuanzuo saw that Uncle Wang was giving him face, so he bowed and said, "Uncle Wang, in my opinion, the most urgent thing right now is to secretly detain Ying Fei and interrogate him at night to find out the whereabouts of the national treasure and the whole story. If he is really guilty of a heinous crime, we must kill him with a legitimate reason to stop the people from talking about it. If he has an extenuating motive, we..."

He had been in the martial arts world for a long time, and was used to the days of revenge, so he originally intended to let Ying Fei go, which was why he said the second half of the sentence. But he changed his mind and realized that he was now a prince, and what he should consider was not the loyalty of the martial arts world, but the laws of the court, so he remained silent for a while.

Zhao Tingmei heard Zhao Yuanzuo finish half of his words and asked anxiously, "What should we do? Can we let him go?"

Zhao Yuanzuo hesitated for a moment and said, "Those who release prisoners privately will be punished as the prisoners themselves. This little nephew knows. However, we can either kill him or release him, and keep him in prison for life. This way, we can satisfy the human feelings while maintaining the dignity of the court. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

Zhao Tingmei wanted to kill Ying Fei with a knife, but after hearing what Zhao Yuanzuo said, he could only nod helplessly, "Well, let's do as the nephew said and lock him up first. We'll decide whether to kill him or spare him later!"

When Ying Fei heard that the two men wanted to lock him up for life, he quickly shouted, "Hey, can you guys be a little more aggressive? I, Ying Fei, have a restless temper. If you really want to lock me up for life, you might as well just chop me up with a knife!"

"You filthy thief, you almost killed us. Now you are in our hands, and you dare to bargain. I will grant your wish!" Zhao Rong said as he drew his sword and wanted to kill Ying Rufeng. But just as he raised his sword, he was frightened by Zhao Yuanzuo's sword-like eyes and stopped. "Your Highness... Your Highness, I am just trying to scare him, I dare not kill him!"

"It's good that you don't dare!" Zhao Yuanzuo was polite to his uncle, but he was not so good-tempered towards his father's lackeys. If Zhao Rong really dared to kill Ying Fei in front of him before the interrogation, Zhao Yuanzuo would make sure that he would not see the sun tomorrow.

Among the four, Lü Duan and Chai Yuxi thought much more than the other two. Therefore, no matter what Ying Fei said or did, they remained calm. In their eyes, as long as Ying Fei was still alive, the most important thing was not whether he should be killed or imprisoned, but who would kill him and where he would be imprisoned.

If it was in Kaifeng Prefecture, the winner of the case would be Wei Wang Zhao Tingmei, and if it was in the palace, the winner would be the official Zhao Guangyi. This matter made no difference to Ying Fei, but it was a world of difference to both parties. Two people, four eyes, stared at each other, and countless invisible sparks were aroused in the air.

Soon, Zhao Yuanzuo discovered their secret rivalry. He smiled at them and said, "Judge Lu, I think it would be better if I personally escort him to Kaifeng Prefecture. This way, both my father and my uncle can have an explanation."

Upon hearing this, Lü Duan and Chai Yuxi immediately stopped objecting and bowed deeply to Zhao Yuanzuo. "That's the best, that's the best. But I'll have to trouble you, Your Highness."

Zhao Yuanzuo smiled and shook his head, spreading his hands and said to the two men, "Bring the rope, I will tie him up now, and take him to Kaifeng Prefecture as soon as possible to prevent any trouble."

A yamen runner at the door handed the rope in his hand to Zhao Yuanzuo as he was told. Zhao Yuanzuo seemed to be an expert in tying people up. He tied Ying Fei up in a few strokes without the yamen runner's instructions. He personally pushed Ying Fei out of the bedroom and rushed to Kaifeng Prefecture, which was two miles away.

A moment later, in the second hall of Kaifeng Prefecture.

The entrance of the second hall was slightly smaller than the main hall. Numerous oil lamps were symmetrically arranged on the whitewashed walls from inside to outside. The weak flames gathered together, illuminating the hall. Zhao Tingmei, wearing a purple robe and a golden belt, looked solemn, sitting in the main seat in the middle. Lu Duan stood beside him, holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other. The runners below him each held a water and fire merciless stick, stood on both sides, and shouted loudly.

After a loud and solemn shout of "Mighty!", Zhao Tingmei picked up the gavel on the table and slammed it hard, saying sternly: "Someone, bring the prisoner Ying Fei to the court!"

"Yes!" The yamen runners at the hall responded and quickly left the second hall. In a short while, they escorted the thin and short Ying Fei to the second hall. Ying Fei was pushed inside by the yamen runners, and kept looking at the torture instruments behind them. Under the firelight, the clamps, sharp stools, and triangular horses frightened the thieves. The brain locks, nail boards, and copper brands all flashed coldly. If the main hall is just the entrance to the yamen in the human world, then the second hall is the Yama Palace in the underworld. Even if a person is made of copper or iron, he cannot escape justice here.

Ying Fei was standing in the hall and had no intention of kneeling, but the yamen runner kicked him hard in the popliteal fossa without any explanation, and his legs immediately softened and he knelt obediently in front of Zhao Tingmei. Zhao Tingmei saw him kneeling, slammed the gavel again, and shouted: "Who is kneeling in the hall!" Ying Fei smiled slightly, "Meat man!"

Zhao Tingmei glared at Ying Fei and angrily said, "I am asking you your name and where you are from. Don't talk nonsense and confuse people!"

Ying Fei glanced at Zhao Tingmei disapprovingly, "Mr. Zhao, didn't you call me by my name when I was not in class just now? Why are you asking me my name again now? Could it be that you are old and your brain is not good, and you have forgotten everything in the blink of an eye?"

Zhao Tingmei gritted his teeth and said, "Ying Fei, I won't ask you these tricks anymore. I'll just ask you two things. If you tell me the truth, I'll give you a quick death. If you dare to play tricks, I'll make you try all the torture instruments in Kaifeng Prefecture. Don't blame me if you can't live or die!"

Ying Fei nodded, "If you have something to say, say it quickly. If you have to fart, fart quickly. I'm in a hurry to die!"

Zhao Tingmei pointed at Ying Fei and said angrily: "First, where did you hide the golden mace and the seal? Secondly, why did you steal the golden mace? Is there someone behind this? Tell the truth now!"

Ying Fei pondered for a moment and said, "I hid the golden mace and the seal in the home of Mr. Xue. If you don't believe me, just send someone to look for it in the abandoned warehouse in the backyard of his house. I guarantee you will find it."

Zhao Tingmei was stunned and said, "There are many people with the surname Xue under my rule. Can I search them one by one?"

Ying Fei pointed southeast and said, "It's too troublesome to check each family one by one. Just follow this direction and check the largest family, the Xue family."

Zhao Tingmei looked in the direction he pointed, and instantly got the answer in her mind, "The Xue family you mentioned, is it the residence of Lord Xue Juzheng? Why did you hide the golden mace and the seal there? Could it be that Xue Juzheng is the mastermind behind this?"

Ying Fei nodded subconsciously, and was about to throw this huge crime on Xue Juzheng, but then he thought of Xue Juzheng's honest officialdom, and it would be too unfair to accuse him of a crime, so he had to change his words and said, "It's true that I hid the things there, but Lord Xue knew nothing about it. You must not learn from those dog officials and make random judgments!"

Zhao Tingmei became more puzzled after hearing this and asked, "Since Lord Xue Juzheng had nothing to do with this case, why did you hide all the stolen goods in his house?"

Ying Fei did not rush to answer, but asked: "Mr. Zhao, you are really a fool as the prefect of Kaifeng! You ask so many questions, why don't you ask me first, with my skills, why didn't I leave Tokyo on the night of the crime, but linger in the city until now?"

Zhao Tingmei nodded and said, "Yes, why?"

Ying Fei said indignantly, "After I stole the golden mace that day, I wanted to leave immediately. But I had just left Nanqing Palace and was climbing walls and climbing roofs when I suddenly heard an old man crying. It was so miserable in the middle of the night! I have a kind heart and cannot bear to hear others crying, so I couldn't help but stand there for a while and heard almost everything that happened in that family. I was really mad!"

Zhao Tingmei was curious and asked, "What injustice did that family have? Why didn't they come to Kaifeng to appeal, but wept alone at home?"

Ying Fei shook his head and said, "The family below originally had four people. The man worked as a cook in Xue's house, and the woman stayed at home to take care of the children and her father-in-law. Unexpectedly, one day Xue Juzheng's bastard son drank too much and had a brain problem, and he insisted on eating rooster eggs. Whether it's chickens or people, it's the females who give birth, how can a male be pregnant? The cook told him that he couldn't do it, but his bastard son actually said that he was intentionally disobeying his superiors and had him beaten to death in the house. After the man died, the woman was afraid that Xue Weizhi would do something bad to her, so she abandoned her father-in-law and the baby, and remarried to another family. Her father-in-law was old, and could only rely on the little money his son brought back before to make ends meet, but so... The old man had no choice but to sell his belongings. Unexpectedly, the child suddenly fell ill for unknown reasons and would not survive if he did not seek medical treatment. The old man had no choice but to sacrifice his reputation and go to various clinics in the city to seek medical treatment. The doctors in the city thought the old man was poor and could not afford to pay them, so no one was willing to treat the child. Later, a doctor was kind enough to prescribe a prescription for the child, but the prescription was full of extremely expensive medicinal materials. Not to mention the poor father and son, I am afraid that even you, the prince, would be seriously injured if you wanted to prescribe medicine according to this wicked prescription, so the old man hid at home and cried. "

Zhao Tingmei asked anxiously: "Such a thing has happened in the city. What will happen next?" (End of this chapter)