After Ji Yunshu finished speaking—

Lang Bo said angrily, “I think it’s not that Zhang Daqi confessed on his own at all! Clearly Prince Yi cut off his tongue and forced him to sign. Now that he can’t speak, naturally he can’t explain those crime details. We shouldn’t have let Prince Yi leave yesterday—we’d rather he had really killed Zhang Daqi than let him mess up this case like this. If an innocent person is wrongly accused, how can that be acceptable?”

If it were him, last night he probably would have ordered Prince Yi shot dead with arrows.

But a brute was ultimately a brute.

Jingrong said, “If we hadn’t let him leave last night, the person locked in the Ministry of Justice prison now might be this prince.”

“Why does Your Highness say that?”

“If we hadn’t let Jing Yi leave, Zhang Daqi would surely have died—not much different from being mute now. Then Jing Yi would have taken this matter before His Majesty, accusing this prince of plotting to harm his own brother. The consequences would be obvious.”

Uh!

Lang Bo suddenly understood.

A moment later, Jingrong turned to Ji Yunshu. “I suppose you considered this point, which is why you had this prince let him go.”

She nodded. “Using any means to achieve one’s goals has always been Prince Yi’s usual method. If we had truly cornered him last night, the situation would only have become more chaotic and worse.”

Exactly!

Jingrong thought, “His Majesty has already ordered Zhang Daqi’s execution for tomorrow. If he truly isn’t the murderer, then we only have one day to find evidence.”

Time was of the essence!

“I want to go to the Ministry of Justice prison.” Ji Yunshu suddenly said.

“Zhang Daqi is a major criminal, and His Majesty has also ordered his execution. At this time, the Ministry of Justice won’t let anyone in.”

“But if some matters aren’t clarified, and he really dies, this case will be even harder to solve.”

Lang Bo was puzzled. He scratched his head and said, “But Zhang Daqi’s tongue is gone. Even if you ask him anything, he can’t open his mouth.”

He spread his hands.

“I have my methods.” She looked at Jingrong, her eyes pleading.

But this matter was truly difficult!

Zhang Daqi was a major criminal who was to be executed tomorrow—the Ministry of Justice guards naturally wouldn’t be careless.

Jingrong pondered…

Half an hour later.

A carriage stopped outside the Ministry of Justice prison.

Inside the carriage, besides Jingrong and Ji Yunshu, was also Minister Yu.

Jingrong instructed, “Minister Yu, after you take Master Ji inside, you must be careful. Go quickly and return quickly.”

“Your Highness can rest assured—this official knows what to do.”

He also cautioned Ji Yunshu, “If you can’t get anything out of him, don’t linger inside. If you’re discovered, the consequences would be unthinkable.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

At this moment, she was dressed as an attendant clerk from the Court of Judicial Review, wearing a hat and sporting two small mustaches. If one didn’t look carefully, it was truly hard to tell who she was.

After getting off the carriage, she quietly followed behind Minister Yu to the entrance of the Ministry of Justice prison.

Two jailers outside stopped them.

They cupped their hands.

“Minister Yu.”

Minister Yu glanced at the two men. “This official needs to see the criminal regarding the dry well case. Lead this official inside.”

Ah?

The two jailers looked at each other.

They hastily explained, “His Majesty has ordered the criminal’s execution tomorrow. Right now, I’m afraid…”

Before they could finish, they were interrupted.

“Afraid of what?” Minister Yu’s tone became heavier. “His Majesty has issued the decree, but the Court of Judicial Review has not yet closed and filed the case. If you block this official from entering, you’re obstructing the Court’s investigation. If something goes wrong, can you bear the responsibility?”

“This…”

“Hurry up and step aside.”

“But… we need to report this to Director Li.”

“No need. Your Ministry of Justice and our Court of Judicial Review are jointly ordered to handle this case. Now that the Court needs to thoroughly investigate, your Director Li cannot obstruct us either. This official has no time to wait for you to go back and forth. If we delay further, when higher-ups pursue this matter, it will be a capital offense.” Minister Yu put on airs.

His威force was overwhelming.

The two jailers thought it over, but ultimately they were both people who valued their lives.

So—

“Then Minister Yu, please follow me inside.”

They led them in.

But when Ji Yunshu followed on their heels, she was stopped by the other jailer. “Please wait—the prison is restricted. Minister Yu alone can go in.”

Uh!

Ji Yunshu was blocked and lowered her head even more.

Worried about being recognized.

The next moment, Minister Yu slapped that jailer on the forehead. “He is this official’s recording clerk, documenting case details. The Court of Judicial Review needs to file the case—we cannot do without her.”

“Yes…” The jailer covered his head and backed away.

Making way!

Minister Yu pulled Ji Yunshu along, and the two successfully entered the Ministry of Justice prison.

Although the Ministry of Justice prison was very large, it wasn’t much different from other prefecture and county prisons. Inside, a wave of damp air assaulted the nostrils, along with some foot odor and the smell of rotting things.

Stuffy!

Very nauseating.

To put it bluntly, it was like a filthy place.

Upon reaching the cell where Zhang Daqi was held.

The jailer said, “Your Excellency, the person is inside, but… when he was escorted to the Ministry of Justice, he already couldn’t speak. I’m afraid you won’t be able to get anything out of him either.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Just open the door.”

“Ah?”

“Ah what?”

“He’s a major criminal—it would be better for Your Excellency to question him from outside.” The jailer spoke kindly.

Minister Yu shot him a fierce look. “You also know he can’t speak. With these wooden bars between us, how do you expect this official to question him?”

“This…”

“Open it.”

The jailer trembled and could only take out the key to open the door.

Minister Yu said, “You may withdraw. When the Court of Judicial Review questions cases, others may not listen. If there’s anything, we’ll naturally call you.”

“Yes.”

The jailer withdrew.

After he left, Ji Yunshu breathed a sigh of relief.

Minister Yu quickly said, “Master Ji, you go in and question him. I’ll stand guard outside.”

“Mm.” She hurried inside.

In the cell, Zhang Daqi lay on the ground like a dead person. His clothes were whipped bloody with wounds, blood staining the straw everywhere. His deeply sunken, powerless eyes were slightly narrowed, staring motionlessly at the cell ceiling. He opened his mouth full of blood but couldn’t say a word.

She crouched down and called out a few times.

“Zhang Daqi? Zhang Daqi?”

Zhang Daqi made “uh uh uh” sounds several times, his brows furrowing together.

As if frightened!

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you.” Her tone was gentle.

“Uh…”

He struggled for a little while, finally quieting down.

Ji Yunshu said, “If you want to live, honestly tell me everything. I’ll ask you some things. If the answer is yes, nod your head. If not, shake your head.”

Zhang Daqi opened his mouth, seeming to understand.

“Did you… kill them?”

“Uh!”

He struggled to shake his head.

“Though you didn’t kill anyone, you were… at the scene then, weren’t you?”

No response.

“At this point, you needn’t have any more concerns, nor need you cover for anyone.”

“Uh.”

“You were at the scene and saw the murderer kill with your own eyes, didn’t you?”

Zhang Daqi’s face showed difficulty and pain. The seven scars on his face seemed to wrinkle together, as if he truly had some unspeakable difficulty.

After a good while, he finally nodded, two streams of tears flowing down from the corners of his eyes.

Ji Yunshu continued asking, “That person—do you know them? They’re also from Zhang Family Village, aren’t they?”

When she asked this, Zhang Daqi suddenly began breathing heavily, his hands desperately clutching the blood-stained straw on the ground.

His feet also kicked forward forcefully!

“Uh…”

His emotions were somewhat out of control.

It was also as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

His powerless eyes suddenly widened greatly…