As Lin Moyuan was caught off guard by Lin Zimo's critical hit, Lin Qingge walked over, smiling brightly.
"Brother Lin, you've traveled a long way and must be tired from the journey. Constable Yan, quickly prepare a room for Brother Lin and let him rest!"
"There's no need. I heard that Lord Lin encountered several dangers on his way to the capital, so I brought my household guards to meet you."
After speaking, Lin Moyuan waved his hand, and a team of well-trained guards filed in, lining up on both sides.
Seeing this, Lin Qingge rolled her eyes in exasperation and muttered grumpily under her breath, "Tsk tsk, it wasn't that dangerous initially, but with you showing up, it's become even more so."
"Brother Lin, what did you just say?"
"Nothing, I was just saying that Brother Lin, you're so wealthy and influential. With one move, you bring in such a large group, as if you're afraid others won't notice there's a big spender here."
Compared to Lin Qingge's sarcastic tone, Lin Moyuan politely cupped his hands. "Brother Lin, you needn't worry. If you find them to be a bother, you can have them hide in the shadows."
As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand again, and the guards vanished as if they were never there.
"Hmph, damned rich people!"
Lin Qingge pouted and pulled his wife to the other side.
Having stayed in the stronghold for a while and with someone personally coming to find them, Lin Qingge couldn't delay any longer and prepared to set off. Before leaving, Lin Qingge gave all the banknotes he had obtained from Lian Chengyi to Lu Sanniang, telling her that being bandits was not a long-term solution and that she should use the money to find a new way of life for everyone.
Lu Sanniang was so grateful that she knelt down to kowtow three times to Lin Qingge on the spot. After being stopped by Lin Qingge, she pushed her younger brother and Fan Liu forward together, generously declaring that these two men were now Lin's people, alive or dead, and that they should be used to their fullest as long as they were alive.
...
Compared to Lu Mingxuan, who was full of anticipation for his freedom a year later but was sold off by his own sister, leading to an existential crisis, Fan Liu, who had directly handed over the stronghold to the care of the chief, Lu, was overjoyed. However, amidst his happiness, he couldn't help but feel a sense of worry.
As he was a fugitive, having committed his crime in the capital, returning to the capital with his benefactor would be tantamount to walking into a trap.
To this, Lin Qingge replied that it was not a big problem. He immediately instructed Hua Jinrong to write a document for apprehension and then had Fan Liu sign it.
???
After the whole process, Fan Liu, who had gone from a fugitive to a prisoner, looked even more bewildered. However, Lu Mingxuan patted his shoulder as if to comfort him, welcoming him to the Changzhou County Jailbreaker Squad, or rather, the Shun天 Prefecture Jailbreaker Squad now.
With more free labor, Lin Qingge, having nothing else to do, began to question Fan Liu about the crime he had committed.
According to Fan Liu's recollection.
Five years ago, he followed his fellow villagers to the capital to seek his fortune, earning money by hauling goods and doing manual labor. Because they were poor, they rented a small courtyard together.
One day, he returned from work late. As he passed a house at an intersection, he saw a middle-aged couple living there. They had no children. The man was lame and unable to work, so the woman, a midwife, supported the family. Although their home was not wealthy, they were usually kind to others and would share their baked bread with their neighbors. Therefore, when the woman was out, the neighbors took good care of the lame husband.
Fan Liu heard the dog in the yard barking incessantly. Out of curiosity, he glanced inside and saw a dark figure slip out of the house.
After shouting loudly, Fan Liu, who knew some martial arts, rushed into the yard and got into a struggle with the dark figure, but the opponent still managed to escape. He then went inside to check and found that the couple had been brutally murdered in their home.
Soon, the constables arrived. However, the constables insisted that Fan Liu was the murderer, claiming that Fan Liu, greedy for the couple's money, had attempted to steal from them at night. When the couple discovered him, he became enraged and cruelly murdered them.
Fan Liu, who had done a good deed but was instead accused of murder, had his lips almost worn out from trying to explain, but it was no use. He was even subjected to torture, forcing him to sign the confession. Fan Liu, who thought he was going to die, was knocked unconscious by a constable's club on the third night after signing. When he opened his eyes, he was in a barren land on the outskirts of the capital.
Having narrowly escaped death, Fan Liu fled overnight. As he was dizzy from hunger, he was rescued by Chief Lu and subsequently became a bandit on the mountain.
After hearing the story, Yan Tinghao was the first to step forward indignantly and say, "This is outrageous! As constables, instead of catching the real murderers, they coerced confessions through torture, completely disregarding justice!"
"Constables merely follow orders from above. However, according to the timeline, the Prefect of Shun天 Prefecture at that time was my mentor, Lord Xu Changling. I simply cannot believe that my mentor would do something as reckless with human lives."
Xu Siyun, who was in a corner, explained, "My lord, my father was seconded to the south five years ago to oversee canal construction and was away for over a year. During this period, the Minister of Justice, Zhang Juzheng, temporarily acted as the Prefect."
"The former Minister of Justice?"
Lin Qingge habitually stroked his chin. If he remembered correctly, this former Minister of Justice had recently passed away at home due to a relapse of his heart condition. It was precisely because Lord Zhang Juzheng had passed away that his brother's mentor, Xu Changling, had to return to the capital and take on the position of Minister of Justice.
However, what connection could a dignified third-rank Minister of Justice possibly have with a poor midwife? Believing that the case might be more than just a wrongful conviction, Lin Qingge continued to press, "Fan Liu, do you remember anything else unusual that night?"
"Anything unusual?"
Fan Liu tried hard to recall for a while. "My lord, during my struggle with the murderer, I noticed that the little finger on the murderer's right hand was half missing. Does that count as something unusual? Also, that morning, when I was going to work, I happened to see a carriage picking up that woman, saying that a distinguished guest was giving birth and urgently needed a midwife."
"Do you know whose carriage it was?"
"I don't know that, my lord."
"Master Hua, please record this matter. When we reach the capital, remember to check the case files."
"Although if it were me, I would have already destroyed the evidence, since it is a matter ordered by my lord, I will personally check it. So, my lord, can we not aim for the face next time we take action? After all, any harm to my peerless handsome face is a loss to the entire Great Xia Kingdom."
Lin Qingge, who was once again disgusted, was about to look for a broom when Lu Mingxuan came over and whispered a few words in her ear. Reluctantly giving up, Lin Qingge glared at Hua Jinrong, who was shielding his face with a fan, and followed Lu Mingxuan to the secluded ancestral hall, where his sister, Lu Sanniang, was waiting.