Chapter 189: Prison Case

The commandery prison was gloomy, and the sound of shrill screams echoed in the dark and winding tunnels. A few points of firelight struggled on the stone walls covered with water stains, broken and messy.

Inside the torture room, a man with disheveled long hair and a body covered in bloodstains was tied to a vertical board, his eyes tightly closed, seemingly having lost consciousness. His clothes were already tattered, and under the ragged cloth strips, black-red liquid was slowly seeping out. His ten fingers were stiff in the air, the flesh and blood on his fingertips were blurred, and all his nails were gone. The rotten, fishy smell was nauseating.

Two prison guards, one sitting and one standing. The one standing had a rugged face and was leaning against the wall, eating noodle soup with relish. The sound of smacking lips seemed particularly harsh in this dead-silent torture room.

The one sitting had a fairer face, frowned, and had an annoyed expression. He covered the case file in his hand: "Old Jia, do you have to eat here? Don't you find it disgusting?"

Old Jia sucked the noodle skin from his thumb into his mouth and glanced sideways at his colleague: "Since it's your turn not to do the work, I've been tired for so long, what's wrong with eating something?"

Prison Officer Li was too lazy to argue with him and urged: "Eat quickly, and once you're done, interrogate him immediately."

He pressed his temples irritably with both hands. The busyness of the past few days had made him exhausted. A simple case had been dragged out until now! His originally perfect performance review was about to be discounted. He had originally hoped to be promoted next year, but if he were still stuck in the position of Prison Officer after thirty-five, his future would be basically hopeless. He was afraid he would have to follow in Old Jia's footsteps.

Old Jia gulped down the last few mouthfuls of noodle soup, put down the bowl, wiped his mouth indiscriminately with his sleeve, walked toward the vertical board, and slapped the man's face: "Hey, hey! Wake up, wake up! Get up, time to work!"

The man's eyes opened bit by bit. Just as he regained some clarity, the piercing pain swept over him like a surging tide, making him unable to help but groan.

Old Jia was speechless: "Why do you bother? If you'd confessed, you would have confessed; you wouldn't die. Aren't you just looking for trouble for yourself?"

Prison Officer Li's voice was cold: "Young Master Zhang, if you are waiting for your uncle to save you, then I advise you not to think about it. Once you arrive here, even if you bring the Jingzhou Assistant, you won't be able to walk out."

The man slowly opened his chapped lips, his voice weak: "... Dog bastard..."

Old Jia picked his ear: "We are bastards? You are the bastard! Little Miss Ke was at the age of a flower bud, waiting to be married, but she was ruined by you. Her belly is big, and the marriage is ruined. What is she supposed to do in the future? How dare you still have the nerve to call us bastards?"

"... Ke bitch... Ma animal... and you... are all animals... my uncle... won't let you off..."

Old Jia spat: "I despise people like you the most! Relying on having a good surname and a bit of power at home, you're so arrogant your eyes are on top of your head, wanting to do whatever you want! Isn't your uncle just the Yongning Governor? No matter how high his official rank is, can it be higher than the Chief Clerk? Can it be higher than the national law?"

The man said hatefully: "Liu Yin, that animal..."

Old Jia was furious. With two slaps, he punched him in the stomach again. The man spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, which splashed on Old Jia's shoes. Old Jia shook his feet and said angrily:

"Dare to curse Chief Clerk Liu? I'll beat you to death, you thing that doesn't know life from death!"

As he said this, he raised his fist to hit him again. Prison Officer Li scolded: "Enough!"

Old Jia stopped resentfully.

Prison Officer Li exhaled a rough breath impatiently, flipped through the case file, and said:

"Young Master Zhang, in this case, the human evidence and physical evidence are all complete, the facts are solid, and the situation is clear. This is called 'clear proof of stolen goods,' and there is no doubt about the logic. It doesn't matter whether you confess or not. If what you committed is a capital crime, and the torture has reached the deadline, but you still refuse to confess, then it can be submitted to the provincial department for adjudication. You don't meet this condition, so why bother holding out and not confessing?"

The man didn't speak, just breathed with difficulty.

Prison Officer Li saw that he didn't curse, felt there was hope, and immediately said: "As long as you confess, I will immediately let you return to the cell! I'll treat your wounds, add a meat meal in the evening, and allow your family to visit!"

The man's throat moved, seemingly moved.

Prison Officer Li leaned forward, looking at the man expectantly, and asked: "How about it?"

The man straightened his chest bit by bit and squeezed out a hoarse voice from his throat, carrying endless resentment:

"F— your— mother!"

Prison Officer Li's expression darkened, his palm pressed against his forehead, and his breathing became heavier.

Old Jia had already turned to get the thorn staff.

Prison Officer Li adjusted his emotions, picked up his brush to record, and recited: "The criminal refuses to confess, four rounds of flogging interrogation."

Splash!

The man who had fainted was splashed awake with water. The cold water mixed with blood flowed over his scarred body, accumulating into a pool of dark red filth on the ground.

Old Jia finished splashing the water, wiped his sweat, and sat on the side to rest.

Prison Officer Li looked at the man, his tone stern: "Do you confess or not?!"

"Confess... confess your... mother... confess... your whole family... are all... being dog..."

Old Jia looked at the man, his expression somewhat strange.

Prison Officer Li stood up:

"If you really don't confess, you can confess first. After the case is settled, you can request a retrial. You are not a capital criminal; you can request a retrial yourself, without needing your family to do it for you. At that time, the provincial department will naturally review the case. You can say whatever you want to them. During this period, we will no longer use torture on you. Why not do it?"

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, as if using all his strength, every word dragged out from the depths of his chest: "F— your— ancestors!"

Prison Officer Li walked toward the man gloomily and picked up the thorn staff left on the side. Old Jia was startled. According to the Qi law, one cannot change the person administering the torture in the middle of an interrogation, so he hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Officer Li, why are you getting angry with a prisoner—"

Prison Officer Li pushed Old Jia away, pressed the staff onto the man's fingernail-less finger, applied force, and asked angrily: "Do you confess or not?!"

The man's eyes bulged, bloodshot veins bursting on his eyeballs, and he growled like a demon from the bottom of his throat, making even an old guard like Old Jia feel stunned.

At this moment, with a bang, the door was pushed open!

Prison Officer Li looked back and felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar!

He hurriedly threw away the thorn staff and knelt down: "Greetings, Chief Clerk!"

Old Jia also hurriedly knelt down to salute.

Liu Yin ignored his two subordinates and walked straight to the man, asking: "Zhang Yuan, do you confess?"

The man used all his strength and spat a mouthful of blood at Liu Yin!

Liu Yin took a step back, but a few drops of blood still splashed on his face.

Everyone was shocked. Old Jia roared and pounced: "You little rabbit!"

Liu Yin glanced at Old Jia coldly, and Old Jia immediately fell silent and retreated.

A guard handed over a handkerchief. Liu Yin wiped his face and said: "So you don't confess?"

Zhang Yuan was too weak to speak, closed his eyes, and said nothing.

Liu Yin said: "Not a capital crime, the criminal has been tortured as scheduled, but refuses to confess or report. We must torture the witness in return. Someone, bring the witness of this case."

Zhang Yuan opened his eyes, his expression somewhat dazed.

He didn't understand the criminal law and thought he would be tortured until he died. So there was a time limit for torture?

... (Major crimes such as rebellion, capital crimes, arson, etc., cannot be used to torture witnesses and accusers in return, for fear that people will not dare to report or testify)

The witness Ma Liu was soon brought in.

As soon as Ma Liu entered the torture room and saw the blood and filth all over the room, as well as some unrecognizable filth, he started retching directly.

Liu Yin said: "Ma Liu, you testified that Zhang Yuan raped the Ke woman. Now that Zhang Yuan's torture period has passed and he refuses to confess, and the crime committed is not a major crime, according to the law, we must torture the witness in return, with the same punishment as Zhang Yuan received. Execute."

Two prison guards stepped forward, lifted Ma Liu, who was scared like mud, and tied him to the blood-red vertical board.

Ma Liu howled like a madman: "No... don't! I'm wronged! I'm a witness! I'm wronged!!!!!"

Liu Yin flipped through the interrogation file: "First pull out ten fingernails..."

The prison guard brought iron pliers. Ma Liu shook like chaff, wet himself directly, and cried: "Don't, don't, don't! I confess, I confess! Zhang Yuan didn't rape Miss Ke! I saw it wrong!"

Prison Officer Li recorded quickly on the side.

Liu Yin didn't even raise his head, and his voice had no fluctuation: "Continue."

"Ah—"

Ma Liu's scream resounded through the torture room as a fingernail was forcibly removed.

"It was Miss Ke's idea! She instigated me! It was all her! I didn't want to either!"

"Ah-uh-ah-ah-ah—"

Another fingernail was removed, and Ma Liu fainted, only to be awakened by the excruciating pain of the third fingernail being removed: "Don't... don't pull anymore! I confess everything! I beg you... I beg you... don't pull anymore!"

Ma Liu was covered in cold sweat, wailing loudly, not daring to look at his blood-stained hands at all.

Liu Yin raised his head and asked: "Whose child is in her belly?"

"It's mine! It's mine! We had an illicit affair for more than a year. After she got pregnant, it was discovered, and we couldn't explain it! We were afraid of being convicted of adultery! We could only frame Zhang Yuan!"

Liu Yin was expressionless and said: "Bring Ke Min to the case. Continue the torture."

Ma Liu's face was distorted, terrified to the extreme: "Everything I said is the truth! I'll answer whatever the official asks! Just please don't use torture anymore!!!"

Liu Yin said: "If an accuser falsely acts as a witness, if the previous person has not been tortured, the accuser's sentence will be reduced by one degree. If the previous person has already been tortured, the sentence will not be reduced, and the accuser will be tortured in return just like the previous person. Zhang Yuan has already been tortured. Regardless of whether you confess or not, you must receive all the torture he has received before the case can be judged and closed."

Ma Liu felt as if he had been struck by lightning: "It was Ke Min who instigated me! She forced me! No! No!!!"

"She will be punished for her false accusation, but that will have to wait until one hundred days after she gives birth."

Ma Liu wailed like a ghost, struggling frantically, while the prison guards continued to pull out his nails.

Liu Yin no longer looked at Ma Liu but looked at Prison Officer Li.

Prison Officer Li knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed: "I beg the Chief Clerk to forgive me this once for the sake of my many years of following you!"

Liu Yin's voice still had no fluctuation: "You are an old prison officer; you should know that prisoners should not be tortured by changing the person. I can forgive you, but the national law cannot forgive you. Guards, take Li Yi into custody."

It's over.

Prison Officer Li collapsed on the ground, closing his eyes in despair.

Liu Yin walked out of the dungeon, the sunlight shining on his pale face, warm and dazzling.

Fan Jian, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward and reported in detail the process of the failed arrest of Wang Yang.

Liu Yin stood in the sunlight, silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Fan Jian whispered: "My lord, this subordinate observes that Wang Yang is no ordinary person. I'm afraid this matter..."

Liu Yin reached out to block the sunlight, the shadow cast on his face adding a bit of coldness to that bloodless face. He said softly: "No matter how extraordinary he is, isn't he still within the law?"

——————

I didn't have time to revise carefully, and I don't want to update in a rush, so I'll stop updating for one day. ===== CHAPTER 190 =====