Chapter 64

"Could this person be Jiao Zheng?"

"Correct. Back then, he served as my father's personal guard centurion in the vanguard of the Imperial Guards and was responsible for guarding the main tent, earning great trust."

After this case, he disappeared without a trace. I thought he, like the others, had died somewhere unknown.

It wasn't until two months ago that I found my father's former vanguard battalion lieutenant in Jiangzhou, and only then did I learn that it was this person who was responsible for escorting the wealth and was the first to report that my father had allowed his troops to loot and secretly transport the stolen goods!

So not only did he not face punishment, but on the contrary, he earned merit by being the primary accuser and witness, and by helping the court find that stash of stolen money!

Although he was transferred out of the Imperial Guards, in terms of rank, serving as an external military advisor is considered a promotion. His situation is much better than any of my father's other subordinates."

The young lady paused here, her voice gaining a bit of warmth:

"He framed my father and harmed so many people. Tell me, shouldn't I capture him and ask for the truth?"

She looked deeply into Wang Yang's eyes and said word by word: "So, are you willing to help me?"

Wang Yang tapped his fingers on his leg unconsciously. He stopped after a few taps and said:

"You didn't tell the truth."

"What do you mean?" The young lady's voice turned cold.

"You first said your father couldn't have looted and burned, and then you suspected Jiao Zheng framed him, right?"

"So what?"

"This case was so huge that it is impossible for your father to have been convicted based solely on Jiao Zheng's testimony.

Furthermore, your father was a commander-in-chief. If he had truly ordered the looting, Jiao Zheng certainly wouldn't have been the only one to know, and this order wouldn't have been conveyed only to a lowly personal guard officer.

Even if he had conveyed it, for such a major event, wouldn't other generals have come to ask for instructions and verification?

You investigated so many of your father's subordinates; how could you not have asked if your father personally gave the order at the time?

But you didn't mention it just now; the result must have been unsatisfactory.

Since you already know the result, and you broke into the Jiao residence at night, is it really to ask for the truth?"

The young lady stared at Wang Yang, cold light flickering in her beautiful eyes:

"Do you think you're very smart, don't you?"

Wang Yang looked at the young lady calmly: "I just think that if you really want to ask for my help, you should tell the truth."

For a time, neither of them spoke, just staring at each other. The room was terrifyingly silent.

After a long while, the young lady sneered and said:

"You guessed right. I did ask those subordinates of my father from back then, and they all said it was my father who gave the order himself. Although I didn't want to believe it, with everyone saying the same thing, I couldn't help but believe it. Jiao Zheng is the last person I want to ask. If he says the same thing..."

The young lady was slightly distracted. She really didn't know what she should do if it ultimately turned out to be like that.

Over the past few years, she had exhausted her family's wealth and traveled the world just to clear her father's name.

But if her father wasn't wronged, if he truly deserved his crime! Then...

No,

That can't be!

Compared to the court's so-called announcement, compared to the testimonies of those subordinates, she believed more in her father's character. She believed more in the father she knew; that silent father who liked to make soup noodles for her would absolutely never do such a thing!

Father, did your daughter believe you wrongly?

Seeing the young lady's expression change, with a look of misery appearing in her clear eyes, Wang Yang thought that this might be a good opportunity to escape. If he could persuade her to leave voluntarily, he could escape this dangerous situation.

Just as he was about to say a few words of persuasion, the young lady suddenly reached out and grabbed Wang Yang's left wrist!

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! What are you doing?"

Wang Yang felt as if his wrist bone was about to split! He clenched his right fist, suppressing the urge to take the candlestick from his sleeve and smash it back at the young lady.

With his strength as a "level five trash," the candlestick was only a last-ditch effort to fight to the death. Unless absolutely necessary, it must never be used.

The young lady first took back the seal from Wang Yang's hand and put it in her bosom, then picked up the dagger, her eyes resolute:

"I don't want to hurt you, but I absolutely cannot let my father die with his name uncleared!

If the person being beheaded were me, my father would also believe me and do everything in his power to clear my name!

I must capture Jiao Zheng. I will count to three. If you don't agree, I will break one of your fingers, and I will keep breaking them until you agree.

After it is done, Qingshan will surely cut off her own finger to thank you, young master!"

The young lady's voice was cold, like ice in the dark night.

Wang Yang was truly scared and said urgently: "Miss Chen, things can be—"

"One."

Wang Yang struggled hard: "Don't—"

"Two."

"This is simply not a solution! Even if I lose my fingers, it won't—"

"Three. Apologies."

The dagger swung down!

"Your father was wronged! But you won't find out the truth by asking like this!" Wang Yang blurted out urgently.

The dagger stopped in mid-air.

"Continue." The young lady's voice was devoid of emotion.

Wang Yang looked at the dagger hanging in the air, his heart pounding. He hurried to say:

"Think about it. If your father was truly wronged, then the water here must be very deep! Deep enough to make everyone commit perjury, deep enough that your father had no chance to prove his innocence! If Jiao Zheng is lying, he won't change his testimony just because you capture him, because changing his testimony means death! You can certainly use torture to coerce him, but is such testimony useful? Besides, what if Jiao Zheng would rather die than tell the truth? Even if you kill him, your father's name won't be cleared! You kill a court official, it must be a capital crime! After you die, who will clear your father's name?!"

He finished in one breath at the fastest speed possible. He was extremely anxious, his lips dry. Whether he would be disabled or not depended entirely on this woman's whim! As for whether this woman would be moved by what he just said, he really had no certainty.

Time passed second by second. The young lady was still grabbing his wrist, not relaxing in the slightest, nor speaking, just sitting there quietly.

Seeing her distracted, Wang Yang's heart stirred, wanting to use the candlestick to launch a sneak attack, but because of the gap in combat power, he could never make up his mind.

"Then what do you say we should do?" the young lady asked.

"How would I kno—"

The young lady's eyes narrowed slightly, and the dagger moved. Wang Yang immediately changed his words: "Leave this matter to me! Coercion is not as good as tricking him. I will trick him into talking, and I will definitely be able to get the truth!"

"Tricking him? Can such an important matter be uncovered by tricking him?" The young lady looked skeptical.

"Yes, tricking people requires technique. Look, you've been in this room for less than half an hour, but haven't I tricked all your words out of you?"

Wang Yang originally wanted to use this little joke to ease the atmosphere, but unexpectedly, the young lady's hand tightened, and Wang Yang's wrist felt a sharp pain, as if it were about to break!

"Just kidding, uh! Just kidding!" Wang Yang bent over, beads of sweat the size of beans hanging on his forehead.

Of course it wasn't a joke; I was tricking you!

The young lady relaxed her grip: "Then you call Jiao Zheng over to trick him, and I will hide. No hands."

"Now?"

"Of course."

"How can I trick him now?"

"Can't you?" The young lady exerted force again.

You damn...