Chapter 226

Zhen'an Prefecture Prison.

A woman's shrill scream echoed in the dim and deep corridor, making people's hair stand on end.

Under the dim oil lamp at the entrance of the prison, there was a square table with a few bags of braised meat wrapped in coarse paper placed messily.

The head catcher Liu Erzhen drank the wine in his cup comfortably, turning a deaf ear to the screams echoing in the prison.

The jailer on the side diligently filled his cup and asked flatteringly: "Head Liu, that woman and the little servant were just arrested and put in, why did you start using torture? Did they commit any major crime?"

Liu Erzhen glanced at the jailer and said: "That woman earned money she shouldn't have earned and also embezzled things from a noble; now the victim wants to pursue it, and she won't tell the truth, so we can only use torture."

As he said this, he took out a 5-tael ingot of silver and gave it to the jailer, saying: "Keep your mouth shut about this matter; if things work out, there will be benefits for you too."

Seeing the silver, the jailer's eyes lit up; he had been a jailer in Zhen'an Prefecture Prison for many years and had seen too many dirty things in the prison; taking money to shut his mouth was naturally not a good thing.

He knew Liu Erzhen was not a generous master; this move was 5 taels, enough for his two months' salary, so he knew the benefits he got from this matter must be substantial.

Fortunately, she fainted twice, and those jailers stopped using torture on her; if they continued, she estimated she wouldn't be able to hold on.

At this time, the woman's screams in the corridor began to be a bit weak, not as shrill as before.

She was a woman and had never suffered such heart-tearing pain, but in the end, she did not confess.

It was Young Master Jia who pulled her out of the abyss of sinking; he magically found her daughter and let her live a decent life.

Liu Erzhen frowned and ordered the jailer: "Go and check; the woman can't stand much tossing; tell them to have a sense of proportion and don't kill her!"

Zhen'an Prefecture, Prefect Zhang Shou'an's office.

I didn't expect things to not go smoothly; the yamen runners didn't catch the owner of Xiuniang Incense Shop, only catching the manager and the clerk.

After all, she had lived for half her life and heard too much worldliness; how could she not know that she and the clerk being arrested was not because of owing official silver, but because someone had taken a fancy to the secret recipe of the perfume in the shop.

Just now, news came from the prison that the manager of the incense shop, under torture, still refused to reveal the secret recipe of the incense shop and the location of the workshop.

Seeing that she refused to tell the truth, the jailers used whip torture on her, and then used finger-crushing sticks.

In the pitch-black cell, Feng Shi couldn't bear the torture and had fainted twice, but said nothing; the jailers who administered the torture, having received the jailer's instructions, temporarily let her go and turned to greet the little servant.

The hardships of those ten-plus years seemed even harder to bear than the pain of whipping and finger-crushing.

Today, the yamen runners of Zhen'an Prefecture suddenly arrested her and put her in prison; at first, it made her confused and afraid, but when the yamen runners forced her to ask for the perfume secret recipe and workshop, she understood everything.

Such a mutually beneficial matter, after letting people find out the background of Xiuniang Incense Shop and confirming there was no risk, Zhang Shou'an naturally agreed.

A few days ago, Jia Rong of Ningguo Prefecture asked him for help, using the Jia family's connections with the Ministry of Personnel's Examination Department as a bargaining chip, and also promised to give 10% of the shares as a reward after the matter was done, as well as 1,000 taels of gratitude money.

……

A woman's basic conscience and gratitude did not allow herself to betray him, and the strong intention in her heart allowed her to barely endure the torture just now.

Feng Shi had been to the incense workshop a few times, so she naturally knew the place; she knew the workshop was the foundation of the shop's business.

For more than ten years, the original wealthy home had been burned to the ground, her husband had gone missing, her daughter had been abducted, and she could only live in her biological father's dislike; every day and night, she lived in heart-piercing pain.

Feng Shi was just an ordinary woman; although she had experienced ups and downs for half her life, she had never suffered such bitterness.

If a woman was tortured excessively and died in prison, it would be hard to cover up.

This made Zhang Shou'an feel that the matter was a bit tricky.

At this time, yamen runners came to report from outside, saying that Jia Cong of Rongguo Prefecture requested to see the Prefect.

Zhang Shou'an was stunned after hearing this; why would he suddenly request to see him?

Zhang Shou'an was naturally no stranger to Jia Cong; they had met once at Prince Prince Jia Shun's Shuyun Villa back then.

Later, the servant witchcraft murder case occurred in Rongguo Prefecture, which made him see Jia Cong's uniqueness even more.

In the past two years, he had passed two examinations, was prominent in the examination field, and had shaken the north and south of the Great River with his poetry and literary fame; he was the most outstanding descendant of the Rongguo Jia family.

Anyone could see that such a figure had boundless prospects, and with such a solid family background, with Zhang Shou'an's worldliness, he naturally would not be negligent, so he immediately asked the yamen runners to invite him in.

……

Just when Baozhu told Jia Cong that the one who harassed the shop several times was Lai Shangrong, the old woman outside the second gate came to report, and then he met Jiang Liu outside the back corner gate, and there was even Qu Hongxiu.

Hearing the news that Feng Shi and Liu Ping were arrested and put in prison by Zhen'an Prefecture on the grounds of owing official silver, and combining these things, how could he not understand the reason for the matter?

The whole thing from beginning to end was Jia Zhen coveting the wealth and secret recipe of Xiuniang Incense Shop, intending to seize it by force.

And Zhen'an Prefecture arresting people had a lot to do with Jia Zhen; powerful officials borrowing the power of the market government to bully the good was always the case.

It was just that Jia Zhen never dreamed that Xiuniang Incense Shop was his own property, and he naturally wouldn't let him succeed.

He also truly realized for the first time how treacherous and shameless the thoughts and means of noble descendants like Jia Zhen were for the sake of their own private desires.

He asked Qu Hongxiu to go to the incense workshop outside the city immediately to transfer the people and items there to a safe place.

Now there were always two teenagers managing the workshop, one named Wang Dequan and one named Zhou Guangcheng, who were also two of the five orphans Qu Hongxiu brought back from Dezhou back then.

He also gave Jiang Liu some instructions and went to Zhen'an Prefecture alone to negotiate.

……

Zhen'an Prefecture government office back hall.

Zhang Shou'an watched Jia Cong walk into his office.

Three years ago, he had met Jia Cong once at Prince Prince Jia Shun's Shuyun Villa; after several years, the green child back then had grown into a jade-like youth with a clear and outstanding bearing.

"Not seen for several years, Young Master Cong's bearing is even better than in previous years; I heard that the young master has just been appointed as the Jieyuan of the Yongzhou provincial examination; congratulations."

Zhang Shou'an thought his words were close, but he saw Jia Cong's face was indifferent, even cold.

He didn't know why Jia Cong came today; looking at his expression now, he suddenly felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

Jia Cong didn't beat around the bush with him and said straight to the point:

"Prefect Zhang, I heard that the manager and clerk of Xiuniang Incense Shop in the west of the city were arrested and put in prison by Zhen'an Prefecture on the grounds of owing official silver; is there such a thing?"

Zhang Shou'an felt a chill in his heart after hearing this; he was currently worried about this matter, and Jia Cong happened to ask about it!

And his words were direct, containing a sense of questioning, possessing a power of having nothing to fear.

He knew that this youth was not a simple figure; not only was he a new Jieyuan, but he was also personally granted a Grade 7 official status by the Emperor, and as a Provincial Graduate Wu, he entered the Ministry of War to observe governance, and he was also a descendant of the top-ranking noble Rongguo Jia family.

Each of these items had to make people have some scruples.

Although his position as Prefect of Zhen'an Prefecture was higher than Jia Cong's, he didn't dare to be too arrogant; although he felt a bit unhappy in his heart, he endured his temper and replied: "That's right, there is indeed such a thing."

"Prefect Zhang, as far as I know, small shops in the market have a convention of capping official silver at 200 taels per month, and Xiuniang Incense Shop has paid about 200 taels of official silver in the past half year; where does the talk of arrears come from?"

Zhang Shou'an naturally knew this convention; the so-called owing official silver was just an excuse to arrest people to cover people's eyes, and now that he was asked face-to-face by Jia Cong, he was really speechless for a moment.

Instead, he asked: "I don't know what relationship these two people have with Young Master Cong?"

(End of chapter)