Chapter 277: Deserving of death

After getting on the ship, the black-faced soldier first patrolled around, and soon ordered, "The first, second, and third teams are responsible for escorting the bandits back to the prefectural Ya Men, guarding them strictly, and waiting for the prefect to interrogate them! Remember, do not disturb the common people along the way, and do not let a single one go!"

"Yes!"

Bang, bang, bang, the six cabin doors near the deck were kicked open violently.

The already dilapidated door panels crashed to the ground, breaking into several pieces.

"Oh my, my door..." The ship captain on the side felt his heart ache, but he didn't dare to say anything more.

Dozens of government soldiers rushed in aggressively.

In the cabins, the water bandits were still in their zongzi-like state, huddled together on the floor, and an unpleasant smell of sweat permeated the air.

Everyone looked at the soldiers who had descended from the sky in panic, their faces ashen.

Some were scared to tears.

Some were scared to pee.

Others were crying, peeing, and begging for mercy, "Sir, please be kind, I have old parents and young children..."

"You have old parents and young children, right?" One of the soldiers walked over and slapped him twice, causing the corners of his mouth to bleed. "Then you damn bastard still dare to block the road and rob, why didn't you know how to accumulate some virtue for your family?"

The other water bandits shivered, immediately closing their mouths tightly, fearing that the slap would land on their own faces.

Then they obediently let the soldiers tie their hands, stringing them together with long hemp ropes, and drove them to the shore like driving ducks.

Both sides of the ferry were crowded with common people watching the excitement, each craning their necks and discussing.

"What did they do? Such a big battle."

"Look at your lack of experience, you can tell from their attire, they are all evil water bandits!"

"Water bandits? My god, so many, there must be over a hundred people, right?"

"Of course, you have to say that our prefect here is really capable..."

The last to come out were the two great leaders of Moyu Village.

Pig-Head Cong and Short-Legged Tiger.

However, one walked out, and the other was carried out.

Short-Legged Tiger himself was poisoned with Bone-Eroding Powder, and while he was forcing the poison out, he was hit by a heavy bench thrown by Du Ruo, vomiting blood on the spot and fainting.

He hadn't woken up until now.

Judging by the situation, it was more likely to be bad than good.

He was the main culprit, and as long as he had a breath left, he would be taken back for trial.

"It is said that there is also a leader surnamed Long who fell into the water and went missing?" The black-faced soldier stood on the deck, scanned the students and hostages present from left to right, and asked.

"Yes, yes, yes."

The ship captain hurriedly pointed to Lao Tietou in the crowd. "It was this Master Tie who beat her away."

Lao Tietou walked out with a smile, gesturing with his hands and feet, looking smug.

"That's right, this old man did it. She bullied my wife, so could I spare her? Of course not! So I first used a Thunderbolt Palm, then used a Whirlwind Kick, and just like that, I kicked her into the great river to feed the fish, hehe!"

The black-faced soldier raised his eyebrows and looked at Lao Tietou's thin frame twice, seemingly not quite believing it.

But he didn't say anything.

He just let his subordinates take the hostages to the prefectural Ya Men for questioning and placement.

Only the ship captain and Master Yan and the other heroes who suppressed the bandits were left on the deck.

The black-faced soldier's gaze fell on the only two women present—Du Ruo and Jin Que.

Jin Que immediately puffed out her chest and gave him a fawning smile.

The young master still didn't know if he would forgive her, and if he didn't, being able to rely on this soldier in front of her would be a way out, which was better than being sold to the Liuli Pavilion...

"Which one is Du Shi?"

Jin Que's face collapsed instantly, and she glared at Du Ruo on the side.

Hmph, always good at hooking up with men!

"I am." Du Ruo stepped forward two steps and said with a smile, "It's been a few days, it seems Officer Xiong has fully recovered?"

Officer Xiong?

Everyone looked over in unison, all stunned.

How does Mistress Du know the surname of this soldier?

Jin Que sneered, "Look at how capable you are, you don't even know him and you're trying to climb up to him, really shameless."

Du Ruo smiled and ignored her.

The black-faced soldier was also full of confusion, looking Du Ruo up and down, but found her very unfamiliar.

A young lady surnamed Du, from Wutou Xian...

He suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked: "Could it be the wife of Constable Jiang, Mistress Du Ruo?"

Du Ruo nodded. "Exactly."

Things in the world are always so unexpected.

Who would have thought that the one coming to handle this case would be Xiong Chaoyan!

"The camp was moved urgently that day, and I didn't have time to thank Mistress Du for saving my life, and I have been keeping it in mind." After confirming Du Ruo's identity, Xiong Er's attitude changed immediately. He bowed deeply to Du Ruo, his tone full of gratitude. "Please forgive me for not recognizing my benefactor."

How could Du Ruo mind?

That day on Yugui Shan, in order to protect that trash Shen Jing Bin, Xiong Er was hit by the old monster's snake venom and almost died.

When Du Ruo saved him, one of his feet had already stepped into the gates of hell, and he was unconscious.

Later, although he woke up, Du Ruo was busy taking care of Jiang Li, and busy being a guest at the Lin mansion, and later went straight home, so the two of them never met.

So she knew Xiong Er.

But Xiong Er didn't know what she looked like.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Xiong Er politely invited Du Ruo to sit in the dining hall, and the others naturally followed.

They began recording statements.

Du Ruo's statement was recorded by Xiong Er himself, and the two sat face to face at a dining table, chatting from time to time.

Not far away, Jin Que watched this and secretly spat.

A flirt, not keeping to the ways of a wife!

Really can't understand, inexplicably, how did Du Shi suddenly become the soldier's life-saving benefactor?

She didn't dare to say, nor did she dare to ask, so she could only stand on the side, feeling aggrieved and depressed, sulking.

"You, come over to record your statement." A soldier pointed at Jin Que.

Jin Que had no choice but to walk over slowly.

She had a guilty conscience, fearing that Xiong Er would pursue her previous attempt to kill Du Ruo, so when recording the statement, she skipped that part directly and added a scene for herself, saying that she was beaten by the Deaf Granny for protecting her master.

She thought it was very thorough.

Unfortunately, she forgot that it wasn't up to her to say how it was; all statements would eventually be put together for verification.

After more than an hour of questioning, the final statement was compiled and delivered to Xiong Er's hands.

Xiong Er flipped through it page by page and nodded.

He folded the few pages of paper, put them into his sleeve, and stood up. "The matter is basically clear, everyone has left their names, native places, and temporary addresses, so let's leave it at that for now. After I report the matter to the prefect, if there is anything that requires your assistance, or if there is a reward from the imperial court, I will notify you."

Everyone's expressions relaxed.

Great, it's finally done!

Everyone walked out excitedly, preparing to go to their respective cabins to get their luggage and then leave this ghost place.

Just after walking a few steps, Xiong Er's voice sounded again.

"You." He pointed at Jin Que. "Stay."

The blood on Jin Que's face disappeared, and her eyeballs turned frantically. "Wh, why?"

Xiong Er looked down at her from above, coldly squinting at her. "According to the laws of our Da Zhao, those who kill their masters deserve to die!"

Die, die... doesn't that mean beheading?

Jin Que rolled her eyes and fell to the ground with a bang, fainting.

Xiong Er waved his hand. "Take her away!"

Everyone present had long been unable to stand Jin Que's style, and seeing this scene, they just watched coldly, unable to feel any sympathy.

Only Jin Que's master, Bian Dou Dou, stood out.

Although Bian Dou Dou was very disappointed in Jin Que, she was a woman he had liked for several years, and he really couldn't bear to see her die.

He hurriedly stepped forward, secretly stuffed a gold ingot into Xiong Er's palm, and pleaded: "Sir, this girl has a bad heart and did something wrong, but fortunately she didn't succeed, so the crime is not enough to die. Can you please be lenient and spare her this once? When we go back, I will definitely teach her a lesson, making her wish she were dead! Do you think that's okay?"

Xiong Er, however, didn't give any face at all, and threw the silver back to Bian Dou Dou. "No."

Bian Dou Dou, "..."

Seeing that Jin Que was about to be dragged away by two soldiers, he gritted his teeth and had to turn to look at Du Ruo, begging with a bitter face.

"Sister-in-law Jiang, I know this puts you in a difficult position, but Jin Que she..."

Du Ruo didn't want to get involved in this muddy water. Firstly, Jin Que deserved it; secondly, she could see that Xiong Er was helping her vent her anger.

However, since Bian Dou Dou had spoken, she couldn't refuse.

On second thought.

Actually, Jin Que had done such a thing, even if she returned to the Bian family, her days wouldn't be easy.

Most importantly, she had offended Du Mingzhu.

With Du Mingzhu's vengeful nature, she would definitely not spare Jin Que lightly, and by then, her end would definitely be more exciting than beheading.

Thinking of this, Du Ruo spoke with pleasure, "Officer Xiong, Jin Que indeed deserves to die, but so many water bandits have been caught today, the prefectural prison is probably going to be full. Why not just order her master to discipline her himself? This way, she gets a lesson, and it saves you time and energy."

Xiong Er only thought for a moment and agreed readily.

"Mistress Du's words make sense, let's do it that way."

Bian Dou Dou breathed a sigh of relief and thanked her repeatedly.

Soon Xiong Er left with his men. It was already mid-afternoon, and Master Yan said goodbye to the ship captain and led the students off the ship to the shore.

The group rented a few carriages and drove toward the city gate.

And at this time, Xiong Er went straight to the prefectural Ya Men.

Compared to the county Ya Men, the prefectural Ya Men was naturally much more grand, with two majestic stone lions at the entrance, four thick and bold red stone pillars rising from the ground, and one could see the two large black-as-charcoal doors at a glance.

Everywhere it revealed strict deterrence.

Entering the door, it was the prefectural hall for trying cases, with the plaque "Justice and Brightness" hanging high above.

Further back, there were the Experience Division, the Verification Division, and the Prison Division.

To walk through the entire prefectural Ya Men, even with fast feet, would take a quarter of an hour.

Xiong Er didn't go to the Prison Division where the water bandits were held, but first went to find his own prefect.

Under normal circumstances, Prefect Su should be working in the office.

But at this moment, he was nowhere to be found.

The Ya Men runner at the door smiled: "What a coincidence, the master just went to the back hall to eat, it's estimated you'll have to wait a while."

Eat?

Xiong Er was very puzzled. "It's already this time, and the master hasn't eaten yet?"

"No." The runner shook his head. The prefect pays the most attention to health maintenance, and no matter how big the matter is, it can't stop his rhythm of eating. "The Princess Consort just sent soup, saying it's turtle soup simmered for hours, to nourish the master's body." ===== CHAPTER 278 =====