Chapter 39: Having a Precious Jade Pendant

  They arrived at the county yamen when Bao Zheng was trying a theft case, and the trial had just concluded. Bao Zheng was about to order the yamen runners to beat the thief with a wooden board.

  Bao Gong gave a single order, and those bailiffs were like hungry tigers, wielding their boards to strike the prisoner's buttocks. For a time, the entire hall was filled with mournful cries, making one's heart tremble with fear.

  "After the board is finished, Bao Gong said: 'A person who doesn't know how to work hard but thinks about stealing and robbing to fill his own pocket, this kind of person is a poison in my Great Song Dynasty, is a parasite, is a scourge. If I encounter him, I will not let him off lightly. Come on, take this man into the big prison, lock him up for seven or eight years.'"

  Bao Zheng is killing a chicken to scare the monkey, making those with thieving intentions afraid, so they won't dare to steal recklessly in the future.

  It's just that Bao Gong did this, but it made Hua Lang feel very embarrassed. This scene was seen by Zhu Yougui, who dared not to admit again that he had stolen Dong Cheng's account book. If he admitted it, wouldn't he end up like the criminal just now, being beaten half to death and also having to stay in prison for several years?

  Outside the county government office, many onlookers were standing around. They saw Bao Zheng judge cases like a god, showing no mercy to the guilty. For a moment, they were all stirred up and someone shouted "Great Judge Bao!" Suddenly, the entire outside of the county government office erupted in cheers, which was very stirring.

  But then Hua Lang and the others brought Zhu Yougui into the main hall, Bao Zheng saw that Hua Lang had brought a stranger, which was quite strange, so he asked: "Who is this person that Brother Hua has brought?"

  Hualang slightly cupped his hands and said, "Report to Lord Bao, this man is Zhu Yougui, the boss of Tianchang County. After investigating the theft of Dong Cheng's account book, we finally found him. After Dong Cheng was killed, Zhu Yougui went to Dong Cheng's rice store, but he didn't buy any rice or grains. Instead, he stayed inside for a long time, which makes me suspect that he is the one who stole Dong Cheng's account book."

  Hualang said this while occasionally using his eyes to hint at Bao Zheng, who was about to immediately interrogate Zhu Yougui. However, after seeing Hualang's gaze, he felt very strange and thought: What is Hualang trying to imply?

  Looking at this, Bao Gong suddenly understood that Dong Cheng's account book had been stolen. Now it was just a suspicion, and if Zhu Yougui insisted that he did not steal the account book, who could convict him of the crime?

  After understanding, Bao Zheng immediately ordered: "Since this case is related to the murder of Dong Cheng, wait for now. After I have dealt with these false and mistaken cases, I will conduct a trial."

  Bao Zheng understood his intention, and Hua Lang immediately nodded and retreated. Zhu Yougui felt strange, but he didn't dare to let Bao Zheng interrogate him immediately, so he had no choice but to wait in the main hall.

  At this time, Hua Lang and Wen Meng quietly left the main hall and headed towards the county prison. After arriving at the county prison, Hua Lang immediately had a prison guard bring out Dong Furen. Dong Furen's face was pale and her beautiful face was covered in dirt, but she no longer had the leisure to care about her clothes or appearance.

  After seeing Mrs. Dong, the flower gentleman immediately said: "I have come to save you today, Mrs. Dong. If you want to clear your name, it's best to answer my questions honestly."

  Mrs. Dong heard that Hualang had come to rescue her, and her heart was suddenly filled with hope. She said, "I will definitely answer honestly, as long as you can help me clear my name."

  Hualang nodded slightly and asked: "Did Dong Cheng ever lend Zhu Yougui over a thousand taels of silver?"

  Mrs. Dong was shocked upon hearing this, and after a long while, she replied: "This matter, my husband has never told me about it before. If he had told me, I would not have let him lend it out at all! Such a large sum of silver, can it be lent out casually?"

  Seeing Mrs. Dong like this, Hualang secretly smiled, all women take money seriously, it seems that Dong Cheng is afraid of his wife's opposition, so he dare not tell the truth to Mrs. Dong, lest she force him to ask for debt and lose face as a man.

  If that's really the case, then this matter is a bit difficult to handle. Dong Cheng's wife doesn't know about it, so who would still believe that Zhu Yougui has paid over 1,000 taels of silver to Dong Cheng?

  Just as Hua Lang was about to give up, Mrs. Dong suddenly said: "Although I don't know about this matter, I often tell my husband that if he lends money to someone, he must get them to write an IOU and take physical collateral, otherwise he absolutely cannot lend it. Now that you mention it, I seem to remember that one day my husband brought back a jade pendant with the words 'You Gui' engraved on it. I asked him whose jade pendant it was, and he said it was Zhu Yougui's. He was keeping it for Zhu Yougui for a few days. I think that must have been when Zhu Yougui borrowed the silver."

  Mrs. Dong suddenly mentioned this matter, and it was like a sudden revelation to the Flower Gentleman, whose mood instantly turned joyful. He hastily asked: "Where is that jade pendant now?"

  Mrs. Dong thought for a moment and said: "It should still be in our mansion, my husband usually puts his things in a box under the bed."

  After listening to Mrs. Dong's words, Hua Lang and Wen Meng rushed to Dong Cheng's mansion without saying much. After arriving at the mansion, they immediately searched the room and finally found the box under the bed that Mrs. Dong mentioned, and inside the box, they found the jade pendant with the two characters "You Gui".

  With this jade pendant, it seems that Zhu Yougui can no longer deny his intentions.

  When he took the jade pendant back to the county government, Hualang suddenly thought that even if he took out the jade pendant, he couldn't do anything to Zhu Yougui. If he said that the jade pendant was stolen by Dong Cheng, then he would be in a passive position. In this case, they not only couldn't do anything to him, but also might have to compensate his family.

  With Zhū Yǒu's clever mind, he must have thought of this point.

  After slowing down his pace, Hua Lang looked at Wen Meng and said: "This jade pendant can't be taken out yet, otherwise we won't even have our last trump card."

  After Wen Meng understood, he suddenly felt indignant in his heart. They actually couldn't do anything to a small Zhu Yougui, which was really infuriating. If they were in the jianghu, whoever didn't please their eyes would be taught a lesson, did they need so much evidence?

  "What do you want to do?" Wen Meng asked after a long time, looking at Hua Lang.

  Hualang was also at a loss for the time being and could only take things one step at a time.

  When he returned to the main hall, Bao Gong had already solved many cases and was resting in the back of the government office. Zhu Yougui was still being watched by two bailiffs in the main hall, while Yin Wu and Hua Yu'er accompanied Bao Gong.

  After meeting Bao Zheng, Hualang told Bao Zheng about his gains. After listening to Hualang's words, Bao Zheng also felt that he couldn't easily take out the jade pendant, otherwise Zhu Yougui would die and say that this was stolen by Dong Cheng, then they wanted to punish Zhu Yougui again, it would be difficult.