Chapter 307: Chapter 212
Inside the hall, as Pei Yuqing spoke, everyone’s eyes turned towards him, including Lu Ziyuan, who was holding a whip.
The impending storm-like atmosphere created panic among the ruffians accustomed to bullying country folks and assaulting solitary women.
"Have mercy, sir," they pleaded tearfully the moment their gag was loosened, "this item belonged to an old woman, who seemed to be a runaway slave from a wealthy family, fleeing after stealing valuables. We just happened to come across her."
Old woman, runaway slave.
Lu Ziyuan flicked his whip and looped it around one man’s neck, dragging him forward, demanding sternly: "Where is that old woman!"
His eyes were bloodshot, his entire demeanor violent, seemingly ready to devour anyone, looking extremely terrifying.
The ruffians were scared into paralysis, stammering: "That old woman... jumped into Dayang Lake."
Jumped into Dayang Lake...
Pei Yuqing, still crouching, swayed for a moment, his face pale, and suddenly grabbed one man’s arm tightly, "Describe that old woman’s appearance and what disagreement you had with her, every word spoken; disclose everything, and if there’s any falsity, ... the consequences you won’t want to know."
Then, he turned to the Prefectural Governor, saying, "Bring every guest on that boat here."
He needed to learn what truly happened.
Although the Prefectural Governor was unaware of Pei Yuqing’s identity, seeing him stand up in front of the God of Killing, Lu Ziyuan, he knew this man was not someone to be offended, so he immediately gave orders to his subordinates.
Some of Pei Yuqing’s followers also went along.
The ruffian whose arm Pei Yuqing grabbed was the one injured by Xie Wanqing with a dagger; the wound, unfortunately, was caught right by Pei’s grip, causing the man to scream in pain, with blood oozing through his thick cotton clothes, pleading for mercy.
The scream was cut short by a whip from Lu Ziyuan, "Speak!"
The ruffian wept bitterly, hurriedly saying, "This old woman was elusive, and I didn’t see her face. She had some skills too. She carried a dagger and, caught us off guard, took a brother’s life, and sliced my arm... As for speaking, she seemed mute, never uttered a word."
As he continued, the officials in the hall listened and realized something was amiss.
Elusive, silent, armed, jewelry, with some skills.
Such a person couldn’t possibly be an ordinary runaway slave.
Is she even an old woman?
A ’clang’ sounded.
It was the sound of Lu Ziyuan’s whip hitting the ground, his iron grip momentarily dazed, "What did you do to her?"
How did it drive her to jump into the lake?
In such cold weather, freezing lake waters...
Soon, they would discover the events of that night.
The boat’s destination was Lu Zhou, with fewer than a hundred passengers onboard, all now located in Lu Zhou City.
Pei Yuqing’s subordinates were incredibly diligent, gathering these people in less than two hours.
The commotion that night was so vast, with the merchant ship having two levels, there was no one unaware of the incident.
The hall couldn’t accommodate them all, so they were made to stand in the courtyard.
Upon hearing they were gathered for the previous night’s boat incident, they began discussing among themselves without needing to be interrogated.
