Chapter 103: Twists and Turns, Clearing Doubts and Suspicions

The barbarian looked at Ye Chang, his eyes practically spitting fire. Seeing that he would not confess, Ye Chang waved his hand, and the bailiffs once again lunged toward Wei Niang.

"I confess, I confess..."

Having known along the way that this barbarian was the most fluent in the Tang language, Ye Chang was not surprised to hear him yield. The barbarian casually confessed that they had seen the merchant carrying great wealth while on the road, and thus, overcome by greed, they had killed the merchant and plundered his goods.

Although this testimony was riddled with holes, Ye Chang was quite satisfied. He smiled at Han Chaozong and said, "Lord Han, I have not failed your mission. I have indeed obtained a confession."

Han Chaozong, however, frowned; such a confession was entirely insufficient for him to report back.

"By the way, tell us where you killed the man and where you buried the stolen goods!"

The barbarian hesitated, but at another wave of Ye Chang's hand, the bailiffs made a show of moving to strip Wei Niang’s garments. The barbarian had no choice but to speak again, revealing the location.

"This is forcing a confession through intimidation; how could it be genuine?" Huo Xianqi whispered to Ji Wen.

Ji Wen nodded slightly. Indeed, a confession obtained in such a manner was pure fabrication. A single investigation would reveal the inconsistencies. If Ye Chang thought he could get by with such a result, he doubted Han Chaozong would let him off easily.

Sure enough, Han Chaozong’s patience had reached its limit. He felt he could no longer let Ye Chang continue this charade, but Ye Chang spoke first: "It is nearly noon. Lord Han, why not partake in a meal? We can continue the interrogation after lunch."

Han Chaozong glared at him for a long moment: "Ye Chang, if you continue to make a mockery of this today, do not blame me for listing you as a suspect!"

"The Jingzhao may rest assured."

Han Chaozong ordered the inn to provide food. Having arrived early in the morning without breakfast, he was indeed hungry. However, the gravity of the case and the urgency of the time left him with no appetite.

Ye Chang, on the other hand, ate with great relish, finding time to observe everything around him.

Half an hour later, Han Chaozong finally lost his patience and ordered the interrogation to resume. Ye Chang smiled: "Did this wretch not just confess? Why interrogate him again? We only need to inspect the scene and recover the stolen goods."

"Ye Chang, have you not caused enough trouble yet?" Huo Xianqi could no longer endure it; if this dragged on, he would be the one to suffer: "Lord Jingzhao, I request that this matter be handed over to Chang'an County for investigation!"

"Hmph, if you had said so earlier, would there have been any need to disturb me?" Han Chaozong glared at him, then looked at Ye Chang. Seeing Ye Chang nodding, he said: "County Lieutenant Huo, send your men to inspect the site and recover the goods according to the confession."

"It was clearly a coerced confession; how could there be real evidence?"

"I told you to send your men, so go!"

Under Han Chaozong’s reprimand, Huo Xianqi had no choice. He shot Ye Chang a look of hatred, summoned a clerk, and gave him instructions. The clerk then left in a hurry with the bailiffs and soldiers.

A short while later, the clerk returned, looking shocked: "Found them! We found them!"

"Found what?" Huo Xianqi’s heart skipped a beat; he had a vague premonition that he was about to suffer a great loss of face.

"The crime scene and the stolen goods—both have been found!" the clerk reported.

"Where?"

"Exactly where the confession stated!"

"Nonsense! That was a coerced confession; how could it be true?" Huo Xianqi was furious: "This is a grave matter! Anyone spreading falsehoods will be slapped!"

"Huo Xianqi!" Seeing Huo Xianqi still causing trouble, Han Chaozong could no longer restrain himself: "Step back! It is not your turn to speak here!"

With so many people watching, Huo Xianqi was given no face. He lowered his head to hide his resentful gaze. Han Chaozong ignored him and said to the clerk: "Speak."

The clerk detailed the discovery. Following the directions provided by the barbarians, they had indeed found a spot nearby with signs of a recent struggle. Near a large tree, they found signs of digging and unearthed several expensive artifacts.

As he spoke, the bailiffs presented the evidence one by one. Huo Xianqi was left completely dumbfounded.

"There really are stolen goods," Ye Chang said with a smile, nodding at Huo Xianqi: "County Lieutenant Huo, would you like to examine this evidence?"

Huo Xianqi muttered to himself, unable to fathom how the confession Ye Chang had coerced could have accidentally hit the mark.

Even Wei Niang was utterly stunned.

She knew full well that her party had never killed anyone or seized goods. She had repeatedly explained that they had heard a noise in the night, discovered a corpse and a barbarian blade in their courtyard, and attempted to bury the body to avoid trouble.

But now, her previous defense had become worthless in the face of physical evidence.

"This... this is Heaven wanting the destruction of our Yuexi Zhao!"

The barbarian who had confessed was also stunned, blurting out a sentence that left Wei Niang in utter despair.

"Barbarian girl, what else do you have to say?" Han Chaozong saw that with both the confession and the physical evidence in hand, the case could be closed, despite its remaining flaws.

Wei Niang’s gaze was no longer vacant. She turned to look at Ye Chang: "You... you..."

Ye Chang smiled. Although this barbarian woman remained respectful to him, the others who traveled with her had been rude. From Xiuwu to Chang'an, they had subjected him to endless mockery. Though they spoke in their own tongue, assuming Ye Chang did not understand, he had clearly read their expressions.

Teaching them a lesson up to this point was enough.

"Since you have nothing to say, the case is closed..." Han Chaozong declared.

Just then, Ye Chang stepped forward again and bowed: "Wait a moment."

"What now? What is the matter?"

"These pieces of evidence are, in fact, planted," Ye Chang said suddenly.

"What?"

The surrounding crowd erupted in an uproar. Huo Xianqi’s mind raced, and he jumped out: "So that’s it! I knew it was you playing tricks. You flip-flop back and forth—do you think a court of law is a child’s game?"

Ye Chang ignored him, took a blade from a bailiff, and walked toward a certain direction.

"Ye Eleven, answer me! I ask you, do you dare to hold the court in contempt?"

Ye Chang walked toward the direction of Huo Xianqi’s entourage, reached that point, and suddenly held the blade against a man’s neck.

"This man is an accomplice to the true murderer," Ye Chang said calmly. "Now, we may proceed with the interrogation."

The crowd was stunned again. Huo Xianqi was so angry the veins on his forehead were throbbing: "Absurd! Utterly absurd!"

The man held at knifepoint was Huo Xianqi’s groom, a distant relative of his. Huo Xianqi could bear it no longer and bowed to Han Chaozong: "Lord Han, will you allow Ye Chang to go on like this, slandering and attacking an official of the Imperial Court?"

Ye Chang turned his head and sighed: "County Lieutenant Huo, I have my reasons for saying this. It would not be too late for you to react so intensely after you have heard me out."

"Hmm?"

"Otherwise, once the truth is revealed, I fear you will have no face left to show."

Ye Chang’s words sounded like concern for Huo Xianqi, but in reality, it was a slap in the face. Huo Xianqi knew exactly what he meant. If Han Chaozong were not present, he would have ordered Ye Chang dragged away and beaten half to death already.

But that was only a hypothetical. In front of Han Chaozong, Huo Xianqi could only retaliate with words.

"Flip-flopping, you are truly a petty man," he pointed at Ye Chang: "You change your tune constantly—could you possibly have any reason for this?"

"Naturally, I do."

Ye Chang sneered: "Since this man is among your entourage, County Lieutenant Huo, may I ask what his status is among your subordinates?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"If you do not wish to be incriminated, County Lieutenant, it would be better to speak. Otherwise, you might be suspected of harboring a criminal."

"You..."

"Enough arguing! Ye Chang, since you possess such intelligence, just state it. Why must you always show off and insist on creating so many enemies for yourself?"

Han Chaozong’s reprimand left Ye Chang stunned, and he immediately bowed: "I was wrong."

Indeed, his conflict with Huo Xianqi could have been avoided, but because Huo Xianqi had forced him to kneel, he had felt resentful and repeatedly clashed with him.

Accepting Han Chaozong’s lesson, Ye Chang said no more, only pointing at Huo Xianqi’s groom: "This man is merely a groom under your command, County Lieutenant. Just now, when the idlers were cleared out, others took the opportunity to rest, yet this man kept hovering nearby to listen. Every one of the three interrogations, he did exactly this."

The groom, hearing this, knelt down hurriedly: "My Lord, I am wronged! I was not the only one who came to watch the excitement..."

"But you are the only one who disappeared after watching all three times! And after disappearing, you are the only one who was seen whispering with a group of suspicious characters!"

"You... you are spouting blood!"

"Spouting blood? Do you dare say you didn't leave?" Ye Chang sneered: "Speak!"

"I... I left, but I had something to do..."

"Once, maybe twice, it could be a coincidence. But three times in a row? Just what exactly was it that you had to do?"

"I... I had a stomach ache! I went to the latrine!"

Even Huo Xianqi now realized that something was wrong with his kinsman groom. Although the man tried to argue, he was clearly putting on a brave front while being guilty at heart!

"It seems you will not give up until you hit the Yellow River," Ye Chang sneered: "Monk, drag him over!"

He suddenly raised his voice, and a muffled response followed.

The crowd parted, and a tall, bald monk strode in, carrying a man on his shoulders. Upon reaching them, the monk shook his shoulder, and the man fell to the ground.

"Do you recognize this man?" Ye Chang asked Huo Xianqi’s groom.

Huo Xianqi’s groom had begun to tremble all over.

In fact, the moment he saw the person on the monk’s shoulder, he shook uncontrollably: Ye Chang had not been bluffing—he had truly sent someone to follow him!

"You were merely bribed. If you confess the truth, you might save your life. But if you do not... you will be treated as an accomplice to the thieves. Being at the side of County Lieutenant Huo, you must know how significant this case is. This is a capital crime; it might even implicate your family!"

Ye Chang’s words shattered the groom’s will to resist. He kowtowed like a pestle, weeping and wailing: "This lowly one was blinded by greed! I took money from others to report the progress of the investigation. I am not an accomplice—I only passed on the news..."

"Is the person you passed the news to this fellow?" Ye Chang pointed to the man the monk had thrown on the ground.

"It is him!"

Everyone’s gaze focused on the man. He was short and stocky, with a fierce appearance, not at all like a Tang person. Ye Chang stared at him for a while, then looked at Wei Niang’s subordinates, and finally pushed up the man’s hair bun.

A faint, circular mark appeared beneath his hairline.

"Is this man dead or alive?" Seeing the sudden turn of events, Han Chaozong asked the monk.

The monk smiled foolishly: "Young Master Ye gave orders that he must be captured alive, not dead. So, I only knocked him unconscious."

"Men, wake him up!"

A moment later, someone brought a bucket of water and poured it directly over the man. He shivered and slowly regained consciousness.

Before he was fully awake, he sensed something was wrong. He leaped up and instinctively reached for his waist.

He had originally carried a dagger, but the monk had already disarmed him, so he grabbed at empty air.

Crouching on the ground, he looked around. When he saw the soldiers and bailiffs, his face twitched violently, revealing terror.

"Who are you!" Huo Xianqi demanded.

"I... I am a merchant from Jiannan... I do not know... why have you captured me?" The man’s eyes darted around, and when he saw Huo Xianqi’s groom, his hesitation grew more pronounced.

"It seems you are another one who will not give up until the end. He has already confessed," Ye Chang pointed to the groom: "You spent a large sum of money to bribe him to find out the details of the interrogation. Just what is your intention? Why not confess the truth?"

The man’s face changed again, and he crawled on his knees toward Han Chaozong: "I am naturally curious. I encountered this strange case at the inn and often heard that Lord Jingzhao is wise and resourceful, so I wanted to know how the case was being handled. I did not expect to bring suspicion upon myself. I beg the Jingzhao for mercy!"

The man’s Mandarin did indeed carry the accent of the Jiannan region, but Han Chaozong was not fooled. He said coldly: "If that is the case, it seems you have chosen to be beaten... Drag him away and beat him!"

The bailiffs lunged forward like wolves. Everything was ready; the same ground and sticks used on the barbarians were now waiting for him. Under a barrage of blows, the man screamed and begged for mercy, but no matter how they interrogated him, he insisted his actions were merely born of curiosity.

After being tortured three times, his story remained the same, and he was beaten to the point of being half-dead. It was clear that one more blow would kill him.

Han Chaozong frowned deeply.

"He is a dead-set man," Ji Wen whispered from the side.

"Keep beating him! I will have someone go to the office to fetch more instruments of torture. I do not believe he can hold out any longer!" Huo Xianqi said with murderous intent.

He hated this man deeply, not only because he had bribed his groom, but more importantly, because this case had made him look foolish and caused him to lose face.

But his idea was merely to vent his anger. If they beat him further, they would only kill him without extracting any valuable testimony. If they could not find the accomplices behind him, this case could never be considered solved.

With no more torture possible and no useful information being yielded, the case seemed to have reached a stalemate once more. Han Chaozong stroked his beard, unable to help but look at Ye Chang again.

Ye Chang, however, had retreated to the side at some point and was whispering with a group of people who looked like ruffians and wandering swordsmen.