Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 81

Chapter 81
Peel off the skin and stuff it with grass

Li Heming was like a male vixen who sucked yin to replenish his essence. He hugged Lin Yu at night and continued to work in a refreshed state during the day, which made a group of colleagues who had not seen their wives and children for more than a month envious — especially He San, who couldn’t wait to return to the capital to see Miss Bai. He calculated the money he saved for many years, which was enough to redeem Bai Zhen from Jiaofangsi. With a goal, He San almost regarded himself as a strong donkey with a sweet white radish hanging in front of his head, and he was happy to work around the case all day long.

Li Heming handed over the interrogation and took a break from his busy schedule to take Lin Yu around Ji County. However, most of the time, his subordinates would show up and ask him to leave halfway through the tour. He couldn’t neglect the mission, so he had to leave Lin Yu halfway to deal with the business.

Fortunately, Lin Yu was well-educated and not angry.

Several corrupt officials involved in Ji County’s unsolved case confessed and signed their names. On this day, when Li Heming and Lin Yu were halfway through their tour, He San sent someone to invite him to the government office and presented Li Heming with dozens of confessions that he had worked hard to compile.

During this period, He San hardly stepped out of the main gate of the county government office and did not even go back to the posthouse. When sleepy, he would lie on a chair in the government office, wrapped in the bloody smell, and close his eyes for a few hours. He did not bother eating when he woke up and sat down to work. He was so dedicated to his work that he didn’t look human.

On the other hand, Li Heming, with Lin Yu’s care, wore clothes with a faint scent of soapberry daily. He was the most well-dressed and decent among a green-eyed group of busy Imperial Guards. He handed Luo Daozhang’s interrogation to He San without asking a question. He was probably the last to know how Luo Daozhang confessed and what was written in the confession.

At this moment, he got the confession and stood before the prison to read it carefully for a long time. In this quiet afternoon, the flying papers were making noises. Luo Daozhang’s crimes alone filled more than 20 sheets of paper.

Li Heming said nothing, and He San didn’t know what he was thinking. He stood aside and waited for him to finish reading before handing him dozens of signed and sealed written confessions.

“Leader, these are the confessions of Luo Daozhang’s family members, servants, and people who had contact with him. There are 43 confessions in total. It’s all here.” After He San finished speaking, he saw that Li Heming didn’t talk, so he touched his nose and asked: “Luo Daozhang is still conscious now. Do you want to interrogate him again in person?”

“No need. You did a good job,” Li Heming said lightly. He raised his hand and pointed to the west corner gate: “Drag him out.”

The prison’s west corner gate would only open in the event of execution, which meant that the person would be beheaded on the spot.

He San replied solemnly: “Yes.” He led the imperial guards into the prison to escort the person.

When Luo Daozhang was taken out of prison, Li Heming stood at the prison gate. The spring light above seemed cold, shining coldly at his feet. The carved Bi’an on the top of the door had fangs and fierce eyes, staring at the criminals who were imprisoned and dragged out of the prison for execution day after day for decades.

Now, Luo Daozhang would also be among them. The county magistrate’s glory in the past was gone. At this moment, Luo Daozhang was disheveled and covered with blood. He tilted his head to his shoulder weakly and couldn’t stand steadily. The Imperial Guards seemed to be dragging a human-shaped w*t mud with broken bones on both sides. His knees almost touched the ground, and the tips of his shoes soaked in blood dragged two long, curved, and intermittent blood trails behind him. The shackles on his ankles knocked against the potholes on the stone slabs, making a long series of ding-dong sounds. As the county magistrate, he had judged countless cases, big and small. With a bang of the gavel, there were at least ten people sentenced to death. He knew very well what would happen to him when he was dragged out of the prison this afternoon. Perhaps because he knew the deadline was approaching, he was slightly more awake than yesterday. His dim eyes looked through the tangled hair on his forehead. After seeing Li Heming standing under the prison gate, he moved his head slightly. He opened his dry lips with difficulty and said weakly: “Spare my wife… my wife and daughter… Lord Li, spare my wife and daughter. Lord…”

The vague and hoarse voice sounded repeatedly in front of this cold prison, which was frightening. However, Li Heming only flipped through the confession in his hand indifferently.

The Imperial Guards, who were carrying Luo Daozhang, also turned a deaf ear to it. They were evidently used to the prisoners’ requests for mercy before the trial. They held his arms and silently carried him past Li Heming.

The voices of begging for mercy faded away. Luo Daozhang’s head rolled on the ground when Li Heming finished reading all the confessions. The body with a broken neck and bloody head were carried from the west corner gate through the prison gate and thrown in front of the temple opposite.

Following the torture established by emperors to punish corrupt officials, several government runners removed Luo Daozhang’s prison clothes soaked in blood. Under the command of the Imperial Guards, they peeled off his human skin and stuffed it with dry straw.

Once the human-skinned straw man was placed in the temple, the officials who came to Ji County to take over were in fear and awe, and this place could have at least ten years of peace.

Li Heming had killed countless corrupt officials, and he was used to this cruel and bloody scene, so he didn’t frown. He looked at the bloody and wrinkled human-skin scarecrow indifferently. Then, he led hundreds of Imperial Guards to step on the w*t blood of Luo Daozhang on the ground and walk out of the once glorious county government office. With the confession that might shock the court and public, he headed back to the capital.