Forget it, I’ll just have them flogged!
After fifty strikes, the monks still wouldn’t confess.
Old Master Xia was inwardly furious. Afraid of offending Prefect Liu? Well, this old master will make sure you offend him!
Prefect Liu was his superior and had not refrained from committing disreputable acts to accumulate silver. The lavish lifestyle he led was the epitome of opulence. He had dozens of concubines alone and spent his days doing nothing at all. He would visit brothels to see pretty girls or engage in leisure activities like admiring his pet birds and organizing cockfights and dogfights.
Whenever the Imperial Court assigned tasks, he would delegate them to the few Magistrates under him. When there were merits, he would take all the glory. When there were faults, he would pin them on the Magistrates below him. Occasionally, when he was short on silver, he would find ways to make their lives difficult! Those who didn’t want their lives made difficult had no choice but to obediently hand over silver.
County Magistrate Xia also longed for a life dripping with wealth—he was consumed by envy, resentment, and hatred! But when it came to being corrupt himself, he was too cowardly to dare. And so... he was always the one they made things difficult for. Gradually, Prefect Liu, knowing County Magistrate Xia was unwilling to offer silver, targeted him even more, even conspiring with other Magistrates to ostracize him.
This was one of the reasons Old Master Xia had remained a Magistrate for so many years without a promotion! Even if I have no merits, I’ve worked hard! Even if not hard work, it’s still exhausting toil! Moreover, he indeed lacked any particular talent. The knowledge he had gained from books was now rotting in his stomach. As a minor official of trivial importance, he managed to muddle through without particular distinction or fault.
But in the Imperial Court, being blameless was already considered good. At least I’m not corrupt, right? Unlike the likes of Prefect Liu... er.
Zhao Junyao felt he simply couldn’t let Prefect Liu get away with it.
Before him, County Magistrate Xia saw the monks still wouldn’t confess and immediately waved his hand.
"Bring in the tiger bench!"
After being tormented by Prefect Liu for so many years, I’ve finally caught an opportunity to fight back! There’s no way I’ll be lenient!
"Yes!"
The tiger bench was quickly brought in.
Seeing it, the monks’ legs turned to jelly.
"Amitabha! Lord Xia, aren’t you afraid of Prefect Liu... Ah, PTOOEY! Aren’t you afraid of Buddha..."
"Lord Xia, if you do this, Buddha will surely punish you!"
Old Master Xia let out a cold laugh. "When you were helping Prefect Liu exploit the common people, why didn’t you consider whether Buddha would punish you! Turning a worthless piece of wood into a so-called blessed amulet—that alone would be bad enough! But you actually sold them for ten taels of silver each! And how did those children so coincidentally contract such strange illnesses! It was your doing, wasn’t it? Speak!"
After Old Master Xia finished speaking, he gestured with his hand.
"Begin the torture!"
The ordeal of the tiger bench commenced; the real show was starting. One could imagine the severity of the pain, like having one’s hands and feet simultaneously crushed by wooden planks. The excruciating sensation instantly reduced the stout monks to quivering cowards.
"Stop, stop! I’ll talk, I’ll talk! It was Prefect Liu who ordered us to do it!"
"AARGH!"
Accompanied by screams like those of a slaughtered pig, someone finally confessed.
Old Master Xia pressed further. "How did those children get sick? Speak!"
"It was... it was someone specifically staking out wealthier households and poisoning their wells!"
"What poison? Where is it? Speak!"
The other monks, seeing no point in hiding and unable to endure the physical agony, also spoke up. One after another, they all confessed.
It turned out that Prefect Liu, in his relentless pursuit of money, spared neither the rich nor the poor. What if a poor family had no silver? Children would suffice. The unattractive ones were kidnapped and sold into hard labor. As for the good-looking ones, it went without saying—boys were sold as catamites, and girls were sold into prostitution.
For the more affluent families, who kept a close watch, kidnapping proved somewhat challenging. No matter. A dose of poison in the well, and they’d obediently go to Qingan Temple to pay the silver. Once the rumor spread that the amulets could cure illnesses, the schemers knew people wouldn’t dare refuse to go! Of course, some people didn’t believe it and genuinely didn’t go. No matter. Just add another dose of poison. Only when they paid the silver would their child’s "illness" be cured.
After County Magistrate Xia’s thorough interrogation, he had all the individuals and evidence locked up in the prison to await judgment. Then, he ordered his men to bring in the captured kidnappers. About sixty or seventy had been identified. More than ten had fled, but forty to fifty were apprehended. The court hall was too small for them all to kneel, so they were moved to the courtyard.
Once Zhao Junyao learned the whole story, he rose and left, leaving County Magistrate Xia to handle the case alone.
Old Master Xia would surely have those traffickers severely beaten. After all, some had the audacity to even target his own daughter!
「...」
Under the scorching sun, around fifty traffickers knelt in a row outside the court hall, their trousers pulled down. Before the fifty heavy blows were fully delivered, some began to howl defiantly.