readytorunbook Chapter 444 Joint Crime
Chapter 444 Joint Crime
Chapter 444 Joint Crime
Ma Yun cried out, "My lord, spare my life! What crime have I committed?"
"How dare you!" Wang Wenzhou cursed. "Ma Yun, you're shameless! You still dare to refuse to admit your guilt? You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin!"
"Bring his family here!" Wang Wenzhou ordered.
In no time, Ma Yun's wife, children, elderly parents, servants, and laborers—a total of sixteen people—were brought in.
Wang Wenzhou pointed at the group of women and said, "Strip them naked!"
"I'll go!" Little Monster 001 shouted and rushed towards the prettiest girl.
In an instant, the room became noisy with the sounds of a woman crying, a man shouting, and a child crying.
"Sigh..." Liu Hanxue sighed softly. She couldn't hold back any longer and gently advised, "Husband, Heaven is watching what people do. Aren't you afraid of retribution? Don't do anything that goes against Heaven and reason. Let them go!"
Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Baby, aren't women meant to be teased by men? It doesn't matter who teases them, right? Just keep watching, and you'll see they deserve what they got!"
"Hmph!" Liu Hanxue snorted coldly. Wang Wenzhou, that madman, was simply outrageous. Liu Hanxue decided that she must report Wang Wenzhou's actions to the Emperor truthfully.
In no time, the women were stripped down to their underwear.
Wang Wenzhou looked at Ma Yun and said, "Take the gag out of his mouth, Ma Yun. You keep refusing to confess, but let me ask you, all the women in your household are wearing exquisite underwear. Each piece of underwear costs at least three to five taels of silver. These eight pieces alone must have cost several dozen taels of silver."
Wang Wenzhou pointed at Ma Yun and said angrily, "How much is your annual salary as a constable in the yamen? How can you have so much money to buy so many expensive clothes? Men, search him! See how much silver he has!"
"Yes!" Wei Yongfu waved his hand, and soon several teams of men ran to each room to search carefully.
Ma Yun remained silent, his head drooping, a bitter expression on his face.
Wang Wenzhou demanded, "Ma Yun, you son of a bitch, say something! Where did the money come from?"
Ma Yun looked up at Wang Wenzhou, as if resigned to his fate, and quickly kowtowed to confess his guilt: "My lord, I know I am guilty! The money was all obtained by me, and has nothing to do with my family. Please let them go!"
"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou looked at Liu Hanxue and said with a smile, "Baby, you saw that, didn't you? Ma Yun deserved it!"
Liu Hanxue frowned and retorted, "But his family is innocent!"
Wang Wenzhou hugged Liu Hanxue and kissed her, then said with a smile, "I haven't finished asking about the case yet. You'll understand in a bit."
"Bang bang bang!" Ma Yun kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Wang Wenzhou spoke up, "Alright! Ma Yun, confess your crimes. How much silver have you embezzled over the years, and how many innocent people have you killed?"
"My lord, I may have made some money, but I have never done anything immoral or unethical!" Ma Yun said solemnly.
Wang Wenzhou asked coldly, "Ma Yun, do you have no shame? You still think you're being wronged? Then tell me first, how did you make your money?"
Ma Yun replied verbatim, "Your Honor, I am an executioner, responsible for executing death row inmates. If the inmate's family members offer a bribe during the execution, I will cut off their head with one stroke, making their death painless. If there is no bribe, I will sabotage the execution, and the inmate will not die even after several blows."
"Did you hear that!" Wang Wenzhou pointed at Ma Yun and cursed, "How heartless is this bastard? His job is to execute criminals. He only has so much power, yet he still manages to find ways to profit from it. Ma Yun, you're quite clever!"
Ma Yun smiled wryly and said, "My lord, this is not my idea. I have been an executioner for over twenty years, and this rule has been in place since my master's time. My master said that this rule has been passed down for over a hundred years."
"Oh!" Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Ma Yun, from what you're saying, you're actually wronged. So you're saying this money is yours to take?"
"Bang, bang, bang!" Ma Yun kowtowed repeatedly as he answered, "I wouldn't dare! I know I'm guilty!"
At this point, the search team finished their search and reported the situation to Wei Yongfu.
Wei Yongfu summarized the findings, then walked up to Wang Wenzhou and reported, "Sir, the brothers have completed the search. According to preliminary statistics, they have found over three hundred taels of silver in cash and two thousand taels of Hanshan Bank bank drafts. The valuables in the room are estimated to be worth over three thousand taels."
"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly, "Baby, did you hear that? A mere constable has several thousand taels of silver in his pocket. Most ordinary people can't earn that much money in their entire lives."
"My lord, I know I'm guilty! Please spare my family!" Ma Yun felt he probably wouldn't survive, but he had to exonerate his family, since he was the one who got the money, and it had nothing to do with them.
"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Ma Yun, why should your family be let off the hook? You commit crimes and make money, while they live a life of luxury. The clothes they wear are worth more than ten taels of silver."
Wang Wenzhou laughed and scolded, "You confess and accept your punishment, and your family can then claim they know nothing about your crimes? You're not stupid! If everyone were like you, anyone could rob tens of thousands of taels of silver, get caught, confess, and accept punishment. They could sacrifice their lives to ensure their families live a life of luxury!"
Wang Wenzhou said coldly, "Don't even think about exonerating your family. You are all guilty of a crime together. According to the Emperor Taizu's decree, anyone who embezzles 20 taels of silver shall be executed immediately! My verdict is as follows: all of you shall be executed immediately!"
Little Monster 001 quickly asked, "Sir, can we sleep with the woman before killing her?"
Wang Wenzhou laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, you're too wicked! Fine, I'll do as you say!"
"Thank you, sir!" Everyone hurriedly expressed their gratitude. Little Monster 001 and the others, although they were now Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), were originally death row inmates with a relatively low sense of morality. Back in Liaodong, they had caused all sorts of trouble and had a lot of fun. Now that they could finally have fun again, they were all overjoyed.
"Wang Wenzhou, you will be punished for your evil deeds!" Liu Hanxue immediately rebuked.
“Baby, how can you say that!” Wang Wenzhou said seriously, “Was my judgment wrong?”
Wang Wenzhou pointed at Liu Hanxue and said in a serious tone, "For example, if I were a robber, I would capture you, sleep with you, and then let my brothers sleep with you. Later, if we were arrested, I would take all the blame, and my brothers would have slept with you for nothing?"
Liu Hanxue frowned. Wang Wenzhou, that madman, seemed to have a point. She couldn't find a reason to exonerate Ma Yun's family.
“My lord, although they are guilty, they have not been tried by the three judicial authorities. How can they be killed so easily?” Liu Hanxue could only look for loopholes in the procedure. Fortunately, she came from a family of eunuchs. If it were any other child of Wang Wenzhou, he might not have thought of this.
Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Baby, that's your mistake! This is a case handled by the Imperial Guards, I'm just here to watch the fun!"
Liu Hanxue was speechless. Wang Wenzhou was utterly shameless, actually shifting the blame onto Jiang Zhenghe. The Embroidered Uniform Guard could indeed try criminals without going through the Three Judicial Offices. But these men you brought were clearly fake Embroidered Uniform Guards. I will definitely report this to the Emperor; your actions are outrageous and lawless!