Chapter 129
"Who do you think this waist token belongs to?" County Magistrate Cao himself knew that such an item couldn't possibly be Liu Mazi's.
However, it couldn't be from the Li family either.
An...
As far as he knew, there were no high-ranking officials with the surname An.
"Are there any prominent families with the surname An in the capital?" County Magistrate Cao asked his advisor beside him, puzzled.
"Sir, there are no dignitaries named An in the capital, but..." The advisor hesitated at this point, glancing uneasily at the magistrate.
He had just heard the guards report that Liu Mazi was the brother of the magistrate's favorite concubine.
The magistrate's earlier words clearly showed he wanted to save the man.
Otherwise, he would have ordered torture long ago.
"But what? Spit it out! What's with this dithering?" County Magistrate Cao said impatiently.
After all, the mess Liu Mazi had stirred up was significant. The Li family had never been someone he could easily offend, and now that Li Tianyou had become a third-rank official, he could afford to offend them even less.
Yet, his beloved concubine was insisting he save her brother.
He was truly being put in an impossible position.
"Sir, have you heard of the Prince of An?" the advisor whispered.
"Who did you say?" As soon as the advisor spoke, the image of that icy, intimidating man flashed in County Magistrate Cao's mind.
"If I guess correctly, this should be the waist token of the Prince of An's estate. Sir, do you think Miss Li might have some connection to the Prince of An's estate?" the advisor ventured cautiously.
After all, news from the capital didn't always reach Li'an County. The magistrate hadn't heard that Li Zhiwei had not married into the Ruan Marquis household but was instead betrothed to the Prince of An by imperial decree.
He found it hard to believe this was just a coincidence. He had been present throughout when the Marquis of Ruan came to Li'an County to propose.
Logically, Li Zhiwei should have been trapped in the capital for life.
Yet she had returned, and even had a waist token from the Prince of An's estate with her?
"Sir, the Prince of An's personal name seems to be Xu Heming. That's the name Miss Li mentioned earlier. However, the name on this waist token is 'Qingshi'." The advisor said this while glancing at the extraordinarily noble-looking young boy nearby.
The Prince of An's estate had a young lord; perhaps this was him.
However, the advisor didn't dare say more.
After all, he was just a lowly advisor.
"Hey, are you going to proceed with the trial or not? You can't even settle such a trivial matter. Tell me, what use are you to the imperial court?" Xu Qingshi, watching the two of them whispering, said impatiently.
In his view, it was simple: that bad man had kidnapped them.
He didn't understand why this so-called official was hesitating and not passing judgment.
"How dare you!" County Magistrate Cao was about to shout "How dare you!" when his advisor tightly grabbed his sleeve.
"This petty thief dared to kidnap this Young Lord. If you don't have him executed today, I'll have your official cap removed!" Xu Qingshi said irritably, ordering his guard to retrieve his waist token.
He then spoke with utter disdain.
Yao Shuheng's heart pounded beside him. This kid...
The guard strode directly to County Magistrate Cao, took back Xu Qingshi's waist token, then pulled out his own and thrust it before the magistrate's eyes, saying coldly, "If you don't recognize my Young Lord's token, you should at least recognize this one, shouldn't you?"
The guard produced the waist token of the Imperial Secret Guard.
Every county yamen had a reference chart to memorize the appearance of the Imperial Secret Guard's tokens.
This was to avoid having no proof when they needed to carry out orders.
"The... the Imperial Secret Guard!" County Magistrate Cao immediately rushed out from behind his desk and was about to kneel before the guard.
He thought perhaps the Emperor had some directive.
"Proceed with the case immediately!" the guard commanded, then returned to stand behind Li Zhiwei and Xu Qingshi.
"Yes! Yes, sir!" County Magistrate Cao wiped the sweat from his forehead. At this moment, he dared not entertain even a sliver of thought about covering for Liu Mazi.
"Guards, carry out the punishment!" Without another thought, County Magistrate Cao ordered Liu Mazi to be taken out for a beating.
"Brother-in-law, save me!" In his panic, the words "brother-in-law" escaped Liu Mazi's lips.
"Gag him! Beat him until he confesses!" Hearing "brother-in-law," County Magistrate Cao's heart raced, terrified the Secret Guard might think he was in cahoots with Liu Mazi.
"I confess! I confess!" Upon hearing he was to be beaten, Liu Mazi quickly cried out.
"Criminal Liu Mazi, confess truthfully at once!" County Magistrate Cao slammed his gavel and demanded coldly.
"He paid me silver to kidnap them. I didn't do anything else, I just tied them up." Liu Mazi hurriedly pointed at Yao Shuheng.
"Cousin, I didn't!" Yao Shuheng looked at Li Zhiwei in terror. His worst fear had come true; Liu Mazi had actually implicated him.
"If you claim you were paid by him to do this, why did you tie him up as well?" Li Zhiwei actually had no intention of letting Yao Shuheng off, but over the years, her uncle had sent them many gifts. Besides, this incident hadn't caused them any real harm.
Consider it repaying her uncle for his kindness over the years.
"Because he didn't want you to find out it was him," Liu Mazi quickly explained.
"Hah, he certainly wasn't gentle with himself, then," Li Zhiwei said sarcastically.
"However, you are the one who kidnapped us. If you claim he was the mastermind, produce the evidence!" Li Zhiwei had already had someone take the silver from Liu Mazi's person. Now, Liu Mazi truly had no proof to offer.
"I..." Liu Mazi was frantic.
"Magistrate Cao, you are aware of the penalty for kidnapping the son of a prince and the family member of an imperial official, correct?" Li Zhiwei asked, looking at County Magistrate Cao.
"I know... I know..." County Magistrate Cao kept wiping his brow, inwardly shocked. He hadn't realized that child was the Prince of An's heir.
He glared fiercely at Liu Mazi. This wretched man had almost implicated him! The crime he committed was punishable by death!
As for that pretty-faced fellow, Li Zhiwei clearly intended to protect him.
"Liu Mazi, an idle good-for-nothing, plotted against imperial kin and the daughter of an imperial official. According to the law, he shall be beheaded! Take him to the dungeon to await execution!" County Magistrate Cao didn't dare delay and issued the order directly.
Liu Mazi collapsed to the floor. He never imagined that a moment of greed would lead to a death sentence?
Huo Yunxuan had just returned to Li'an County when he heard that the eldest daughter of the Li family had been kidnapped.
The county magistrate had sentenced the perpetrator to death.
"Miss Li has returned to Li'an County?" Huo Yunxuan was overjoyed, feeling that heaven itself was giving him an opportunity.
"Yes, young master. Miss Li returned not only with a child but also with a man," the servant added after a moment's thought.
"What child?" Huo Yunxuan pondered. By his calculation, Li Zhiwei had only been in the capital for about two months at most. She couldn't possibly have given birth to a child.
So whose child was it?
Furthermore, wasn't Li Zhiwei betrothed to the Prince of An by imperial decree?
Then what was the identity of the man she brought back?
Could it be that Li Zhiwei was actually dissatisfied with the marriage arrangement with the Prince of An and had intentionally found a man?
Was the child also something Li Zhiwei was using to fob off the Prince of An?
