Chapter 578: False Accusation
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Yuwen Cong said coldly, “Do any of you remember who tore the bag?”
Still, no one answered. The whipping continued for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Finally, someone couldn’t bear it anymore and loudly said, “Fifth Master, I have something to say.”
Yuwen Cong said, “Speak.”
The man crawled forward a few steps, looked at Jiang Shanshan sitting aside, and saw Jiang Shanshan feeling annoyed and worried about the failed mission. Suddenly, he saw this person looking at her with malicious intent, and her heart tightened. Before she could come up with a countermeasure, she heard the man say, “I once saw Miss Jiang whispering to Black Seven on the side. I don’t know if it’s related to this.”
Yuwen Cong looked at Jiang Shanshan, although Jiang Shanshan had a guilty conscience, she wasn’t afraid of trouble. She looked directly into Yuwen Cong’s eyes and said loudly, “Fifth Master knows me. I have grievances with Fu Mingzhu. It’s possible that I wanted to kill her. It’s ridiculous to say that I deliberately leaked information.”
Yuwen Cong didn’t say much to her, but turned to look at the thin man kneeling on the far left and said in a deep voice, “Black Seven, you speak. There’s no harm in saying, I’ll pardon you.”
Black Seven didn’t hesitate to lift his head and look at Yuwen Cong. He said confidently, “In response to Fifth Master’s question, Miss Jiang ordered me to complete the task carefully and prudently.”
Jiang Shanshan smiled triumphantly and looked at the person who accused her, “Black Nine, last time I saw you standing on the street, flirting with someone, did you meet an acquaintance? If I remember correctly, you should be from the North, right? Meeting an old friend in a foreign land? Or do you have acquaintances in the capital?”
Black Nine said, “Miss Jiang, you’re mistaken. I’ve only been on the streets of this capital twice. Once when I entered from the North, and once today when I went out on a mission. Both times, I was with my colleagues and never with Miss Jiang.”
Jiang Shanshan sneered, “You dare say! You must have been the one who tore the bag! You’re Yuwen Chu’s person! You’re trying to frame me to reduce Fifth Master’s support!”
Black Nine panicked, “Miss Jiang, you can’t accuse me of framing you just because I mentioned the fact that you and Black Seven were whispering together. Fifth Master ordered us to report any suspicious incidents, I didn’t intend to harm you. I’ve never touched the bag, where would I have the opportunity to tear it?”
Yuwen Cong looked at Jiang Shanshan, then at Black Nine and Black Seven, and suddenly said, “Bring Black Nine and Black Seven down and apply heavy torture until they confess.”
Black Nine and Black Seven shouted their innocence and were both dragged away. Jiang Shanshan looked at Yuwen Cong and said, “Fifth Master, I have something to say about today’s events.”
Yuwen Cong raised his eyelids slightly, “Speak.”
Jiang Shanshan leaned close to his ear and whispered, “There must be a traitor among these people. If we can’t identify them, then just kill them all.”
Yuwen Cong looked at her with a smirk, remaining silent.
Jiang Shanshan felt a chill down her spine from his smile but persisted, “Anyway, you must believe me. I would never help Fu Mingzhu.”
Yuwen Cong smiled and said, “Yes, I believe you. You would never help Fu Mingzhu. You’re only thinking about how to kill her as soon as possible.”
Jiang Shanshan obediently said, “I’ll do as Fifth Master says. Whenever you want her dead, I’ll make it happen.”
Yuwen Cong nodded and looked at the row of people kneeling on the ground, “Just now, Miss Jiang suggested killing all of you. She’d rather kill an innocent than let one guilty person go.”
Several people lifted their heads, glaring at Jiang Shanshan with undisguised hatred and murderous intent in their eyes.
Jiang Shanshan never expected Yuwen Cong to act like this. Caught off guard, she felt a chill run through her. She knew very well what kind of ruthless villains these were. These so-called death warriors were prepared to die at any moment. They had little emotion and conscience. Once they were involved in conflicts of interest, it would become a matter of life and death. Even Black Seven, who had just spoken up, only interacted with her because he was following Teacher Zhu’s orders, not because he genuinely wanted to get close to her or be influenced by her.
Now that these people knew she wanted them dead, would they spare her? They would surely watch her like wolves. If she made any wrong move or showed any sign of abnormality, they would kill her immediately. Yuwen Cong had done this intentionally; he must have sensed something!
A wise man avoids the worst consequences. Jiang Shanshan quickly said, “Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. I didn’t mean that. I meant that Fifth Master should think of another way to investigate. Otherwise, if we can’t find the traitor, everyone will be killed by them.”
Yuwen Cong didn’t argue with her, only said slowly, “I can’t bear to see you all die. Father has spent so much money and effort nurturing you. Even I, after spending so long with you all in the capital, have developed feelings. I just hope that in the tasks ahead, everyone can work together and make up for the mistakes, seeking revenge for our brothers who died unjustly today. Can you do that?”
The remaining people quickly agreed in unison, “We are willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means sacrificing our lives.”
Yuwen Cong stood up and left, “Alright, let’s leave it at that for today. The beatings were not to punish you, but to make you understand that you’re a team. Any mistake from anyone can lead to mission failure and the death of our brothers. Both Black Nine and Black Seven will be killed. I hope you will take this as a lesson.”
Jiang Shanshan was left alone in the room, facing a group of menacing and vicious thugs. However, she wasn’t very scared. Instead, she charmingly smoothed her hair and lightly laughed, saying, “Who will push me back to my room? Or perhaps, someone could bring the person who serves me here.” Yuwen Cong was indeed very clever. He quickly noticed that Black Seven was suspicious, but Fu Mingzhu hadn’t been caught yet, so he wouldn’t be willing to kill her. At most, he would scare her a bit and let these thugs keep an eye on her.
Yuwen Cong stood outside the window, observing the situation in the room with a slight smile. He said to his trusted aide, Mu Qing, “Look at Miss Jiang, she’s truly remarkable. Calm in the face of danger, not even scared by this. She’s confident that I won’t harm her until we catch Fu Mingzhu.”
Mu Qing, puzzled, asked, “Your Highness, Black Seven is Zhu Wenzhen’s man. Why should Black Nine die too? Second Miss Jiang obviously said that to retaliate.”
Yuwen Cong said coldly, “Anyone kneeling here is suspicious. If Black Nine hadn’t spoken up, I wouldn’t have suspected him. Since he dared to question Jiang Shanshan and Black Seven, he must be involved. Capturing Fu Mingzhu is a big deal. Even if Zhu Wenhan and I aren’t on good terms, he would only snatch or kill Fu Mingzhu, not warn her to escape.”
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