Chapter 75

County Magistrate Hu was getting old, but the young concubine by his side was in her prime. Although the old man often talked about nurturing his body and replenishing his energy, once in bed, he could not resist his desires when provoked by the young vixen beside him.

Tonight, although Magistrate Hu was somewhat uneasy, he was still aroused by the seductive tongue of the beauty. After a brief moment of exertion on her fragrant and soft body, he panted and rolled off her, feeling the beauty’s dissatisfaction and embarrassment. He whispered a few words of comfort, but felt exhausted. Just as he closed his eyes, not yet asleep, he heard a panicked voice from outside the door: "Sir... Sir...!"

Magistrate Hu opened his eyes, not getting up, and asked, "Is it the middle of the night? Are you trying to summon my soul?"

The voice outside said, "Sir, something big has happened...!"

Magistrate Hu was startled, but then a look of joy appeared on his face. He pushed away the white, fleshy thigh of his concubine, got up, put on his clothes, walked to the door, and opened it. Outside was the jailer, Zhang Dahu.

Zhang Dahu looked panicked, and Magistrate Hu frowned slightly, then lowered his voice, "Is everything settled? Have you taken care of everything?"

Zhang Dahu looked distressed and said, "Sir... something really big has happened!"

Magistrate Hu felt strange and noticed a swollen spot on Zhang Dahu's face. He was startled and asked, "What happened? What's wrong with your face?"

"Sir, that boy went crazy!" Zhang Dahu's expression was flustered as he whispered, "I did as you instructed, first giving a packet of poison to Fat Fan, and then putting poison in the braised meat...!"

"There's nothing wrong with that," Magistrate Hu said, stepping out of the door and closing it behind him. He walked to a rockery in the courtyard. The night was moonless, dark, and the winter wind was cold. Magistrate Hu, despite his thin clothes, said sternly, "If the boy dies from the poison, we can search Fat Fan and say they had a personal grudge, and Fat Fan poisoned him in prison... Did something go wrong?"

"Fat Fan is dead!" Zhang Dahu looked distressed, "Chu Huan is still alive...!"

Magistrate Hu's face changed abruptly, his eyes filled with shock. He grabbed Zhang Dahu's collar and shouted, "What did you say? How could this happen? Didn't you say that in the prison, Chu Huan always eats first before the others?"

Zhang Dahu smiled bitterly, "Sir, it was supposed to be like that. I thought Chu Huan would definitely eat the braised meat... but for some reason, Chu Huan didn't eat it, and Fat Fan ate it first and has already died from the poison!"

Magistrate Hu's expression turned cold, and he narrowed his eyes, "How could this happen? Could it be... could it be that you exposed a flaw and the boy saw through it?"

Zhang Dahu shook his head, not knowing what to say.

Magistrate Hu, with his hands behind his back, walked back and forth anxiously. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, "Have you taken Fat Fan's body out? Quickly remove Fat Fan's body and the bowl of braised meat... this can't be left there, it will cause big trouble!"

Zhang Dahu said, "Sir, when something happened, I immediately thought of removing the body and evidence, but... but Chu Huan blocked the way, and we... we couldn't get it out!"

Magistrate Hu was stunned, his face turning angry, and he cursed, "Stupid, useless... you can't even handle such a small matter, what can you do? He's a prisoner, you're the jailers... that cell is your place, and you... you can't even deal with him?" He was both anxious and angry, his face turning extremely ugly.

Zhang Dahu lowered his head, cold sweat appearing on his forehead, "Sir, Chu Huan... Chu Huan is really strong. Four of us couldn't break in, and one of us was injured. I... I was also hit by him...!"

Magistrate Hu stomped his foot, his eyes filled with murderous intent, "I don't believe a country boy, locked in prison, can be so rampant. Is this county jail his, or ours?" He was extremely anxious, knowing that if this matter became public, it would bring him catastrophic consequences.

He had been in office in Qingliu County for many years and had done many heinous deeds. Such arbitrary killings were not the first time, and every previous time had been carried out smoothly without anyone knowing.

But this time, a fatal mistake had occurred.

An old man sometimes becomes lazy. In Magistrate Hu's view, using the method that had always worked to quickly deal with Chu Huan, the thorn in his side, should have been easy. With such a method at hand, he naturally didn't want to think of other ways and didn't even consider the possibility of the plan failing.

When the plan really went wrong, Magistrate Hu immediately felt the huge trouble that would follow.

"Sir, this boy must be eliminated," Zhang Dahu said viciously, "Should we gather the people from the county office and go in to chop him up? Although he is strong, if we gather twenty or thirty people from the county office... I don't believe he can fight so many!"

Magistrate Hu hurriedly said, "Yes, gather the people quickly, we must not let this boy live...!" As soon as he said it, he suddenly thought of something and cursed, "You foolish thing, always coming up with bad ideas... can this matter be publicized? Do you want the whole city to know?"

Zhang Dahu was stunned but quickly understood. The plot against Chu Huan was a covert operation, and he was Magistrate Hu's confidant, which is why Hu entrusted him with the task.

To keep the matter secret, the fewer people involved, the better, all of whom were Hu's absolute confidants.

Such covert operations, of course, could not be known by too many people; the more people who knew, the greater the risk.

"I'll go change my clothes!" Magistrate Hu thought for a moment and finally said, "No matter what, the body and the bowl of meat must be taken out...!"

...

...

In the dimly lit prison, Chu Huan was sitting cross-legged in front of the cell door. The door had not been opened, and Zhang Dahu had gone to find Magistrate Hu. The remaining three jailers were holding large knives, guarding the cell door. One of them had a bandage on his forehead, still bleeding. The atmosphere inside and outside the cell was deathly silent and extremely tense.

The sound of footsteps approached, and Chu Huan opened his eyes slightly. Soon, he saw Magistrate Hu, dressed in official robes, hurrying over. Although this was the first time Chu Huan had seen Magistrate Hu, the official robes made it easy for him to identify him.

Magistrate Hu, with an angry face, arrived at the cell door, raised his hand, and shouted at the three jailers holding knives, "How dare you? Why are you drawing your knives?"

The three jailers looked at each other, and Zhang Dahu, standing beside Magistrate Hu, coldly ordered, "Put away your knives!"

The jailers hurriedly put away their knives.

Magistrate Hu then coldly snorted, looked into the cell, glanced at Chu Huan, and then at the body behind him and the bowl of braised meat beside it. His face turned dark, and he said sternly, "What is going on here? How did someone die?"

Zhang Dahu hurriedly said, "Sir, we... we don't understand either. We wanted to take the body out to investigate, but...!" He looked at Chu Huan helplessly.

"A death in the prison is a serious matter!" Magistrate Hu said coldly, "Even prisoners must be protected. How can they die in prison? What about his family?" He looked coldly at Zhang Dahu and scolded, "Was he forced to death by you?"

Zhang Dahu hurriedly said, "Sir, I... I really don't know...!"

Chu Huan watched them with a cold eye, and said calmly, "Magistrate, I'll tell you. Fat Fan was poisoned, and the poison was in this bowl of braised meat... This bowl of braised meat was brought by your subordinates, intended as my dinner. If I hadn't taken a nap before eating, I would be the one lying on the ground, dead from the poison!"

Magistrate Hu's face changed, and he exclaimed, "Is that true?"

Chu Huan smiled coldly but said nothing.

"Zhang Dahu, tell me, who made this bowl of braised meat?" Magistrate Hu shouted sternly, "In broad daylight, how dare someone poison... How did you manage the prison?"

He suddenly lifted his leg and kicked Zhang Dahu, who cried out and fell to the ground.

Magistrate Hu, though over fifty, was still quite fit.

Magistrate Hu then turned to Chu Huan and said, "Rest assured, I will not let this go. If someone poisoned, I will investigate thoroughly and give you justice!" He waved his hand and ordered, "Bring the body and evidence out, and find the coroner. I will start investigating this case immediately to find out who dared to harm someone in secret!"

Zhang Dahu got up from the ground and was about to open the door, but Chu Huan said coldly, "Magistrate, the body cannot be taken away!"

Magistrate Hu was stunned and frowned, "Why not?"

"I don't trust some people," Chu Huan said calmly. "I almost died from this bowl of braised meat, and someone else died by mistake. This matter cannot be resolved lightly!"

"Resolved lightly?" Magistrate Hu suppressed his anger and said calmly, "Don't worry, in a matter of life and death, I will not take it lightly. I will definitely find out who poisoned!"

Chu Huan still shook his head, "No, unless someone from the city's criminal department comes, the body cannot be taken away!"

Magistrate Hu was almost bursting with anger but still forced himself to remain calm, "I understand your feelings, but you must also understand mine. Without the body and evidence, how can I investigate? I guarantee, on my honor, that I will bring the poisoner to justice. The law will not let the guilty go unpunished, and I will not spare anyone who harms others in secret!"