The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 562: Xia Wanqing Brought In

Song Chang sternly said, "Gan Jinming, the Court has laws. A murderer must pay with his life! Are you taking all the blame yourself, thinking we’re fools?"

Gan Jinming righteously replied, "Sir, a life for a life. I am the one who killed, it has nothing to do with my two benefactors."

Song Chang’s face darkened, "Since you’re not speaking the truth, we’ll beat you until you do! Men, beat them! All three together!"

Gan Jinming said, "Sir, sir, these two are my benefactors. If they hadn’t saved me, I’d have died last night. Beat me instead, I’m willing to take it all!"

These words only made Song Chang angrier. "Why aren’t you taking action yet?"

Immediately, six Capital Guards came over, two lifted one, pressed them to the ground, and then paddles began to strike down.

This wasn’t a torture chamber, nor a Government Office, but within the Capital Guard’s internal area, dealing with offenders in the Capital Guard – someone of Song Chang’s Deputy Commander status certainly had the authority to do so.

How could Hua Yuanming and Gu Hongxin endure this kind of humiliation?

Hua Yuanming kicked backwards, pushing away the two Capital Guards, and Gu Hongxin quickly said, "Second Brother, don’t act rashly!"

Gu Hongxin was much more meticulous than Hua Yuanming, and Gan Jinming’s words had already put them at a disadvantage. If they acted violently here, it would only make things worse.

The paddles already hit their backs, but Gu Hongxin didn’t move; he instead raised his head forcefully, saying to Song Chang, "Mr. Song, we didn’t kill anyone. There must be some misunderstanding. We know that Brocade Young Master is from the Duke of England Mansion. Even if we had the courage, we wouldn’t dare attack him. We truly let him go, and then sent Gan Jinming to his friend’s place to recover. Please, investigate thoroughly, sir!"

In the time it took to say these words, seven or eight paddles had struck their bodies, and Song Chang indifferently said, "True or not, we’ll wait until after thirty strikes to talk about it!"

Hearing his shout, Hua Yuanming stopped, only to be pinned to the ground again, and soon, the sound of paddling resumed.

Gu Hongxin knew that because of Gan Jinming’s words, whatever they said now would not be believed by Song Chang. Moreover, Song Chang thought they were lying and was angry, so he wouldn’t listen to their explanations at this moment.

The only choice was to wait for him to calm down before speaking.

However, being beaten unjustly, especially being paddled on the buttocks while held down like this, was definitely a first in their lives for the two of them, bringing feelings of humiliation, injustice, embarrassment, helplessness, endurance...

All these emotions swirled in their hearts, making these two men, who were once well-regarded and respected in the Jianghu, wish they could crawl into a hole and disappear.

They merely saved a person, why did it lead to this?

Gu Hongxin thought more deeply; Zhan Baoqing, the grandson of the Duke of England, was he really dead? If he indeed died, though they didn’t kill him, they might still get into trouble.

After all, it’s the Duke of England, and if his direct grandson was murdered, anyone involved might face repercussions.

With such thoughts, the worry in his heart weighed more than the paddles on his back, making the pain of the beating seem inconsequential.

Soon, all thirty paddles were done, and Gu Hongxin timely added, "Sir, we truly did not commit murder! As members of the Capital Guard, we would never knowingly break the law. This must be a misunderstanding, sir!"

Song Chang glanced at him; these two were physically robust, so despite the thirty paddles, although their skin was broken and bleeding, they seemed mentally unaffected. Meanwhile, Gan Jinming, being an ordinary person, was already unconscious after thirty paddles.

He coolly said, "This Deputy Commander will investigate thoroughly!"

At this moment, someone reported, "Sir, Xia Wanqing has been brought in!"

Hua Yuanming and Gu Hongxin looked up incredulously at Song Chang. Why was Brother Xia brought in as well? Even if Zhan Baoqing truly was dead, they had merely seen him last night, with no hard feelings. It would be bad luck if there were any repercussions. But Brother Xia did nothing!

Hua Yuanming shouted, "Mr. Song, what crime did my brother commit that you’re bringing him in?"

Song Chang’s voice was cold and devoid of warmth, "There must be a scheme in killing the Duke of England’s grandson. We must determine who is behind it. None involved will be let off!"

"My brother is unrelated to this matter!"

"Then you’re admitting you’re involved?"

"We are not involved; we didn’t kill anyone!"

Song Chang coldly said, "Stop wasting words; this Deputy Commander will uncover the truth!"

As he spoke, Xia Wanqing had already been brought in.

Seeing Xia Wanqing stride in confidently, Hua Yuanming and Gu Hongxin lowered their heads. Though they were innocent, in their current predicament, they were ashamed to face Brother Xia.

Xia Wanqing’s gaze soon fell upon the two of them; with years of brotherhood, he could recognize them even with their heads lowered.

He immediately walked over to them, saying, "Second Brother, Third Brother, what happened?"

Hua Yuanming felt both humiliated and embarrassed, "They claim we killed someone, but we really didn’t. We are being framed! Big Brother, we’re sorry for dragging you into this."

Xia Wanqing cupped his fists and gave a Jianghu salute to Song Chang, "Esteemed sir, I am well aware of my brothers’ character. They are people who own up to their actions. If they killed, they’d admit it; if they didn’t, they wouldn’t lie. I hope you will investigate thoroughly!"

Song Chang and Sun Liangcai exchanged a glance, the latter smiling lightly, "Xia Wanqing, the renowned Chief Xia of Jianghu, we know you’re a man of your word. We also know these two are chiefs of Haotian Village, heroes of Jianghu. But human life is of utmost importance, and with both material and eyewitness evidence, no one can bend the rules for personal reasons!"

"Eyewitnesses? Evidence?" Xia Wanqing looked at Hua Yuanming and Gu Hongxin in surprise.

Hua Yuanming and Gu Hongxin were puzzled; how could there be eyewitnesses and evidence for something they hadn’t done? They hurriedly said, "We really didn’t do it!"

Xia Wanqing said, "Sir, is there some misunderstanding?"

Sun Liangcai said, "We will investigate thoroughly. This involves the life of the Duke of England’s grandson. Given the Duke’s high status and family merit, he will soon appeal to the Emperor. Once His Majesty’s decree is issued, it will be unbearable for all of us. Currently, all suspicions point to these two, and Gan Jinming is also a witness. Chief Xia, because of your association with these two, we need to detain you temporarily as well. Do you object?"

Hua Yuanming and Gu Hongxin quickly said, "We are suspects, but our elder brother isn’t, so why detain him?"

Sun Liangcai said blandly, "This matter is too significant. Whether it’s premeditated is still uncertain. Everyone involved must be detained!"