Died In Infancy! My Wife Is Actually A Villain

Chapter 187 Interrogation

Gu Chen said: "In that case, Master Li, please first take out the disaster relief food distributed by the imperial court, and I will send someone to count it!"

Li Hongxiong was stunned for a moment, and then explained: "Prince Zhuang, Xiaguan originally planned to survey the disaster situation in Huzhou before carrying out the subsequent grain distribution plan. Therefore, all the food sent by the imperial court to Xiaguan was received by Zhouzhi County. Yamen’s warehouse.”

Seeing that the other party directly put all the responsibilities on Zhou Zhi, Gu Chen said: "I have just gone to the warehouse to see the food, and the food is less than three thousand shi. I have also looked everywhere these days, and there are only three places in the city. After setting up a porridge soup station, the daily rice porridge is only a few large pots, and even the 500 shi of rice is not used. Isn’t it true that all the remaining food has been stolen by the Zhouzhi County!"

Li Hongxiong's expression changed, "I don't know, this official, but if this is true, the county magistrate should be punished severely!"

Seeing that the other party still refused to admit his mistake, Gu Chen was too lazy to continue talking here. He nodded and said: "Okay, I will ask him personally later where all the food went?"

Li Hongxiong was anxious, but he didn't know how to deal with it at the moment.

He knew very well that Zhou Zhi had sent the grain distributed by the court to the grain store for sale, and the rest was his own request, so he stayed in the warehouse.

However, he only asked Zhou Zhi to take two thousand dan of grain from it and sell it. Unexpectedly, since this guy hid the grain secretly, he also took away nearly a thousand dan of grain.

Now looking at King Zhuang's attitude, it seems that he wants to trace these grains to the end.

....

Soon, Gu Chen sent someone to bring Zhou Zhi to the court. Compared with yesterday's high spirits, Zhou Zhi was obviously a lot tired at this moment, and there was even some dust on his face.

As soon as Zhou Zhi entered the courtroom, he immediately saw Li Hongxiong standing next to him. His originally dim eyes immediately became gleaming. Just when he was about to ask for help, Li Hongxiong immediately gave him a look and told him to shut his mouth.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Zhi did not dare to talk to Li Hongxiong and walked directly into the courtroom.

Seeing Zhou Zhi enter the house, Gu Chen asked directly: "Zhou Zhi, let me ask you, where did you use the food distributed by the court?"

Zhou Zhi said quickly: "Sir, there should be a lot of food if there is no food in the warehouse! I really didn't take it privately!"

Gu Chen said: "It is indeed a lot, but except for the three thousand stones of food, the rest were brought here by me before, but you cut them off later. Could it be that you want to say that these are also yours!"

Zhou Zhi replied: "Sir, I have spent it all to help local victims..."

But when he said this, Zhou Zhi obviously had no confidence, as if he had a guilty conscience.

"Do you think I am a fool? There are only a few pots of rice porridge cooked in the city every day, and you call this disaster relief!"

Gu Chen's face became angry and he continued: "You don't have to quibble. To be honest, you took all the food sent by the court!"

Zhou Zhi suddenly didn't know how to answer, and subconsciously glanced at Li Hongxiong below.

After Li Hongxiong noticed his gaze, he immediately stood up and said, "Zhou Zhi, now that Prince Zhuang is asking you, you'd better tell the truth and strive for a lighter punishment."

While speaking, he wanted to frown at him a few times, not knowing what he wanted to express.

But after Li Hongxiong's reminder, Zhou Zhi finally learned Gu Chen's identity.

He is Prince Zhuang, His Highness the Ninth Prince.

Moreover, the other party seemed to be very clear about what he had done during this period, and the charges were basically implemented. If you don't want to die, the only person you can rely on now is Li Hongxiong.

After struggling for a while, Zhou Zhi slowly lowered his head and said sadly: "I took the few thousand stones of grain privately and gave it to several grain shops in the city for sale."

Gu Chen's eyes narrowed, "Which grain stores are there?"

"They are all four in the south of the city."

Gu Chen added: "Privately taking the court's disaster relief funds, Zhou Zhixian, do you know what kind of crime this should be punished in the Zhou Dynasty law?"

Zhou Zhi whispered: "I don't know."

"Criminals should be beaten to death, and all relatives in the family should be reduced to untouchables, and will be slaves and maids for the rest of their lives!"

Zhou Zhi was stunned for a moment.

He knew that he would be severely punished for taking relief food privately, but he did not expect that not only would he be quartered, but his relatives would also be implicated.

Gu Chen added: "Zhixian County, if you are in charge of these things, it is all your fault. You will not be able to escape this responsibility no matter what."

As soon as he said this, even Li Hongxiong next to him couldn't help but rub his hands, as if he was afraid that Zhou Zhi would confess himself because he couldn't bear the accusation.

Zhou Zhi below did hesitate after hearing his charges.

He has committed a capital crime now. Can Li Hongxiong really save him?

If he couldn't keep it, he would be regarded as his scapegoat.

He did fail in his duties after becoming the magistrate of Qingshui County, but Li Hongxiong and the officials above him also benefited from him. Moreover, he did only get a small portion of the disaster relief funds this time, and most of them were obtained by Li Hongxiong himself.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Zhi raised his head again and said, "Your Majesty, if I am not the main culprit, can I be given a lighter sentence?"

"Zhou Zhi, now that your charges have been confirmed, I advise you not to have bad intentions!"

Before Gu Chen could speak, Li Hongxiong jumped out immediately and stared at Zhou Zhi excitedly.

Gu Chen jumped in directly, "Master Li, why are you so excited!"

Li Hongxiong adjusted his emotions, lowered his head and replied: "Prince Zhuang, Zhou Zhi has bad intentions this time. Please don't believe it gullibly, Prince Zhuang."

"How did you know that he had evil intentions? Didn't Mr. Li just come to Huzhou not long ago? He shouldn't be familiar with Zhou Zhi!"

Li Hongxiong was stunned and quickly explained: "Of course I'm not familiar with it."

Seeing that Li Hongxiong had restrained himself, Gu Chen looked at Zhou Zhi and asked, "Zhou Zhi, didn't you have something to say just now? You can speak now."

After hearing Gu Chen's question, Zhou Zhi glanced at Li Hongxiong. From the other person's excited expression just now, he could tell that the other person was only worried about him and did not consider him again.

In this case, why should I be his scapegoat?

Then, Zhou Zhi looked at Gu Chen and asked, "Your Majesty, if I tell the truth, can I escape the death penalty?"

Gu Chen did not lie to him, "You should be aware of what you have done over the years. I have heard many of your deeds during my time in Qingshui County, and almost every one of them can punish you for a serious crime. So, You can't escape this capital crime, but if you confess frankly, your relatives will not be implicated."

Zhou Zhi's mood is still a little heavy, but he also knows that this is the best way now.

"Okay, I get it."