novelaction Chapter 177 Death of Zhang Xicai
Chapter 177 Death of Zhang Xicai
In the prison, the three Zhang family members were covered in dust and dirt, with rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs on their bodies.
Not long after they were taken to the prison, they were paraded through the streets by the jailers.
The people were filled with anger when they saw this, and regardless of whether they had been harmed or not, they all took things and threw them to vent their anger.
The three members of the Zhang family were used to a life of luxury, and this was the first time they were treated like this, so they tried to avoid it.
Halfway through the journey, someone approached Mr. Zhang and grabbed his collar and started beating him, but the yamen runners tried to stop him half-heartedly.
The crowd was outraged, and it was not until evening that the three men were taken back to the prison. A few steamed buns were thrown into the prison, and the jailer locked the door and left.
There was no one around, and Young Master Zhang and Second Young Master Zhang were beaten to exhaustion. The ones who were out of breath lay on the straw. Master Zhang was old, and he couldn't bear it anymore and fell to the ground.
Neither of his two sons even looked at him. They were both busy with their own affairs, so who would care about him?
At daybreak, the jailer came again to parade the three men through the streets. The Zhang brothers dragged themselves to their feet weakly, but Master Zhang could not get up at all.
The jailer kicked and hit him, yelling, "Old man, stop pretending to be dead! Get up now, or I'll be rude to you! Get up now!"
After he finished speaking, he still couldn't pay it back, so the jailer went to drag him away.
When they pulled Mr. Zhang's body over, they found that he was already bleeding from all seven orifices and had no breath. The horrified jailer took a few steps back and sat on the ground.
The Zhang brothers reacted and stood there in a daze. After a while, they came to their senses and knelt down beside their father. After all, he was their biological father. They looked at the dead Master Zhang in disbelief!
How could this happen? They were fine when they came back last night, so how could their father suddenly die?
The two brothers were taken to another room for custody. Zhao Wenqing rushed over after hearing the news and was also very angry!
The corpse clearly died of poisoning. Who is so bold as to commit murder in prison? There is absolutely no law!
After a while, a yamen runner came to tell Zhao Wenqing that the two Zhang brothers were frightened. They said that when they came back last night, their father was still fine and lay on the ground. They didn't care about Zhang Xicai and thought he was tired and fell asleep.
Unexpectedly, they just discovered that their father had stopped breathing, and they were very puzzled.
Zhao Wenqing waved his hand and said angrily, "Come here, check for me. Has anyone had contact with the deceased from yesterday afternoon until now?"
The bailiffs received the order and were about to leave. One of the jailers, after hearing what Zhao Wenqing said, suddenly seemed to remember something and hesitantly stepped forward to salute and speak.
"Your Excellency, there is something I find strange, but I'm not sure if I should tell you."
"If you have something to say, say it quickly!" Zhao Wenqing said impatiently.
"It's like this, sir. Yesterday afternoon, we paraded the three members of the Zhang family through the streets. People started throwing things and hitting them. One of them even grabbed Zhang Xicai by the collar and punched him several times. We had a hard time pulling them apart."
"What does this have to do with the deceased's case?" Zhao Wenqing asked doubtfully.
"I just found it strange. The man who beat Zhang Xicai looked ordinary, but he didn't show any resentment towards the Zhang family. Instead, he seemed to be saying something. At the time, I was only concerned with maintaining order and didn't think much of it. After he was pulled away, he left cursing. No one has come into contact with Zhang Xicai since then. At most, he was pelted with rotten eggs."
After the jailer finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Wenqing nervously. He felt something was wrong at the time, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. After all, the atmosphere at the scene was tense, and he was only concerned with maintaining order, so he didn't have time to think about it.
When he saw Zhang Xicai's death this morning, he seemed to remember something. After connecting the two, he felt something was wrong.
That person's behavior didn't seem like hatred, nor did it seem like that of a victim's family member.
Zhao Wenqing fell into deep thought upon hearing this.
He remembered what Xiao Wan had told him. The Zhang family privately cast weapons, definitely not for their own use. After all, the quantity was huge, and the Zhang family was indeed just an ordinary merchant.
So why did they privately forge weapons? It must be for others.
It seems that the death of Zhang Xicai was not an ordinary small case. Some big shots were probably involved behind it. Seeing that the Zhang family fell and the weapons were discovered, they became desperate and killed Zhang Xicai to prevent Zhang Xicai from giving him away!
Zhao Wenqing was worried and immediately went to find Xiao Wan to see what she had done. He also praised the jailer, which made him feel very happy!