Royal Gold Magistrate - Chapter 221

The recording from the phonograph played on, bit by bit.

By now, Liu Xun was utterly dumbfounded!

He had calculated a thousand scenarios, but never imagined he would personally record all the evidence of his crimes.

Liu Xun stared at Fang Zheng in terror, his lips quivering: “Sorcery… this is sorcery…”

Fang Zheng sneered: “Sorcery? Hehe, times have changed, Lord Liu. This is the triumph of science!”

“Fang Zheng, you son of a b*tch! You tricked me!!” Liu Xun’s eyes turned bloodshot. Despite his weakened state, he seemed to experience a burst of energy. He propped up his upper body and lunged at Fang Zheng with all his might.

However, given his age and lack of strength, he only managed to fall off the edge of the bed, his upper body hitting the floor as he continued to rage impotently.

Fang Zheng sat calmly on the stool, watching him: “For such a great crime, executing your entire clan wouldn’t be excessive.”

“However, this official believes in one thing: don’t let the sins of the father fall upon the children. If you cooperate and answer my questions honestly, this official is willing to give your family a chance at survival.”

Liu Xun crawled back onto the bed, his face pale and covered in cold sweat. He lowered his head and remained silent.

Fang Zheng continued, “Killing you first is also a way to protect your family. His Majesty might show leniency. But if I present all this evidence to His Majesty… then no one will be able to escape.”

“Have you considered your options?”

Liu Xun panted heavily: “Fang Zheng, you’re so vicious… fine… you’ve got me.”

“Ask whatever you want.”

Seeing him submit, Fang Zheng sat up straight and said seriously, “Good, then I’ll ask.”

“According to what you said at Yongqing Tower, you colluded with merchants to sell nearly 30,000 stone of grain. But at current market prices, that would be worth at most 100,000 taels of silver.”

“Of course, grain prices are at their peak now. Let’s say you sold those 30,000 stone earlier and made a total profit of 80,000 taels.”

“You immediately gave me 50,000 taels. What about the costs and bribes for your underlings? Don’t those cost money?”

“Lord Liu, are you doing charity work for your subordinates?”

“So… this official wants to know, how much of the people’s wealth did you actually embezzle? And is there anyone else behind you?”

Liu Xun was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and gave Fang Zheng a bitter smile: “Heh, you’re good. This old man is no match for you.”

“I can tell you… but you must turn your back. This old man doesn’t want to see your face!”

Fang Zheng shook his head helplessly.

To prevent Liu Xun from attacking him, he stood up and walked to the door, turning his back as he said, “Go ahead and speak.”

“………..”

“Ugh… *splurt*…”

After about ten seconds, Fang Zheng suddenly heard a strange noise behind him and quickly turned around.

The scene before him left him stunned!

Liu Xun had bitten off half his own tongue. Fresh blood gushed from his mouth.

Half of his bloody tongue lay on the blanket.

Liu Xun clenched his teeth, not making a sound. He faced Fang Zheng with eyes full of hatred, his mouth full of blood yet still grinning.

This sight immediately enraged Fang Zheng. He kicked open the door and shouted urgently, “Doctor! Doctor! Get your *ss in here now!”

Many people on the boat heard Fang Zheng’s call and rushed in with the doctor.

As soon as they entered the room, everyone was shocked by the scene!

Fang Zheng, moving faster than the doctor, had already rushed to Liu Xun’s bedside.

He held down Liu Xun’s arms, pressing his entire body against the edge of the bed.

The tongue, being such a large area, shouldn’t cause fatal blood loss in the short term. The greatest risk of death was actually from choking on blood and suffocating.

Fang Zheng could only maintain this position to prevent blood from flowing back into Liu Xun’s throat.

Seeing the doctor arrive, Fang Zheng immediately shouted, “Hurry! This guy bit his tongue to commit suicide! Quickly find something to stop the bleeding!”

Liu Xun had already had both his legs broken and taken a beating on the stairs.

Even if he didn’t choke to death, his old body would die from blood loss given enough time.

The doctor trembled all over, having never seen such a scene before!

In all his years, he had never encountered such a ruthless person who would bite off their own tongue…

Seeing him still standing there, Fang Zheng angrily shouted, “What the hell are you dawdling for!? Save him now!!”

The doctor fell to his knees with a thud, crying out, “My lord! It can’t be stopped! It definitely can’t be stopped. His tongue is bitten off, there’s no way to treat it… He’s going to die…”

Damn! This useless piece of trash!

Fang Zheng was anxious and sweating profusely. What could have driven this dog Liu Xun to such desperation? What kind of person was behind him that made him commit suicide at a casual question?

Fang Zheng continued to press down on Liu Xun with all his might.

Xie Xian and the others rushed to help, while trying to persuade him: “My lord… this man probably won’t make it. Maybe we should just let him go.”

Fang Zheng’s forehead began to bead with sweat as his mind raced for a solution.

He kept shouting: “Liu Xun! There’s no obstacle in life that can’t be overcome. Setbacks will come, but they will also pass. If you fall, get up again. Don’t give up hope on living. Hang in there!!”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Liu Xun’s eyes bulged, and he struggled even more violently.

“Zhang Biao!! Get me a piece of hot coal! Cauterize his tongue!”

Zhang Biao immediately turned and left upon hearing this.

When Liu Xun heard that Fang Zheng wanted to cauterize his tongue, he felt a surge of terror despite his intense pain. He wanted to curse loudly but could only make guttural sounds.

The doctor by the bedside looked at Fang Zheng and felt his lower body grow wet…

He had seen living Buddhas before… but today he was witnessing a living King of Hell!!

Soon, Zhang Biao returned with long-handled iron tongs gripping a piece of glowing red coal.

On the boat, people often kept a small charcoal stove burning to brew tea.

The coal had just been taken from that stove.

Zhang Biao strode to the bedside, using his left hand to pry open Liu Xun’s mouth while pinning his head firmly to the bed.

His right hand swiftly and accurately pressed the hot coal against Liu Xun’s severed tongue.

With a sizzling sound, white smoke rose from Liu Xun’s mouth, and the smell of roasted meat filled the air.

Everyone in the room felt nauseous.

Liu Xun struggled frantically, but his limbs were held down tightly.

Fang Zheng couldn’t help but turn away. Although he had killed before, he had no taste for torture.

This scene made him feel sick to his stomach.

Among those present, except for Zhang Biao, almost everyone turned away, unable to bear witnessing such a cruel act.

By the time the coal was removed from Liu Xun’s mouth, the bleeding had stopped, but he had passed out from the pain.

Everyone quickly let go of Liu Xun, hurriedly arranging him properly on the bed.

“Doctor, quickly check on him and make sure he doesn’t die…” Fang Zheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

The doctor was on the verge of tears.

After such treatment, even a healthy person might not survive, let alone Liu Xun!

However, surrounded by a group of burly men, he didn’t dare say much. He could only respond in a low voice, “I’ll do my best.”

Looking at the unconscious Liu Xun, Fang Zheng’s brow furrowed tightly.

What could have triggered this dog? What unspeakable secret was he hiding?