After about half an hour, the government officials brought in Houzi and Old Six Hu.
As the two men entered, Jiang Ning could feel their gaze quickly sweep over her before they bowed respectfully.
"This humble citizen, Old Six Hu, pays respects to Magistrate Song!"
"This humble citizen, Hou Zehua, pays respects to Magistrate Song!"
Song Ming casually observed the two men, while clerk Tang's eyes were practically shooting flames.
These two scoundrels, working together to deceive Zhao Qiang!
If not for the formal setting, clerk Tang would have loved to smash the inkstone on his desk over their heads.
"Hou Zehua, Old Six Hu, do you know why I've summoned you here?" Song Ming asked.
"In response to Your Honor, this humble citizen does not know. However..." Houzi grinned, putting on an obedient façade, "If Your Honor has any questions, this humble citizen will certainly answer truthfully and completely, and cooperate fully."
Hearing this, Jiang Ning glanced sideways at Houzi, her eyes turning cold.
This type of sly character – she should have stabbed him to death earlier instead of letting him go back to relay a message to Old Six Hu!
As she was thinking this, she felt another touch on the back of her hand. Unsurprisingly, it was Liu Ming'an.
Turning her head, Jiang Ning saw Liu Ming'an looking at her with a solemn expression, his eyes filled with concern and sympathy. He mouthed to her:
"Don't be like that," he said.
Jiang Ning looked away, lowering her eyes, and quietly listened to Song Ming's interrogation.
"Hou Zehua? Your nickname is Houzi, right?" Song Ming said.
"Yes, this humble citizen got this nickname because my surname is Hou, and I'm thin," Houzi answered honestly.
"Do you know the young lady beside you?" Song Ming asked again.
Houzi turned his head, putting on a show of looking Jiang Ning up and down, "I do, she's the gambling table heroine, haha..."
"Do you have any grudges against each other?"
Houzi flatly denied it: "No!"
Song Ming made no comment and asked Old Six Hu, who was standing to the side, "What about you, Master Hu? Do you have any grievances with this young lady?"
Old Six Hu bowed and said, "In response to Your Honor, this humble citizen is of a simple nature and never makes enemies with anyone."
Hearing this, Jiang Ning suddenly recalled a corrupt official she had seen in her previous life who had embezzled several hundred million. The voice password for his advanced safe was: "Be selfless and serve the people."
Perhaps Old Six Hu could become sworn brothers with him, Jiang Ning thought.
Beside her, clerk Tang also turned red with anger upon hearing this, but could do nothing except shoot a vicious glare at Old Six Hu.
Damn it, this scoundrel is truly shameless! Clerk Tang cursed inwardly, his handwriting becoming messier than usual.
"Miss Jiang Ning says that on the fifteenth of this month, she entered the Gold Jade Hall and played dice with you, causing you to lose over a hundred taels of silver. Master Hu, you're not upset about this at all?" Song Ming inquired further.
It was only then that Old Six Hu and Houzi learned that this woman was called "Jiang Ning."
"Not at all!" Old Six Hu said with an open expression, "In a gambling house, winning and losing is normal. How could I take such a trivial matter to heart? Besides, to have the opportunity to face off against a skilled player like Miss Jiang Ning – I couldn't be happier. How could I be upset over a few taels of silver?"
Song Ming laughed, half-genuinely and half-mockingly praising, "Master Hu has such magnanimity. With this breadth of mind and temperament, it's no wonder the Gold Jade Hall has dominated Lingshan Town for so many years."
"Your Honor flatters me. This humble citizen merely adheres to the principles of 'honest business and goodwill towards others' in carrying out my duties," Old Six Hu replied smoothly.
Song Ming looked at the old fox before him and asked with a cold smile, "Such fine words about honest business and goodwill! Then why did Master Hu scheme to make Zhao Qiang owe gambling debts?"
Old Six Hu suddenly raised his head, his face full of surprise, "Your Honor, what do you mean by this? The gambling debts that Instructor Zhao owes to the Gold Jade Hall occurred in full view of everyone. That night, there were so many people present – Your Honor can ask any one of them. It was all because Instructor Zhao himself was greedy and bit off more than he could chew, that's why he ended up owing so much money..."
At this point, Old Six Hu's face was full of grievance, "This humble citizen even reduced his debt from six thousand six hundred and fifty taels to just one hundred taels. Who would have thought that no good deed goes unpunished? To think that in Your Honor's eyes, this has become a scheme to frame him. Alas... this world truly disheartens good people!"
A dark light flashed in Jiang Ning's eyes. She never expected Old Six Hu to be such an accomplished actor, putting on such a convincing performance!
Glancing up, she saw that clerk Tang could barely hold his pen steady, gritting his teeth as he stared at Old Six Hu, the flesh on his face trembling.
Song Ming tapped his chin with his index finger and followed Old Six Hu's words, "Since Master Hu is such a good person, I won't question you further. Hou Zehua, why did you instigate Zhao Qiang to steal money from Lotus Flower Village?"
Houzi panicked and said, "Your Honor, this is a false accusation! This humble citizen has never done such a thing!"
Zhao Qiang, who had been hanging his head all this time, looked up at his "good brother" with a complex expression.
"Oh? You didn't tell Zhao Qiang to go to Lotus Flower Village to steal money?" Song Ming asked.
"Lotus Flower Village? This humble citizen is neither from Lotus Flower Village nor has ever been there. How could I have told Instructor Zhao to go steal money?" Houzi denied.
Song Ming smiled slightly, "Your stories don't match up. Zhao Qiang said that when he couldn't come up with one hundred taels of silver, you told him that there was someone named Liu Ming'an in Lotus Flower Village whose family had one hundred taels, and you encouraged Zhao Qiang to boldly go and steal it."
"False accusation! False accusation! This is a terrible false accusation!" Houzi said with a face full of indignation, "This humble citizen never said such things, and doesn't even know any Liu Ming'an. I don't understand why Instructor Zhao wants to drag me down with him!"
Zhao Qiang watched Houzi's heartfelt performance, a self-mocking smile appearing on his lips. This was his "good brother."
"Oh? Then how did Zhao Qiang know that family had money? He doesn't seem to have been to Lotus Flower Village before either..." Song Ming said softly.
Houzi bowed and said, "This humble citizen doesn't know the answer to that question. However, it seems that this young lady and this gentleman are together. At the time, everyone saw this young lady winning money at the Gold Jade Hall. It wouldn't be surprising if Instructor Zhao had heard about it somewhere."
"Hmm, that makes sense!" Song Ming nodded, seemingly in agreement, then immediately asked, "You just said you've never been to Lotus Flower Village?"
"Absolutely true!" Houzi said firmly.
Song Ming stopped questioning these two and picked up his judge's mallet, striking it once, "Bring in He Zhenhu."
Houzi and Old Six Hu's faces froze for a moment, and they exchanged a subtle glance.
Jiang Ning hadn't heard this name before, but since the surname was "He" and the name contained the character for "tiger," she had a certain guess in her mind.
Liu Ming'an was pondering why He Zhenhu had been brought into this when he suddenly felt his hand being lightly tapped twice.
There was no one else beside him except Jiang Ning.
Liu Ming'an turned his head and heard Jiang Ning asking in an extremely low and quick voice, "Does He Zhenhu have a nickname called 'Tiger'?"
Liu Ming'an nodded, but he couldn't understand why Jiang Ning would ask this.
Having received a confirmatory answer, Jiang Ning quickly connected all the pieces in her mind. The arsonist must be either Houzi or Tiger!