My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 86 Interrogation

Zhang Dianshi approved it quickly, and the next morning, Qi, the head constable, informed Lao Huang that the interrogation could take place that afternoon.

The interrogation room was dark and damp, a stark contrast to the sweltering summer heat outside, and the air conditioning was biting cold.

Lin Ziping followed Lao Huang and Shi Yong to their seats. Soon after, two yamen runners brought Qin Niang in. She had a shackle around her neck and iron chains on her hands, which made a grating sound as the yamen runners walked.

Lin Ziping stared at Qin Niang. Her eyes were empty and her face was expressionless. The scars on her arms and the bloodstains on her clothes made her look like a rag doll that had lost its soul.

"What is your name?"

Where are you from?

Why was Hu Xinhua killed?

……

A silence fell over the room, and no matter how much she was asked, Qinniang remained silent.

“Old Huang, it’s no use. We’ve asked her so many times, we’ve hit her and we’ve scolded her, but she won’t say anything. Could it be that this woman is mute?” A constable leaned forward and whispered to Old Huang.

Old Huang frowned deeply.

"Old Huang, didn't anyone from Hu Xinhua's village mention that this woman is mute?" Shi Yong said to Old Huang. "Why don't we take her away first and continue the interrogation later?"

Old Huang pondered for a moment, nodded, and waved for the bailiffs to take Qinniang away.

Lin Ziping looked at the two men, puzzled. They couldn't get anything out of them now, but they would soon? A moment later, a muffled groan came from next door. Lin Ziping realized what it meant to continue the interrogation later.

"Uncle Huang, isn't it a bit inappropriate to start the torture on Brother Shi before he's even begun?" Lin Ziping couldn't help but ask.

Old Huang smiled, seemingly sensing Lin Ziping's reluctance, "Little Lin, is it because you can't bear it?"

Lin Ziping chuckled awkwardly, "Hehe, it is indeed a bit of an adjustment."

"Should we have Ziping interrogate him in a bit?" Shi Yong asked Lao Huang.

After a moment of silence, Lao Huang nodded: "That's good, young people should gain more experience."

"Uncle Huang, Brother Shi, this...this isn't appropriate. I...I don't know how to do anything." Lin Ziping hurriedly refused, then added, "I'll go next door and bring Qinniang over."

After saying that, he hurriedly ran to the next room.

Upon entering the next room and seeing the walls covered with torture instruments, Lin Ziping's heart tightened, and he quickly looked away.

In the blink of an eye, he saw Qinniang lying on the ground, her head covered in cold sweat. Lin Ziping took two steps forward to check on her, but after realizing where he was, he stopped and said to the constable beside him, "Take her away."

"Yes," the two constables clasped their hands in agreement and stepped forward to drag Qinniang away.

"What are you doing? You're all injured like this, how are we going to question you later?" Lin Ziping shouted angrily upon seeing the situation. "Hurry up and deal with her, take off whatever you're wearing! Who will be responsible if the case is delayed!"

A bailiff quickly stepped forward and took a long bamboo stick from Qin Niang's hand.

"Ah..." Qinniang cried out in pain.

Lin Ziping couldn't bear it. To avoid being noticed, he frowned and said to another constable, "Go and apply some medicine to her. What kind of behavior is this, shouting and yelling? And what's she asking?"

The constable looked at Lin Ziping.

"Hurry up and go, or I'll tell Chief Constable Qi later," Lin Ziping said, feigning displeasure.

Upon hearing this, the bailiff took some ointment from a nearby shelf and sprinkled it on Qinniang's hands. Together, the two carried Qinniang to the interrogation room next door.

Feeling the cold glint of the torture instruments inside, Lin Ziping pulled his sleeves tighter, unwilling to linger any longer, and quickly walked out.

Back in the interrogation room, Lao Huang and Shi Yong sat aside and stopped participating in the questioning. Seeing this, Lin Ziping had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to recall the interrogation methods he had seen in the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Lin Ziping placed the gold hairpin in front of Qin Niang and said, "Dai Qin, do you recognize this?"

Qinniang remained silent, and Lin Ziping, unconcerned, continued, "In the twentieth year of Shunhua, you and Hu Xinhua brought your daughter from Zezhou to Pingding Village. At that time, you two were deeply in love, overjoyed at the prospect of a happy life together. You designed your house together, building your home bit by bit. You thought you had met a good man, a lover to spend your life with. He helped you escape Chunhua Tower, you bore him children, he earned money to support the family, and you managed the household chores. Although that period was uneventful, it was fulfilling. But good times don't last long. Hu Xinhua grew tired of you, weary of you. He despised your past at Chunhua Tower."

As Lin Ziping spoke, he carefully observed Qin Niang's expression. Although Qin Niang remained expressionless, the slight tightening of her hands hanging at her sides betrayed her inner turmoil.

"He hit you, cursed you, and even broke your legs later, but you didn't give up because of his deep affection and unwavering devotion to you... until you discovered that he coveted your daughter..." Although he had made all of this up, and his nervousness caused him to speak incoherently, the related scenes involuntarily surfaced in his mind. Lin Ziping felt a little uncomfortable and stopped to drink some water.

"Hu Xinhua coveted your daughter, your love was shattered, your reluctance to part was scattered, you decided to kill him, you tricked your daughter into buying arsenic and put it in her food, you watched Hu Xinhua die in agony, and you slashed at him piece by piece to vent your anger, grievances and pain, is that right, Mo Qini!" Old Huang continued, picking up where Lin Ziping left off.

As Lao Huang finished speaking, the room fell silent.

After a long while, Qinniang's tears fell in large drops, and soon she cried out, "He's a beast! He lied to me! He... he lied to me... Waaah..."

Old Huang and Shi Yong looked at each other and slowly exhaled.

After an unknown amount of time, Qinniang's crying gradually subsided, but she continued to mutter to herself, saying nothing.

Lin Ziping poured a bowl of water, walked over to Qinniang, and seeing that neither Lao Huang nor Shi Yong objected, handed it to Qinniang and said, "Drink some water."

Qin Niang looked up blankly and then looked down at Lin Ziping.

Shi Yong coughed lightly, and Lin Ziping hurriedly put the water in front of Qin Niang and stepped back.

"Thank you." A soft voice came from behind. Lin Ziping didn't say anything more and returned to Shi Yong's side.

Old Huang gestured to a yamen runner, who then stepped forward and handed the water to Qin Niang's lips.

"What's your name?" Old Huang asked.

“Qin… Dai… Dai Qin,” Dai Qin stammered, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Who is Mo Qini?" Shi Yong asked.

Dai Qin paused, thought for a moment, and said in a low voice, "It was me too."

"Why is your name Dai Qin?"

"Your Honor, when I was twelve, my parents sold me. Later, I named myself Dai Qin." Dai Qin sat upright, as if his legs were not broken. His back was straight, and he dipped his fingers in water to tidy the stray hairs on his forehead. Every frown and smile had a unique charm, making him completely different from the soulless rag doll he had been before.

Did you kill Hu Xinhua and your daughter?