The constable said, “I don’t know who Lai Er is. Even if he’s the criminal, you have to follow us to the government office for questioning. Arrest her!”
Rendered speechless, Ye Xiaoxian was then escorted to the government office.
When Li Hongmei learned about the bad news in the lobby, she was so anxious that she stumbled. “Lord! Oh, Lord! How did all of this happen? Please bless and protect Little Ye!”
…
At the entrance of the government office, Xiao Tieshu caught sight of Ye Xiaoxian under escort. He hurried to ask the constable at the rear, “What happened? Why are you arresting her? What did she do?”
“She’s suspected of poisoning at her restaurant. Many people have been seriously poisoned!” the constable said.
Hearing this, Xiao Tieshu immediately asked his wife to help Li Hongmei. He then headed for the docks to inform Xiao Baoshan of this news.
Ye Xiaoxian had thought that she would be fine in the government office because she knew that neither she nor any of her staff were the culprit. Who would poison their customers? How could she or her staff cut off their sources of income? She had thought that she could defend herself, but the fact was that she was put into jail right away.
“Sir, can’t I defend myself? Sir?” she cried out her grievance from behind the bars of the cell.
The constable ignored her cries and left after locking her inside.
“Sir, what are you doing? What about the investigation? Let me meet the chief!” Ye Xiaoxian shouted anxiously, thumping the bars hard.
She hadn’t expected that things would become so serious. Now that they had put her in prison, they might also torture her until they got a false confession.
The constable still didn’t answer.
A jailer commanded, “Be quiet!”
Ye Xiaoxian looked around the somber cell which was pervaded by a musty smell and various other odors. Some prisoners who seemed to have been there for years stared at her expressionlessly. Suddenly, a wave of horror swept over her. She had never been so frightened. She finally realized that she might have been framed.
In the backyard of the government office.
Sister Xiang was sitting in front of the chief. Between them was a pot of wine, the tempting smell of which filled the air.
Sister Xiang poured a cup of wine for the chief and said, “Sir, I think you can skip the interrogation of Ye Xiaoxian.”
The chief knew what she was implying. “If I don’t investigate, how should I explain to the inspectors who may come one day?” he asked.
As usual, she acted quite calmly and stubbornly, as if she was not asking a favor. To be honest, she seldom played the woman card to beg him.
But the tougher she was, the guiltier the chief felt. “Whether I interrogate her or not, the arrest will unavoidably influence her business. I can turn a blind eye to what you have done, but I can’t keep her in prison. She’s weak, but her husband is not a man to be trifled with.”
Sister Xiang gazed at him with a pitiful look. “What difference does it make whether she’s imprisoned or not? Both eyewitnesses and material evidence are presented here. If you release her, people will think that you’re bending the law to cover up for the guilty party.”
He asked, “Who are the eyewitnesses? Where is this material evidence?”
“Those poisoned are the eyewitnesses. As for material evidence, you can find it from the leftovers in Ye Xiaoxian’s restaurant. Feed them to a dog. If the dog gets sick, then her restaurant is to blame for the whole case.”
“But why did she do that? To ruin her future in jail?”
“You could say that she’s a maniac!”
“Xiang…” The chief had no idea how to persuade her. If he carried out the investigation, Lai Er and Sister Xiang would be inevitably imprisoned.