The first volume of pearl curtains rolls up the western mountain rain at dusk Chapter 32: Prison Cell
According to the official system of the Great Chu, the chief official of a prefecture was of the fourth rank, but there were exceptions. There were thirteen prefectures under the Chu Kingdom, and these thirteen prefectures were the main prefectures, and each prefecture had many counties under its jurisdiction.
Originally, there were nine states under the Chujiangshan system. Later, four states were promoted to the level of main prefectures because of their special importance. These were Yanzhou under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou, Chongzhou under the jurisdiction of Shuzhou, Lingzhou under the jurisdiction of Yongzhou, and Youzhou under the jurisdiction of Jizhou. After these four places were promoted, there were thirteen prefectural governors of the third rank.
Jizhou Prefecture's governor Lian Gong had a powerful backer behind him, so he had always been like a local emperor in Jizhou. Even the former governor had to give him some respect, and that was because he had curry favor with the eunuch Liu Chongxin.
He was so arrogant that he wanted to show his power to the new governor Zeng Ling when he first arrived. However, Zeng Ling didn't give him any face at all. The final result of that conflict was that he lost all his reputation and had to keep his tail between his legs.
Even Liu Chongxin sent someone to deliver a personal letter to Lian Gongming, telling Lian Gongming not to provoke Zeng Ling. This shows how terrifying the power behind Zeng Ling is.
In the entire Chu court, there are very few people that Liu Chongxin dare not offend.
Lian Gongming had to hold back his anger, and he looked old in the past two years. His face was full of wrinkles, like a chrysanthemum that was about to wither, especially his mouth.
While he was talking to Yang Zhuo, the head of the police, Li Changxing, stood outside the door and leaned over to say, "My Lord, the kid named Li Chi has been arrested. How should we deal with him?"
Lian Gongming waved his hand and said, "He is just an insignificant little man. Lock him up first and wait for news about Xiahou Zhuo. If Xiahou Zhuo is not dead yet, then kill him but let him live."
Yang Zhuo frowned: "Master Lian, does this mean that you are still thinking of leaving a way out?"
Lian Gongming stroked his beard and smiled, "Your Highness, isn't your words a little too sharp? Such sharp words make me not know how to explain them for a moment."
Yang Zhuo had to give Lian Gongming some face, and smiled and shook his head and said, "I just don't understand. He is just a meaningless pawn, and a poor boy with no identity or background. What's the point of keeping him?"
Lian Gongming said, "There are certainly uses for keeping him. Does the prince think that the prince will not ask about it after he comes back? If the prince asks why Xiahou Zhuo died, wouldn't it be better to put the blame on this kid?"
Yang Zhuo asked: "How can we push him down?"
Lian Gongming laughed and asked, "How did the prince lure Xiahou Zhuo out of the academy?"
Yang Zhuo said, "I just found someone who is about the same height as Li Chi to pretend to be Li Chi and lure Xiahou Zhuo out."
"Well……"
Lian Gongming asked, "Then why couldn't it really be Li Chi who lured Xiahou Zhuo out?"
After hearing this, Yang Zhuo frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Master Lian is indeed far-sighted. Although the Sun family is not worth my attention, it is better not to offend anyone if possible."
Lian Gongming said, "It was the kid from the Sun family who helped lure Xiahou Zhuo out. If the prince doesn't care, the Sun family will definitely hold a grudge. Of course, the prince doesn't take the Sun family seriously, but one more helper is always better than one more enemy."
Yang Zhuo smiled and said, "Master Lian is right. It should have spread in the academy by now that Xiahou Zhuo ran away chasing after Li Chi. Even if my father comes back to investigate, we can verify it."
Lian Gongming said, "That's right. First, throw this wild boy into the prison, break his limbs, smash his jaw, and make him unable to say anything in the future. As for why he was beaten like this...prison is full of accidents."
Yang Zhuo nodded and said, "Master Lian is indeed very smart."
Lian Gongming then waved his hand at Li Changxing and said, "Go ahead, lock him up and teach him a lesson first."
Li Changxing leaned forward and said, "I understand. I will take my leave."
He turned and left, thinking that the boy named Li Chi deserved to be in trouble. A guy born in poverty thought that he could rise to the top overnight by clinging to Xiahou Zhuo's thigh?
Now it’s good, we are not far from reaching the sky.
Of course he understood what Lord Lian meant. Lord Lian was indeed afraid of being implicated. When Prince Yu came back and learned that Xiahou Zhuo was dead, he would surely be furious. He would of course go to the Jizhou government office to inquire about it. Lord Lian then said that Li Chi, one of the murderers, was still in prison. How frank he seemed.
But his limbs were broken, and his mouth was rotten, so he couldn't say anything. If Prince Yu asked why this happened, then what Lord Lian said was right. There are always accidents in prison.
In fact, think about it, Xiahou Zhuo is quite pitiful. It would be better if this illegitimate child could behave himself, but he just has such a reckless personality.
Jizhou Prefecture Prison.
Two constables pushed Li Diudiu in. The prison was gloomy and damp, and entering it was like entering the underworld.
Li Diudiu was pushed and almost fell down. He looked at the constable who pushed him and asked, "Didn't you say you would take me to the government office for questioning? Why did you bring me directly to the prison?"
“Yoho!”
The constable laughed and said, "You brat seems to know a lot. I can see that this is not a question for you. Let me tell you, if I want to ask you something, can't I just ask it in the academy?"
Another constable laughed and said, "I thought that those who could enter the Four Pages Academy were all smart people, but there is also such a fool."
Li Diudiu asked: "I believe in the laws of the Chu State, I believe in the justice of the government, and I believe in the official uniforms you wear. Why do you think I am stupid?"
The two detectives stopped smiling at the same time and looked at each other.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
The two of them laughed at the same time, laughing so hard that they fell backwards.
One of the constables laughed so hard that tears came out of his eyes. He said while laughing: "So you are stupid. You believe in the official uniforms we wear, but we ourselves don't believe in them."
I don’t know why, he was clearly mocking Li Diudiu, but a hint of panic flashed behind his eyes, but it quickly disappeared as if it had never existed.
"Boy, you believe in this, believe in that, but do you believe in fate?"
The other constable had laughed enough and shook his head: "If you don't believe it, I advise you to believe it... Some people are born high and mighty You can never climb to their feet even if you work hard all your life. Just accept your fate."
Li Diudiu remembered what his master had said, and how his master had risked his life to send him to the Four-Page Academy. All he had done was to tell Li Diudiu... don't accept your fate.
"Do you think I'm funny?"
Li Diudiu also laughed.
He didn't need the two people to push him anymore. He strode forward on his own. Li Diudiu said, "I don't think I'm funny. If there's anything funny, it's this world, this human heart, your status and clothes, and what you call being born high and mighty."
The two constables were a little confused. They felt that it was strange for such words to come from a child of Li Diudiu's age. However, it was precisely these words from this child that made their consciences ache.
Neither of them pushed Li Diudiu again, nor did they even touch him. They also stopped smiling and just followed Li Diudiu silently.
"arrive."
One of the detectives opened the door of a cell and pointed inside: "Go in."
The other constable's face changed, and he lowered his voice and said, "The chief constable ordered that he be thrown into Lai Mazi's cell. Why did you let him go into this empty cell?"
The constable who opened the door shook his head, and after a long silence, he said, "Let him have a good night today... Just one night. After all, he is still a child."
The iron door slammed shut, and Li Diudiu looked around. In fact, he had thought about whether he would be put in jail before. After all, he and his master made their way in the world by deceiving people, so being caught and put in jail was not a big deal. But he had never thought that he would be put in jail for saving people, and it was obviously not easy for him to get out.
The cell was very damp, and no one knew where the moisture came from. There was no bed, no furniture, nothing. There were cold, hard stone walls and a cold, hard stone floor all around.
Li Diudiu sat down cross-legged. He thought he would be scared, but he wasn't. The first thing he thought of after he calmed down was... he didn't know what happened to Xiahou Zhuo.
He didn't know how long he had been sitting there when he heard footsteps in the corridor outside the cell. Li Diudiu turned his head and saw a young man in brocade clothes walk up to the outside of his cell and stop, looking at him with amusement.
"Li Chi."
The young man outside the cell called out, and Li Diudiu asked, "Who are you?"
The young man pointed to the brocade clothes on his body and asked: "Do you recognize these clothes?"
Li Diudiu shook his head: "I don't know him."
Because of these three words, the young man showed contempt on his face.
The young man smiled and said, "It's normal that you don't know him. After all, the biggest person you have ever met in your life is just a bastard."
He pointed to the clothes on his body and said, "This is the Crown Prince's daily clothes. Do you know what a Crown Prince is?"
This question was even more sarcastic. Even if Li Diudiu had never seen any important figures, he was not a fool. How could he not know the identity of the prince?
Li Diudiu nodded and answered seriously: "I know, persimmons are only delicious when they are soft. If the skin is broken, there will be a lot of juice inside, and it will flow out like shit."
Yang Zhuo's expression changed suddenly.
He turned around and looked at the head constable Li Changxing and asked angrily: "Didn't you say that he would be put in a cell with more people? Why was he put in a cell with no one in it?"
Li Changxing looked at the two constables. They both lowered their heads at the same time, and no one dared to say anything.
"Take him out and throw him into Lai Mazi's cell."
Li Changxing gave an order, and then said to Yang Zhuo with a flattering look: "Your Highness should go out. This place is very damp and cold. It is not good for your health if you stay here for a long time."
Yang Zhuo hummed, then looked at Li Diudiu and said, "I'll come to see you again tomorrow and see if you can still be so mean."
After he finished speaking, he turned and left. Li Changxing hurriedly walked back with him, nodding and bowing, like a dog seeing a meat bone shaking in the hand of its owner.
The two constables waited until Yang Zhuo and Li Changxing left before opening the cell door. One of them looked at Li Diudiu and sighed, "Why are you doing this?"
Li Diudiu shrugged his shoulders as if it didn't matter. After he went out, he asked, "Left or right?"
The constable frowned and said, "Are you really not afraid of death? If you are not afraid of death, then aren't you afraid of living a life worse than death?"
Li Diudiu said, "Lead the way."
The two detectives looked at each other again. For some reason, they both felt a sense of respect for this half-grown child.
I was just laughing at Li Diudiu for being a fool, but now I think Li Diudiu is respectable. People... are so fucking weird.
"Be careful."
One of the detectives walked behind Li Diudiu and reminded him in a very low voice: "There is a Lai Mazi in the cell you are going to. He should be executed, so there is no need to worry... Besides, he got the benefits ."
Li Diudiu hummed and nodded: "Thank you."
