Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

It was around the hour of You, yet Emperor Zhao Yuansi of the Great Wei Dynasty was still in the Chui Gong Hall.

Normally, at this time, the emperor should be resting in one of the consorts' palaces, but today, the Great Wei Emperor seemed to have no such mood.

"Your Majesty."

The grand eunuch Tong Xian quietly entered, seeing the emperor practicing calligraphy at the dragon desk, he only softly called out.

"Any news?"

The emperor continued practicing calligraphy, snorted coldly, and said lightly, "Speak. I also want to hear if there's any worse news than a prince lingering in a brothel. Tell me and surprise me."

Tong Xian chuckled awkwardly a couple of times, then lowered his voice and said, "Just now, the Eighth Prince's bodyguard, Mu Qing, urgently mobilized five hundred imperial guards. ... According to the information gathered by this old servant's Inner Chamber, it seems the Eighth Prince has been set up and is now in the custody of the Ministry of Justice."

"Σ(°Д°|||)"

Thus, the Great Wei Emperor was as he wished, staring at Tong Xian with wide eyes.

After a long while, the emperor realized his loss of composure, put down the brush, and laughed dryly, "Ha, this is interesting! ... Did that rascal commit a crime?"

"Not really. ... According to the information this old servant has, the Eighth Prince only visited a pavilion by a lake and met a girl surnamed Su over the past two days, which is not a crime."

"A pavilion by a lake..." The Great Wei Emperor muttered a few times, then asked calmly, "If so, why did the Ministry of Justice take him?"

"According to this old servant, the Eighth Prince offended someone."

"Who?"

"The son of the Minister of Personnel, Luo Wenzhong, named Luo Rong. ... This old servant's people saw this young man mobilize a group of officials from the Ministry of Justice, who seized the Eighth Prince on his way back to the palace at dusk after he left the pavilion."

"Ha ha, it seems the ban I imposed on that rascal to return to the palace before dusk is still effective." The emperor laughed heartily.

‘The problem isn’t there...’

Tong Xian chuckled bitterly a few times, then tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, should we intervene?"

The Great Wei Emperor looked at Tong Xian with a smile and said lightly, "That rascal has always been clever and resourceful. I believe he can handle this. You don't need to overstep. Just send someone to keep an eye on him."

"Ah? But... how can this be done?"

"Do as I say!" The Great Wei Emperor commanded without room for argument.

"Yes..."

Tong Xian bowed and prepared to leave to make arrangements. But after a few steps, he hesitated, turned back to try to persuade the emperor again, but was startled to hear the emperor mutter casually.

‘!!’

Instantly, Tong Xian's face changed drastically. He didn't dare to persuade anymore, quickly pretending he hadn't heard anything, and bowed to exit the Chui Gong Hall.

At the same time, inside the Ministry of Justice, Luo Wenzhong, Luo Rong, and the prison governor Pei Kai were trying to remedy the current disaster.

In the prison, a group of guards were frantically pouring wine into the mouths of the two bodyguards, Shen Yu and Lu Mu, pinching their noses and forcing them to drink the strongest and most potent wine, making them cough and gasp, and forcing them to drink one jug after another.

Outside the prison, the prison governor Pei Kai asked worriedly, "Will this work?"

Beside him, Luo Wenzhong said calmly, "The testimony of a drunkard is not credible. ... Once these two are thoroughly drunk, just find a place to dump them."

"Um." Pei Kai nodded in understanding.

At this moment, a bailiff rushed in from outside the prison, shouting from afar, "Lord Pei, a group of imperial guards have entered the Ministry of Justice and are conducting a forced search."

‘They’re here!’

Luo Wenzhong and Pei Kai exchanged a glance.

After a moment, Pei Kai said to Luo Wenzhong, "Luo brother, you leave through the back door of the residence. I'll handle it." He then called over the head bailiff surnamed Sun, "Sun Zhen."

"I'm here." The head bailiff Sun walked over, and behind him, two bailiffs were carrying the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, who was either unconscious or drunk.

"I'll leave this to you."

"I understand." The head bailiff Sun nodded and indicated for the Luo family to follow him out through the back door of the Ministry of Justice.

Before leaving, he ordered the bailiffs to drag away Shen Yu and Lu Mu, who were already thoroughly drunk.

Watching them enter the secret passage leading to the back door of the Ministry of Justice, Pei Kai took a deep breath, calmed himself, and quickly left the prison, heading towards the front hall of the Ministry of Justice.

At this time, the front hall of the Ministry of Justice was in chaos. The officials, historians, and clerks, who didn't know what was happening, were shocked to see a group of imperial guards rushing in and conducting a thorough search.

"I am the Chief Justice Shen Gui of the Ministry of Justice. Who are you, and why are you searching the Ministry of Justice?!"

A dignified official of the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and sternly demanded.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Eighth Prince's bodyguard, Mu Qing, walked in, his face ashen, and shouted, "Shut up! ... Search! Don't miss a single corner!"

"Yes!" The imperial guards shouted in unison and barged into the various rooms without hesitation.

‘...’

Watching this, Pei Kai was terrified.

After a moment, the imperial guards came back to report.

"Nothing!"

"Nothing!"

"Nothing!"

"It's impossible..." Mu Qing's face was full of surprise and doubt. He frowned and asked, "Did you search thoroughly?"

At this moment, a commander of the imperial guards walked over and said in a low voice, "We've searched everywhere except... the prison!"

Mu Qing said without hesitation, "Search!"

Under the puzzled gazes of the officials of the Ministry of Justice, a group of imperial guards, like wolves, rushed into the prison, searching each cell. This scene left not only the officials and guards of the Ministry of Justice stunned but also the prisoners in the prison whispering to each other.

Seeing this, Pei Kai secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking it was fortunate that he had taken the Eighth Prince and his two bodyguards out through the back door earlier. Otherwise, if they were found, it would be disastrous.

"Nothing."

The commander of the imperial guards walked to Mu Qing and shook his head.

‘How can this be...’

Mu Qing muttered to himself. After all, he had seen the Eighth Prince being taken away by the officials of the Ministry of Justice with his own eyes. How could he not be found?

"Call out all the officials of the Ministry of Justice. I need to identify them one by one!"

"Um!" The commander of the imperial guards nodded and turned to ask, "Are the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice of the Ministry of Justice present?"

The officials of the Ministry of Justice looked at each other, and someone whispered, "They have already returned to their residences."

"Who can take charge now?"

"It's the Chief Justice Shen Gui and the prison governor Pei Kai."

As the officials of the Ministry of Justice answered, the dignified Chief Justice Shen Gui stepped forward, and the prison governor Pei Kai had no choice but to step up.

"What happened? Why did the imperial guards from the palace come?" Chief Justice Shen Gui asked in confusion.

Before the situation was clear, Mu Qing naturally wouldn't reveal the truth. He just said, "You don't need to know much about this. Just call out all the officials of the Ministry of Justice, and I will identify them one by one."

Shen Gui looked at Mu Qing, who was dressed like a commoner, and then at the commander of the imperial guards who obeyed his orders. He was suspicious but still instructed his subordinates to call out all the officials of the Ministry of Justice to the hall for Mu Qing to identify.

Seeing this, Pei Kai secretly sighed in relief, grateful that Luo Wenzhong had anticipated the situation and had the officials involved in the incident dismissed and sent back to their homes.

After all, as long as they got through this night, by tomorrow, it would be unclear who was right or wrong.

At this time, Luo Wenzhong, Luo Rong, and the head bailiff Sun were leading a group of officials and guards, taking advantage of the night to bring Zhao Hongrun back to the pavilion by the lake.

During this time, the head bailiff Sun, following Luo Wenzhong's instructions, found a secluded corner and dumped the two bodyguards, Shen Yu and Lu Mu, who were thoroughly drunk.

"Head bailiff Sun, I leave this to you. If you handle this well, I will reward you generously."

Outside the alley of the pavilion by the lake, Luo Wenzhong was trying to win over the head bailiff Sun.

"Lord Luo, please rest assured. I will handle this."

The head bailiff Sun smiled flatteringly, quickly changed out of his official uniform with two trusted bailiffs, and put on ordinary clothes. Then, the two bailiffs carrying Zhao Hongrun, following Sun's instructions, walked towards the pavilion by the lake.

The pavilion by the lake was still brightly lit. After all, it was a place for pleasure, and there were many young men who came here to seek entertainment and had no intention of sleeping.

"Please come in, gentlemen." A pimp noticed the group led by the head bailiff Sun and quickly welcomed them with a smile.

The head bailiff Sun seemed to be a regular at such places. Even if he hadn't been to this pavilion, he clearly knew the ropes. Seeing the pimp welcome them, he said, "My young master has a familiar girl."

"Oh? Which girl?"

The head bailiff Sun had already heard about it from Luo Rong and said, "The girl surnamed Su from the Green Bamboo Pavilion."

"Ah?" The pimp was surprised and took a closer look at Zhao Hongrun, who was being carried by two bailiffs in ordinary clothes, and suddenly realized, "It's Young Master Jiang!"

No wonder, as the girl surnamed Su rarely saw guests but had welcomed Zhao Hongrun into her room for two consecutive days, which was a rare event that the pimps in the pavilion by the lake couldn't help but know.

"What happened to Young Master Jiang?"

"Shh." The head bailiff Sun made a gesture to keep quiet, discreetly slipped a few silver coins into the pimp's hand, and whispered, "My young master is drunk and insists on seeing the girl surnamed Su. What should we do?"

‘Such a young man, yet so debauched...’

The pimp found it amusing, hid the silver coins, and whispered, "The girl surnamed Su said that if it's Young Master Jiang, there's no need to announce him. ... Please come in."

"Thank you." The head bailiff Sun breathed a sigh of relief and, with the two bailiffs, discreetly carried Zhao Hongrun up the stairs to the Green Bamboo Pavilion on the third floor.

At this time, in the Green Bamboo Pavilion, the girl surnamed Su was about to go to bed when she heard a knock on the door, which puzzled her.

"Green Girl, go see."

Green Girl opened the door hesitantly and saw the head bailiff Sun, whom she didn't recognize, and asked irritably, "Who are you?"

"Is this the room of the girl surnamed Su?"

"Yes..." Green Girl nodded, not understanding.

Seeing this, the head bailiff Sun raised his hand and struck the little maid with a chop, knocking her unconscious.

"Green Girl, who is it?"

The girl surnamed Su seemed to have heard the commotion and got up to take a look, just in time to see the two bailiffs carrying Zhao Hongrun into the room.

"Young Master Jiang?"

The girl surnamed Su was surprised. After all, according to the usual routine, Young Master Jiang should have already returned home.

Why did he come back here? And why did he smell of alcohol?

She didn't know that Luo Wenzhong and his group had poured wine on Zhao Hongrun to cover up the fact that he had been knocked out, thinking he had really offended someone, and quickly walked over.

Suddenly, she stopped, because she realized that the people with Zhao Hongrun were not the usual bodyguards Shen Yu, Mu Qing, and Lu Mu.

"You..."

At this moment, the head bailiff Sun quickly stepped forward and struck her with a chop, knocking her unconscious. Then, he put a thumb-sized pill in her mouth and Zhao Hongrun's mouth.

"Put them on the bed."

The two bailiffs nodded, each carrying the girl surnamed Su and Zhao Hongrun to the bed in the inner room. Then, they found a rope and tied up the unconscious little maid Green Girl, stuffed a cloth in her mouth, and hid her in a cabinet in the corner.

After arranging everything, the head bailiff Sun led the two bailiffs out of the room.

Inside the room, only Zhao Hongrun and the girl surnamed Su were left.

For some unknown reason, their faces were becoming increasingly flushed, and their breathing was becoming increasingly heavy and disordered...

"Everything is done."

Outside the pavilion by the lake, Luo Wenzhong watched the head bailiff Sun and his group come out and nodded with a smile.

"Does it have to involve the girl surnamed Su no matter what?" Luo Rong still had some lingering affection for the girl's beauty.

"Fool! In the face of imminent disaster, you still lust after beauty..." Luo Wenzhong snorted coldly, then turned to look at the pavilion by the lake and muttered, "The Eighth Prince Zhao Hongrun, known for his unruly behavior and lack of favor from the emperor, has now committed such a scandalous act... Ha! Once the news reaches the imperial household tomorrow and they come here, this matter will be none of your concern. And my Luo family will have escaped a disaster."

Luo Rong pouted, not daring to say anything more.

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