"No need for the trouble..." Xiao Jin Yu cast a glance as light as water at the case file box on the table. "I only ask to take the materials from Li Rusheng's case."
The Emperor furrowed his brows slightly. "This case has already been transferred to the Supreme Court. I've appointed Jing Yi to investigate it... with the Chief Minister's influence, those old fellows won't have much to say."
Xiao Jin Yu sighed silently and reached out to close the case file box. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"What about your wife..."
Xiao Jin Yu pressed his thin, sword-like lips together. "She's the coroner for this case... Jing Yi still needs her."
"Do you need to pack anything, Uncle?"
"No need... just bring that chest of medicine."
"I'll have someone come in to help you carry it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Emperor had made careful arrangements from the start - arriving silently and leaving with Xiao Jin Yu just as quietly, without disturbing any unnecessary personnel in the Imperial Examination Hall.
From the Examination Hall to the Heavenly Prison reserved for nobility, Xiao Jin Yu remained silent throughout the journey. He didn't even notice when the Emperor's palanquin leading the way diverted its course. By the time he disembarked at the prison entrance, only four palace guards remained. The four guards escorted Xiao Jin Yu into the clean, spacious cell, set down his medicine chest, bowed, and withdrew.
This wasn't Xiao Jin Yu's first time in the Heavenly Prison, but it was his first time having to live here. Looking at this clean and spacious yet still damp and dim cell, he remained as calm as if he were sitting in his study at the Royal Mansion.
He understood the Emperor's intentions clearly - publicly, the Emperor needed to stabilize people's hearts; privately, the Emperor wanted to protect his life.
He had known this day would come eventually, just not that it would be at this time, for such a reason.
The dampness in the cell was heavier than during rainy days outside, cold as midwinter. Just as Xiao Jin Yu was about to open his medicine chest to find some pain relief medication, he heard a sarcastic voice coming from the cell door.
"Prince An."
Xiao Jin Yu turned to look. When he recognized the pleated, bun-like face outside the iron bars, his heart sank, though his expression remained frozen in calm. "Lord Tan."
After the grating sound of keys turning in the copper lock, iron chains clattered to the ground. The iron-barred door creaked open, and Tan Zhang stepped in, his increasingly round belly leading the way. He squinted his eyes, surveying Xiao Jin Yu with intense amusement.
"I don't deserve such courtesy, I don't deserve it... Prince An, it's been a while since we last met."
☆、100 Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckle (14)
Xiao Jin Yu watched indifferently as Tan Zhang approached with slow, splay-footed steps.
After more than a month, Tan Zhang had shed his dark green Governor's uniform and donned the dark red Warden's robe the color of dried blood. Though his rank had plummeted almost to the bottom, his waistline showed no sign of shrinking - instead, it had grown fuller. His small eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled, appearing and disappearing on his oily, moon-shaped face.
Xiao Jin Yu remembered clearly - right after leaving Shangyuan County, he had handed Tan Zhang's case to the Ministry of Justice. Ultimately, the Ministry of Justice consulted with the Sixth Prince and the Ministry of Personnel, deciding to confiscate all of Tan Zhang's family property and strip him of his Governor position. Xiao Jin Yu had signed and sealed that judgment document the night before visiting the Chu family, so he remembered it particularly well.
Yet in just over a month, he had managed to sneak into the capital and become an eighth-rank Warden.
Judging by his smug expression, he was clearly living a hundred times more comfortably than when he was a fourth-rank Governor.Xiao Jin Yu said with an air of indifference, "Lord Tan, it seems you have been well."
Tan Zhang approached and scrutinized Xiao Jin Yu closely, his gaze lingering on the still-visible bloodstains on Xiao Jin Yu’s neck. The smile in his beady eyes deepened. "Prince An, ever since this humble official arrived in the capital, not a day has passed without me thinking of your kindness... If it weren’t for you stripping me of my position back then, how would I have had the chance to come to the capital and fill this lucrative post? The people who end up here are all esteemed figures like you. A single round of ‘attentions’ here can match three years of a provincial governor’s salary. I truly must thank you, Prince An."
Xiao Jin Yu acted as if he hadn’t heard. He retrieved his crutches from behind his wheelchair, struggled to support himself, and slowly rose to his feet. Leaning against the edge of his medicine chest, he began to search through it unhurriedly.
Tan Zhang, with his hands clasped behind his back, looked around the mold-stained prison walls with keen interest. "Prince An, don’t underestimate this cell. This is the finest room in the Heavenly Prison. Without the Emperor’s personal consideration, no amount of silver could secure you a place here... Do you know who the last occupant was?" Tan Zhang shook his head repeatedly. "Ah, what a fool I am—you were still in your mother’s womb back then. How could you possibly know?"
Tan Zhang cheerfully strolled over to one of the walls and touched the long-dried, blackened bloodstains. "The last person to stay here was also surnamed Xiao—Ning Jun Wang, Xiao Heng. Over twenty years ago now... He was quite a figure in his day. Look at the splatter of blood here, tsk tsk tsk... They say he was unyielding, even more so than the Prince of Wu Commandery... Oh, that’s right!" Tan Zhang turned and walked back to where Xiao Jin Yu, still leaning weakly against the chest, was searching for medicine. He pointed to the wall right beside the chest. "Next door—the cell next to this one—was where the Prince of Wu Commandery stayed. No one has occupied it since he left. The bloodstains there are still his... The Prince of Wu Commandery crawled around in that room like a dog for a full year. It was you, Prince An, who personally overturned his case and secured his release. He remains the only person ever to walk out of the Heavenly Prison alive. If you’d like to visit that cell and reminisce, out of our old acquaintance, I’d be happy to personally assist you over there."
Xiao Jin Yu’s knuckles, gripping the edge of the chest, turned white. His body trembled slightly from exhaustion as he turned his head and cast a cold glare at Tan Zhang, whose face was creased with laughter. "Lord Tan, with the myriad trivial matters in the prison and your heavy official duties, there is no need to waste your time on me... I am far more familiar with this place than you are."
"Of course, of course..." Tan Zhang nodded repeatedly, his features scrunching into a gleeful knot. "But since Prince An has come all this way, and it just so happens that I am on duty these few days, I must do everything in my power to ensure your stay is to your satisfaction."
Tan Zhang swept his eyes over the room’s furnishings with keen interest, pacing as he spoke. "Prince An is known for his integrity and incorruptibility. We certainly must not tarnish your esteemed reputation with any special treatment..."
As he spoke, Tan Zhang stripped the thick bedding from the bed, tossing it all out, leaving only a thin blanket on the bare wooden plank. He then removed the charcoal brazier from the corner, the small stove, and the teapot and cups from the table.
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