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墨書 Inktalez
"Miss, this is the dungeon of Zhao Manor. Anyone who enters here has been sentenced to death and will be executed at Meridian Gate in ten days."
Uh...
Death sentence? She had no idea what had happened and was sentenced to death. This was too arbitrary.
"Then... young man, what heinous crime did you commit?"
After a pause, Xia Muxin continued to ask. At this moment, she was not as nervous anymore; there seemed to be no chance of even a fly getting in this prison. With ten days left, she believed Ming Peng would surely find a way to locate her.
"Miss, do you really not know?"
At that moment, an old man with a head full of white hair approached. His face was covered in dirt, and he carried a foul odor. Xia Muxin forced a dry laugh:
"Forgive me, sir and young man. I'm just a farmer who brought some goods from home to sell in Town, and then I was captured like this. The whole way here, I was covered with a black cloth in the Prison Cart. I have no idea where I am or how I ended up in this dungeon, let alone how I was sentenced to death. My family must be frantic by now."
"Disregarding human life! The Zhao family disregards human life..."
Hearing this, the old man slammed his hands on the ground, expressing his deep sorrow.
"Can you tell me about this Zhao Wei Ran?"
Xia Muxin was completely confused and needed to clarify the situation first, so she asked the two men.
"Miss, my name is Old Yuan, and I am the village chief of Tujia Village. Three years ago, Zhao Family Young Master Zhao Yangwu visited our village and said it had beautiful scenery suitable for building a temporary residence. As common folk, we couldn't refuse him. However, six months later when the residence was completed, it turned out that a wealthy merchant from Town moved in. His son is lame and took a liking to my daughter, who was already betrothed. When she refused him, that young couple was beaten to death by him. I reported this to the county office, but instead of receiving justice, they accused my daughter of being unvirtuous and seducing the wealthy merchant's son. So I brought my younger son to the capital to seek justice, but within three days of arriving here, I was arrested and thrown in this place. It's been three years..."
"Our situations are quite similar; we all came to the capital to protest against the unfair taxes but were captured the next day and sentenced to death. My village has sent several groups here already, none of whom returned. I'm just a scholar who knows a few people in the capital and thought they could help me. But it turned out to be a den of snakes and rats; officials protecting each other. As soon as I submitted my petition, I was arrested and brought here..."
"I am also here because of the land tax issue. The landlord moved into our village and not only occupied our fields but also forced us to work for them tirelessly. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and gathered the villagers to report to the county office. But the county office made a chaotic judgment, and that's how I ended up here."
"Miss, did you offend the landlord in your village or perhaps the county magistrate?"
"......"
After a while, Xia Muxin finally understood that Zhao Weiran was an exploitative official who took advantage of farmers. Relying on his position as the Deputy Minister of Revenue, he secretly sent his people to various villages to act as landlords, while he himself remained in the shadows, collecting silver from their exploitation.
And she had offended the Wang family, which included that very county magistrate?
Thinking about this made Xia Muxin's anger boil within her, and she felt an overwhelming discomfort. Suddenly, she crawled toward the corner of the cell, searching for something.
"Miss, your hand..."
After searching for a while, she suddenly spotted a head popping out from a pile of grass. Xia Muxin was startled; it was a living person, an elderly man in his fifties. She frowned and said, "Old man, I think my hand was broken by some soldiers on the way here; it might be dislocated."
If it were just one hand dislocated, she could manage to fix it herself since Shen Muhan had taught her how. But now both of her hands were dislocated...
"Miss, come here; let me take a look."
Hearing this, the old man waved her over.
Xia Muxin didn't hesitate and crawled over. The old man struggled to prop himself up, and at that moment, Xia Muxin realized that he had no lower body at all.
"Miss, sit down and bear with it. I used to be a doctor..."
Xia Muxin's thoughts were completely out of control. Looking at his empty lower half, her eyes inexplicably became moist. How insane was Zhao Weiran, specifically targeting these powerless farmers? In her moment of distraction, the old man grasped her hand tightly, and with a sharp crack, one of Xia Muxin's arms was reattached. Noticing that she gritted her teeth but made no sound, admiration flickered in the old man's eyes as he quickly reattached her other arm.
"Thank you, old man."
Now able to move her hands, Xia Muxin hurriedly expressed her gratitude to the old man before heading towards the wall. She began to sift through the foul-smelling straw, crouching down to pull out a small curved knife she carried with her. Scraping some powder from the greenish wall and bringing it to her nose for a sniff, a smirk appeared on her lips. However, when she attempted to continue her actions, she discovered that the wall was hollow.
"Uncle, why is there no one guarding here?"
A hint of confusion flickered in her eyes as she asked the person inside.
"This is Zhao Manor's underground dungeon, hidden from sight and unknown to outsiders. Not even a fly can get in here. Besides, the back door of this cell leads to a sheer cliff. Even if you had a chance to escape through the cell door, you'd end up shattered on the rocks below. So, aside from meal times, no one comes here."
Upon hearing this, Xia Muxin responded with an "oh," feeling reassured. She then began to explore the wall with her small hands. Suddenly, there was a loud rumble as a door swung open, releasing a wave of foul odor from within. In an instant, she saw the old man with only his upper body excitedly crawling toward the doorway. Moments later, his wailing cries echoed through the air.
"Ah... Father still couldn't wait for you to come out! It was my fault; it was my fault..."
Xia Muxin stepped inside with curiosity. It was a sealed small room filled with bones and an overwhelming stench. The cramped space of less than ten square meters was packed with eerie white bones. The old man was now clutching a pile of clothes and crying uncontrollably. It was evident that these clothes belonged to a child and were quite new. It seemed that this old man's identity was not as simple as that of an ordinary farmer.
Xia Muxin couldn't afford to dwell on that; she scanned the surroundings and picked up a piece of clothing from the ground. Using her knife, she began scraping along the walls.
It wasn't until there was some commotion outside that Xia Muxin carried the unconscious old man out like a puppet and laid him down on the ground.
"My lord, this is Xia Muxin, the one responsible for Miss's disappearance."
This was Xia Muxin's first encounter with Zhao Weiran. He had an elegant demeanor and was polite and gentle, wearing a smile on his face. If it weren't for the facts laid bare before them, no one would believe he was a notorious corrupt official responsible for mass atrocities.
His attire was refined and understated; every gesture exuded natural nobility. Upon hearing the jailer's accusation directed at him by name, he simply stated:
"Do you know what crime you have committed, young lady?"
His voice was friendly and powerful, his smile warm and refined. If it weren't for the knowledge of his cruel nature, Xia Muxin might have been deceived. After a pause, she struggled to lift her head from the ground, her hands twisted in an unnatural position, slowly standing up with tears welling in her eyes as she choked out:
"I... I don't know."
"Don't know? Very well, then let me ask you: do you recognize Zhao Qiushui, Miss Zhao?"
"I've seen her; she's a great person from Lord Wang's family in the village."
"Then... where is she now?"
"I heard she went to Lord He's house."
"He Cong..."
Xia Muxin answered one by one, but suddenly he let out a loud shout, his eyes flashing with cold light. At that moment, Xia Muxin finally witnessed how an angel could turn into a demon.
In less than a moment, He Cong entered, bent over and kneeling before Zhao Weiran. After bowing several times, he pointed at Xia Muxin and said:
"My lord, don't be fooled by this woman. The Wang family and the Zhou family can testify that she fought fiercely with Miss Zhao, causing her to be unable to leave her house for a month. She even instructed an unruly child to trip Miss Zhao, who fell badly and lay in bed for over ten days. Later, Miss Zhao went to my humble abode, and it was I who had the Yard Officer escort her back to the Wang family. Many passersby can testify to this. After the Yard Officer returned, he said Miss Zhao got angry and went to find this Xia Muxin. After that, she never returned. We searched everywhere in and out of the village but couldn't find any trace of her; that's why I took the risk to report this to you."
He Cong spoke with flickering eyes, clearly lacking confidence as he lied. Xia Muxin remained calm and did not rush to clarify anything for herself.
"Xia Muxin, do you still want to deny it? I have heard of your great name; it resonates throughout Daimiao Village."
"Thank you for your kind words, my lord."
Xia Muxin accepted his praise without a hint of embarrassment or breathlessness.
At this moment, the accusation was already hanging over her head. Even if she denied it, Zhao Weiran would not let her off the hook. Moreover, this was his prison; he could say whatever he wanted, and she was too lazy to argue.
This was the first time Zhao Weiran had encountered such a strong woman. Anger flickered in his eyes, and his tone turned stern.
"I'll give you one more chance. Where is Qiu Shui?"
Xia Muxin remained as calm as ever.
"I do not know."
As for Zhao Qiushui, the real reason was likely that the Wang family couldn't come up with the money to pay their dues. If every village in Tianli Kingdom had someone like Wang Shoucai, the common people would truly have a hard life.
Thus, he was making an example of her, letting all the county magistrates understand the severity of the situation.
"Hmph..."
Zhao Weiran had completely lost his patience at this point. Revealing his true nature, he flicked his sleeve and walked out of the cell.
In the blink of an eye, it was already the fifth day.
During these days, Xia Muxin remained quite relaxed. She ate when it was time to eat and slept when it was time to sleep. That night, while everyone else was sound asleep, a strange rustling sound suddenly broke the silence. Xia Muxin, who had a light sleep, heard the noise immediately but did not open her eyes; instead, she chose to observe quietly.
"Rustle, Miss Muxin..."
"Miss Muxin..."
Suddenly, Xia Muxin opened her eyes wide and sat up in surprise.
“Ming Peng?”
As soon as she spoke, a shadow stopped in front of her. The prison was dark, and she could only vaguely make out the figure.
“Miss Muxin, you’ve suffered. The boss is on his way back; let’s get out of here now.”
Ming Peng had been working day and night, gathering the brothers in the capital to search for Xia Muxin. Fortunately, there was still time; otherwise, no matter how many times he died, he could never make up for this mistake. As he spoke, he reached out to pull Xia Muxin up.
“Wait, Ming Peng. How reputable is Zhao Weiran in the court? What kind of person is he?”
Xia Muxin refused to leave with him and instead sat still, asking Ming Peng several questions.
“He has quite a reputation and is generally kind. If it weren’t for some brothers seeing him leave here today, I wouldn’t have found this place because there’s a gambling house above—one of the most famous in the capital, Wansheng Gambling House. The back of the gambling house is a sheer cliff, but the walls above are over ten meters high; usually, nothing happens...”
It seemed that Zhao Weiran truly had a heart of a beast despite his human facade; even those in the court had been deceived by him. After thinking for a moment, she added:
“Is it true that all the local officials were appointed by him?”
Only this could fully prove that those county magistrates he appointed were all in cahoots, colluding to bully the common people.
“Well... I’m not very sure. It seems like a few of them are like that. Miss Muxin, why are you asking so much? Let’s hurry and leave.”
“Ming Peng...”
Xia Muxin suddenly pulled Ming Peng closer and whispered something in his ear. In the end, she assured him that Shen Muhan would definitely not punish him after they got out. Only then did he leave reluctantly, looking back three times.
The next day, Xia Muxin was in high spirits, pacing around the wall or entering that closed room. She believed there must be a passage inside; it was just a matter of finding out where it led.
However, she wasn't in a hurry to discover it. Zhao Weiran, you should have anticipated my revenge the moment you captured me.
"Yard Officer, why didn't you just execute us sooner? Why keep us locked up in this dark and dreary place to suffer?"
That day, someone came to deliver food. Xia Muxin lay among the foul-smelling thatched grass, feeling weak and drenched in cold sweat, she weakly asked the person delivering the meal.
The person glanced around and then sneered, "You’re all dead men walking; it doesn’t hurt to tell you. Every month on the 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th, they take ten prisoners to Meridian Gate for execution. But those people have families and connections; as long as they change their names, they can still serve our lord. Tell me, wouldn’t killing them just cut off their own source of income?"
After finishing his words, he swaggered away with his belongings.
Once he left, Xia Muxin regained her composure. Sitting up, she watched his departing figure with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth. So those landlords were actually death row inmates.
Well then...
This makes things easier.
The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel will likely need new personnel.
Isn’t it said that the new emperor's foundation is still unstable...
Thinking about this made Xia Muxin feel a sense of joy bubbling up inside her. Uncle, I’m going to do you a big favor this time.
A few more days passed, and on this day, someone else came to deliver food.
"Eat up, eat up, this is the last meal. Make sure to fill your stomach before you head out. Once you get to Yama, don’t mention us; we’re just following orders from above."
"Come on, everyone, Uncle, eat up. Once you're done, you can be on your way. Let’s not forget this encounter."
After the Yard Officer finished speaking, he tossed the food into the cell without even looking at the prisoners and walked away. Xia Muxin rushed over to grab the food and began distributing it among them.
"Eat up. Once this food is gone, you won't feel anything—like a dead man. Even if you're dragged to the guillotine, you won't struggle or make a sound. Instead, it will only enhance the Dog Official's reputation because soon someone will come to deliver new Prison Uniforms, wash your face and hands, and even comb your hair, making you look presentable before they take your life. The onlookers will praise how compassionate the Dog Official is and how well he treats people..."
The old man with only half a body spoke, causing Xia Muxin to pause with the food halfway to his mouth.
Is that why they only used torture at the beginning and not afterward?
In their eyes, these lowly commoners were hardly better than animals. If they wanted to kill, no reason was needed. After a moment of silence, he asked again:
"Uncle, if we eat this and don’t get executed, can we still live like normal people?"
"Not at all. Even if you escape execution, you'll be a living dead person. No matter how great your grievances are, they'll just rot in your stomach and go into the coffin with you."
Upon hearing this, Xia Muxin quickly shouted:
"Everyone stop eating! This ground is muddy; hurry and dig a pit to bury this food."
- End of Chapter -
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