Chapter 41: The Prison (Revised) Don’t Be Found…

Everyone in the hall quickly realized what was happening. Xie Zechuan rushed to the servant who came in and asked, "Where are they now?"

There must be nothing good happening when Yao Ningde comes to the house at this time. He needs to be more careful and nothing must happen to Lan'er.

The servant wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke haltingly, "Master Yao is standing in front of the mansion gate, shouting for everyone to leave. He also said... and said..."

"What else did he say?" After a long silence, Duke Xie put down the teacup in his hand and glanced at the servants.

The servant shuddered with fear, his head lowered, not daring to delay. "He said the eldest son is in the mansion right now and demands we hand him over. Lord Yao's attendants even said the eldest son faked his death to deceive Your Majesty, giving Duke Xie's Mansion a pretext to manipulate Your Majesty and usurp the throne."

When Zhou Tinglan heard what the servant said, she thought to herself that something was wrong. It seemed that Yao Ningde had found out that she and Xie Zechuan had climbed over the wall and sneaked into Duke Xie's mansion at night.

Duke Xie was immediately enraged. He stood up and slammed his palm on the table. "Yao Ningde is really going too far. He really thinks that Duke Xie's Mansion is easy to bully! Duke Xie's Mansion has been loyal for generations. How can a scoundrel like him slander us so casually?"

He turned around and was about to rush out of the hall, but Xie Zechuan hurriedly stopped him: "Father, no!"

Duke Xie glanced at him with disdain and cursed, "You little bastard, why are you stopping me?"

Xie Zechuan thought of Yao Ningde outside the mansion, and a hint of coldness gathered in his eyes. "Father, don't be impulsive. Since Yao Ningde dared to come at this time, he must have come prepared. Don't act out of anger."

Duke Xie snorted, looked at Xie Zechuan, pointed his finger into the distance, and said excitedly: "So what are you going to do? Everyone outside is waiting for you to go out and die!"

Could it be that the brat's brain was damaged when he fell off the cliff? If that's true...

Duke Xie looked back at Xie Zeqing who was sitting in the hall and saw him picking up the chopsticks and stuffing food into his mouth again.

He suddenly turned around and looked at Xie Zechuan beside him to clean his eyes. Forget it. Although his eldest son became much dumber after falling off the cliff, he was still much better than the younger son who could not be saved. When the matter was resolved, he would ask a doctor to see him. Maybe he could still be saved.

When Xie Zechuan saw his father turn around and look at Xie Zeqing, he guessed what his father was thinking and was speechless.

"The family is implicated by me and Lan'er, I should take the blame for this. Besides, after what happened, don't you think the house is no longer safe?"

Duke Xie's eyes darkened. What his eldest son said made sense. The servants in the mansion might have been bribed and hidden in the dark for a long time.

He nodded in agreement: "Indeed."

The fake yellow robe that was deliberately stuffed into the mansion and the jewelry bestowed by the emperor in the lady's box were lost, and then inexplicably appeared on the wrist of a maid.

Everything showed that spies had been planted in Duke Xie's mansion long ago.

Zhou Tinglan stood up and walked over. Hearing the conversation between Xie Zechuan and Duke Xie, his eyes turned cold. "Duke Xie, this matter started with my family, and it has implicated Xie Zechuan and even your entire family. I am truly sorry."

Duke Xie waved his hand, indicating that it was okay: "Why be so distant? We will all be family in the future."

He glared at Xie Zechuan, his eyes understanding: Do you still want a wife in the future? Why don’t you comfort her quickly?

Xie Zechuan received his father's instructions and comforted him softly, "Lan'er, you don't have to blame yourself. Yao Ningdra is trying to bring chaos to the government. My Xie family is a family of integrity. We will not remain unaffected and allow him to take over."

After consoling him, he turned to Duke Xie and continued, "Just based on the stolen goods that were stuffed into the mansion earlier, I'm afraid it would be difficult for you to be arrested and imprisoned."

"I'm not afraid of them!" Duke Xie raised his foot and was about to continue walking out.

Why--

Xie Zechuan and Zhou Tinglan rushed forward to stop them.

Zhou Tinglan glanced at Xie Zechuan and said, "Why is your father so impatient? He's nothing like you."

Xie Zechuan replied with his eyes, it was probably because he was in menopause and he got more angry when something happened.

Fearing his father's impulsiveness, Xie Zechuan explained to him: "Father, you are not afraid, but what about mother?"

The Lin family was the weak spot for Duke Xie. When the Lin family was mentioned, Xie Zechuan immediately became depressed. He muttered to himself, "I'm afraid..."

"Don't worry about me!" Lin's voice came from behind the three of them. She slowly approached Duke Xie and said, "Just do whatever you want. I'm not as weak as you think."

Duke Xie wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Lin, who patted his shoulder: "What are you afraid of! You said Brother Chuan had a broken brain, but look at you, your brain is broken even if it hasn't been broken. Have you forgotten what my mother's family does?"

Before Duke Xie could say anything, Xie Zechuan bowed and said, "Don't worry, mother. Father may have forgotten, but I haven't. My maternal grandfather's family has made many military achievements. Although mother is a woman, she is no less capable than men."

As he spoke, he glanced at Duke Xie beside him, but this made Duke Xie even angrier.

"You little bastard! You said...it hurts, Madam, stop it! It hurts!"

Lin grabbed Duke Xie's ear and said, "Your son remembers everything, but you are getting more and more confused as you grow older!"

Duke Xie begged for mercy from Lin. He secretly glared at Xie Zechuan and said, "You little bastard, just wait for me!"

Xie Zechuan had tricked his father once before, so he decided to quit while he was ahead: "Mother, the most important thing for us now is to deal with those people outside the mansion."

Lin released the hand that was grabbing Duke Xie's ear, and Duke Xie grimaced in pain.

He asked seriously, "What are you going to do?"

"Of course it's as he wishes. The guests have come to our door, so how can we not see them? It would seem that the Xie Guogong Mansion is not hospitable enough and we dare not see them."

"Xie Zechuan, I will go with you to see Yao Ningde." Zhou Tinglan looked at Xie Zechuan, Yao Ningde, are we finally going to have a head-on confrontation?

A smile appeared on her lips, and she was thinking about how to deal with the situation.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Tinglan hadn't expected that what Xie Zechuan said would make her smile freeze.

"Lan'er, you're not going."

"Why?" Zhou Tinglan was puzzled.

Xie Zechuan looked at the angry Zhou Tinglan, a smile in his eyes: "Because there are other more important things waiting for Lan'er to do."

He whispered in Zhou Tinglan's ear. Zhou Tinglan listened with a look of doubt on his face: "Are you sure?"

"Of course, Lan'er can definitely do it."

**

Xie Zechuan followed Duke Xie out of the mansion, with Xie Zeqing and Lin walking at the end.

Yao Ningde looked at the people coming out and sneered, "I've been waiting for you for so long, and I thought the dignified Xie Guogong Mansion was full of cowards, afraid to even go out. Are you afraid?"

Duke Xie was furious when he heard Yao Ningde's words. "You bastard! My Lordship has always been aboveboard, but you, a villain, have been able to take advantage of his treacherous schemes. Once Your Majesty has uncovered the truth, I will send you to prison!"

Hahaha--

Yao Ningde laughed heartily, his eyes gleaming with venom. "Got sent to jail? I want to find out who's going to jail."

He called out to his followers, "Catch them all! No one should escape!"

At the critical moment, Xie Zechuan shouted, "Wait a minute! The one who arrested him wasn't the Dali Temple Minister, so why did Lord Yao bother to do it himself?"

Judging from the situation, Yao Ningde is coming with great momentum tonight. How can we deal with him?

"Oh—I was so angry with the Duke just now that I forgot about General Xie. I came here naturally on His Majesty's orders."

Yao Ningde glanced at Xie Zechuan and saw that Zhou Tinglan was not there.

He looked at Xie Zechuan with scrutiny, "My attendant and I came into the mansion to thank the general, so why is General Xie the only one coming out now? Could it be that... the beauty is unwilling to give me this honor?"

Xie Zechuan's eyes darkened slightly. "I don't know who the beauty the Minister is talking about is."

Lan'er must not be found by Yao Ningde, I hope that place is hidden enough.

Yao Ningde's eyes flashed with bloodthirstiness. He licked his lips lightly with the tip of his tongue. "General Xie, this is wrong. How could you not recognize it? It seems... Miss Zhou wants to play hide-and-seek with me. You'd better hide well. Don't let me catch you, or you will die miserably!"

After he finished speaking, he laughed arrogantly again, causing his followers behind him to laugh as well.

The laughter echoed in the quiet streets, and it was particularly eerie and terrifying.

Xie Zechuan clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "Since Lord Yao is here on the orders of His Majesty, have you brought the imperial edict with you?"

"Of course there is." Yao Ningde waved his hand, and Fuchang stepped forward quickly and presented a brocade box with both hands.

He took the brocade box, glanced at Xie Zechuan and others proudly, and raised his hand to open the brocade box.

A bright yellow scroll was carefully placed in a brocade box.

Yao Ningde grinned wickedly, reached into the brocade box, and held up the imperial edict inside with both hands.

The corners of his mouth rose, revealing a determined smile. Yao Ningde glanced at Xie Zechuan, opened the scroll, and began to read the contents of the imperial edict aloud.

"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims:

Recently, I heard that Duke Xie committed the crime of attempting rebellion and defying the imperial authority, and that his eldest son, the brave General Xie Zechuan, deceived the monarch. In addition, I received a joint memorial from court officials. Although I have not verified the truth, the actions of Duke Xie's mansion are indeed against the imperial order and corrupt the discipline, and they must be punished.

In view of this, I have decided to imprison him according to the law and hand him over to the Minister of War to arrest him at his residence and select a day for trial to uphold the law. I decree this!"

After the reading, Yao Ningde put the imperial edict back into the brocade box carefully. He looked at Xie Zechuan with a smile.

"General Xie, you faked your own death and returned to the capital, committing the crime of deceiving the emperor! Do you acknowledge your guilt?"

After Xie Zechuan heard the contents of the imperial edict, his eyes darkened. "What crime have I committed? If it weren't for some treacherous person who bribed the bandits to assassinate me, why would I resort to such a despicable act and risk my life to return to the capital to see His Majesty?"

Seeing Xie Zechuan refusing to plead guilty, Yao Ningde angrily shouted, "Great! Duke Xie is plotting rebellion, privately forging a yellow robe, and defying the Emperor's authority! His son deceived Your Majesty and fabricated facts, his crime is even greater! By Your Majesty's order, I will have your entire family imprisoned!"

When the followers surrounded the people in front of Duke Xie's mansion, no one in Xie Zechuan's family resisted, and everyone stood up straight.

Seeing this, Yao Ningde felt unhappy: "General Xie, aren't you afraid?"

Xie Zechuan looked directly into Yao Ningde's eyes and asked loudly, "Why should this general be afraid? Justice is clear and the heavens are witnesses! It's you treacherous villains who should be afraid. One day, you will reap the consequences of your own actions and fall into an endless hell!"

"Okay, okay, it seems General Xie hasn't yet clearly understood his situation. Miss Zhou is still in the mansion, right? I wonder what General Xie will do if I catch her later."

Yao Ningde immediately asked his followers to go into Duke Xie's mansion to find Zhou Tinglan.

The attendant rushed past Xie Zechuan and entered the mansion. Xie Zechuan heard the sound of footsteps, smashing, and cursing behind him...

He stared at Yao Ningde and prayed for Zhou Tinglan in his heart.

Lan'er, don't be found, don't be found, don't be found...

Perhaps it was a sign of fate that soon an attendant came out to report, "Sir, I have searched Duke Xie's mansion thoroughly and found no trace of the other person."

"How come there's no one?" Yao Ningde kicked his attendant and said, "Keep looking for me!"

As if thinking of something, he smiled playfully, "General Xie, do you have some secret method that can actually send Miss Zhou out of this encircled Xie Guogong Mansion?"

Xie Zechuan turned his head away and refused to pay attention to Yao Ningde.

Yao Ningde was furious. He called to his attendants, "Come here! Bring General Xie into the mansion and treat him well. Let me see how hard Miss Zhou's heart is! Is she willing to come out?"