Chapter 29

The eldest princess sighed and patted his back.

"I don't care about anything else, but you must rescue Qingning and the others! This is also a good opportunity to contact Minister Yue. Since the emperor has asked you to do it, don't worry about anything else. Just do it well. The emperor and I are backing you up, so don't worry!"

Prince Shou bowed respectfully to the eldest princess.

"Ah Heng will definitely live up to my aunt's trust and do a great job."

The eldest princess waved her hand and told him to go. Ah Heng was smart but lacked experience. This was his first time in the court, and he was afraid that everything was not as simple as he thought.

——

Dali Temple Prison.

A young servant came hurriedly with a bent back. The gust of wind brought by his quick steps, turning left and right, made the candle flicker and the shadow of the person be cast on the wall as if it were being torn by a ghost. At that moment, a burst of howling screams were heard, and the ghost shadow made the prison gloomy and eerie.

He did not stop when he heard the scream, but instead quickened his pace towards the source of the scream.

After a while, the scene in front of him suddenly became clear, but what was illuminated under the bright candlelight was not a way out, but rows of cold and shiny torture instruments. Below them were three people, all placed on the rack, two of whom were soaked in blood.

During this time, a man was squatting in front of the prisoner who was tied up like a dumpling, checking his injuries.

When the servant came in and saw him, he hurried forward and whispered something to him. The man quickly stood up, straightened his clothes, and wiped his hands with a wet cloth beside him.

He threw the blood-stained cloth away casually. In such an environment, there was not even a drop of blood on the hem of his clothes. He patted his sleeves and looked like a clean and gentleman again.

"Where are the people?"

The servant beside him quickly replied, "He's already in."

He was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that this person would be willing to come into such a filthy place in person.

Without giving it time to think, he heard footsteps at the door. He quickly walked to the door, bent over, and bowed respectfully to the visitor.

"Shaoqing Pei Weijing of the Dali Temple pays homage to His Royal Highness Prince Shou!"

The hem of the moon-colored dress was already in front of him, and he was waiting for Prince Shou to call him up, but unexpectedly, the prince actually reached out and helped him up himself.

"I've heard of Lord Pei's name a long time ago. They say he's quick-witted and solves cases with incredible speed. I've always wanted to meet him!"

Pei Weijing had not expected this person to have such a personality. He thought he was an overseer and would definitely delay his work.

But this Prince Shou is completely different from the rumors!

"Your Highness, thank you for your compliments. I am only doing my duty!"

Prince Shou exchanged a few words with him and then turned his gaze to the man tied to the torture device behind him.

The man was wet from head to toe, with no blood or wounds. He looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. On either side of him were the two servants, their bodies bloody and battered.

He is so young but he can use such vicious tricks. Should we say that he is a vicious child or that he has been well taught by his family?

He looked at it for a while, and Pei Weijing came forward to explain it to him.

"This is the perpetrator of this case, Luo Chen, also known as Luo Sanzi."

As he said that, he stepped forward and pinched him hard on the back of his neck, and the unconscious Luo Chen suddenly woke up.

"Your Highness, if you have any questions, please ask now."

The young man who had just woken up looked at the white robe in front of him and couldn't tell who it belonged to. He screamed and struggled against the chains on his body.

"Didn't I tell you everything? Why are you still tying me up? My father is trying to find a way to get me out, and Elder Luo won't leave me alone! Why don't you let me go right now? If they knew how much I've been suffering here, I'd definitely skin you alive!"

Seeing that he was so full of energy, Prince Shou tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at Pei Weijing.

"It seems like there wasn't any torture! He's still so arrogant."

Pei Weijing paused, lowered his head and replied in a low voice.

"After a short period of torture, he confessed everything. Even after being tortured, he still said the same thing."

As an official in the court, he was well versed in the ways of the officialdom. The Luo family belonged to the crown prince, so even if they made a huge mistake, as long as no one came to hold them accountable, they could not be severely punished.

It's not that he is just changing with the wind, it's just that this is the current state of the court.

If you don't go with the flow like everyone else, you will be standing upright on the wall. Then people on both sides will see that you are a stubborn person and will definitely come down together to fight you. How can you talk about your ambition to govern the country and justice when you can't even survive?

He originally thought that this time would be the same as before, and he would just go through the motions and be released. Who would have thought that this time His Majesty would actually send Prince Shou, who had not left the palace for a long time. But even if he came out, would it be any different from before?

The prince was powerful and overbearing, and Prince Shou probably didn't have the strength to fight against him, so in the end he just changed his name and released the person.

He lowered his head and didn't dare to look at him, obviously knowing that what he did was wrong.

Prince Shou also knew what kind of people in the court were like, but Pei Weijing was specifically assigned to him by his father, so he must not be an incompetent person like the prince's faction.

He chuckled and asked a few questions that he was most curious about.

"Isn't Lord Pei curious about how this horse plague reached the capital? If he truly knew nothing, he wouldn't have used a whip to punish someone, right? There are so many handy tools, why would he just use a whip with a spike?"

As he spoke, his eyes turned to Luo Sanzi.

Luo Chen was frightened by the man's series of key questions.

Before he was arrested, his father repeatedly warned him not to reveal anything about the sick horse, so he endured the torture and did not say anything about the horse.

He frowned and stared at the nosy person in front of him.

Who is he anyway? Why is he in charge of Dali Temple affairs?

"Who are you? This is the Dali Temple. Even if you were invited by Minister Yue, you have no right to interfere with the Dali Temple's interrogation, right?"

He was quick-witted, but it was a pity that His Royal Highness Prince Shou had not left the house since he came back. It was no wonder that he didn't recognize him.

Pei Weijing observed Prince Shou's expression calmly. His meaning was obvious. He wanted him to continue to torture him and force him to reveal the source of the horse plague.

But in fact, it is not necessary to ask. After all, the plague comes from horses. As long as we go to his house and look for him, we will know whether there are any sick horses, and the case will naturally be solved.

He was about to say something when His Royal Highness Prince Shou suddenly added another sentence.

"Horse plague has been spreading in Liangzhou since last year, and to date, three thousand people have died from it. The symptoms of horse plague are high fever and persistent, and death occurs in just seven days. This vicious method has harmed not just individual households, but the entire capital."

"Master Pei, do you know how many people have been quarantined besides the Yue and Luo families?"

All of this was done in secret to prevent the people from panicking. They only told the public that there was a case and that the people involved were to be detained. Naturally, he didn't know about it.

Prince Shou sighed deeply. "Thirty-five people have already been held in a secret courtyard, all suffering from high fevers and unconscious. Lord Pei, if you don't immediately help me find the villains behind this, I'm afraid neither you nor I will be able to face the people who won't survive for more than seven days!"

This sentence was truly eye-opening, awakening his long-buried desire to uphold justice for the people of the world.

Pei Weijing didn't know much about these things, he only knew that there was horse plague.

But I didn't expect it to be so serious, it was already showing signs of a plague! The crowds in the capital were huge and the flow of people was complicated. If this continued, the 100,000 people in the capital would be in great danger.

He turned his gaze to the arrogant Luo San's face. He had not hesitated at all until now.

Because of his thought, a hundred thousand people in the capital were plunged into disaster! Compared to the majority of the people who might have died, only punishing him was almost a mercy.

At this point, he finally figured out what he should do. He stepped forward to block Luo Sanzi's sight as he tried to explore Prince Shou.

Standing in front of Prince Shou, Pei Weijing bowed to him.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. I will not disappoint you, nor will I disappoint the people."

As he said this, he turned around and faced Luo Sanzi, and the cruel light in his eyes was fully revealed.

"You don't need to know who this person is. Anyway, you shouldn't insult him."

He squatted down, picked up a vise and heated it over the lamp.

"Luo San, you've heard the question. If you speak clearly now, you can avoid such physical pain. Why don't you speak now? I'll plead with this person on your behalf!"

After hearing what he said, Luo Sanzi had even less idea about the person standing behind him.

Pei Weijing was just pretending not long ago, but when that person came, he changed his face again. Thinking of this change, Luo Sanzi was very angry and even had a hint of ridicule.

"You were flattering me just now, but now you're pretending to be someone else? You sneering dog! I've said everything I need to say, and there's nothing more to say."

Hearing a young boy scolding him like this, Prince Shou quietly waited behind him for him to show his power.

But he didn't expect Pei Weijing to stand up, turn around and bow to him, so calm that it seemed as if he didn't hear his scolding.

"The following will be a bit bloody. Your Highness, please wait outside. The testimony will be presented to you in a moment."

He remains calm in the face of insults and provocations, but will be merciless if given the chance!

It turns out to be such a person.

Prince Shou raised his lip, finally understanding his father's choice. Pei Weijing was a man of great intelligence and ruthlessness; such a person was worthy enough to be his first right-hand man.

He saw all of this, patted him on the shoulder and walked out without even glancing at the screaming child.

As soon as he turned a corner, the screams and cries from behind him quickly filled the entire cell. Prince Shou stopped and listened for a while, with a hint of leisure in his expression.

Wang Xuan felt frightened after hearing this and urged him quickly.

"Your Highness, let's get out of here! Don't let this noise pollute your ears."

Prince Shou shook his head, "It's not that easy to listen. I'm afraid he's confessed now."

Sure enough, the sound behind me suddenly stopped and there was silence for a while.

Wang Xuan was just about to praise Prince Shou for his foresight, but who would have thought that the screams that had just stopped for a while would start again. Upon hearing this, Prince Shou walked out of the cell with more satisfaction.

Pei Weijing was quite sensible. He knew what he was thinking and was willing to do this for him.

This is how you can be considered as a token of allegiance, and after offending the prince, you can officially become his man.

He walked quickly and soon arrived at the backyard of the government office. Wang Xuan hurriedly jogged after him.

The man stopped under the eaves of the front hall, and Prince Shou turned around and asked.

"Where is the prince?"

Wang Xuan quickly replied, "He's about to go to the palace to see the emperor. He probably wants to plead for Luo Feng."

"He's quite diligent! Lord Luo didn't say anything, but he insisted on coming up to him."

Wang Xuan didn't understand the deeper meaning behind this and waited for His Highness's order. Sure enough, Prince Shou thought for a while and asked him to take people into Luo Mansion and find the sick horse.

He asked, "What if we can't find the sick horse in the mansion, and Luo Feng sees the situation is bad and moves away?"

Prince Shou laughed, "That's all the more reason to search thoroughly. The Luo family has plundered a lot of gold, silver, and money over the years. If he refuses to hand it over, we should search his mansion and the houses outside thoroughly."

“Maybe, we’ll find some unexpected surprises!”