Chapter 53 "I'm advising you to pull back from the brink..."
The criminals were immediately taken to Qinglu Guard.
Soon, Ji Chengnin encountered a small problem.
It wasn't that the prisoners' families were crying and demanding their release, but rather that the Qingluwei government office wasn't a place specifically for interrogating prisoners; the entire prison consisted of only ten cells, yet it held over a hundred people.
Lord Ji waved his hand, rejecting his subordinates' suggestion to clear out places like the woodshed and storeroom to imprison people. He crammed over a hundred people into the cells, so crowded that there wasn't even a place to lie down and rest.
Moreover, even if they could lie down, these young masters, who had been frowning ever since they were imprisoned and had been covering their mouths and noses with their sleeves, would not lie down.
As far as the eye could see, there was no silk or soft bed, not even a clean bedding roll; just a sparse pile of straw that could barely accommodate a person if needed.
"Rustle, rustle—"
A young nobleman's eyes widened as he pointed to the rapidly moving mound under the haystack and shrieked, "A rat!"
"Ouch! Who was so blind as to step on your grandpa's foot!"
"What are you hiding for? How could a seven-foot-tall man be defeated by a tiny..." Before he could finish speaking, a half-foot-tall, slick-furred creature squeaked and rushed out, startling the man so much that he slipped and fell into the haystack with a thud.
The next moment, a whooshing sound suddenly rang out, and "smack!" it hit the big rat right on the head.
Grayish-white brain matter splattered out.
The mouse's long tail twitched twice, then it immediately collapsed and lay still.
Ji Chengning put the slingshot back into Li Bi's waist.
The once noisy cell fell silent instantly.
The look in the eyes of the criminals towards Ji Chengning contained not only disgust and hatred, but also a hint of fear.
His Adam's apple bobbed taut.
Ji Chengning smiled at Li Bi and said, "There are rats in the government office. I should hire a few civets when I have some free time."
As he spoke, he patted Li Bi on the shoulder, gesturing for him to come out with him.
Li Bi paused for a second, then reacted, “Why bother with a betrothal? My family has a big cat weighing eight pounds and eight ounces. It is very majestic and its ability to catch mice is unparalleled. If you want it, sir, I will bring the cat over.” He paused, “I will borrow the government office for two days.”
His colleagues couldn't help but burst out laughing.
They had just solved a major case and were still excited. Upon hearing this, they immediately replied, "Sir, I also have a large raccoon cat weighing eight pounds and eight ounces. I would like to borrow the government office for three days."
"I don't have a cat at home, but for Lord Ji's sake, I'm willing to offer three ounces of dried fish to hire a cat and borrow the government office for half a month!"
Ji Chengnin laughed and waved his hands repeatedly, "No need for that."
After a round of laughter and joking, Ji Chengnin said again, "Keep an eye on them. No matter what these people say or do, there's no need to pay attention to them, and certainly don't beat, scold, or torture them."
"Yes, Your subordinates obey."
Ji Chengnin strolled slowly back to his study.
What he did today, if not a catastrophic disaster, was at least extremely audacious.
Ji Chengnin picked up his pen, intending to draft a memorial to the throne. After thinking it over, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.
"Your Highness, this is Cui. Young Master Cui sent me to deliver your lunch. May I come in?"
"Come in."
Ji Chengning glanced at it and saw that it was indeed his cousin's usual servant, who was now obediently opening the food box and taking out the dishes one by one.
The aroma of the dishes filled the air, mostly light and nourishing, cooling and regulating the body. The only dessert, red bean paste dumplings, was sweet, which made Ji Chengning's eyes light up.
Where is your young master?
"Your Highness, the young master said that there are still some old acquaintances he needs to visit one by one to contact them and make business arrangements, so as not to become estranged in the future and lose contact again. Perhaps he will not have time for another two or three days."
Upon hearing this, Ji Chengnin couldn't help but sigh, "It must have been really tough."
However, despite feeling sorry for him, the corners of his lips couldn't help but turn up slightly.
A tiny bit of joy and tenderness spread through Ji Chengning's heart without him even realizing it, but it was too slight and was quickly swallowed up by the frustration of not being able to clarify the case.
Ji Chengning washed his hands and first picked up a red bean paste dumpling and put it in his mouth.
The filling, made with creamy shortbread and egg yolks, melts in your mouth, as smooth as quicksand. It has a slightly salty taste that doesn't seem strange mixed into the sweet and soft pastry; instead, it enhances the milky aroma.
Ji Chengnin squinted his eyes contentedly.
However, unlike Ji Chengnin's great mood, Li Bi, who had just returned to the prison, almost fainted from anger.
"Ji Chengnin is truly ruthless. It's a shame he's from a prestigious family. Hmph, once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. Let's see what happens to him when he becomes a lackey!"
One of them said with a face full of resentment.
They were all pampered young masters, and even though Ji Chengning didn't intend to make things difficult for them, it was still an enormous hurdle for them.
The cell was stuffy and poorly ventilated. A dozen or so energetic young men huddled together, their bodies still covered in cold sweat. Even the jade bones that had been perfumed with the most precious ambergris now smelled nauseating.
Before they even faced trial, they were already full of resentment and grieving as if they had lost their parents.
There has always been fraud, so why keep targeting them?
Ji Chengning never imagined that he had offended them all today, and that one day he would fall from grace and no one would plead for him. Wasn't he afraid of being shattered to pieces?
Suddenly someone sneered, "Brother Zhao, you don't know this, Ji Chengnin is not a lackey at all." He made a circle with his right hand, and circled the circle twice with his other hand, and smiled ambiguously, "With his looks, he can naturally make the best use of everyone. Who in the palace doesn't know that he and that person have a close relationship? Tsk tsk tsk, it's a pity that we brothers are of humble birth, we can't... Ah!"
When Li Bi entered, he overheard the man lewdly discussing Ji Chengning. The man's expression was a mixture of hatred, jealousy, and a hint of nausea in Li Bi's eyes. Overwhelmed with anger, Li Bi kicked him through the gap in the railing.
He kicked the man hard in the waist, making him scream and fall face-first into the dirt.
The chatter in the prison cell subsided briefly, only to be followed by even louder laughter.
"Ji Chengnin has raised a good dog!"
"With your unwavering loyalty, I wonder if Lord Ji has yet to grant you the position of a close confidant?"
Li Bi was so angry that his hands were trembling. He grabbed a foul-mouthed person through the railing and punched him in the face.
The man's expression changed drastically. Before he could make any more threats, a fist the size of a sandbag suddenly appeared in front of him.
The finger bones and facial skin were pressed intimately together, and everyone could see that the person's face was visibly distorted and deformed. Then, a stream of heat rolled down the tip of the nose.
After three punches, the man's face was a riot of colors, quite a sight to behold.
His colleagues on guard then pulled Li Bi back, saying, "Commander Li, you mustn't."
Li Bi let go of his hand.
The man fell to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Li Bi rubbed his fingers expressionlessly, then gave a sinister smile to the group of people watching him warily.
"We haven't even been stripped of our titles and honors yet, and you dare to use torture? Don't you value your life?"
Hearing this blustering but cowardly threat, Li Bi's smile widened. "Fine, let's go to see the Emperor together. First, we'll deal with my offense of beating a scholar, then we'll question you about your crimes of slandering court officials and even implicating nobles in the palace. Let's see who gets dragged to the Meridian Gate to be executed first!"
These words sounded menacing.
The crowd was so frightened that they retreated one after another. Li Bi sneered and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Commander Li, unable to keep anything to himself, took a couple of deep breaths and ran to his study.
"My lord, my lord, it would be better to torture those bastards. Not only do they show no remorse, but they also harbor resentment and..." Li Bi pushed open the door and entered.
Ji Chengnin looked at him with a pear in his mouth, his dark eyes blinking.
Li Bi paused.
He scratched his head, feeling a belated sense of embarrassment, and said awkwardly, "The master is having lunch."
"Have you eaten yet? If not, come over here." Ji Chengnin waved to him.
Would it be impolite to dine with my boss, especially since the dishes clearly weren't prepared by the company chef?
It made it seem like his family was short of food.
Li Bixin said.
Then he scurried forward, saying, "Okay, thank you, sir."
Ji Chengnin ordered someone to bring another pair of chopsticks, "What else?"
Li Bi quietly raised her eyes and glanced at Ji Chengning.
The young marquis rested his chin on the back of his hand and tilted his head to look at him. There was nothing particularly meaningful about it, but this simple action made him look extremely charming.
Li Bi felt his face burning and his ears itching, and he resisted the urge to scratch them. "That's right, sir, you are quite disrespectful."
Upon hearing this, Ji Chengning couldn't help but chuckle. "I am an official in the court, and they are prisoners. Bingying," he called Li Bi by his courtesy name, "it is only natural that they harbor resentment. If they were to kneel and kowtow to me three times and nine times, I would go find a bucket of black dog blood to throw on them."
Li Bi felt his face growing hotter and hotter, as if steam was hitting his face. He couldn't help but wipe it with the back of his hand. "It concerns, it concerns your innocence, sir."
Ji Chengnin: "Oh?"
How can he still be innocent?
The servant brought the chopsticks.
Li Bi took the chopsticks and dared not look at Ji Chengnin again.
The young marquis turned his gaze and said to Lü Zhong, "It's noon. Go and deliver food to the prisoners. Just give them steamed buns and water. No oil or salt is needed. If anyone spills their food or water, don't bother delivering it again. Deliver food to them as usual at dinner time."
"Yes, Your subordinate obeys."
Ji Chengning served himself soup, and seeing that Li Bi was still in a daze, he ladled a bowl for him as well.
"What are you thinking about? The food is getting cold."
Li Bi hurriedly took the soup bowl handed to him by Ji Chengning with both hands, and for some reason, tilted his head back and drank the still steaming soup in one gulp.
Her lips and cheeks were flushed red from the heat.
"Isn't it hot?"
Li Bi answered decisively, "It's not hot."
Ji Chengning was amazed.
He was so engrossed in investigating the case that he had always underestimated his subordinate.
...
Inside the prison.
Just as Ji Chengnin had predicted, the food and water were kicked down by the angry prisoners as soon as they were delivered.
The snow-white steamed bun rolled twice on the ground, then sat alone in the corner.
They were clearly certain that Ji Chengnin would not dare to torture them, whether because of their status or family background.
It's only a matter of time before they're released.
So he launched into another tirade of profanities, hurling insults and curses until his throat was dry.
One person's gaze quietly fell on the water jug that had been kicked over. Inside, there was only a tiny bit of clear liquid, but the mouth of the jug was covered with a patch of dirty mud, making it impossible to drink from.
He could only swallow hard and reluctantly look away.
When it was time for dinner, Lü Zhong, along with four servants, still went to deliver food and water.
It was still ten large steamed buns and a jar of water.
Although there were chamber pots in the prison, they were placed indoors, and the smells mixed together, making them extremely unpleasant.
The clean, unique aroma of wheat lingers around the nose, faint yet persistent.
"Gurgle."
Someone's stomach growled.
And, and that jar of water.
Even if they don't drink, they're all wet and sticky right now, so it would be good to just wipe their faces with a handkerchief dipped in water.
Some people's eyes were fixed on the water jug, but then they looked away as if they had been pricked by a needle.
"Gentlemen," a man began, and all eyes immediately fell on him, "Although it is said that one should not eat the grain of Zhou in the name of righteousness, this is all provided by the imperial court, and it does not go against righteous indignation and human sentiment. Moreover, if we do not eat or drink now, we will only ruin our health and please our enemies. Why don't we eat something first to boost our spirits, so that we will be able to deal with Ji Chengning if he suddenly attacks us?"
"Brother Feng is absolutely right."
"Yes, yes, I think so too. Great minds think alike."
As soon as he finished speaking, a loud bang was heard.
The dozen or so people in the cell immediately looked toward the source of the sound. The water jug had been overturned on the ground again, and clean water was flowing out. They could even imagine the sweet and refreshing taste of the water in their mouths.
But now, everything has turned into filth.
The man who kicked over the water jug was the one who had been punched three times by Li Bi. He covered his face with one hand and sneered, "Gentlemen, Ji Chengnin has inflicted a great humiliation on us. Are you all being bought off because of this little bit of food and water?"
His throat was dry and hoarse, and his anger surged. "Young Master Meng, you have backbone, you are a true gentleman, how could you have fallen to such a state!" The speaker mocked, "Besides, if you didn't want to drink water, you could have just endured it yourself, why did you kick over the water jug!"
"I'm advising you to pull back from the brink and not to mistake a thief for your father!"
Upon hearing this, the entire prison fell silent.
Other prisoners who were watching the commotion were either too embarrassed to eat, or they grabbed a steamed bun and started eating it, not forgetting to stuff it into their pockets. They all stopped when they heard this.
The person eating the steamed bun had a face that turned from red to white and then to green.
But then a loud shout rang out, "You dog, what did you say?!"
The prisoners in his cell swarmed around him and surrounded him.
The sounds of punches, kicks, and groans were incessant.
The guards exchanged glances and whispered among themselves, "Should we ask the lord to come?"
"It's common for prisoners to fight, especially over such a small matter. If the adults find out, what if they scold us for being long-winded? Let's see what happens first."
"Keep an eye on it, just make sure no one dies."
The group nodded in agreement and watched the show with their arms crossed.
Before long, a hand stained with dust and blood trembled and reached out from the crowd, hissing, "I want to see Ji Chengnin, no, I want to see Lord Ji Chengnin, I'll tell you everything!"
"Quickly!" one of the guards reacted first, "pull them apart!"
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A note from the author: Thank you for your concern, my wife. My fever has subsided, but my leg is still swollen. I plan to go to the hospital on a weekday tomorrow or the day after.
I think it's nothing serious, *kissing sound*
Red envelopes will be dropped in this chapter.
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