The guards turned to look at the doorway, and one of them said, "It doesn't matter whether there's anything wrong or not. The boss took the keychain. We'll bring it up tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing this, Fugui'er immediately perked up, pulled out a die, and invited everyone to gamble a couple of rounds...
They played until late into the night, and everyone was so sleepy that they eventually fell asleep on the table.
Inside the innermost cell, the driest spot was covered with a straw mat, on which was covered with tarpaulin for moisture protection, and finally, thick bedding.
Jiayi and Lao Huang lay side by side, covered by a blanket, snoring soundly.
In the corner opposite them sat a thin man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, looking like a thief.
At this moment, everyone was getting sleepy, but his eyes were still darting around.
Perhaps to confirm that he was safe, he carefully got up.
An oil lamp was lit on the wall in the distance, casting a dim, yellowish light.
By the light, he glanced at the sleeping Jiayi and Lao Huang, and subconsciously held his breath.
Then, he took a small porcelain bottle from his tangled hair and sprinkled some powder near Jiayi and Lao Huang.
After waiting a while, he tentatively kicked their feet, and seeing no reaction, he bent down, pulled a knife from the sole of his shoe, and, trembling, slashed at Jiayi's neck...
Unexpectedly, Old Huang, who was supposed to be fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes wide and kicked him away.
The thief slammed into the wall, letting out a scream of pain that jolted everyone in the cell awake.
Old Huang rushed forward and opened it again with a series of cracking sounds. After the thief was half dead, he rummaged through the thief's mouth and pulled out a poisonous fang. Finally, he gave the porcelain bottle and dagger to Jiayi.
Jiayi had already sat up to watch the show when Lao Huang started kicking.
Being in such a dangerous place, how could he not be somewhat wary?
Besides, his father had already sent him a message during the day!
This thief has so many empty cells out there, yet he's chosen this one. Only a fool wouldn't see something fishy about it!
At this moment, he took the things Old Huang handed him and said with a smile, "I'll give you an extra chicken leg tomorrow!"
Old Huang scratched his bald head, chuckled, lay down, and almost immediately started snoring again...
The few jailers who had been awakened from their slumber dared to approach, and cautiously asked with a forced smile, "General Li, what's wrong...?"
Jiayi tossed the object in his hand and sneered, "If I remember correctly, neither your prefect nor the imperial court should have sentenced me to death, right?"
"What's going on with this thief who was suddenly pushed in, drugged me with drugs in the middle of the night, and then brandished a dagger, intending to slit my throat?"
m-drug?
Slitting someone's throat?!
The jailers' legs went weak and their faces turned pale.
Fugui, in particular, almost wet his pants after locking up the little thief.
It took a long time for one of the jailers to come to his senses. He hurriedly waved his hands and said, "No, no, General Li, it must be a misunderstanding. Even if we had a hundred lives, we wouldn't dare to harm you!"
"Please wait, we'll report it right away, and we'll make sure you never encounter something like this again!"
After saying that, he quickly assigned tasks to his brothers.
Some went to the jailer's house to report the news, some went to the backyard of the government office to report, and some even ran to the Earl's mansion...
Since Jiayi's accident, Li Lao Er and Li Zhensheng have been taking turns staying at the Earl's Mansion, just in case something happens and outsiders can't find them.
Tonight, Li Lao Er was worried about his son, so he sent his elder brother home to see their mother, while he stayed behind.
Upon receiving the message from the Prefect of the Capital, he immediately went out and rushed over.
When they encountered patrolling city guards on the way, Li Lao Er directly gave the name of the Earl's Mansion and explained the reason for going to the Jingzhao Yin prison without any concealment.
Upon hearing that Li Jiayi had been assassinated in prison, the junior officer who had blocked the road did not hesitate for a moment. He immediately made way and even escorted Li's carriage directly to the Jingzhao Yin prison.
One of the soldiers was getting impatient and complained a couple of times. The junior captain heard this and whipped him so hard he spun around in circles.
"You idiot! Do you know who Li Jiayi is? He's the tough guy who kicked the Emperor's brother-in-law to death in a few kicks!"
"Do you know why the Prefect of Jingzhao has been delaying the verdict for so long? It's because he's waiting for the Hailan Army. Li Jiayi is a hero who killed the Japanese pirates!"
"He got into trouble, and you still dare to stop the Li family? Do you think your head is too heavy to be on your shoulders and want to chop it off?"
The junior officer, in a low voice, berated the soldier, and the others quickly tried to calm him down before he went back to patrol.
Furthermore, as Li Lao Er entered the prison, not only did the jailer, who was comfortably at home, come to see him, but even the prefect himself.
Upon seeing Li Lao Er, the group awkwardly bowed. The prefect said, "Lord, it's so late at night, and I'm sorry to trouble you to make this trip..."
Li Lao Er's face darkened, and he sneered, "My son is about to be murdered, how can I not come? If something bad happens, as his father, I should at least collect his body!"
"Your Excellency is too kind, too kind!" The Prefect couldn't help but wipe away his sweat, cursing inwardly.
He was sleeping soundly with his concubine in his arms when disaster struck, forcing him to rush over, only to be met with ridicule and sarcasm. Where could he possibly reason with them?
The jailer was even more guilty. He had received a lot of benefits from the Li family, and Prince Lu had given him many instructions, all to take good care of this young General Li.
As a result, someone was almost killed right under his nose; he really has no way to explain this...
"Tell me what happened!" Li Lao Er glanced at his son in the cell and the half-dead thief, and said impatiently, "I want to hear it. The Emperor hasn't even given an order yet. Who dares to plot against my son!"
The prefect looked at the jailer, who looked embarrassed, and then looked at the jailers on night duty.
One of the jailers, unable to avoid it any longer, reluctantly stepped forward and recounted the events, making sure to absolve himself of responsibility at the end.
"Well... sir, it's really not our fault."
"It was Fugui who locked that thief in General Li's room!"
"The boss isn't here, we don't have the key, and we can't even move the thief to another room. We were just thinking of making do for the night and getting him out of there as soon as possible in the morning, but who would have thought this would happen..."
The jailer wasn't stupid; his eyes darted around and he picked up the conversation, "Oh dear, I was perfectly fine at dinner, but I got a stomachache after drinking a cup of tea that Fugui handed me."
"And this thief was sent in by Fugui..."
Everyone instinctively looked at Fu Gui'er, their faces full of certainty that tonight's events were all the work of this kid.
Fu Gui'er's face turned as white as paper, and his legs gave way, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"I'm not, I am... I'm innocent..."
He was so scared he was practically half-dead, and he could barely speak.
The prefect breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered, "Tie him up and interrogate him immediately!"
Several jailers immediately pulled on the ropes and quickly tied Fugui up like a pig.
Although they usually drink and gamble together, they get along quite well.
But at this point, no one can afford to dwell on the past...
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