Chapter 135: One Night Tour of the Ministry of Justice (Two Chapters in One)
Xiao Zhen pondered for a moment, then said, "Be patient. If it was Master Zhu Er who went, it was most likely just a formality. Besides, the people who went to the manor last night should have returned long ago."
Hearing Xiao Zhen say this, Zhao Shiqing was indeed not anxious anymore. She blinked her bright eyes, revealing a harmless smile, and asked, "Master Zhen, you have a wide network of contacts, so you must know someone in the Ministry of Justice. I wonder if... hehe."
In fact, Zhao Shiqing wanted to call him "Uncle Zhen", but she had discovered long ago that Xiao Zhen didn't seem to like being called uncle. Maybe he disliked the title of uncle because it made him sound old.
It was not known whether it was because of Zhao Shiqing's sincere attitude, or because the title of Young Master Zhen was pleasant to the ear, but in any case, a rare smile appeared on Xiao Zhen's face. However, this smile on his fake face looked not only stiff, but also weird. Zhao Shiqing quickly looked away, he really couldn't bear to look at it!
"Let Xiuxiu help you disguise yourself as a man, and I'll take care of the rest."
Zhao Shiqing wanted to say that she could also disguise herself, but then she changed her mind and realized that her disguise skills were nothing compared to Xiuxiu's... they were not even on the same level.
After leaving Zhuangyuan Building, Zhao Shiqing returned to his residence. Half an hour later, the young man who walked out of the yard was a man with rough, dark skin, a thin figure, and was so ordinary that people didn't bother to look at him.
A mule cart was parked outside the alley, driven by a clean-shaven, chubby little man. Upon seeing Zhao Shiqing, he took the initiative to greet her, "Excuse me, is this Young Master Zhen?"
Zhao Shiqing was stunned and immediately guessed that this was the person Xiao Zhen sent to pick her up.
"Yes, my name is Zhen Bao. What's your name, little brother?"
The little fat man smiled and said, "My last name is Si, and my given name is Yunfei. You can just call me Little Fatty. Everyone calls me that."
Zhao Shiqing: "What a coincidence, I have a fat kid at home."
Si Xiaopang: "Really? Then I won't be shy. You have to listen to my arrangements later."
Zhao Shiqing nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Si Xiaopang pointed to the carriage and said, "There are some clothes inside. You can change into them."
Zhao Shiqing: "Okay."
The mule cart started moving. Zhao Shiqing took off his coat in the carriage and changed into the clothes prepared by his boss Xiaopang. Zhao Shiqing had only seen this style of clothes yesterday. This was the uniform of the officials of the Ministry of Justice.
The clothes were neither new nor old, and Zhao Shiqing could barely wear them, but they did not fit her perfectly.
Through the car curtain, she asked Si Xiaopang: "What is my name now and what is my identity?"
As Si Xiaopang drove the cart, he said, "Your name is Liu Qi, you are fifteen years old this year, and your hometown is Liujiazhuang, Qing County. Your father's name is Liu Dashun, and he used to look after horses in the Ministry of Justice. Last year, you took over his job and also joined the Ministry as a yamen runner.
The runners of the Ministry of Justice are divided into three grades, and you are the lowest one. The Ministry of Justice has a women's prison in Dashikan, and you were assigned there.
All the prisoners in Dashikan are women, but there are also a few men, such as you. The others are teenagers about your age. In Dashikan, you are ordered around by those aunts and sisters. You have to do all the dirty and tiring work that others don't want to do. If the aunts and sisters are unhappy, they will take it out on you. Not only will you be scolded, but sometimes you will also be beaten.
Not long ago, your father gave Zhang Siyu of the Ministry of Justice twenty taels of silver and finally got you transferred out of Dashikan. Today is your first day at the Ministry of Justice. You should have reported in the morning, but Zhang Siyu was on the night shift today, so he asked you to go in the afternoon, which happened to coincide with his shift.
No one here knows you. Unless they are bringing a prisoner, no one would normally go to Dashikan, so no one here knows you, but they know your father.
Warden Zhang is also from Qing County. He's from the same hometown as yours, and he's received twenty taels of silver. He'll definitely take care of you, so once you're in, just follow Warden Zhang's instructions."
As soon as Si Xiaopang finished speaking, the carriage had already stopped outside the Ministry of Justice.
Fatty Si pointed to a small door nearby. "The transfer order and your badge at the Ministry of Justice are both under the cushions. Go through that small door, which leads directly to the Ministry of Justice's prison. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning after your shift."
Zhao Shiqing took out an envelope from under the cushion, thanked Si Xiaopang, jumped off the mule cart, and walked towards the small door.
There was only one gatekeeper outside the small gate. Zhao Shiqing took out the transfer order and Liu Qi's nameplate from the envelope, looked at the gatekeeper, and said with a smile, "Transferred from Dashikan? Oh, Dashikan is so great, why don't you work there anymore?"
Zhao Shiqing said in a muffled voice, "What good is this? I've had enough."
The doorman gave a lewd smile and said, "That's because you're still too young, your hair hasn't fully grown yet. When you grow up, you'll regret transferring here."
Zhao Shiqing: "You are old enough, you can be transferred there."
The doorman slapped him on the head and said, "You little brat! I didn't realize you were such a tough guy. No wonder you can't make it in Dashikan. You deserve it. Go in. You'll regret it if you come here and carry corpses every day."
Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes at him and walked in with her neck stiffened. No matter how you looked at him, she looked like a cucumber.
Because there were new arrivals, Warden Zhang arrived an hour earlier than usual. He was handing a paper bag to Li Siyu, who hadn't finished his shift yet. "This is for you. This is spring tea my relatives brought from Xinzhou."
Li Siyu loves tea and was delighted when he heard this: "Spring tea from Xinzhou? Great, great, this is really good stuff. Speaking of which, you, Old Zhang, are the one who understands me the best over the years."
Warden Zhang laughed and said, "You are the same. When good things happen to you, you always think of me."
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Warden Li asked, "Who is it?"
"Excuse me, is Zhang Siyu here? My subordinate, Liu Qi, was transferred from Dashikan and I'm here to report today."
Warden Li looked at Warden Zhang and said, "I came here looking for you. Was it you who got me here?"
Warden Zhang nodded. "Liu Dashun's son is an honest kid. He was always bullied at Dashikan. His father found me, and I told Chen Touer, and he was transferred here."
Warden Li sighed. "I think you meant well but made a mistake. These are troubled times, and I'm just looking for a quiet place to escape this troubled place. And yet you've even transferred someone else's child here. If he gets into trouble, how are you going to explain it to Liu Dashun?"
Warden Zhang said, "Why didn't you warn me earlier? Now that they're here, I can't just send them away. Okay, I'll take care of this, don't worry about it."
He said to the door, "Come in."
Zhao Shiqing walked in and saw a small table in the room with two people sitting on each side. Just now outside, he already knew that Li Siyu was here, so he saluted respectfully: "I am Liu Qi, a subordinate, I am here to report. This is my transfer order and position badge."
He presented the large envelope. Warden Zhang glanced at it briefly before saying, "Alright, from now on, you'll be on duty with my squad. It's not time for duty yet, so wait here. When everyone from our squad arrives, I'll take you to meet them."
Warden Zhang pointed at Warden Li and said, "This is Warden Li. Call someone."
Zhao Shiqing called out obediently, "Prison Sergeant Li."
Warden Li smiled and said, "Your father and I have worked together for over twenty years. I even held you in my arms when you were little."
Warden Zhang seemed a little anxious and said to Warden Li, "Alright, alright, I didn't think anything of it at first, but now that you've said that, I'm really worried. Please tell me what happened during the day."
Warden Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, this matter has nothing to do with us. Master Zhu Er just came, and guess what, he brought the murderer with him. The murderer was the one who brought back the body last night."
Warden Zhang was stunned and scoffed, "What do you mean? The Baoqing Marquisate is looking for a scapegoat? Where's Prince Zhu? Has he been released?"
Li Siyu shook his head: "That's not the case. Without the order from Yan Daxia himself, who would dare to release the people he brought back? Not even the Minister of Justice would dare to do that!
If it were in the past, they might have really released the person, but did you hear that today the masters of the Yan family, along with a dozen young masters, went to the Baoqing Marquis Mansion to demolish houses. It is said that they demolished several houses. Today, when Xiao Yang went to buy buns, people on the street were talking about this matter. I knew about it in this prison, not to mention the Minister, who knew about it long ago.
Believe it or not, as soon as the Minister released Prince Zhu, the Yan family immediately went to his house to demolish it. They even dared to demolish the Baoqing Marquis Mansion, let alone their own house.
I've figured it out. Apart from the Imperial Palace, there's no house the Yan family dares not demolish."
Warden Zhang hurriedly asked, "So now Master Zhu Er is gone? And what about the murderer he brought with him?"
Prison Sergeant Li pointed in one direction and said, "He's still here. He hasn't left yet. He said he can't report back to the old lady, so Master Zhu Er doesn't want to leave. He even asked the Minister to lock him up as well."
Warden Zhang laughed heartily. At this moment, a guard came in and said to him, "Chief Zhang, Lord Xu wants you to come over."
Mr. Xu is the Minister of Justice, Mr. Xu.
If the cabinet had a ranking, Lord Xu would be at the bottom and have the lowest presence.
This is the case with the Shangshu, and even more so with the two vice ministers. Most of the people in the capital do not know the names of the Shangshu and vice ministers of the Ministry of Justice.
These three combined are not as famous as Yan Xia.
In the eyes of the people, Hero Yan is the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice is Hero Yan.
But in fact, Yan Xia worked for free in the Ministry of Justice. Not only did he not receive a salary, he also often had to pay out of his own pocket.
Ever since Yan Xia came to the Ministry of Justice, the department's crime-solving rate has been increasing steadily.
With such a capable and cost-effective subordinate, Lord Xu was happy to take a back seat. The credit went to him, and Yan Xia took the blame.
Unfortunately, Madam Wei did not understand the twists and turns involved. She thought that Lord Xu was the head of the Ministry of Justice, and that she could get the matter done by going directly to Lord Xu. But she overestimated Lord Xu. Although Lord Xu did not dare to offend the Marquis of Baoqing's Mansion, he also did not want to offend Yan Xia.
If he offended the Baoqing Marquis' Mansion, he would be punished and scolded by the emperor. If he offended Yan Xia, even if Yan Xia quit his job, he would still be scolded by the emperor. Moreover, there would be no such good thing as lying down and receiving credit in the future.
Comparing the two, Lord Xu decided to delay the matter until Yan Xia came to the yamen.
Warden Zhang specially brought Liu Qi (Zhao Shiqing) with him: "Let's go, I'll take you to see the world, otherwise you won't know anyone and won't be able to offend your superiors without knowing it."
Zhao Shiqing followed Warden Zhang to see Lord Xu.
If this wasn't the Ministry of Justice, Zhao Shiqing would never have imagined that this handsome, fair-skinned, and gentle uncle in front of him would actually be the official in charge of prisons.
This was different from what she had imagined. In her imagination, the Minister of Justice should be like Zhong Kui.
She followed Zhang the warden to pay her respects to Lord Xu, but Lord Xu didn't even glance at her, and Zhang the warden didn't introduce her. She was just a small yamen runner and was not worthy of having a name in front of Lord Xu.
Lord Xu said, "You've arrived just in time. Prince Yan is recovering from his injuries at the mansion, and I'm temporarily handling his case. You're on duty tonight, and you'll be in charge of Room B. There are six bodies in there. If anything goes wrong, you'll be held accountable."
Warden Zhang hurriedly said, "I obey your orders. Don't worry, it's just six bodies. I promise to keep a close eye on them and not lose even a single bone."
Lord Xu nodded with satisfaction and said, "When Prince Yan solves this case, I will include your name in my commendation."
Warden Zhang was overjoyed. For warden Zhang, it was harder than climbing to the sky to gain credit.
He thanked him again and again, but Lord Xu waved his hand impatiently and told him to leave.
Before Zhang, the warden, and Zhao Shiqing left the room, Lord Xu called out to him, "By the way, the second master of the Baoqing Marquisate has brought two murderers with him. They will also remain in the prison tonight. Please have someone make arrangements."
Warden Zhang was stunned. "Master Zhu Er wants to go to jail?"
Lord Xu was also helpless. He had been in charge of the Ministry of Justice for many years, but this was the first time he didn't want to leave after encountering such a situation.
Soon, Zhao Shiqing met this strange Master Zhu Er.
Master Zhu Er has an ordinary appearance, neither handsome nor ugly. Like Liu Qi, he has an ordinary face that people forget after seeing it.
Warden Zhang personally arranged Master Zhu Er to sit next to Zhu Yu, with the uncle and nephew separated by an iron fence. Therefore, Zhao Shiqing finally saw Zhu Yu!
This was the first time she saw Zhu Yu alive.
Zhu Yu had good facial features, red lips and white teeth, and was considered a handsome man. Unfortunately, his narrow eyes revealed an evil spirit.
Both his adoptive father and master had told Zhao Shiqing that when judging people, one should look at their eyes. People with clear eyes cannot be that bad.
On the contrary, people like Zhu Yu, with evil eyes, are definitely not good people.
Zhao Shiqing remembered that in Xiao Zhen’s dream, such a good sister actually married this beast. Just thinking about it, Zhao Shiqing wanted to kill Zhu Yu.
Even if it was just a dream.
But the next moment, Zhao Shiqing suddenly felt a pair of eyes falling on her.
"Lao Zhang, is this puppy next to you new? Haven't you seen it before?"
Warden Zhang smiled and said, "Your Highness has good eyesight. This kid just reported for duty today. Liu Qi, quickly pay your respects to Your Highness."
Across the iron bars, the young yamen runner Liu Qi respectfully saluted the prisoner Zhu Yu: "I greet the young master. Greetings, young master."
Zhu Yu snorted coldly and ignored her. Instead, he looked at Zhang, the warden. "Are you on duty tonight? Go find a girl to warm my feet."
As soon as he finished speaking, Master Zhu Er from next door coughed lightly. Zhu Yu gave him a look and said, "Second Uncle, don't try to play tricks on me. I've already been locked up in the prison, and I can't find a girl to warm my feet. Old Zhang, call a girl for my second uncle too. Go quickly, preferably from Baihua Tower."
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