Chapter 74 Life in Prison Life in Prison
Su Fengzhang was depressed when he was taken to jail, not because he was charged with a false crime, but because he missed the last chance to rescue Lin Changqing.
The spiritual spring water was spilled, and the students would not let him get close to Lin Changqing's body, as if they were afraid that he would do something to destroy the body in public.
Because of his scholarly status, the constable escorting him here was quite polite. After pushing him in, he said, "Mr. Su, please forgive me."
It was his duty, so Su Fengzhang naturally had no intention of blaming them.
As soon as they left, several prisoners in the same cell looked at each other, stood up and shouted, "Wow, this is a scholar."
"What has this scholar done wrong? Tell us so we can have some fun."
"Oh my, look at the look on this pretty boy's face. Did he go out to sleep with the prostitute and not pay her?"
Su Fengzhang glanced back at them, then walked to the wall and sat down. The straw under his butt was a little damp, and it felt very uncomfortable to sit on, but he didn't care about that.
"How dare you ignore us." One of them shouted coldly.
"You little bastard, do you still think you're a scholar? Once you're in jail, you're a prisoner!"
A man in his early thirties in the next cell shouted, "Why are you so angry, brothers? He's a scholar, and he was arrested during Chinese New Year. He must be upset. Please be tolerant and don't take it to heart."
"Bah! Do you have the right to speak here?"
"Pretty boy, get up!" The prisoner reached out to grab Su Fengzhang.
Su Fengzhang looked tall and thin, but his skin became particularly white after a few months of recuperation. He also looked elegant in the scholar's long gown. One could tell at a glance that he was a scholar who was not good at fighting.
Who knew that when the man stretched out his hand, Su Fengzhang reached out and grabbed his wrist, making him unable to move.
He was extremely strong and his eyes were cold as he just held his hand and stared at him.
He was obviously sitting, much shorter than the person standing, but it still made that person's heart tremble.
"You, let me go, ah! Let me go!" Su Fengzhang exerted a little force, and the man began to wail.
Shaking off the wrist, Su Fengzhang's voice was calm, yet chilling: "Stay away from me!"
The three annoying people in the same cell with him took a step back. Their pretended ferocity seemed weak inside. Finally, they looked at each other and didn't dare to force it. Finally, they retreated in embarrassment.
In fact, when the constables sent Su Fengzhang here, they had already chosen a cell and did not put him in the same cell with the truly vicious criminals. After all, they knew that Lord Cai seemed to value this scholar Su very much and did not want to offend him before the matter became clear.
So the three people in the same cell with him looked fierce, but in fact they were only committing petty thefts. If the cells in Hushan County were not so small and almost all of them were occupied, Su Fengzhang would probably have been able to get a single room.
However, this development was obviously beyond everyone's expectations. The prisoners who had been paying attention to him because of his title as a scholar all looked over here, wanting to see his appearance clearly.
The man next door who was helping to talk did the same. He squeezed to the wooden fence near him and shouted, "Scholar, I didn't expect you to have such a skill. I thought all the scholars in the world were weaklings."
"You were so handsome and manly just now. How about we have a competition?"
"Scholar, why are you ignoring me? What did you do wrong? Did you get drunk during the New Year's Eve dinner and beat someone up?"
Su Fengzhang was so annoyed by him that he had no time to bother with an irrelevant person at this time, so he simply turned around and said nothing.
The man next door continued to talk relentlessly. Su Fengzhang could no longer bear it and looked up and asked, "You are so noisy, aren't you afraid that I will hit you?"
The man quickly took three steps back, then said with a grin, "You can't hit me."
Su Fengzhang sighed and took a closer look at the man opposite him. He was a little surprised. No matter whether the people in the cell had really broken the law or not, they all had distress and anger on their faces. This was understandable. After all, the conditions in the cell were not good. They could not eat enough for two meals a day and had to sleep on straw.
But the man opposite was wearing tattered clothes, but his exposed skin was smooth, which was not something that truly poor people could have.
What was even stranger was that his face showed curiosity about him and pretended worry, but he definitely did not have the sadness or worry that a prisoner should have.
Perhaps Su Fengzhang's gaze was too focused, the man raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "Scholar, why are you always staring at me? Are you mesmerized by my handsome appearance?"
"Hey, if you are attracted by my beauty, just tell me directly. If you don't tell me, I won't know. If you tell me, maybe I will consider it." As he spoke, he moved closer, as if he wanted him to see his stunning beauty.
Suddenly, Su Fengzhang reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him over: "You can fight now."
Being dragged to the hand, the man was not afraid, but said with a smile: "Let's talk, don't use violence, scholar, this is your fault."
Su Fengzhang was originally in a gloomy mood, but he felt better after being interrupted. He let go of his hand and suddenly felt the urge to talk, but he quickly dismissed the idea and sat down again to rest his eyes.
He hasn't been back yet, and his family must have realized something is wrong by now. I just hope this doesn't scare them.
No matter how much the strange man talked, Su Fengzhang remained silent. Soon, the man became bored and sat down, saying, "I've never met anyone more difficult to talk to than you."
Even before nightfall, the light in the prison was always dim, and the county jail had no intention of wasting lamp oil on annoying people. Only a few jailers placed a lamp next to them, which was enough to barely see clearly.
Su Fengzhang had never been to such a place. The cold and damp air of the south reached its peak at this moment, attacking the people in the cell without hesitation. Staying in such a place for a long time would be unbearable even if one was not punished.
Just like the old man in the cell mentioned above, maybe he was not an old man when he came in, but now his hair is gray, he is as thin as a bamboo pole, lying there motionless, and looks like he is dead.
The physical and mental states of the prisoners are related to the time they have been in prison. Just like the three in his cell, those who still have the energy to cause trouble to the newcomers usually have not been in prison for long.
"Dangdangdangdang!" the jailer banged on the rice bowl and shouted, "Today is New Year's Eve. The county magistrate is merciful and has granted each of you a piece of meat. Line up and don't rush. Anyone who dares to come here will be beaten!"
Following this sound, the prisoners all rushed to the other side of the fence and looked out expectantly.
Su Fengzhang also followed the crowd and walked over. When the food was served to him, he saw cold brown rice, green vegetables with yellow spots, and a piece of meat about an inch long. He didn't know what kind of meat it was, but it looked dirty.
The jailer smiled and glanced at him, saying, "Scholar, please eat more. Your superiors have told us not to embarrass you."
Su Fengzhang looked at the piece of meat speechlessly, then looked up and said thank you.
He felt shabby, yet there were still people who envied and hated him. If they hadn't been intimidated by his strength, they would have probably tried to rob him. They didn't dare to argue with the jailers, and could only complain secretly: "Scholars are different. They eat bigger pieces of meat than us."
Su Fengzhang sat back. He didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he always felt that the food had a rotten smell. It was also because his body was constantly optimized by the spiritual spring water, and his five senses were extraordinary. His sense of taste and smell were more sensitive than others. He didn't feel it at home, but now he was suffering.
The situation is stronger than people. If he doesn't eat, he will starve to death. Rather than starve to death, Su Fengzhang quickly threw away his pretentiousness and prepared to stuff the rice into his mouth with his eyes closed. Who knew that just after he took a mouthful of rice, there was a noise from outside.
The jailer walked in with a few people, saying, "Since the master has ordered me to do this, I will grant you a favor today. But remember, don't come at this time in the future. Visiting is no longer allowed in the prison at this time."
"Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work, sir." Uncle Su said as he secretly stuffed a purse into his hand.
The jailer thought about it for a moment, and then he felt relieved that he was having trouble. He said cheerfully, "Su Xiucai, your family is here. Okay, go over quickly. You have to leave in an incense stick of time at most. Remember the time."
"Mom!" While they were still looking for Su Fengzhang in a daze, he had already seen the person clearly and shouted in surprise.
Su Fengzhang was originally worried that this incident had frightened his family, but he also knew that sooner or later someone would tip them off. However, he did not expect them to find him so soon. After all, Lord Cai was not there, and Su Zhaoshi had long lost contact with the county government.
"Feng'er!" Su Zhao almost rushed to the fence and grabbed her son's hand.
They had only been apart for a few hours, but looking at the simple cell, Su Zhaoshi felt that her son must have suffered a lot. She cried out, "Feng'er, you have suffered. It's because I came too late."
Su Fengzhang, on the other hand, was calmer and consoled her, "Mom, I'm fine. I haven't suffered much. The jailers have taken good care of me, and the guys in my cell are all very kind. No one has given me any hardship."
The few people who were named just laughed and declined to comment.
But the jailer behind him laughed and shouted, "Yes, madam, don't worry, we won't make things difficult for Mr. Su."
Su Fengzhang's gaze fell on Gu Beichen, and he roughly guessed why they were able to come in so quickly. "Beichen, thank you very much this time."
Gu Beichen smiled and said, "It should be."
Su Fengzhang patted Su Zhaoshi's hand soothingly before asking, "Has Changqing already..."
Mentioning Lin Changqing, Gu Beichen's expression also became solemn: "He has passed away, Feng Zhang, what exactly happened today? We all believe that you would never kill anyone."
"I really didn't kill anyone. I wanted to deliver some food to Changqing this afternoon, but when I walked in, I saw him lying on the ground covered in blood. I wanted to save him, but someone else just happened to come in and report me to the police, who arrested me."
"Uncle Liu has the testimony of the time when I entered the house, so I can explain it clearly in court. There is no need to worry about that."
"Mother, the prison is cold and gloomy. Staying there for a long time is not good for your health. You can go back without any worries. Tell Erlang's sister not to be afraid. I will be back soon."
Gu Beichen was not so optimistic in his heart, but after looking at Su Zhaoshi, he did not dare to say it in detail. He had to swallow it first, thinking of waiting until Su Zhaoshi was not around before visiting the prison and asking her in detail then.
Su Zhaoshi was unwilling to leave. She blamed herself for coming in such a hurry that she didn't bring any food with her, and also blamed herself for not being able to save her son. However, Su Fengzhang comforted her in every way. When the jailer urged her to leave, she reluctantly left.
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