[Oh no, the trail has gone cold, and we're in a dead end again.]
With the little beggar running away, his only chance of survival was gone!
[That corrupt official Qin Wuyu is going to be smug. Without evidence, he can only buy his way out!]
The night grew deeper.
The chill crept in from all directions, penetrating to the bone.
Zheng Yu stood alone in that filthy shantytown of Xishi.
He stood like a stone statue whose soul had been taken away, staring intently at the alleyway where the little beggar had disappeared.
The imperial examination is imminent.
My father is seriously ill.
My sister is in a death row cell.
His only chance of survival was cut off right before his eyes.
He dragged his legs, which felt like they were made of lead, step by step, back to the Minister's residence.
The journey home had never felt so long; every step felt like walking on a knife's edge.
When Gong Shu saw him return looking lost and dejected, he let out a long sigh and knew that everything was in vain.
Zheng Yu entered the room and glanced at his father, who was sleeping soundly on the bed.
That aged and haggard face was like a dull knife, repeatedly torturing his heart.
He walked into the courtyard.
The overwhelming anger and helplessness in my chest.
Just then, a servant came running over with a smile on his face.
"Young Master, Young Master Sha Pingwei has come to visit."
The voice arrived before the person.
"Brother Zheng, you're still up so late? I brought you some good wine..."
Sha Pingwei, carrying a jar of aged Shaoxing wine, stepped into the courtyard with a beaming smile.
But the smile on his face froze completely the moment he saw Zheng Yu clearly.
Zheng Yu, standing before them, had bloodshot eyes and was surrounded by an aura of death.
Where is even a trace of his former gentle and refined demeanor?
Sha Pingwei's heart skipped a beat, and he almost dropped the wine jar in his hand.
"Brother Zheng, what is this... could it be that your uncle...?"
Zheng Yu looked at him, forced a smile that was more like a grimace, and waved his hand in a hoarse voice.
"Not my father."
Faced with her close friend's concerned gaze, Zheng Yu's tightly wound nerves finally began to snap.
He didn't say anything.
He simply snatched the jar of Shaoxing wine from Sha Pingwei's hands.
Tear off the mud seal.
Look up.
"Gulp! Gulp!"
The pungent liquor burned like a line of fire from his throat straight into his stomach, searing him with pain throughout his body.
But the pain actually cleared his muddled mind for a moment.
Sha Pingwei was terrified by his reckless attitude.
Normally, Zheng Yu would only drink a little wine.
"Pingwei".
Zheng Yu put down the wine jar, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded by sandpaper.
Something has happened.
"explain."
Sha Pingwei sat down opposite him, his expression more serious than ever before.
"I'm listening. No matter how big the problem is, I'll stand by you."
Zheng Yu looked at him and recounted, word by word, how He Yi was wrongfully imprisoned, how her father was seriously ill, how her investigation had yielded no results, and even the greedy and shameless face of Qin Wuyu, the Prefect of Jingzhao.
The more Sha Pingwei listened, the paler his face became.
When he heard that He Yi had been imprisoned in the dungeon, he suddenly grabbed Zheng Yu's arm, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his voice trembling.
"What did you say? He Yi... how could she..."
Zheng Yu's eyes were terrifyingly empty as he let his best friend hold him.
"She was framed, and there are both witnesses and physical evidence. Now... she's in jail."
The Heavenly Prison!
That's no ordinary prison!
That was a death row inmate's prison, a place from which there was no return!
When Sha Pingwei heard that Minister Zheng, despite his illness, had personally gone to the government office, only to be humiliated in court by a mere seventh-rank prefect, which made him so angry that he vomited blood, and that Qin Wuyu even dared to solicit bribes in court, he could no longer hold back.
He snatched the wine jar from Zheng Yu's hand and, without even using a bowl, took a big gulp straight from the jar's opening.
"Cough cough cough!"
The pungent liquor choked him, causing him to cough violently and his eyes to turn bloodshot instantly.
"You bastard!"
"Bang!"
He slammed the wine jar heavily onto the stone table, splashing wine everywhere!
"How dare Qin Wuyu, such a despicable villain, be called an official of the imperial court?!"
"They treat human life like dirt! How are they any different from bandits!"
Sha Pingwei was so angry that he trembled all over.
He looked at Zheng Yu, watching him lose sight of the only remaining clue.
That immense, suffocating sense of powerlessness nearly crushed the two self-proclaimed learned scholars.
Faced with absolute power and base human nature, their vast knowledge and literary skills seem so pale and laughable.
"What...can we do?"
For the first time, despair crept into Sha Pingwei's voice.
yes.
What can we do?
They were just two students who had not yet achieved fame or success; their voices carried little weight, like ants.
Zheng Yu did not answer.
He silently took back the wine jar and downed another mouthful of strong liquor.
Wine, when it enters a sorrowful heart, transforms into a sharp blade that pierces the soul.
He raised his head and gazed at the cold, lonely moon in the night sky.
Those eyes, which were always gentle and refined, were now burning with two clusters of crazy and resolute flames.
for a long time.
He smiled.
The laughter was low, yet it carried a chilling coldness that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Pingwei".
"Um?"
"The imperial examination the day after tomorrow..."
Zheng Yu's voice was soft, but every word was like iron, striking Sha Pingwei's heart hard.
"I originally wanted to achieve fame and fortune, bring glory to my family, and live up to my father's expectations."
"But now..."
He slowly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Sha Pingwei, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Now, I don't want fame or fortune."
"What I want is the power to overthrow his Jingzhao Prefecture!"
"What I want is the power to make corrupt officials like Qin Wuyu lose their heads!"
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