The Prefect of Jingzhao was so anxious that he paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. He could turn a blind eye to some things, but he didn't want to become involved in them. Those were two different things!
Just then, a whooshing sound rang out, and an arrow flew straight toward his face. The Prefect of the Capital City widened his eyes, terrified out of his wits, his legs trembling uncontrollably, unable to dodge in time. Following his gaze, the arrow struck the pillar behind his head with a "thud," its fletching vibrating and humming, causing the Prefect to stumble and fall to the ground.
"My lord, there's a message on the arrow!"
The advisor quickly moved a stool, climbed up, removed the arrow, and then helped the Prefect of Jingzhao up.
The Prefect of Jingzhao sat on a stool, panting, wiping away sweat as he opened the letter with trembling hands.
After reading the letter, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to the clerk, "That's all for now. You should all go to sleep."
The clerk was puzzled. "Wasn't the master just worried about tonight's case? Why does he suddenly seem less anxious? What's the secret behind this letter?"
Actually, there wasn't much written in the letter. He put the letter back in the envelope and had his servant deliver the letter and arrow to the Wan Hua Lou, to show that it wasn't that he didn't want to go, but that someone was threatening him with his life, and he really dared not go!
Inside the Wan Hua Lou, before anyone arrived, Tong Qian looked at the arrows and envelopes laid out on the table and sneered repeatedly.
The reason we didn't replace the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture with one of our own was that we thought Li Liufang was more pragmatic, that he could collect the money he was supposed to collect and do the things he was supposed to do. In addition, having too many of our own people would make the emperor wary. We never expected him to let us down at this time!
"Send someone to take Madam Zhang back!"
Tong Qian had already sent someone to check out that small courtyard. The pimp guarding the gate was killed with a single, swift stroke, clearly the work of a master.
But he didn't think he had offended anyone. He just ran a brothel to make money, and even the emperor turned a blind eye to it. Who would dare to touch him?
After thinking it over and over, I realized that someone was envious of my business.
"Hmph!" He sneered and slammed his hand on the table. He didn't care if they were human or ghost; anyone who dared to fight him should know how he got to where he is now!
He picked up the arrow and tossed it to his attendant, "Go and find out whose arrow it is!"
He never expected that they couldn't even handle such a small matter as sending someone to escort Madam Zhang back to her residence!
Lu Qingyu was thrown into prison, and no one knows what Madam Zhang was thinking, but she actually went to see him. Shortly after, Lu Qingyu died in prison, and Madam Zhang was also imprisoned on suspicion of murder.
The Prefect of Jingzhao got out of bed again and opened the ancestral hall overnight to burn incense for the ancestors.
This year is unlucky! This year is unlucky!
"Ancestors, I burn so much paper money for you every year, why don't you pull some strings for me in the afterlife!" he lamented, two lines of tears streaming down his face.
A servant outside called out, "My lord, it's time to go to court! Also, the people from the *** residence are waiting for you outside!"
The Prefect of Jingzhao sighed and reluctantly got up, hoping that an arrow would fall from the sky to help him solve his current predicament.
However, his expectations were about to be dashed.
Song Yaozhu and Xie Liwei already know that the owner behind Wan Hua Lou is Tong Qian. After Song Yaozhu found out it was him, she even felt that it made sense.
"That old geezer is really a menace!"
He's running a sex trafficking business while also acting as a matchmaker for innocent women. This guy should just be killed!
However, assassinating a third-rank official in the capital would inevitably cause turmoil in the court and among the people.
"Killing him directly would be too lenient on him." His evil deeds should be exposed to the public, and he should be utterly disgraced!
Xie Liwei placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder, not daring to say a word, after all, Mr. Ji and his group's business...
Although I didn't harm anyone, I still felt guilty.
"The Jingzhao Prefecture has people keeping an eye on things, you should rest for a while." The two returned late at night, and before they could even wash up and lie down, Fang Rao came back to report that Lu Qingyu was dead.
The two of them were immediately wide awake.
"How did he die?"
"The coroner examined him and said that he had overdosed on the drugs and his body could not withstand it, so he died. During this time, Madam Zhang visited him in prison, and he died after she left. Therefore, the Jingzhao Prefecture imprisoned Madam Zhang."
Song Yaozhu and Xie Liwei both thought in unison that this was like a godsend. They had just been thinking about getting to Tong Qian, and the opportunity had come knocking.
“The Jingzhao Prefecture will definitely try this case in secret, but we can’t let them get away with it. Go, find someone to pretend to be a member of the Zhang family and go to pick up Madam Zhang with great fanfare.”
Xie Liwei gave Song Yaozhu a meaningful look. How mean! He liked it.
As soon as it was light, several people dressed as servants started arguing with the yamen runners at the gate. The crowd that said they would gather at the yamen gate last night had come early this morning to see what was going on because it was so cold last night. As soon as they arrived, they saw the argument. One person gathered to watch, and soon a crowd gathered to watch.
"We've come to fetch our mistress! We're servants of Zhang Ying, the Vice Minister of War, and we're on good terms with your master! Aren't you afraid that by blocking our way, your master will offend our master!"
"Our master went to court this morning. If you want to pick them up, you'll have to wait until he finishes court!"
The two sides argued back and forth, and before anyone knew who had started pushing, they actually came to blows. The men, who claimed to be servants of the Zhang family, didn't hold back and immediately ganged up on the two gatekeepers, beating them up before fleeing. By the time the people inside rushed out, they had vanished without a trace!
The onlookers immediately understood two things: one was that the person who had been having an affair with the ***'s male lover in the small courtyard of the alley last night was the wife of the Vice Minister of War; the other was that Zhang Ying, the Vice Minister of War, had a close relationship with Li Liufang, the Prefect of Jingzhao, and might be protecting him!
At this moment, Li Liufang sighed as he left the court. In the distance, he saw a woman in red riding a fine horse. Who else could it be but Yuwen Xian!
He wanted to slip away unnoticed, but the palace gates were only so big!
Li Liufang awkwardly shuffled step by step to the Emperor's side, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."
"Lord Li, are you not going to explain why my men ended up in your Jingzhao Prefecture's prison, and why they died there?"
The Prefect of Jingzhao felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to explain, but he couldn't! Because he didn't know either!
He wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. "This humble subject...this humble subject doesn't know either. This humble subject was just about to begin the court proceedings..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yuwen Xian interrupted him coldly: "Everyone in the capital knows that Lord Li and Lord Zhang Ying are so close they're practically inseparable. Do you think I can believe you?"
Li Liufang looked up at Yuwen Xian in surprise. Oh no, he had never played around with that lecherous Zhang Ying! His wife wouldn't allow it!
"I will go to the palace immediately to request His Majesty to transfer the case to the Court of Judicial Review!"
Li Liufang looked horrified, but inside he was overjoyed. His ancestors had shown their power! His ancestors had shown their power!
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