Chapter 10 Chapter 10 "My body is weak..."
It is difficult for sunlight to enter the deep part of the Censorate Prison. Although each cell has a small ventilation window, due to the structural problems of the entire prison, there are always a few cells that cannot be exposed to sunlight at any time.
Xu Qing'an leaned against the wall, one hand on his raised knee and the other hand raised to check the dust in the dim light under the window.
This cell was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. It was familiar because the cell next to it was where Liu Chang had lived before. He would always pass by this cell when he came to interrogate him every day. It was unfamiliar because he had never been imprisoned here before.
But when he looked at the floating wisps of light, he seemed to be vaguely reminded of the firelight from both sides of the river that year when he was standing in the water. It was just as cold and dim across the water, but it was also filled with hope.
Hope in despair.
Like alms.
Xu Qing'an looked vacant, thinking back to the conversation he had with Liu Chang last night.
Liu Chang said, "Can you save my life? Do you have such great ability?"
Xu Qing'an smiled and said calmly, "Since I can say this, I have my own way. Minister Liu should be aware of his situation by now. Are you expecting that Minister Su to help you? He doesn't even let his own nephew go."
Liu Chang shuddered.
He had of course heard about Su Wang forcing Su Silang to commit suicide.
He raised his eyes and looked at Xu Qing'an: "What do you want to ask?"
Xu Qing'an asked, "Four years ago, during the Shangsi night water memorial ceremony for the sunken ship, the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works were all demoted and exiled. How come you, who was then the Minister of Water Resources and was clearly the person in charge of the construction of the pleasure boat, were not demoted but promoted?"
"I heard that it was you who provided the records of all the past affairs of the Ministry of Works that were not in compliance with the regulations. This led to the purge of all officials above the fourth rank in the Ministry of Works. As a result, you were rewarded with merit and were promoted to the position of Minister."
Liu Chang said weakly, "Aren't these all in the case files? If you know all of this, why are you asking me?"
Xu Qing'an curled his lips. "Of course, I'm not asking about anything that's already in the files." His eyes suddenly grew fierce. "I want to know why you're so bold, and who gave you the confidence to accuse the officials!"
Liu Chang suddenly woke up: "W-What nonsense are you talking about?"
Xu Qing'an became increasingly aggressive. "With the momentum of the reckoning back then, as a doctor in the Water Department, you should have been the first to go to jail! And you still had time to compile evidence?"
"The Ministers and Vice Ministers of Works back then were all honest men, yet your evidence alleges that they enriched themselves and cut corners on the cruise ship for the sake of convenience. I think it's more likely you were responsible for these actions."
"Do you know that the total amount of silver they seized from the property was only ten taels?"
Xu Qing'an grabbed Liu Chang's wrist and said forcefully, "Tell me, who were the people who ordered you and helped you back then?"
Liu Chang screamed in pain.
Seeing that he remained silent, Xu Qing'an continued, "Are you still waiting for them to rescue you? You helped them do such a despicable thing, and they're eager to kill you to silence you, yet you still think they'll be kind?"
"I'm the only one who can save you now."
"say!"
The force in my hands grew stronger and stronger, as if my wrist was about to break. Being lost at night is when people are at their most vulnerable.
Liu Chang couldn't bear it: "Yes, it's Su Zhongcheng..."
"What else?" Xu Qing'an gritted his teeth, still holding on to his hands.
"And..." Liu Chang was in so much pain that he lost consciousness.
"Is there anyone from the palace?" Xu Qing'an reminded.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Liu Chang hurriedly said, "I've seen the Empress's seal!"
In an instant, the force applied to the wrist dissipated, and the palm that was originally restraining the hand slowly loosened.
An almost inaudible sneer came from beside Liu Chang, which seemed to be self-mocking.
Xu Qing'an suddenly became quiet, lowered his head, and laughed and sighed.
It was clearly a result that had been known and hidden for a long time, so why did he have to use a knife to cut the wound open and see?
What is the obsession that lingers in my heart for so long...
Finally, he asked Liu Chang how the evidence used to frame him was fabricated and where the original records were kept.
Doing such things will always leave clues, and Liu Chang, who is in a lower position, will also deliberately keep something for his own back.
Xu Qing'an's actions tonight were solely to obtain evidence that could clear the Minister of Works. As for the rest...
However, the hope that I shouldn't have had was confirmed again.
…
Xu Qing'an came back to his senses, stretched out his hand and clenched it, grabbing a handful of nothingness.
He spread his hand back again, and the air flow surged, watching the dust rise and fall on the palm of his hand.
"Are you very laid back?"
A familiar voice sounded outside the cell. Xu Qing'an suddenly withdrew his hand, lowered his eyes and blinked, hiding the moisture in his eyes before turning his head to look.
Shangguan Xu stood outside the prison bars in simple clothes, with a black cloak draped over the outside.
Her eyes were calm and cold, but he smiled and said, "The Queen is here."
He remained lazy, only sitting upright without rising to greet her. He seemed to complain, "Your Majesty has arrived later than I expected."
Shangguan Xu chuckled: "You are so leisurely, what does it matter if I come or not? Judging from your expression just now, I seem to have disturbed you."
Xu Qing'an smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are joking."
He then stood up and walked to the bars, bowing. "I am alone in this dark cell, feeling lonely and bored. I can only find something to do to pass the time."
Shangguan Xu sarcastically said, "But you're bored right now. Last night, we were in a similar position. You must have been enjoying yourself, right? Did you ever think about your current situation then?"
Shangguan Xu didn't say anything like "excuse me," so Xu Qing'an stood up and said, "Your Majesty, you're teasing me."
He didn't wait for her to ask and directly told her what happened last night: "A few days ago, when I was investigating Liu Chang's corruption, I found that the evidence submitted by the witness to the Censorate first mentioned Liu Chang's evil deeds seven years ago."
"Seven years ago, he happened to be working in the Ministry of Works. I thought he must have benefited greatly from his position there over the years. Coincidentally, a witness came to me and cried, saying that Liu Chang had committed many crimes without leaving any evidence. He wanted me to seek justice for all those who had suffered. So I came to the prison to question him to see if I could get any more information out of him. But who knew that he would die right after I finished questioning him? He still blames me..."
As he spoke, Xu Qing'an sighed, "I, too, am baffled."
"Really?" Shangguan Xu said coldly, examining him intently with a smile on his lips. "But Liu Chang is dead. You have to know that everything in this world changes its nature once it involves human life."
Xu Qing'an smiled nonchalantly, "Your Majesty, you're trying to say, whoever dies is right, right?"
"But Your Majesty, Liu Chang's crimes were already enough to sentence him to death. He was already a dying man, so how could his life be compared to the lives of ordinary innocent people?"
Shangguan Xu raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer him. He simply said, "Admittedly, even if he did this with the intention of dragging others down with him, the fact that he committed suicide by banging his head against the wall and leaving behind a blood-written confession is truly shocking. Now that the Three Courts have intervened, you don't have to convince me, but the officials at the Three Courts' trial."
Shangguan Xu's tone suddenly turned sarcastic. "I just never expected that even though Liu Chang's crimes were already established and he was sentenced to death, Lord Xu would still continue to investigate this case just to find more evidence and give more victims an explanation."
Xu Qing'an asked in return: "Shouldn't we give them an explanation?"
Shangguan Xu said decisively: "No, I just didn't expect you to do this."
Xu Qing'an smiled helplessly: "It seems that I have done something that has left a bad impression on Her Majesty."
He looked up at her, and seeing that she wasn't going to respond, he continued, "Well, actually, I didn't do this just for those who were suffering. I did it for myself, for Your Majesty."
"For me?" Shangguan Xu obviously didn't care about the first half of his sentence.
Xu Qing'an felt that he was being ignored, and sighed softly, "Yes, I want to give Her Majesty a gift."
Shangguan Xu frowned, becoming increasingly confused about what he was going to do.
Xu Qing'an also kept things a secret at this point: "The gift isn't ready yet, so I won't reveal what it is yet, lest I spoil Her Majesty's mood by failing to complete the task."
"Whatever you want." Although Shangguan Xu was a little curious about what he said, there was no expectation on his face.
She turned around, leaving only her profile to show him. "But what you should think about most right now is how to deal with that blood letter. Sometimes, death without evidence is a good thing, but sometimes, death without evidence is the worst."
"If I really can't turn the situation around this time, could Your Majesty help me?" Xu Qing'an asked as he walked into the prison.
Shangguan Xu turned his head to look at him, and saw that his eyes were soft and seemed to be filled with expectation.
But she still said calmly: "Although the officials at the Three Courts' trial are all stubborn, the Great Jin has its own laws. If you have been wronged, they will give you justice."
"Oh, I understand." Xu Qing'an lowered his eyes and said in a somewhat lonely tone.
Shangguan Xu looked at him again unconsciously and was actually felt to be pitiful by his posture.
She looked away for a moment to adjust herself, and before leaving, she finally said something comforting: "There are still three days until the three-court trial. I'm waiting for your gift."
The gift means escape from danger and success.
A smile finally appeared on Xu Qing'an's suppressed face.
"Your Majesty..."
He suddenly called her.
Shangguan Xu turned around.
He didn't say anything else, but only asked softly and concernedly, "Is your cold better?"
Shangguan Xu hadn't expected him to ask this. "I'm almost well now, thanks to your medicine." She smiled faintly and casually praised him, "Xu Qing is truly thoughtful and considerate. Even in this situation, he can still consider others."
Xu Qing'an lowered his eyelids and spoke softly, "It's cold and damp in the prison, and I'm weak. I've been here for almost half a day, and I've been feeling the chill from time to time. This reminds me of the queen's cold, which hasn't healed yet, and I'm worried."
Shangguan Xu was silent when he heard this and looked at him.
He had indeed told her before that he had a weak constitution since childhood and was still seeing a doctor. The lack of sunlight in the cell and the increasingly damp and cold environment must have made things even worse for him.
He paused mid-sentence, looked up at her clothes, and continued, "But seeing Your Majesty's rosy complexion today, I believe your health has recovered well. Your clothes and travels are well taken care of by the palace servants. It should be difficult for the cold to invade your body in the future, so I am relieved."
After Shangguan Xu heard what he said, he shifted his gaze to look at the place he was looking at, and finally understood why he did this.
She couldn't help but sneer, and slowly placed her hands on the knot of her cloak. "The weather outside has indeed been much better these days, but it's damp in the prison, and Xu Qing isn't feeling well, so he should take care of himself."
The knot had been untied, the cloak fell down and hung in his hand, and Shangguan Xu threw it in through the gap between the railings.
"Cover it up if it's cold."
The cloak hit his chest hard, but the fluttering edges brushed his cheeks softly.
Xu Qing'an raised his neck and held the cloak in his arms with one hand.
Shangguan Xu had already walked away, but he did not kneel down to express his gratitude. Instead, he leaned against the railing and shouted with a smile, "Thank you, Madam, for the reward."
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