Night falls.
Inside the prison, a dozen or so jailers were sitting around a table throwing dice.
Sun, the jailer, rolled up his sleeves, revealing his thick arms, and vigorously shook the dice cup with both hands.
He slammed the dice cup down on the table with a bang, grinned widely, and said, "What are you all standing there for? Place your bets now, big or small. Whoever loses today has to treat everyone at Zuixiangju."
Upon hearing this, the jailers burst into laughter. "Head jailer, you're really well-informed. A few new girls have arrived at Drunken Fragrance Inn and they're so wet they could be squeezed. Could it be that you've been eyeing them for a while now?"
"Everyone knows that Prison Chief Sun can't live without women and eats that stuff like food."
"Yes, yes, yes, that's when someone would scratch the wall and crease the mat if they didn't have milk for a day."
These words drew laughter from everyone.
Sun, the jailer, glared at everyone with great dissatisfaction. "Go away, you dogs can't say anything nice. What are you looking for girls for? Hurry up and place your bets. Whoever wins gets to buy a few jars of good wine and order a few dishes. We brothers will drink until we drop."
"Turns out the brothers were too superficial."
"I'll bet big, big big."
"Small, I bet on small, small small small..."
The jailers placed their bets, and in no time, a layer of loose silver coins was thrown onto the table.
A tall, thin jailer spat on his palm, rubbed his hands together, and stared intently as Warden Sun lifted the dice cup, the dice clearly visible in the candlelight.
Upon seeing the score, the jailer Sun's face immediately showed disappointment. "Damn it, what bad luck! How did I lose again?"
The jailer laughed and patted him on the shoulder, teasingly saying, "Hey jailer, a bet's a bet, hurry up and buy some food and drinks!"
Sun, the jailer, sighed helplessly. "Wait here, I'm going to take a piss. When I come back, I'll go buy you bastards some wine." With that, he turned and walked out of the cell.
After Shen Yuanze left, Chen Qingqing started thinking about her escape plan.
Before escaping, we must first deal with Qin Shousheng, Shen Yuanze, and Chen Ruolan.
With them dead, the Anyang County government office will be in chaos the next morning, and no one will pay attention to their prison break.
Seeing Prisoner Sun pass by his door, he quickly called out to him, took out a silver note and handed it over, "Prisoner Sun, take this money and have some fun with the brothers. I'll go buy you some wine, how about that?"
Upon hearing this, Warden Sun immediately shook his head and refused, "No, no, if you run away, how am I supposed to explain this to my superiors?"
"My parents are still in jail. What will happen to them if I run away?" Chen Qingqing continued in a conciliatory tone. "Don't worry, Warden Sun, I won't run away. I've been cooped up in jail for too long. I just want to get some fresh air. I'll buy some wine and come right back. I won't cause you any trouble."
"You really won't run away?" Prisoner Sun was starting to waver.
Chen Qingqing said sincerely, "Absolutely not. If I ran away, wouldn't that harm my parents? I just wanted to get some fresh air and buy some food for my brothers."
Sun, the jailer, frowned. The temptation of gambling was too great. If he played a few more rounds, he might be able to win back the money he had lost.
Besides, her family is still alive, so there shouldn't be any problems...
Thinking it over, Chief Sun adopted Chen Qingqing's suggestion. He nodded and said, "Alright, but you definitely can't go out like this. If someone finds out, I'll be the one who suffers."
After saying that, he turned around and went to a cabinet not far away. He took out a set of prison guard's clothes and a prison pass and handed them to Chen Qingqing. "Wearing this clothes and holding the pass will keep you safe. Remember to go and come back quickly."
"Okay, definitely." Chen Qingqing quickly changed her clothes, took the token, and left the prison.
She never expected things to go so smoothly. It was like a godsend; once she was sleepy, someone would bring her a pillow. Wearing this outfit, getting into the county government office would be a piece of cake.
They sped along and soon arrived at the county government office. Just as they were about to find an excuse to sneak into the inner office, they saw Chen Ruolan, Qin Shousheng, and Shen Yuanze come out one after another, get into their carriages, and head towards the prison.
Chen Qingqing's heart tightened. Could it be that they couldn't wait to get rid of her?
No, my parents and sister-in-law are still in prison. If they find out I'm not here, they won't let me off easily.
She jogged close behind the carriage, and sure enough, the carriage came to a steady stop at the prison gate.
It was impossible to get through the main gate, so Chen Qingqing quickly ran to the back of the prison and forcefully removed the bricks she had dug out, one by one...
At the prison gate, the jailer, who was idly dozing against the wall, was startled awake by the sound of a carriage.
Upon seeing that it was County Magistrate Qin Shousheng, he turned pale with fright, hurriedly stepped forward to bow, and shouted loudly,
"Greetings, Lord Qin. This is Magistrate Shen..."
The jailer knew perfectly well that they were there for Chen Qingqing, but he had just witnessed Chen Qingqing being released from prison.
If the county magistrate finds out, he'll definitely get a beating.
He raised his voice to the highest level, hoping that the jailer inside, Sun, could hear him and come up with a solution in time.
Sure enough, the prison immediately fell silent. Warden Sun was also bewildered and quickly signaled to the guards to clean up the scene and act according to the situation.
He trotted up to Qin Shousheng, bowed deeply, and said, "My lord, you are of noble birth, how could you come to such a filthy place? If there is anything you need, just tell me, and I will do my best to fulfill it..."
Qin Shousheng waved his hand impatiently, "Enough nonsense, I'm going to personally investigate the Jishetang poison case, so lead the way at once!"
Upon hearing this, Warden Sun's heart skipped a beat, and he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Why did they have to come at this crucial juncture to hear the case?
This is just a waste of time and energy!
What do we do now?
He secretly let Chen Qingqing out. If Qin Shousheng found out that the prisoner was not in the dungeon, he would surely beat him to death.
No, we absolutely cannot let Qin Shousheng find out about this.
We should try to stall for as long as possible; right now, we just hope Chen Qingqing can come back soon.
His eyes darted around, and he put on a big smile. "Sir, this...this prison is teeming with rats at night. I'll give the order to tidy up the cells a little so as not to frighten you. Could you please wait a moment?"
As he spoke, he put his hands behind his back and gestured to the jailers behind him, telling them to hurry up and go find Chen Qingqing.
But the jailers were already terrified and didn't notice the jailer's gestures at all, with their heads down.
Qin Shousheng was determined to kill Chen Qingqing and didn't want to delay any longer. He darkened his face and shouted sternly.
"Enough with the nonsense! I'm busy with official duties and have no time to wait for you! Hurry up and lead the way!"
Sun, the jailer, was sweating profusely. He glanced at Chen Ruolan beside Qin Shousheng and stammered,
“Sir, you come to the prison often and are used to cockroaches and rats, and you can tolerate the smell of blood. But this is the first time the lady has come to the prison. We are used to the smell inside, so it is nothing to us. If the smell makes the lady sick, wouldn’t you feel sorry for her? It would be better to have your men clean it up.”
......
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