107.Cat Dust

"Lord Luo, there is no need to be so polite."

This was the first time that Rong Se noticed this recently appointed Minister of Revenue.

He looked quite refined and elegant, and his attitude towards him was neither humble nor arrogant.

"Etiquette cannot be abandoned." Luo Ling spoke in the tone of a civil official, lowering his eyes slightly, and said with a hint of meaning: "This etiquette is also appropriate."

Rong Se heard the hidden meaning in these words.

Before he could say anything, Luo Ling said, "I should thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me this convenience."

Rong Se raised an eyebrow.

Is Luo Ling directly admitting that he was the one who sent people to rob the prison?

Moreover, Luo Ling's appearance here at this time was probably for the same purpose as Rong Zhixu's, both of them were here to see Xi Yan.

"That's not necessary." Rong Se said, "After all, it's convenient for me, but... as far as I know, Lord Luo's resignation this time is largely due to Lord Xi's recommendation."

Luo Ling stood upright, with a faint smile on his face, unmoved, and only said: "So I came to see him off in person, which is not in vain... This is a favor of knowing me."

When he said the words "gratitude for recognizing someone's talent", Luo Ling's eyes fluctuated slightly, as if he was mocking or self-mocking.

I didn't know much about gratitude, but I could hear Rong Se's resentment clearly.

"It seems that Lord Luo also has a reason." Rong Se also smiled half-seriously, "I would like to hear it."

Luo Ling smiled and looked at him. "It's nothing. It's just that I had a student in the past. He was smart and intelligent, and had good morals. However, his family was poor. I had just entered the officialdom not long ago, and could only provide a little support. His father went to work as a long-term worker in a wealthy family to make a living. After that..."

His smile had almost disappeared, and his eyes showed neither sadness nor joy.

Rong Se had some guesses in his mind.

As expected, Luo Ling said slowly: "His father was beaten to death. A human life was worth only two hundred copper coins. My student was filial and wanted to seek justice for his father, but his legs were broken instead. He has never recovered since then. The cause was ridiculous. It was just that the concubine was jealous of the wife and killed the servants in her yard to make an example of her."

Luo Ling seemed to want to say something else, but he didn't say anything further and just sneered.

Rong Se fell silent.

A life costs two pieces of copper money, a proud student must endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens.

Luo Ling's motives were clear.

"Lord Luo is a man of integrity and ability." Rong Se narrowed his eyes slightly.

The fact that he could get to this point under Xi Yan's nose shows his ability.

Luo Ling shook his head. "Why do you say that? Compared to the prince, he is nothing."

Rong Se said calmly: "Lord Luo, you are still able to stand here and talk to me. That's your ability."

After all, many of Xi family's cronies were in prison. The Minister of Finance recommended by Xi Yan himself was still standing here, explaining the whole story to him calmly, which showed that Luo Ling was not involved at all this time.

Luo Ling smiled but did not answer. He changed the subject and said, "The Jizhou injustice shocked the court and the country. Your Majesty has successively punished several high-ranking and powerful officials. Since the Yongshi period, there has been no one like Your Majesty. I respect you."

Rong Se said cautiously, "You are too flattering."

Perhaps sensing Rong Se's defensiveness and inquiry, Luo Ling said nothing more, only saying, "It is good to lean against a big tree to enjoy the coolness. I have known for a long time that the Cao family is also a towering ancient tree. Your Majesty, take care."

Rong Se stood there and carefully savored the words left by Luo Ling.

He suddenly mentioned the Cao family. Could it be that Xi Yan was not implicated this time because Luo Ling was involved with Cao Lun again?

.

If you want to enter the Ministry of Justice prison, you have to walk through a dark corridor. There are agencies everywhere in this corridor. Not to mention escaping from prison, even robbing the prison is a difficult task.

As soon as Rong Zhixu entered the door, he smelled dirty and foul air, even the smell of rotten blood.

Extremely quiet.

Rong Zhixu was a little surprised.

The prison guard leading the way thought that the nobleman disliked this place, so he asked carefully: "Your Highness, this place is dirty, why don't you go back?"

"No." Rong Zhixu restrained his expression and said softly, "I just didn't expect it to be so quiet. I thought..."

Since it's a prison cell, there should be some noise and cries of injustice. Anyway...it shouldn't be so quiet.

"You're talking about this, but we haven't even walked in yet." The jailer said as he walked, "Besides, this place is far from the torture chamber, and it's even uglier over there. Don't worry, Your Highness, we won't pass by that area. It's so quiet here, and those who are here probably won't have the energy to make a fuss."

The three members of the Xi family were imprisoned in the same cell. When Rong Zhixu approached, he heard something, which was a soft sobbing sound.

"This is it." The jailer walked in front with a lamp in his hand, then turned a corner and stopped.

Only then did Rong Zhixu get a clear look at the cell. It was a square space with nothing else in it. The walls were rough with large patches of black and brown stains. There was dry grass piled in the corner, also stained, and it was damp and cold in the autumn day.

Xi Yan was lying on the pile of straw, the blood stains on his prison uniform had dried up, and were clumps of dark brown blood on the straw. Xi Chaoyi was sitting in the corner with disheveled hair. The sobbing sound came from the woman sitting next to the straw. Her once exquisite bun was no longer recognizable, and now looked like a bird's nest.

Rong Zhixu looked at this wolf-like family and couldn't say that he was not moved at all. He even felt like laughing.

When Liu Ran saw Rong Zhixu standing outside the prison door, a moment of blankness appeared on her haggard face, and then she burst into joy. She rolled and crawled forward, shouting, "You're here, you're here to save us, right? A husband and wife for a day is a bond of grace for a hundred days. You and Chao Yi have been husband and wife for such a long time, you..."

"no."

Rong Zhixu denied it decisively.

Liu Ran suddenly became silent.

As prosperous as this family was in the past, they are now as destitute as can be. Xi Yan was lying there, not knowing whether he was dead or alive. Xi Chaoyi was curled up in a state of numbness the whole time. Only Liu Ran was silent for a moment, then banged on the prison door like a madman.

"No... No, how could you not save us? It's all because of you! If it weren't for you, if it weren't for you, how could this happen! This is all because of you!"

Rong Zhixu saw that her hands were covered with tiny wounds, like chapped skin. How could such a beautiful girl like her withstand the calamity of prison? But it was also these hands that had whipped her countless times in the past.

Rong Zhixu felt a dull pain in his body when he saw it.

Ignoring Liu Ran's cries, Rong Zhixu looked at Xi Chaoyi again. This bastard who had brought her countless nightmares was now nothing more than a prisoner.

"The Ministry of Justice has already decided that he will be beheaded tomorrow." Rong Zhixu said calmly, "Liu is right. After all, I have a history with the Xi family. I came here specially to see you off, and by the way... give you three a gift."

Xi Chaoyi raised his head suddenly, his eyes were fierce, but more of it was fear and despair like a frightened bird, he growled with gnashing teeth: "What do you want to do, bastard?!"

Rong Zhixu was not afraid at this moment. He smiled and said softly, "I have been in the Xi family for many days. I want you to have a taste of everything I have suffered."

At the same time, the jailer who had put down the lamp came back with a whip.

This whip is different from the Xi family's bamboo whip, and it is not a soft whip, but an iron weapon with sections.

"You...what are you going to do?" Liu Ran realized something, her eyes gradually turned into fear, and she crawled back like a bug.

Rong Zhixu couldn't laugh, his face was indifferent, and he uttered two words: "Return the favor."

She came here today to make peace with the Xi family.

A moment later, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly came from deep in the corridor, while the rest of the cells remained silent.

.

"Okay, stop looking."

Rong Se held Lan Ying by the back of her collar, leaning against the carriage, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "She didn't come here to get angry today, why are you so worried? Besides, she said she can do it, so you just wait patiently."

Rong Se suspected that if he hadn't held the little girl, Lan Ying would have been able to sneak in directly.

He had heard Liang Shenyu say that Luo Ling's men were able to take Xi Yan away so easily because he let them off and because someone else was colluding with them from the inside. Otherwise, with all the traps in the prison, the jailbreakers would have been wiped out.

Lan Ying was still looking inside, constantly holding the hilt of the knife at her waist, and whispered: "Hey master, you know that the princess is too soft-hearted. I am afraid that the crazy woman surnamed Liu will bully her. Are you really confident to let her go by herself? How about I go in and take a look for you?"

“Tsk.”

Rong Se let go and patted Lan Ying's head hard, whispering, "Trust her, she can handle it herself. There are some things that others can't help with, you should understand."

Lan Ying finally calmed down a bit, but she still frowned and looked towards the prison door from time to time.

"Don't worry." Rong Se said softly, "She is a tough girl just like you. She won't be bullied by those grasshoppers."

Lan Ying was almost sold into the fireworks land. After being rescued by the Yun brothers, the Yun brothers accidentally killed her biological father. Lan Ying, who was still a child at the time, wanted to take the blame for her father's murder alone.

They all know that there are things they need to face on their own.

Rong Se understood why Rong Zhixu wanted to leave by herself. The Xi family was the most unbearable past for her. Rong Zhixu wanted to end it by herself. Only in this way could she truly escape.

“Yeah.”

Rong Se glanced at the beautiful figure at the prison door and raised his chin, "That's not..."

Before he could finish his words, Lan Ying, who was standing next to him, shot past like an arrow.

"Are you here..."

Rong Se continued the second half of the sentence in a low voice. Seeing Lan Ying circling around Rong Zhixu, looking him up and down and asking him questions, he straightened his back unconsciously and his eyes gradually became profound.

Why does it look like something is not right?

Lan Ying is usually a noisy girl, jumping up and down, but when she is with Rong Zhixu, she is much more obedient and calm than usual. And she was so anxious just now...

Just as he was thinking about it, Rong Zhixu had already come forward with Lan Ying. She had put the past behind her, and her eyes were even more peaceful.

When their eyes met, Rong Se seemed to smile.

Rong Zhixu was still dignified, but his eyes were unconsciously evasive. He said softly, "Thank you for the trip, uncle."

"It's just a small matter."

Rong Se glanced at the two little girls who were very intimate, then withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened. He did not ask anything else, but just said gently: "Let's go back home."

Rong Zhixu raised his eyes in surprise.

Rong Se, however, had already boarded the carriage and said to the two girls outside, "Hurry up, the lotus root powder is ready and waiting to be eaten."