The jailer was puzzled. The young master had clearly gone in to see this man's sixth brother, so why did this man seem unaware of it?
However, the jailer dared not ask any questions, much less say anything more.
Just now, Prince Mu knew why Fourth Master Dong was there. In fact, if he had just asked, he could have taken Fourth Master Dong in to see the Sixth Master Dong. However, Prince Mu did not say anything. The jailer did not know the reason for this, so the safest thing to do was not to say anything and not to cause trouble.
He, the jailer, wasn't even the lowest-ranking official; he was merely a clerk.
However, this was also a lucrative job. In order to make the prisoners suffer less in prison, the families of prisoners with some money would try to bribe the prison warden.
Some people who wanted to see the prisoners would naturally try to slip them some silver to get them to do so.
He wouldn't keep all the benefits for himself; he would share some with his superiors.
However, he dared not accept the bribe that Master Dong had just offered, because he had been instructed by his superiors that he was not allowed to meet with anyone before the Dong Yuefan case was investigated, not even if Prime Minister Dong came.
However, Prince Mu was able to see her. Not only could he see Dong Yuefan, but he also brought a young lady with him.
The reason Prince Mu was able to see him was because he had connections with higher-ups. He didn't know exactly which higher-up it was; he just followed orders and let people in.
As soon as Hong Xiaoduo and her companion entered the prison, a jailer immediately stepped forward to lead them.
This was Hong Xiaoduo's first time seeing a real ancient prison; she had only ever seen them in TV shows and movies before.
The air in the prison was terrible; the stench of sweat mixed with mold, blood, excrement, and other foul smells was nauseating.
The cells were separated by wooden bars on both sides. Hong Xiaoduo walked in the middle aisle, and no prisoners rushed forward to look at her. It was very quiet.
The jailer led Hong Xiaoduo and the other person to the innermost cell, and after stopping, he said to Murong Jing with great trepidation, "The higher-ups instructed me to stay to the side."
Mu Rongjing nodded, showing no intention of making things difficult for him or asking him to leave.
Hong Xiaoduo looked at the person lying on the simple bed board with their face turned inward in the cell. She couldn't be sure if it was Dong Yuefan based on the figure.
As the son of a first-rank prime minister, the only special treatment he received in prison was an extra wooden bed compared to other prisoners.
I glanced around when I came in, and all I saw in those cells were some old, dirty quilts piled on the floor, and a pile of straw.
"Brother Dong?" Hong Xiaoduo called out tentatively in a soft voice.
The figure clearly froze, but showed no intention of turning around to look.
Dong Yuefan opened her eyes, then closed them again, and even laughed self-deprecatingly. She hadn't even experienced any torture or anything, so how could her body be in such a bad state that she was hallucinating?
Why did I just think I heard Xiaoduo calling me? I wonder where that girl is leisurely wandering off to now!
Perhaps, deep down, I envy her? That she can roam freely and unrestrained?
Outside the cell, Mu Rongjing, who had been watching Dong Yuefan and Hong Xiaoduo's reactions, frowned slightly. Although the one inside hadn't responded, her subtle physical reaction just now was enough to prove that the relationship between the two was extraordinary.
And look at the person next to me, their face full of heartache.
"Sigh, is this what they call 'the tea grows cold when the person leaves'? It's only been a few months since we last met, and they're already ignoring me?" Hong Xiaoduo sighed.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the person inside suddenly flipped over. Because the movement was too sudden, he not only turned around but also fell to the ground, looking over in a very disheveled and shocked manner.
"Xiao Duo? Is it really you? How come it's you? No, what brings you to the capital?" Dong Yuefan stood up in surprise, took a few steps over, grabbed the fence, and asked in a row.
Finally seeing his face, Hong Xiaoduo quickly looked him over from head to toe. Apart from his slightly wrinkled robes, disheveled hair, and haggard appearance, judging from his mental state and his joyful reaction upon seeing her, Hong Xiaoduo was certain that this guy had been wronged.
"Once we've met the person, let's get to the point and get to the important details," Mu Rongjing said in a deep voice.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mu Rongjing realized that he really shouldn't have urged him.
It was only then that Dong Yuefan noticed that besides the jailer, there were other people around Hong Xiaoduo.
He knew him, but had never spoken to him. The other person was a senior member of one of the major families in the capital, someone who was often scolding his juniors and was considered very promising.
Dong Yuefan ignored the other party and looked at Xiao Duo, saying, "Since you came to see me in prison, it means you know about my situation. I guess I can't get over this hurdle. Thank you for trusting me and coming to see me. It's just a pity that I can't properly entertain you and those seven little ones."
"Alright, you should get out of here now. Go do whatever you need to do; don't linger in this unlucky place."
Dong Yuefan had served as a clerk in the county government office of Mopan Town for nearly three years. In this incident, all the evidence was against him. It wasn't that he thought the people in the Ministry of Justice were incompetent, but proving his innocence was extremely difficult. He had already made the worst possible plan in his mind.
"Don't rush to send me away. If you consider me a friend, could you tell me the whole story in detail?"
I admit I'm not a detective, but what if I am? Right?
Now that I know about your situation, given our relationship, I should at least give it a try.
"It's your business if you can accept being wrongfully killed, but if I do nothing, I can't get over it myself," Hong Xiaoduo hurriedly said.
Hearing this, Dong Yuefan was deeply moved. After thinking for a moment, she recounted the whole story in great detail.
I came back to attend my grandmother's birthday celebration. Then, my friends from Beijing, whom I often hang out with, said they hadn't seen each other for several years and it was a rare opportunity to get together since I was back in Beijing.
So he went.
It was a gathering at a music hall that had just opened a couple of years ago. We booked the entire Peony Garden, where we could drink, listen to music, and watch dances. If we got tired, we could rest in an empty room or stay overnight.
After several rounds of drinking with his old friends, he felt the effects of the alcohol kicking in. He thought about getting up to go back to his residence, but one of his companions said that if he went back in such a drunken state, he might be punished by his father, the Prime Minister. They suggested that he rest in the Peony Garden and sober up before returning home.
Who could have known that his break would lead to this trouble?
I was half asleep when I was woken up by a noise and found that there were many people in the room, it was a mess, and there was a female corpse lying on the floor.
Then, the officials arrived and arrested him.
After he was completely sober, he realized that the room he woke up in was not the one he had been resting in. He had gone to the next room and raped Mei Niang, the money tree of the music hall. He even claimed that he accidentally killed her because she resisted.
Crucially, there were skin flakes and bloodstains under Meiniang's fingernails, and on his arm, there were indeed long, clearly scratch marks.
Several other people confirmed that they saw him walk out of his original resting room and into the room where the dancer Meiniang had her accident. These witnesses even joked that he was a repressed pervert who had always been averse to women, but it turned out he was secretly having an affair.
After hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo gestured for Dong Yuefan to roll up his sleeve and look at the wounds he mentioned...
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