BVAHEDLA[W Chapter 37

Chapter 37 Ancient 11: Breach

Startled by Qi Shou’s sudden action, the prison guard who had escorted him over immediately widened his eyes and frantically kowtowed on the ground, saying, “Your Honor, I’ve been wronged! Please investigate, Your Honor. I absolutely did not do such a thing!”

Chu Li-fei cast a glance, and Qian Ming immediately understood, waving his hand at the prison guard, signaling him to rise. Seeing Qian Ming’s actions and then Chu Li-fei’s expression, the prison guard cautiously got up, not daring to breathe loudly, seeing that he did not seem angry.

Meanwhile, Lu Mo-chen, with a stern face, ordered another prison guard standing nearby to pull Qi Shou away.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze towards Qi Shou carrying a hint of barely perceptible disgust. Qi Shou had been clinging tightly to Chu Li-fei’s trouser leg, but the moment he met Lu Mo-chen’s gaze, he couldn’t help but shudder. Startled, he instinctively released his grip, allowing the prison guard to drag him away.

The light in the prison cell was dim, relying mainly on candlelight for illumination. Lu Mo-chen happened to be standing beside Chu Li-fei, who blocked most of the candlelight, leaving Lu Mo-chen almost entirely in shadow. In the darkness, his eyes were dark and bright, purely black, watching Qi Shou without any emotion.

Seeing Qi Shou being pulled away, Lu Mo-chen turned his gaze to Chu Li-fei, and then focused on his trouser leg—the very spot Qi Shou had grabbed.

He looked at the fabric as if it were something dirty, feeling as if it had been tainted by something unclean, making him extremely displeased. If the circumstances allowed, he would have had his royal uncle change his clothes.

Thinking this way, Lu Mo-chen’s gaze towards Qi Shou became even more unkind.

Chu Li-fei had been experiencing a headache after Qi Shou’s sudden yell. He propped his elbow on the armrest of the chair, supporting his head, his whole demeanor appearing lazy and unrestrained, out of sync with the environment of the prison cell.

A voice as clear as a spring echoed in the prison cell. Chu Li-fei raised his eyes and looked at Qi Shou: “Qi Shou, you just said that the prison guard here forced you to confess. Then tell me, how did he explain things to you?”

Qi Shou’s eyes darted around in their sockets, the fat on his face jiggling along with them.

When had he ever seen such a scene? In the Qi household, he had been the most favored third young master. The Old Madam Qi usually indulged him greatly, and even his two elder brothers couldn’t do anything to him.

Even if he messed up or caused trouble outside, Old Madam Qi would have Qi Lu smooth things over for him.

In the past, if anyone had dared to treat him like this, he would have ordered the servants to drag these ungrateful people down, hold them down, and let him kick them a few times to relieve his anger. But now, he absolutely dared not.

First, his elder brother had already been demoted to commoner status, and the Qi family no longer had its former power, so where would they get the qualification to challenge anyone? Second, he also knew that the three people currently in front of him all had extremely noble statuses.

Especially the person sitting in the middle.

That person’s entire demeanor was unlike that of an ordinary person. His appearance was beautiful, and his bearing was elegant. The clothes and jade ornaments he wore were all treasures, and the carving techniques were ingenious. Even the boots he had just touched were made of rare and exquisite fur and fabric, worth a thousand gold coins per bolt.

Moreover, he recognized Qian Ming. He wouldn’t have cared about a mere third-rank official. Yet, Qian Ming was showing the person in the middle extreme respect, almost following his lead in everything.

There was also another person, whose identity he didn’t know, who also seemed quite difficult to provoke.

Qi Shou believed himself to be someone who could adapt to circumstances. Bullying the weak and fearing the strong was his life principle. So, he imitated the prison guard’s earlier posture and knelt down in a disheveled manner. Perhaps due to his excessive weight or lack of proper etiquette training, his entire performance seemed somewhat comical.

Qi Shou: “This is what I heard!”

Upon hearing this, the prison guard immediately became anxious: “Absolutely impossible! My lords! I could never say such a thing!”

Qi Shou spat at him: “You didn’t say it, but I, this young master, heard it loud and clear!”

Qi Shou spoke very quickly. He continued: “Around noon, I heard some commotion coming from my eldest brother’s cell next door. I’m a light sleeper, and when I heard what sounded like footsteps coming from my eldest brother’s cell, I woke up instantly. Later, I heard the voices of several prison guards talking.”

“So, I quickly pressed myself against the iron bars to look outside and saw those two prison guards dragging my eldest brother out. Not long after that, I heard shouts coming from a distance.”

“So, I simply confessed. Otherwise, you might have started whipping me first.”

Chu Li-fei and the others were rendered speechless by Qi Shou’s train of thought: afraid of being beaten, so he simply confessed…

However, Qian Ming frowned at this moment. This case had been entrusted to him by His Majesty, so he was also responsible for interrogating the Qi family’s three brothers and Qi Lu’s son.

But without his permission, who would dare to disobey his orders and use torture on Qi Fu?

Qian Ming gave a look, and the prison guard next to him immediately understood, jogging out to investigate.

Only then did Qian Ming clasp his fist and bow to Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-chen: “My apologies for the spectacle, Qin Wangye and Fourth Prince.”

Unless they were dealing with heinous criminals, Qian Ming never advocated the use of torture, fearing that it might cause people to make false confessions due to being unable to withstand severe punishment, thereby resulting in unjust convictions. There were many suspicious points in this case of the Qi family, so he would never order anyone to torture them severely.

Then, who gave the order to take Qi Fu away?

Just then, a portly man walked in first, followed by the prison guard who had just been dispatched by Qian Ming to investigate.

Hearing the sound, Qian Ming turned his head and immediately lowered his head to salute: “Greetings, Lord Zhang.”

Chu Li-fei followed Qian Ming’s voice and turned his head, only to see Zhang Qingji slowly walking over. His face was full of smiles, and he feigned surprise only when he approached Chu Li-fei, stroking his beard and bowing: “Greetings, Qin Wangye. I was unaware of your arrival and failed to welcome you properly. I hope Wangye will forgive my shortcomings.”

In his words, Zhang Qingji directly omitted Lu Mo-chen.

Chu Li-fei’s expression was indifferent. He sat in his chair without moving, nor did he ask Zhang Qingji to rise.

After a moment, he sized up Zhang Qingji and then sneered: “Heh. It seems that Lord Zhang’s eyesight is not very good. Perhaps I should report to His Majesty another day, allowing Lord Zhang to return to his hometown and enjoy his twilight years. I wonder, Lord Zhang, what do you think?”

Chu Li-fei’s tone was impossible to discern, and it seemed that he was truly asking Zhang Qingji’s opinion.

Zhang Qingji gritted his teeth secretly. He had not expected Chu Li-fei to embarrass him in this way.

A prince who was out of favor and had no real power still wanted him to salute? Was Lu Mo-chen worthy?

However, although he thought so in his heart, he did not reveal it at all on his face.

He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, trying to open them wide, as if he had only just now seen that there was still someone standing next to Lu Mo-chen. He immediately put on a look of apology: “I am truly sorry, Fourth Prince. You are wearing all black and standing in the shadows, so this official truly did not see you. It was not intentional neglect. Please forgive me, Fourth Prince. Please forgive me, Wangye.”

Zhang Qingji spoke smoothly, and his explanation made people feel that there was a reasonable explanation.

Upon hearing this, Chu Li-fei gave Lu Mo-chen a look, signaling him to handle it himself.

Lu Mo-chen looked at Zhang Qingji, who had to salute him because of Chu Li-fei, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

He remembered that in his previous life, this case of the Qi family was ultimately handled by Zhang Qingji, the Minister of Justice.

But in this life, why had Zhang Qingji become involved again? What role did he play in this case?

Lu Mo-chen suppressed the thoughts in his heart and forced a smile: “Lord Zhang is overthinking it. But I wonder, why is Lord Zhang here at this hour?”

Zhang Qingji: “Ah, I just heard that the prison guard was asking around about how Qi Fu was taken out. As soon as I heard that, I knew that something had gone wrong this morning, which is why Wangye misunderstood.”

“This morning, when the prison guard was patrolling, he reported to me that the iron bars of Qi Fu’s cell seemed to be broken. I was afraid that he would escape, so I changed his cell. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see it.”

Zhang Qingji continued to smile ingratiatingly: “As for the matter of using torture, that’s even more of a misunderstanding. It’s just that a batch of assassins was caught in the palace a few days ago and sent over. His Majesty entrusted me with interrogating them. But in the past few days, this official has had other cases to attend to, which is why it was delayed. Finally, I managed to find some time at noon today, so I immediately brought these people in for questioning.”

Zhang Qingji continued to laugh: “Misunderstanding, all misunderstandings.”

Lu Mo-chen turned his gaze to Chu Li-fei. He did not believe Zhang Qingji’s explanation, but he couldn’t reveal the fact that he possessed memories of his previous life here.

He wondered if he should find an opportunity to confess everything. But he was greedy. After he revealed everything, would Chu Li-fei blame him…

Chu Li-fei tapped his fingers lightly on the back of the chair, as if considering the feasibility of Zhang Qingji’s words.

With a “tap,” Chu Li-fei stopped moving.

He stood up, looked directly at Zhang Qingji, his sharp gaze seemingly piercing through him. A string of cold sweat ran down Zhang Qingji’s back involuntarily.

Chu Li-fei smiled: “Lord Zhang, lead the way.”

As Zhang Qingji had said, one corner of the iron bars near the wall of Qi Fu’s original cell was indeed broken. If it were any larger, it could indeed accommodate an adult man.

However, someone with Qi Shou’s physique would definitely not be able to get through.

Chu Li-fei crouched down and carefully examined the broken surface of the iron chain, finding that its surface was uneven, not smooth at all, and there were iron filings scattered nearby.

He reached out and touched it, getting a handful of debris. Chu Li-fei secretly exerted force, wanting to see if the iron bar could be bent or broken by ordinary human strength.

After a moment, he had his answer in his heart.

Chu Li-fei continued to observe without changing his expression. Soon, he noticed a few inconspicuous water marks in the corner of the breach. He took a closer look and found a few drops of water flowing down the wall pillar from the ceiling.

Zhang Qingji suddenly reached out, blocking the top of Chu Li-fei’s head, and water droplets splashed on the back of his hand.

He curled up the corners of his mouth with a meaningful expression: “Wangye, please be careful.”

Chu Li-fei looked over, and Zhang Qingji’s expression remained unchanged, smiling exceptionally kindly.

Chu Li-fei didn’t say anything more. He nodded to Zhang Qingji as a farewell gesture and then led his men out.

Reaching the door, Chu Li-fei suddenly stopped.

“Wait a moment, I still want to see Qi Fu again.”