AWDC Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Mu Chuang’s Heart Stirred

“Yes.” The maidservant nodded in agreement and gave a curtsy.

Lin Xi never expected that his decision to avoid Mu Chuang would become a shackle binding him, and that Mu Chuang, that bastard, would readily agree to his request after seeing him with Zhao Yuming.

“This is what happens when you’re not obedient,” Mu Chuang said to him in his heart, then left.

Back in his own room, he couldn’t fall asleep for a long time, thinking about the feeling of excitement he felt when he was with Lin Xi.

On the other side, Zhao Yuming was almost driven mad by Mu Chuang taking Lin Xi away.

Because he knew that if he missed this opportunity, it would be even harder to see Lin Xi in the future.

He didn’t sleep all night.

Early the next morning, he went to Master Mu with bloodshot eyes to redeem Lin Xi, and then waited for the public trial of Wu Liangde.

But as soon as he arrived at the entrance of the county government, he saw a noisy crowd outside, with a group of people waiting to watch the trial discussing something.

Zhao Yuming quickly walked closer and listened for a while, only to find out that Wu Liangde had “escaped” in the middle of the night.

“How is that possible?” He questioned in his heart, “With so many people watching, how could he escape?”

Realizing something was fishy, he immediately pushed through the crowd.

At this time, Master Mu had not yet arrived. Two rows of yamen runners holding “Avoidance” and “Silence” signs stood neatly on both sides of the courtroom.

Zhao Yuming looked anxious and could hardly control his impulse. His fists were clenched tightly, as if he was eager to demand an explanation from Master Mu.

Just then, Master Mu came out from behind, wearing a black official robe and hat, adding a bit of majesty to his appearance, looking somewhat solemn.

With his arrival, the yamen runners shouted “Majesty” in unison, and then the gavel was struck, and the prisoner was brought up.

Zhao Yuming opened his eyes wide and looked carefully, seeing that it was indeed not Wu Liangde, and his heart immediately turned cold, his mouth twitching with anger.

“Master Mu, what do you mean by this?” He directly questioned, “How can you let a prisoner who was so hard to catch escape so easily?”

With a “slap,” Master Mu struck the gavel again and sternly said, “Quiet, and listen to this official’s slow trial.”

Zhao Yuming: The main culprit has run away, what are you even trying? This is such an obvious trick, do you think I can’t see it?

However, he didn’t dare to say that out loud. Thinking about redeeming Lin Xi next, he forcibly endured it.

“Alright, I’ll listen carefully.” He crossed his arms, seemingly relaxed, but in reality, he was harboring a ball of fire in his heart.

Master Mu then slowly began his questioning, only to hear him ask the two yamen runners kneeling in the front, “You two tell me, what exactly happened last night? Why did you let Wu Liangde run away?”

The two yamen runners felt wronged and kowtowed, begging for mercy, “Master, we have been serving for many years, you know our loyalty. It is absolutely impossible to deliberately let the prisoner go, you must believe us.”

After a pause, he said somewhat guiltily, “Last night in the second half of the night, we were really too sleepy, so we dozed off for a while. When we opened our eyes again, the person was gone. The lock on the prison door was pried open, we didn’t know the prisoner had such skills.”

After listening, Master Mu looked solemn, and then continued to ask the ones behind, “What about you, what were you doing last night? Falling asleep while guarding the gate, do you not want to eat this rice anymore?”

Under normal circumstances, if Wu Liangde wanted to escape from prison, he would have to go through the yamen runners guarding the prison door and then through the main gate to get out. If those two were asleep, it was impossible that so many of them were asleep together. It would be a joke to say that.

“We have been sticking to our posts and have not seen anyone come out, please investigate, Master.” One of the leaders, with a beard, named Zhang Wu, replied, “He may have escaped by climbing over the wall. I guarantee with my head that he definitely did not leave through the main gate.”

The others also echoed, saying that they had not seen Wu Liangde leave through the main gate.

Master Mu looked solemn, paused for a second, and then said to Zhao Yuming, “Chief Zhao, you have heard, Wu Liangde did indeed run away by himself, but don’t worry, this official will continue to send people to arrest him, and will definitely give you an explanation.”

Zhao Yuming: ???

What exactly is he up to? Logically speaking, he has no relatives or friendship with Wu Liangde, and the possibility of deliberately letting him go is unlikely, but it is also not easy for a person to escape from a strictly guarded prison…

Zhao Yuming was full of doubts, but he didn’t dare to say anything without evidence. In the end, he had to swallow the bitter pill, holding it in.

Seeing that he did not refute, Master Mu sipped his tea elegantly to moisten his throat, and then continued, “The ones kneeling in the back are all remnants of Wu Liangde’s gang. This official has decided to sentence them to be exiled to the army. What do you think, Chief Zhao?”

“No!” Zhao Yuming sternly refused, “I lost more than a dozen brothers, who will pay for their lives? If I hadn’t suffered such heavy casualties this time, the matters of the pugilistic world would have been settled within the pugilistic world, why would I have bothered Master Mu to take action? Since they have already been caught, then chop them all up, otherwise it will be difficult to quell the hatred in my heart.”

Master Mu’s expression turned stern. Fortunately, he had interrogated them in advance last night. These remnants really didn’t know that Wu Liangde was instructed by someone, otherwise they would definitely bite back when the knife was put to their necks, but…

He tightened his fingers hidden in his wide sleeves. It’s better to be safe than sorry. What if someone knew, and didn’t dare to say it last night, but said it today when the knife was put to their neck? Then everything he had done would be in vain.

“A life for a life, it is a matter of course, what is Master Mu still hesitating for?” Seeing that he didn’t reply for a long time, the anger in Zhao Yuming’s heart could no longer be contained, “Could it be that you still want to protect them?”

“Nonsense!” Master Mu struck the gavel again, secretly gritting his back teeth, and his expression became serious again, “This official is just kind-hearted. Since the plaintiff is not satisfied, then chop them up. The execution will be at noon, it is settled.”

After he finished speaking, he stared at the ten or so bandits kneeling below, for fear that someone would suddenly make a fuss.

Everyone knows that people can do anything to save their lives, let alone these vicious bandits.

However, to his surprise, besides pushing all the responsibility onto Wu Liangde’s head and desperately begging for mercy, these bandits did not say anything more.

On the contrary, Zhao Yuming always felt that something was wrong with this matter. After Master Mu agreed to his execution, he actually began to interrogate those bandits himself.

“Were you instructed by someone in this operation?” Their escort route was determined on the spot. If no one had leaked the news, it would have been impossible for them to be ambushed in advance, and they would not have suffered such great losses.

Therefore, from the moment he escaped with serious injuries, he had this suspicion.