“You are truly talented, Head Jailer. I am impressed.”
Zhan Zhao had been standing at the door for a long while, so he had naturally heard everything Wang Chen said. He did not say how to handle the master and servant, only offering earnest instructions.
“I will have someone look into their identities thoroughly. For now, please just keep a close watch on them. As for their meals and rations, provide them with the same as everyone else.
If anything happens, feel free to come find me. Once I have verified their identities, I will decide on the next step.”
“Heh, we aren't looking to invite trouble for ourselves.
Besides, this prison has held countless high-ranking officials. I have seen five or six Ministers of Revenue and Ministers of Personnel alone. What does a relative of some local official matter?”
The head jailer simply smiled, not mentioning the wine they had just been drinking.
“Just now, the people from the Demon Suppression Monastery who delivered them acted as if they expected you to come, Guard Zhan. They said if you wish to know what crime these two committed, it would be best to ask them yourself, and then head to Lady Li's Tea House on the front street for a chat.”
What exactly were the people of the Demon Suppression Division up to?
Delivering a scholar under the cover of darkness and then inviting him to a tea house in the middle of the night?
Could it really just be for tea?
Zhan Zhao was somewhat confused, but having received orders from Bao Zheng, he naturally had to investigate clearly before reporting back.
He immediately ordered men to check the reports from the Northwest Circuit for recent cases. He also told the head jailer not to reveal his identity to the prisoners before he went to see Wang Chen and his servant.
As soon as Wang Chen saw Zhan Zhao wearing the bright red official uniform, he guessed that this man held a significant position. He hurriedly repeated the same story he had told before.
“Your Excellency, please investigate! My old servant and I were captured by a wicked woman and forcibly brought here all the way from Dingyuan. Please, official, inform the high officials of the prefecture at once and release us!”
Zhan Zhao put on an expression of great surprise and said hurriedly:
“Is that so? I fear there may have been a mistake on the part of the Demon Suppression Division. I wonder who would be so bold as to kidnap a victim, tarnish their reputation, and throw them into the great prison like common criminals?”
Wang Chen and Manager Wang exchanged a glance, both feeling a secret surge of joy.
They had thought Nan Zhi had already revealed everything, which was why they were planning to send word home to seek help and use their connections to bury the case.
But who could have known that she hadn't said a word yet!
“Your Excellency, please investigate! That wicked woman is a villain from the Demon Suppression Division named Nan Zhi!
That Nan Zhi is also a native of Dingyuan. I know not what path she took to enter the Demon Suppression Division, but she transformed from a mere Butcher’s Daughter into an arrest officer!
Relying on her slight skill in wicked sorcery, she acted like a bandit in Dingyuan, bullying the men and women, smashing, looting, and burning—truly, there is no evil she did not commit!”
Wang Chen put on a sorrowful face, exaggerating and blackening everything Nan Zhi had done.
“My poor father, seeking only to protect himself, gave that wicked woman a vast sum of silver. Little did he know she was so greedy that she would develop such avarice, even demanding the secret recipe for my family's Immortal Brew!”
Hearing this, gasps of breath echoed through the cells.
Immortal Brew was hard to come by even for a hundred gold. Especially since about half a month ago, for some reason, the supply on the market had become increasingly scarce. A single jar of top-grade Immortal Brew could fetch a price of ten strings of cash.
It was no surprise that such a profitable business would be targeted.
Wang Chen was inwardly triumphant, but the grief on his face became even more convincing.
“That villain first believed the words of an evil ghost and caused my father's death. Then she set her sights on my family's modest property. Fearing we would leak the news, she abducted us by force, intending to kill us to silence us.
If not for my quick wits in claiming I had a large sum of money stored in a capital bank, she would have taken my life already! I would not have lived to see this day!
My poor father lived a clean life, full of charity and good deeds, only to meet such an end! It is hateful that I could not even observe the mourning period or weep at his altar, forced instead to deal with her for so long!
How tragic! How hateful! Your Excellency must report the truth to Lord Bao and return justice and innocence to my Wang family!”
“Is that truly the case?”
Zhan Zhao’s brow furrowed as he adopted a comforting tone. “Brother Wang, do not worry. If this is true, Lord Bao will surely conduct a strict trial and let no villain escape. I will go find that villain right now to bring her here for a confrontation—”
“Why must there be a confrontation?!”
Wang Chen was startled, then hurriedly gripped the cell bars and spoke quickly.
“As an arrest officer, Nan Zhi consorts with evil ghosts and demons! Do not think she is a good person just because she killed that human trafficker!
I saw it with my own eyes on the boat. After she killed him, she secretly picked up a demon from the ground and hid it in her sleeve. It is clear she intends to use demons to harm people!
Such a practitioner of the wicked path, consorting with demons, should be executed by all!”
Zhan Zhao’s eyes darkened. He offered a few perfunctory responses, but as he turned away, he shook his head.
How did a person like this ever become a scholar?
Setting aside the numerous loopholes in his speech, there were two glaring points. First, if she were truly so ruthless, why wouldn't she have killed them to eliminate any future trouble instead of sending them to the Kaifeng Prefecture?
Could she have intended to walk into her own trap?
Second, if she only spared them out of greed for money, why would she bring along a meddlesome old servant? Keeping only Wang Chen would have been much less conspicuous.
Zhan Zhao gave the head jailer a look and then strode out of the Kaifeng Prefecture.
...
By now, the moon had risen over the willow branches, and the sky had grown dark. The streets of Bianjing were lit with dots of lamplight.
Some tea houses and wine shops had placed large copper mirrors behind their lamps, illuminating the market streets as if it were broad daylight.
Nan Zhi sat on the second floor of the tea house, looking down. By her side sat an unopened jar of Immortal Brew and a plate of candied fruits provided by the shop.
Heaven knew the prices in Bianjing were so high. Even a cup of the cheapest perilla water cost fifteen coins.
With her pockets empty, she could only shamelessly continue sitting by the window, waiting.
She watched the brightly lit streets, bustling with life.
There were pale-faced men at stalls selling sugar figures, and older women with headwraps selling fried dough on the street. Vendors carrying baskets of perilla water greeted everyone with smiles, and storytellers in the wine houses spoke eloquently. Street-side fortune telling, hair cutting, flower selling, facial threading, foot soaking, and Guanpu were all available—it was many times more prosperous than Dingyuan.
She had heard that if one walked two streets further east, there were wrestling matches that drew such large crowds that latecomers couldn't even squeeze in.
Below the tea house, street performers trying to earn a living with large vats were performing earnestly. They swallowed knives, spat fire, climbed 'sword mountains', and walked through 'seas of fire', earning wave after wave of cheers.
Zhan Zhao's bright red official uniform was exceptionally conspicuous in the crowd.
Nan Zhi rested her chin on her hand and waved to him from afar.
A moment later, the tea house assistant brought up two fresh cups of tea, along with two plates of tea sweets.
One plate held seasonal fruits, and the other held soft, flower-shaped tea sweets. They appeared to be made with a glutinous rice skin and red bean filling, likely tasting sweet.
Rate on N.U.
