readsfreenovel Chapter 119 The Rogue
Chapter 119 The Rogue
Zhou Chang's phoenix eyes turned into a crescent moon again: "Haha, Lord Pei is straightforward."
Pei Li thought it over and over again, and became more confident. He led Zhou Chang and his party into the prison: "Since Your Highness Prince Yi has such a 'refined taste', please come in."
As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the sky prison, a cold wind blew, and the air was mixed with a faint pungent smell of blood, dampness and corruption, as well as a pungent stench similar to that of a toilet.
Zhou Chang covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves.
There is no sunlight in the prison all year round and it is extremely dark.
After walking a few steps, I suddenly thought of Yuan Qi. This should be her first time here.
When she turned around, she saw Yuan Qi, still hidden under the veil, following behind her in the light of the walls on both sides. Her face could not be seen, but her hands were tightly clasped together in front of her, revealing her inner struggle.
Continue walking forward, passing through a long and narrow passage, and enter a spacious secondary room.
There were cells lined up on both sides, with at least three people in each cell. The cells got bigger as one went deeper into the prison, and there were more people in them, which was very different from the cells in the previous Ministry of Justice prisons.
The prisoners in the sky prison may have been locked up in the cells for too long without seeing the sun, so when they saw Zhou Chang and his group coming in, they rushed over one after another and tried to look through the bars.
When Zhou Chang went to the zoo in his previous life, he always had a strange idea. People are looking at animals in cages from the outside, but the animals in cages are also looking at people. What is the difference between the two?
Now that he was being stared at by the ferocious-looking prisoners, he had this thought again.
These people seem to be imprisoned in cages, but aren't they also treating the people outside as animals?
"What did this man do wrong?" Zhou Chang asked, pointing at a prisoner.
Pei Li took a quick glance and answered immediately: "Tomb robbery."
"What about that one?" Zhou Chang pointed at another prisoner.
"How disrespectful." Pei Li just took another look.
"What about that?" Zhou Chang asked casually as he walked forward without stopping.
Pei Li also answered along the way, and he was familiar with the situation of each prisoner: "Smuggled salt."
"that?"
"adultery"
"Misleading people with lies"
"Coin theft"
……
Pei Li led Zhou Chang and his party through a series of cells and compartments, introducing almost all the prisoners in the Sky Prison along the way, but he did not show any sign of boredom.
"Lord Pei has a really good memory. He can remember the crimes committed by so many people." Zhou Chang was praising him sincerely. He remembered from Hu Wan's memory that Pei Li often stayed in the Ministry of Justice all night. It turned out that his work was not in vain.
Pei Li was not modest in his duties: "The people tried in the Tianlao of the Ministry of Justice are all serious criminals, and those who are imprisoned are all very evil people, so naturally we have to check them clearly."
Zhou Chang nodded and continued walking inside.
"Your Highness, further in are the solitary cells where all the serious criminals are held. The last cell is Yuan Yu's Cell No. A." Pei Li stopped in an empty space surrounded by cells on all four sides and pointed to the darkest place at the innermost part.
Zhou Chang glanced around and found that he was indeed almost at the end of the Heavenly Prison.
There are two cells on both sides of this secondary room, both of which are independent spaces for detaining prisoners alone.
Pei Li was already certain of winning the bet: "Your Highness Prince Yi, the prisoners you asked about just now were searched carefully before they came in. Even the clothes they wore were prison uniforms. In order to prevent escape, they were searched regularly, so it is impossible for them to hide anything. From here on, they are all death row prisoners, and it is even more impossible for them to have the items they had before."
"Then let's pick him." Zhou Chang pointed to a cell seemingly at random.
A prisoner inside was doing a handstand against the wall and was indifferent to them.
"Him?" Pei Li sneered.
"Master Pei, just tell me who he is and what he has done wrong." Zhou Chang stared at the prisoner in the cell.
The upside-down prisoner did not move, as if he was unaware that he was being talked about.
Pei Li showed a proud look on his face. "He is the bandit who disturbed the entire Jindu a few days ago. He is nicknamed 'Ma Feihu'. He has committed many murders and robberies, and burglary. His crimes are extremely serious, and he is just waiting to be executed in the autumn."
"Oh..." Zhou Chang vaguely felt that he had heard the name "Ma Feihu" more than once, but he was quite disappointed. "A bandit? Nothing new."
There was some disappointment in his tone.
Pei Li didn't know what Zhou Chang wanted to find out, but he couldn't help but brag: "It's true that a bandit is not worth your attention, but he has caused panic in Jindu City some time ago, especially the officials and their families who couldn't sleep at night. I really spent a lot of effort to capture this man."
Zhou Chang recalled some scattered information. It seemed that Hu Wan had mentioned it on the night when she and Pei Li had dinner, and on the morning when Concubine Rui in Jianing Palace paid her respects to Concubine Yi. "Did he also rob the residence of the Minister of War? It seemed like it was two or three times."
"Three times." Pei Li replied, "If this thief had not targeted Lord Peng three times, it might not have been so easy to catch him."
"Lord Pei is capable and wise." Zhou Chang gave Pei Li a thumbs up.
"Your Highness, thank you for the compliment." Pei Li was finally satisfied after hearing the compliment and turned his attention back to the bet. "However, when Ma Feihu was captured, all the stolen goods were confiscated. He has no relatives and no friends. His family is poor and his parents died early. He doesn't even have a wife or children. What valuable things do you think he has on him?"
"Well, in that case, this is meaningless. What's the point of a petty thief?" Zhou Chang touched his chin with a look of disgust, but his eyes swept over Yuan Qi's figure again.
"What petty thief? What big bandit? Pah," Zhou Chang said. Ma Feihu, who was standing upside down, suddenly shouted and rolled down from the wall. "I am a chivalrous thief. Do you understand, chivalrous man? I have always dealt with rich people. That is robbing the rich to help the poor. It's a pity that I was born at the wrong time..."
Zhou Chang suddenly had a plan in mind, but he didn't show it on his face. He just pretended not to hear it and turned around to find Yuan Qi: "Master Pei, why don't you let Miss Yuan go see her father first."
Yuan Qi has the deepest relationship with her father, but she is still strolling here, asking about the conditions of these prisoners, which must be making people anxious.
Pei Li hesitated and glanced at his subordinates around him, then glanced at Yuan Qi.
"Sir Pei, have someone open the cell door and let Miss Yuan in to visit her in person." Zhou Chang added.
Pei Li was even more hesitant. His Majesty had promised that Prince Yi could see Yuan Yu, and had not mentioned anyone else. Now it was Yuan Yu's daughter who wanted to see Yuan Yu alone, so how could he not have reservations?
"Sir Pei, we are already here, are you not letting us see him?" Zhou Chang pressed.
Pei Li was in a dilemma, so he had to order the two jailers standing beside him, "Take him over there and keep a close eye on him. If the things he gives to Yuan Yu are ordinary supplies, it's fine. If there are other things, you can handle them with discretion."
"Yes," the two men bowed and answered in unison.
Yuan Qi's eyes flickered beneath his veil, and his whole body was shaking with excitement uncontrollably.
Zhou Chang turned sideways and watched Yuan Qi quickly follow the two jailers and four servants behind them as they left carrying boxes of different sizes, and he sighed in his heart.
"Your Highness Prince Yi? Should we continue the bet?" Now it was Pei Li's turn who was eager to win the bet.
"Hmm?" Zhou Chang came back to his senses, "Continue, of course." "I decided to flip a coin today. If it breaks, I'll go write."