Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Following the passageway and the direction indicated by the constable, Xie Wumian quickly arrived at the prison where Pei Lian was located.

He spotted the boy curled up on the bed at a glance, strode forward, and leaned on the railing with a worried expression: "Junior brother."

Although he already knew that his senior brother would come to visit tonight, Pei Lian still suddenly raised his head and struggled to get up from the bed.

Meeting his senior brother's caring gaze, the fear and grievances buried deep within him over the past two days surged up, and his hoarse voice became hoarse: "Senior brother."

Hearing the boy's hoarse, soft call, Xie Wumian knew that for the proud and arrogant boy, it must have been a long time of enduring heartache and utter helplessness.

Chai, the constable, quickly caught up, took the key from his waist, and quietly opened the cell door. He lowered his voice and instructed Xie Wumian, "It'll only be a quarter of an hour at most. If you have anything to say, say it quickly. I'll go over there and keep watch."

Xie Wumian slipped a silver note from his sleeve to him, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

After the constable's figure disappeared around the corner, Xie Wumian gave Jiang Jibai an apologetic bow, then entered the cell and quickly knelt down in front of the simple bed.

By the dim light of the oil lamp in the passageway, Xie Wumian could see the boy's disheveled appearance.

His face was covered in water stains, his clothes were wet, his hair was messily stuck to his cheeks, fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples, his face was pale, and the corners of his eyes were slightly red.

"You..." Xie Wumian asked in surprise, looking the boy up and down, her voice low, "How did you get like this?"

"I……"

This appearance is entirely due to His Majesty's comment, "He doesn't look like he's just been interrogated."

Pei Lian was speechless, unable to speak directly due to the imperial decree, and also harboring a selfish desire for his teacher and senior brother to reconcile. So he bit his lower lip, lowered his head guiltily, and avoided looking at his senior brother.

In Xie Wumian's eyes, his appearance was that of someone who had suffered greatly but was unwilling to speak of it, causing him worry.

Recalling the constable's words about being "interrogated" and Shang Jingming's confident statement, "If anything seems amiss, call a doctor immediately," Xie Wumian's hands gripped the bed so tightly they turned white, her voice filled with barely suppressed rage: "You have an official title, how dare Shang Jingming torture you? He's so arrogant, could it be that he can't catch the mastermind and wants to extract a confession through torture, using you as a way to get away with it?"

Xie Wumian seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly stood up, his face turning slightly pale: "Teacher, he..."

Jiang Jibai had also walked to the bedside at some point: "Old Master Zhao is highly respected and over seventy years old. He is also a retired official. Without solid evidence, taking action against him would only invite criticism."

Xie Wumian said uncertainly, "But my junior brother is also a newly appointed third-ranked scholar, with an official title, while Shang Jingming... is, after all, a martial artist."

Jiang Jibai recalled the commander of the Five Cities Garrison, whom he had interacted with several times because of his disciple, and the desolation of the young man when he was injured and recuperating. He also recalled the solemn warning the young man gave him when he told him not to dig any deeper. He said slowly, "Shang Jingming acts with great method and is not an impulsive brute. He would not be so reckless."

Pei Lian naturally saw the person who came in with his senior brother, but the person had smeared soot on his face and was dressed as a cook, so he didn't recognize him at first. Now, when he heard the somewhat familiar voice, he was surprised to realize who this person was.

I never expected that Mr. Jiang would come to visit him in prison. Did His Majesty not run into Mr. Jiang when he went out just now?

Pei Lian opened her eyes slightly, and hurriedly tried to get off the bed by bracing herself on the bed board: "I didn't expect it to be you, sir. I apologize for my rudeness."

Jiang Jibai raised his hand to stop him, "No need for formalities, you should rest well."

Pei Lian glanced at Xie Wumian: "Sir, you flatter me. With my senior brother's help, I'm actually doing quite well in prison."

Jiang Jibai glanced at the cold milk on the wooden table, then at the bedding on the simple bed board, and knew that what was said was true.

Xie Wumian looked at his junior brother's pale face with a solemn expression: "What do you mean 'okay'? It seems they didn't dare to touch the teacher, so they focused all their efforts on you."

Pei Lian moved his lips but didn't speak.

Jiang Jibai asked, "Did someone interrogate you tonight?"

Pei Lian knew clearly what could be said and what couldn't be said.

He kept quiet about His Majesty's personal visit, nodding and saying, "It was Shang Jingming, the commander of the Five Cities Garrison."

"Did he torture you?"

Pei Lian knew the Emperor's intention in having him made to look so disheveled, so he looked away, trying to cover it up: "No."

"You're already in this state, are you still going to hide it from us?" Seeing Pei Lian's guilty expression, Xie Wumian directly pulled up Pei Lian's sleeve to check his junior brother's injuries.

Pei Lian couldn't stop him in time, revealing a section of his arm completely unharmed. He said in a hoarse voice, "Senior brother, don't worry, I'm not injured. If I had really been tortured, how come there's not a single bloodstain on my clothes?"

Despite this, Xie Wumian, seeing his junior brother's pale face and disheveled appearance, didn't quite believe it.

Over the past few years, he has traveled all over the country doing business and has dealt with local officials quite a bit. He knows that there are many bloodless but torturous methods in prison. "After all, you have an official title. The Five Cities Garrison Command doesn't dare to openly touch you. Did they use some underhanded methods on you?"

Seeing his senior brother's concerned gaze, Pei Lian felt both guilty and apologetic for concealing his secret, and once again avoided Xie Wumian's gaze: "No."

"You smell of medicine on you," Jiang Jibai said bluntly.

Pei Lian froze.

Xie Wumian hadn't known the fragrance was medicinal, but now that Mr. Jiang had pointed it out, his expression changed slightly: "You still say you don't? Where is the injury? Let me see."

Pei Lian's pale face immediately showed a hint of embarrassment: "I..."

Xie Wumian carefully observed his junior brother's posture in bed and saw that he was either lying on his side or supporting himself on the bed with his hands the whole time, and never lay down. He then had a guess in his mind.

Knowing that his junior brother was proud and valued his reputation, he suppressed his worries and did not force himself to examine him.

Seeing this, Jiang Jibai took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and silently placed it on the bed board.

Pei Lian still insisted, "I'm not injured."

Jiang Jibai simply said, "It's better to be prepared."

Pei Lian remained silent.

Jiang Jibai then asked, "Besides Commander Shang of the Five Cities Garrison, were there any other people interrogating you?"

Pei Lian's heart skipped a beat.

At the corner, Qin Ji, who was standing next to Chai, also felt a twitch in his eyelids.

Time was limited, and Xie Wumian knew that besides visiting, the more important reason for his visit was to understand the cause and effect and find a way to rescue him. He pressed on, "Junior brother, did you hear anything inside information while you were in prison? Who implicated Master? Did Shang Jingming reveal anything when he interrogated you?"

...

The goal wasn't achieved, so I'll only post one update tomorrow.