Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

After passing through layers of dark passageways, we arrived at the depths of the prison.

A strong, musty, and rotten smell hit you, mixed with the sour stench of sewage, rat droppings, and rotten wood, making your chest feel tight.

Mingyi subconsciously held her breath, raised her hand to cover her nose, and remained tense.

She hadn't changed out of her prison clothes; she was still wearing the same dress she'd worn during the day, with a long braid hanging down her chest.

This was where female prisoners were held, but there seemed to be few people inside. It was quiet all around, and Mingyi felt uneasy, so she didn't dare to look around.

The constable walked to the innermost cell, yanked open the wooden gate with a clatter, and roughly shoved her in the back: "Go in and stay put!"

Caught off guard, Mingyi stumbled forward two steps, slipped, and nearly fell.

Before she could even stand up straight, the cell door behind her slammed shut with a loud clang, the crisp sound of the locks hitting their locks echoing in the empty cell corridor.

The constables left quickly.

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

Just as Fan Siyuan described, there were no windows all around, only a few tiny ventilation cracks carved into the high part of the wall, through which only a few faint rays of sunlight could seep in during the day.

Mingyi stood still, slowly looking around in the dim light.

The prison was sparsely furnished, containing only a straw mat made of rough wood, and nothing else. Fortunately, the dry straw on the stone mat was relatively dry and had not been soaked by the underground sewage, so the dampness was not too heavy.

Mingyi's arrival disturbed the indigenous people in the prison.

A large black rat with glowing red eyes stood against the corner of the wall, staring at the woman sitting on the straw mat. After a moment, it vanished in a flash.

Mingyi sat on the straw mat, forcing herself to calm down and stop her mind from wandering.

She comforted herself, saying that it was just that the environment was a bit simple and dilapidated, but she could endure it if she just put up with it.

But as night fell, everything changed.

The sunlight completely dissipated through the cracks in the permeable stone, and the entire prison instantly sank into pitch-black darkness.

The chill lurking underground seeped up the stone walls and the ground in wisps, then seeped into clothes, making one's limbs numb with cold.

The rodents and insects, which were still well-behaved during the day, became completely active. Rustling sounds rose and fell from the cracks in the walls and piles of straw, and countless crawling insects and rats scurried back and forth in the dark.

And faint, eerie cries of a woman could be heard coming from outside the cell.

Mingyi curled up her legs, not daring to lie down, her fingers clenching her sleeves, hugging herself tightly.

There seemed to be something terrifying watching her in the darkness, and Mingyi gradually felt scared, her whole body trembling.

-

Meanwhile, the Li family was facing imminent disaster.

The subordinates who used to be obsequious to Li Dan and followed his orders in everything were now ordered to break down the door with weapons and turn the entire Li residence upside down.

Overnight, evidence of Li Dan's embezzlement and misappropriation of disaster relief funds was uncovered, and the evidence was irrefutable.

All 120 people in the household, regardless of age or gender, were arrested and awaited imprisonment.

Li Dan was jolted awake from his sleep. Before he could react, he was dragged out shirtless, without even having time to put his clothes on properly.

He was both shocked and furious, struggling as he shouted, "How dare you! I am the Prefect of Qingzhou, a high-ranking official of the fourth rank! You dare to barge in like this!"

Li Dan was still unaware of who had led troops to ransack his home. On the way to the yamen (government office), he shouted, "The Grand Secretary is in my residence! Go and invite him here; he can testify to my innocence!"

He then turned and frantically searched for the clerk, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Clerk! Where is the clerk? Quickly go and invite the Grand Secretary to uphold justice!"

But the clerk had already packed up his valuables and fled overnight before the garrison soldiers arrived at the Li residence, and had long since disappeared without a trace.

The group escorted Li Dan to the yamen. When Li Dan looked up and saw the person sitting in the hall, he was struck dumb as if by lightning.

His legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground. The bailiffs had no choice but to support him on either side and drag him into the hall.

The seat where Li Dan sat during the day was now occupied by Zong Xian.

He slowly flipped through the presented evidence, the dim candlelight reflecting on his cold, stern face, making him look like the King of Hell in the Shura Palace.

"I heard you're looking for the true form?"

Zong Xian tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, his gaze icy. "I am right here. What do you have to say?"

"This...this humble official..." Li Dan trembled all over, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Zong Xian sneered, "A mere prefect of a small place has embezzled tens of thousands of taels of silver. Lord Li, how dare you!"

The government office, which should have been locked up and deserted long ago, was now filled with torches inside and outside the courtyard, the blazing firelight illuminating the entire courtroom as bright as day.

The firelight shone directly onto the four gilded characters "清正廉明" (meaning "upright and honest") on the plaque, creating an extremely strong sense of irony.

...

Mingyi didn't close his eyes even once throughout the entire night.

In the first half of the night, there were only the rustling of rats and insects and the faint sounds of wind blowing through the cracks, but in the second half of the night, something happened and there was a great commotion.

Worried that something might have gone wrong, her heart was in her throat, and she couldn't sleep at all, her back pressed tightly against the stone wall.

I held on until dawn, my body was stiff.

The morning light slanted in, casting a thin beam of light on the floor tiles.

Before long, footsteps finally came from outside the cell, getting closer and closer.

It was the yamen runners delivering prison food.

Mingyi quickly got up and walked to the wooden fence, gripping it tightly with both hands. He said urgently, "Sir, may I ask when the prefect will let me out?"

The constable glanced at her, slammed the earthenware bowl down on the stone platform in front of the cell, and said gruffly, "Enough with the nonsense! Eat your food and stay put!"

Finished talking and left.

Helpless and dejected, Mingyi sat back down and pounded her stiff legs with her fists.

She had no appetite and didn't touch the food in the ceramic bowl, which benefited the small animals in the cell.

The jailer brought her meals three times a day, and each time Mingyi would ask how the prefect planned to deal with her and when he would release her.

But the other party knew nothing when asked.

Mingyi then took off her bracelet and bribed the jailer with the jewelry, which finally made the jailer relent: "Wait here, I'll go and inquire for you."

But the next day, the jailer was replaced.

The new jailer was even more difficult to deal with, simply pretending to be deaf and dumb and ignoring her completely. Mingyi had no choice but to wait.

Mingyi only drank some water that day and didn't eat anything.

She squatted on the ground, fed the mouse with rice, and gently asked it if it could be quieter at night and not suddenly jump onto the straw mat to scare her.

The mice seemed to be intelligent and could understand her speech, and they were indeed much more well-behaved that night, but Mingyi still couldn't sleep well.

The days of waiting for judgment were truly unbearable, as if a huge sword was hanging over one's head, ready to strike at any moment.

But she thought to herself, she hadn't killed anyone or committed any arson, so she hadn't committed any serious crimes... no, she wasn't guilty at all!

The prefect of Qingzhou... surely he wouldn't execute her, would he?

Two more agonizing days passed, and finally, unusual noises came from outside the cell.

It sounded like there were two sets of footsteps.

Having not eaten properly for four days, Mingyi's already small face had shrunk considerably. She no longer had the strength to get up and remained seated on the straw mat.

He hadn't washed for four days; his clothes and face were filthy, and there were a few dry grasses stuck in his braid hanging down his chest. But his eyes were bright and clear as he turned to look at the person who had come.