Chapter 143: The reason the local ordinary people hate Xiao Qidi turns out to be……

After the prison guard took charge, he, following orders, sent Ning Jinli to the interrogation room designated for questioning.

The prison head looked, his eyes lighting up, and said, "This little girl is really pretty; should I give her a beating?"

The prison guard said, "This is what the county officer meant."

The prison head circled Ning Jinli, sizing her up, and asked, "Little girl, what crime did you commit?"

Ning Jinli said while looking around, "I say I didn't commit a crime; do you believe me?"

The cell was already dim, and this interrogation room was filled with various torture devices, making it even more gloomy and frightening.

Fortunately, Xiu Mei wasn't here.

It seems she's being held in a cell.

"Interesting," the prison head said, picking up a whip casually, smiling, "You're not old, but you've got guts; few ordinary people can stay upright just after entering the interrogation room."

Ning Jinli said calmly, "Although I don't really understand your laws here, dragging me in and then torturing me—doesn't that count as abuse of private punishment?"

"Hahaha!" the prison head laughed loudly, "Tell you, this is a government office; dealing with you in a government office isn't considered private punishment."

Faced with the prison head's sophistry of swapping concepts, Ning Jinli rolled her eyes speechlessly.

"'Tsk, this delicate skin and tender flesh—I really hate to lay a hand on her.' The prison head's eyes kept scanning Ning Jinli's whole body."

Although Ning Jinli's face had turned sallow and her skin rougher than usual from the wind and sand during those days crossing the Gobi wasteland, even her cheeks, lips, and hands showed varying degrees of chapping.

But compared to the most common women of this era, she still had a noticeable difference.

"'I'm asking you,' Ning Jinli said, ignoring the prison head's ill-intentioned words with a calm expression, 'I heard a woman named Xiu Mei was arrested and brought to the county office; where is she being held?'"

If it were anyone else, the prison head wouldn't bother wasting words.

But facing such a rare beauty, he was happy to chat a bit more.

"'I don't know her name,' the prison head said, stroking his chin, 'But before the county officer brought you here, they definitely brought in a woman, about thirty years old, ordinary-looking.'"

Ning Jinli immediately described Xiu Mei's features and clothing.

The prison head nodded, saying, "Ah, yes, that's her. I don't know how much trauma she suffered; when she was brought in, she was almost like a living dead, unresponsive even when thrown into the death prison."

"'Death prison?!' Ning Jinli's pupils trembled, 'Isn't the death prison for holding condemned criminals?'"

The prison head said, "Right, Zhao said she's a death row inmate, so of course she belongs in the death prison."

"'No...' Ning Jinli forced herself to calm down and asked, 'How did she become a death row inmate? What crime did she commit to end up like this?'"

The prison head said, "How would I know? I just guard the cells; sentencing isn't my job."

Ning Jinli immediately asked, "Then you should at least know when her execution is scheduled, right?"

"'I'm not sure; we have to wait for orders from above,' the prison head finally said, getting a bit impatient from the questioning, rolling up his sleeves, 'Alright, the county officer ordered me to greet you; this procedure still needs to be followed. Don't worry, I'll try to go easy.'"

Ning Jinli's eyes sank slightly, "Do I still have to thank you then?"

The prison head licked the corner of his mouth, bringing his face close, "Come, kiss me, and I'll go even easier."

"'Pah!' Ning Jinli spat a mouthful of saliva at him."

"'You bastard! Look at me not using a whip to flay you alive!' The prison head wiped his face, furious, and ordered, 'Strip her naked and tie her to the post!'"

The two prison guards in the interrogation room immediately moved to act.

In this situation, Ning Jinli could no longer just sit and wait for death.

She secretly circulated her internal skill, and as the two prison guards approached, she lifted her leg and kicked out.

Bang bang!

Two quick kicks in succession.

Although she had no technique, her powerful internal strength backed her up.

The two prison guards, caught off guard, were kicked flying; their backs hit the interrogation room wall before stopping, and they passed out on the spot without even having time to make a sound, collapsing to the ground.

This was with Ning Jinli holding back her strength; otherwise those two prison guards would have been kicked to death.

"'With such scrawny arms and legs, where does that strength come from? Are you a martial artist?' the prison head said, his face showing surprise."

Ning Jinli said calmly, "Take me to the death prison, and I'll go easy on you."

"'Hahaha!' the prison head snorted with contempt, 'A little bit of three-legged cat kung fu, succeeding only by catching someone off guard—nothing in front of me. Let me tell you, I've been practicing martial arts since I learned to walk; I was already——"

Bang!

Before the prison head could finish his sentence, Ning Jinli slapped him across the face.

His vision went black, and he slumped sideways, falling flat.

"'Just bragging, you can't even take a hit,' Ning Jinli said, squatting down, grabbing his collar and shaking him, 'Wake up, show me the way.'"

The prison head was directly frightened by that slap, realizing this seemingly delicate young woman was beyond his ability to handle; he steeled himself, closed his eyes tight, and pretended to be unconscious.

Ning Jinli smirked, picked up the whip the prison head had dropped from his hand off the ground, raised it high, and cracked it across his face with a snap.

"'Ah!' the prison head cried out in pain, his whole body jerking upright like a fake corpse."

Ning Jinli raised her arm again.

"'Don't hit, don't hit!' the prison head covered his face, panicking, 'I'll take you there myself!'"

Ning Jinli threw the whip away, clapped her hands, and said, "If you'd cooperated like this earlier, it would have been fine—hurry up and lead the way!"

"'Please… this way, please,' the prison head said, bowing and nodding."

Immediately, under the prison head's guidance, Ning Jinli left the interrogation room, passing by a row of cells.

She discovered that many people were also locked up in those cells.

But judging by their appearance and clothing, they seemed to be ordinary commoners, and she didn't see any who looked like vicious criminals.

"'You have this many prisoners?' Ning Jinli probed."

The prison head replied with a smile, "They're not really prisoners; they're all people who haven't paid enough taxes, arrested by the constables and locked up. As long as someone at home makes up the money, they'll naturally be released."

Ning Jinli frowned slightly, "The taxes in your place are excessively high; I've never seen having to pay money just to rest in a pavilion, or to pass through checkpoints entering and exiting your county."

The prison head casually said, "What you mentioned is just a drop in the bucket; there are all sorts of other items, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people unable to pay."

While speaking, the jailer had already brought Ning Jinli to the front of the innermost death prison.

In the death prison, Xiu Mei lay flat on the ground like a corpse.

Although her eyes were open, there was no light left in them.

"Xiu Mei sister!" Ning Jinli shouted.

Xiu Mei showed no response.

"Quick! Open the door!" Ning Jinli urged.

"Yes yes yes." The jailer pulled out the key from his waist, swiftly opened the bronze lock, and considerately helped Ning Jinli pull open the door.

As Ning Jinli had just stepped into the cell, the jailer quickly locked the cell door behind her.

"You little wretch! Now you can't fly away even with wings!" The jailer smirked, but his face hurt, twisting his mouth as he said, "You dare hit me? Just wait to die!"

Ning Jinli frowned, turned back, and shot him a cold glance.

The jailer shivered, immediately checked the lock again, then muttered curses as he left.

"Xiu Mei sister, Xiu Mei sister?" Ning Jinli knelt on both knees, gently helped Xiu Mei sit up, and held her in her arms.

At this moment, Xiu Mei's numb eyeballs slowly moved.

Only when she saw clearly that it was Ning Jinli did she suddenly cry out, "Fairy… my daughter was taken away… my home is gone… and my mother-in-law…"

Ning Jinli couldn't bear to tell her the cruel fact that the old woman had already died, so she softly comforted, "Don't be afraid, I'm here. Tell me, what exactly happened? Why were you suddenly arrested by the constables and made a death-row prisoner?"

Xiu Mei cried, saying, "Those constables said I colluded with foreign spies, a crime punishable by death…"

"What?!" Ning Jinli looked bewildered, "Which foreign spy are you accused of colluding with?"

Xiu Mei choked, "They… they mean… it's you and that young man…"

"Me and him, foreign spies? That's nonsense!"

Ning Jinli nearly choked on her breath.

This is clearly a baseless slander.

"Do you still have any law here? How can those officials be so outrageous?" Ning Jinli cursed.

"Law… in this world, where is there still law?" Xiu Mei's eyes filled with despair, "When the beam is not straight, the lower part tilts; we common folk… are almost being driven to death."

Ning Jinli recalled how Xiu Mei had previously cursed Xiao Qidi bitterly, as if she bore a deep grudge against him.

Now she again said the beam is crooked, pointing the blame at the present King of Daxuan.

Thus she asked, "Xiu Mei sister, why is He Wan County so dark, and what exactly is its connection to Xiao Qidi?"

Upon hearing the three words Xiao Qidi, Xiu Mei's eyes filled with hatred: "Originally, our He Wan County needed to garrison many troops to defend against northern nomadic tribes, so the populace had to pay extra taxes to the county office and perform more corvée labor; that was bearable, for the sake of Daxuan's peace, enduring some hardship was nothing."

"But… since Xiao Qidi ascended the throne and began personal rule, he suddenly wanted to go to war with Yu Guo!"

"The county officials said, our He Wan County is close to Yu Guo's border, so we must prepare for war; thus the higher king demands the people pay more taxes to expand the army… and bear heavier corvée labor, to prepare for war."

"To this end, they invented many tax categories; no matter what we do, we must pay tax… even passersby from elsewhere are not spared."

"The common folk here… none of them fail to hate Xiao Qidi! He doesn't deserve to be the King of Daxuan!"

Hearing this, Ning Jinli finally understood why, upon her arrival, she kept encountering officials extorting money in various ways.

But the problem is, Xiao Qidi never issued any order to increase taxes or corvée labor.

It seems someone is using the pretext of war to deceive superiors and inferiors, exploiting Xiao Qidi's name to oppress the populace!

The common folk of He Wan County can only listen to the county officials, who claim it's the king's demand; the outrageous miscellaneous taxes and heavy corvée have nearly crushed Xiu Mei's family, no wonder she hates Xiao Qidi so much.

Obviously, Xiu Mei's family situation is merely a microcosm of the ordinary common folk of He Wan County.

Moreover, since even the county officials are so arrogant, the lower-ranking constables will surely follow suit, committing wrongdoing, oppressing the populace, arbitrarily charging crimes and abusing private punishments.

The county officials of He Wan County, from top to bottom, are probably utterly corrupt!

"Xiu Mei sister," Ning Jinli gripped Xiu Mei's icy hands, "I assure you, this situation is unknown even to Xiao Qidi; he is certainly not the mastermind. On the contrary, if he knew, he would surely stand up for you and severely punish those bastards!"

Xiu Mei blinked slightly, then weakly shook her head, "Impossible… if the king hadn't ordered it, how could the county officials act this way? Moreover, Daxuan's war with Yu Guo is an undeniable fact; in every war, the common folk have to pay more money, Fairy, you needn't speak well of Xiao Qidi."

Seeing that the misunderstanding ran deep, Ning Jinli realized mere words couldn't quickly change Xiu Mei's view, so she shifted to ask, "Is An An also arrested by the constables? Do you know where they took her?"

When her daughter was mentioned, Xiu Mei's eyes, which were almost dry from crying, welled up again.

"Yes… yes, they took her away."

"They said… they said I colluded with the enemy and betrayed the nation, a heinous crime that not only warrants beheading but also heavy fines."

"Even if we added up all our possessions, it wouldn't cover the fine, so they plan to… sell my daughter, using the money to offset the penalty…"

"I… I don't know who my daughter will be sold to."

"Fairy, please, save An An; she's still a child!"

Xiu Mei said this and was about to kowtow to Ning Jinli.

Ning Jinli supported her shoulders, "I assure you, she will come to no harm; my companion has already gone to look for her, don't worry. First I will get you out."

Having received the assurance, Xiu Mei's emotions stabilized somewhat.

But then she thought, this Fairy was also captured and brought here; surely the Fairy cannot possess omnipotent divine powers, so her heart sank again.

"Fairy… you're trapped here yourself; how can you rescue me?"

"Don't call me Fairy anymore; I truly am not an immortal."

"Ah? You're not an immortal?"

"There are no immortals in this world."

Ning Jinli said this, stood up, and intended to open a Time-Space Gate here.

The faint hope that had just risen in Xiu Mei's eyes gradually faded; if she were an immortal, even with limited powers, she could surely help her break out of this dire situation, but since she says she isn't an immortal… what hope remains?

"Ning lady…" Xiu Mei lowered her gaze, knelt on both knees and kowtowed, "If you have a way to escape, just flee yourself; don't bother with me. I haven't told the constables anything about you, whether they slander you or fabricate charges, I'll bear it alone. I hope you can do your utmost to rescue my daughter. Also… my husband, if he can be healed, I also beg you; as long as he, An An, and my mother-in-law can survive, I… I wouldn't mind dying."

"Phew… all right, get up quickly." Ning Jinli wiped the sweat beading on her forehead and pulled Xiu Mei up.

Xiu Mei lifted her head, suddenly noticing Ning Jinli's complexion was noticeably paler than before, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"