Chapter 468: Bird in Prison

Seeing Pei Ye turned his head back. The black cat was squatting by the lamp at the door, still holding a jade-white round pill in its claws and gnawing on it.

It had almost never stopped eating these days, catching a piece to eat whenever it saw one. Seeing Pei Ye couldn't help but frown and ask it last time, only to get a calm "Seeing Pei Ye, I'm still growing."

And after it went to Xu Chuo's place once, when it came back, there was a small black silk and red thread pouch hanging around its neck. Seeing Pei Ye opened it and saw a jade box inside, with five-colored pills in the box. According to it, it asked Xu Chuo for them when they first met.

Seeing Pei Ye's eyes widened at that time, because it was the one eating, but he was definitely the one who had to pay it back.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford to raise a cat, but why did it have to eat so well?

It wasn't until he pondered that Xu Chuo shouldn't take back this seemingly precious jade box that he felt balanced.

At this moment, he looked at it coldly: "The master is humiliated, the minister dies. You treacherous minister."

The black cat lowered its head to eat the pill.

And on this side, even if the boy turned his head casually, Lu Dingwu did not dare to move a single bit.

The room was floating with exquisite vermilion jade flowers. He had already tasted one just now, and his arm was burning with tearing pain. How many years had it been since he experienced such an intense confrontation? His eyes trembled, and his throat felt like it was stuck.

As an old catcher who had served in the Jingzhao Prefecture for more than ten years, he had connections on all paths and knew the world even better than these green and purple high officials.

Catcher Lu often said to the shift members around him that catching thieves is catching thieves, but some thieves are good to catch, some thieves must be caught half and released half, and some must be caught but cannot be caught, and he comes back to accept punishment himself—don't look at this punishment as being on his body, but the benefits are rising in the hearts of those above.

Every time he drank upstairs, looking at the prosperous night view of the Divine Capital, Lu Dingwu sighed that he had a few credits.

Business must be allowed to continue, the face of the government office must be good, and most importantly, there must be no trouble. Each layer is in its place, which is the good scenery.

A stubborn, hard-headed catcher is harmful to others and himself, and the disturbance to the "order" is even worse than thieves and gangs.

So Lu Dingwu had never liked that young catcher.

Sharp, firm, careful, biting and not letting go, but not afraid of death, hating evil as if it were a personal enemy, almost a thorn in his eyes.

But he wouldn't come up with any ideas to harm him. That wasn't his logic. He only knew how to smile, prevaricate, soften, and think of ways to throw this hot potato out one day.

After learning that the Three Departments were coming, he still stood firmly on the side of the order he had built. Governor Lu personally entrusted him with a message, and he agreed to it. Soft nails were originally his most proficient field.

It wasn't until this sword light that was difficult to deal with was placed on his neck that he realized... he hadn't really drawn his sword for too long.

He was used to closing cases with a few words and a few drinks. Now, like a cold and strange world suddenly hitting his eyes, the boy's sharp sword and eyes made his body shudder involuntarily—this was not the usual posturing and showing off, this was the most bloody Jianghu, and this Wild Goose Token was right in front of him.

—If the one who took him away was the Immortal Platform, would the Governor really be willing, really be able to fish him out?

"... Reporting to the Envoy, I didn't investigate this case." He pursed his lips, his throat dry.

"We didn't know about this case originally."

"You also saw that the Divine Capital is so big, but the Thief Catching Division is so small. Not to mention that this case happened outside the city, the Thief Catching Division didn't get the news at all."

"Until that heavy rain a month ago."

"The pond leaked, and a corpse that had been thrown for a long time was washed into the Longshou Canal by the silt accumulated over the years in the back canal of the noble ward in the northeast. It was washed into the weeds on the shore and was discovered by a sharp-eyed catcher of ours."

"She reported this case to the prefecture that day, but to be honest, Envoy, I didn't want to manage it when I heard it."

"Our Governor is a high-ranking official of the Lu family. It's common to have dead bodies in the East Eight Wards. Who can manage the Tang Code inside the nine-foot wall? This time, more corpses were washed out, but those old ones sank to the bottom, and no one saw them."

"But she said she recognized this corpse and it was definitely not a slave of anyone's house. She was overly excited and even ran to the Governor's desk... so we established the case."

"Later, it was found that the deceased was named Zhang Mingqin. This family was staying in the capital. They left the capital to return home on the 18th of the 9th month. This catcher of ours followed the traces and found the place of interception, and then circled these four murderers bit by bit."

Seeing Pei Ye asked at this time: "Four people, why were only two imprisoned in the case file?"

"... Our catcher killed two when arresting them, and only brought two back."

Seeing Pei Ye frowned even more—a living mouth is always important for an unsettled case: "Since the people were already determined, why couldn't the Thief Catching Division take down four living mouths?"

Lu Dingwu paused and said in a low voice: "The Thief Catching Division didn't have time to take action in those few days. It was this catcher who arrested them alone... I heard that the criminals had already received the wind, and the four of them fled separately..."

Seeing Pei Ye looked at him quietly.

"..."

"Did you leak this wind?"

"..."

"I don't want to ask a second time."

"These people usually seek a way out under the Taiping Cao Gang." Lu Dingwu immediately lowered his head and said, "I don't know what they are doing, but I met their hall master, the Second Master, at a banquet in those few days and let them clean up the tail."

Seeing Pei Ye nodded: "And then?"

"... Then these two were caught, they pointed to the place where Zhang Mengyuan and his wife were thrown, and we closed the case."

Seeing Pei Ye couldn't help but smile: "This can also close the case?"

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye now knew where the sense of contradiction that this case file brought him came from. It was the product of the Jingzhao Prefecture covering up and whitewashing a case of the Cao Gang.

Forcibly abducting parents, selling daughters to the powerful... Isn't this exactly a repeat of "Cheng Xiaozhu's" encounter?

What kind of process or route is this, who controls it, who covers it, and where does it finally flow? Now they can no longer find such cases. The Cao Gang will hide their horse's feet with all their strength, guarding against all their movements.

But before everything started, someone had already been investigating this matter alone.

All the information that person can provide will now be their most precious clue.

"Where is that catcher?" Seeing Pei Ye asked, pursing his lips, "I want to see her."

"... She is a woman... After closing the case, she still used private torture on the criminals, and then secretly broke into the Xunfang Garden on the 4th of the 10th month and was caught hiding under a noble's carriage and put into the heavy prison of the Southern Office for the crime of assassination." Lu Dingwu hesitated, "I don't know if she is alive or dead now."

Seeing Pei Ye's heart tightened, frowning: "What is this catcher's name?"

"She is a woman... named Xie Chuantang."

Seeing Pei Ye sheathed his sword, picked up Lu Dingwu's own scabbard as a frame, and tied his arms behind his back.

"You come and record what just happened truthfully." Seeing Pei Ye pointed to the catcher beside him, "You, go to the file room and call Minister Li Zhao over."

Seeing Pei Ye picked up his sword and walked out of the courtyard. The night was late, but he had no intention of resting. The black cat beside him didn't know when it had disappeared. He chatted with Di Jiu and went out, walking alone on the street where lamps and candles were flowing, heading towards a familiar direction.

Seeing Pei Ye still remembered that after he beheaded the wildling in the prison that day, the three cellmates who had been released from the prison were settled into the vacant cells nearby, and Seeing Pei Ye was actually the one with the lightest injuries.

"Look at this big fire blister you scorched for me." Bian Zhongfeng lifted his sleeve, looking at him with blood on the corner of his mouth.

"... Sorry."

"Sorry is useless, this thing leaves a scar." The man said seriously, "When your backer comes in a while, can you take me out too?"

Xie Chuantang had been leaning in the corner, the wound on her abdomen had just been stopped from bleeding, and her face looked even paler.

"... Are you okay?" Seeing Pei Ye asked with some worry.

Xie Chuantang looked up at him, leaning against the wall. Dirty, messy long hair surrounded a wounded and tired face.

"... If I were as strong as you, it would be good." She said hoarsely without expression, the silence on her face completely inconsistent with the will to survive she had just erupted.

"Use this method to kill, remember to keep an eye out after going out." She said in a low voice.

"I don't even know if I'm going out."

"Looks like you really did something big." Bian Zhongfeng looked at him and smiled, suddenly raising his eyebrows, "Tell the truth! What are you going to do after going out? Let's drink when we meet in the future!"

Seeing Pei Ye was stunned: "Go, go to school."

"... No promise!" Bian Zhongfeng coughed twice.

"Then what are you doing?" Seeing Pei Ye was unconvinced.

"Kill corrupt officials for one day of life, what's there to say?" Bian Zhongfeng held the chain with both hands.

Seeing Pei Ye was silent for a moment, and couldn't help but look at the woman leaning quietly under the wall: "... Miss Xie, what about you?"

Xie Chuantang opened her eyes when she heard this, her gaze fixed on the empty space, as if she had really gone to that distant future.

For a long time, she said without expression: "I'll investigate to the end."

Seeing Pei Ye's thoughts returned from his memory, and a peaceful voice came from his heart.

"Xie Chuantang, a fast catcher of the Jingzhao Prefecture Thief Catching Division, is now in the heavy prison of the Southern Office, Prison B, Cell 5?" Xu Chuo asked.

"Yes, I want this person out." Seeing Pei Ye said.

The other side was temporarily silent, as if thinking or deliberating.

"I know the Southern Office is not our field," Seeing Pei Ye remembered how much trouble it took to save himself, "but this person is very important. If it's not easy to operate, I can try to infiltrate..."

"Is one night okay?"

"What?"

"Before dawn, I will transfer this person out."

Ministry of Justice.

There was a feeling of wind and rain coming in the office these two days, not just because of this case that was in the limelight, but also because of a certain determination and trend shown behind it. As the office that bore the pressure that came with this case, officials with different stances were thinking about different things.

Everyone smelled some taste. Some turmoil could not be seen, but it was probably not far away.

The night was very deep, and Vice Minister Zheng Yufeng was still leaning in the chair of the public office, reading the case documents under the candlelight.

Lin Daqin returned home due to illness, and some official business immediately pressed on him. Not to mention that he had to keep an eye on the Jingzhao Prefecture side now. When the Ministry of Justice had to take action, he had to issue official documents immediately.

But in fact, they hadn't even found the flaws of the Taiping Cao Gang, so it was not the turn of the Ministry of Justice to intervene.

Zheng Yufeng inhaled the finely ground incense and let out a deep breath. The night was very quiet, and the autumn insects had no sound. In about two hours, the sky would be dim, and he would take off his clothes and return home.

It was at this time that urgent footsteps came from outside the door.

Zheng Yufeng frowned and sat up. The door was pushed open directly. Physician An Xiaorang said urgently: "My Lord, there is a report from the heavy prison just now. Half a quarter of an hour ago, Xie Chuantang of Prison B, Cell 5 was transferred out."

Zheng Yufeng pushed the chair and stood up, frowning: "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I saw Xu Ying writing the case document. I remembered your instructions, so I hurried over to notify you—who is this Xie Chuantang? Is it important?"

Zheng Yufeng quickly put on his coat, his brain seemed to be searching for the relevance of this name, and his face quickly turned cold: "... It wasn't important before, but it's a bit important now."

He pushed the door out and lowered his eyes: "Linghu."

An Xiaorang was stunned, not knowing who he was calling, but the next moment a figure suddenly appeared behind this Zheng official, his face silent, and a sword without a scabbard hung around his waist.

An Xiaorang's whole body and mind couldn't help but feel cold—it was clear that the Divine Capital suppressed the mysterious Qi, but that kind of high-level majestic coldness was still difficult to cover.

Zheng Yufeng walked out of the public office with big strides, passed through the courtyard, and came to the front of the hall in a few steps—at a glance, he saw the woman in cloth clothes and messy hair in the courtyard, with a pair of bright eyes under her disheveled hair.

The clerks in the hall were signing official documents and hadn't had time to release them.

"Who privately released the heavy criminal?!" Zheng Yufeng knocked on the desk with the hall wood and said coldly.

The movements in the hall stagnated.

He sat here in the middle of the night to prevent this kind of small action. No need to think about it, it must be some kind of clerk or member of the Ministry who was playing some exquisite and disgusting tricks. This time he would definitely not let it go.

However, the hall was quiet for a while, but a few light coughs came from behind the hall. In Zheng Yufeng's shrinking pupils, a clean man with a weak face drove out in a wheelchair.

"I don't know that Vice Minister Zheng came suddenly, so I lost my greeting." He smiled slightly.

"... Guan Zhiyi." Zheng Yufeng pursed his lips tightly, "As a Vice Minister for two years, I don't know that you have voted for that side."

"Vice Minister Zheng just says things without landing." Guan Zhiyi was still smiling, and raised his hand to signal, "Isn't there a case that has been overturned? Let's just handle it now, so as not to drag it until tomorrow."

"The criminal Xie Chuantang secretly attached to the carriage, intending to assassinate, and was caught on the spot! I don't know where it was overturned?"

Guan Zhiyi smiled and pointed to the case file: "The criminal was originally a catcher of the Jingzhao Prefecture. After being arrested, she once argued that she was investigating the case behind Zhang Mingqin. At that time, the Ministry judged her to be groundless and put her into the death prison. But isn't it different now?"

"..."

"Vice Minister Zheng, look, a catcher from Chang'an County had submitted a petition to the Ministry long ago, and the logic was very clear, saying '... If the Taiping Cao Gang really has the fact of human trafficking, then Xie Chuantang was really investigating the case that day and was definitely not assassinating. Even if there is a rudeness to the noble, it should not be discussed as death'." Guan Zhiyi said seriously, "It's a pity that Vice Minister Zheng was too busy or missed it."

Zheng Yufeng pursed his lips coldly.

"Now the facts are very clear. The Carp Pavilion human trafficking is the case file we wrote two days ago. Tonight, I suddenly remembered this little tail, so I released the person back to the Jingzhao Prefecture." Guan Zhiyi smiled, "Does Vice Minister Zheng have any doubts?" ===== CHAPTER 469 =====