Chapter 19: Great Gains, Having One's Arrogant Spirit Shattered Upon First Entering the Jiang Hu (Seeking

Fortunately, Flag Captain Pei personally went to the scene.

There were gains, and significant gains at that!

"This chest of jewelry and this chest of silver may be related to the murder case; move them to my residence first."

"Yes!"

"This chest of gold may be an important clue; send it to the Hundred-Household Office immediately for Lord Zheng to inspect personally."

"Yes!"

"These silver banknotes are smaller in amount and likely have nothing to do with the case; distribute them among the brothers."

"Yes... ah! Thank you, my Lord!"

Pei Shaoqing was like a general, hands behind his back, conducting a grand roll call of the various treasures at the Mo Fu, carrying out a redistribution of the wealth of this detestable landlord class.

"My Lord, you must leave a little behind, otherwise it won't look good in the case files," Song Youcai reminded him.

He was truly a noble capital gentleman; one look and you could tell he had never done a day's work in his life and had never personally engaged in corruption.

How could anyone be so insatiably greedy?

Pei Shaoqing glanced at him and said, "Who writes the case files? Isn't it still us? Just add a few words to it, write that the murderer was motivated by greed, and not only killed the people at the Mo Fu but also emptied out the Mo Fu's property."

This wasn't fabrication; it was the truth!

"My Lord is wise," Song Youcai said, completely convinced.

It was my perspective that was too narrow.

He realized that in terms of corruption, he was as naive as a child in front of Lord Pei.

"Small Flag Song, go and keep an eye on them, lest anyone hide anything. Tell them that if they do their work honestly, I will certainly reward them. I hate those who use public office for private gain and engage in corruption and perversion of the law most of all!" Pei Shaoqing said with a resonant voice.

Song Youcai's mouth twitched, "As you command."

After he left, Pei Shaoqing whispered to Sun Youliang, "Check inside and out for me, thoroughly and carefully, to ensure Gongsun Yi did not leave any evidence behind last night. If there is any oversight, you alone will be held responsible."

Since he had taken Gongsun Yi as a dog, he had to prevent anyone from potentially tracing the dog back to him, the master.

"Yes, my Lord, rest assured, I will not even leave a crack in the floor unchecked," Sun Youliang replied solemnly.

Pei Shaoqing waved his hand to signal him to get to work, while he himself left the Mo Fu and hurried toward the prison of the Hundred-Household Office.

He had almost forgotten to release Gongsun Yi's two disciples.

"This way, my Lord." The jailer obsequiously led Pei Shaoqing to the cell where Jiang and Zhao were being held.

Hearing the sound, Zhao Zhilan, who was feeding water to her senior brother, immediately stood up and threw herself at the cell door. Upon seeing Pei Shaoqing, her eyes instantly turned red, filled with tears, and she glared at him with a face full of hatred, but she did not dare to be insolent again.

Clearly, she had learned her lesson.

But in Pei Shaoqing's eyes, she still wasn't obedient enough.

"Heh, it seems you still haven't learned what kind of attitude you should have when facing me." He frowned, dropped this sentence, and then turned around, making as if to leave.

"Don't!" Zhao Zhilan collapsed instantly, her hands gripping the wooden bars tightly, crying with tears streaming down her face, "I... I beg you, let us out."

Although she had only stayed here for one night and hadn't suffered any real torture, she didn't want to stay in this living hell for even one more second.

Because every moment she could hear the agonizing screams of prisoners being tortured, and at any time she could see prisoners who had been tortured to the point of being unrecognizable being dragged past her eyes.

For Zhao Zhilan, who had been well-protected.

These things were tormenting her every single moment.

Pei Shaoqing stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at her with a half-smile, "To beg someone, you must have the attitude of a beggar."

Zhao Zhilan bit her red lips tightly and looked at him silently.

Clearly, she was stubborn and still wanted to retain some dignity.

"Hmph!" Pei Shaoqing flicked his sleeves again, intending to leave.

Zhao Zhilan finally knelt down, wailing, "I beg you, my Lord, let us out."

"Se... Senior Sister." In the corner, Jiang Yebai, who had been tortured until his face was pale and who found it difficult even to stand, watched this scene with a heart feeling as if it were being sliced by a knife, yet he was powerless to do anything.

Pei Shaoqing looked down from his height at Zhao Zhilan, this proud young girl kneeling at his feet. Her hair was somewhat disheveled, and her tear-streaked face made her even more charming. Her slightly protruding chest rose and fell with her sobbing, and her firm, rounded peach-like buttocks rested on her calves; squeezed together, the flesh of her buttocks spilled out, and one could feel their elasticity even through her skirt.

If he were a mountain bandit, such a young martial artist from a prestigious background would naturally not give him the time of day; but now that he was a Young Master of the Marquis Mansion and a Jing'an Guard Flag Captain, such a proud martial arts heroine could only kneel and beg for mercy.

Power really is a fascinating thing.

He bent down slightly and reached out to pinch Zhao Zhilan's chin, "Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?"

"You... what do you want to do? Let go of my Junior Sister!" Seeing his beloved Junior Sister being touched by his filthy hands, Jiang Yebai scolded him in a fit of anger and anxiety.

Pei Shaoqing didn't even look at him; he slid the two fingers he had placed on Zhao Zhilan's chin upward and shoved them directly into her mouth.

Zhao Zhilan was instantly both ashamed and furious.

"You dare to bite?" Pei Shaoqing said calmly.

Zhao Zhilan could only close her eyes in hatred and humiliation, feeling the other's fingers stirring wantonly in her mouth. Her heart was full of shame, but she could only shed tears silently, clenching her fists, her delicate body trembling slightly.

Ye Hanshuang, who was holding her sword, did not change her expression while watching this scene, but her arms kept exerting force, and the long sword in her embrace pressed against her chest, causing it to sink inward.

"Ah! Bastard! Take them out! Hurry up and take them out!" Jiang Yebai's eyes were bloodshot, and he struggled to stand up and rush over to stop him, but as soon as he tried to stand, he fell to the ground. He could only despairingly crawl toward that side while pleading, "Don't do this, I beg you."

Pei Shaoqing smiled, took his fingers out of Zhao Zhilan's mouth, pulling out a strand of crystalline saliva that hung from her rosy lips and dripped down her chin, then wiped his fingers clean of the saliva by rubbing them against her face, "I only stuck my fingers in, not anything else, why are you so agitated? Have you forgotten the pain as soon as the wound healed?"

"You..." Jiang Yebai was furious—what else did you want to stick in? —but he was very powerless. Choked with tears, he said in a hoarse voice, "If you want something, come at me, don't debase and humiliate my Junior Sister."

"What a deep bond between siblings!" Pei Shaoqing stood up straight and waved his hand, "Let them out."

"Yes!" The jailer immediately took out the key to open the door.

Zhao Zhilan opened her eyes in disbelief.

Jiang Yebai was also stunned where he stood.

The two of them had not expected the surprise to come so suddenly.

Pei Shaoqing explained indifferently, "Your master will be working for me from now on, so you naturally count as my people, Young Master's people; I can't keep you locked up like this forever."

"Impossible! Master wouldn't..." Jiang Yebai blurted out, then his voice stopped abruptly.

"Impossible, you won't be a lackey for a court hound like me, is that it?" Pei Shaoqing smiled, finishing the sentence for him, then added, "And all to save you lot, tsk tsk, I am truly moved."

"Ah!" Hearing that his master had sold himself to Pei Shaoqing to save him, Jiang Yebai was in extreme agony; he let out a long howl toward the sky and wept bitterly, repeatedly slamming his head against the wall.

"Senior Brother!" Zhao Zhilan, disregarding her recent humiliation and shame, lunged over to embrace him, her voice choked with sobs as she urged, "Senior Brother, don't be like this!"

A quarter of an hour later, a carriage carried Jiang Yebai and Zhao Zhilan from the Hundred-Household Office prison toward the Pei Mansion.

At the same time, Hundred-Household Zheng, who was playing chess at home with Wang Xianling, received the important "clue" that Pei Shaoqing had sent to his residence, and he chuckled, saying, "I truly didn't expect that although this Young Master Pei is arrogant and domineering, he also knows how to handle people."

"After all, he is the son of a noble house, born and raised in the Capital; he naturally understands some things through osmosis," Wang Xianling replied dismissively.

Hundred-Household Zheng placed a piece, "Since it is an important clue, take some back later to analyze."

"Hahahaha, easily done, easily done." Wang Xianling laughed twice and raised his hand to place a piece, "But does the Hundred-Household really think the Mo Fu bloodbath was the work of the Xuan Sect rebels? I don't think so; the Xuan Sect has been much more honest these past two years, it doesn't make sense for them to suddenly stir up such a massive case."

Hundred-Household Zheng, however, remained stubborn in his opinion, "Besides the Xuan Sect rebels, who else would be so bold and reckless?"

"That is true," Wang Xianling responded, then shook his head, "Let's not talk about official business, let's play chess, let's play."

(End of this chapter)