Chapter 337

This diplomatic mission to the Xiongnu was intended to exchange for the two men, Yufuluo and Huchuquan, from the Xiongnu.

On the first day of entering the city, before even going to the Ministry of Personnel, Yufuluo, Huchuquan, and Wang Gai and the others had already been delivered to the Commandant of Justice and escorted to the Zhao Prison.

The reason for coming to the Commandant of Justice's office was to retrieve these people.

Duan Yu sat on his horse and did not dismount.

After Tie Shitou stepped forward to report and submit the official documents, an official from the Commandant of Justice's office led Duan Yu toward the Zhao Prison located behind the office.

The Commandant of Justice is one of the Nine Ministers.

The Commandant of Justice's office is the highest judicial and adjudicatory institution of the Great Han.

In addition, the office is responsible for revising laws in accordance with the Emperor's edicts, compiling the number of judicial cases nationwide, and overseeing the Zhao Prison.

When high officials commit crimes, they are directly tried and imprisoned by this office.

Those who hold the post of Commandant of Justice are mostly scholars who have studied law for generations.

Such as the Han clan of Yingchuan, which has continued from the Warring States period to the present day.

There is also the Guo clan of Yingchuan, who have studied the "Small Du Code" for generations, with seven members serving as Commandant of Justice over three generations.

In front of the Zhao Prison gate, the official from the Commandant of Justice's office who had accompanied Duan Yu stopped and said with a smiling face, "General Duan, this is the Zhao Prison of the Commandant of Justice's office."

Duan Yu nodded slightly and flipped off his horse.

Yufuluo, Huchuquan, the family of Wang Rou, the family of Wang Ze, and Wang Gai were all being held in the Zhao Prison at this time.

"Thank you for your hard work."

After thanking the official who had come with him, Duan Yu walked into the Zhao Prison together with him.

The Zhao Prison was extremely large.

And it did not look like the so-called dungeons Duan Yu had seen in movies from later generations.

The Zhao Prison was built on the surface; it was a giant prison.

Moreover, those who could be locked up in the Zhao Prison were basically not ordinary criminals.

Ordinary criminals were either exiled, used as forced laborers, or directly executed.

There was no point in wasting manpower on them.

Those who could be locked up in the Zhao Prison were mostly officials who had been imprisoned.

Like the hundreds of officials involved in the two Proscriptions of Partisan Prohibitions on both sides.

During the first and second Proscriptions, the Zhao Prison was filled with former Three Excellencies, Nine Ministers, and prominent official families.

And it was not impossible for these imprisoned officials to rise again.

Therefore, after entering the Zhao Prison, what Duan Yu saw were not pitch-black cells.

Instead, it was a place that was relatively clean, with sunlight streaming in from skylights opened around the cells.

Each cell had a bed and a low table, though they were a bit dilapidated.

Walking past the cells, there were quite a few prisoners locked up on both sides.

"General Duan, ahead is the cell where the Xiongnu are being held." The official from the Commandant of Justice's office, wearing black official robes, pointed the way.

Duan Yu nodded.

Through the gaps in the cell, he had already seen Yufuluo and Huchuquan locked in two separate cells.

Having stayed in this Zhao Prison for a few days, the two men's spirits had recovered quite well.

Much better than before they arrived.

But when the two saw Duan Yu, they immediately showed expressions of terror.

Their bodies instinctively shrank toward the corners of the cells.

"Bring them both out."

Duan Yu signaled to Tie Shitou and Wang Hunu behind him.

The two walked to the cell doors with smiles and took out the prepared iron chains.

"Don't be afraid, we aren't killing you," Tie Shitou said with a grin. "This time, we're sending you home."

Hearing that they were going home, the eyes of Yufuluo and Huchuquan immediately lit up.

After the two were bound and escorted out of the cells, Duan Yu glanced through the prison and asked, "Are Wang Ze and Wang Gai also being held here?"

The official nodded hurriedly and replied, "Replying to General Duan, both were held here previously."

"However, the case of the Wang clan of Jinyang has already been closed. The members of the Wang clan implicated are all waiting to be executed after autumn, and they have already been sent elsewhere."

"As for the Wang Gai the General mentioned, he was interrogated by the Commandant of Justice himself this morning."

Interrogated?

Duan Yu frowned.

When to interrogate is the authority and duty of the Commandant of Justice; naturally, there was no need to inform him.

The Wang clan of Jinyang was guilty of ironclad crimes; this was already beyond dispute, especially since Wang Rou had already committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

They should just be sentenced accordingly.

But Wang Gai was different.

Wang Gai's charge was colluding with Wang Rou.

And as the lead officer who captured Wang Gai, Duan Yu was also a witness and held physical evidence in his hands; when interrogating Wang Gai, they certainly should have notified him.

But now, they hadn't notified him at all.

There was a hundred percent chance of something fishy going on here.

"Where is the Commandant of Justice now?" Duan Yu asked, looking at the official beside him with a frown.

The Commandant of Justice is among the Nine Ministers.

He is below the Three Excellencies.

Regardless of official rank or status, he is far higher than a Grand Administrator.

So, even though he had already made his own deductions, Duan Yu did not directly lose his temper.

The official naturally did not understand why Duan Yu's expression had suddenly changed.

But since Duan Yu was asking, the official naturally dared not refuse to answer.

Thus, he pointed toward the direction of the Commandant of Justice's office: "Replying to General Duan, the Lord should be in the office at this time."

Duan Yu took a deep breath, nodded, and looked at Tie Shitou and Wang Hunu behind him:

"You two take Yufuluo and Huchuquan back."

"I am going to the Commandant of Justice's office."

"Understood!"

Tie Shitou and Wang Hunu agreed immediately.

Duan Yu flicked his sleeves, headed straight out of the Zhao Prison, flipped onto his horse, and galloped toward the Commandant of Justice's office.

In front of the black building complex of the Commandant of Justice's office.

Duan Yu pulled on the reins of his warhorse.

Sensing Duan Yu's urgent mood, the Ink Jade Qilin beast raised its front hooves high and stopped in front of the office with a long neigh.

It immediately drew the attention of the surrounding guards.

But when the guards saw clearly the official robes Duan Yu was wearing and the silver seal with a green ribbon hanging from his waist, the expressions on their faces were extremely surprised.

Surprised by Duan Yu's youth.

"This Lord..."

A guard stepped forward and asked with a bow.

"I am the Administrator of Hanyang Commandery and Colonel Who Attacks the Xiongnu, Duan Yu. I wish to see your Lordship, the Commandant."

Duan Yu, on his horse, directly interrupted the guard's words.

Upon hearing the words "Grand Administrator of Hanyang Commandery," "Colonel Who Makes Expeditions to the Xiongnu," and "Duan Yu," the guards' faces were shocked.

Afterward, not daring to delay, they immediately entered the office to report.

Before long, when the guard returned, he welcomed Duan Yu into the Commandant of Justice's office with a face full of smiles.

Nowadays, there is no one in Luoyang who does not know the name Duan Yu.

As the new generation of the Great Han's powerful elite, the most outstanding and prominently ranked official among the younger generation, Duan Yu's name had already spread far and wide.

The Son of Heaven personally summoned him to Luoyang to receive his enfeoffment.

A rank of double two-thousand shi, plus the title of Marquis of Duting.

As long as one isn't a fool, everyone knows how much favor Duan Yu has from the Son of Heaven.