bullyxtreme Chapter 191 Prison
Chapter 191 Prison
Xiao Yuan looked at the dimly lit prison cell and sighed, hoping that the Crown Prince wouldn't be foolish enough to plead for him.
Supervisor Xiao's unauthorized departure from his post caused a great uproar in the imperial court.
Immediately, people connected him with the incidents such as Zuo Xiang's attempt to stab the Second Prince and break his leg.
Some even say that Xiao Yuan never left the capital, and that both the Jiangnan auction and the Xuzhou disaster relief were done by a stand-in.
Xiao Yuan, hiding in the capital, must be plotting something extraordinary.
As the head of the Eastern Depot, a high-ranking and powerful official, it must have been something extraordinary that made him abandon his post as an imperial envoy to secretly cause trouble.
As for what it is, the answer is obvious!
Some people immediately countered that since Supervisor Xiao had been loyal for so many years, he should be allowed to defend himself in court and clear up the doubts for everyone.
The investigation didn't involve any single family; even if Governor Xiao wasn't in the capital for disaster relief, there might be a reason he had to return.
It is difficult to convince the public to convict someone without asking any questions.
When Zhang Zhongyi's men saw someone say that, they immediately agreed.
Once someone is caught and imprisoned, they will naturally be interrogated. However, since Chief Supervisor Xiao is highly skilled in martial arts and is considered a dangerous element, he should not be allowed to attend court for the sake of the Emperor's safety.
What is the Dali Temple for?
What is the Ministry of Justice even doing?
Why can't so many people interrogate Xiao Yuan? Why does the Emperor have to interrogate him personally?
Officials who were on good terms with Xiao Yuan immediately refuted him.
The Eastern Depot was independent of the judicial system and had seized many cases from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review over the years.
These two places have always been competitors and enemies of the Eastern Depot, and now the head of the Eastern Depot has fallen into their hands...
Haha, the authenticity of this statement is questionable.
The old emperor, seeing the chaotic scene in court, angrily rebuked them to shut up and stormed off, but said nothing about the punishment of Xiao Yuan.
The recent series of events had left him feeling very troubled, and the words of the Crown Prince's youngest son made him suspect that Xiao Yuan had sided with the Crown Prince.
The old emperor, reflecting on the changes in the court over the past few months, also discerned some underlying implications.
Although not obvious, officials from the Crown Prince's faction did indeed have an easier time, while many supporters of the second and third princes made a series of mistakes.
How could he not know his own sons well?
The third brother is the most cunning, while the second brother has the greatest influence.
The crown prince had lost his fighting spirit due to his own actions, and was only supported by the imperial clan and a group of old-fashioned people who wanted to uphold orthodoxy.
But that group of people can't accomplish anything; he doesn't believe that there aren't powerful ministers involved.
Only a handful of powerful ministers in the imperial court could achieve this: Zhang Zhongyi was the father-in-law of the second prince, and the Duke of Ying was the father-in-law of the third prince.
After some deduction, although it cannot be confirmed that it was Xiao Yuan, he is still highly suspected.
Xiao Yuan was a swordsman he had personally trained, and he never favored any of the princes, always following his lead.
Now that he hadn't even informed his master before abandoning his duties and running off to the capital, it was impossible for him to trust him anymore.
Xiao Ling watched the emperor deep in thought, his heart filled with anxiety, but he dared not show it on his face. He couldn't help but resent his younger brother for being such a troublemaker.
If you have something to say, at least send me a message. It's really not something you can do to recklessly risk your life.
Doing things without following the will of the people will only lead to exhaustion and no success.
Even if you have something of great importance, it would be a grave mistake not to inform your master.
Xiao Yuan, having served as the head of the Eastern Depot for so many years, possessed extensive connections. Even while imprisoned, he managed to send a message to reassure the Crown Prince.
He dared not improve his living conditions too much in order not to arouse suspicion, which was a rare hardship for him in all these years.
Prison cells are typically dark, damp, and teeming with snakes, insects, and rodents.
In addition, his long journey had left his legs and genitals chafed, and even after applying medicine, he still experienced some infection.
The first two days were fine; his people were allowed to come in and bring clean towels and water whenever they wanted.
Unexpectedly, they all disappeared on the third day, probably because something happened at the Eastern Depot.
Indeed, something happened at the Eastern Depot.
The old emperor promoted Chen Kuo to temporarily assume the position of governor, and Chen Kuo took the opportunity to eliminate many people.
Someone pointed out that the old emperor had even replaced all the guards in the prison with the Imperial Guards of the Imperial City, and even brought over two of his personal bodyguards.
Xiao Yuan took the opportunity to ask for paper and pen and wrote a report to the old emperor, saying that he was assassinated during the disaster relief mission, and the captured assassin revealed that Zhang Zhongyi was plotting to kill the emperor.
While disaster relief was important, the emperor was even more important, which is why he traveled thousands of miles to come back and save the emperor.
Unfortunately, this report was ignored; the old emperor neither investigated nor released it.
Xiao Yuan had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he dared not make any rash moves because he couldn't get any information from the outside world.
Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.
If Xiao Yuan had wanted to fight his way out when he was first imprisoned, it would have been easy. But things haven't gotten to that point yet. If he really escaped, he would lose all sense of reason.
Zhang Zhongyi might have been waiting for him to escape, and in order to prevent the other party from succeeding, he had to suffer this ordeal.
He overestimated his physical abilities.
The prison cell was in terrible condition, and he didn't have a change of clothes. Even with medication, the infection in his private parts couldn't be suppressed.
The pain was secondary; the most troublesome thing was that he had developed a fever.
News of Xiao Yuan's illness was quickly reported, and he was also gambling on what the old emperor's attitude towards him was now.
The fact that the old emperor sent the imperial physician proves that he still has a chance; if he is left to fend for himself, then the emperor intends to discard him as a weapon.
At that point, he would have no choice but to give it his all.
So what if they are traitors and rebels?
What good is fleeing thousands of miles?
He has enjoyed many blessings and suffered many hardships in his life.
The most important thing now is to live a good life and grow old with my wife.
Death is a small matter; what he fears is that after he dies, his wife will remarry and sleep with another man.
What if his wife finds out about the benefits of men and regrets sleeping with him? He'd probably be furious.
There are countless reasons not to want to die, but Chief Supervisor Xiao's reason is truly unprecedented and will likely never be repeated.
Some men remarry because they are afraid of their wives, but it's usually just a matter of pride that prevents them from being cuckolded.
But Chief Supervisor Xiao is different. Of course he doesn't want to be cuckolded, but he's even more afraid of losing in a bed match.
After the old emperor's confidant reported that Xiao Yuan was seriously ill with a fever, he waited for a long time but received no response. Instead, he was broken out of prison that very night.
It's not quite accurate to call it a prison break; it was more like an assassination attempt and a prison break, and it was clear that they were two separate groups of people.
The old emperor hesitated to deal with Xiao Yuan because he knew that Xiao Yuan had many subordinates and that any action taken against him would have far-reaching consequences. He dared not act rashly before Chen Kuo had fully taken control of the Eastern Depot.
But he really didn't want to use Xiao Yuan anymore.
According to the imperial physician, Zhang Zhongyi's days are numbered. He also asked the crown prince's youngest son, who said he personally heard his father tell someone that the Eastern Depot would help with everything.
The crown prince's youngest son was only 8 years old and would cry if he was frightened. The old emperor asked him several times and finally the child was not lying.
But in reality, the Crown Prince never actually said that.
The child wasn't lying, but he only heard a skilled ventriloquist eunuch imitating the prince's speech behind the artificial hill, and he mistakenly thought it was his father.
The old emperor no longer trusted Xiao Yuan, and Zhang Zhongyi finally dared to take action. Especially after receiving news of Xiao Yuan's illness, he exclaimed that even God was helping him and immediately sent assassins.
On the surface, they were going to break him out of prison, but in reality, they wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of him. Even if they couldn't get rid of him, they would still confirm Xiao Yuan's crime of escaping from prison.
The Imperial Guards were no match for the assassins. They shouted for their commander to escape while hacking open Xiao Yuan's cell door.
Even though Xiao Yuan was delirious from the fever, his skills were still intact. How could he fall for such a obviously fake trick? He snatched the sword from the assassin and stabbed him.
The Left Prime Minister's primary order was to kill Xiao Yuan once and for all, and now that Xiao Yuan refused to leave, the assassins had taken drastic measures.
He even smashed a ceramic jar filled with tung oil, intending to take everyone in the cell down with him.
Xiao Yuan had been locked up for several days without food or water and had a fever. When the fire broke out, he was immediately dizzy from the smoke.
Just when he thought he was about to confess, he suddenly saw someone being pushed into the cell entrance.
The assassins surrounding him were knocked down by the corpse and rolled into the fire, and before he fell, he heard a voice as beautiful as heavenly music.
"Husband!"