Chapter 1915: Should Good People Accept Their Fate of Being Bullied?
The jailer pushed open a small door to the side, saying, “You should hurry and hide in here. You can't make any sound no matter what happens, or else all of us are done for!”
The Imperial Prison’s criminals normally weren’t allowed visitors. If one really wanted to visit the people inside, they would have to go through many complicated formalities in the court, which were practically impossible to succeed in. Even so, the great clans had all sorts of resources and connections, so they could always find a workaround somehow. If they bribed the people in the Imperial Prison, the jailers became extremely happy with the extra income, and they didn’t want to offend these capital’s bigwigs either. That was why they sometimes brought people inside in private. It was to the extent that, as long as one gave them enough and one's background was sufficient, every meal inside could be restaurant-quality, and they could even send in some women to provide service day and night.
Of course, that was assuming everyone was done in secret, something everyone tacitly agreed to not make a big deal out of. They just couldn't brag about it on the surface. If higher authority figures came for an investigation and found out what was happening, things could quickly be blown out of proportion, and there would be a lot of trouble. The jailers would definitely be punished severely, and the ones who entered the Imperial Prison wouldn’t have a good time either.
Qin Wanru understood that quite well too. She grabbed her daughters’ hands in alarm and said, “Hurry, quick! We have to hide over there.”
Brightmoon City’s Chu clan had always been disliked by the imperial court. If one of their enemies took thechance to capture them, the consequences would really be horrible.
Not only wouldn’t we be able to save the Qin clan, I would only be throwing my own daughters away. What would Zhongtian back in Brightmoon City do then?
There’s no way he could just start a rebellion, right?
After seeing how vicious many of the convicts were on her way inside, Qin Wanru still felt some lingering fear even now. If she and these two daughters were locked up in this kind of place, it really would be a life worse than death. Most importantly, they were all women, and very pretty women at that. If these ferocious jailers or some bigwigs wanted to do something inappropriate to them, they wouldn’t be able to resist at all!
A resolute expression suddenly appeared on her face.
If those people want to bully Huanzhao and the others, then I’ll just block the way and take all of them on myself.
I’m a madam who has already had children anyway, so I should be able to handle them all. I can’t let Huanzhao and the others’ delicate bodies be disgraced.
I should be able to deal with one person, but what if many of them come at us?
Sniff… Just the thought alone is scary…
In that instant, she already imagined countless miserable scenes. Her expression became extremely pale.
Just then, a hand gently rested on her shoulder, and a voice said, “There's no need for us to hide. There's no one in this capital that I need to hide from.”
For some reason, when she felt the steadiness of that hand, Qin Wanru’s alarmed heart gradually calmed down.
Right, my son-in-law is now the Fiend races' Regent, the human race’s libationer, and even the chamberlain of the Eastern Palace, a favored minister of the crown princess, a rising marquis… Why am I scared?
When she thought of that, she immediately straightened her back.
Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao’s eyes immediately began to shine.
Brother-in-law is so amazing! I just feel a mysterious sense of safety when I’m together with him.
The two young ladies’ eyes quickly met. When they saw the way they were looking at Zu An, they both harrumphed and looked away.
Second sis is definitely lusting after brother-in-law’s body. You can guard against thousands or even tens of thousands of thieves, but a thief inside the family is the hardest to guard against!
There’s definitely something wrong with third sis’ expression. Don’t tell me she likes my brother-in-law too? Huh? Why did I use the word 'too'?
Murong Qinghe quickly wore her mask again. She didn’t want to bring Zu An any trouble. At the same time, she was a bit worried. Her clan was right there.
Is it really going to all be okay?
What if this causes the Murong clan’s people to be treated even more poorly? That would be really bad.
Jiang Luofu patted her trembling body, saying, “Don’t worry. With him and… here, it’ll be fine.”
She wanted to say that both she and Zu An were here, and that it was going to be fine; after all, she was from the Commandant of Justice, and strictly speaking, her father was the immediate superior of everyone in the court’s judicial system. However, when compared to Zu An, she found it a bit embarrassing to put herself on the same level as him. When she recalled that somewhat shy and bashful young man who had first joined Brightmoon Academy, she couldn't help but smile.
Just how much time has passed? And yet our relationship has already been completely flipped upside down. It really is something quite amazing.
Murong Qinghe looked at Zu An with a complicated expression.
No wonder big brother Chu is always clinging to her brother-in-law; big brother Zu is really charming. Big brother Chu must look up to him a lot.
They all had different thoughts; meanwhile the jailer was really panicking, saying, “Come on, why aren’t you all moving! Aiyou, there’s really no time…”
He suddenly had no time to worry about that; in moments, he was standing respectfully with his hands behind him. A group of a dozen or so people entered jus tthen, all dressed in official robes that had fierce and malevolent beasts embroidered on them.
Jiang Luofu said to Zu An, “They are people from the Ministry of Justice.”
Zu An nodded.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were five ministries that managed various day to day government affairs. For example, Sang Hong was from the Ministry of Finance and managed the dispatch of money and grain. At some point, in order to divide the authority of the Commandant of Justice, the Three Dukes had been appointed to manage the judgment of legal cases. Even though they were called the Three Dukes, however, people were used to calling them the Ministry of Justice in private.
When they saw that there was such a large group of people gathered, the group from the Ministry of Justice was stunned. When had the Imperial Prison started having so many idlers around, and so many beauties at that? There was a mature madam, youthful young ladies, and even a pair of beautiful black stocking-covered legs! As people working under the Ministry of Justice, they naturally knew about some of the disgraceful things that were happening on the Imperial Prison’s side.
Could it be that a certain big shot was in the mood and his subordinates were sending him women?
However, there are so many, and they’re all of different styles. Was he trying to have an orgy in the Imperial Prison?
The one in the lead reluctantly pulled back his gaze from Jiang Luofu’s soul-melting black silk stockings and turned to growl at the jailer, “Who are they? Why are they inside the Imperial Prison?!”
The jailer was secretly furious.
It’s all these people’s fault for not hiding when I told them to! Now, they're blaming me as expected!
As such, he said with an apologetic smile, “Responding to Sir Ye, they probably bribed a certain idiot here and came here to visit their friends.”
“Visit?” The official sighed in relief.
It seems these aren’t subordinates of any big shots. That makes things much easier to handle.
He turned to the group and said, “The Imperial Prison is an important place. How can it be a place you can willfully enter and leave? Furthermore, all of you are suspected of bribing a court official, which adds another layer of crime. Men, arrest all of them. I’ll make sure to slowly interrogate them later.”
His eyes lingered on Qin Wanru’s impressive chest and Jiang Luofu’s outstanding legs.
A mature madam and a sexy big sister, now that’s what I’m talking about! Comparatively, those young ladies are a bit too young.
As long as they entered this Imperial Prison, even if a deity came here, they would still have to listen to him. After he properly played with them for a few days, he would release them once their clans gathered a large sum of money to ransom them.
Not only won’t they blame me, they’ll even be extremely grateful.
As for these womenfolk that were taken advantage of, they won’t say a thing for the sake of their own reputation and integrity. It’s not even the first time I’ve done something like this; it’s already a done deal.
When she heard that, Qin Wanru’s face paled.
The worst really did happen after all! We should have hidden ourselves earlier after all.
She could feel the malicious gaze on her. As a woman, she could innately sense the desires of a man.
I’m done for, I’m done for! I’m really going to end up like a lamb in a tiger’s den now…
Jiang Luofu’s elegant brows furrowed. She replied in an ice-cold voice, “Which one of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s laws are you acting in accordance with? The people involved have not even been investigated by the related department, and yet you are already going to throw them into the Imperial Prison?”
Suddenly, someone among the officials seemed to have realized something. He quickly whispered a few things to the leader surnamed Ye.
The leader was startled. He gave Jiang Luofu a careful look, and looked at her trademark black stockings, asking, “You are Commandant of Justice Jiang’s young miss?”
“That is correct, but this has nothing to do with my identity. Even if I were an ordinary person, you are not permitted to know the law and break it,” Jiang Luofu said, her expression cold. She had studied the law her entire life, so she naturally abhorred such behavior. She continued, “Judging from your official uniform and your surname of Ye, you must be the Ministry of Justice’s Vice Minister, Ye Ping.”
Zu An couldn't help but give this guy a look of disdain.
Your surname is Ye?
There had been many main leads from his previous world who had the surname Ye.
Wasn’t there that one quote really popular among the forums? Those surnamed Ye, Xiao, or Chu… often must not be provoked.
Even so, this person was completely ordinary-looking, without much of an impressive aura.
He probably isn’t some kind of main character.
“I didn’t expect Miss Jiang to know me so well. However, even though Miss Jiang finds it easy to criticize me, you’ve brought people into the Imperial Prison, so how is that not consciously going against the law?” Ye Ping replied with a sneer. “It’s not that I’m trying to criticize you, but those of you who study in the academy are only good at being armchair strategists. How can you understand the suffering of those in our line of work?
“Your words sounded good earlier, but have the Murong clan’s people behind you gone through any department’s trials? Weren’t they immediately thrown into the Imperial Prison?”
The Ministry of Justice was a department meant to keep the Commandant of Justice in check, so their relationship wasn’t good to begin with. That was why he didn’t show her any respect despite finding out Jiang Luofu’s identity.
When they heard that, the Murong clan’s people cursed him endlessly. They were clearly full of resentment over that matter.
When he heard their curses, Ye Ping’s expression became cold and his eyes narrowed.
Jiang Luofu remained silent for a moment, then said, “That’s right, there are indeed many in the Great Zhou Dynasty who have not done as well as they should. Those working in the field of laws and degrees in my generation should be doing our best to change that, not using it as a means to frame people with criminal charges and lock then up willfully.”
“Naive!” Ye Ping retorted, laughing mockingly. “Since Miss Jiang wishes to discuss the law, I will take the time to properly discuss the law with you.
“Your group does not have a court approval and selfishly came to visit criminals. Is that in accordance with the law?
“You bribed the jailers here with money. Have you not committed the crime of bribery?
“Furthermore, there are so many of you here, so your identities are too suspicious. I have reason to suspect that there are criminals among your group as well, and that you came here to exchange information. You might even have attempted something like a jailbreak.
“As such, my choice to lock all of you up for interrogation is to eliminate potential sources of suspicion. Everything is reasonable and fair, and it is in accordance with the usual process. Even if you report this all the way to the throne room, I have nothing to fear.”
Jiang Luofu raised her brows. Her expression became a bit colder as she said, “The reason why the court formulated these laws and rules was to deal with treacherous villains. However, the reality of the situation is that it is often good people who are locked up and bound by the laws, while bad people can exploit these rules to take advantage of good people.
“Should good people just give in and accept their fate? Shouldn’t laws like that be changed?!”
She slowly bent down and tore at the hem of her skirt. The miniskirt that had previously wrapped tightly around her bottom now draped down like a cheongsam dress.
Meanwhile, Ye Ping was stunned.
Is this woman planning to seduce me? Amusing.
Jiang Luofu suddenly stomped on the ground. Under the others' shocked gazes, she charged straight at the group of officials.
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