Relay Station
The relay station wasn't small. It had a main hall, a back hall, a side room, a storeroom, a corridor and a stable. Some even had a relay boat. Regardless of the weather, there would be an important courier carrying a briefcase on his back.
When officials traveled, they could enjoy free food and lodging provided by the courier station according to their rank. The Advisor was a fourth-rank official, so he was treated well. However, he was currently enjoying a few simple dishes and wine. His face looked old, and the wrinkles around his eyebrows were deep.
At this point, someone stepped forward, "Your excellency, a Daoist handed me a file."
This man was a middle aged man. When he handed over the file, he was somewhat nervous, and his forehead was sweating profusely. He subconsciously touched the ten taels of silver in his sleeves. For these ten taels of silver, it was worth it to be scolded.
"What Daoist's file?" The Advisor laughed and looked at the servant, "How much silver did you receive, to hand me a file?"
The servant trembled as he knelt down, "Your excellency, I, I …"
The servant touched the silver in his hands and stuttered, unable to speak. Seeing this, the Advisor waved his hands, "Forget it. Everyone says that the Prime Minister's doorstep is a seventh rank official. However, I've been promoted to Advisor, and am now in charge of the irrigation works. Although I've been promoted, the money doesn't belong to me, and the people don't belong to me. It's just a title. It's been hard on you all. Tell me, how long has it been since I've been promoted?"
The Xu Dynasty's Ministry of Works had set up the Irrigation Department. There was a Minister, who was of the fifth rank. There were two Minister Counsellors, who were of the fifth rank. As for the Advisor who was of the fourth rank, he was only in charge of a province's irrigation works.
Hearing these words, the servant's tears welled up in his eyes as he replied softly, "Your excellency, it's been a year and six months."
"Ai, it's been a year and six months. In the beginning, there were still people around. But now, they think that I'm an idle official, and refuse to ring the bell. Damn it." The Advisor drank some wine, and his face was red as he scolded.
After scolding for some time, his anger subsided. He then laughed, "Look, what's being delivered here. Could it be that the Daoist Monastery in the city is trying to pull some strings? But I'm just an idle official, what can I do? "
The servant kneeling on the ground wanted to say something to comfort the old master, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
The Councilor didn't think much of it. He put down his wine glass and flipped through the file. He only took one look and was shocked. He flipped through the file again and again. His eyes were filled with surprise and joy, and his hands were trembling.
"Old Master, are you remembering something bad? Please forgive me, please forgive me. I shouldn't have been greedy for money. "The servant hurriedly kowtowed.
The Advisor didn't listen to the pleas of the servant. He stood up and paced a few steps before he came to his senses and carefully read the file in his hand.
As he read on, the Advisor slammed his palm on the table, causing the wine jug on the table to jump up. Wine spilled everywhere as he laughed out loud, "Stop kowtowing. Quick, follow me to Yu City Mansion."
"Yu City Prefecture?" The servant was stumped. This prefecture was very far away, and was located in a corner of Ying Prefecture.
"Right, don't inform the local authorities, we'll go incognito."
Yu City Prefecture, Jade Crest Pavilion
This mountain wasn't too far away from the Prefecture City, about a hundred meters away. It was spring, and the grass and trees were growing. At this point, it was drizzling, and the weather was gloomy. The Advisor wore a raincoat as he walked up the steps. He looked like an ordinary middle aged man. Indeed, he saw a pavilion. At this point, nobody was watching. The Advisor wasn't in a hurry to dig. He then pointed to the Jade Crest Pavilion and said, "In the previous dynasty, this prefecture was flooded. The magistrate of the prefecture petitioned for a reduction in rent and food.
"The following year, the magistrate built this pavilion, and named it Jade Crest Pavilion, to commemorate the benevolence of the Emperor."
As he spoke, he looked around and saw the rain falling down onto the ground. The Advisor had a look of melancholy on his face. After some time, he sighed, "According to the records, it's right in front of the pavilion. Dig and see if it's real or fake. You'll know soon enough."
"Yes!" The servant had already prepared his tools and started digging. His luck wasn't bad. After digging for three feet, he found the right spot.
"Slow down, slow down!" The Advisor took a look, and realized that the calm and peaceful atmosphere was gone. He then walked up and saw a wooden box. The wooden box looked ordinary, and was half rotten.
The Advisor was overjoyed, "Quick, open it."
The servant excused himself and opened the box. The rotten stench was gone, and a skeleton could be seen within. Looking at the skeleton, the Advisor heaved a sigh of relief, "Indeed, he didn't lie to me."
"Master, there's a bronze plaque inside?" The servant retrieved it and handed it over to the Advisor. The Advisor noticed that it was embroidered with bronze, and the words were still legible. It read "You Ji".
"Haha, this is a huge case." The Advisor laughed, "Follow me back. I have to report this to the Governor, and ask for the Emperor's permission to retrieve the other corpses. We shall then capture this criminal."
As he spoke up to this point, the muscles on his face twitched, as though he was filled with hatred.
An Ji Mansion, Prison
The foundation was made of limestone, and the walls were made of stone. Both sides of the prison were separated by wooden bars, and in the middle was a corridor. A cold and damp stench permeated the entire prison, causing one to feel nauseous.
At this point, the stench was mixed with the stench of blood, causing one to feel nauseous. Bai Ceng looked at the few people in front of him. These women were all pretty, and had been tortured countless times. Their clothes were dirty, and their bodies were stained with sweat and blood. The stench was unbearable, and their faces were pale. One of them had been tortured on her legs, and was swollen to the point where her toes were peeled off.
Seeing this, Bai Ceng asked, "Did they confess?"
One of the prison officers replied, "Don't think that they're all women. They refused to confess even after being tortured several times. They're all unconscious now."
Bai Ceng paused for sometime before sighing, "Master is still waiting anxiously. What do you think we should do about this?"
The prison officer laughed coldly, "The heart of a prison officer is like a furnace. It's easy to get a confession. This was written yesterday, and they pressed their fingerprints on it."
With a wave of his hand, a prison officer walked up to the table and handed the confession over. The prison officer then said, "Don't think that these women look like this. They're all pretty, and have practiced martial arts. Let's wash them up and give them to our brothers. It's a rare taste. When we're done with them, cut off their tongues, and pull out the tendons on their arms and legs. We can say that they're trying to escape from prison, or that they committed suicide."
"What if they die?" Bai Ceng asked.
When the prison officer heard this, he laughed, "Who doesn't die in prison? As long as it's not someone important, it doesn't matter if they die. "
When Bai Ceng heard this, he suddenly thought of the trial that had taken place in the River Deity Temple. Looking at the confession, he broke out in a cold sweat, "There are some things that I have no choice but to do, unless I escape immediately. But what about my family?"
As he thought this, he received the confession and turned to leave.
Prefectural Yamen, Study Room
The prefectural magistrate was in the middle of writing a document, "The reclamation of the riverbank was ordered by the imperial court. I've inspected the riverbank before. Once the water is drawn out, it will be fertile land. We can reclaim a few thousand mu of land. I shall come back next year to inspect it."
As soon as he finished writing, Bai Ceng stood outside the door and reported, "Your excellency, the matter has been settled."
The prefectural magistrate received the confession and swept his gaze across the room before laughing coldly, "Good, good. Go and gather some men. Follow me to the monastery!"
"Yes!"
The magistrate's office was several mu in size, and was huge. With a single command, two groups of bailiffs followed. Just as the prefectural magistrate was about to lead his men out, an ox-cart arrived, and a man alighted from it. The prefectural magistrate looked at this man, and realized that he didn't want to see him. He was dressed neatly, and was a fourth ranked Advisor.
This man was the one who had fought with him. However, the prefectural magistrate had relied on King Lu to obtain the position of prefectural magistrate, and had secretly demoted him. Seeing that the Advisor had appeared, the prefectural magistrate wasn't afraid at all. He smiled fakely, "Your excellency Advisor, when will you be inspecting the irrigation works? Why didn't you inform me?"
This was a sarcasm to the Advisor for not following the rules. If you wanted to inspect the irrigation works, you had to inform the prefectural magistrate. How could you suddenly attack me?
Hearing these words, the Advisor wasn't angered. Instead, his eyes gleamed as he shouted out, "Men, remove the official hat of the prefectural magistrate Yue Bai. Seize him!"
"Yes!" Several men rushed out from behind.
"You dare?" The prefectural magistrate was enraged, "I am a fifth ranked prefectural magistrate. If I don't obey the Emperor's orders, what right do you have to remove my official hat and seize me?"
Naturally, there was a reason for this.
Removing the official hat meant that he would retain his official title. But removing the official robes meant that he would be stripped of his official title. This was a very serious matter.
"Of course I dare. I'm under the Governor's orders. I've requested for the Emperor's flag!" The Advisor laughed sinisterly as someone behind raised the green flag. At this point, the Advisor didn't hesitate any longer, and snatched the official hat from the prefectural magistrate. He then pinned the man to the ground.
The prefectural magistrate and the bailiffs hurriedly took a step back. The assistant manager Bai Ceng was terrified as he fell to the ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise up.
The Advisor walked around the prefectural magistrate several steps before arriving in front of him. Seeing the magistrate kneeling before him, he felt elated. He then spoke out coldly, "You've been exposed. The Governor has ordered for you to be stripped of your official hat, and report this to the imperial court."
As he spoke, he tossed out a report, "Let him take a look."
The soldier released his grip, revealing the magistrate's clothes to be covered in dust. His lips were bleeding, and his hands were trembling. When he picked up the report, his face turned pale as he broke out in a cold sweat. This was something that had been plaguing him for more than ten years, and he didn't want it to be exposed.
After some time, he regained his composure and struggled to speak, "This is slander. There's no proof. Even the Governor has no right to remove me from my post. I shall submit a report to the imperial court."
The Advisor gritted his teeth, "Do you know that we've already gone to the Jade Crest Pavilion and dug up the heads and waist insignia? We've also invited the Governor's soldiers and the Emperor's flag to seal up the entire courtyard. We've dug up more than ten corpses and armors, as well as the waist insignia. You're finished."
Hearing these words, the magistrate's entire body went limp as he mumbled, "Impossible, impossible."
The Advisor laughed coldly, "All these years, you haven't touched the corpses. You must think that since no one has found out, you can sit back and relax."
The magistrate fell to the ground, as though all his muscles had been pulled out of him. At this point, Pei Zi Yun walked in with the Sect Leader. When the magistrate saw them, he understood, "It's you, it's you. You …."
"It's me!" Pei Zi Yun said coldly. Hearing his hoarse voice, even those who were not involved in the discussion couldn't help but shiver.
At this point, Pei Zi Yun walked closer to the magistrate and whispered into his ear, "Do you really think we Daoists are pushovers? Whoever offends us, unless he's a virtuous person, how can he escape unscathed? "
The magistrate's face turned pale.
Pei Zi Yun turned around, "Let's go, we're going to the prison to fetch him!"
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