Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 657 It Was Him

Shi Chun, who was kneeling on the ground listening, was a little puzzled. When did we become some kind of bandit leader? Aren't we just ordinary people trying to survive in exile?

But then I thought, well, to outsiders, are these people who kill and rob each other normal people? What are they if not bandits?
In that case, it wouldn't be wrong to call himself a bandit leader.

At the same time, I felt a little honored by what Qieshan said. I was not only an insignificant nobody back then, but I am also insignificant in front of you now. If I hadn't done something wrong, you would have no idea who I, Shi Chun, am.

However, when he heard that Wu Jinliang was involved, his heart sank. What was going on? Why would the prison want to arrest Wu Jinliang?

He regretted it, he really regretted it. If he had known it would turn out like this, he should have listened to Wu Jinliang and just hid in the underworld. He could have secretly come out and robbed whatever he needed.

Speaking of Wu Jinliang, it's true that even the current Queen Xin has heard of him. When her subordinates reported on Shi Chun's situation, they also mentioned Wu Jinliang. His name is really unique, making it hard for him not to leave an impression.

Hearing that they still wanted Wu Jinliang, her face darkened, and she turned to look at the woman in palace attire beside her, her meaning self-evident.

The woman in palace attire replied weakly, "According to the investigation, Wu Jinliang is the second-in-command of Dongjiuyuan."

The second-in-command was naturally among the so-called bandit leaders.

Well, Queen Xin could understand this concise filing. It's already good enough that the prison can formally report to the outside world. Do you expect them to provide a detailed account of every little thing? Do you think they are your subordinates?

But this did not quell her anger; instead, it made her glare at the women in palace attire. "Since you all knew this, why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
The woman in palace attire also felt wronged. She had just discovered this incident when she went to check the past records of the prison. When the prison issued such a record, Shi Chun had just been released from prison. Who knew what kind of person Shi Chun was, that he was worth the royal court's attention?
Over the years, the Prison of Life has issued countless requests for assistance. The Eastern Victory Royal Court is not subordinate to the Prison of Life. You don't even have any evidence yourself, so why would you expect the Eastern Victory Royal Court to take it seriously for you?
I watched it and then just left it aside to save it; nobody cared anymore.

In short, Wang Ting wouldn't have noticed Shi Chun when the case was filed back then.

Even though Shi Chun has gained some fame now, no one would have thought that he would be related to the long-forgotten Sheng Yu.

However, she knew very well that she should suffer injustice for now, as it was not appropriate to defend herself in public with so many people watching. She could explain herself in private later.

The Demon Queen, hiding in the back hall, had a look on her face as she pondered something.

Queen Xin did not publicly berate her subordinates, but instead turned her attention to outsiders again, saying, "I am about to carry out an execution, and you bring up something from several years ago at this crucial moment. Isn't that a bit too coincidental?"

Yet Shan still smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you flatter me. It depends on how you look at it. Ten days ago, someone from the Qi family, who was reported for corruption, impersonated someone else and infiltrated the prison. After being discovered, this old case was reopened. It's the Qi family again. What exactly are they trying to do? The judge is determined to investigate from the beginning and bring all those involved to justice."

In other words, ten days ago, I was ordered to leave the prison and search for this fellow everywhere, but I couldn't find him and I don't know where he has hidden.

"Your Majesty, as you know, the prison's intelligence network is very weak. By the time I heard the news of Shi Chun's capture and execution, I already knew he was in the hands of the Eastern Victory King's court. By then, it was too late. Fortunately, I arrived at the last minute. It is no small matter that someone has repeatedly interfered in the prison's affairs. I beg Your Majesty's understanding regarding my impudence."

Upon hearing this, Queen Xin glanced at Fang, the prime suspect, on the jade slip and muttered to herself, "The Qi family infiltrated the Prison of Life again ten days ago..."

She was also curious about why the Qi family was so fearless and what they wanted to do. What was there to scheme for?
At the same time, they were also weighing the time. Ten days ago, Shi Chun had not yet been arrested, let alone decided to be beheaded. If what the other party said was true, then it really was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Qieshan, who was waiting with a smile, neither humble nor arrogant, was also wondering to himself.

Actually, he didn't know what was going on either.

More than ten days ago, the judge suddenly summoned him and ordered him to go out and secretly arrest a member of the Qi family and bring him back to the prison.

Then today, the judge summoned him again, instructing him to arrest Shi Chun and take him back based on the circumstances.

There are prerequisites for arresting Shi Chun: he can only act if he is certain that Shi Chun is beyond saving; if anyone interferes, he will remain hidden.

The judge didn't tell him the specifics of what happened.

But he wasn't a blockhead; a fool couldn't handle this task. He would analyze it himself. The excuse he used to take Shi Chun away was that the Qi family had infiltrated the prison again. But he knew very well that he had secretly arrested the Qi family a dozen days ago.

In other words, the judge had been preparing for today for more than ten days.

He had his own information channels when he ran errands for people outside. Based on the relevant information he had gathered, he deduced that something related to Shi Chun had happened a dozen days ago. Shi Chun and Li Hongjiu, who were being pursued, encountered a great calamity and had an earth-shattering battle at sea.

He didn't know if it was related to this.

After careful calculation and comparison, he discovered that the judge summoned him to give him a mission shortly after Shi Chun and Li Hongjiu had just been robbed.

If it really was related to this, he was very curious: how could the judge know so quickly about a battle that had taken place in a remote part of Jukuzhou? Could it be that the judge had an informant among those who participated?

If back then they were truly preparing for Shi Chun's fall into the hands of the Eastern Victory Royal Court, then Shi Chun is someone he really needs to think about carefully. Why would the Judge personally go to such lengths to save him… “Clan Chief Yin, didn’t you say that Shi Chun must die this time, and that no one’s pleas for mercy would be of any use?”

Queen Xin's sudden voice awakened Qieshan's thoughts.

Qieshan turned to look at Yin Luo, the patriarch of the Qingqiu Fox Clan; the two knew each other.

Yin Luo, his face tense, stared at Qie Shan and slowly spoke, "Do you know what he's done?"

Qieshan smiled and said, "I'd like to hear more details."

Yin Luo said in a deep voice, "He impersonated my Qingqiu Ancestor's friend, tricked my Qingqiu people into serving him, and caused my people great suffering. How can my Qingqiu Fox Clan let him off so easily?"

Qieshan turned his head to look at Shi Chun, who was kneeling there with blood on his face. His eyes flickered slightly, and he vaguely felt that he had found the answer to the judge's writing. Could this guy really be a friend of the Qingqiu Ancestor? Could it be that he got the judge's help because of this?

Despite his thoughts, he still held up the judge's pen and gestured, "Clan Chief Yin, I understand your feelings, but it's hard to obey orders. There are priorities, so I hope you won't make things difficult for me."

Yin Luo remained silent for a while with a taut face, then suddenly bowed slightly to Queen Xin, "Excuse me, farewell." He glanced back at Yin Xu, who was standing on one leg like a rooster, and said, "Let's go."

Without saying another word, he turned and left.

With a look of resentment on his face, Yin Xu had no choice but to drift away as well.

"Hmph." Queen Xin chuckled.

Seeing that Yin Luo had swallowed back his boastful words and been humiliated, his tone was full of sarcasm.

Hiding in the rear hall, the Demon Queen smiled slightly and muttered softly, "I see..."

Now that things have come to this point, and given that Qieshan's visit was based on solid evidence, Queen Xin had no choice but to release him. If she refused to cooperate, she would indeed be suspected of silencing him, especially since she couldn't provide any reasonable evidence to prove that Shi Chun had been killed. It wasn't worth making a big fuss over this; other families would probably be more than happy to see her imprisoned and go to war with Dong Sheng.

So, the weak and pitiful Shi Chun was dragged away by Qie Shan and his gang with a clanging sound from his chains.

At this moment, the empress, still adorned with makeup, emerged from behind the palace.

Queen Xin asked, "Was the joke funny?"

"This is boring, I'm leaving." The Demon Queen replied indifferently, flicked her sleeve, and directly tore through the void in the palace, disappearing into thin air with Dao Zhen.

Once everyone else was gone, the woman in palace attire began to explain to the Queen why she hadn't been able to find any connection between Shi Chun and the records.

After hearing this, Queen Xin didn't want to bring it up again. She waved her hand and said, "It's probably true that the Qi family has reappeared in the prison. They've acted recklessly again. They're quite bold, and their schemes are probably quite ambitious. Investigate!"

"Yes," the woman in palace attire replied.

In the magnificent palaces of the Western Ox King's Court, two figures appeared out of thin air.

After waving for Daozhen to leave, the Empress paced alone in the desolate pavilion, then suddenly chuckled softly, "It was him..."

If she hadn't known that Shi Chun could secretly sneak in and out of the 'Big Dipper Spirit Repelling Array,' that he seemed to be involved in the underworld, and that his precious clothes, boots, and bracelet were all extraordinary, and that she herself had lured Shi Chun to surrender and personally set a trap to drive him to his death, she might have actually believed the seemingly reasonable intervention of the Prison of Life.

He went to great lengths and patiently played along with Shi Chun, all because he suspected that there was something extraordinary behind Shi Chun and wanted to force out the person behind Shi Chun. Who knew that he would actually force out that person's identity.

So she understood what the Qingqiu fox clan meant by going to the Dongsheng royal court to force Shi Chun to his death. It was all an act, to distance Shi Chun from Qingqiu and also from Shengyu.

"Has he become restless after being too still? Judging from that guy's personality and the current situation, it's probably just a casual move. To be his casual move, one must have something worthwhile. What was that guy like a few years ago? How did he even catch his eye..."

As she paced back and forth in thought, the reason she concluded that Shi Chun was an idle person was primarily due to her relationship with him. If he had been instructed to get close to her, he wouldn't have made a move on her the first time they met, nor would he have used the guise of the Qingqiu Ancestor to deceive and swindle. Was he afraid of being exposed?
In addition, a summary of various other details.

In the previous incident, both Sheng Yu and Qing Qiu jumped out, clearly to clean up the mess.

In any case, she achieved her goal, her methods were successful, and she figured out the origin of the coin, which was of great value!
Just thinking about it makes me smile; I'm in a great mood.

(End of this chapter)