Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 401 Rescue
Prison Department of Punishment.

The jailer stared in astonishment at the prisoner who had been suddenly brought in.

"How is this going?"

I wonder which deity the Ministry of Justice's prison has offended. First, many prisoners came from Daming Prefecture, then some more came in because of the gambling case, and now even more people have arrived...

"The heretical cultists arrested by Lord Xu must be kept under close guard, and none of them should be missing before they are interrogated."

The guards had no choice but to obey their superiors' orders and busied themselves rearranging the cells to separate the prisoners and ensure that nothing went wrong.

With everything finally arranged, the jailer plopped down in a chair, wanting to catch his breath.

The prison gates were opened again, and a commotion ensued. The jailer's heart sank, and he quickly peered in, only to see a group of bound prisoners walking in one after another.

The jailer harbored resentment but dared not complain about Xu Huaiyi. He could only grumble at the prisoners, pick up the whip on the table, and lash out at the prisoner at the front.

"What? Is there a famine outside? Are they all rushing to the prison to eat?"

After beating one prisoner, the jailer was still not satisfied, so he simply walked away while whipping the other one. As the whip fell faster and faster, he walked to the door.

As another prisoner entered, before he could even see clearly, his arm had already instinctively risen, and then…

He then spotted a familiar face.

In his astonishment, the jailer tried to pull back the whip, but it was too late; the tip of the whip landed squarely on the man's back.

It made a crisp "snap" sound.

The jailer's face turned deathly pale. Before the man being beaten could react, he immediately dropped the whip and knelt on the ground, his knees buckling.

"Fifth Brother, I didn't mean to... I didn't see clearly."

Little did he expect that the person who came would be the son of the Minister of Justice.
Previously, the jailer did not recognize Xia Ziqiao. Later, when the He family had an accident, Xia Ziqiao called him over to inquire about the situation in the prison and even rewarded him with some money. He thought that he had thus gained favor with the Xia family. However, he never expected to meet Xia Wulang again in the prison.

"I deserve to die, I deserve to die." The jailer reached up and slapped himself.

Xia Ziqiao had never suffered such humiliation before. He was stunned and stood there for a moment. When he came to his senses and was about to fight back, he remembered that his hands were tied with ropes. So he raised his foot and kicked the jailer in the face.

"You bastard, you dare to hit anyone. Your eyes are useless, you might as well gouge them out."

Xia Ziqiao kicked the jailer several times, and the jailer fell to the ground, not daring to resist.

"stop."

A shout rang out, and Xu Huaiyi stepped forward, looking at the remaining jailers and constables in the prison: "You just watched as the prisoners beat up the jailers?"

Before anyone could speak, Xu Huaiyi continued, "Men, seize Xia Ziqiao and give him ten strokes of the cane as a warning to others."

The jailers and constables looked at each other, and dared not make a move for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Xie Chengrang, who was standing behind, immediately tried to dissuade him: "Lord Xu, Wulang was beaten without cause, which is why he instinctively fought back. Please consider that Wulang is a first-time offender and give him a lenient sentence."

"I have already shown leniency by replacing the cane with a flogging. If he does not change his ways, next time I will drag him out and execute him in public at the yamen gate." After saying this, Xu Huaiyi looked at the jailers. Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, the two jailers had no choice but to drag Xia Ziqiao away.

Xu Huaiyi was about to go over to supervise the execution, but Xie Chengrang stopped him.

“Lord Xu,” Xie Chengrang said, “there is something strange about today’s case. There may be some misunderstanding. Please do not let things get out of control before the facts are clear.”

Xu Huaiyi said with a stern face: "Xia Ziqiao beat up a jailer right under my nose, and I can't even do anything about it?"

Xie Chengrang said, "Wasn't it the jailer who started it? We are only temporarily detained, not real prisoners. How can we be treated like this?"

"No need for Xie Erlang's reminder," Xu Huaiyi said sternly. "I will deal with that jailer myself." After speaking, Xu Huaiyi lifted his foot and walked into the depths of the prison. Xie Chengrang looked at Xu Huaiyi's upright figure and felt a chill in his heart. Falling into this man's hands, it would probably not be easy to get out of here.

The sounds of executions echoed from the prison, mingled with Xia Ziqiao's screams, each one louder than the last.

Just as the Ministry of Justice official rushed in, Xia Ziqiao's flogging had just ended, and he was dragged into the prison by two jailers. Seeing Xia Ziqiao's miserable state, the Ministry of Justice official's eyes widened, and he pointed at Xu Huaiyi: "Where did you get the guts... Release him immediately and come with me to apologize to the Minister."

“We can’t let him go,” Xu Huaiyi said without looking at the official. “The Ministry of Justice’s prison is not a place you can just come and go as you please.”

"You know that, so why did you..."

The Ministry of Justice official didn't know what to say: "If you won't release him, fine... I'll go release him."

The Ministry of Justice official had just taken a step forward when Xu Huaiyi blocked his way: "The court has laws. If you want to take away a suspect, you must first bring the necessary documents."

The Assistant Minister of Justice could hardly believe his ears; Xu Huaiyi was actually asking him for documents.

"Without any documentation," Xu Huaiyi raised his eyes, "this is tantamount to a prison break. Would you like to give it a try, sir?"

"Alright," the Ministry of Justice official finally uttered after a long pause, "You'll regret this."

After speaking, he flicked his sleeves, turned and walked out. Before he even stepped out of the prison, he heard Xu Huaiyi say, "Summon the clerk. I need to interrogate the criminal immediately."

The Ministry of Justice official's eye twitched; Xu Huaiyi was simply a madman.

“My lord,” the clerk hurried over, “the Minister has arrived.”

Upon hearing the news of Xia's son's arrest, the Assistant Minister of Justice wanted to bring him out of prison before Minister Xia arrived to appease his anger, but now it seemed impossible. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the second hall to pay his respects to Xia Mengxian.

Xia Mengxian sat in the main seat, with officials from the Ministry of Justice sitting below him.

Everyone was talking at once.

"Where in Bianjing could there be any cult members? And they've arrested so many at once, even nuns from Yunqi Temple. They've walked all the way down the street, attracting crowds of onlookers. If they find out they've arrested the wrong people, wouldn't they lose face in front of the people?"

The official, remembering that Xia Ziqiao was among those arrested, continued, "Even if clues were discovered, the authorities should have been notified first. His rash actions caused trouble on the Bian River."

"Your Excellency," the official said, "Xu Huaiyi should be dismissed from his post and investigated."

The remaining officials exchanged glances, and just as someone was about to speak up in agreement, Xia Mengxian raised his hand: "I heard that the young master of the Xie family was also arrested. Has anyone been informed of the Xie family?"

The official immediately replied, "We just sent someone to the Xie residence."

Xia Mengxian's gaze was deep and unreadable, but what he said next made it clear to everyone that Xu Huaiyi was finished.

"The matter of cults is no small matter, and Lord Xu's actions are understandable, but..."

Everyone held their breath.

Xia Mengxian said, "Some people, in order to claim credit, have turned ordinary people into followers of heretics. We must investigate whether this is true or not."

Regardless of whether those people are guilty or not, they are definitely not members of the heretical sect. As long as we grasp this point, Xu Huaiyi will inevitably be dismissed from his post.

With Xu Huaiyi punished, the credit for the cases recently handled by the Ministry of Justice will be distributed to other people.

Everyone present received a share.

This is what Minister Xia truly meant.

Ultimately, the outcome of the case is up to them. They're just a few women who were kidnapped and sold into slavery. Now that the case is closed, who can hold them back?

Now that everyone has heard clearly, Xia Mengxian asked, "Who is willing to go and try the case with Xu Huaiyi?"