In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

After Shen Xu and the other Imperial Guards left, Xie Ze, acting as if he knew them well, greeted a few passersby and warmly asked an old man for help, and another man to lend a hand. Together, they lifted the overturned carriage and put it back up.

He then distributed the fish he had personally caught to passersby as a token of his gratitude. Xie Ze continued riding his little donkey, which had once been as swift as a rabbit but was now as still as a fine steed, to escort Zhu Qingyu home.

The Zhang family's two-courtyard house was where Zhang Shen used to stay when he went to the capital on business. He would only stay there for a few months each year. When the master of the house was not there, only an old servant would look after the house.

The old servant's surname was Lü, and his wife's surname was Wang. They were both nearly sixty years old. Zhu Qingyu had met them when she came to Beijing last year and, like Zhang Shen, called them Uncle Lü and Aunt Wang.

Xiong Kun knocked on the door, and when Wang's mother opened it and saw Zhu Qingyu, she was quite surprised for a moment, then smiled with delight:

"Madam! When did you arrive in the capital? Why are you in only one carriage? Where is the master? Is he in the back?"

He shouted inside again:

"Old Lu, come quick! Master and Madam are here! Come and help with the luggage!"

Zhu Qingyu instructed Wang Mama:

"The master is not here, it's just me, Mama Wang. We have guests, please serve tea."

Having delivered the man home and memorized the address, Xiong Kun considered his mission accomplished and was now ready to return to Lord Gu to report on Shen Xu's violent act in the street that day. He immediately said:

"Madam Zhu, we two still need to go back to report, so we won't trouble you any further."

Xie Ze had just heard Zhu Qingyu instruct her servants to serve tea, and he was eagerly waiting to go in and have a cup of tea so he could talk to Zhu Qingyu a bit more.

But seeing that Xiong Kun and the others had already left, Xie Ze realized he couldn't go in alone, so he led his little donkey and said:

"Miss Zhu, ah, no, Madam Zhu, since your husband isn't home, it's not appropriate for me to come in for tea alone. How about next time, when your husband is home, I'll come to visit you then."

Zhu Qingyu was surprised that the young marquis, who usually seemed unruly and carefree, was now being so polite.

But she needed his help with something, so she immediately said:

"My husband has been imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, young marquis. That's why I came to the capital."

Upon hearing the words "Imperial Prison," Xie Ze's expression changed instantly, displaying a seriousness that Zhu Qingyu had never seen before in all the time she had known him.

Xie Ze tied the little donkey to the hitching post in front of the door, then stepped inside.

"Madam Zhu, come in and speak."

Upon entering, before even waiting for Madam Wang to serve tea, Xie Ze's first words after sitting down were:

"Madam Zhu, you must leave the capital immediately. Although I do not know what your husband has gotten into, the Embroidered Uniform Guard never arrests just one person; they arrest all their relatives as well. Take advantage of the Embroidered Uniform Guard before they arrive and leave quickly."

Thinking of something, Xie Ze asked again with a puzzled look:

"Wait a minute, why did Shen Chongshu just leave like that? Do I have that much influence? Would he not dare to arrest someone if I were there? No, I don't have that much influence."

Zhu Qingyu wasn't very familiar with the names of people in the imperial court, so she asked tentatively:

"The Shen Chongshu you're talking about, is it Shen Xu? But he's not here to arrest me, he's here to kill me."

Xie Ze's eyes widened in surprise:

"Yes, Shen Xu, courtesy name Chongshu, why did he want to kill you? What did you do to offend him?"

Zhu Qingyu smiled wryly:

"I don't know either, young lord, this is the first time I've met him."

Hearing Zhu Qingyu say this, Xie Ze wasn't too surprised and replied:

"Well, that's just how he is. The Embroidered Uniform Guard always operates this way—completely chaotic and without any rhyme or reason. Shen Chongshu wants to kill someone; there's no escaping it. Since that's the case, Madam Zhu, you shouldn't run away either. I'll act as a mediator and ask him what he's thinking. He can't just start shouting for violence without reason. If there's any misunderstanding, we can clear it up, right? As for your husband, do you know what he's done?"

Zhu Qingyu hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should tell Xie Ze the whole story and ask him to plead with the Emperor on her behalf.

Given Xie Ze's familiar attitude, Zhu Qingyu felt that if she spoke up, Xie Ze would most likely be willing to plead for her.

She was just worried that if Xie Ze spoke up, would it be effective? Or would it have the opposite effect?

The Emperor ordered Zhang Shen to be imprisoned, and the fact that the Imperial Guard was chosen to arrest him instead of the Ministry of Justice indicates that the Emperor did not want the case of Zhang Shen falsifying account books to be publicly tried.

She had never met the Emperor and didn't know what kind of person he was, but judging from the outcome, the Emperor probably didn't want this matter to become public knowledge.

Why?

From the emperor's perspective, a ruler who possesses the entire country would not necessarily have any reservations about Zhang Shen, who is like an ant. The only possibility is that the emperor felt that if this matter were made public, and the world knew that he, the emperor, had been fooled by a commoner, it would make him feel very ashamed.

Even an emperor is human, and naturally he has human weaknesses. This is human nature, and this is the most reasonable situation she considered after careful consideration.

Zhu Qingyu recalled Gu Zhao's words to her before he left that morning: the emperor is never wrong, and by the same token, the emperor is wise, powerful, and insightful, and he will not be fooled by a commoner.

If that's the case, then she shouldn't let this matter spread before she finds a way to change the emperor's mind, lest she further anger the emperor. As Gu Zhao said, the more people know about it, the more people will ask the emperor, which will only make Zhang Shen die faster.

So Zhu Qingyu said:

"Young Marquis, I'm not entirely sure myself, so I'd like to ask for your help. I want to go into the Imperial Prison to see my husband, but I'm not familiar with the capital and have no connections. Do you know of any way to get into the Imperial Prison to visit him? Or even if I can't get in right away, I'd like to send my husband some food, drink, and other necessities, and also send some silver to the officials in the Imperial Prison, asking them to take care of him. I don't dare ask for anything else, I just hope he has something to eat, clothes to wear, and blankets to cover himself with, and that they don't torture or beat him. He's in very poor health and can't take that. Don't worry about spending money, I have plenty here."

Xie Ze glanced at Zhu Qingyu and sighed:

"Madam Zhu, you are a kind and compassionate person, and I didn't want to upset you. But to be honest, of all those who go to the imperial prison, except for one exceptional case, I've never heard of anyone who comes out alive. Most of those who go in don't live long. You should be prepared that no matter how much money you spend, it will ultimately be useless, and you might end up losing both your money and your life. Since he's already like this, your future will probably be difficult. You might as well save some money for yourself and not do this futile effort."

Zhu Qingyu nodded:

"I know, young marquis, thank you for considering my feelings, but money is ultimately no match for people. Young marquis, you said there was one exception, do you know who he is? Is he in the capital? I want to visit him and see how he escaped from the imperial prison unscathed. Since he was able to get out, and there's this precedent, my husband isn't without a chance, is he?"

Xie Ze's expression was somewhat strange:

"Madam Zhu, this special case of surviving the imperial prison is probably not easy to learn from. He is Shen Chongshu. When he was in the imperial prison, his entire family of eighteen people were executed by the late emperor. This is a painful memory for him. You'd better not ask about it, or he might really go crazy and kill people."