I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

The man behind the butler had already placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike.

Unexpectedly, the butler raised his hand, stopping him from taking action.

The steward took out two silver notes.

"We're on the same side, stop pretending. Back then, when you raped and murdered your sister-in-law, the magistrate helped you get away with it and sent you to infiltrate Zheng Youde's ranks. Your three-year term is up, and today is your chance to prove yourself. Take this two hundred taels and leave, disappearing from Hengzhou forever."

Zheng Youde's "confidant" hesitated: "But...but what about my wife and children..."

The butler sneered, "When you broke the law, didn't you think about your wife and children? Now that you have money to collect, hurry up and leave. If you're too slow, it won't just be about money anymore."

He stamped his foot, took the silver note, and said, "I'm leaving now!"

……

In the county jail, Sun Decai was held in solitary confinement at the very back.

When he saw the butler arrive, he rushed happily to the railing and grabbed the thick wooden railing with both hands.

"Uncle Quan, please get me out of here! The jailers are like dead men; they won't respond when I call them and they won't listen to me at all. Everyone knows about my relationship with Magistrate Chen's son."

The butler smiled slightly: "How did you get in? The young master sent me to rescue you, but he couldn't explain why."

Sun Decai lowered his voice: "They asked me about Zhuangyuanlou. Heaven have mercy, I was just doing what Young Master Chen told me to sabotage things. I'm not guilty of this. Someone must have framed me."

The butler smiled again, but the smile seemed somewhat insincere.

"It's likely that someone framed you, but we don't know the situation right now, and we can't find the clerk tonight. Young Master Chen was worried that you might be mistreated, so he asked me to bring you some food. Once we find the clerk tomorrow, we'll spend some money to bribe him and get you out of there."

As the butler spoke, he waved his hand, and a subordinate behind him handed over a food box.

"That's great, Young Master Chen is so good to me. Let me see what he brought." Sun Decai opened the food box and saw, "Stir-fried liver tips, eight-treasure duck, osmanthus-infused drunken fish, Shimen roast chicken... Great, these are all my favorites, please give them to Uncle Quan."

Sun Decai had been busy all afternoon, and his stomach was already completely empty.

He opened the food box and, along with the wine, began to eat heartily.

While eating, he muttered about what had happened during the day.

"Uncle Quan, you have no idea how busy I am during the day..."

Seeing this, the butler asked.

"You didn't mention these things to Zheng Youde, did you?"

"No, no, how could that be? The Chen family and Zheng Youde are rivals, I would never tell."

Butler: "That's good. Eat quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Sun Decai ate while rambling on and on.

But as he ate, he noticed that Sun Decai stopped talking.

When he looked up, he immediately felt something was off.

The butler and his men just stared at him as he ate, their eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

"Uncle Quan... is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that without saying anything?"

The butler sneered, "What's the point of replying to a dead man?"

Sun Decai: "What?"

He immediately felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and quickly tried to vomit up what he had eaten.

However, the intense pain caused his whole body to spasm, making it impossible for him to exert any force with his hands. He then began to foam at the mouth and excrete feces and urine.

Then, blood began to flow from all seven orifices...

After the convulsions subsided, he could only lie paralyzed on the ground, unable to move.

"I... I should have known this day would come. Chen Shijin, Chen Chengsong, you will both suffer a terrible death!"

Only his mouth and eyes could move, and he glared fiercely at the butler.

"I...I truly regret following Chen Shijin, bullying men and women; I truly regret doing all those evil things with him...Now, the people I regret the most are my family. Even when I become a ghost in the underworld, I won't let you go. I'm not reconciled, I'm not reconciled! How could Xu Qing, Song Yao, and Su Man be so powerful...Heh heh..."

His voice grew softer and softer, until only his wheezing, like a bellows, remained.

The butler waved his hand, signaling his men to take away the food box, then sneered.

"This poison will cause your intestines to burst and your body to rot until you die. This is just the beginning; you will be unable to use your hands and feet, unable to speak, and your tongue will also rot."

This pain will be so unbearable that you won't even be able to turn over. It will continue until you die of pain, or are reduced to a pile of minced meat.

Of course, don't complain about why you weren't given a quick death. This is also a warning to others.

If you don't want to die like you, don't go against the Chen family!

After the butler finished speaking, he waved his hand and left with his four subordinates.

All that remained was Sun Decai slowly festering on the ground...

He was covered in an unknown liquid and blood, his eyes half-open, staring at the rotting wooden beam at the top of the roof. His mouth opened and closed, but he could no longer make a sound.

His body is rotting from the inside out.

With each passing moment, the excruciating pain intensified. He wanted to die, but he didn't even have the strength to bite his tongue.

He recalled the butler's unwavering gaze when he came in and understood.

From the very beginning, the Chen family never intended for him to leave alive.

He will die if he utters Chen Shijin's name in prison; he will also die if he doesn't betray the Chen family.

The only difference is that the latter dies more slowly and more painfully.

He stared at the top of the cell, letting out a few breaths that sounded like both laughter and crying.

Then his eyes slowly closed. Although he was still breathing weakly, he was no different from a corpse.

When Zheng Youde arrived at the prison, this was the scene he saw.

He stood at the cell door, covering his nose, stunned for a long while before he came to his senses.

When the light from the lantern in his hand shone on Sun Decai's distorted face, all that could be seen was a layer of death.

"It's over, it's over..."

Zheng Youde suddenly turned around and rushed out of the prison cell, running all the way to the back hall of the county government office.

He ran to the back door, and before he could even catch his breath, he opened his mouth and shouted.

"Your Excellency, something terrible has happened!"

Li Chun was sitting at the table flipping through a document when he heard the noise and looked up.

Li Yan also put down her book and stood up.

Zheng Youde rushed in, speaking hurriedly.

"Sun Decai was poisoned. When I arrived, he was already on the verge of death. He was lying on the ground, his mouth and body were covered in blood, and he couldn't speak."

Li Chungang slammed the pen down on the table with a thud, his face grim. His voice was low and filled with anger.

"Who did it?"

"The night watchman is gone, there are no signs of a struggle in the cell, and the food box has been taken away."

As Zheng Youde spoke, he clenched his fists angrily.

"I am incompetent. Someone informed me that something had happened at home. I rushed home and took a quick look, but everything was normal. They were clearly after the prison."

Li Chun remained silent for a long time before slowly sitting down.

He picked up the pen, ready to write something, but after making just one ink dot, he stopped and put the pen back.

"Sigh, they've made sure Sun Decai can't speak up, and that's how they've lost their chance to bring down Chen Chengsong."

Zheng Youde lowered his head and said with deep regret.

"It was all my oversight. I thought the person on night duty was an old subordinate, but I didn't expect..."

Li Chun waved his hand.

"It's not just your problem. The Chen family has been operating in Hengyang for so many years, and their connections are much deeper than we imagined."

He stood up and straightened his robes.

"Don't move from here, I'm going to Zhuangyuanlou."

Zheng Youde raised his head.

"Your Excellency, I will go with you."

Li Chun turned and glanced at him, then solemnly said, "Absolutely not!"

Zheng Youde was taken aback: "Why?"