After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

Yin Mo asked, "What's the situation at the yamen?"

"I didn't even go to the yamen (government office), I was thrown into jail right away," Yin Cheng said. "The guard said I could get out, but I'd have to pay money."

"It depends on the severity of the crime. Murder usually costs a thousand taels, while petty theft costs a few hundred taels. Anyway, as long as you have money, you can get out."

"If you don't have money, you'll either be locked up until you die, or..." Yin Cheng gestured with his neck.

Yin Mo slammed his hand on the table. "This prefect has some nerve! How dare he treat human life so carelessly!"

The younger brother's eyes widened, his expression quite complex. His older brother had used too much force in that slap. "Does your hand hurt?"

Yin Mo was furious, but then suddenly calmed down. "If it were just a prefect of Linhai, he probably wouldn't have the guts. But if Bao Xu was colluding with this prefect, he should have acted discreetly. Why would he send a memorial to the capital?"

He muttered, "This doesn't make sense."

Yin Cheng sat in the chair and started playing with his hands.

After a moment of contemplation, the older brother kicked him and said, "Go back."

The younger brother wasn't angry at being kicked; he just looked slightly surprised. "Where can I go back to?"

"The prison," Yin Mo said. "Go and ask the prisoners why they were arrested. If they are innocent civilians, protect them."

Yin Cheng knew it was no good, so he resigned himself to his fate, stood up, and returned to the prison dejectedly.

I'm so tired of working overtime every day!

The prison was crowded, with as few as seven or eight people in a cell and as many as more than ten.

Yin Cheng slipped in silently, without being detected by the guards.

Yin Mo then sent people to investigate secretly.

This investigation revealed the current situation in Yunzhou.

Bao Xu indeed harbored treacherous intentions and had long since taken control of the Linhai County area, becoming a veritable "local emperor."

He himself also had intricate connections with that bandit force.

Yin Mo simply couldn't understand why, if he dared to defy the imperial decree, he would still dare to submit a memorial to reveal that there was something amiss in Yunzhou.

If it's not a provocation, then someone is mediating between them...

who can that be?

Unlike his brother, who was working tirelessly, Yin Cheng had already established good relations with the people in the prison.

While everyone else was starving and reeking of foul odors, he was still able to drink and eat meat with a few prison guards outside his cell.

His social skills are truly exceptional.

According to Yin Cheng's investigation, most of the people in this prison were arrested for various fabricated charges.

Almost all of them were people of good social standing.

However, those who actually committed crimes had already bought their way out.

Those whose families cannot afford to pay for their lives are left locked up here to die.

Of course, there are also unlucky guys like him who get arrested for not being able to pay for their meals.

The man was only in his early twenties, and his name was Ying Guanshi.

He and Yin Cheng were about the same age, and they hit it off immediately, both marveling that the exorbitantly priced braised pork was not something everyone could afford.

"Brother Chen, do you know what's troubling me most right now?"

Yin Cheng said, "Huh?"

Ying Guanshi said, "If I had known that bowl of braised pork cost 120 taels, I should have eaten ten or eight bowls right then and there. Since I can't afford it anyway, I might as well eat to my heart's content."

"You make a very good point," Yin Cheng agreed wholeheartedly. "And there's wine that costs three hundred taels a jug, so we should get at least twenty jugs."

Ying Guanshi exclaimed, "What a loss! What a loss!"

An old man sleeping on rotten straw nearby sneered.

Ying Guanshi said, "Could this old gentleman also have been locked up for dining and dashing?"

The old man didn't say anything.

Another person in the same cell said, "This strange old man has been locked up the longest; I guess he's been locked up so long that he's forgotten how to speak."

"Are you hungry, sir? I have half a steamed bun here."

The old man glanced at him, then turned over and ignored him.

Ying Guanshi wasn't angry at being humiliated; instead, he would occasionally wander up to the old man.

Yin Cheng glanced at the old man, then at Ying Guanshi, who seemed to be on vacation while in prison, and chuckled.

The two exchanged glances several times, clearly knowing each other, yet pretending not to.

That's interesting.

-----------------

Yin Mo sent people to keep an eye on Bao Xu and the Prefect of Linhai. At first, he thought that the Prefect and Bao Xu were colluding.

Unexpectedly, when the secret guards sent to the prefect's residence returned, the residence was completely empty.

The whereabouts of Gongsun Tai, the Prefect of Linhai Commandery, are unknown.

In such a large prefecture, the fact that the governor's disappearance could be kept secret was shocking to Yin Mo, who couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected.

For a fleeting moment, he wondered if he, as a man, was indeed incapable of governing the country.

The thought vanished in an instant.

He didn't have time for sentimentality; he needed to quickly understand the current situation in Yunzhou.

Two days later, Yin Cheng slipped out of prison again.

The older brother was speechless. "You seem to be able to get in and out of this prison at will."

Yin Cheng said, "There's no other way; we have the capability."

"Alright, stop fooling around," the older brother asked. "What's up?"

"Look up Ying Guanshi, he looks like this." The younger brother unfolded a portrait and handed it to his older brother.

The older brother was shocked: "You managed to find someone to paint in a prison cell?"

The younger brother said matter-of-factly, "I made him draw it himself."

Yin Mo: "..." He didn't quite understand. "Did he know you were using his portrait to investigate his identity?"

Yin Cheng: "He knows."

The older brother was even more confused. "Then why didn't you just ask him directly?"

The younger brother argued logically, "Who knows if what he said is true or false? If he's lying to me, I wouldn't know."

"...Alright, that makes some sense." Yin Mo took the portrait. "I'll have someone investigate his background."

"I'm going back," Yin Cheng said. "I made plans with Ying Guanshi to sneak out to a brothel tonight."

"Stop right there." Yin Mo's face darkened. "If you dare go to a brothel, I'll break your legs."

Yin Cheng: "Can't I even listen to a little tune?"

"If you were to..." Yin Mo blushed, "after we return to the capital, I'll simply arrange for a few young masters from prominent families to be brought into your household."

"several?"

Yin Mo was furious. "Then how much more do you want?!"

"Three hundred and sixty-five, I guess, and a different one every day."

The older brother gritted his teeth, "How about I just give you a harem of three thousand beauties, okay?"

The younger brother couldn't understand a word of politeness: "Three thousand is too many, we can't afford to raise them."

The older brother laughed in exasperation, "So, if you can afford to support me, you're really going to marry three thousand men?"

"Am I crazy? I don't run a talent agency, what would I need so many singers for? To put on a Spring Festival Gala during the Lunar New Year?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I'll arrange your marriage after things are settled in Yunzhou." Yin Mo was so angry with his younger brother that he was confused. "...We'll talk about that later. First, tell me what you were doing at the brothel?"

"I already told you, listen to a little tune," Yin Cheng said. "Ying Guanshi said tonight is a rare opportunity for the courtesan to perform."

"You really had better go listen to some folk songs."

"...What else can I do? I'm not going to patronize prostitutes."

"Then go ahead."

The younger brother took two steps, then stopped. "What if that courtesan is incredibly alluring, with a slender waist and long legs, and I can't resist her..."

My brother glared at me.

The younger brother immediately said timidly, "I can control myself, I can control myself, I can completely control myself."