Chapter 27

Qiao Ling, still wearing her wedding clothes, was escorted to the Jingzhao Prison.

The warden in charge of guarding the prison saw her attire and knew she was no ordinary prisoner. Then, he saw that the person escorting her was Jingzhao Yin Tai Shu Hong, and quickly straightened his expression, “Your Excellency!”

Tai Shu Hong was also having a headache at the moment. He had seen all kinds of people in the capital for many years.

But today, he had to meticulously add the name of the melon-smashing warrior, Duchess of Yue Qiao Ling, in the ledger in his heart!

Moreover, the two families were related, and there would inevitably be interactions in the future…

Tai Shu Hong suppressed the urge to sigh and told the warden, “This is the Duchess of Yue.”

The warden was truly surprised. After regaining his senses, he quickly bowed and saluted, “Greetings, Madam!”

He then curiously asked, “On your wedding day, why are you coming here?”

Tai Shu Hong didn’t say anything.

Qiao Ling laughed cheerfully, “Haha, I got into a little trouble, so I’m here to squat for a couple of days!”

The warden: “…”

The warden hesitated, looking at Tai Shu Hong.

Tai Shu Hong, with a headache, told him, “The Duchess of Yue got into a little trouble. According to the law, she is to be detained for three days. Find a secluded place for her, and take good care of her if anything happens.”

The warden readily agreed, “Yes, I understand.”

Tai Shu Hong settled everything, then turned to Qiao Ling, “Duchess of Yue, I’ll be going now?”

Qiao Ling politely said, “Uncle, take care.”

Tai Shu Hong was silent for a moment, thinking to himself, “If you had been this polite when you were smashing melons in the hall, how much better it would have been.”

He sighed again, waved to her, and left.

The warden led Qiao Ling inside.

This prison, the social dynamics were even more complex than outside. Those who had been jailers for a long time knew what to say to whom, and what kind of attitude to have towards whom.

Those who were definitely going to die, they could squeeze a lot of oil and water from them, those who were in a gray area, they would be slightly more polite.

And for someone like Qiao Ling, who was only staying for three days, and would still be a first-rank noblewoman after she got out, it was best to treat her like a precious treasure.

Especially since she was the Jingzhao Yin’s relative…

The warden personally led her into the prison, “That side is secluded, if you need anything, Madam, just tell us…”

The Duke of Yue’s Mansion, late at night.

The guests had left one after another, the servants had cleaned up the mess, leaving only the Duke of Yue’s family gathered together, looking at each other.

Madam Jiang Er “Hey.”

Lady Guangde “Ah.”

Jiang Yu”Hey.”

On their wedding day, on their wedding celebration, the groom was bedridden, and the bride was in jail…

Such a wedding, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it was unprecedented, at least it was unheard of.

The few of them sat in silence for a while, Mrs. Jiang Er asked Jiang Yu, “Where is your mother?”

Jiang Yu whispered, “Our relatives from my sister-in-law’s side haven’t left yet, my mother went to toast them.”

Mrs.Jiang Er had been busy and then shocked all day. Now that Jiang Yu mentioned it, she finally reacted and quickly said, “That’s as it should be.”

Then, she remembered what Xiao Jiang had said earlier, and felt worried. She motioned for Jiang Yu to go outside and supervise the servants cleaning up, while she whispered to the Guangde Hou’s wife, “Today, Third Sister… what Li Madam said… don’t let it cause any problems between you two.”

The wife of Marquis Guangde said calmly, “Sister-in-law, don’t worry, I’m confident about that.”

Mrs.Jiang saw her composure and nodded, not mentioning it again.

Mrs. Liang was arrogant, but she was also very loyal. Especially after Qiao Ling left with Tai Shu Hong, Jiang Yu finally had the time to talk to his mother privately. She finally learned that her son was the one who had bumped into Xiao Jiang in the first place.

If Qiao Ling and her cousin hadn’t reacted quickly, it’s unclear what would have happened!

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a previous relationship, and now they had this new connection. On their big day, they should go and see their in-laws.

The maid had given her a heads-up before she went, so when Mrs. Liang saw the many female guests with various appearances, she wasn’t particularly surprised.

She raised her cup to toast everyone, her manners impeccable.

An old woman sitting at the head of the table smiled, perhaps a little drunk, she propped her chin on her hand and nodded at her, “A-Ling’s mother-in-law, she’s a good person.”

She then asked, “Where is A-Ling?”

Mrs. Liang: “…”

Mrs. Liang felt embarrassed, which was rare for her. She laughed twice, “Haha, something unexpected happened.”

“What happened?”

Mrs. Liang could only say, “She had a bit of a disagreement with someone, and she was detained.”

Then, she saw the guests all laughing together.

Mrs. Liang felt strange: Why weren’t they worried at all?

At this time, the maid also felt strange—the woman who had been wearing a veil, covering her face completely, was still wearing the veil.

Is it really convenient to come to a meal like this?

Although Mrs. Liang thought these people were strange, she thought about her daughter-in-law’s usual fearless nature, and she didn’t think this was so unusual. She stayed and chatted for a while, fulfilling her social obligations, before leaving with the maid and servants.

After she left, the old woman turned to the man who looked like a failed scholar and asked, “Isn’t it a bit too harsh on the child? It’s her wedding day, and she was put in jail. That’s a bit pitiful—we have nothing better to do, let’s go break her out of jail?”

The young people started cheering, “Good idea, break her out, break her out!”

The old scholar laughed, “How can we do that? We have to give the people in the north some face. Besides, if we protect her all the time, she might never truly grow up.”

The old woman snorted, “Then why did you come all the way to the capital?”

The old scholar said, “Didn’t you come too?”

The two looked at each other for a moment, then both turned their heads in another direction, saying nothing.

The veiled woman, however, was whispering to Xiang Huitang, “That Mrs. Xiao Jiang, there’s something strange about her.”

“It’s probably Jing Yiyu’s doing,” Xiang Huitang said, “Those people, no matter how strange their methods are, it’s not surprising.”

The woman said, “Gongsun Yan took people to follow them.”

Xiang Huitang’s face showed a hint of sarcasm, “This is the capital of gods, what are the scholars of Nort Gate doing, they’re being ridden over, and they’re still clueless?”

The woman paused slightly and said nothing.

Jingzhao Prison.

The warden led Qiao Ling eastward, opened a gate, and went down the stone steps. They went down three levels, turned several corners, walked in circles, and finally arrived outside a clean and spacious cell.

He used a key to unlock the copper lock and opened the door, “Madam, please.”

Qiao Ling looked inside, and saw that the cell was fully equipped with tables, chairs, and benches. A wooden bed was placed against the wall, the furnishings were simple, but for a prison, it could be considered quite good.

“The bedding has been changed, it’s quite clean. There are guards outside, if you need tea, just call them.”

The warden locked the cell door, handed her the key, and pointed in a direction, “The toilet is over there, Madam, you can go whenever you need to.”

Qiao Ling took the key with mixed emotions and thanked him.

At this moment, someone called out to the warden from outside. He responded loudly, bowed to Qiao Ling, and hurried away.

This place was probably reserved for high-ranking officials, so the facilities weren’t so harsh. The front of the cell was an iron railing, and the side with the bed was blocked by a wooden board.

The wall was opposite the iron railing, and the other two sides were sealed with wooden boards.

Qiao Ling tried to knock on it, and then she heard someone ask, “Do you need something?”

It was a man’s voice.

Qiao Ling was startled, and quickly said, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t expect anyone to be on the other side!”

The man seemed to be startled too, “A woman is locked up here?!”

Qiao Ling mumbled, “Ah.”

The man thought for a moment and said, “Your voice sounds unfamiliar. I wouldn’t have any reason not to know you if you were locked up here… Who are you?”

“That’s strange,” Qiao Ling said, “You haven’t told me who you are, why should I tell you?”

Then she heard a “creak, creak” sound. She was wondering what it was when she heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. She turned her head and saw a middle-aged man with a long beard and a graceful appearance, standing in front of her cell door, arms crossed, staring at her.

Qiao Ling!!

Qiao Ling said impatiently, “What are you looking at?!”

The middle-aged man laughed twice, “She’s a new face.”

He then said strangely, “She’s even wearing her wedding clothes!”

Qiao Ling rolled her eyes at him and sat down on the simple bed impatiently.

The middle-aged man, however, put his hand on her railing and said with interest, “Let me guess—are you the Duke of Yue?”

Qiao Ling couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

He smiled triumphantly, “Haha, I guessed right!”

Qiao Ling turned her head back.

The middle-aged man became anxious, “Why aren’t you playing fair, young lady? You should ask me, ‘How did you know?'”

Qiao Ling turned over, facing him with her backside.

The middle-aged man muttered to himself, “Alright, you’re wearing your wedding clothes, you’re dressed as a man, you’re locked up next to me, and you’re a new face. This means you married someone who’s not in good health but has a noble enough background. Besides the Duke of Yue, who else could it be?”

Qiao Ling still ignored him.

At this moment, a clear, youthful voice could be heard from outside, politely saying, “Young man, I’m here to deliver food to our madam…”

Accompanied by the slight sound of the food box opening, Qiao Ling smelled a delicious aroma of food, and her stomach immediately started rumbling.

She sat up from the bed, thinking to herself, “Mother-in-law is so thoughtful and considerate. I only drank a lot of wine earlier, I didn’t eat a single bite of food!”

She then heard the young man ask, “Is our madam inside?”

Qiao Ling got out of bed, hugged the railing, and said enthusiastically, “Your madam is here, here!”

At this moment, a handsome young man of sixteen or seventeen, carrying a food box in one hand and a wine jar in the other, walked in from outside. He looked at her with a strange expression, but said to the middle-aged man, “I brought you your favorite Zuixingbai.”

The middle-aged man pointed to the cell next to him, “Xiao Xi, put it over there.”

Qiao Ling let go of the railing, her stomach growling, and she became furious, “Why are you calling a man ‘madam’?”

The young man named Xiao Xi put down the things and came out again, glaring at her, “Where did you come from, lady? How can you not even know this? Only men who are respected and are pioneers in a certain field can be called ‘madam’—that’s an old rule left by Emperor Gao!”

“Ah?” Qiao Ling was confused, “Is there such a thing?”

The middle-aged man was very interested, he leaned against the iron railing of her cell and asked, “How did you get in here? Tell me, tell me. If you do, we’ll eat together and drink together.”

Qiao Ling glanced at the food and wine, and said listlessly, “Can’t we eat together if I don’t tell you?”

The man sighed longingly, “It’s fine, but it’s better if you tell me. We need something to drink with!”

Qiao Ling heard this, and felt that this man was interesting. She opened her cell door, went to sit next to him, and then simply and concisely told him how she ended up in prison.

The middle-aged man was shocked, he poured her a glass of wine, and then said with relish, “You’re so bold, you actually dared to do this in front of so many guests!”

Qiao Ling drank the wine in one gulp, sighed, and said, “Oh, never mind, never mind!”

She then asked him, “How did you get in here?”

The middle-aged man said casually, “I got into an argument with someone, and in my anger, I spat on his face!”

Qiao Ling exclaimed, “Ah? You got locked up for that?”

She immediately slammed her hand on the table and said, “That’s so unfair!”

Then she thought again, and felt something was wrong, “…Who did you spit on?”

The middle-aged man raised one eyebrow and winked at her.

Qiao Ling was filled with respect, and immediately raised her cup, “Let’s have one!”

They raised their cups and drank it all in one gulp.

Qiao Ling told the middle-aged man her name and said, “I haven’t asked your name yet?”

The middle-aged man dipped his finger in the tea and wrote it on the table for her, “My name is Lu Mengqing, courtesy name Xing.”

Qiao Ling suddenly realized, “It’s you?!”

She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Before I arrived in Shendu, I heard the coachman mention your name, saying that you are one of the three talented in Sandu…”

She then remembered the book that Madam Jiang Er had given her. If she remembered correctly, this famous in Sandu, one of the three talented scholars, was currently the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He was both a famous from Sandu and a Prime Minister, a true success in both the literary and political spheres.

Now that she saw him, she couldn’t help but understand, “No wonder I didn’t see you at the Prime Minister’s table at the Duke of Yue’s Mansion!”

Lu Mengqing laughed heartily, with double meaning, “The Duke of Yue’s Mansion must have been very lively tonight!”

He tore off a chicken leg, not minding his image at all, and started eating, “How many Prime Ministers went?”

“Three,” Qiao Ling counted them for him, “There is Mr. Tang…”

Lu Mengqing said, “That’s Tang Wuji, the Minister of the Ministry of Personel.”

Qiao Ling said, “And Minister Liu…”

Lu Mengqing said, “That’s Liu Zhi, the Left Shangshu Province.”

Qiao Ling continued, “And Mr. Yu…”

Lu Mengqing said, “That’s Yu Anshi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, from the Xiao Yu’s family.”

Qiao Ling said, “Ah, Xiao Yu’s family—”

Lu Mengqing laughed, “Isn’t that an interesting name? Because he has the surname Yu, the Duke of Zhongshan, the leader of the twelve dukes, also has the surname Yu. To distinguish the two families, the Duke of Zhongshan’s family is called the big Yu family, and Minister Yu’s family is called the Small Yu family.”

Qiao Ling understood, and then said, “So that means there are two more Prime Ministers who didn’t go!”

“That’s all,” Lu Mengqing said, “The Ministry of War still has a vacant Prime Minister Shangshu Province, the Right Minister is still empty. There is also a Minister of the Secretariat, Han Ye, courtesy name Shaoyu…”

At this point, his expression dimmed slightly, “It’s just that he was recently stripped of his office and is now at home reflecting on his mistakes. Of course, he couldn’t go.”

Qiao Ling glanced at his expression thoughtfully, “Is this related to Minister Lu’s imprisonment?”

The smile on Lu Mengqing’s face faded, his gaze became somber, and he nodded.

Qiao Ling then poured him another glass of wine.

Lu Mengqing laughed and raised his glass in return, drinking it all in one gulp.

Qiao Ling had been riding horses and attending ceremonies, she was really hungry. She hadn’t seen any food, but now that she did, it was as if a glutton had awakened inside her, and she wolfed down the food.

Lu Mengqing, on the other hand, didn’t have much of an appetite. He held a chicken leg in his hand, chewing slowly for a long time, and still hadn’t finished it.

Xiao Xi hadn’t left yet. While they were talking, he stood quietly by the side, waiting. Now that they had finished talking, he said, “I go to Han’s family every day, I check on their clothes and food carefully. There is no shortage, but Mrs. Han is very worried about you, Madam. She is afraid that you will be inconvenienced in prison…”

Qiao Ling’s mind raced, and she finally realized that “Mrs. Han” was probably referring to the dismissed Minister Han, not the madam she had imagined. In this brief pause, Lu Mengqing had already sighed with a hint of helplessness.

“Shaoyu is like that, he’s always worrying.”

He was naturally talkative, and he had a certain rapport with Qiao Ling. Now, after taking a sip of wine, he opened up, “He’s also a stubborn one. He knows that doing some things will offend people, but he still does them. He knows that the emperor doesn’t like some things, but he still says them. I asked him why, and he said, ‘Someone has to speak up, someone has to do it…'”

Seeing that Qiao Ling was confused, he laughed, “I forgot, you’re new here, you probably don’t know him.”

Qiao Ling saw that his cup was empty, so she poured him another one and said with a smile, “Minister Lu said so, now I know.”

Lu Mengqing sighed, “Do you know why he was dismissed this time?”

Qiao Ling shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Lu Mengqing’s brows were still furrowed, he looked at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled, as if he had thought of something, “If you met Shaoyu, you might get along. Speaking of which, the reason he was dismissed is the same reason you’re in Jingzhao Prison—he picked up his tablet and cracked Liu Da’s head open during the court session!”

Qiao Ling couldn’t help but ask, “Who is this Liu Da?”

Lu Mengqing said, “He’s the Queen Mother’s younger brother and the Princess’s grandfather.”

Qiao Ling was shocked, “Ah?!”

She then asked, “Why did he do that?”

A hint of disdain appeared on Lu Mengqing’s face, “Liu Da youngest son has always been a scoundrel, he’s also arrogant. He has kidnapped several women several times, but the Duke of Cheng’en’s Mansion always found ways to suppress it. This time, he got drunk with a few buddies and kidnapped a woman from an official family. The woman resisted to the death, and Liu Da, drunk and out of control, actually strangled her.”

“Afterwards, the family reported it to the Jingzhao Yin. Because it involved a royal relative, and it was the son of the Duke of Cheng’en, the Queen Mother’s nephew, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate jointly investigated the case.”

“The Minister of Justice advocated for the death penalty for the murderer. However, the Duke of Cheng’en’s son was protected by the Eight Privileges, and he was the ‘privilege of kinship,’ the first of the eight privileges. It was decided that he should be caned eighty times and exiled three thousand miles.”

“The Censorate had previously impeached the Duke of Cheng’en’s Mansion for several illegal acts. This time, they compiled the previous illegal acts of this son and impeached him, advocating for the death penalty.”

“The Dali Temple was much more tactful. They argued that firstly, he was protected by the ‘privilege of kinship’, and secondly, he didn’t intentionally plan to kill, but accidentally killed the woman. It was negligence, not intentional, and the two were completely different in nature. They advocated for eighty lashes and three years of exile, with a large sum of money to compensate the victim’s family…”

Qiao Ling was silent, then said, “Compensation with a large sum of money, but the girl is dead…”

The mocking expression on Lu Mengqing’s face became even stronger, “Shaoyu was in charge of this case. He strongly advocated for the Censorate’s opinion, and ruled that Liu’s son should be executed. The memorial was submitted, but in the end, the emperor followed the Dali Temple proposal. Even the three years of imprisonment, it’s unclear whether it will be carried out.”

Qiao Ling felt angry after hearing this, “How can they do this? It’s a human life!”

Lu Mengqing was a bit speechless, and said tiredly, “Even the victim’s family withdrew their lawsuit and accepted the result. What can outsiders do?”

Qiao Ling’s expression changed slightly, her heart filled with mixed emotions, she could understand the Minister Han’s feelings at that time.

Three different rulings were submitted, and His Majesty chose the lightest one, showing his intention to protect his family. The victim’s family ate the Court rice, seeing the Emperor acting like this, would they risk the future of their whole family for a daughter who was already gone?

All the anger and bitterness could only be swallowed.

And Han Xianggong , facing the Supreme Emperor who was favoring the murderer and the Duke of Cheng’en’s Mansion, who was arrogant and proud, how could he blame the victim’s family who had lost their daughter and were forced to swallow their anger due to the situation?

The resentment couldn’t be expressed, the bitterness couldn’t be vented, and that’s why he struck out in anger after the court session…

Lu Mengqing was right, Qiao Ling could indeed understand Minister Han’s feelings at that time, “If it were me, I’d hit him too!”

She then said, “If I were a bachelor, I’d go and hit the emperor!”

His relatives are his relatives, but isn’t someone else’s daughter a daughter too?!

Thinking about this, Qiao Ling couldn’t help but feel a little sad, “This is because the matter became a big deal, the victim’s family is from an official family. In the past, when things didn’t become a big deal, those girls from ordinary families, who would help them?”

Lu Mengqing listened in silence, speechless for a moment.

The atmosphere in the cell was a bit heavy, the two of them silently took a sip of wine.

After a while, Qiao Ling asked, “Is Liu Da dead?”

Lu Mengqing said, “It happened a few days ago. If he were dead, you should have received an invitation.”

Qiao Ling sighed, “What a pity!”

After thinking for a moment, she said, “But it’s good too. If he were dead, Han Xianggong crime would be much greater.”

Lu Mengqing added at this moment, “But it seems like it’s just a matter of time.”

Qiao Ling’s heart sank, “Ah?!”

She immediately said, “What about Minister Han?”

Lu Mengqing then puffed out his chest and said cheerfully, “Isn’t this my time to shine?”

“At that time, Shaoyu struck out with all his might, and Liu Da fell to the ground immediately. The officials were panicked, naturally someone went to invite the Minister back, who had already left the court, and someone else went to invite the imperial physician.”

Qiao Ling understood and said, “The Emperor must have been very angry?”

Lu Mengqing said, “So I had to persuade him.”

“I said, Your Majesty, Minister Han is a third-rank Prime Minister, and he also holds the ‘privilege of nobility’ among the eight privileges. You should pardon him. Besides, his intention was just to playfully hit the Duke of Cheng’en, he didn’t have any intention to kill—who would kill someone in public? It wasn’t intentional, it was an accident.”

“You can forgive a scoundrel who tarnishes the reputation of the royal family outside, can’t you forgive a loyal and reliable Prime Minister?”

Qiao Ling: “…Brilliant!”

She then asked, “What did the Emperor say?”

Lu Mengqing said, “The Emperor’s facial muscles were twitching after hearing this. Maybe he thought what I said made sense, but he still said, ‘The one who committed the crime was Liu’s son, not the Duke of Cheng’en, we can’t make generalizations…'”

Qiao Ling: “Then what?”

Lu Mengqing laughed cheerfully, “Haha, I went up to him and spat on his face, saying, ‘Your Majesty, you’re shameless!'”

Qiao Ling was filled with respect and immediately poured him another glass of wine, “Well done!”

Lu Mengqing laughed heartily, about to speak, when he suddenly heard voices coming from outside, mixed with hushed inquiries and polite answers, approaching this way.

The two looked at each other.

Lu Mengqing asked, “This time, it must be for you?”

Qiao Ling pondered for a moment and said, “Probably.”

Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps came, and the warden quickly appeared. He glanced into Qiao Ling’s cell, saw no one, and was visibly startled.

Then, he looked to the side and immediately showed a very complex expression.

Ordinary people would be depressed for a while after entering prison, but you’ve already made friends so quickly, Duchess of Yue…

The warden secretly admired her, then bowed and said, “Madam Qiao, the Duke of Yue has arrived.”

Qiao Ling was shocked, “Ah?!”

She added, “Call me madam!”

Then she quickly got up and went to meet him, “It’s so cold in here, did he wear thick clothes? Why didn’t anyone persuade him…”

Lu Mengqing laughed from the side, “You two haven’t even met yet, but your relationship seems pretty good—I wasn’t wrong, have you met?”

Qiao Ling shook her head and said, “No.”

Leaving Lu Mengqing’s cell, she looked up and heard very faint footsteps coming from the steps above.

Although it was summer, the dungeon was cold. Jiang Mai was wearing a fox fur, but she still had an elegant and graceful presence.

Her delicate fur revealed a jade-like face. In the dim yellow light of the oil lamps in the dungeon, she seemed to be radiating a faint glow.

Like a fragile and beautiful orchid in a secluded valley.

Graceful and elegant, her appearance was like a flowing stream.

Qiao Ling was stunned.

This was the first time they had truly faced each other.

Her lips moved, and she blurted out, “Why did you lift your veil yourself?”

The orchid across from her gently exhaled, surveyed the dungeon, and finally turned her gaze to her face.

Her voice was soft, but also helpless, “What have you done…”