"Brother, judging from your appearance, this must not be your first time coming in."
The person who spoke was an old man from the cell next door. He had slightly gray hair on his temples and looked to be around sixty or seventy years old. He was thin and had a yellowish complexion. It seemed that he had been in this cell for some time and was obviously not in good health.
"Brother, what have you done to get here?"
"Openly insulting the emperor."
elder:
"Don't lie to me. With a crime like insulting the emperor, there is probably no way out. You will probably be executed in the autumn. How can you be so calm?" The old man was suspicious.
"Will he be executed in the autumn?" After hearing this, Qiao Mu finally sighed, with regret in his voice.
"I only regret that I cannot expose the emperor's fault to his face, otherwise I should be sentenced to death by slicing."
"Hey, you know about Lingchi, right? I heard it's a very rare skill. If I were to be Lingchi, there would definitely be a lot of people coming to watch, right?"
elder:... ..
Has he been in jail for too long and can't keep up with the times
Why is it that he can hardly keep up with the pace of what people are saying outside
He then changed the subject abruptly: "Brother, those jailers seemed to be saying that you are the newly appointed chief constable?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
"Do you have someone above you? Is there an elder in your family who holds a prominent position?" the old man asked in a low voice.
Qiao Mu thought about it.
His Qiao family has countless ancestors, so it would not be wrong to say that the future elders of the Qiao family can hold a prominent position.
"It's not quite what you imagined, but sort of," he said ambiguously.
"Brother, you are indeed not an ordinary person." The old man exclaimed.
He paused and continued:
"In fact, in my early years, I was a chivalrous thief who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. I specialized in robbing corrupt officials and distributing their property to the poor... But one time, I was caught by a wealthy family..."
"I heard that there was an extraordinary person among the children of that wealthy family... and then I came in?"
"Did a foreigner attack you?" Qiao Mu became interested.
He was quite interested in the gap in strength between cultivators and warriors.
"Why would an alien have to take action... Ever since an alien appeared in that wealthy family, there have been more patrols around... I didn't have time to run. Then I was thrown into prison."
"Although I'm in prison, I still have some stolen goods outside that I haven't sold yet. They are all antiques that are inconvenient to throw away to the poor... The total value is at least a thousand taels..."
"Brother, if you can find a way to escape, and if you can take me with you, I will give you all this thing worth a thousand taels."
"Oh." Qiao Mu did not comment.
It turns out that this guy said so much, calling him a righteous thief and a thief who stole the stolen goods, just to gain sympathy and bribe him.
"My method of escape is not something that ordinary people can do." Qiao Mu said casually.
"... Tell me about it now. Although I'm old, I'm still quite skilled." The old man was slightly excited.
Qiao Mu then said seriously: "First, you have to commit a fatal crime."
"Secondly, when you go to the execution ground, greet the executioner cordially. Have you eaten?"
After hearing this, the old man became more suspicious.
Eat? Is this some kind of code? This person who just entered the prison has already arranged for the executioner to escape by saying the code
But now that they were on the execution ground and could talk to the executioner, they would be executed right away, right? How could they run
"And then?" he demanded.
"There's nothing else. I've already said it." Qiao Mu closed his eyes and ignored him.
The old man thought for a moment, then it dawned on him... The way to escape this man was talking about was a way to escape with the brain
Is this person trying to make fun of me
The old man was a little amused and helpless. He had wanted to try and see if the new prisoner had any connections, but it seemed that even if there were, it wouldn't work for him.
In a courtyard in the city.
Emperor Yonghe paced in the courtyard, his brows still deeply furrowed.
He was still thinking about the experience of being scolded by Qiao Mu in the teahouse.
He is of such a high status that he has never been insulted like this in all these years.
Especially the last one.
"What Qiao Pifu is questioning is not the difference in strength between our Great Yan Dynasty and the aliens..."
"He suspects that I am afraid of death and that for my own safety, I will hand over the country and the people to the immortal cultivators..."
After realizing this, his face became even darker.
If Qiao Pifu was an ordinary person, he might die before he could leave the teahouse.
But he is not alone.
He was a talent recommended by Wang Shanhe, the Minister of Punishments during the reign of the previous emperor.
If Wang Shanhe were still alive at this time, he would be over seventy years old, about to be buried. At this time, he recommended a talented person to be a captain of the police in Heyang City. I guess he wanted to support the younger generation and regarded this person as a rough jade that needed to be polished.
Qiao Mu's political views probably also represent Wang Shanhe's political views after he retired... .
In his heart, he was still willing to give Wang Shanhe some face.
After all, Qiao Pifu is not just Qiao Pifu, and Wang Shanhe is not just Wang Shanhe.
Wang Shanhe represents a long-gone era of civil and military officials sacrificing their lives for the country. He also represents the ideal of Emperor Yonghe, who, when he was young, wanted to become a wise ruler and turn the tide... .
While he was thinking, Guard Chu quickly walked into the courtyard.
"Your Majesty, that Qiao Pifu has been arrested by the soldiers and imprisoned."
"I think someone in the teahouse reported him for making irresponsible remarks about government affairs, and he was arrested and convicted by the officials of this prefecture..."
"Hmm?" Emperor Yonghe narrowed his eyes.
"Even if this person needs to be killed, it should be me who gives the order to do it."
"Then... I will inform the governor Lou in Heyang City? Ask him not to act rashly?"
"No need." Emperor Yonghe narrowed his eyes and said unhappily:
"You can escape death penalty, but you can't escape punishment for living."
"Insulting the emperor... If such a crime is not punished, where is the emperor's majesty? Even if he is not executed, he will be skinned alive in prison after a few days. We will rescue him after a few days." Emperor Yonghe ordered.
Chapter 69: Life and Death (4k
The moonlight came into the house, and the window lattice divided the moonlight into four parts. Under the light, Qiao Mu stretched his body, and the iron chains tied to his body made a crisp sound.
"Why am I not dead yet?"
Qiao Mu fell into deep thought.
It was already the third night of his imprisonment.
For some reason, these jailers looked at him differently.
It’s not like I received any special care.
But in this prison, as long as the daily meals are not deducted, they are not disturbed too much, and there are no such vile things as beating and insulting by the jailers, it is already a great care.
This made the old man in the next cell feel that Qiao Mu's background was even more shocking. He could insult the emperor and yet he could still be so leisurely in prison.
There was nothing to do in prison, the time was long and boring. Apart from practicing martial arts silently, Qiao Mu spent most of the rest of his time chatting and bragging with the old man in the next cell.
"Cough cough" the old man coughed lightly a few times. He had been imprisoned for many years, his face was yellow, and his complexion had always been not very good.
"Brother, I am not just an ordinary chivalrous thief... I am the descendant of the legendary thief from a hundred years ago."
"Back then, the Thief Saint's Light Kung Fu was unrivaled in the world, and his Light Kung Fu secret book is actually hidden outside. As long as you take me out..."
Qiao Mu said casually: "Then I will tell you a secret. In fact, I am not an ordinary head constable, but the founding emperor of the previous dynasty."
elder:
"This former dynasty's great ancestor must have been dead for thousands of years, right?"
Qiao Mu said seriously, "It's not important. What's important is that you V me 50. When I get out of prison, I will make you a general."
"... ..are you still entertaining me?"
"Weren't you the one who was teasing me first?" Qiao Mu didn't believe it.
How could it be such a coincidence that I would run into the descendant of the King of Thieves while serving time in the prison next door... Besides, the old man next door has dry energy and blood, and obviously does not know the advanced breathing method. When he was in his prime, he should have been an eighth or ninth-grade martial artist. It is impossible that he is some big shot.
"You young man... My child is about the same age as you. I wish he could be as smart as you."
"It's a pity that he is a very stubborn detective, so he doesn't have the guts to say so many weird things..."
The old man was both angry and amused. He shook his head and stopped talking to Qiumu.
He was old and weak, and was not tied up with chains like Qiao Mu, so he could move freely in the cell.
Suddenly, I heard a meow.
When I looked up, I saw a little wild cat that had sneaked into the small window above my head.
This wild cat is a mottled cat with fur mixed with white, yellow and black. The window is obviously as narrow as the mouth of a bowl, but this little wild cat can squeeze in. Qiao Mu can only sigh: cats are really a kind of liquid.
"Little guy, this is not the place for you to come, go quickly, go quickly."
The old man waved his hand to drive the wild cat away.
The prison was dark, damp, dirty, and musty. If a wild cat came in, even if it was not beaten or scolded by the jailers and driven away, it would still be inappropriate if it ate something unclean.
He was old and weak, and he felt a little exhausted after just waving his hand to drive away the little cat.
He continued walking around the cell for a few steps, and suddenly his feet went weak and he fell to the cold ground.
"Huh? Are you trying to scam me this time? Are you trying to gain sympathy?" Qiao Mu, who was sitting next door, was originally practicing Qigong with his eyes closed, but this time he was attracted by the noise and looked up.
The old man still lay motionless on the ground.
As a sixth-rank warrior, Qiao Mu had better eyesight than ordinary people. Although the prison was dark, he also noticed that there was no blood under the old man's body, which obviously did not mean he had an external injury such as a broken head.
"This old man..."
He stood up and walked over to take a look, but after only a few steps, the iron chain behind him was pulled straight.
"Where's the jailer? Someone come."
Qiumu made the iron chains tied to his body rattle, making a lot of noise.
Soon the jailers came over cursing, and when they saw it was Qiao Mu, the anger on their faces subsided a little.
"Qiao Pifu, don't make trouble. You used to be a government official, so please be polite to each other."
Qiao Mu didn't care what the jailer said, but just pointed at the old man who had fainted in the cell next door:
"A prisoner has fainted."
The jailer looked in the direction Qiao Mu pointed.
"oh."
"Don't you hurry up and save people?"
"Why are you so anxious? He is your father?" The jailer called over a few colleagues, opened the cell door, briefly checked the old man's condition, helped him to the straw mat from where he was lying on the ground, brought him a bowl of water, then closed the cell door and left.
The old man did not move during the whole process and was obviously still in a coma.
"Is that all?" Qiao Mu looked at the backs of the jailers as they left.
"What else can we do? Lao Qian isn't a wanted criminal." The voices of other prisoners were heard in the cell.
"He's just a thief. Even though he's been in prison for many years, no one has redeemed him. What else can we do?"
"It's like this when you get old. It's rare for a person to live to 70. He must be in his 60s. He's lucky to have lasted this long in prison."