The capital of Changyang Prefecture in Yanzhou is a relatively large city in Yanzhou, with a permanent population of more than 100,000. In addition, it is close to the Tongtian River and is a transit terminal city for the Dazhen Waterway. Most of the various goods and luxury goods shipped to the Jingji Prefecture will rest here and of course will also be sold into the city, so you can imagine how prosperous it is.
Relying on the remote sensing of the chess pieces, Ji Yuan landed in a remote suburb outside the city of Changyang. Turning from the small path into the main road, he could see carriages and pedestrians coming and going, connecting to the distant city of Changyang. As the year was coming to an end, these big cities were much more lively than usual.
Ji Yuan was just like an ordinary passerby, walking on the road leading into the city, approaching Changyang Prefecture with the crowd. The closer he got to the city gate, the noisier the sounds around him became. Most of the noises came from the port not far away. It was bustling and even felt as lively as the port outside Chunhui Prefecture.
At this point, Ji Yuan's sensitivity to the chess pieces had become much stronger. Actually, he had wanted to look for Zhang Rui first, but on the way to Yanzhou, he took a quick look at Wang Li's situation and found it interesting. Moreover, Zhang Rui seemed to be not far from Wang Li, so he went to see Wang Li first.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky of Changyang Prefecture. Before Ji Yuan entered the city, a woman in white holding a white oil-paper umbrella was walking towards the center of the city step by step. She was alone, and seemed out of tune with the bustling crowd around her. Her cold temperament made people around her inexplicably afraid to look at her boldly.
When they reached a restaurant near the government office, the woman put away her umbrella and entered the building. Although it was almost time for dinner, there was still some time left, so there were not many people eating and drinking in the restaurant hall. When the new waiter saw the woman coming in, he hurried over to greet her attentively.
"Hey, sir, how many of you are there? Do you have an appointment?"
The woman in white looked at the waiter, with no expression on her face, and just spoke calmly.
"I'm here to pick up the lunch box I ordered."
The shopkeeper over there saw the woman in white coming over, and quickly bowed and greeted her from a distance.
"Miss Zhang, you are here. The food has already been prepared and is being heated in the kitchen. I will put it in the basket for you right away!"
As he said this, the shopkeeper quickly told another waiter beside him to go to the kitchen to get the food boxes.
The woman in white nodded to the shopkeeper.
"Thank you for your help."
"Oh, it's my job, it's my job!"
After the woman finished speaking, she did not go into the restaurant, but just stood at the door waiting. Not long after, a waiter with a cloth towel on his shoulder came trotting over with an exquisite food box, walked up to the woman in white and handed it to her with both hands.
"Sir, your food box."
"Yes, thank you."
The woman in white took the food box, turned around and left the restaurant, opened her umbrella again, and walked into the snowy street, heading towards the government office in the distance.
At first, the waiter saw the woman leave and asked his colleague in a low voice.
"Brother Li, who was that woman just now? She was so stylish."
"Who do you care about her? She's just a rich lady!"
The one walking in the snow carrying the food box was Zhang Rui. She certainly did not go to the yamen to report a case. As a ghost, she did not need to report any case. Instead, she went around to the side, passed several checkpoints, and came to the prison outside the Changyang Prefecture.
The jailer guarding outside the prison door seemed to know Zhang Rui. When he saw her coming, he bowed first.
"Miss Zhang, you're here again?"
"Well, thank you. Take me to see him."
"Yes, yes, please come in!"
The jailer took Zhang Rui to the cell. Although the cell was dirty and the slightly pungent smell was lingering, Zhang Rui did not even frown.
"Young lady, what are you doing in this prison?" "Hey, hey, is that a food box? Let me taste the food inside."
"Hahahaha, this beautiful girl, her man is in jail?"
"Speak so coldly." "Hahahahaha..."
Hearing some prisoners laughing and flirting along the way, the jailer picked up his sword and hit the fences on both sides with the handle of the sword.
"Shut up! Shut up everyone! Are you tired of living? If you keep talking nonsense, the brothers will loosen up your muscles today!"
Even though the prisoners knew that the cold woman in white might be of some importance, they still dared to flirt loudly and say some obscene words. However, as soon as the jailer, a small-time official, spoke, they all fell silent. It was as the saying goes, it is easy to avoid the King of Hell but difficult to deal with the little devils, and everyone is afraid of them.
Walking to a fork in the road deep inside the prison and turning left, she reached the end. From a distance, she saw seven or eight jailers gathered outside a cell. Zhang Rui couldn't help but smile upon seeing this scene, and the jailer who happened to look back was stunned.
"Uh, Miss Zhang, we're at the front."
As the jailer spoke, he walked quickly forward and could already vaguely hear Wang Li's emotional voice.
"Speaking of the Xue family, they are quite loyal. When they heard that Mr. Wang had invited a great wizard to exorcise the demon without asking any questions, the Xue family, grateful for the favor they had received, secretly ran to the riverside and spread the news..."
The jailer came over and looked around. Not only his colleagues, but also the prisoners in several nearby cells were all pressed tightly against the fence, gathered in the position closest to the end of the cell, listening with great interest, without any noise or disturbance, and very quiet.
"Boss, Miss Zhang is here."
Wang Li's storytelling was interrupted by the jailer. The seven or eight jailers also came back to their senses and turned to look in the direction they came from. A woman in white was slowly approaching with a food box in her hand.
"Oh, what a bummer!" "Yeah, it's the crucial moment!"
"that is!"
The prison boss slapped his subordinates left and right.
"What are you talking about? Get up and do something!"
"Come on, I'm talking about you!"
In the cell, Wang Li bowed to the jailers who were leaving with benches.
"Everyone, take care. If you want to know what happens next, please listen to the next episode!"
"Puff..."
Zhang Rui, who had already walked closer, finally couldn't help laughing out loud. The cold feeling she had before suddenly disappeared, but her face soon returned to its cool and indifferent look.
Wang Li lay on the fence and looked at the woman in white. His sight quickly focused on the food box in her hand. He scratched his head and said.
"You're here?"
The prison boss stood outside Wang Li's cell, took the key from his waist, unlocked the door, pushed it open himself, and said to the woman in white who had already arrived nearby.
"Miss Zhang, please come in. I'll be waiting outside."
"Well, thank you very much!"
Zhang Rui bowed slightly to the jailer, then entered Wang Li's cell with the food box. The jailer and another jailer who brought people with him were not only waiting outside, but also staying a little far away, giving him enough private space.
Ever since Zhang Rui entered the cell, Wang Li had been staring at the food box, rubbing his hands and saying impatiently.
"What delicious food is there? It's almost New Year, finally we can have a decent meal!"
Zhang Rui smiled and shook her head.
"Others in prison are listless, but you are so energetic. I think you don't need to wait for your release. It's better to be locked up until you die."
"That won't do. I still have a lot of books that I haven't told outside! Stop talking and eat. Eating is important. I was telling stories too hard just now and now I'm starving!"
Zhang Rui sighed and placed the food box on the small table on the earthen bed in the cell. She opened the covers one by one, and immediately the aroma of food filled her nose.
"Gurgle..."
Wang Li swallowed his saliva immediately. Not only him, but also those in the opposite cell and the next cell who smelled the fragrance were swallowing their saliva.
After Zhang Rui put the food on the table, Wang Li couldn't help himself any longer. He picked up the chopsticks and the rice bowl, took two big mouthfuls of rice, then used the chopsticks to pick up the meat and vegetables and stuffed them into his mouth. After filling his mouth, he chewed and felt a strong sense of satisfaction and happiness.
"If you wanted, I could have secretly taken you out long ago. You could have lived a comfortable life with a different identity. Why would you have to suffer in this prison?"
He chewed the food in his mouth hard, swallowed it whole, picked up the soup spoon beside him and drank two sips of soup. He took a breath and then answered.
"That won't do. I, Wang Lixing, won't change my name or surname. How can I live in secret? Besides, Minister Yin has already said what he wants. They can't do anything to me. I will be released after the New Year. Why are you bringing this up now?"
As he spoke, Wang Li hurriedly ate his rice and vegetables, not wanting to stop eating. Perhaps it was because his mouth was specially trained as a storyteller, but he ate so fast and so anxiously that he did not choke at all.
"Oh, Mr. Wang is really a man of integrity. I wonder who was the one who was beaten to pieces and thrown into prison, and when he saw me at night, he cried and almost called me mother?"
Storytellers have to practice their skills to have thick skin, but even a master like Wang Li couldn't help but feel hot on the face and stammered at this moment.
"Well, then he would be almost dead..."
"Pfft... uh hahahaha..."
Zhang Rui was amused by Wang Li's appearance and burst into laughter. After she calmed down a little, she pointed at him with her slender jade finger.
"You, you are already an adult, but you are so unruly! No wonder you can't find a wife. If Mr. Ji saw you like this, he would definitely laugh at you!"
Wang Li answered while chewing the rice in his mouth and spitting out tiny grains of rice.
"How do you know that Mr. Ji doesn't know? This is a test for me. Do you understand?"
Zhang Rui nimbly dodged the flying rice grains, grabbed Wang Li's ear, and carried him back to the dining table.
"Eat yours!"
Wang Li felt pain and cried out in a low voice.
"Hey, hey, hey, hiss... Be gentle, I'm just a mortal, auntie!"
Zhang Rui let go of her hand angrily and amusedly. Wang Li rubbed his ears twice and started to eat heartily again.
The meal ended in this cheerful atmosphere. Zhang Rui left again with the food box, while Wang Li lay down on the bed in the cell after eating and drinking his fill, looking towards the cell door with a slightly disappointed look on his face.
After Zhang Rui left, the jailers in the cell did not gather outside Wang Li's cell again, as if to give him enough rest.
In a corner of the hall in the front part of the prison where the jailers rest, the jailer was sitting at the table drinking wine and eating food. After watching Zhang Rui leave, he was thinking about a note he received yesterday.
The content of the note was very simple, demanding that Wang Li not leave prison. However, Wang Li was obviously about to be released after serving his sentence, and the prison boss knew the meaning of the note very well.
... ...
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket!