Fang Yun looked down at his surroundings. The cell was very simple, with thatched floors and a toilet in the corner of the cell, but nothing else.
There was a steel door on one side of the cell and an iron window on the other.
Fang Yun turned his head and looked at the iron window. He could see that it was morning, which was synchronized with the time of Shengyuan Continent.
Fang Yun looked at himself. His clothes and hair were messy, but relatively neat. After all, as a Hanlin, he could use his talents to cleanse his body.
Just then, messy footsteps approached quickly.
Then, a group of people appeared in front of the prison door.
A fair-skinned eunuch screamed, "Why don't you open the prison door for Marquis Zhujiang!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" A man in scholar's clothes stepped forward quickly, opened the cell door, and made a gesture of invitation with a smile on his face.
The eunuch frowned and took a look at the situation in the prison. He was about to cover his nose, but when he saw Fang Yun, he immediately smiled, bent down and walked into the low prison door, and said with a smile: "Marquis Zhujiang, I haven't seen you for a while."
Fang Yun thought of Zhang Longxiang's personality. He was a little conceited and arrogant, cold and quiet, so he snorted and said, "Oh? Who are you? I can't remember!"
The eunuch laughed and said, "You are a forgetful person, but I remember you. Now, let's stop talking about the past and talk about business first. Congratulations, Lord Zhujiang Marquis. His Majesty the King of Chu has announced to the whole country that you have been released due to insufficient evidence. From now on, you are the upright Marquis of Zhujiang."
"Where is the king's edict?" Fang Yun asked.
The Confucius World imitated the Shengyuan Continent in many places. When Fang Yun was taking the palace examination, the Qin State of the Confucius World began to learn the policies and laws of Ning'an County. However, there are still some places where the Confucius World is different from the Shengyuan Continent.
For example, there is no "imperial edict" in the literary world of Confucius, but there is a "royal edict" with a similar function.
The eunuch suddenly showed an awkward smile, chuckled, and said, "Let's not talk about the royal decree for now. You haven't been home for a long time. Go home first. The carriage is waiting at the gate of Shanglin Prison. Come. Zhujiang Hou is in poor health, help him leave."
"Hmph! No need, I am not sick or injured, you can leave on your own." Fang Yun said. He stood up slowly, his face stern, and scanned everyone with cold eyes.
Many people lowered their heads in fear at the extremely aggressive gaze.
Fang Yun glanced at the eunuch and walked towards the prison door, but he was worried. The fact that the King of Chu did not produce the "Royal Edict" showed that the Chu court was somewhat ambiguous about the matter. No official document was issued when the arrest was made, and there was no official document for the release now. It was a typical case of nothing being done, but it was extremely troublesome for Zhang Longxiang.
Fang Yun bent down as he walked through the door, stood up straight, and looked at the two jailers with his eyes as cold as ice.
There are portraits of these two jailers in Shushan Old Man’s book.
The two jailers trembled, knelt on the ground together, kowtowed and shouted.
"Please spare my life, sir! Please spare my life! I am the one who has no eyes to recognize the great man and looks down on others. Please spare my life, sir!"
"I have elderly parents and young children to take care of, and I am the only one who can support them. I hope you will show some mercy..."
Many people present did not know the reason, but they all looked enlightened. It was obvious that these two jailers had once harmed Zhang Longxiang.
"I am a man of great stature, how could I bother with a villain? However, every country has its own laws, and every family has its own rules. You two insulted a Hanlin scholar and a marquis of a country, and you should be severely punished! Don't you agree?" Fang Yun said, turning to look at the eunuch.
The eunuch's face immediately turned red with anger. He pointed at the two jailers and said shrilly, "Come here, drag these two traitors out and give them a hundred lashes! After that, send them to Jingzhou Prefecture for strict interrogation!"
"Sir, please spare my life! Sir, please spare my life..."
The palace guards immediately rushed forward, grabbed the two men and dragged them out of the prison, leaving behind a series of screams.
Fang Yun snorted, raised his head proudly, and walked out of Shanglin Prison with his head held high.
When walking out of the gate of Shanglin Prison, Fang Yun looked back at the two words "Shanglin" on the plaque. As a marquis of a country, he should have been imprisoned in the better Ruolu Prison after committing a crime, but he was imprisoned in the worse Shanglin Prison, which shows how poor his status was before.
The eunuch smiled and said, "Look, this is the carriage that the King of Chu specially prepared for you. Please get in, my Lord."
Fang Yun took a look and saw that the carriage was pulled by ten white horses. The brown wooden carriage was very spacious and had pure gold carvings on the surface, which made it extremely luxurious.
"You stay here, I will go home. As for the King of Chu... thank him on my behalf. I will not attend the court for the time being! I haven't seen you for ten years, and I'm afraid the discipline of the Pearl River Army is lax. I will pay my respects to the King of Chu after the Pearl River Army is ready! In addition, this carriage belongs to me!" Fang Yun said, and got on the carriage without looking back, acting out the role of a powerful Hanlin with a heart full of resentment.
The eunuch stood there, sighing.
Fang Yun sat in the carriage, his mind racing. The reason he didn't meet the King of Chu was because he was afraid that he would be exposed as not familiar with this identity. He should first adapt to the environment these days.
Fang Yun kept thinking and recalling everything recorded in the book. Many questions arose in his mind, but unfortunately he could not find the answers.
"Old Shushan said that Zhang Longxiang had died a long time ago, but these people knew nothing about it. It's a bit strange. However, perhaps it has something to do with the power of Confucius' literary world. Covering up this matter is not a big deal..."
The carriage moved forward, and when the driver said they were almost at Zhang's house, Fang Yun suddenly felt a little nervous. After all, he had not yet adapted to Zhang Longxiang's identity.
Although Zhang Longxiang was born into a wealthy family, he was devoted to the Way of the Saints and married very late. He only had one wife and one concubine, which was extremely rare in the world of Confucianism. Unfortunately, his wife died of illness due to overwork five years ago, and his concubine hanged herself afterwards.
Zhang Longxiang had only one son, but the two had never met him. As a suspected treasonous criminal, no one was allowed to visit him.
Fang Yun smiled bitterly and shook his head. This was the test of the Ninth Mountain. Although Old Man Shushan did not mention it, the first step he had to take was definitely not to rectify the Pearl River Army, but to rectify the Zhang family. If he could not rectify the Zhang family, the Chu government and the public would inevitably attack him. He was inexplicably released, which might have caused dissatisfaction among some people.
Although the Zhang family did not have many enemies, they still had a few, even a noble family.
"I wonder what the Zhang family is like today..."
"My lord, we have arrived at the Marquis's mansion," said the coachman.
Fang Yun lifted the door curtain and got out of the car. He stood in front of the door and stared at the Zhang Mansion in front of him in amazement.
There are large mansions on both sides of Zhang Mansion, but Zhang Mansion seems to be in another world.
The doors of Zhang's house were so rotten that they were almost crumbling due to insect damage. They made loud banging noises when the wind blew. The walls were mostly broken, and weeds were growing in the cracks between the walls and the stairs.
There was a stone lion with its head cut off in front of the marquis's mansion.
Fang Yun looked towards the top of the wall and actually saw very tall weeds sticking out of it.
“Simply…” Fang Yun didn’t know what words to use to describe his current mood. Although he had prepared for the Zhang family to fall into ruin, he never expected it to be so ruined.
Fang Yun's eyes fell on the door knocker. There was no rust on it, and there was not much dust on the stairs. It seemed that someone still lived inside.
.(To be continued.)