Cage

  Min An closed his eyes and puffed out hot air, not moving at all. Da Yanzi used her tongue with inverted thorns to lick the bloodstains on his neck, then rolled up his face, licking him until he couldn't bear it, twisting into a hemp rope on the ground.

  The scene where the sword was drawn and tense just now has become a you-and-me confrontation, with one person and one beast staring at each other. Lethal Gang, who was watching from the side, almost couldn't bear it and was about to step forward and kick him while scolding: "You little rascal."

  Li Qun only then understood that Min An was not afraid of death, but rather pretended to be terrified. Because Min An had already discovered the secret that the owlet did not eat human flesh, yet he still wanted to cause trouble for half a day, refusing to obey Young Master's teachings——fortunately, he was still watching anxiously from the side.

  Li Peinan patted the big dog's ear, and the big dog immediately walked to the side of the screen and squatted down. Min An wiped the bloodstains on his face with his sleeve, sat down on the spot, leaned against the chair leg, and gasped for breath. His white cloth hat had been knocked off, and a head of black hair like dark clouds fell down, covering the gray-brown silk scarf around his neck, making his skin look even whiter. Li Peinan looked down unintentionally and only then discovered that Min An was born with black eyes and red lips, spirited and lively, unlike the ruffians on the streets who fought cocks.

  Li Peinan walked over to the chair opposite Min An and sat down, looking at him and saying: "This wolf has not eaten since it was caught, its belly is empty, yet it only licks your bloodstains but does not bite you. So I'll ask you again, how did Mao Thirteen die?"

  Min An brushed away the scattered hair on his face and replied weakly, "How do I know?" His composure was finally broken by Li Peinan, who had a reckless attitude, as if he didn't care about anyone's presence, sitting there rudely with his head resting on the back of the chair, eyes closed, refusing to look at anyone.

  Li Peinan unexpectedly calmed down, sat and read a volume of "Baicao Yin", only drinking a bowl of tea. In the half-hour long idle time, he pretended that Min An was not present, and Min An also pretended that he was not present, leaning against the chair and falling asleep.

  Li Peinan heard the even breathing sound coming from the opposite side and couldn't help but put down his book to look over. Min An had been fighting with the leopard since last night, went for a walk on Haitang Mountain this morning, and fought with the civet cat in the inn, he was already exhausted, seeing Li Peinan didn't mean to take his life again, immediately fell asleep. His hair covered most of his face, only revealing a smooth forehead and soft lips, no matter how you looked at him, he didn't look like the "mouth that speaks death" sly official that Li Fei Ge had described.

  Li Peinan went out for a while and ordered Lai Qun to urgently summon the documents from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue, to thoroughly investigate Min An's background. There was a maid waiting at the door, he also instructed: "Go and watch him, don't let him cause trouble." He then went to the side hall for dinner.

  It took five or six days to transfer the files, but Min An in the study couldn't help but take care of them. When Li Peinan walked in again, Min An had already tidied up and was standing neatly in front of the screen with his head bowed waiting for orders.

  Li Peinan felt more comfortable with this and his tone was much softer when speaking to Min An. "Why don't you tell the truth about Mao Thirteen's case?"

  The Crown Prince lowered his eyes and replied: "Does the Crown Prince think that the case of Mao Thirteen is suspicious?"

  "Answer my question first."

  Min An replied honestly: "The prince mentioned this morning that he wanted to investigate the corrupt officials in Chu State, and has already taken action. I guess the prince already knows which officials are guilty, but is pretending not to know and hasn't taken action against them. Take Lord Wang for example, who has made a huge amount of money from building his mansion and opening the Haitang Mountain hunting ground, it's highly likely that he's one of the corrupt officials. However, the prince hasn't touched him, instead asking me to investigate the case of Cao Thirteen, clearly waiting for me to use this case as a lead to expose Lord Wang and other related officials' corrupt behavior, and then list their crimes and confiscate their ill-gotten gains."

  Li Peinan nodded slightly, without denying Min An's inference: "Wang Huaili is indeed a link in the Peng Ma Party. If we take him down, we can make this faction lose its connection between its head and tail, making it easier to break the entire system."

  Min An lowered his head and said: "The prince has cut off a batch of corrupt officials, won a beautiful battle in the imperial court, but I, as a small clerk at the bottom, was dragged down to the bottom of the well by Party Yu and stoned to death. What can I do?"

  "So you'd rather die than open your mouth?"

  Min nodded: "Anyway, it's all about escaping death, might as well die at the hands of the Crown Prince, and maintain some dignity."

  Li Peinan said in a low voice: "You still have reason?"

  Min An lowered his head and did not respond.

  Li Peinan said: "Come over here."

  Min An rubbed and crawled to Li Peinan's chair, knelt down gently, fearing a scolding, and covered his neck with both hands. Li Peinan patted his forehead and said angrily: "What is this?"

  Min An hastily put down his hands, like a kneeling lamb, looking at the master who was offering him food with a humble expression. Li Peinan turned his face slightly to one side and said in a cold voice: "Don't try to deceive me, I don't need to take your life."

  Min An secretly scolded in her heart, thinking that with your cold and bone-piercing temperament, even if I were to pour my heart out to you, it's unlikely that I would get any benefit. It's better to save some energy and wait for a master who treats me well completely before handing over.

  Min An's mind wandered, and she couldn't help but think of Fei Yi, that seemingly aloof yet always timely appearing big tree...

  Li Peinan looked at Min An in front of him, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and his eyes darting around as if he was looking for something. He exerted a bit of force with his hand, pulling Min An's attention back to him.

  Min An's chin was pinched by Li Peinan, and he hissed in pain, mumbling: "I was wrong, Master Shizi, please spare me."

  Li Peinan shook off Min'an's chin, pulled out a yellow cloth strip that had been prepared in advance from his sleeve, and threw it to the ground beside Min'an. Min'an picked it up and took a look, and couldn't help but frown.

  A yellow silk cloth wrapped a official document, written in regular script with Min'an's name, age, birthplace and physical characteristics, stamped with the Ministry of Official Seal. This thin piece of paper was once what Min'an had been longing for, he had passed the imperial examination twice, but due to his brain disease on rainy days, he was excluded from the imperial academy twice. After that, he did not continue to take the imperial examination, instead, he entered the government office and engaged in some "lowly" professions, such as gatekeeper, clerk, and staff member. This choice was forced by reality, and it also cut off his path to officialdom.

  But he did not expect that Li Peinan could get this official certificate, in addition to which there was a handwritten guarantee from Li Peinan under the cloth package, with beautiful handwriting, guaranteeing his legitimate identity and good conduct. The guarantee had Li Peinan's private seal on it, and the vermilion seal of the Crown Prince's mansion was printed on both sides, indicating the solemnity of this certificate.

  With the above official documents and certificates, Min An can go to the capital to participate in the imperial examination and formally embark on an official career path. The certificate was supposed to be issued by the county government where he was registered, but Li Peinan personally took care of it, presumably more persuasive than any government office, and at the same time, he also made clear Min An's identity - a private friend of the crown prince, an official of the royal court, and a newly promoted imperial scholar from Chuzhou.

  This yellow cloth package means that Li Peinan has accepted Min An as his vassal, and from now on, whether he lives or dies, Min An must follow him and cannot have a second heart.

  Min An clenched his fist around the cloth bundle and knelt down, still hesitating in his heart. He recalled what his master had said before, that the Li family were all ruthless characters, good at abandoning the millstone to kill the donkey. He didn't know specific examples, but for eleven years, his master's words had never been wrong, nor did he know if he was that "donkey". As for the outcome in the future, he didn't know how it would turn out, but from what he could see now, if he didn't accept Li Peinan's guarantee, then today he would definitely not be able to leave the inn.

  Li Peinan looked at Min An's face changing like a cloud and asked: "Still not satisfied?"

  Min An received the yellow cloth package and immediately knelt down and knocked his head on the ground, saying: "Thank you, Young Master, for your support."

  Li Peinan pushed Min An's forehead a bit further and said: "Sit down and talk."

  Min An sat down properly in front of Li Peinan for the first time. He smoothed out his collar, sat up straight, and placed both hands on his knees.

  Li Peinan called Li Qun to serve tea, Li Qun placed the clear tea on the table, Min An took it and thanked him, his demeanor was polite. When he drank the tea, he was also very quiet, from which we can see that Wu Ren had taught him well.

  Li Peinan and others Min An Huanhe over gas child, said: "Give you another chance, say clearly Mao Thirteen's case."

  Min An Lao replied, "There are many suspicious points in the case of Mao Thirteen. Firstly, his habit of scolding people has been going on for a long time, and no official has ever taken action against him, whether in Minzhou or Chuzhou. But as soon as he arrived in Qingyuan County, he was punished by the county magistrate, which suggests that he must have said something he shouldn't have, provoking the listener to anger.

  Secondly, the timing of his arrival in Qingyuan County is very suspicious. Governor Bi rushed overnight to bring him here, and it just so happened that Magistrate Wang was outside trying a case, taking most of the yamen runners and attendants with him. After the yamen was emptied, it would have been easier for Mao Thirteen to escape.

  Thirdly, although Mao Thirteen seemed to be fleeing in a panic, his final destination could only be one place - Haitang Mountain, where the ferocious beasts are kept. Within the twenty-mile radius of Qingyuan County, there is only this one high mountain. Mao Thirteen was born and raised in the wilderness and had been living in the mountains for many years. Those who were chasing him knew his habits and would have pressed him hard to force him up Haitang Mountain.

  I once walked through the fields connecting Haitang Mountain, which were wet and muddy after being watered the day before. There were also farmers working on both sides of the field. If Mao Thirteen had tried to flee into the fields to hide, he would have startled the farmers and been caught by the surrounding villagers. Therefore, he could only run forward along the only road.

  Fourthly, when Mao Thirteen's tongue injury acted up, the county magistrate grabbed a handful of grass and wood ash to stuff his mouth, which contained a large amount of honey and rabbit meat powder that the ferocious beasts love to gnaw on. After Mao Thirteen's body was brought back, the county magistrate tried to cover up the smell of the wounds with other pungent smells and deliberately threw the body into the horse stable.

  I have carefully smelled the wound and can prove that Mao Thirteen died in this critical place. Fifthly, there are many ways to kill someone like Mao Thirteen. As far as I know, there are three or four secret methods used in prison, such as 'basin hanging' and 'earth bag'. But the county magistrate chose a method that was so elaborate and troublesome, which suggests that he couldn't get his hands on Magistrate Wang's 'death warrant'.

  A 'death warrant' is an official document forged by high-ranking officials to cover up the death of a prisoner. It must be sent to the Ministry of Punishment for review. Usually, the Ministry of Punishment can turn a blind eye to ordinary cases, but Mao Thirteen was a major offender who had shocked the imperial court, and the Ministry of Punishment wouldn't dare to gloss over it. They would have to investigate his cause of death.

  In this way, Magistrate Wang wouldn't dare to take action himself and let Mao Thirteen die in the yamen. He could only think of a way to make him appear to have died a tragic death to shift the suspicion away from himself.

  Sixthly, Magistrate Wang has always been known for his foolishness, but suddenly became clever overnight and came up with so many twists and turns in the case of Mao Thirteen. It's clear that he must have received guidance from someone behind the scenes. I advise you, young master, to interrogate the county magistrate further, and maybe you can get to the bottom of things."

  Li Peinan took a sip of tea and said coldly, "Yesterday afternoon, Wang Huaili invited me to go hunting at Haitang Mountain. Taking advantage of my good mood, he reported the case of Mao Thirteen to me. I sent Li Qun to the prison to bring him out, but the jailer had already hanged himself."

  Min An sat for a moment, then couldn't help but say: "The mastermind behind the scenes is really formidable. He made a move to sacrifice the 'pawn' and protect the 'chariot', cutting off the prince's trail, his methods are too clever." By saying this, he obviously saw that Dian Shi's death was to maintain Wang Huai Li's position, while also cutting off the thread of the case of Mao Thirteen.

  Li Peinan replied: "Don't worry, we'll catch him eventually."

  Please take some time to read what the author has to say:

  The author has something to say: Hello everyone:)

  The draft has been written to 13W+, according to the plot volume later, I picked out Li Peinan as the male lead. Fei's part is slightly reduced, but in promoting the development of the plot and the role of key people, it remains unchanged. Here, I sincerely apologize to MM who hoped that Fei would be the male lead, bowing down

  The main reasons for choosing Li Peinan are: 1. I tried to write a warm and gentle male lead, but it didn't feel right, so I decided to stick with the original plot. Sorry to say this truth... TAT 2. Fei is a good kid, I don't want to torture him 3. Li Peinan's entrance has a great impact, taking up more space in the story

  If you're disappointed after reading this, I apologize again. If you don't want to continue reading, please delete the collection, thank you. TT Thank you for your support so far, I'll keep working hard in the next chapter, thank you.

  Thank you to Auntie Rong's two landmines, thank you to the chewing gum and Pig Ear's landmine:)

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