The 4th set of Chen Zhou's case is terrifying Chapter 26: Investigating clues and searching for leads in prison (2)

  "What are you thinking about, kitty?" Bai Yutang asked in a disbelieving whisper.

  Zhan Zhao smiled, "Brother Bai has also seen it. Nowadays in Chenzhou, it's very difficult to ask a question, and even in the wine tower, you can't hear any news. It's better to enter the big prison, there are many prisoners inside, they should not avoid discussing the affairs of Chenzhou!"

  "Can't you think of a better way?" Bai Yutang sighed helplessly, "Let me, the Fifth Master, go to that big prison, it's gloomy and cold, dirty and filthy..."

  Zhan Zhao slightly paused, his heart crying and laughing at the same time. It turned out that this white-haired old man had a cleanliness habit!

  "Brother Bai doesn't have to go with me!" Zhan Zhao said with a smile, "Brother Bai should return and protect Lord Bao instead. It's enough for me, Zhan, to go alone into the great prison!"

  Bai Yutang was taken aback, and Zhan Zhao hastily spoke up, "Brother Bai, don't worry, a mere Chenzhou prison can't hold me back. Although I'm not the same Southern Hero as before, it doesn't matter. Moreover, Bao Daren needs someone to protect him, and I fear that Leng Jiu Du will come again!"

  Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao and saw the determined look on his face, so he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go protect Bao Daren. If you don't come back tomorrow, then I, Fifth Master, will have to storm the prison!"

  Zhan Zhao smiled and bowed his hands in thanks!

  Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs, and several attendants in uniform rushed up, shouting loudly: "Who is it? Who wants to report to the official?" One of the attendants had sharp eyes and immediately spotted Pang Da lying on the ground. He panicked and shouted in a high-pitched voice: "What kind of person hurt Master Pang Da?" The few servants saw the officials and ran over, pointing at Xian Zhao and others, saying in unison: "It's them!" The attendants rushed over to surround them. Bai Yutang nodded at Xian Zhao and swiftly kicked several constables, transforming into a white shadow that dashed out. Meanwhile, Xian Zhao was taken away by the constables without any signs of resistance, clearly heading towards the official prison.

  The Chenzhou Prefecture Prison was dimly lit, with a gloomy atmosphere that made people feel suffocated. There were 130 prison cells in total, including 80 for men and 50 for women. Each cell had its own guards and supervisors, making it a tightly secured place, although not as heavily guarded as the Kaifeng Prefecture Prison. Within the male prison, there was a special section with 10 cells known as the "death cells", where prisoners who had committed capital crimes were held under even stricter surveillance. Today, however, someone new was brought into one of these death cells, and he seemed out of place. He wore blue clothes and looked refined and handsome - not at all like someone who had committed a crime punishable by death!

  The front foot entered the prison cell, and the back foot followed with several jailers, locking up the prison cell where Zhan Zhao was located with thick iron chains as thick as a wrist, and the atmosphere was very heavy.

  "You this eaten tiger's gall and bear's heart fellow, this time will certainly make you swallow your words!" The prison guard threw down the cruel words and left in a huff.

  Zhan Zhao furrowed his brow, looking around, but found that although this was a death row prison, there were still other cells surrounding it. However, the cells were empty, with no one inside!

  What's going on? How can there be no one in the cell at all?

  Is it possible that Chen Prefecture is really so peaceful and crime-free?

  No, something impossible must have happened in this cell!

  Then let's wait and see, if something really happens, someone should come looking for us tonight!

  Zhan Zhao thought it through and then found a quiet place to sit down!

  As expected, by nightfall, two prison guards opened the cell door and took Zhang Zhao out. They were still shouting, "Fortunately, there are not enough workers, otherwise you would have been sentenced to death for offending the Hou Mansion, and you would have died in this cell tonight! Come on, follow me, go to work!"

  One person wanted to put shackles on Zhan Zhao, another reached out to grab Zhan Zhao's giant sword. Zhan Zhao let out a cold snort, "This sword is always by my side, don't even think about taking it from me!"

  A jailer sneered and suddenly pulled out a whip from his waist, lashing it directly at Xian Zhao's back. Xian Zhao let out a cold shout, turned around, grasped the whip with his hand, hummed coldly, and swiftly drew his giant sword. With a burst of internal energy, he slashed at the shackles on his feet, sending sparks flying everywhere, and the shackles were severed!

  Zhan Zhao sneered, and the giant sword suddenly appeared at someone's neck. "Don't you dare remove the shackles from my feet? Although they've been cut off, wearing them on my feet still makes me very uncomfortable!"

  What had the prison guard ever seen such a thing, he was instantly stunned, Zhan Zhao coldly snorted, and the giant sword suddenly made a light swipe on the prison guard's neck, a thin red line of blood flowed down along the blade!

  The jailer was so frightened that he hastily unlocked the shackles on Zhang Zhao's feet. Zhang Zhao let out a cold laugh, reached out and grabbed the collars of the two men, hesitated for a moment, and then coldly said, "If you dare to make a sound, I will definitely kill you!"

  Two prison guards hastily expressed their refusal to say more. Zhan Zhao paused for a moment, activated his internal strength, and rushed out of the men's prison, without encountering even half a hindrance!

  Zhan Zhao exclaimed in surprise, it seemed that he had taken advantage of the fact that there was no one else in the prison. However, this turn of events only served to increase Zhan Zhao's suspicions!

  Only when a prison has been without inmates for a long time can its defenses become so lax!

  What does this Chen state city actually imply?

  He casually found a deserted place, threw the two prison guards directly to the ground, and inserted the giant sword in front of the two prison guards, emitting a cold and gloomy chill!

  "Let's ask you!" Zhan Zhao coldly hummed, "How did this Marquis Anle behave in Chenzhou?"

  Two jailers exchanged a few glances, and one of them stuttered, "Great hero, this...this..."

  Zhan Zhao snorted coldly, drew out the giant sword, and gently stroked its body with his left hand, smiling, "This sword hasn't tasted blood in a long time..."

  Two jailers hastily knelt down and cried out, "Great hero, spare our lives, we'll tell you everything!"

  "That An Le Hou Pang Yu, in the territory of Chen Prefecture, is so tyrannical and domineering!" A prison guard spoke up, "And what's more, last year this Chen Prefecture suffered a severe drought all year round, not a single grain was harvested, countless civilians starved to death. But that An Le Hou received an imperial edict from the Emperor to provide disaster relief, yet he embezzled the relief grain and filled his own pockets!"

  Zhan Zhao opened his mouth and asked, "But I saw Chen Prefecture City, although it's not as prosperous as the Eastern Capital Bianjing, but it's also quite comfortable."

  A prison guard smiled wryly and said, "Great hero, you've been deceived. It's because they knew the imperial envoy was coming to inspect that An Le Hou joined forces with Li Qingping, the prefect of Chenzhou, to force the starving commoners to pretend the city is prosperous!"

  Zhan Zhao clenched his fists tightly, the joints cracking with a loud noise. "What's going on?" he asked. "Why is this Chen state prison empty? And where are you taking me to work?"

  Another prison guard said, "Great hero, the prisons in Chenzhou City have been empty for half a year. All the prisoners were sent to work as laborers! As for where they went, it's a place outside the east city suburbs, and they're going to work for Duke Anle!"

  The jailer next to him also said, "That's right, Anle Hou set up a 'Soft Red Hall' privately outside the East City Gate, and all the women with some charm in Chenzhou were softly imprisoned inside, for his entertainment. Generally, their family members are all beaten into prison and then sent to work! Working is just for building the Soft Red Hall!"

  "Wait a minute!" Zhan Zhao interrupted, asking, "If the Soft Red Hall is a prison for women, then why would they have work done on it? Was the Soft Red Hall already in use before it was even completed? And aren't the people who go to work there mostly the families of those women? Aren't they afraid that they will escape?"

  "Great hero, you don't know the situation!" A prison guard said with a bitter smile. "The Soft Red Hall is divided into an inner hall and an outer hall. The inner hall is where those women are imprisoned, while the outer hall has not been fully completed yet. Both the inner and outer halls have government soldiers guarding them, so it's simply impossible to escape!"

  "What a delightful Anle Hou, what a soft Hong Tang!" Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, but the two prison guards felt a chill rising up, as if they had seen the nine layers of hell!

  "Get out of here!" Zhan Zhao snorted, clenching his fists and revealing a hint of murderous intent in his eyes. "Scram! Just say I escaped from prison, if you dare to utter another word, I'll go back to that cell and take your dog lives!"