Chapter 26: Receiving an Imperial Decree in Prison

  Two figures hastily emerged from the Tang Mansion and rushed towards the horse carriage parked outside. Chen Yunsheng changed into a deep blue official uniform as quickly as Superman, shedding his casual clothes while replacing them with the formal attire.

  Tang Weixi's face was flushed with excitement, "Don't change, hurry up! Hurry up!"

  The scene was watched by several burly men with swords outside the door, who were stunned and didn't know what had happened. They were all brave warriors in the army, selected to escort the imperial historian. Along the way, they had all seen Chen Yunsheng's slow and hesitant personality, but now he was anxious as if he had been caught red-handed.

  "Hurry up...to the Governor's mansion!" Chen Yunsheng immediately waved his hand and said.

  Two men hastily boarded the horse carriage, Chen Yun's head was covered with a hat that was worn backwards, looking extremely comical. The strong men couldn't help but burst out laughing, but the coachman still hurriedly drove the carriage away.

  "Up with the revolution! Down with the reactionaries! Down with the reactionaries!"

  "Yes! Liu Xun is going to rebel!"

  "You're talking nonsense!"

  A drop of water from the damp wall fell on Tang Guan's face, and this was his second time waking up. The pain of being tortured made him feel that living was worse than dying, and a pair of hands were completely not his own.

  At this time, it had already swollen up. Xiao Qi was leaning against the railing all along, and his line of sight didn't dare to leave Tang Guan for a moment, fearing that the heaving body would suddenly stop.

  Seeing Tang Guan wake up again, Xiao Qi let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.

  In prison, it's hard to tell day from night, all I know is that old Lao Gen the jailer has come again to deliver food to Xiao Qi.

  The same full bowl of rice, Lao Gen handed it in but then took out a few pieces from his bosom, which turned out to be several slices of dried meat.

  "Quickly eat it, don't let others find out"

  "Thanks, Old Root Uncle." Little Qi got excited when he saw the meat slices, but Old Root subtly shook his head, secretly puzzled by this strange kid who not only paid to stay in jail but also liked prison food.

  Xiao Qi saw Lao Gen turn around and leave again, then picked up his bowl and leaned in towards Tang Guan.

  "Little lord, have you eaten?"

  "Open your eyes and take a look," said Tang Guan, "you eat."

  Xiao Qi saw this and threw down her bowl, "You don't eat it, I'll take it to feed the mice!"

  Tang Guan didn't respond, closing his eyes tightly. Xiao Qi silently picked up the bowl and scooped some into his mouth with his small hand, chewing a few times before stretching out through the bars to Tang Guan's mouth.

  Tang Guan finally opened his mouth and took a bite, this was just ordinary rice, but Tang Guan thought it was the best thing he had eaten in decades of his past life. The two of them ate silently, one bite at a time.

  On the dark side, Ma Lie stared at the two people's movements in silence, revealing a strange smile, and slightly pulled his left hand, making a faint sound that was almost inaudible.

  No one noticed that the man who was heavily loaded and locked in the pelvis suddenly broke a chain silently with just a slight movement!

  "It's just ahead!" Tang Wei Xi looked at the increasingly close Steward's Mansion and immediately spoke up.

  "Halt!" Chen Yunsheng shouted loudly, and the horse carriage came to a stop. The two of them hastily got off the carriage and rushed towards the gate of the mansion.

  Ci Shi was already the head of a state, and even if it was a lower state, it was still a fourth-grade official position. Not to mention this prosperous Hangzhou, in front of Liu Xun's mansion, there were actually special guards on duty.

  The guards at the gate were also startled to see Tang Weixi and Chen Yunsheng rushing over. Just as they were about to speak, they saw the official uniform on Chen Yunsheng's body and immediately stepped forward, saying: "This official sir, may I ask?"

  Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yunsheng interrupted him: "The Imperial Censor of Beijing has arrived to investigate!"

  "Ah!" The guard was startled by the words and hastily said: "I'll go in and report right away."

  "It's done!" Chen Yunsheng took the package handed over by Tang Weixi, and from it he pulled out two objects. One was an ordinary-looking letter, but the second made them suddenly kneel down on the ground.

  "We your subjects have seen the Holy One!"

  This was none other than the golden edict, Chen Yunsheng held the edict and pushed open the door to enter the mansion.

  The people in the mansion also stopped moving when they heard the commotion outside, but the sudden shout that followed left them all stunned.

  "Liu Xun! You're asking for death!" Chen Yunsheng suddenly shouted loudly in the courtyard.

  Everyone in the house heard the sound and came out instantly, it was Liu Xun, the governor of Hangzhou.

  "How dare you!" Liu Xun had not yet seen the person clearly, but was already scolded by a loud shout. He couldn't help but become angry and flustered, and as soon as he went out the door, he let out a loud roar.

  "Chen Yunsheng? Is that you?" When Liu Xun saw the person's face clearly, he was slightly stunned. Chen Yunsheng was his subordinate county magistrate who had been transferred to another position, and now he appeared in front of him again.

  He then looked intently and was shocked, hastily kneeling on the ground: "Your humble servant pays homage to the Holy One!"

  Chen Yunsheng stepped forward with an imperial edict in hand and asked loudly: "Where is Tang Guan?"

  This question made Liu Xun and Zhang Er's monk confused, suddenly raised his head to look at Tang Weixi not far away, and was shocked in his heart.

  "How could it be!?" Liu Xun, although holding an important position, was far away from Chang'an for a thousand miles, and the news was not well-informed. He did not know that the literary and military officials in the capital had long been eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of the eight-year-old prodigy Tang Guanfeng's splendor.

  At this point, seeing this situation, it was only when Tang Wei Xi surprisingly really filed a lawsuit in the capital and it was even accepted!

  "This son has committed a capital offense! Kill the son of the official who was murdered! I still hope that the imperial censor will investigate clearly!"

  "What's with Tang Guan!?"

  "In the depths of prison"

  "Liu Xun! You're confused!" Chen Yunsheng heard this and first let out a silent sigh of relief, then immediately spoke up. The Empress Dowager had summoned Tang Guan with a time limit; if the deadline passed, it would be considered disobedience to imperial orders. Not to mention the entire Tang family, even his own life wouldn't be guaranteed.

  Chen Yunsheng looked around at the kneeling servants, pulled up Liu Xun and walked into the house, with Tang Weixi following closely behind.

  The door closed suddenly, and Liu Xun felt even more strange, the development of things completely exceeded expectations.

  "Tang Dehua! Do you think that by reporting to the capital, you can save your son's life?! Today and tomorrow, I will investigate clearly and definitely make your treacherous plan come to nothing!"

  Liu Xun saw Chen Yunsheng holding the imperial edict but not reading it out loud, and suspected that there was a change in the content, so he immediately questioned Tang Weixi.

  Chen Yunsheng saw that Liu Xun was still being stubborn, and couldn't help but shake his head. He took out the letter written by Pei Yan from his bosom and said: "Liu Shijun, the imperial edict wasn't given to you, take a look at this yourself."

  Liu Xun took over and opened the letter, only to see that it was filled with words, a handwritten letter written in a bold and unrestrained manner. But as soon as he looked at it, he was shocked.

  "This...this...how can this be..." Liu Xun's eyes widened in shock as he read on, until finally he became speechless.

  At the end of the letter, the three characters "Pei Zi Long" made him widen his eyes instantly, "The talent of a young friend is indeed difficult to measure, an old man has only seen it in his lifetime..."

  The whole letter is full of praise and admiration, and it is obvious that the "Lang Jun" mentioned in the letter is none other than Tang Guan himself.

  "Let him go, Liu Shijun!" Chen Yousheng spoke softly, but unexpectedly, Liu Xun suddenly jumped up and said: "No way! This beast is a murderer! How can he be granted an audience with the Emperor?"

  "Liu Xun! You're so bold!" Tang Weixi was also furious at the sight, this Liu Xun was really arrogant, the imperial edict had arrived at the door, but he completely ignored it.

  "Liu Shijun, do you want to defy the imperial edict?"

  Liu Xun, who was still in a rage, suddenly calmed down upon hearing this. He had never expected that Tang Guan would have such abilities, shocking the entire court.

  "My life is so bitter!" In an instant, this fourth-rank official was like a resentful wife, collapsed on the ground, his official hat askew. He knew that once he let go, he would never be able to catch up again. Chen Yunshang didn't know what kind of poem or essay he had presented, but it had such an amazing effect.

  Chen Yunsheng saw the situation and slightly shook his head, "Liu Shijun, trouble you to get the seal, if Tang Guanruo really made a mistake, today after tomorrow's investigation will definitely not miss any crime."

  "Haha...clearly discerning the autumn hair...haha" Liu Xun had been an official for many years, how could he not know that this "appointing the virtuous and promoting the worthy" was just a way to appoint people who were loyal to Wu Zetian. If they truly had real talent, as long as they didn't rebel against Wu Zetian, they would be fully utilized, let alone killing one or two people.

  It's really hard to predict the affairs of this world. The moment before, he was still thinking about how to convict Tang Guan, and it was only a matter of opening the court for trial and sentencing. But at this moment, he had no choice but to personally open the official seal and write down the release document.

  Chen Yunsheng handed over the document, Tang Weixi stepped forward and wanted to take it into his hands, but hesitated and stopped. Now was not like before, his old friend Chen Yunsheng had also become a fifth-grade imperial censor. Although he was very excited, he couldn't be as presumptuous as before.

  The two immediately abandoned Liu Xun, who had lost his soul, and rushed straight to the provincial prison.

  "Clang" Ma Lie's face was now covered in cold sweat, and under his prisoner uniform, a patch of red had appeared.

  "Third root!" But under his ferocious face, his eyes flashed with a sharp light, just as he was about to make another move, several people rushed over hastily from the other side.

  "Go away!" Tang Wei Xi strode forward with big steps, squatting in front of the cage and staring at his son who was mixed with blood inside.

  "Liu Xun! You're so vicious!" Tang Weixi's face turned red with rage as he saw his son still lying limp and unconscious.

  "Hurry up and let go!" Chen Yunsheng was also anxiously gesturing on the other side.

  Xiao Qi was even more excited, although he didn't know what had happened, but looking at this scene it seemed that Young Master Lang had been saved.

  In the midst of shouting and commotion, Tang Guan slowly opened his eyes, gazing vaguely at his father, and slowly stretched out his hand to point at Xiao Qi.

  "'Little... little... seven' was almost an inaudible voice, yet it made Tang Weixi and Chen Yunsheng overjoyed, able to speak, which meant he was still alive."

  Tang Weixi only then noticed the little thief, Xiao Qi, locked up in the adjacent cell. A look of gratitude flashed across his face as he recalled the young man's solemn oath when he first entered prison. His son was fortunate to have such a good friend.

  "Let him go! Let him go!" Chen Yunsheng didn't care about these things and immediately ordered the opening of the prison.

  As soon as he finished speaking, the gate opened wide and Xiao Qi immediately walked out. Chen Yunsheng only then thought of something and opened the imperial edict to read aloud: "Tang Guan Jie..."

  "You're stupid! What are you talking about?" Tang Weixi pushed Chen Yusheng away. Interrupting his words, Chen Yusheng finally came to his senses.

  "Hurry back home and ask for a doctor!"

  The crowd lifted Tang Guan out of the prison with all their might, and Tang Guan's nerves, which had been tense for several days, finally relaxed. His vision gradually blurred, and in his last glance, he only saw Ma Lie's eyes shining with a terrifying light in the dark corner.

  "Damn it..." Ma Lie endured the pain and smiled wryly, slowly loosening his clenched fist. Then there was no more movement...