Chapter 24: Affection in Prison

  "Little...little Lang Jun!?" Xiao Qi hastily crawled to the edge, grasping the railing with both hands, staring fixedly at the blood-soaked person in front of her who was completely unrecognizable.

  "How did you get here?" Tang Guan asked weakly at this time, leaning against the railing and asking Xiao Qi.

  "Brother Guan, how did you end up like this!?" Xia Qi was only certain that the person in front of her was Tang Guan when she looked at him again. She thought back to how they had all been laughing and eating together in the broken temple just yesterday, but now he didn't even dare to recognize himself.

  "You've stolen something again?" Tang Guan asked with a faint smile.

  Xiao Qi's eyes turned slightly red upon hearing this, and at a time like this, Tang Guan was still repeatedly questioning himself.

  "I was afraid you'd be lonely in prison, so I came up with a way to keep you company. Who would have thought...” Xiao Qi's voice cracked as he spoke, despite having known Tang Guan for only a short time. However, Tang Guan's generous and magnanimous personality had deeply moved him; apart from Niu Lang and Xiao Hua, Tang Guan was one of the kindest people to him. Seeing his benefactor reduced to this state, he couldn't help but feel overcome with sorrow.

  "You're crying for what? I...I'm not dead yet...cough" Tang Guan looked at Xiao Qi with a smile, feeling warmth in his heart. He had underestimated the ancients' reverence for kindness and righteousness. No wonder there were countless poems and songs praising it. At this moment, Xiao Qi's actions were no less than those described in those poems.

  "What will Xiaohua do if you leave?"

  As soon as these words came out, Xia Qi could no longer hold back and burst into tears while tightly grasping the bars.

  "It's all... it's all like this now, and you're still asking these questions, how did you become like this?" Xia Qi asked while sobbing.

  "Big man crying and whining, so annoying! Lock up these two little devils!" Just then a loud and fierce voice rang out, and Xiao Qi couldn't help but stop her sobbing.

  "What's it to you?!" Tang Guan also slightly annoyed, this Ma Lie was moody and unpredictable, just now he was talking nonsense, now it wasn't his turn to speak, yet he was telling others to shut up.

  "You little brat, how dare you speak to me like that! Do you believe I can eat you alive right now?"

  The iron cage on the other side made a ringing sound again. Ma Lie crawled out from the corner once more, this time with an even more ferocious expression on his face.

  "Ma... Ma Lie!" Xia Qi's eyes widened in shock as he suddenly let out a frightened cry.

  "Hey, little devil over there, do you know who I am?"

  Xiao Qi had also been involved in some shady dealings for two or three years, and although he wasn't a master thief, he had heard rumors about the Jianghu. He had heard the name "Ma Lie" more than once. Now that he seemed to have met the real person, he was stunned and stood frozen on the spot.

  Tang Guan saw Xiao Qi's expression and his heart skipped a beat, realizing that the ugly man next door was not so simple. Most of those locked in the provincial prison were extremely evil villains, except for Tang Guan.

  Xiao Qi stopped her tears, Ma Lie smiled at Xiao Qi with a wide grin, this smile scared Xiao Qi so much that her face turned even paler, and she spoke in an even softer voice.

  "Don't worry, Niu Lang Ge will take care of Hua Hua. How did those little rascals beat you up like this?"

  Ma Lie's words stirred up Xia Qi's sorrow and anger, making him feel indignant.

  "It's nothing... just a flesh wound..." Tang Guan endured the intense pain and pretended to be nonchalant as he spoke to Xiao Qi.

  "How did you get in?"

  "This is nothing, I've been here more than once, and it's not hard to get a good meal," said Xiao Qi with a smug expression on his face. Tang Guan also smiled slightly at the sight.

  "By the way, young master, Xun'er sister asked me to give this to you."

  After saying that, Xia Qi rummaged through her body and took out a handkerchief-wrapped object to give to Tang Guan.

  Tang Guan heard that it was Lin Yuxun who gave him the thing, and he hastily got up to receive it. When he opened it, he couldn't help but be stunned.

  All that could be seen was a faint scent of fragrance in the handkerchief, wrapped around a yellowish grasshopper. Tang Guan's eyes were slightly red, he raised his head and took a deep breath before saying to Xiao Qi: "Thank you"

  "Tang Yuanwai told me to tell you, don't be afraid, he has already written a letter to Chang'an, telling young master that you must hold on"

  Tang Guan's heart skipped a beat, and it turned out that Little Qi was here to deliver a message.

  On the other side, Ma Lie had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two and had also figured out some of the situation. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a slight shock. That Xiao Qi looked no bigger than Tang Guan, yet he dared to personally enter prison to deliver a message. What an astonishing sense of justice for someone so young!

  At the same time, Tang Guan was also moved by himself unintentionally helping, and didn't expect that the three orphans in the broken temple would really repay him with gratitude.

  Tang Guan slowly stretched out his hand and grasped Xiao Qi's, saying: "Xiao Qi, I, Tang Guan, have few friends. Today, I acknowledge you as my sworn brother through life and death. If we can escape, we'll share a single mouthful of food together."

  Xiao Qi was stunned on the spot, not knowing what to do. He only knew that Tang Guan had great kindness towards him and he wanted to repay it, no matter the cost. Now, Tang Guan had made this oath of life and death with him, leaving him feeling honored and surprised at the same time.

  Although he was stunned, he slowly stretched out his hand to grasp Tang Guan, and for a moment there was silence all around. Let's take a look at how the history books of later generations recorded this: The Biography of Tang Liang in the Book of Tang says that little is known about the life of Tang Liang, Duke of Loyalty and Righteousness. As a child, he had been imprisoned with Holy King Tang Guan, and they had shared life and death together. Throughout his life, he never abandoned his armor and horse.

  At this moment, an untimely voice rang out: "So young and already calling each other brothers, haha, laughing so hard my teeth are falling out!"

  As soon as he heard this, Tang Guan knew it was Ma Lie again and felt a bit annoyed. Just as he was about to speak up, several bailiffs came over from the other side.

  Tang Guan hastily let go of his hand, and the several bailiffs walked over in an instant, sizing up Tang Guan. The leader nodded and said, "Take him away."

  Several yamen runners listened to the order and opened the prison gate, directly raising Tang Guan's sedan chair and preparing to leave. Xiao Qi saw this and opened his mouth, wanting to speak but stopping himself, he saw the look in Tang Guan's eyes and knew that he didn't want to expose himself.

  Xiao Qi gazed resentfully at the backs of several bailiffs, then slumped to the ground in despair.

  "Hey, kid, what's wrong with this little brother of yours? Lock him up!" Ma Lie was a weird guy, he didn't mind talking a lot himself, but when others talked too much, he found it annoying.

  Xiao Qi, however, was not as ignorant of Ma Lie as Tang Guan was, and had some respect for him. Upon hearing this, he spoke up: "Young Master killed someone."

  "Someone's been beaten to death!?" Ma Lie's eyelid twitched at the sound, and he wondered how an eight-year-old child could beat someone to death.

  "Has anyone from a wealthy family been beaten to death?"

  Xiao Qi looked up at Ma Lie and shook his head: "The young master is the son of a wealthy family, he killed the son of an official"

  "Hah, dog bites dog. I didn't expect you young ones to be so wicked and cause loss of life with your mischief. You have a future, you have a future!"

  "Don't you dare scold Young Master!" Xia Qi heard this and felt somewhat annoyed, and seeing Ma Lie being tightly chained up, looking utterly disheveled, like a dog that had lost its master.

  Seeing Xiao Qi's courage had increased a bit, she stared at Ma Lie without saying a word.

  "Wasn't it just a mischievous child playing around? How many servants did you bring with you to beat that little kid to death?"

  "You're talking nonsense! Young Master beat all those villains to death, they deserved it!" Xiao Qi immediately retorted, but as soon as she spoke, Ma Lie was shocked, although the words were still unclear, but it seemed that things weren't so simple.

  "It's somewhat interesting, but don't take this little punk's boasting seriously," Ma Lie said, turning to leave the edge. Seeing that Ma Lie looked down on Tang Guan, Xiao Qi's childish temper flared up and he said: "This young master can kick you flying with just one foot!"

  As soon as the voice fell, Ma Lie, who had already turned around, suddenly turned his head back and stared at Xiao Qi. Seeing his expression, Xiao Qi involuntarily took a few steps back despite being separated by the cage.

  "Hey, Mao, tell me how your little lord killed someone?" Ma Lie's eyes gleamed with an unusual color, and he asked Xiao Qi with a hint of enticement. Xiao Qi also plucked up the courage to start telling the story about what happened yesterday at the fabric store when Tang Guan was there. Seeing that these notorious bandits were all ears for his storytelling, Xiao Qi couldn't help but add some embellishments.

  Ma Lie listened intently, his expression changing several times in the dimly lit environment. Xiao Qi was still chattering away on the other side, boasting and bragging, but he gazed at his own hands with a thoughtful look.

  "Wang Tou, the flogging has already been used yesterday. If we hit again, someone might die." The prison guard whispered to Wang Hu, but Wang Hu smiled and looked at Tang Guan.

  "Little Lord, you don't want to get beaten either, right?" Wang Hu said as he picked up a document from the table and waved it.

  "As long as you put your handprint on this, the uncles will let you go"

  Tang Guan saw this and didn't get angry, but instead smiled. This guy really thought he was an eight-year-old kid. He immediately said calmly: "Good"

  Wang Hu saw that Tang Guan, who was still so arrogant yesterday, was actually so easy to deceive. He couldn't help but feel great joy and immediately said: "Get the sand seal!"

  Someone immediately brought over a red seal, and Wang Hu urged: "Press it, after you press it you can go home"

  Tang Guan still didn't show any expression, touched some red materials, walked towards Wen Shu and said: "Uncle, come over here for a moment, I can't reach"

  Wang Hu rushed forward, but Tang Guan suddenly reached out and wiped his hand across Wang's face.

  "Little rabbit!" Wang Hu immediately burst into a rage, knowing that Tang Guan was playing tricks on him!

  "Seize him!" King Hu shouted loudly, and Tang Guan was immediately captured.

  He touched the red mark on his face and stared at Tang Guan angrily. The sand seal had not dried for a long time, and it was very different from ordinary ink.

  "If you're not going to draw, then there's no use leaving your hand! Give it to me!"

  "Clang!" As soon as the voice fell, the ready-made torture instrument was immediately applied with force to Tang Guan's fingers. Tang Guan's eight-year-old body couldn't withstand such cruel punishment and immediately fainted to the ground.

  "Alright, Wang Tou, let's drop it. The officer has given his orders. It would be best if you could provide a guarantor before the trial starts; otherwise, you'll have to be locked up first." These bailiffs were all seasoned officials, and many of them had received bribes from the Tang family, so they immediately came out to speak up for him.

  Wang Hu was a useless person, hearing this and looking at Tang Guan who had fainted, seemingly still resentful, but could only wave his hand and say: "Take him back"

  Having said that, he turned around and left the prison cell, rushing to the governor's mansion.

  At this time, the Liu Xun's house was in a state of desolation and grief because his son had died. Although Liu Xun and his first wife did not need to wear mourning clothes, they were still being nagged by their wives to the point of distraction.

  "My poor child! The Tang family is doomed!"

  Liu Xun was already annoyed to death, and now his wife was making a scene as if she wanted to die together with the Tang family, which only added fuel to his hatred for everyone in the Tang household.

  Just then Wang Hu came in and said in a low voice to Liu Xun: "The messenger is here"

  Liu Xun looked up and asked him, "What's wrong with your face?"

  "Accidentally drew on the sand seal." Wang Hu's old face turned red, and he didn't dare to speak the truth.

  Liu Xun shook his head and said: "How's the thing I asked you to do?"

  "It's being handled, it's being handled" Wang Hu heard this and his heart skipped a beat. The thing Liu Xun let him handle was really too difficult. That day there were no yamen runners present, who knew which family or household the onlookers belonged to? Even if they did know, whether they would be willing to serve as witnesses was still a problem. After all, Liu Chunliang's reputation wasn't very good.

  "Rubbish!" Liu Xun slammed his hand on the table. Although the evidence was already very conclusive that it was Tang Guan's doing, but the person involved refused to admit it. This required someone to testify before the case could be opened. As the governor, he could immediately think of a way to get rid of Tang Guan, but Tang Guan was not an ordinary citizen. He didn't want to give the Tang family a handle to use against him.

  "I'll go and handle it right away, I'll go and handle it right away" Wang Hu saw Liu Xun get very angry, speaking as he backed away and left.

  Liu Xun gritted his teeth and glared at his still sniffling wife, then turned and left the hall.