Yingxiu turned back to Jia's house and found her husband.

Jia Xiuheng had just heard that the Ji family had been raided, and he was also very anxious. The newlyweds have not yet come out of the month, and there is such a big event, I heard that the family property of the Ji Mansion has been copied into the treasury by the officers and soldiers, and the results of the life and death of the Ji people have to be counted.

Jia Xiuheng went to find his father again, Master Jia is the servant of the temple, in charge of the carriage and horses, he can't speak at all in the court, let alone have the opportunity to meet the saint, where is there any way. There was such a big event, and there was no one to ask for, so after thinking about it, Yingxiu had to go to Mrs. Ji's foreign house, Deputy Governor Liu.

In the prison, I don't know how many hours I sit, Ying Ning only felt that it had been a long time, watching the sky outside the small cave gradually darken, and Ying Yao on the side changed from crying to sobbing, and now there is no expression. After a day of tears, Ying Ning's mouth was already dry, her stomach screamed, she licked her lips, and she was uncomfortable.

Old Mrs. Ji is in even worse condition now, her face is already a little blue, and her lips are so dry that they are stuck together.

Mrs. Ji stood up and shook the iron chain, and shouted outside, "Official, official? Can you give saliva to drink? ”

Outside the prison there was nothing but the shouting of the jailers and the clattering of torches on the walls, and no one responded.

Ying Ning also got up and knocked on the prison door.

"Madame, don't bother, those jailers don't care if we live or die. There are hours and customizations for food and water every day, and unless someone dies or makes a daily round, it is easy not to come in. If you keep knocking like this, maybe they'll come in and be beaten up. The woman next door said.

Ying Ning didn't expect that there would be such a place in this world, where the officials above could not hear and could not see, and it would become the world of a few little jailers, and they would be powerful here.

Mrs. Ji is both sad and hateful": How is that good? My old lady's face is not good-looking, I'm afraid it's not good, we haven't eaten for a day, and there is not even saliva here. ”

The woman comforted, "Madame and ladies, wait a minute, there is only one meal a day in prison, and someone should come soon." ”

Mrs. Ji was also quite helpless when she heard her say this, she would never have dreamed that she would have such a day.

Sure enough, after half an hour, there was a sound outside. After a few words of greeting, the two mothers-in-law came in with two buckets.

The mother-in-law, dressed in gray linen, glanced inside, and there was a newcomer again, and there was no shortage of prisoners in this prison. I don't know which official lady is locked up in it, looking at the clothes are rich and expensive, the girls are all peugeot, it's a pity, into this dungeon, either a death row prisoner or a prisoner is locked up to death, it will be difficult to get out if you come in, no matter how rich and noble you were before, when you enter the prison, it will be the same.

After starving for a day, the female prisoner in the prison took the bowl of rice soup and devoured the shriveled steamed buns.

Ying Ning saw the two mothers-in-law coming over and begged: "Can mom give saliva to drink?" ”

Another chubby mother-in-law glanced at them, a little disdainful, such a person can be locked in, what a big deal it should be, waiting for the sentence to be sentenced is also a capital crime, sooner or later they are waiting for death, so they ignored her, and went straight to two large bowls of porridge, put a few steamed buns and left.

Ying Ning was anxious, and hurriedly took off the jade bracelet in her hand and handed it over: "Mom is fine, but begging for a bowl of water to drink, my grandmother can't hold it anymore." ”

The fat woman saw that it was a jade, she was a layman, she couldn't see the quality of the jade, thinking that the things on the official lady should not be bad, and she was hesitating to take it. Now the fat woman took it happily, and stuffed the jade into her arms together, and then handed them a bowl of water.

Ying Ning smiled bitterly in her heart, she really didn't know the gold and jade, and she mistook the teapot for a night pot, the jade bracelet was a good Hetian white jade, a bracelet could be sold for hundreds of taels, and she could dig a well, and now she can change her saliva to drink.

"Mother, drink saliva." Mrs. Ji brought a thick bowl of water to Mrs. Ji's mouth, and Mrs. Ji opened her mouth with difficulty, and coughed hard after taking a sip.

Mrs. Ji hurriedly put down the bowl and helped the old lady smooth her back, and the old lady took two more sips, and her body felt a little better.

Ying Ning looked at the rice soup, which was sparse and sparse, how could she drink it to her heart's content. The two aunts also hadn't eaten for a day, broke half a steamed bun, and were ready to gnaw it, only to bite it and spit it out, it was sour, and after a closer look, there were green and green spots outside, and I instantly felt sick to my stomach, retched a few times, my stomach was empty, and I almost vomited bile.

How can such steamed buns be eaten by people, seven people can only eat two bowls of thin rice soup, and each person takes turns to drink two sips, filling their stomachs slightly.

There was no water for a day, even if the rice soup was a little musty, Ying Ning frowned and drank two sips. Several people didn't dare to drink more, and wanted to keep more for the old lady. The old lady is frail, and it is really difficult to get through such thirst and hunger.

After drinking the rice soup, everyone felt more comfortable. Yingxue and Yingyao sat next to their aunt, and because of the matter of the rat just now, no one dared to go to the corner, and they were all crowded together.

Ying Ning leaned against the wall, and could only stare blankly at the palm-sized sky above her head, it was already pitch black outside, there was no starlight or moonlight today, and what came into her eyes was the boxy dark night. She didn't dare to lie down, so she could only sit stiffly. I don't know when it rained outside, the rain became heavier, the rain was blown in by the wind through the square window hole, smashed onto the windowsill, and splashed on the grass on the ground, she moved in again, listening to the sound of the rain, her heart was relieved and calm, closed her eyes, and the events of today were replayed over and over again in her mind: the Ji Mansion was full of officers and soldiers, the houses were smashed and looted, the Ji Mansion was sealed, and the chains were put on the prisoner car, the merciless reprimand of the officials, the horror of the subordinates, the helplessness and despair of the mother, and the guidance and ridicule of the people......

There is a decree in the saint, and the Ji family is full of beheading.

Ying Ning saw her father and brother at the execution ground, and on the other side were her grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister, all of whom were tied up with flowers. The big knife in the strong man's hand is sharp and dazzling, making people dare not look at it directly. The people at the entrance of the vegetable market pointed and threw rotten leaves and rotten eggs, scolding corrupt officials for damning words. She wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn't.

I didn't expect the sun to be so strong in the cold autumn that she couldn't raise her head.

It's noon, execution!

The big man moistened the knife with his saliva, and the knife was raised high and slashed towards Ji Yihuai.

The knife fell, and a terrible cry sounded around him...... No!

Ying Ning didn't sit still, fell to the ground, woke up, and was sweating with fright.

"Sister Ning?" Mrs. Ji looked at her worriedly.

It turned out to be a nightmare. Where did that scream come from?

"Ahh ......" was the terrible scream again.

Yingning got up and hid in her mother's arms, crying: "Who screamed so miserable." ”

Yingxue and Yingyao were also awakened and terrified.

"There must be some poor man who has been tortured." A faint voice rang out, and it was the woman next to her.

"But a great sin?" Ying Ning asked.

The woman sneered and said, "In this big prison, it is common to be tortured by the jailers, and it is rare and common to be beaten into tricks, otherwise how can this case one by one be easily tried, and how can the case be concluded clearly?" ”

Yingning is unbelievable": At the feet of this Son of Heaven, in the Imperial City of Kyoto, there are still such black-hearted people? ”

"I said, girl, you are still young and have never seen the world. This dark dungeon, even the rough mother-in-law doesn't want to import it, let alone the dignitaries above? You didn't know when you first came in, but the jailers here eat people and don't spit out bones. ”

"How do you say that?"

"How can the jailers live on a few or two months to satisfy their insatiable greed? Even the money for alcohol alone is not enough. If the prisoner has money in the house, he can give them some silver taels, and if the family is poor, the prisoner will either try to raise money or be tortured to death. ”

"Doesn't anyone care when people die?" Ying Ning didn't expect that there would be such a pickled thing in the prison.

"The jailer is not stupid, those who have orders from above naturally dare not move, but they can just use small torture to scavenge and loot the silver taels. If it's a death row prisoner or someone left unattended in prison, it's killed. How common is it for a person to die in prison, just say that he committed suicide in fear of sin, or that he died of illness, who really investigates? ”

Everyone was shocked.

Outside, a terrible wail came in with the smell of burnt skin, and the sound of iron scorching and whipping thrown into the cold water made Ying Ning tingle when he heard it.

She thought of Ying Xuan and Ying Hong being held in another place, and she didn't know if they were together, and she didn't know what happened to her father. She was terrified when she heard this, and she was afraid that it was her brother and father who were being tortured outside. If it was them, there would definitely be no one to send the silver taels to the jailer anymore, and their family was locked up here, would they all be lynched to death in the end?

I don't know how long it took for the mournful wailing to gradually stop, perhaps because the jailer was tired, or maybe the prisoner was relieved, or maybe it was ...... The prisoner had been beaten to death, and Ying Ning didn't know it. She could only stare out the window in a daze, and the rain continued to fall, only getting smaller. The night was cold, and she shivered from the cold. She leaned against her mother and sister to keep each other warm.

Yingning's eyes didn't dare to close anymore, the rain gradually stopped, staring at the square sky, and the sky was white.

She finally survived the first night in prison.

In the south study, the saint summoned the secretary of the criminal department, Dali Siqing, Tingwei, the eldest prince, and the fifth prince to discuss the corruption case in Yuncheng.

"Prime Minister Nie Cheng harbored the suspect and is now imprisoned in the Prime Minister's Mansion. In the case of Yuncheng, Dali Temple has already put forward the confessions of the Ji family and the Yang family, and the family property copied has been listed for hundreds of pages, and I will soon be able to give an explanation to the people of the world. It's just that this Ji Yihuai and Yang Jianzheng, what do you think about it? Yan Chen saw that although his father's tone was flat, he could see the forbearance of his anger from the fist that was clenched in the fold.

The Shangshu of the Criminal Department said: "Back to the saints, this kind of serious crime should be copied and beheaded according to the law. ”

"No!" Yan Chen blurted out.

Xuan Han looked at the five princes, "Yunqing, you can talk about it." ”

Yan Chen was taken aback by his impulsiveness, thought about it and said, "Father, Ji Yihuai and Yang Jianzheng are not false, the evidence is conclusive, and they should be beheaded and appeased. But how innocent their family is, judging from the evidence presented by Dali Temple, the silver taels they coveted did not enter the house, but bought land and real estate outside. The accounts of the Jifu are clearly remembered, and the regulations are based on evidence. If the old and weak women and children are allowed to bear this crime of corruption because of the responsibility of the imperial history, how pitiful is it? Father, you have always admired benevolent governance, and the first emperor was the first to release the guilt, and the sons felt that the daughters had to forgive. ”

These words have also been pondered in his heart for a long time, and Yan Chen dared to say this, and also speculated on his father's thoughts. The father wants to deal with Ji Yihuai, but it is just a means to find out Yang Jianzheng, who is also corrupt, and his real purpose should be Prime Minister Nie Cheng. Now that the prime minister is under house arrest, his status may not be guaranteed, and he must die on the charge of Ji Yihuai, but it doesn't matter if the family members of the Ji Mansion die or not. Another important point is the reason why Yan Chen dared to say this, in order to weaken the power of the prime minister, the saint arrested Ji Yihuai and let Ji Yihuai die, then he must have the heart to compensate, and Yan Chen gambled on the slightest guilt of his father. His father has always been suspicious, but he risked going against the holy will and attracting suspicion, but he still didn't want her to have anything to do......

Xuan Han frowned, was silent for a long time, and suddenly threw the fold in his hand on the imperial case, and said in a deep voice: "Ji Yihuai and Yang Jianzheng have joined forces to swallow so much silver salary, and the death penalty cannot be escaped. As an official's wife, the amount of food and clothing, and the silver taels in and out, which one is not given by me? The master of the family did such a thing, and the housewife could not escape the blame, even if there was no accomplice, if she didn't report it, it would be a cover-up. Besides, isn't there any greed in this backyard? I don't believe it. ”

Yan Chen clenched his fists and sighed in his heart, could he have guessed wrong?

The eldest prince Yan Yu became more and more anxious the more he listened, he didn't care if Ji Yihuai died or not, but the Nie family was his grandfather's family, and Prime Minister Nie was his maternal grandfather, and the mother concubine hadn't slept well for a few days and nights when she heard about it, and the officials who could help the Nie family speak were all investigated by his father, and he knew that he couldn't intercede at this time, but he really couldn't help it.

"Father, Ji Yihuai deserves to die, but Prime Minister Nie is not a big mistake, it is an omission to fail to discover the corruption as soon as possible, but the father put the entire Prime Minister under house arrest, which is indeed serious."

"Hmph." When Xuan Han heard the eldest prince say this, he laughed angrily: "There is nothing wrong with it? I think he's the one who is most wrong! Where did Yang Jianzheng's silver salary come from? And where did the deficit go? How can such a big deficit be hidden? Whose fault is it? I have put him under house arrest for the sake of his old merits and the face of your mother, if you really check it, he will be the first to lose his head! ”

The saint was furious, Yan Yu didn't dare to say a word again, and several officials were also trembling.

Yan Chen knew that Yan Yu was impatient and had no words, and this remark angered his father, so he opened his mouth to plead: "The imperial brother is just filial to his mother, so he blurted out, hoping that his father and emperor would be angry. ”

Xuan Han breathed a sigh of relief and said coldly, ": The queen is still virtuous, and it is also reasonable to teach the prince. ”

Yan Yu saw that his father said this in front of the ministers and Yan Chen, he didn't know what to bury him, and he suddenly didn't look good, he just felt that Yan Chen was just indiscriminately pretending to be a good person, and he just wanted his father to look at him differently.

Everyone withdrew from the south study, and Xuan Han sat alone, and the big net that had been laid for more than a year was finally closed.