The first boat docked on the side of the huge boat, and a group of officers with torches and swords and guns shouted and boarded the boat.

On the painting boat, the gorgeously dressed mother-in-law waved her hand and calmly said to Ruyan and the green pothos girl: "You all go upstairs, leave it to the old man to deal with it here, don't be afraid to panic." ”

Ruyan and the pothos girl glanced at each other, nodded slightly, lifted the hem of the skirt and walked up the stairs steadily.

"Where are the thieves? Hugh had to let the thief go! An emaciated-cheeked, steel-wielding officer shouted viciously.

The mother-in-law calmly greeted her and reprimanded: "Qian Wu, the old lady respects you monkey cubs a lot on weekdays, what are you going to do with knives and guns?" Do you sincerely want to frighten our girl?! ”。

The corners of the little boss called Qian Wu twitched twice, and he turned his head in embarrassment and glared at his subordinates and shouted, "What the are you doing?" Search around! ”。

Turning around, he stepped forward and whispered to the mother-in-law, "Can the old lady take a step to speak?" ”。

The mother-in-law snorted coldly in her nose and followed him to the side.

Standing in the shadows, the money boss hurriedly whispered: "Auntie, don't blame, this time it has nothing to do with our yamen. I'm not the leader, and the reason why I was the first to board the ship was to let you know in advance, so that you can always be mentally prepared. ”

As he spoke, he looked around nervously to make sure that the people on the other ships had not yet appeared, and then turned back and continued: "This time it is the arrangement from above, you are always ready to break the bank and avoid disasters!" I'm going to take you and Miss Ruyan back for interrogation in a while, maybe it's just going through the motions, that's all I can say! ”。

There was a rumbling sound of footsteps, and another group of officers and soldiers rushed onto the painting boat with torches held high.

The first armor-clad general looked around coldly, holding on to the sword hanging from his waist with one hand.

When Qian Wuyi saw someone coming, he immediately gave the mother-in-law a look, put the steel knife in his hand on her neck, and roared viciously: "Tell me quickly, where did you hide the thief?" ”。

The mother-in-law fell to her knees with a "poof", and said tremblingly: "Master Mingjian, the old body is wronged." We are full of people here every day, all of them are famous sons, elegant bachelors, where do I know any thieves? ”。

The general with three black beards and grim eyes glanced over the side and ignored him. He waved his hand lightly, and a group of wolf-like officers and soldiers rushed upstairs with swords and guns.

After a while, Ruyan and the pothos girl were both escorted down, and a soldier behind them carried a large package.

Ruyan's gaze was quite calm, and the pothos was already trembling all over, and she was frightened.

"Report to Lord Lieutenant, this is the stolen goods that the little ones have scooped up from the upper floors." The soldier carrying the package threw the huge package at the feet of the armoured leader. The package spread out, revealing a pile of gold, silver, and jade inside.

The mother-in-law, who was kneeling on the ground, shouted loudly: "Where are the stolen goods, they are all the goods that the girls have worked hard to sing and the guests have rewarded." ”

The cold-eyed general glanced at the soldier in front of him, and the soldier turned around and walked to the mother-in-law, slapped her with a round slap, and scolded in his mouth: "My lord is here, where can you talk like a slut!" If you don't shut up, you will be chopped with a knife and thrown into the river to feed the fish! ”。

Half of the mother-in-law's face instantly swollen, and she quickly raised her hand to cover her face and lowered her head.

"Stop!" The girl straightened her chest, stepped forward without fear and said, "My lord, what my mother-in-law said is right! When you board the ship, you plunder and beat people at will, without asking any questions about it. Can you know that this is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, is there no royal law? ”。

The general with three black beards stared at Ruyan a few times, and sneered: "Wang Fa? You are secretly communicating with bandits at the feet of the Son of Heaven, openly operating this skin and meat business, disturbing public order, and causing trouble to the people's customs, and you have the face to mention the royal law to me? Okay, all the stolen goods will be confiscated, and this little slut and the old thief will be tied up and sent back to me for strict interrogation, so that she can see what the royal law of Daqi is! ”。

Several soldiers with big shoulders and round waists pounced on the girl with ropes in their hands, and Ruyan shook her shoulders and shouted in disgust: "Get out of the way!" Don't touch me with your dirty hands, I'll go myself! ”。

The green pothos girl with tears on her face, her teeth chattering, and trembling all over her body looked at the back of Ruyan and her mother-in-law who were escorted away by the officials, and called helplessly: "Sister Ruyan, mother-in-law." No one answered her, only the cold whimpering wind on the Willow River responded to her.

In the dark night before dawn, the streets of the capital were empty, but the gloomy torture chamber of the prison of the Criminal Department was brightly lit with torches. Following Shangfeng's order, the girl who was arrested Ruyan and the mother-in-law were being interrogated overnight.

With a "bang", a basin of biting ice water was poured on the face of the old woman who had passed out. The mother-in-law, who had a blue nose and swollen face and crooked eyes, opened her eyes with difficulty, and she glanced hard at the official who was sitting on the table from a distance, and the official who was in charge of interrogating her cried in a dumb throat: "Official, poor and poor I am also a lot old, and I really can't stand the toss." What the hell do you want me to confess? ”。

The unrecognizable official sneered: "Naturally, I asked you to confess how you colluded with the bandits!" ”。

The mother-in-law shook her head anxiously and stomped her feet: "Official, I have said it hundreds of times, our painting boat is sent every day, and they are all children of families, elegant scholars, where did the bandits come from?" ”。

The official pondered for a moment and said, "This official thinks that you are old, so let's do this: as long as you confess that the girl is like smoke and secretly collaborates with the bandits, you don't know anything else, and the official will let you go immediately." How is it? ”。

The mother-in-law's eyes widened, and she didn't squeak for a long time.

After a while, she sighed heavily and said, "Although the old body is a well-known family, he has a humble background. But I have some conscience, and for several years, Miss Ruyan has been my cash cow, and I know her well. I'm old, she's still young, if in order to save my old life, I succumb to the villains and kill her, I will be at peace for the rest of my life! ”。

The official was furious, and he took the case and said, "Dare to disrupt the people! Full of nonsense, shameless face, come on, big punishment waiting! ”。

With the "creaking" of the stout wooden bar, followed by the crunch of broken bones, the mother-in-law howled miserably, foamed at the mouth, and slowly closed her eyes. She finally didn't get to see the rising sun in the morning.

In another gloomy torture chamber not far away, the girl trembled and fell to the ground. Her original white skirt was covered with dark black stains, her hair was unkempt, and her face was covered with sweat, and even half of her hair was wet. The ten fingers of her hands were tightly clamped between several logs with a diameter of five minutes and a length of seven inches each, and then tied with ropes, which was the famous punishment of "finger swinging".

The fingers that were once smooth and soft caressing the strings were now bloodstained.

She struggled to raise her pale and haggard face and said in a trembling voice: "My lord, the people's daughter has been wronged. I have never met the so-called rogue bandits, let alone know his whereabouts. ”

The high-ranking trial official snorted coldly in his nose: "You don't have to be hard-mouthed!" If you want to continue playing the piano in the future, you can quickly recruit from the real and avoid the unnecessary pain of flesh and skin! ”。

Seeing that the girl was biting her white lips and slowly lowered her head, the official waved her hand impatiently, and the jailers standing on both sides pulled the ropes at the same time, and the ten fingers were connected to the heart, and the heart-rending pain made the girl convulsed violently twice, and then passed out.

In the inner courtyard of the palace, Xiao Shunzi was carefully kneeling on the ground, serving Li Hongji to change the imperial robe that was preparing for the early dynasty.

The anger in the chest of Emperor Li Hongji of Great Qi had dissipated a lot at this moment, and he asked softly, "Is there news over there that the thief has been captured?" ”

Xiao Shunzi hurriedly stopped the movements in his hand, leaned over and kowtowed: "Back to the saint, the slave just received the news, and he didn't catch the thief, but just brought the girl Ruyan and the old woman back to the prison of the Criminal Department, and interrogated them strictly overnight. ”

Li Hongji raised his head and thought about it, and said lightly: "A bunch of waste, so many people can't catch a little thief?" Since Miss Ruyan has been arrested and put in prison, it is better to kill her arrogance. It's just that you have to go and inform them in person, and you must not abuse the punishment against the girl like smoke, and it is enough to starve her in a prison for a few days. ”

Xiao Shunzi pouted his buttocks, kowtowed again and again, and said, "The slave understands."

Li Hongji shook the sleeves of his robe and strode out. Xiao Shunzi, who was kneeling on the ground, hurriedly straightened his waist behind him, and shouted out of the door in a voice with insufficient yang energy: "The saint gets up and leaves the palace early." ”

After the dawn, Hou Sancai, the "Sky Monkey", said goodbye to Gentle Township, got up and hurriedly put on clothes, shoes and socks, and rushed back to the inn where he lived. He was anxious to test his idea.

Guan Yu, who rushed back to the inn with his front feet, took off his white robe and lay on the bed to use his brain. After all, there are only a handful of people in the capital who can mobilize the soldiers and horses who patrol the city and the officials of the criminal department at the same time. Soon, he had a plan in his mind.

After going ashore at that time, Guan Yu did not rush to leave, but watched from a distance as the group of soldiers with torches in their hands boarded the painting boat of the Ruyan girl violently, and even the Ruyan girl and the old woman were finally escorted to the boat, and he also saw it clearly.

A trace of guilt welled up in his heart: after all, the girl Ruyan and the old woman were wrongly imprisoned because of him. Going to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment tonight to smash the prison and fight the prison? Thinking of this, he shook his head lightly again: This is the capital of Daqi, not the Chaozhou Mansion occupied by the Red Turban Army, and the prison guards in charge are probably already on guard, maybe they are waiting for me to appear at this moment. Isn't that the same as throwing myself into the net?