The bleak autumn wind howled and raged over the city of Beijing, especially at the deep and narrow alleys and alleys, and the cold wind made people shiver. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

When Jiao Lao Liu came to the prison of the Criminal Department, there happened to be a gust of wind blowing from the side, which made his body tremble suddenly, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to tighten his robe, and at the same time, there was a trace of inexplicable fear in the depths of his eyes.

But after only hesitating for a moment, he still took a sharp breath, knocked on the closed thick iron door with his hand, and in just a moment, the small window on the door was opened by the people inside, and when he saw that it was him, he smiled and said, "Jiaotou'er came early today." As he spoke, the heavy door was opened through a narrow gap, allowing him to enter.

There are hundreds of prisons at all levels in the prefectures and counties under the Great Tomorrow, among which the highest standard and the most strictly guarded are the prisons of the Ministry of Punishment, except for the edict prisons that only hold officials and prisoners. In fact, most of the people who can be imprisoned here are officials who have committed crimes, and in addition, only some heinous murderers and felons, or Jiangyang thieves are eligible to be imprisoned here.

Because of this, the defenses in the prison of the Criminal Department are also extremely tight. Not only was there a high-walled iron gate, but there were also hundreds of sergeants and jailers stationed inside, and if outsiders wanted to come in to visit the prisoners, they had to get permission from the yamen of the criminal department or the imperial court, and at the same time, they had to conduct several strict searches before they could be allowed to enter.

The prison where prisoners are imprisoned is located underground, and only after passing through the corridor guarded by many officers and soldiers can you go down the stairs from the entrance that is so narrow that only one person can pass through, which can be regarded as truly entering the interior of the prison. So in a sense, this dungeon should be called a dungeon.

Of course, as a jailer leader in the prison, Jiao Lao Liu does not have to be searched like that, and no one will be fed enough to search him up and down for an errand every day. It's just that today, when he came to the entrance of the little day and saw those soldiers who were eyeing him, he was still a little nervous, and his hand was subconsciously pressed on his lower abdomen.

However, his little action did not arouse the suspicion of those soldiers, and when they saw him arrive, several of them smiled and said: "Jiaotouer has been much more diligent than usual in the past few days, and he has come earlier than before." ”

When Jiao Lao Liu heard this, he felt a little stunned in his heart, knowing that he was still a little anxious to do things and ignoring the time, but he said with a wry smile: "It's not easy for us to be on an errand." You also know who has been sent in by the yamen recently, and you can't do anything if you don't pay attention to it. ”

"That's right." One of the soldiers nodded in understanding, and then helped him open the door that could only be opened from the inside, and led him up a very steep staircase into the prison.

As Jiao Lao Liu entered, the people above closed the door again, and suddenly his vision was dim, only a few oil lamps hanging on the wall not far away flickered there, making the entire prison look gloomy.

After carefully descending the stairs, he took another deep breath to steady his pounding mind, and with a smile on his face again, he faced the three brothers who were gathered together around the corner in front of him. In front of the three men was a dilapidated square table, on which lay an equally dim oil lamp, and a celadon bowl in which several dice gurgled and swirled, and the eyes of the three men were fixed on them, not even for a moment.

With layers of protection on the outside, the defenses inside this dungeon are not so particular. Especially these jailers with meager salaries and low status, it is impossible to pay too much attention. Sitting under such a dark underground all day long, you can only be distracted by gambling and playing for money. In this regard, those adults in the Criminal Department have also heard of it, but this kind of thing is repeatedly prohibited, and in the end they can only turn a blind eye to this matter, anyway, after so many years, there has been no prisoner escape from the prison.

As the dice gradually stopped turning, the numbers on them were revealed, and one of the black-faced men suddenly showed joy: "Ah, this time the little money I lost to you before can be returned." ”

"You kid actually transferred." When Jiao Lao Liu saw it, he couldn't help but laugh and scolded: "But don't win too hard, otherwise no one will bet with you at that time." ”

"Yo, Jiaotou'er came early today, so you can throw two too?" These three people are all his subordinates, and when they saw him, they hurriedly bowed and invited at the same time.

Under normal circumstances, Jiao Lao Liu would not refuse, and I don't know how lucky it is, he always wins more and loses less when he and these brothers play money, so he is interested in it. But today, after hearing this invitation, he shook his head slightly: "No, I'd better go inside first." With that, he patted the three men on the shoulder, and continued to walk in with unhurried steps.

The other three people didn't have any opinion on this, so they just said that they were going to be okay, and then they refocused their attention on the bowl in front of them, and saw what number the three dice that could bring them fortune could turn out.

It wasn't until he turned another corner and left the sight of the three men that he let out the breath he was holding, and then his gaze moved to the cell beside him, which was only half a man tall and a few feet square, and he recognized the appearance of these people through some dim light.

Although this prison of the Criminal Department is the No. 1 cell of Tianzi, and it is also held by extremely important prisoners, the environment here is not good, and it is even worse than the prison in the ordinary state and county yamen. Not only was it cold and damp and stuffy because it was underground, but each cell was cramped, with little room for one or two people to move, and in some cells there were as many as four or five people, and the feeling of crampedness was even more than one can imagine.

Of course, if you can't stand this suffering, it's not impossible to improve, as long as you give money, someone like Jiao Lao Liu can change your cell and find a spacious cell for you to live in. This is also one of the means by which they get money, otherwise they would have drunk the northwest wind long ago with only a few dollars of silver a month.

After walking in the long and winding corridor for a while, Jiao Lao Liu's footsteps were stunned, and his eyes immediately fell on the prisoners in the cells here. There were dozens of middle-aged men who were either raw-faced or strong, and when they saw him looking at himself and the others at this moment, these guys did not look back with the slightest fear.

Although it was only for a moment, and there was a fence that was more than an arm's length between them, Jiao Lao Liu was stared at by them, but there was still a trace of coolness in his heart. Fortunately, after just one sweep, he had counted the number of people inside, and the seventy-three prisoners sent before were all here.

"Whew...... After all, there is nothing wrong, and the next thing is ......" Thinking of this, he subconsciously pressed his hand to his lower abdomen, and obviously felt a protrusion there.

After a while, it was opened again, and several large wooden barrels were sent down, but it was time for the meal, and the prison meal was brought down.

Originally, this thing had always been done by the three brothers who played money, but today Jiao Lao Liu waved his hand: "I'll serve this meal today." A few of you go inside first and ask them if you want to add some food. ”

The three brothers all smiled knowingly when they heard this, and hurriedly went inside. This is also the rule in the prison, the prisoner's prison meal is naturally very poor, often a bowl of vegetable soup like white water, plus two wotou or steamed buns. But there are also special cares, as long as you or your family members outside are willing to give money, you can have big fish and meat to eat, of course, this price is dozens of times that of the outside.

Compared with the income from changing cells, eating and eating is a more profitable means. So as soon as those brothers heard Jiao Laoliu's words, they hurried inside to ask questions.

Taking advantage of this time, Jiao Lao Liu quickly took out a paper bag from the hem of his clothes, shook all the medicinal powder in it into the big bucket of vegetable soup, and then took a big spoon and stirred it vigorously twice, and the paper bag was thrown into the dark by him.

Not long after doing this, the three brothers came back with unhappy faces: "Mother's bad luck, I didn't get a sum of money today." Forget it, let them eat bran vegetables! We don't even give them soup. ”

Jiao Laoliu frowned as soon as he heard this: "It's okay for the other prisoners, let's follow the rules for those few people who have a lot to do with the Xu family's case, otherwise they will have nothing to do with saying a few words in front of adults when they pass the court." ”

"They dare to ......," the three said in unison, but quickly, they hesitated a little: "Forget it, it's cheaper for them." ”

So under Jiao Laoliu's arrangement, this bit of food was sent to the cell one by one, and those prisoners were also very hungry.

And after packing up the guys, Jiao Lao Liu and the other four gathered on the table as usual and threw dice to play with money. But the three of them didn't know that when they put all their thoughts in the bowl in front of them, the fierce and vicious prisoners inside had all begun to turn blue, and white foam flowed from their mouths and noses, and then black blood, but they couldn't make the slightest sound, and could only convulsions with their bodies, and finally died completely.

And Jiao Lao Liu, although he was also playing with money, was a little absent-minded, and his mind was still turning about a previous incident, a man with a gloomy expression put a silver ticket in front of him: "Five hundred taels of silver, and the lives of your family, in exchange for you to help us Jinyiwei do one thing." But if it is done, I will give you another five hundred taels, and keep all thy peace, or else ......."