Just when Mei Changsu, who was working hard, was sitting under the flower stand and pondering, the carriage carrying Meng Zhi and Xia Dong had already driven to the prison. Outside the gate, everything still seemed as calm as ever. Meng Zhi was the commander of the forbidden army, and he used to go in and out often to visit Xia Jiang, Xia Dong and others, and the prison guards all recognized him, and someone immediately came to greet him, and led him and Xia Dong, who was covered by a cloak, to walk through the "Netherworld Road" and enter the women's prison.

When he arrived at the Zhu Zihao, the cell head opened the door and retreated. Meng Zhi glanced around quickly, then pushed open the cell door and bowed in with Xia Dong from the low door to look around.

The cell was really empty, and there was no trace of Gong Yu. The two exchanged glances quickly, and after only a moment, they pulled back and hurried out. As expected, as soon as he walked to the exit of the prison corridor, a man with a sinking face blocked in front of him, and it was Cai Quan, the secretary of the Criminal Department.

When the narrow road met, the air around them instantly seemed to condense, and the atmosphere was dark and silent. Cai Quan's scorching gaze stayed on Xia Dong in disguise for a long time, and Fang sneered: "Forgive me for not being clumsy, I can't recognize who Your Excellency is, show me your true face?" ”

Meng Zhi showed a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, and took a step forward and said, "There is a reason why Lord Cai has not understood this move for the time being, and I ask you to calm down and not rush to make a judgment." ”

Cai Quan said expressionlessly: "Okay, I'll be at ease." Then please explain to Lord Meng. ”

"Actually...... In fact...... "Meng Zhi is not good at clever arguments, and it is well known that his expression is better at this time, and he seems to be very embarrassed, and his words flicker, and he has not even been able to say anything ugly after opening his head a few times."

"Forget it, Lord Meng." Xia Dong wiped the disguise off his face and revealed his true face: "You just tell the truth." Anyway, I was caught on the spot, except to tell the truth. What else can you do. ”

"Xia Dong?" Cai Quan's pupils shrank slightly, and the fog in his heart became thicker. He received a secret report today, and hurried to the prison to inspect the current house, and sure enough, it was not Xia Dong, and he was very angry. Brought Gong Yu to the interrogation room, interrogated him for a long time, and didn't even ask half a word, just when he was annoyed, the cell head rushed to report that Meng Zhi appeared again, he didn't have time to think about it, and hurried over to block it, and saw that in addition to Meng Zhi, there was actually Xia Dong, and he was even more puzzled in his heart.

"What are you waiting for?" Xia Dong ignored Cai Quan's scrutinizing eyes. sneered: "Now it's Lord Cai who is getting to the bottom of it, and it's not that you don't care about his face." Your Highness can't blame you afterwards. ”

"Your Highness?" Cai Quan's eyebrows shook slightly. Your Highness? ”

"Who else can summon our Forbidden Army Commander?" Xia Dong said with a light smile. "Lord Cai originally had the temperament of not rubbing sand in his eyes, so he was willing to calm down and listen to Lord Meng's explanation. Isn't it because you feel that things don't make sense? ”

"Yes, I'm weird." Cai Quan looked directly into Meng Zhi's eyes: "You have obviously successfully replaced Xia Dong, I interrogated the fake prisoner in the prison just now, and she didn't confess, and the matter is related to adults, I really can't figure out why you brought the real prisoner back again." There is a way that is not close to common sense, and there are often extraordinary reasons, if the people can really justify themselves, the lower officials may wish to listen to it. ”

Meng Zhi rubbed his eyebrows, his expression was still a little hesitant, Xia Dong suddenly looked up to the sky and smiled: "Seeing that the Great Commander is like this, I am still afraid that His Highness will blame him, so let me tell you, maybe I can say it more clearly, and Lord Cai might as well listen to it." ”

"You are a rebel, you don't believe it."

"Believe it or not, listen to it and then judge.#.Lord Cai is a recognized master of solving cases, no matter how seamless the confession is, it can't escape the eyes of adults, so why bother to pierce me again in summer and winter?"

Cai Quan's eyes looked at her fiercely for a long time, and finally nodded: "Okay, you say." ”

Xia Dong smiled lightly and bowed, and said in a soothing tone: "Send me back to prison, and the person who was caught red-handed by your lord, is the commander of Mengda, this is a fact." But it was not him who quietly replaced me from prison, and that's also true. ”

Cai Quan raised his eyebrows, "Such an empty sentence is so light." ”

"Although the prison is guarded, but I am not the only one who can escape from it, Lord Cai has also been punished lightly for confessing his guilt, so he must remember it clearly, right?"

Cai Quan understood that she was referring to Xia Jiang, who had escaped from prison, and his face suddenly became even more gloomy.

"My master was rescued by someone and escaped quietly, so naturally I have it. And I was more clever than him, I got a person in and put him in prison to hide it from you for almost a month, shouldn't Lord Cai also praise this method? Xia Dong giggled twice, and didn't care about Cai Quan's pot-like face, "Don't you boast?" I don't want to boast about it, anyway, I don't have anything to be proud of to escape, but at this point, I was caught again. ”

"What do you mean...... Were you captured by him? Cai Quan swept Meng Zhi with the tail of his eyes, obviously not believing it.

"How can the Great Commander of Mongolia have time to arrest me before serving the emperor?" The corners of Xia Dong's mouth twitched slightly: "I was caught by someone else, Lord Meng, but he just sent me back." ”

"No matter who you are captured, you should be escorted directly to the yamen of the Criminal Department, instead of quietly stuffing it back like this," Cai Quandi's eyes cut back and forth on Meng Zhi's face like a knife, "There should always be a decent reason for such a strange behavior, right?" ”

"Lord Cai is so forgetful," Xia Dong leisurely twitched his ear and laughed, "Do you remember how His Majesty's punishment edict for you was written after my master escaped from prison?" ”

Cai Quan's heart suddenly froze, and the words on the edict, "If there is another misconduct, a first-class dismissal will be investigated" flashed through his mind in an instant, making his throat tighten.

"The person who grabbed me happened to be the subordinate of the Chitose Lord who had just entered the East Palace, so I was naturally escorted to him first," Xia Dong's eyes stared at Cai Quan's eyes shiningly, "This Your Highness admires and loves Lord Cai, you know how much you love it." If I were to be brought back publicly, it would be tantamount to announcing that the Criminal Department had lost the offender again, and it had not been detected for a long time. The charge was immediately apprehensive. Even if someone pleads, even if they don't get dismissed, then demotion is always inevitable. It's just that some people can't even let you be demoted. So I had to trouble Master Meng, who often went in and out of the prison, to take me on this trip. It's good to cover things up without knowing it......"

Cai Quan's face was blue and white, he gritted his teeth and groaned for a long time, his eyes re-focused, and he asked sharply, "If you do what you say." You were helped by your accomplices to escape from prison and then captured, so you should be glad to see that Master Montamine was misunderstood by me, how can you still defend him? ”

Xia Dong smiled miserably, raised his thin chin, and let out a long sigh. "Because my position has changed......"

"Stand?"

"Yes. My purpose in escaping from prison is different from that of my master. As long as I think that I haven't been able to kill my husband with a blade, I will not be able to rebel against me. So I wanted to run away and find the master and ask him where he hid Wei Zheng, but I didn't expect the master to find it yet. But he fell into the hands of the original generals of King Jing's Mansion and was brought to His Royal Highness the Prince. Xia Dong's eyes fluttered, and his tone turned low. In the East Palace, His Highness told me something. Something he'd been tracking down for a long time, something very clear. As a result, I was convinced. I'm starting to wonder if my hatred for all these years has really been misplaced...... Xia Dong is not a person at both ends of the rat. Since he has decided to believe it, His Highness also promised him to return to the prison and wait for the truth, of course, he will not see that Commander Meng was misunderstood by you and could not say a word, but what I said, Lord Cai, whether you believe it or not, I don't care. ”

Cai Quandi's eyes slowly rolled twice, and his expression was still deep: "I wonder what His Highness told you that would make your attitude change so much?" Xia Dong smiled faintly and said in a low voice: "Master Cai, what do I mean by the old things back then, can't you guess?" With all due respect, this matter is too heavy and heavy, and it is appropriate for you to forget about it, and you really shouldn't ask more. ”

Cai Quan suddenly remembered the conversation with Shen Chai on the carriage that day, remembered the bloody storm thirteen years ago, and immediately pursed his lips.

Meng Zhi had been listening silently beside him, and at this time he also stepped forward and said, "Lord Cai, although you and I don't have a deep relationship, I have always respected the Geng Jie of my lord. However, my Daliang is in decline in today's world, waiting for Zhongxing, what is most lacking is a good minister like an adult. Since there is a heart of love and maintenance under the East Palace, why should the Lord be rigid and live up to his good intentions? ”

Cai Quan lowered his eyes and seemed to have some activity in his heart. Xia Dong and Meng Zhi didn't say much anymore, urging him to think about it himself. After a while, Shangshu of the Criminal Department raised his eyes again, and his expression was solemn: "If everything you said is true, then who will be the person who Feijian is telling me today?" ”

His words were really unexpected, Xia Dong and Meng Zhi didn't hide the surprise on their faces, and they sighed in unison.

"Arrow Secret?" Meng Zhi said in surprise: "Your Highness, the people who know about it are all cautious people, besides, I am sending Xia Dong back, and I am not robbing her out, although there is a violation of the law of the country, but it is not a big deal, who will come to tell her?" ”

"The informant's accusation is that you replaced the prisoner, and he didn't say that you would send people ......back," Cai Quan said while thinking, "Maybe someone knew that Xia Dong had escaped from prison, and that Master Meng would often be ordered to enter the prison, so he combined the two and wrote that secret letter." After I received the letter, of course, I had to check it, and after checking it, of course, Xia Dong had really been replaced, and there were not many people in and out of the prison, and there was a whistleblower letter, so Master Meng was naturally the most suspicious. It's just that they didn't expect that Xia Dong, who had escaped, would happen to be brought back today......"

Xia Dong chuckled: "Lord Meng sounds like he is coming for you, think about what kind of enemy there is." ”

"Speaking of which," Cai Quan, who was acting strictly, turned his gaze back to Xia Dong's side, "I'm afraid you still have to explain how you escaped in the first place." "Do you want to fill the hole in the prison?" Xia Dong smiled very easily, "Actually, it's very simple, the cell head of the inner cell will not stay here forever, as long as you find a cell boss who loves alcohol, send someone to invite him to drink, change his clothes after getting drunk, and change into his appearance, and wait for a little later, when the light is dim, the guard who quietly impersonates the guard who enters the gate will not check carefully, and it is very likely that he will successfully enter the door......"

Cai Quan snorted coldly and said, "But there are two keys, and the two cell heads must unlock the lock at the same time." ”

"Who said that? A cell boss can open it with two keys. Xia Dong said lightly: "The key to the prison can't be taken out, so the first time I came in disguise, I just printed a key mold here, and went out with something else, and I didn't do anything." The cell boss who was drunk with alcohol woke up and didn't notice anything unusual. Then in a few days, the same strategy will be repeated against the second cell boss. "Looking for a second cell boss with good wine?"

"It doesn't matter if you don't drink well, you can use a big stick to knock it on the back of your head, and the effect is the same as getting drunk." Xia Dong didn't seem to see Cai Quan's increasingly gloomy face, and said to himself: "Of course, when you come in as the second cell boss, you have to bring the person you want to replace with you, of course, it is more difficult to bring one more in, but it is not complete, and you can't find an excuse, for example, this fake cell boss was brought in by a friend to visit the prison, because it is in and not out, so the guards will generally give this favor." At this time, the fake cell boss already has two sets of keys in his hand, and he can take advantage of the dead of night to go to the cell to change people, and then take me out, as long as the guard does not appear when he finally goes out of the gate, the fake cell boss brings in and out of the same person, and the matter is considered a success. Even if the cell leader who was knocked unconscious felt that something was wrong after waking up, he might not be sure that his beating was related to the prison, and there were so many prisoners in the prison, and there was no shortage of people, he couldn't find out what was wrong, how could he dare to shout casually? If you're lucky, you might be able to keep it like this, and if you're unlucky, you'll be detected at least the next day, anyway, I'm already out, who cares? ”

"You yourself came out to replace you?" Cai Quan snorted coldly: "What does that Gong Yu of Miaoyin Fang have to do with you." ”

"Lord Cai," Xia Dong gently dialed his forehead to the back of his head and said, "You don't know that there is a dark stake in the Hanging Mirror Division, right?" ”

The muscles on both sides of Cai Quan's cheeks twitched violently, "Gong Yu is your dark pile?" ”

"That's right. The identity of the Hidden Pile of the Hanging Mirror Division is secret, and no one else knows about it except for Zun and the Hidden Pile's own contact. I have saved Gong Yu's life before, and she is willing to do anything for me, which is the most useful secret stake for me. ”

"No wonder," Cai Quan seemed to say to herself, "A musician always catches the head, and she actually says that she has martial arts and is not weak......"

Meng Zhi took the opportunity to say: "Since Lord Cai has come back in Xia Dong, it is natural that everything can be hidden." I don't think that Gong Yu needs to be interrogated, isn't it the old department of the Hanging Mirror Division, just let me take it away and dispose of it, let her stay in the Criminal Department, your lord, it will be difficult for you. ”

Cai Quan didn't answer immediately, but calmed down and thought carefully about what the two of them said from beginning to end, and there were no loopholes that appeared from time to time, so he said with a sigh: "Okay, after Xia Dong enters the prison, I will hand over Gong Yu to you." ”

Xia Dong smiled absently and followed behind a warden designated by Cai Quan into the prison door without looking back. Cai Quan thought about it, didn't feel at ease, went in to supervise in person, looked at the handcuffs and locks, and sternly admonished him, and then came out and ordered someone to mention Gong Yu.

Maybe it's because the trial time is not long, maybe it's because Cai Quan is not a person who abuses torture tools, Gong Yu is just unkempt, and there is no obvious trace of abuse on his body.

After wrapping the young girl tightly from head to toe with the cloak that Xia Dong had just worn, Meng Zhi said a brief farewell to Cai Quan, walked out with Gong Yu, and saw that Cai Quan behind him was about to go out of the gate, and suddenly shouted: "Wait a minute." Meng Zhi's heart jumped, his steps sank, and when he slowly turned around, his true qi was already secretly covering his body.

"Please thank Your Highness on my behalf." With a faint smile, Shang Shu of the Criminal Department said.