On the morning of January 6, the 1st year of the Xianglong Era, the cold wind restrained the previous fierce momentum, the snow was still falling, and Mu Rong finally ushered in an edict that the Qin family had been longing for for a long time.

A eunuch from the palace led the herald to the Golden Ju Hall at the time of the dragon, read out the edict of the dragon king, and approved Mu Rong's request to enter the prison to visit Long Dailan, and she had a chance to enter the prison alone before this day's stove time.

Mu Rong was overjoyed and expressed her gratitude to Long Jun and the herald eunuch, and after they left, she immediately began to prepare, wishing that she would immediately fly to the prison to see her daughter-in-law.

The maids were busy dressing up Mu Rong and preparing gifts for the warden and the other adults, and Qin Shuo followed behind her, expressing his concern: "Mom, this approval is really timely, the adults only evacuated from the Qunying Palace yesterday." ”

The son's use of the word "evacuation" made her faintly feel that "this is a war".

It was indeed a protracted battle, and the two sides were at a stalemate for ten days. Ten days was not a long time, but what happened in those ten days made her feel like she had spent ten years, and the worries and doubts that grew in these ten days also made her feel several years older. It was the first time she had felt this way after so many years of marriage.

"You can't keep putting it off. She didn't want her son to think too much, so she dealt with it absent-mindedly.

"I think the verdict against my sister-in-law has come down a long time ago, but it has not been announced for a long time. They did it on purpose. ”

"Today I will know what the final verdict is. ”

"So, they're going to let you know while the adults aren't in the royal capital. And they don't want me to accompany you into the palace. ”

"After all, it's a palace, and the edict doesn't say that you are not allowed to enter the palace, the place I'm going to is a prison, and it's not surprising that you won't be allowed to enter that kind of place. ”

"Then mom let me stay with you, and I'll wait outside the prison. ”

"You, you still love to cling to your mother as much as you did when you were a child. She pretended to make fun of her son lightly.

"I'm worried about you, which guard can be as powerful and strong as me!"

She smiled and said, "Okay, mom will take you into the palace." I, I'm finally able to see your sister-in-law today, and your little nephew is almost four months old. ”

The little giant also laughed, and said expectantly: "Yes, how I wish that the day of his arrival would come sooner, and he would surely be as strong as me, as handsome as his father, and as smart as his second uncle." ”

"You have to think more about your own affairs, I think Mo Feng's daughter is very good, Mo Feng hinted to me that she also admires you very much, and when I go home, I will tell your father. ”

Hearing this, Qin Shuo's face flushed slightly, "What kind of hint is Mo Feng, he is simply afraid that others will not know what he is going to do! Besides, Mom, the second brother has not married a wife yet." What am I anxious about? ”

"He's him, you're you, and you both have to do it. You only said, Mo Feng's daughter, you are not satisfied?"

"Which daughter......" Qin Shuo pretended to be confused.

This child, every time he talks about marriage, he pretends to be deaf and dumb or pretends to be confused. Although the marriage age is a little later than that of northerners and southerners, she is relieved to be a mother if she makes arrangements for lifelong events early.

"Which other daughter, the eldest is sixteen years old, the youngest is eleven years old, do you want to marry that eleven-year-old? That's too young, don't say we want to do it, Mo Feng still refuses!" she deliberately frowned, "You don't want to marry both, do you?"

Qin Shuo's face instantly turned red, and he protested loudly: "Mom! What's the matter! Don't talk about this, it's too annoying, you better hurry up and enter the palace." ”

Half an hour later, Mu Rong was ready, she was wearing a floor-length bright yellow silk skirt, draped in wool shoulders of the same color, combed in a coiled bun, and wrapped in a woolen gauze hat, which was a little thin, but there was a fire in the carriage, and it was not a long journey to carry through the snow. Mu Rong led Qin Shuo, a maid, and a male servant out of the Golden Horse Palace, out of the gate of the Qunying Palace, the carriage was already waiting, the four of them got into the carriage with the prepared gifts, and the horseman drove towards the east gate of the palace.

The prison is not too far from the east gate, along the way Mu Rong showed the hand of the dragon monarch, unimpeded, directly to the southeast of the outer palace of the palace, the administrative hall of the torture pavilion is here, and the prison is in the southeast corner of the innermost.

According to the practice in officialdom, she first had to visit Xia Quan, the criminal pavilion. Although the Dragon Monarch Edict in his hand can directly enter the Heavenly Prison, after all, the Heavenly Prison is under the jurisdiction of Xia Quan, and it is still necessary to obtain his permission in the form to avoid unnecessary trouble. She let Qin Shuo and his entourage stay outside and entered the main hall of the Torture Pavilion alone.

Xia Quan was not surprised to see Mu Rong coming, of course, the usurper had already informed him. As she expected, he rejected the "small gift" sent by Mu Rong, and said with a straight face: "I understand Madame's kindness, serve Your Majesty and serve the country, I don't dare to accept additional property, otherwise my subordinates will follow suit, and the torture pavilion will be chaotic." The criminal cabinet is in chaos, the legal code is chaotic, and the country is in chaos, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to clean up in the end. ”

She had heard that Xia Quan was not greedy for wealth and the quality of women, but she still didn't expect Lord Dianzheng's words to be so harsh, giving a small gift would lead to chaos in the country, and when it came to it, the culprit would have to fall on her head. This makes people a little unable to get off the stage. However, she has experienced a lot of things in the officialdom, so she said: "I have always admired Lord Dianzheng, and it is indeed as honest and honest as the legend, and in the future, there will be adults to preside over the law, and everyone in the kingdom must abide by the law and dare not mess around." My daughter-in-law's case will be tried by adults, and there will definitely be a fair result. ”

Xia Quan narrowed his small eyes and smiled faintly, "The matter of the eldest princess of Nioh has already been decided by the cabinet, and Madame knows about it." ”

She lowered her head and sighed, "Actually, there is a lot of grievances here, and it is rare to have such an opportunity today, and I am about to report it to adults." ”

"Oh, then please speak to Madame. Madame, sit down, you stand alone, and Your Majesty will turn around and say that I have not been polite. ”

Mu Rong sat down at this time, "My daughter-in-law's maid Yingshu, I originally thought she was a very good child, but what she said last time in Shenmu Square was perjury, which is something I never expected." ”

Xia Quan looked at her suspiciously, "Madame said that it was perjury, then there must be evidence." ”

"My lord, I don't understand why Yingshu framed her master. She said that my daughter-in-law had an adulterous affair with Yu Jian a long time ago, and I can prove that this is a complete lie. Mu Rong explained: "You know, my daughter-in-law married into Jinbao, as the man's parents, we are going to check her virgin body, I can confirm that the great elder of Kongo Temple, Tie Huan, was also present at that time, and when the eldest princess of Nioh became my daughter-in-law, she was perfect." Moreover, outside my daughter-in-law's bedroom, there are two guards guarding day and night, if Yu Jian wants to have a tryst with my daughter-in-law, it will be impossible to avoid being discovered. Besides, he is the number one warrior in the kingdom, a close confidant of the previous king, why would he take such a big risk to sneak into the Golden Castle to do such a despicable thing?"

Xia Quan looked surprised, "What Madame said is really something I didn't expect." But why did Yingshu take such a big risk to prove that he was very likely to become the master of the Dragon Monarch at that time?"

"Then the adults should also believe it, and there is no need for me to make a special trip from the Golden Castle to the adults to lie. ”

Xia Quan smiled. "I certainly don't think Madame is lying. The details of this will be carefully investigated by the Criminal Cabinet, and Madame can rest assured. If we find out that Yingshu has committed perjury, we will definitely punish her severely. ”

Mu Rong expressed her gratitude. But she knew in her heart that what she said here had no real effect, just some formal defenses, but she still had to say them, because this was the position of King Castle. She had to let the usurper know of the determination and persistence of the Golden Castle.

"Since the lord said so, of course the golden castle is relieved. Your Excellency, please see, this is an edict issued by His Majesty earlier, and I hope to be able to meet my daughter-in-law now. ”

Xia Quan took it, but he didn't look at it, but spread it on the table, "Madame has been approved to visit the eldest princess of Nioh, and the torture pavilion has been notified." Until today's stove, the lady can enter the prison at any time. But please know that once you come out of it, you can't go in again, after all, it's a prison, and you can't go in and out at will. This special approval is a grace from His Majesty to the Golden Castle, and I ask Madame to keep it in mind. ”

It's not grace, it's humiliation. "Golden Castle is deeply grateful to Your Majesty and Your Excellency. ”

When he arrived at the gate of the prison, the warden unsurprisingly refused Mu Rong's small gift. It was not difficult for her to understand that the new Norimasa seemed intent on creating a stern image in front of her. The predecessor was a man known for his harshness, but now that he is the state minister, his successor must maintain the same image. And now that the new king has just ascended the throne, it is necessary to leave such an impression on the provinces.

She was the only one to enter, and the warden himself led her into a long, narrow corridor. Torches on both sides of the corridor illuminate the tall curved vault, which is topped with slender light gray bricks that are stacked at the base of the wall to the top. This kind of high and narrow space will cause a clear sense of depression to everyone who comes here for the first time, reminding them that this is a solemn and mysterious prison, and that it is the duty of every nobleman to settle here if they violate the legal code, and strictly abide by the law of the country.

Four jailers followed her, no one spoke all the way, and the jailer's iron boots stepped on the slender brick-paved ground, making a rhythmic dull sound that echoed in the narrow space, making the atmosphere feel very solemn. It was the first time Mu Rong had come to the heavenly prison in the royal capital, and she didn't know how long this road was, giving her a feeling that she couldn't walk to the end.

She suddenly felt that this was the road to a certain end, and she couldn't say what kind of end it was.