A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 98

Chen Liangyu, led by the jail warden, walked deeper into the Ministry of Justice prison.

The stale, damp air, which hadn’t been ventilated for ages, drilled straight into her nasal cavity. The smell of spoiled food and the body odor of the dying mingled in the foul air, prompting a strong urge to gag.

The prison head, who was leading the way, stopped in front of a cell door. He opened the wooden cell gate and said to the jail warden, “Sir, we’ve arrived.”

The jail warden gestured “Please” toward the wooden gate, “Great General, please.”

Chen Liangyu hesitated, unsure where to step. The jailer following the warden assumed she was unwilling to enter, and abruptly pushed her forward from her back.

Chen Liangyu had been shackled on her hands and feet. Constrained by the heavy manacles and fetters, she was led out from the Gate of Receiving Heaven, walked past the amassed Xi Ma Nou people at the palace entrance, and then escorted to the Ministry of Justice prison. Tan Xialing had placed heavy shackles on her. With this sudden shove, Chen Liangyu’s steps faltered, and her right knee slammed directly onto the hard ground, causing her to wince in pain.

The jail warden’s face went pale. He quickly stepped forward to help her up and personally removed the shackles pressing against Chen Liangyu’s neck, “My subordinate doesn’t understand the rules, Great General, please forgive him.”

The prison head gave the jailer a hard kick on the lower back, scolding, “You ill-mannered wretch!”

He also came over to apologize.

This was the innermost cell in the imperial prison, separated from the guards’ room by a very deep corridor. High up, there was a narrow window sealed with wooden bars. The bars were cracked and rotten, and wind poured in through the gaps, unable to disperse the stench and dampness inside the cell.

The jail warden removed the shackles, then squatted down to unlock the fetters on Chen Liangyu’s feet. He said, “This is death row, so please don’t find this place too crude. The order from above was to give you a single cell, so you don’t have to crowd with other prisoners. That’s already the best treatment.”

Fat rats “squeaked” as they scurried across the straw mat, searching for scraps of food dropped by the previous, executed death-row inmate.

Chen Liangyu said, “Thank you for your trouble.”

“I’ll take my leave.”

The cell door closed with a “bang,” and the sound of the chain grinding against the wooden gate was especially grating. The jailer “clanked” the lock shut.

Chen Liangyu looked around the place.

The rats in the prison weren’t afraid of people; they didn’t bother to flee back into the wall holes even when she approached. Chen Liangyu kicked one away. Regardless of the straw being just climbed over by a rat, she leaned against the wall and sat down.

“Cough! Cough, cough, cough…”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough… Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…”

A severe bout of coughing came from the next cell. Chen Liangyu abruptly turned her head and finally noticed a person curled up in the corner of the adjacent cell as well. Two vicious gazes stared straight at her through the narrow wooden bar gaps.

The adjacent cell was also single-occupancy. This “best treatment” the jail warden spoke of actually included someone else besides her.

Chen Liangyu peered through the wooden bar gaps into the next cell. The wooden pillars separating the cells in the Ministry of Justice prison were placed very close together, leaving only narrow slits. It was also dark inside, making it hard to see clearly. She could only make out a thin man with disheveled hair.

“Censor Zhao, what a coincidence.”

Zhao Xingli was not enthusiastic. He faintly said, “Hm,” with a hint of expectation, “You’ve arrived.”

Chen Liangyu sat down cross-legged and said, “Censor Zhao, you don’t seem surprised to see this General at all.”

“It was only a matter of time.”

Zhao Xingli was a man of few words. Knowing that his aspirations and path were different from Chen Liangyu’s, and that they were unlikely to see eye-to-eye, he kept his words to a minimum.

Chen Liangyu didn’t try to force the conversation. She moved herself to the corner, where a pile of dry grass with a pungent smell was laid out—her bed.

Pulling some grass stalks to make a straw pillow, Chen Liangyu lay down.

The jail warden and the prison head left the imperial prison. The jailer, who had been kicked in the lower back by the prison head, strolled back. He slipped a bowl of thin, watery porridge and two corn buns through the gate, “We’ve already served the meal today, so you weren’t supposed to get any food, but our head specifically took care of you.”

The jailer lit the oil lamp hanging on the wall at the end of the corridor. Seeing that Chen Liangyu hadn’t even glanced at the porridge and corn buns, and was instead lying down in her purple robe and gold jade belt on the straw bed, he sneered, “If you don’t eat, you’ll starve. When you’re starving, you’ll eat anything. I’ve been a jailer for a few years, and I’ve seen all kinds of dignitaries. No matter how prominent they were when alive, they’re dead here. You don’t have many days left to live, and you’re still unwilling to take off that official uniform?”

The jailer fixed his gaze on the gold jade belt around her waist.

The jade was top-grade Hetian yellow jade, and the gold rim was also inlaid with real gold. He had never seen anyone in prison still wearing a sash personally bestowed by the Emperor.

Chen Liangyu closed her eyes for a moment of rest, “Whether this General takes off this official robe or not is not up to a mere jailer like you.”

The jailer was rebuffed and left disgruntled, “You can’t jump far like a grasshopper after autumn. Wear it if you like, but it will all be stripped off and replaced with a prisoner’s shirt when you are executed.” The jailer rubbed his chin. After a moment, he picked up the stick in his hand and knocked on the cell door, “Hey!”

Chen Liangyu opened her eyes, which felt dry and sore.

The jailer said, “Prison food is this quality, but if you’re sensible, there are ways to eat better.” As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, “If you took a small piece off that gold jade belt of yours, the court wouldn’t notice, would they?”

Is the court blind?

Chen Liangyu turned over, a few stalks of straw sticking to her back, and lay on her side facing the cell wall.

The jailer snorted, “The bones are hard when you first come in. Don’t rush; the time will come when you’ll beg me.”

Zhao Xingli started coughing again, “Cough, cough, cough, cough… Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…” It seemed worse, coughing non-stop.

The jailer walked over and swung his stick against the wooden bars of Zhao Xingli’s cell, “What are you coughing for? If you can’t live, just die sooner and save the prison some food.”

Chen Liangyu silently listened to the commotion. Just when she thought Zhao Xingli would rise up angrily and curse the jailer, Zhao Xingli instead spoke to the jailer in an almost pleading tone, “Please, could you get some medicine to treat this illness?” His voice was faint.

“Medicine? Doesn’t medicine cost money?”

Zhao Xingli said, “Then, could you send a message to my wife? She can get the medicine…”

The jailer said, “Still thinking of yourself as Censor Zhao? Your mansion was long ago confiscated. Even if I were charitable enough to deliver your message, your old mother and wife wouldn’t have the money to buy medicine. Medicine is expensive; it’s not something cheap lives can afford.”

With that, he took the two corn buns that had been placed in Chen Liangyu’s cell and the bowl of porridge. He splashed the porridge onto the ground and threw the corn buns into Zhao Xingli’s cell through the gate.

The corn buns rolled to Zhao Xingli’s feet.

The jailer said, “She won’t eat it. Here, take it and eat! A full stomach cures all ailments.”

The jailer picked up the bowl and walked toward the guards’ room.

“Wait.”

Chen Liangyu called out to him.

The jailer strolled back, again glancing at the gold jade belt on her waist, “What, have you come to your senses?”

Chen Liangyu said, “The Ministry of Justice prison employs two Chief Medical Officers for Criminal Justice. He is ill; why not call a doctor to examine him?”

The jailer snickered, “The Chief Medical Officers are just for show.”

He looked Chen Liangyu up and down, “The Supporting State and Galloping Cavalry Great General, the Grand Marshal of the Three Prefectures’ Armies, a noble of a Marquis’s household, a close courtier of the Emperor, a famous person of high standing—do you think doctors are easy to find anywhere? If your family could bail you out of here, take off those clothes, and go look among the common people, you’d find ‘one hundred li without a travelling doctor, and one shop left every three she.’ How many honest, good people get sick, can’t afford medicine, and wait to die? And you’re asking for a doctor for these villains and criminals? Get some rest.”

The jailer mocked her severely and walked away. Soon after, the sound of a dice cup shaking could be heard coming from the guards’ room where the jailer rested for the night shift.

The next day, the shadow of the gnomon on the sundial placed on the stone platform in front of the cell door had already shifted.

It was past noon.

Yet, there was still no official document from the Ministry of Justice officials for an interrogation.

Zhao Xingli had coughed all night. The window in the imperial prison was poorly sealed and leaked a lot of wind. Later in the night, the cell became colder. Chen Liangyu listened as the coughing on his side sounded like his liver, gall, spleen, and stomach were about to be vomited out.

Having slept poorly, Chen Liangyu was lethargic during the day.

Her stomach rumbled.

The Ministry of Justice prison served only two meals a day, at noon and dusk.

The cook pushing the wooden cart coarsely ladled the food, and angry scolding could be heard from afar. When he passed Chen Liangyu’s door, he placed a bowl of thin porridge and two corn buns as usual.

She looked at the porridge served today; it was still too thin to be filling. No longer caring about its appearance, she picked up the bowl and took a large gulp. The thing that could barely be called porridge only stayed in Chen Liangyu’s mouth for a moment before she immediately spat it out.

“Tch, tch.” Chen Liangyu spat, “How did you make this food? Did a rat die in the pot?”

The cook turned and came back, pointing his ladle at Chen Liangyu and shouting, “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m not eating this.”

The cook cursed, “Am I begging you to eat it? If you don’t eat, go hungry.” He took away Chen Liangyu’s bowl.

The prison head hurried over, carrying a bamboo food box. He chased the cook away and kindly placated, “Great General, you barely ate last night. Today, I’ve managed to get you some clean food. I know you used to live a life of luxury, but if you starve to death in the imperial prison, my colleagues and I will be held responsible. Please just do us a favor, take pity on us nobodies, and don’t be so picky. Eat.”

The prison head placed the bowl on the ground through the food slot.

Inside the wooden bowl was steaming white rice, and it was surprisingly covered with a layer of cooked dish—a few slices of crispy meat.

Chen Liangyu glanced at it. There was only a bowl, no chopsticks.

The prison head took out a silver needle and probed the bowl. After a moment, he pulled it out, “It hasn’t turned black, no poison. Every day in the prison, there are people who want to die. Stick a chopstick into a nostril, poke it, and the person is gone. Later, there was a rule not to provide chopsticks. After you finish eating, the bowl must be collected immediately.”

Chen Liangyu picked up the bowl from the ground. Before the food even reached her mouth, the jailer from last night ran over and said to the prison head, “Boss, the Minister is here.”

“Are you kidding me? The Minister would come to the prison?”

“He really came. I saw him walking to the door.”

The prison head hurried out to greet him.

Zhao Xingli was clutching his chest and coughing violently again.

Chen Liangyu had only managed a few mouthfuls when Tan Xialing ordered the cell door to be opened. A set of simple tables and chairs was placed in front of Chen Liangyu. On the table were a brush, ink, and Xuan paper, a copy of the official gazettes from Xiling and Nanjin, several candles, and a teapot.

After placing the items down, Tan Xialing did not dare to say another word and hastily left.

Chen Liangyu shouted through the cell, “Minister Tan, there’s a person here who is coughing to death. Send for a doctor to see him.”

Tan Xialing paused, looking extremely troubled, “It’s not that I’m unwilling. The Emperor has decreed that Zhao Xingli is not to be treated. I dare not defy the imperial edict.”

Xie Yuan had not killed Zhao Xingli because he didn’t want to provoke the Censorate. Judging by the current situation, it seemed he intended to let him die naturally.

Chen Liangyu was silent for a moment.

The sky was still overcast today. Weak light filtered through the small high window, casting a narrow streak of light on the ground. Chen Liangyu lit a candle, and the cell became slightly brighter.

She poured cold tea onto the inkstone, ground the ink, and began writing notes on the official gazettes, stroke by stroke.

Zhao Xingli uncharacteristically took the initiative to speak to Chen Liangyu, “A prisoner now, and still doing official business?”

“This General is diligent.”

Zhao Xingli chuckled, then cupped his hands and retreated back into the corner. That spot offered some protection from the wind.

The candle had burned halfway down before Chen Liangyu finished annotating the gazette that had come from Xiling.

“Censor Zhao.”

“I am no longer a Censor; I am a dying man.”

Chen Liangyu said, “I’ll ensure your release so you can continue to be your impartial Supervising Censor. In the future, you do something for me. How about it?”

Zhao Xingli clutched his hands tighter, “You yourself are in death row.”

The window let in more wind, and the candlelight flickered, nearly extinguishing.

Human voices were carried in the wind. It sounded like the prison head was lecturing his jailers, “Boy, I’ve been working in the Ministry of Justice prison for decades. I’ll teach you a lesson today. If they come in half-dead, stripped bare, no matter how high-ranking they were before, they’re no better than weeds here if they don’t get out alive; you can trample them as you please. If they’ve only been stripped of their clothes but are otherwise fine, you need to be polite. You never know; they might still be a master when they leave. But if the official robe hasn’t been stripped, and no crime has been determined in an open trial, I’ll give you a hint: they’ll be out in a month or so. Serve them well and don’t mess up.”

“Isn’t that a death row cell?”

“How many people can you meet in a lifetime who walk out of death row? If they don’t have real capability, they can’t get out. Think about it carefully.”

“Boss, then why haven’t you met a noble who got out of death row to transfer you out of the prison so you could rise in status?”

“Did your brain grow on your butt? Or did listening to opera burn your brains out? For people in our line of work, not offending those we shouldn’t is already rising in status. The noble won’t remember our good deeds, but they will remember our bad ones. They might not care now, but if they remember later, crushing you will be easier than crushing an ant.”

Chen Liangyu shouted toward the window, “Could you two plot a little quieter? This General isn’t deaf.”

Zhao Xingli also looked up and shouted, “I’m not deaf either.”

“Iron-Faced Zhao has learned to joke even in this imperial prison?”

“Ha, finding joy in suffering.”

Chen Liangyu brought up her old topic, “Censor Zhao, are you willing to agree to what this General just said?”

Zhao Xingli was silent for a moment, “Zhao studied hard to enter officialdom, taught by my esteemed teacher, to clean up the government system and serve the country and the people. Zhao believes he has lived up to the country, the court, and the people during his time as an official. If Zhao is asked to bow and bend for the powerful and run dirty errands, I’d rather cough myself to death cleanly.”

Chen Liangyu folded the official gazette once and handed it to Zhao Xingli through the wooden bar gap.

Zhao Xingli hesitated for a moment but took it.

“There are rebels in the Xiling area. Jiang Xiantang dispatched several Censors to investigate, and so far, not one has returned. In the short time since you were imprisoned, Vice Minister Jiang’s hair has completely turned white.”

Zhao Xingli’s emotions were clearly stirred when he heard about Jiang Xiantang’s recent condition, “How is my esteemed teacher? What do you mean, not one has returned?”

“Censor Zhao, which time in your investigations did you not put yourself in danger? The other Censors are naturally the same, especially when delving deep into the rebel territory. That truly is a matter of life and death.”

Zhao Xingli’s eyes flickered, and he slumped down in exhaustion.

Immediately after, he bent down sharply, coughing violently. He coughed until his face was red, and his chest was shaking.

Chen Liangyu said, “I will ensure your release, for both private and public reasons. Censor Zhao, you are trapped in this sunless prison, waiting to die. How can you still talk about serving the country and the people?”

After the coughing subsided, Zhao Xingli gripped the wooden bars with both hands and deliberated for a moment. He slowly opened his mouth and asked, “What do you want Zhao to do for you?”

“I haven’t thought of it yet.”

Chen Liangyu said, “But this General promises you that this matter will not betray the country, nor harm the people, nor be detrimental to the sovereign.”