You rascal, stop right there!

The prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

Everything is quiet.

The smell of the prison cell here is pungent and even more damp and cold than the prison in Jingzhao Prefecture.

Countless ministers and common people, once they entered the Criminal Court, basically no one could get out alive.

The former Minister of Revenue Tian Yuan, Vice Minister of Personnel Shi Chen, and Third Director of Works Hao Yan, regardless of their official rank, were either imprisoned to death or taken directly to the execution ground.

stab-

The jailer in the cell leaned forward and led someone in handcuffs and shackles.

"What are you looking at? Let's go!"

"it is good!"

Bai Wan responded and leaned forward to walk into the prison of the Criminal Justice Department.

I thought I had returned to my happy hometown.

However, he found that this prison was different from any other prison he had been to before.

Even though prisons used to be harsh and cold, they were still somewhat popular.

But here...

He followed this winding prison, and the people inside were either no longer in human form, or were empty and looked like someone had just died, without a single sign of life.

Bai Wan suddenly felt a little scared. This inexplicable sense of familiarity was as if he had been here before.

He walked to the innermost cell and stopped as if he had telepathic connection with the prison.

This light...

This bright little window facing north and south, and the green stone walls stained with blood, is simply a love prison in a dream.

“Go in!!”

Bai Wan walked in very skillfully and lay down on the straw and stone bed as if flowing through clouds and water.

This isn't the first time I've been in jail.

However, this was the first time that I was wrongly accused.

Regardless of whether he will die or not, he has been in jail on real charges, and it is really embarrassing to be wrongly imprisoned.

He sighed and thought about what went wrong, why the painting was stained with blood. It was really unfair that a painting in the palace could cost someone's life.

At this moment, a very quiet voice came from next door.

"Hello... Hello..." Someone called him.

Looking closely, I saw an old man with long hair and a goatee, wearing gray clothes and with disheveled face, standing next to the cell.

"Call me?" He stared at the man.

The goatee lifted his cascading hair, revealing a mouthful of yellow spots of teeth, making people take a step back in disgust.

"Are you the imprisoned painter?" His eyes were bright. "Finally I see a living person again."

Seeing an experienced old resident, Bai Wan approached him and said:

"Senior, I've just been imprisoned! Tell me how often meals are served, how often we are allowed to go out for exercise, and which jailer is the best to talk to. Also, what do you usually eat as a last minute meal?"

The person on the other side was also stunned. He had never seen anyone who could communicate with him so calmly after entering the cell.

He immediately said excitedly: "I finally met someone who is willing to talk to me. Don't you know that nine painters were imprisoned in front of your room, and they never paid any attention to me until they died."

Bai Wan's body trembled slightly and he felt as if he was missing nine lives.

He swallowed with some fear, his voice trembling: "So... how did they... die?"

The old man with a goatee on the opposite side counted on his fingers: "Your predecessor was executed because he painted a picture of a dragon and put a fairy on the dragon's body, then stepped on the dragon's whiskers and disrespected the emperor's authority."

"The previous predecessor was executed because the portraits of saints he painted did not meet the Emperor and Empress Dowager's wishes."

"The previous one was executed because he drew a picture of a man in red clothes fishing, which showed contempt for the red official uniform of Da Ying."

"In addition, there are those who drew ugly pictures of concubines in the harem, and those who participated in factional disputes and were implicated..."

Bai Wan couldn't bear to listen any more. Even though he knew that painting for the royal family was difficult, he never imagined it would be so dangerous.

They execute people at every turn, not because they are short of money from the funeral industry.

"Then are there any painters who were imprisoned but not executed?"

The man opposite looked at him with a meaningful look of regret, and twirled his beard:

"There were two, I think. But one of them was beaten with 20 sticks and then castrated. The other was imprisoned in another place after only three days, and no one knows whether he is alive or dead."

Bai Wan shuddered and felt that her fate was full of misfortunes.

He remembered what the fortune teller Wutong once said:

Life is full of misfortunes, both physical and mental damage, fragmentation, family breakdown, and bloody disasters from time to time. You will be separated from your loved ones and are destined not to have a marriage.

All of a sudden, the person sitting there was like a dry well without water, and he couldn’t utter a single word.

Could it be true...

Bai Wan sighed helplessly, feeling vaguely afraid of death.

He thought of the confidant whom he had relied on since childhood. If they were really separated by life and death, it would be too sad to leave that person alone.

"Senior, you have seen painters locked up. How long does it usually take for them to be executed?"

"In one day at the least, or five days at the most, he will be executed."

Others just smiled sadly.

This life is lonely. It is so hard to find someone who understands you. How can I bear to give him up?

Bai Wan looked at the halo of light in the window, a little dazed.

Zichen, do you know that if you and I were not men, we would definitely be a perfect match based on our fate.

The night is long, and the evening breeze passes.

His eyes were fixed.

"Senior, I want to save myself. Tell me how I can see His Majesty!"

……

the other side.

Bai Zhihou was thrown into the prison of the Criminal Court because of this painting "Picture of County Horses", and the news that he would be executed on a chosen day spread more and more.

Seeing that the envoy Shi Yaqing was so angry, the Emperor of Jiaxing had to rely on Prime Minister Li and Ling Yu to negotiate, hoping to calm his anger as soon as possible.

All the officials sighed and discussed, some were angry, some scolded, some criticized...

In short, he was just a small painter, no one would plead for him, and almost everyone kept silent.

When Ling Shumo found out, he was stunned.

At that time, he was half surprised and didn't know how long it took him to react.

It was rare that he would sit alone in the house in silence for a long time, staying in the house all day long, feeling restless and worried.

He quickly found Cheng Su and Cheng Zhiyuan, looking anxious: "Cheng Zhiyuan, it's only been a few days, why was he locked up?"

"Xiao Wan, you're in big trouble!" Cheng Su frowned.

"what happened?"

The other party was silent for a moment and then told the whole story, and also pointed out the strangeness in the painting.

When they first saw it, there was clearly no blood on the corners of the mouth and chest, but somehow it changed when it was handed over to Princess Dianyang.

Bai Wan should have no enemies in the Painting Academy and no connections with any party in the court, so he shouldn't have been deliberately framed like this.

The new emperor ascended the throne six years ago, and the people in the palace were also replaced. Even if there were people who were jealous of Han Miaoran's foundation as a painting saint, such people would rarely appear in the palace and the painting academy today.

But in Ling Shumo's view, regardless of whether he has a foundation or not, he only has one thought.

Save him——

Ling Shumo asked the others: "I want to enter the palace."

"You want to save him?" Cheng Su guessed his thoughts immediately.

Ling Shumo nodded.

"But, there is almost no possibility of turning this situation around..." Cheng Su felt helpless.

None of the ministers in the court were willing to plead for mercy. Now, no matter whether he was Han Miaoran or Bai Wan, they were just small painters and insignificant.

"Cheng Zhiyuan, I want to save him. So I must go see His Majesty."

……