The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

Only after Duan Jing'an left did the jailers gather together again.

"Hey, you guys think the adults are quite considerate these days. They even brought us some food as a reward."

A jailer took a bite of a bun and spoke incoherently.

The jailer who had just replied came over and heard this, and gave him a slap in the face.

"What are you talking about, idiot? Is this how 'Shangdao' is used? Watch out, kid. If I hear you guys making up stories about officials again, don't blame me, Zhang Youzi, for not protecting you if you get killed one day."

Another person on the side quickly stepped forward to flatter him: "Hey, Brother Zhang, this kid has a foul mouth. He has been interrogating officials for a few days and learned a few official words and used them carelessly. I will give him a good talk later."

"Yes, yes, Brother Zhang, it's all my fault for my mouth. I deserve a beating."

The person who said the wrong thing quickly slapped himself twice.

Zhang Youzi sat aside, picked up the buns on the table and started eating. Nonsense, it would be a waste not to eat this free gift.

"Be careful, keep your tails between your legs these days. A lot of officials have come from above, and they all have connections. If you say something wrong, people will hear it. Humph!"

Zhang Youzi sneered, and the others were so scared that they broke out in sweats. They were just small jailers, and if they offended the people above them, their lives and property would be in jeopardy at a single word.

Zhang Youzi ate five big buns by himself before he felt full. He wiped his mouth casually, stood up, loosened his belt, and left.

The remaining few people breathed a sigh of relief. The five jailers sitting on the other side whispered when they saw that the man had disappeared:

"You guys better be more careful. Luckily, Brother Zhang heard it and was able to protect you."

Those people all broke out in cold sweat, and the person who said the wrong thing looked regretful.

"It's all my fault for being such a jerk. I'm a jerk, but I'm trying to imitate those officials and speak politely. Oh, I'm not destined to be able to speak in such a polite way."

The others laughed as they listened, and then a newcomer asked curiously:

"Who is this Brother Zhang you're talking about? We're all jailers, why are you so afraid of him?"

Seeing that the newcomer didn't understand, someone told him:

"You probably don't know this, but Brother Zhang, known as Zhang Youzi, has been in this prison for at least twenty years. He's the big brother among the jailers."

"Don't think that we are going to torture these prisoners now. There is no guarantee that some of them will turn against us. If they are petty and vindictive, they will crush us with just a flick of their finger."

"what?"

The new jailer was a little scared because he had burned an official's skin yesterday.

"Then why don't we..."

The newcomer made a gesture, meaning to let the water out.

The jailer who spoke sneered disdainfully, "You think it's that easy? How do you know which people can interrogate and which can't? If we don't get anything out of this interrogation, do you think the higher-ups will let us off?"

"What should I do? This is such a tough job. I can't do it left or right."

"So, why do we relax when some people bribe us? It's simply because these people have connections that prevent them from falling. They're just fine, hehe, you know. And those who are left alone, well, most of them can't get involved, and even if they do, it's almost pitifully small."

He lowered his voice again.

"Why do we all respect this brother? It's because he protects us. Brother Zhang has been here for so many years, and his eyes are very sharp. In all these years, almost no one has come to our door. It's always right to listen to him. Anyway, just relax and don't act on your own. He has many connections in this prison."

The new jailer nodded seriously, and the jailer who spoke exchanged glances with the others without any expression.

Almost every newcomer would be "educated" about Brother Zhang's status, so over the years Zhang Youzi has become the protective umbrella for the prison guards.

Zhang Youzi pretended to take a tour and when he reached the innermost cell, he accidentally threw something in. The person inside pretended to turn over and calmly hid the thing in his sleeve.

Seeing this, Zhang Youzi slowly walked out again. Today was going quite smoothly.

The newcomer, Lord Duan, invited everyone in the prison to a meal, and everyone went to eat, which was a good opportunity for him.

Zhang Youzi picked up a reed hanging on the side and picked his teeth.

…………

For a period of time afterwards, Duan Jing'an always treated these jailers with courtesy. The registrar who copied their words and actions was a little puzzled and went to ask him specifically.

"Why is Lord Duan so polite to these people? Look at how fierce they are when they are interrogating people. It's really scary."

Duan Jing'an smiled and said disapprovingly, "They are all colleagues. They are just doing their job well. They usually get along well with each other."

The registrar pursed his lips, thinking that Lord Duan was too humble. Why was he so polite to these people? They were just a bunch of scum. He didn't want to get along with them at all.

Not only did he smell like a stinking stench, but the sight of the miserable condition of each prisoner being tried gave him nightmares. It was clear how evil their hearts were, how they could actually commit such a crime.

Duan Jing'an doesn't care what others say, he just wants to do his own thing.

The prison guards at the heavy-duty prison that Duan Jing'an was in charge of were relieved to see that the new Lord Duan was gentle and polite, unlike the previous lords who bossed them around like that.

They have an easier time when this kind of official is on duty.

There were also some lazy people who pretended to obey but actually disobeyed in order to fool Duan Jing'an, but Duan Jing'an was not a pushover. After a few harsh punishments, these jailers became obedient.

"Tell me, where did you hide the two hundred thousand silvers?"

A shirtless jailer was whipping a white-haired old man hanging on the rack with a whip soaked in blood. The old man had messy and dry hair, a sparse beard, and his body was covered in blood.

"I want to report to His Majesty that I am innocent. I don't know where the two hundred thousand taels of silver went."

The voice was weak and almost sounded like he couldn't breathe.

But the jailer on the side didn't buy it. He looked fierce, dipped the pepper water on the table and cracked the whip.

"Okay, you don't want to tell me, right? Then I'll beat you until you tell me."

Then the sound of whips rang out again.

Although it was a normal interrogation process, Duan Jing'an always felt that today's interrogation was a bit like the illusion of more rain than thunder.

Seeing the meaningful look on Zhang Youzi's face, Duan Jingan's mind turned.

Seeing that the interrogation was almost over, the white-haired old man looked like he was about to die. Duan Jingan glanced at Zhang Youzi's expression and saw that he was getting a little anxious, so he spoke directly:

"Alright, let's end the trial here today. Please prepare the transcript and give it to me. I'll submit it tomorrow."

This meant that the task was finally completed, and everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was finally over.

Duan Jing'an did not lie. Today, Lord Ding specifically told him privately to produce all the necessary evidence and the case could be closed tomorrow.

Duan Jing'an knew the underlying meaning of this statement. Once the superficial accounts were settled, the net could be closed. If the investigation went any further, it would involve too many people and would be impossible to close.

Duan Jing'an knew the seriousness of the matter. He usually observed carefully. When he saw Zhang Youzi's expression was different from before, he knew there was something going on.

But he didn't want to know either, so he just wanted to finish it and close up shop early.

Moreover, the old man's eyes were firm, and even though he was tortured, his body never bent at all.

Although he didn't know whether the money was really embezzled, Duan Jing'an's intuition told him that a person's eyes could not lie.

Never mind. This has nothing to do with him. Just consider it as a favor.

Zhang Youzi breathed a sigh of relief. He was just worrying about how this would end when Lord Duan spoke.

Zhang Youzi signaled to the two jailers with his eyes. The two jailers understood immediately and took the old man away.

There's something about this adult...

I don’t know if it was a coincidence, but Zhang Youzi was secretly dissatisfied.

On the second day, Duan Jing'an handed over all the sorted documents to the chief officer, who then sorted them out and handed them over to his superiors.

Duan Jing'an finally relaxed. He had been keeping alert for more than a month and felt a little tired.

Now they are just waiting for orders from above to call them back. Now they can only stay here and wait for orders from above.

I don't know when this will come to an end...