Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Chapter 324 The Wood in Jail

Yunzhou Prison.

In the dim cell, the damp air was filled with a musty smell. The plaster on the walls had long since peeled, revealing the mottled masonry. Mu Tou was imprisoned in an iron cage, his hands tightly gripping the bars, his eyes filled with anxiety and restlessness. He had recently been arrested by the authorities for injuring someone in a fight. Liu Yanzhi, mindful of Mu Tou's eagerness to find his master, had planned to release him after just two days. Unexpectedly, Mu Tou violently fought with the jailers in the detention center and even broke out of the cage, intent on finding Zhang Jingwei. Liu Yanzhi had no choice but to imprison him.

The iron cage was incredibly strong, but the wood refused to give up, punching the iron bars again and again, making a dull "bang bang" sound. His fists were already red and swollen, and even bleeding, but he seemed to feel no pain and continued to beat.

The prisoner in the next cell was annoyed by the noise and couldn't help complaining, "Brave man, if you have so much strength, why don't you go carry manure? What are you doing here?"

Mu Tou turned a deaf ear and continued to shout, "I want to see Master Liu! Let me out, I want to go find the young master!"

The prisoner sneered, his tone tinged with sarcasm: "You lost your young master? Then it's a wonder your old master didn't beat you to death."

Mu Tou turned his head abruptly, glared at the prisoner next to him, and yelled, "You're talking nonsense! I, I..."

The prisoner refused to give in and continued to challenge, "Did you kill your young master and then act like that here?"

Mu Tou was so angry that his face turned blue, and he spat fiercely: "Bah! A dog can't spit out ivory! I am loyal to the young master, how could I harm his life?"

The prisoner narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the wood, and suddenly a look of sudden realization appeared on his face: "Hiss...are you Zhang Jingwei's guard?"

Mu Tou was stunned for a moment, then he recognized the other person and sneered: "Oh! I remember, you are the scholar who abused his wife!" He finally saw clearly that the prisoner was Tian Cao, a scholar who once claimed to be noble but actually had bad behavior.

Tian Cao's face turned ugly in an instant, and his tone was filled with gritted teeth: "Thanks to your young master, I am no longer a scholar! Zhang Jingwei is missing! Hahaha!" There was a bit of gloating in his laughter, as if Zhang Jingwei's disappearance made him feel extremely happy.

Mu Tou was too lazy to talk to him anymore. He turned around and continued to pound on the iron bars, muttering, "You crazy idiot! I don't want to waste my time talking to you!"

Tian Cao refused to give up. He suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I think I know where your young master is."

Mu Tou's movements suddenly stopped, and he turned around, a glimmer of hope in his eyes: "You know? I don't believe it."

Tian Cao shrugged, his tone somewhat complacent: "Believe it or not, I probably know it because I've been to that place."

Mu Tou's heart suddenly rose to his throat, and he asked anxiously, "Really? Tell me quickly!" He slapped the fence hard, and the iron bars made a "clang clang" sound.

Tian Cao sat down slowly, crossed his legs, and said with a hint of joking: "Kowtow to me and I will tell you."

Mu Tou knelt down without hesitation and banged his forehead heavily on the ground: "Sir, please explain!"

Seeing this, Tian Cao laughed heartily, his laughter full of mockery: "Hahaha! Zhang Jingwei is so talented, I didn't expect him to have such an idiotic servant!"

Mu Tou then realized that he had been fooled. He stood up suddenly, his eyes wide open in anger: "How dare you fool me?"

Tian Cao was not in a hurry. He waved his hand and said with a hint of contempt: "Give me a piece of lime from the wall."

Although Mu Tou was angry, he still did as he was told in order to get information about the young master. He picked off a small piece of lime from the wall and handed it to Tian Cao.

Tian Cao took the lime, looked at it, and shook his head: "Not enough, give me more!"

Mu Tou suppressed his anger and asked through gritted teeth, "Are you done yet?"

Tian Cao remained unhurried, his tone threatening: "Do you still want to know where your young master is?"

Mu Tou had no choice but to pick up another large lump of lime and hand it to Tian Cao.

Tian Cao took the lime, a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he greedily stuffed the big lump of lime into his mouth and chewed it.

Mu Tou was so frightened that Ya Ma was stunned. He found that the wall of Tian Cao's cell was full of holes. He must have eaten it all.

Tian Cao looked relieved and shouted, "What a joy!"

Mu Tou's eyes widened in anger as he stared at Tian Cao, gritting his teeth and saying, "Can you tell me where my young master is now?"

Tian Cao replied calmly, "Your young master is probably in Zuoxiang, North City, but I can't remember exactly which courtyard it is."

Hearing this, Mu Tou was immediately furious. He was shaking with anger and roared, "You...you dare to play tricks on me!"

Just as Mu Tou was about to lose his temper, a burly, ferocious-looking jailer swung a heavy iron rod and slammed it hard against the bars of Mu Tou's cell, making a dull thud. He then shouted, "Be quiet! If anyone dares to make trouble again, I'll give you a beating!"

Mu Tou was startled by the sudden noise, but he quickly recovered and shouted to the jailer, "I want to see Master Liu!"

The jailer glanced at Mu Tou and sneered, "Humph, you ignorant lunatic! You actually want to see Lord Liu? Do you believe I'll let you taste the power of this killing stick first?"

Mu Tou was not afraid at all and continued loudly, "Then go tell Master Liu that my young master..."

Before he could finish his words, Tian Cao suddenly interrupted, "You idiot, do you think your young master would disappear for no reason? If you really want your young master's good, then stay here honestly. Once he finishes his business, he will naturally come to rescue you."

Mu Tou glared at Tian Cao and angrily scolded him, "Stop trying to be smart!"

Tian Cao disagreed. He shook his head and sighed, "Alas, I've been educated for more than ten years. Isn't it worth your trust?"

After struggling for a while, Mu Tou finally chose to believe him. If the young master was really doing something big, he wouldn't want to ruin it.

"Behave yourself. If you make trouble again, I won't be polite." Seeing that Mu Tou had calmed down, the jailer warned him and left.

……

For the next ten days, Mu Tou stayed in jail, occasionally giving Tian Cao some lime to eat.