County prison.
The jailer held a lamp in front, and Di Xiangling followed behind.
If she were an ordinary young lady, looking at the slowly extending road under the candlelight, smelling the foul and unpleasant smell in her nose, she would have been frightened by this gloomy and terrifying environment, but Di Xiangling Just looked at it curiously.
The jailer didn't need to look at her words. Just by listening to the steady footsteps, he knew that this woman was full of confidence. He flattered her and said, "I have long heard about the majesty of the eleventh lady. When I see her today, she is indeed a hero among women!"
Di Xiangling smiled: "If you are not afraid of this small prison, you are a hero among women? It's not like you have to fight your way out from here..."
Seeing that the jailer's face was a little frightened, she comforted him: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. The reputation of the officials in Yangqu County is still good. They use money to do things. In my brother's words, they are officials with a bottom line, not that A dirty official who just preys on the common people!"
The jailer breathed a long sigh of relief: "I have seen a scholar judge a case arbitrarily with my own eyes before. In just a few sentences, he cleared the grievances of the husband of the Guo family. We were all amazed in private. We didn't expect that the scholar would say this publicly. It’s so heartwarming!”
Now that the topic has been opened, Di Xiangling also took advantage of the situation and said: "How are Chen Xiaoqi, Lame Li and Xuan Niang doing recently? Well, the Lei officer asked me to ask..."
The jailer rolled his eyes and whispered: "Several members of the county have already taken care of me, but we all know what is appropriate. Why don't we wait for the officer to vent his anger in person?"
"Oh, you want Lei Hu to kill these three people, right?" Di Xiangling shook his head secretly, showing great disdain for those wealthy households: "I don't even dare to take revenge myself. It's really useless. I deserve to be killed by Lei Hu." It’s a lot of fun!”
The five wealthy families whose sons and daughters were kidnapped were indeed extremely resentful towards the kidnappers and asked the jailers to "take care" of them. However, they did not dare to kill them directly for fear of leaving behind clues.
What's more, they also believed that Lei Hu was the hottest one. After all, their little wife was tied up for eight days, and the leader of the group, the Iron Arhat, broke out of the nursing home and ran away, leaving the Lei family in disgrace.
The three remaining people had not been tortured to death by the Lei family, so why should they get their own blood?
After confirming what each wealthy family wanted, Di Xiangling became more determined and walked towards the depths of the prison.
The first thing I saw was Lame Li, a skinny old man wearing shackles and a fierce look on his brows. But at this time, there were blood stains on his prison clothes. He was leaning against the wall, facing the lantern held by the jailer. He shrank back subconsciously, obviously feeling afraid in his heart.
At least he didn't say a word. Chen Xiaoqi, who was also in a cell and was also shackled, looked over attentively, as if waking up from a dream: "Eleventh lady? Eleventh lady is here! You promised at that time Me, spare my life!"
Di Xiangling snorted: "I, Di Shiniang, always keep my word. As long as you tell the others, I will fight for a way out for you. You should be lucky that you are still alive now. You did not fall into the hands of the Leimen. It would be better to die..."
Chen Xiaoqi sobbed: "But we still can't survive. We are exiled thousands of miles away. Those five families will not let us go. They will not let us go..."
Even if you don't know Lin Chong's story, you still know that the government officials have many ways to torture a person during the exile. This is also the reason why women in the Song Dynasty were exempted from exile. It is the court's preferential treatment of women. Otherwise, it would be even more inhumane to escort female prisoners.
While talking with Chen Xiaoqi, Di Xiangling was actually paying attention to another woman on the side of the cell out of the corner of his eye.
There are no separate cells for female prisoners. Generally, both men and women in the same batch of prisoners are kept together. The person sitting in the corner with her head lowered is Xuan Niang, the only woman in the kidnapping trio, and the only one who is not shackled. , apparently the jailer didn't think she was a threat.
Di Xiangling's martial sense was very keen to notice that when the other party approached him, a pair of eyes looked over through the disheveled hair, with observation and scrutiny in his eyes.
"This woman is indeed not simple!"
Di Xiangling knew something in his mind and said calmly: "I am here to give you a last chance to tell you the whereabouts of the Iron Arhat. If the main culprit is caught, I will naturally give you some mercy!"
"Brother Arhat... Iron Arhat is a cosmopolitan man. Once he escapes, where will he be caught?" Chen Xiaoqi murmured, suddenly looking at the woman in the corner: "Xuan Niang, let's go with Iron Arhat." He's very recent, do you know his whereabouts?"
Lame Li also looked over subconsciously.
But Xuan Niang lowered her head, said nothing, and her body was trembling.
The jailer whispered beside him: "I am afraid this woman was so frightened that she lost her mind. She has not spoken since she was imprisoned..."
Chen Xiaoqi and Lame Li looked disappointed. The former collapsed on the ground, while the latter gritted his teeth: "Kill him if you want. Don't let us betray Brother Arhat!"
Di Xiangling shook his head: "In that case, there is nothing I can do about it. Just wish yourself well and enjoy these last few days!"
When the footsteps and candlelight disappeared, the prison fell into darkness again.
At this moment, a slightly hoarse but pleasant female voice sounded: "It seems they still can't tolerate us. We have to escape. We can't wait to die here!"
Chen Xiaoqi stopped sobbing and turned to look at the corner. Lame Li also frowned: "Xuan Niang? Are you Xuan Niang? Why has your voice... changed?"
The woman said calmly: "Those who are good at disguise must learn to change their voices. Besides, I come from a thief family, so what does my little skill mean?"
Chen Xiaoqi was puzzled: "Stealing the door?"
Lame Li's expression suddenly became solemn: "There is a worry-free cave in Bianjing. At first, thieves gathered. The little beggar entered the cave and worshiped the old thief as his teacher. He passed on his craftsmanship and gradually became a sect. Later, someone opened a ghost market underground, and the Thief Gate Ghost Market became one, and even Kaifeng Mansion was helpless!"
The woman then raised her head and revealed a pair of sparkling eyes: "As long as you know, follow my instructions and make sure you find a way to survive! The Iron Arhat can run, but we can't run?"
Chen Xiaoqi and Lame Li were silent for a moment, then nodded heavily.
…
"It's the third watch at midnight, it's safe and sound! It's the third watch at midnight, it's safe and sound!"
The sound of the watchman's drum was faintly transmitted into the county government office. Even the most diligent county lieutenant Pan Chengju had already gone home to sleep. And on this seemingly ordinary night, the prison door opened, and the three men A figure flashed out.
When they saw the bright moon hanging high in the sky and the cold winter wind blowing, Chen Xiaoqi and Lame Li were so excited that they still can't believe their eyes.
First, he pretended to be sick and fell to the ground, attracting the jailer to come to check, and then he captured it three times. After getting the key to the cell door, he immediately rushed out, knocked down all the remaining jailers, and then turned back to remove their shackles. The shackles were released and he was rescued.
The whole process was smooth and smooth. It seemed simple, but it was as capable as having been refined over time.
I didn’t expect that a small kidnapping team, with a leader like an iron arhat, would be able to hide dragons and crouching tigers?
"When the Yamen is not prepared, leave the city immediately and go to Fenzhou!"
Long before escaping from prison, the three of them had communicated that there was no suitable hiding place in the city, so it was better to leave the city and flee to Linzhou to try to survive.
However, as soon as they turned around an alley, the three of them stopped.
Because a group of people in front stood quietly, looking like they had been waiting for a long time.
"Did you choose my direction? It's fate!"
Di Jin, the leader, smiled slightly: "Fugitive Zhu, it seems that there is no need to press, you have already brought it upon yourself!"
