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Chapter 25, Part 6: Meeting the Emperor, Prison Break

The Embroidered Uniform Guard has been making arrests at high intensity for several days, filling not only the Imperial Prison and the Heavenly Prison, but also causing widespread panic throughout Bianjing.

This even caused many merchant caravans that originally planned to come to Bianjing to temporarily postpone their plans.

The merchants in Bianjing were all backed by high-ranking officials and wealthy gentry; without such connections, they couldn't survive.

Business plummeted. I thought it would calm down in two or three days, but I didn't expect the crackdown to last for almost a week.

The once spacious prison is now too small to hold people, and their own business has suffered such a blow.

The heads of various departments finally couldn't sit still any longer and wanted to go to the palace to meet the emperor. Now it was almost the end of the year, which was usually the most bustling time of the year in Bianjing.

But with the Embroidered Uniform Guard causing all this trouble, who knows how much money they'll lose—that's all hard-earned money.

Wang Xi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was startled to see all the high-ranking officials from the six ministries arrive at once, and hurriedly went to announce their arrival.

Upon learning the reason, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

As the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he naturally also had some private businesses, and the people in charge would pass on the word to him.

But as a servant, he had served Emperor Xuanwu for decades, from a lowly eunuch to the crown prince and then to the emperor.

He knew Emperor Xuanwu all too well; even if his business failed, he would never mention it to the emperor.

Now that the high-ranking officials from the six ministries have come to the palace to meet the emperor, it has actually saved him from this predicament.

Upon arriving at the West Garden, Emperor Xuanwu frowned slightly as he looked at the officials from the Six Ministries below.

"What brings you all here?"

Upon hearing Emperor Xuanwu's words, the ministers of the six ministries below immediately began to complain.

"Your Majesty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is arresting people so many that the Ministry of Justice's prison is overflowing, causing widespread public resentment."

"Yes, even our Ministry of Personnel officials who returned to the capital to report on their duties were arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"No merchants are willing to transport the timber needed for our Ministry of Works to expand the Wanshou Palace."

"..."

As Emperor Xuanwu listened to the complaints of the officials from the six ministries below, his expression behind the curtain grew increasingly grim.

"Enough. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is arresting people on my orders."

"Half a month has passed. Has the Ministry of Justice made any progress regarding the whereabouts of my birthday gifts?"

"The expansion of Wanshou Palace began three years ago. With the end of the year approaching, I still can't move in. Now they're making excuses for me."

Emperor Xuanwu recounted the dereliction of duty by the six ministries, and the officials below immediately knelt down to apologize.

Seeing the officials' expressions, his anger subsided considerably. After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"I will instruct the Embroidered Uniform Guard to behave themselves. Release the innocent as soon as possible. If there's nothing else, you may leave. I'm going to cultivate."

……

……

Shen Yan arrived at the Heavenly Prison.

There's good news: Ji Boyan has been released from prison. It seems even this young master couldn't stand the conditions in the prison.

He had his father use his strength to get him out.

How could a pampered young master tolerate the insects that were everywhere in the prison?

He had only been there for a day, and his body was already covered in insect bites.

Without Ji Boyan, Shen Yan felt much more relaxed.

He saw the doctor who had been invited from the prison a few days earlier, and he was treating the prisoners in cell A.

"Bear with it, stop crying. A grown man can't even handle this little bit of hardship."

Li Jianzhong's methods were clean and efficient; he finished off one person in a short time. However, Shen Yan felt that the force he used was no different from slaughtering a pig.

No wonder the prisoner cried out, but the efficiency was indeed very high; no wonder Xu Shaogong wanted to keep him here.

He noticed Shen Yan staring at him, but ignored him and continued treating other patients.

Of course, he can't cure everyone.

Calling a doctor in this prison costs money. If you don't have the money, then I'm sorry, you'll just have to bear with it.

These days, neither seeing a doctor nor getting medicine is cheap.

suddenly.

He heard thunder roar outside, a bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, and the sound was deafening.

After several sounds, not a single drop of rain fell, which was quite a strange sight.

Shen Yan went outside and looked at the dark sky.

"The autumn weather is so unpredictable."

He can't go to Master Qi's house today; he has to stand guard at the prison. This is his first night shift since arriving at Prison A.

The news of the robbery of Emperor Xuanwu's birthday gifts had already spread throughout Bianjing.

Shen Yan suspected that the secret room he had seen last time contained the silver from the birthday tribute.

However, he dared not tell anyone; if they found out, he would be the first to die.

Night fell, and tonight the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and everything was pitch black.

Inside the prison, the jailers began their activities.

As long as the jailers are gathered together, they will not engage in any activities other than drinking and gambling.

They killed a few people last time, then things calmed down for a while, but now they're doing this again.

That's how the jailers in the imperial prison are: afraid of death, yet they never learn their lesson.

Shen Yan dislikes gambling to the point of loathing it.

However, he has no right to interfere with others; he should just control himself and not gamble.

He went to the watchtower outside the prison and began practicing his skills.

Halfway through the practice, he realized something was wrong.

"The Imperial Guards are stationed every five steps, but I haven't seen any soldiers on duty today. Something's not right."

Shen Yan had a bad feeling. Was something bad about to happen?

He looked closely and saw several figures in the distance, disappearing into the night and approaching the prison.

Without thinking twice, he hurriedly ran back to the prison.

As he ran, he shouted, "Someone's breaking into the imperial prison!"

The newly learned Swift Step came in handy.

This group was definitely here to break into the prison, but Shen Yan didn't know their goal.

However, it seems their target is those people arrested recently. Since he's all alone, he has to face them all.

Once you enter the prison, they will leave naturally after achieving their goal, and then you just need to hide.

The man in black also spotted Shen Yan and realized he had been exposed. He stopped hiding and ran quickly toward the prison.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man in black leap up from the ground, several feet off the ground, walk across the water, and cut the cable with a single stroke, lowering the suspension bridge of the prison.

Startled, Shen Yan quickened his pace, cursing inwardly.

"Is this some kind of mid-level rank martial artist? Who did they capture? Why are they making such a big fuss?"

Upon entering the prison, he ran to cell number A to hide.

Shen Yan was extremely nervous when he first encountered the scene of breaking into the Heavenly Prison; his hand holding the waist knife was trembling slightly.

A short while later.

Shouts and screams echoed from the prison.

Although he was an eighth-rank martial artist, he was considered quite powerful in the Heavenly Prison.

These people who broke him out of prison were far more powerful than him.

If they hadn't been so uninterested in chasing him, Shen Yan would probably be a corpse by now.

The chaotic noise gradually subsided, and Shen Yan felt it was time to go out.

Gripping his waist knife tightly, he cautiously walked outside.

Just then, two men in black suddenly appeared in front of them.

They were also carrying a person in their hands, and upon closer inspection, it was none other than his subordinate, Chen Mazi.

Chen Mazi was in a terrible state, covered in blood, and looked like he was about to die.

Upon seeing Shen Yan, the two men didn't waste any words, abandoning Chen Mazi to the side. They drew their knives and charged, each move deadly.

Shen Yan felt that the two of them were probably not as strong as he was.

He slashed with all his might.

Clang!

The knives in their hands were instantly cleaved in two by Shen Yan.

Their pupils dilated, and they exclaimed in surprise.

"Not good! An eighth-rank martial artist! Run!"

Shen Yan wasn't about to give them a chance to escape. He moved with lightning speed and caught up with the two of them in an instant.

He punched them in the back.

"puff!"

"puff!"

Both men coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

Shen Yan stood there, panting heavily, extremely nervous.

This was his first time fighting a martial artist. If he hadn't been a step above them in skill, the outcome would have been uncertain.

He turned to check on Chen Mazi, only to find that his pupils were dilated and there was no hope of recovery.

"Sigh... After a period of peaceful life, I almost forgot where I am."