Chapter 725: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 725: The Final Struggle (2)
The Ministry of Justice’s prison, situated beneath the emperor’s realm, held those involved in major crimes. Any abuse or torture of suspects would be thoroughly investigated by the higher authorities, as no emperor would tolerate being deceived, even if the deceiver was his own son.
“That's a relief. I thought the prison conditions might be like those in the storybooks, where suspects could be beaten or killed at will!” Mo Yan finally set aside her concerns.
In truth, her ideas about torture came from TV dramas and movies from her previous life. It seemed that Da Chu’s laws were quite humane, though the extent to which officials adhered to them was uncertain.
“By the way, Father, what’s the story with this book and blanket?” Mo Yan asked, touching the new blanket, which was made of the finest fabric and filled with soft, fluffy cotton.
Mo Qingze was surprised. “Wasn’t it you who sent them last night, along with the blanket?”
Mo Yan was even more surprised and quickly shook her head. “No, Father. I didn’t even enter the city last night, so how could I have sent these things to you?”
Both were puzzled, wondering who could have pretended to be her and sent the blanket. Could it have been a kind-hearted person from the Ministry of Justice?
This thought was quickly dismissed by both, as there were many prisoners in the Ministry’s cells, but none had such luxuries as new blankets or books.
Mo Yan soon thought of someone and felt a pang of gratitude and self-reproach. While she had been restless and worried about her father freezing or starving, she hadn’t thought of sending him blankets or food.
Mo Qingze had no idea who it could be. If it were one of his friends, they wouldn’t need to use his daughter’s name. The fact that they did so suggested there were reasons for doing it discreetly.
As for why it couldn’t be done under his name, that was an issue worth considering. The wait for the public trial might be less difficult now…
The father and daughter talked for a while longer. When the prison meal arrived at noon, Mo Yan saw it consisted of white rice, two meat dishes, a vegetable dish, and soup. Relieved, she left the prison, marveling at the relatively good food in the prison compared to ordinary households.
However, her perception changed when she passed by another cell and saw a dozen people fighting over a cold, hard, leftover bun. The disparity in conditions was stark.
Mo Yan remained deeply grateful to whoever had discreetly provided for her father. After leaving the prison, she slipped a purse with one hundred taels of silver to the prison guard who had escorted her, asking him to take care of her father.
The guard refused to accept it, insisting that someone had already made arrangements and that accepting the bribe would violate the rules.
Mo Yan had no choice but to retract the purse and repeatedly thanked the guard.
Unbeknownst to her, the guard had once been a small soldier under Xiao Ruiyuan. After being injured in a battle, he had been retired from the field. Although he appeared normal, he could no longer endure much physical strain.
Moved by his years of service, Xiao Ruiyuan had arranged for him to become a guard in the Ministry of Justice. When Mo Qingze was imprisoned, Xiao Ruiyuan had instructed the guard to ensure Mo Qingze was well taken care of.
The guard, seeing Xiao Ruiyuan as a benefactor, was more than willing to comply. Thus, Mo Qingze’s treatment in prison was different from that of other prisoners, thanks to the guard’s careful arrangements.
(End of Chapter)
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