CHAPTER 144: CHAPTER 144 PRINCE LIANG

As soon as Shi Tou’s wife and the others left, Mrs. Zheng spat. "Pah! Zhao Dong’s family is finished! Just you wait, you’ll be next! You’ll all suffer together!"

...

As the saying goes, good news rarely leaves home, while bad news travels far. The news of Zhao Dong’s entire family being arrested spread like wildfire throughout the village.

Worse still, the news reached the ears of grandfather’s neighbor, Sun Ma’s wife. She had been resentful because Zhao Dong had become successful, and now, she finally felt she could breathe again.

She was so gleeful, she was just short of grabbing a megaphone to broadcast the news throughout the village.

Consequently, grandfather’s family also quickly heard about the matter. At that moment, the shock was too much for Zhao Guifen; her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Suddenly, grandmother’s home was thrown into chaos.

Zhao Dong and the others were arrested, taken to the County Government Office, and thrown directly into prison.

Zhao Cheng, Zhao Yu, and Zhao Ya were terrified by the fierce-looking criminals in the cells. They clutched Sun Mei’s clothes, warily watching their surroundings.

Sun Mei quietly comforted them.

The prison was dark and damp, and from time to time, the squeaking of rats could be heard.

Pei Yuanqing and Sir Feng stood in the prison, both appearing calm and composed.

Pei Yuanqing leisurely fanned himself with his folding fan, his distinguished air entirely out of place in the filthy, dark prison.

Zhao Zhitong was being held in Zhao Dong’s arms. She blinked, curiously observing their cell. Opposite them, in another cell, a disheveled prisoner sat leaning against the wall.

Zhao Zhitong had been watching him for a long time. Eventually, she wriggled out of Zhao Dong’s arms, ran to the cell door, grabbed the bars, and poked her little head out through the gap.

Blinking, she stared at the prisoner opposite them. Perhaps her gaze was too intense, for the disheveled prisoner noticed. He stirred, then looked up, revealing a face so grimy its features were indistinct.

Only his eyes stood out, fierce and stubborn.

Seeing that the young girl didn’t seem like a prisoner at all, Pei Yuanqing found it quite novel. He bent down to look at Zhao Zhitong and asked, "Young girl, aren’t you afraid?"

Zhao Zhitong blinked, shook her little head, and said in a sweet, childish voice, "Not afraid, not afraid! The judge will come and save us!"

At that moment, the prisoner opposite them suddenly scoffed, "What a naive little thing. A judge? There’s no such thing as a judge! Once you’re in here, don’t even think about getting out!"

Hearing this, Zhao Zhitong blinked at him, pouted her small lips, and retorted indignantly in her childish voice, "You’re the naive little thing! Judges do exist, hmph!"

Then, unwilling to give up, she looked at Pei Yuanqing and asked, "Uncle Pei, judges exist, right?"

Pei Yuanqing couldn’t help but chuckle. Looking at the young girl’s innocent eyes, he instinctively reached out, ruffled her hair, and said with a smile, "The young girl is right. Judges do exist."

Zhao Zhitong then looked triumphantly at the prisoner in the opposite cell. "Hey, did you hear that? My Uncle Pei said judges exist!"

When the prisoner ignored her, Zhao Zhitong continued on her own, "Hey, are you mute? My Uncle Pei is amazing, and my Uncle Feng is amazing too! They both say there are judges, you know..."

"Tch! Silly little fool."

The prisoner snorted coldly, turned over on the straw, and faced away from Zhao Zhitong, as if to say, ’out of sight, out of mind.’

Zhao Zhitong didn’t feel awkward at all. She simply squatted at the cell door, poking her little head through the gap and continuing to chatter.

Her voice, still sweet and childish, echoed clearly and purely in the dim prison, seeming to dispel much of the gloom. Many of the other prisoners looked over at them.

Just then, the commotion on their side attracted a jailer’s attention. He strode over, sword at his hip, and kicked the cell door. CLANG! "What’s all this racket? Quiet down, all of you!"

Zhao Zhitong quickly pulled her head back. She watched with wide eyes as the jailer left, then turned her gaze back to the man opposite. In her childish voice, she asked, "Hey, what crime did you commit to be locked up? If you’ve been wronged, you can tell me! When I find the judge, I’ll ask him to save you!"

The prisoner simply pulled his blanket over his head, ignoring Zhao Zhitong completely.

At this, Zhao Dong walked over with a helpless sigh and pulled Zhao Zhitong to his side. "Tongtong, be good. Stay by Daddy’s side and don’t run around."

"Oh, okay." Zhao Zhitong obediently nodded her little head and stayed by Zhao Dong. After standing for a while, she tilted her head back, held up her arms, and said, "Daddy, my feet hurt. Carry me."

Zhao Dong bent down and picked her up. Zhao Zhitong wrapped her arms around his neck and drifted off into a daze, gradually becoming drowsy.

Meanwhile, Pei Yuanqing and Sir Feng sat in their cell, leisurely chatting.

...

At the same time, in the County Government Office, the County Magistrate was adjusting his official robes. Listening to the head bailiff’s report, he looked up in surprise. "What did you say? You arrested two more people?"

The head bailiff nodded. "Yes, Your Lordship. They were all at the Zhao family’s home. They seemed to have a close relationship. It’s possible they conspired to steal Landlord Qin’s design plans, so I arrested them all."

The County Magistrate paused, a flicker of unease in his heart for some reason. But then he dismissed it as overthinking. I must be imagining things. "Very well. Bring them to the main hall."

...

Just as Zhao Zhitong was about to fall asleep on Zhao Dong’s shoulder, a jailer opened the prison door. They were led out and brought before the court.

With a resonant cry of "Court is now in session! Order!" Zhao Zhitong instantly snapped awake.

"Who stands before this court?" a majestic voice boomed.

Zhao Dong’s entire family knelt in the grand hall. At this moment, the Qin Clan steward, who was also the head of their household servants, stepped forward and bowed. "Your Lordship, I am the steward of the Qin Clan."

Then, pointing at Zhao Dong’s family, he declared, "They stole my master’s architectural design plans!"

This was the first time they had knelt since they transmigrated. Zhao Zhitong was filled with curiosity about the County Government Office, but Zhao Dong had told her not to look around. So, she kept her little head down, staring at the floor.

Hearing the man’s voice, she subconsciously glanced up and saw that the steward was actually standing. Why isn’t he kneeling? she wondered, puzzled.

Also not kneeling were Pei Yuanqing and Sir Feng.

The County Magistrate noticed Pei Yuanqing and Sir Feng as well, realizing these must be the two extra people the head bailiff had mentioned.

He slammed his gavel down with a resounding BANG that echoed through the hall.

"Who are you two below? Why do you not kneel upon seeing this official?"

Pei Yuanqing, still leisurely fanning himself with his folding fan, smiled. "Are you sure you want this prince to kneel before you?"

With that, he removed a token from his waist and held it up.

The County Magistrate, alarmed, hurried down from his dais to examine the token. He paled, breaking out in a cold sweat. Trembling, he immediately dropped to his knees. "P-Prince Liang! Your Highness! This humble official... this humble official was unaware of Your Highness’s arrival! I have been negligent! I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness..."