Afternoon.
Qin Ying, dressed in a golden robe, was full of domineering. After coming out of Wutong Garden, he walked all the way to the sky prison.
Lao Huang and Feng Lidao followed silently behind him.
The bottom of the sky prison.
It was dark and quiet. The only light here was the oil lamps and torches. In a cell on the 18th floor, the fishy smell was overwhelming and disgusting.
The commander of the Imperial Guard... At this time, it should be called the former commander of the Imperial Guard, Zhao Hu, sitting on the ground decadently, with many whip marks on his body, and the wounds had condensed into scabs.
His hands were tied to the wall with iron chains, and there was a shackle on his neck, pressing on his shoulders, making him unable to move and very painful.
Zhao Hu's eyes were ashen, and there was no expression on his dirty face, only deep despair.
Qin Ying locked him up in the sky prison, and did not say when he would be taken out and beheaded. He was imprisoned on the 18th floor, which caused great psychological and physical torture.
A sound of iron chains rubbing was heard, and the cell door was opened.
The jailer came in with a torch.
"Jailer... Sir, Sir, please leave the torch behind." Zhao Hu became excited. In this dark environment, he almost collapsed.
The jailer did not speak. Qin Ying's voice came from behind him.
"Zhao Hu."
Zhao Hu heard the voice and struggled. For the first time, light flashed in his eyes. The iron chains on his body made a clanging sound. He knelt down and kowtowed and cried: "Please let your Highness grant me death!"
Qin Ying covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief and walked over slowly. The smell here was even worse than the toilet. It was cold and damp all year round. No wonder Zhao Hu couldn't stand it.
Looking at Zhao Hu crying bitterly, Qin Ying said: "As the saying goes, it is better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. Are you so anxious to die?"
Zhao Hu was shocked and said in panic: "I deserve to die."
The jailer brought a chair to Qin Ying.
Qin Ying sat down, looked at him indifferently, and said: "You deserve to die. According to the law, you and your family have already met in the underworld."
Hearing this, Zhao Hu was frightened and cried:
"Please show mercy, Your Highness, and let my family go."
"Did I say I would kill them?" Qin Ying said indifferently, "The law is determined by the royal family. I can say you are guilty or innocent."
Zhao Hu was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Qin Ying meant by saying this to him.
Qin Ying glanced at him: "I heard that you are good at martial arts and have been working in the palace for ten years. Why don't you find a backer?"
"Everyone in the palace, from the court officials to the palace maids and eunuchs, has a backer. If you have a backer to help you, maybe the punishment will be lighter."
Zhao Hu trembled all over, cold sweat flowed down his forehead to the ground. He didn't dare to get up and said with a bitter smile: "I... my monthly salary is only ten taels of silver, and I can't afford to pay tribute to my superiors, so... so I don't have a backer."
"You have so many brothers under you. If you deduct a little from each of them, it will be a considerable amount of money. Are you so stupid?" Qin Ying sneered.
"I dare not!" Zhao Hu suddenly raised his head, his dirty face showing an indescribable integrity, "My brothers are all from poor families, and their families live on monthly salaries. How can I deduct them?" Qin Ying nodded with satisfaction when he heard this, and ordered the jailer: "Remove his shackles." "Yes!" The jailer took out the key and removed the iron chain and shackles on Zhao Hu in a few seconds. Zhao Hu was obviously relieved when the shackles were removed. Qin Ying said straight to the point: "Do you want to live a good life?" Zhao Hu was surprised, and he didn't dare to look at Qin Ying's face. After hesitating for a long time, he nodded cautiously: "Yes." "In the palace, if you want to live a good life, you must know how to find a backer." Qin Ying said meaningfully. Zhao Hu's pupils shrank suddenly. He had been in the palace for many years and had seen too many ways of the world. He had long been extremely smooth. Qin Ying was not hinting, but making it clear. How could he not understand?
Zhao Hu reacted and knelt heavily on the ground, his forehead touching the ground, his hands flat, and loudly expressed his loyalty: "Your Highness, Zhao Hu is your man from now on!"
As soon as these words came out, the cell instantly became quiet.
Zhao Hu couldn't see Qin Ying's expression. He was very nervous and kept swallowing his saliva.
His intuition told him that his career was coming.
Zhao Hu was a small character, just like the ordinary people in the world, inconspicuous. Although he had practiced martial arts since he was a child, he finally entered the palace and became the commander of the imperial guards.
But Zhao Hu knew that this should be the end of his career.
In this palace, if you want to rise step by step, you must have a backer.
As the saying goes, it is good to take shelter under a big tree, but there is no tree that he can lean on. The reason is that he has no "knock-door gold".
The so-called knock-door gold is an unspoken rule in the palace.
If you want to get close to someone, you have to make money.
But he is penniless. Due to his personality, he is unwilling to go along with corrupt officials.
This made him an official for ten years, neither rising nor falling, and he had no friends.
Qin Ying narrowed his eyes and was silent for a long time, and finally
Then he slowly said: "You can't be the commander of the Imperial Guard. Now you are transferred to be the captain of the personal guard of this prince. Are you willing?"
"Captain?"
Zhao Hu was shocked and immediately understood that this was a demotion in name only. Although he was changed from a commander to a captain, he got the support of the ninth prince.
Zhao Hu understood the pros and cons, and his face flushed with excitement. He shouted loudly: "Thank you for your cultivation. From today on, my life belongs to you. If I have any other intentions, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"
He kowtowed hard, making a banging sound.
"Go back and take a shower, change clothes, and have a good sleep."
Qin Ying walked out, saying: "It's not easy to be my team leader. Cherish the last few days of comfort."
After saying that, Qin Ying had disappeared outside the cell door.
Zhao Hu's forehead was sweating, and he dared to stand up.
Qin Ying's imposing aura just now suppressed him so much that he almost couldn't breathe.
Qin Ying walked out of the cell without stopping.
He was very satisfied with Zhao Hu's performance just now.
He was not greedy and was unwilling to oppress his subordinates in order to please his superiors. This was the reason why Qin Ying finally decided to take him in.
If Zhao Hu had said that he had embezzled money from his subordinates, Qin Ying would have killed him without hesitation.
This man is quite upright and can be used.
It was worth Qin Ying's trip, and he used both kindness and force.
Just thinking about it, Qin Ying had already arrived at another cell.
As soon as he reached the door, he heard miserable roars, whipping and cursing from inside.
"Speak or not, speak or not?"
"Damn, you are stubborn, right? Let me give you a taste of the branding iron!"
"Ah——!"
Then there was a smell of burnt flesh.
The screams became even more shrill.
Qin Ying walked in, and the jailer who was torturing him saw him and knelt down to salute.
Qin Ying frowned, looked at the assassin who was beaten to a state of disfigurement on the rack, and said lightly: "Haven't you found out the mastermind behind this yet?"
Seeing Qin Ying frowning and looking unhappy, the jailer trembled all over and said with a face full of fear: "Your Highness, please give me some more time, I will definitely be able to pry open his mouth."
Qin Ying waved his hand: "Get up."
He walked forward and saw that the assassin had fainted from the pain of the branding iron, so he said: "Wake him up."
"Yes." The jailer quickly got a bucket of water and poured it on his face.
The assassin suddenly woke up and shook his head. The moment he saw Qin Ying, his gray eyes suddenly widened and he laughed like a ghost, "Hahaha... Come on... What other tortures are there... Use them all for Grandpa."
Qin Ying raised the corners of his mouth, slowly took out a wooden hairpin, shook it in front of him, and smiled coldly: "Lu Asan, do you know this thing?"
Hearing Qin Ying accurately call out his name, the assassin Lu Asan's heart trembled. He originally wanted to spit blood foam at him fiercely, but when he saw the hairpin in Qin Ying's hand clearly, the whole person was struck by lightning, and his eyes were straight.
The next moment, he turned his head away and shouted forcefully:
"I don't know it!"
Qin Ying saw all the changes in his expression.
This hairpin was exactly what he got from Xiao Lan'er.
Qin Ying played with the hairpin in one hand and sneered: "You really don't know her? Do you know Xiao Lan'er?"
After the words fell, Lu Asan's face turned pale.