Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

050:5 Prison

Seeing this, Li Xingguo didn't hesitate for a moment. He raised his sword and slashed down, decapitating Li Moxuan. Then he turned and shouted, "Anyone who dares to move again will be killed without mercy!"

The group of young Taoist disciples were terrified by what they saw and dared not move. Some even threw their weapons to the ground.

However, a few people seemed not to hear Li Xingguo's shout and rushed straight towards Su Wen.

Su Wen turned and ran without hesitation, wishing he could sprint outside at top speed.

After running a few steps, Su Wen saw a group of people approaching. By the dim candlelight, Su Wen could see that the people were the reinforcements that Xu Ge had invited. The one rushing to the front was none other than Prefect Cui Lu!

When Xu Ge saw that several people were chasing Su Wen, he didn't hold back at all. He drew his sword from his waist, rushed behind Su Wen in a few strides, and killed all of them with a single strike!

Seeing this, Su Wen breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed to Prefect Cui, saying, "This humble official, Su Wen, greets Prefect Cui!"

Cui Lu did not say anything when he saw Su Wen, but simply patted Su Wen on the shoulder.

The group returned inside, and Cui Lu ordered, "Take them all down!"

Cui Lu glanced to the side and saw Li Xingguo sitting on the ground, panting heavily. He seemed exhausted from the fight. Upon seeing Li Moxuan's body, Cui Lu took a deep breath and then looked at Su Wen, saying, "Ah, Magistrate Su, do you know who Li Moxuan is?"

Su Wendao said, "I know, but he..."

Cui Lu said, "Even if he has broken the law, neither of you can execute him. He must be handed over to the Emperor for execution. Your current actions are called usurpation, which is a serious crime!"

Li Xingguo then stood up and said, "This matter was solely my doing and has nothing to do with Magistrate Su. If the Emperor finds fault with me, I will bear the responsibility alone!"

Cui Lu didn't say much, while Su Wen stepped up the stairs, wanting to see what was going on up there.

Upon reaching the top of the steps, one sees a five-pointed star-shaped array of candles already laid out on the ground. Unfortunately, it is not yet dusk. At each of the five points of the star is placed the deceased's identity information and a small tuft of hair. Of course, only the heart area contains the heart, because the heart is very important, being the most crucial link in the Five Hells to Immortality.

Xu Ge then took out a palm-sized bag from the temple. He opened it, sniffed it, and exclaimed, "Wow, this old Taoist priest is really rich! He actually bought so much Diyajia!"

Su Wen asked with some curiosity, "Is this thing very expensive?"

Xu Ge said, "Of course! This thing is more than just expensive; the shopkeepers said it can only be bought with gold ingots!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen immediately sensed something was wrong. His mind began to race, and the more he thought about it, the more he frowned, even glancing at the already dead Li Moxuan to the side.

Just then, a large group of armored soldiers arrived outside, led by a eunuch.

The man glanced at everyone, then looked at Su Wen and the others on the steps and said, "Su Wen, Li Xingguo, receive the imperial decree!"

Su Wen hurriedly ran to the eunuch, and Li Xingguo also came over.

The two men bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle and replied, "Your humble servants, Su Wen and Li Xingguo, receive the imperial decree!"

The eunuch said, "You two need not perform such a grand ceremony. It is merely a verbal decree from His Majesty, and has not been formally communicated to the Secretariat!"

Su Wen and Li Xingguo breathed a slight sigh of relief. The eunuch announced, "Your Majesty, summon: Su Wen and Li Xingguo, come to the palace immediately!"

After saying this, the eunuch smiled and said, "My two superiors, please follow me!"

The two responded and followed behind the eunuch. Only then did Su Wen realize that the Emperor was also in Luoyang City, which he had not known before. This meant that the Emperor should have been in Luoyang long ago. Su Wen had already guessed what was going on.

At this moment, the eunuch took two steps, then glanced at a soldier beside him and said, "Li Moxuan of Tongxuan Temple has committed such a heinous act! Execute everyone involved, leave no one alive!"

Before the words were even finished, all the soldiers drew their swords from their waists and headed straight for the stairs.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Tongxuan Temple had been completely slaughtered by all the soldiers, leaving no one alive!

Before long, Su Wen and Li Xingguo arrived at the gate of Shangyang Palace in Luoyang City. Li Xingguo was the first to be summoned. Su Wen had no idea what had happened inside, but he knew that when Li Xingguo came out, his face was extremely pale, and his armor and Mo Dao were gone.

Seeing that Li Xingguo had come out alive, Su Wen felt much more relaxed, and it was as if he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The eunuch beside him whispered, "Magistrate Su, this is your first time meeting the Emperor. Please remember the following: do not look up at the Emperor, nor look directly at him. This is a grave offense, a serious crime!"

Su Wen replied, "Thank you for your guidance, Father-in-law!"

"Summon Su Wen, Magistrate of Luoyang County, to the palace!"

As a eunuch's voice rang out, Su Wen lowered his head slightly and entered the main hall. Su Wen could only see a little bit of the palace above.

Sitting on it was a person dressed in a yellow brocade robe, but Su Wen could not see what he looked like.

When Su Wen was about twenty paces away from the Emperor, he was stopped by the eunuch beside him. Su Wen immediately knelt down and said, "This humble official, Su Wen, the magistrate of Luoyang County, pays his respects to the Emperor!"

"Hmph, Su Wen, I've seen the cases you've handled, and they are indeed excellent; you are truly a talented individual. However, weren't you a little too hasty in handling this case?"

Su Wen pondered for a moment and said, "In the past two days, the murderer has killed several people, disturbing the peace of the entire Luoyang County. Therefore, I thought it best to solve the case as soon as possible, catch the murderer, and allow the people of Luoyang County to live and work in peace!"

"Oh!" The emperor rose and took a few steps to the side, saying, "In that case, shouldn't I reward you?"

Su Wen's mind raced as he replied, "This is what I should do; it shouldn't be rewarded!"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor smiled and said, "No matter what, Li Moxuan was once a military advisor in Anqing Palace and also my secretariat physician. You arrested him and killed him without even consulting me. He was a high-ranking official of the fourth rank. How dare you, a mere sixth-rank official, do such a thing?"

Su Wen thought for a moment and said, "This humble official knows his mistake, and begs Your Majesty for punishment!"

The emperor said, "I think you've been promoted too quickly, to the point that you're not quite clear on some things. How about this, Jiaoshui County in Laizhou is short of a county lieutenant. I think you should start as a county lieutenant first!"

After thinking for a moment, Su Wen lowered his head and replied, "Thank you for your grace!"

The emperor said, "By the way, I heard that you traveled from Luoyang to Youzhou in less than half a month. Your speed is impressive; you arrived several days ahead of schedule. This time, I will order you to walk. I want to see if you can arrive ahead of time!"

Su Wen replied, "Yes!"

The sage waved his hand and said, "You may leave now. Set off tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "This humble official has another question I would like to ask Your Majesty. Please enlighten me!"

The sage smiled and said, "Speak!"

Su Wendao asked, "Was the money at Tongxuan Temple a reward from the sage?"

Upon hearing this, the sage was not angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "You are a man of great talent and intelligence; you should understand!"

Su Wen bowed his head and replied, "This humble official understands, thank you for your grace!"

After saying that, Su Wen got up and walked out of the palace. Once he left Shangyang Palace and the inner palace, Su Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Li Xingguo, on the other hand, looked dejected.

Su Wen simply looked at Li Xingguo and asked, "What happened? Were you demoted?"

Li Xingguo nodded: "And you?"

Su Wendao said, "I've also been demoted. I only stayed in Luoyang for a few days, barely settled in, and now I'm being sent to Jiaoshui County in Laizhou as a county magistrate!"