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Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 72 (Part 2)

When You Shu opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in a cold cell, with a half-foot-square skylight shining faintly above his head, indicating that the daylight was about to break.  

He immediately wiped the soul-leaving talisman from his forehead and sat up leaning against the wall. The buttocks, which were originally bloody and painful, are now intact, except for the blood stains on the prison clothes. He groped his behind several times before bending his round eyes.

At the same time, Prefect Wang, imperial envoy, officials from various counties, and a group of witnesses also woke up one after another. Some were covered in whip marks, some had swollen eyes and tongue, and some had abdominal cramps, which strangely coincided with everything they had experienced in their dreams.

Prefect Wang pushed away his beloved concubine who was sleeping in his arms, and got up with a grunt. He first touched his neck and then let out a long breath, feeling quite afraid of the spying of the underworld. Fortunately, it was just a dream, not real.

“Master, why is there a bloody line on your neck? It seems as if your throat has been cut!” The concubine didn’t dare to continue, so she hugged the quilt and shrank back. 

Then, when she saw Prefect Wang raising his hand to touch his neck, she screamed again, “Master, you also have something on your hand. Could it be… that you caught some strange disease?”

Prefect Wang couldn’t see his neck, but he could see his wrist. He immediately threw away the blanket, lifted his pants, and checked his ankles. There were also two bloody lines on the ankles, showing signs of twisted stitching, along with a dull pain. The scene of his head and limbs being cut off in his dream and then stitched back and forth replayed in his mind uncontrollably, making him feel as if his liver and gallbladder are about to burst.

Without bothering to put on his clothes and shoes, he quickly jumped out of bed and ran to the guest house, where the imperial envoy Hao Zuosi lived, who was also on trial in the underworld last night.

The door was pushed open with a clang, and Hao Zuosi was standing in front of the bronze mirror, lifting his clothes to look at his back. The skin on his back had ulcerated, showing stripes that looked like whip marks, and the pure white cloth was covered with blood, indicating great pain.

“How could you also…” The two of them stared at each other, and then spoke together, “Isn’t that dream last night… a dream?”

They had already guessed it in their hearts, but they still refused to admit it. They called in all the people in the dream one by one to check, and everyone showed similar abnormalities. Until now, no one had any luck in their hearts. They were indeed sued by Zhao Youshu to the Lord of Underworld and punished.

“What should I do now? I could have lived to be in my seventies. Wang Xiangcai, you have done me a lot of harm!” Hao Zuosi patted the table and cried bitterly. 

In this day and age, living to be over fifty is considered a long life, and to live up to seventy can be considered to be a longevity star. Originally, they had all kinds of blessings, rewards, longevity, and happiness, but due to a momentary greed, they had nothing left. After death, they would also have to endure 800 years of torture in Volcano hell and then enter the Hungry Ghost Path. Thinking about it this way, life is better than death, death is better than life, wishing that they could just lose their soul.

Prefect Wang was also frightened beyond words and leaned back on his chair, not knowing what he was thinking.

An official who was summoned said tremblingly, “Why don’t we let Magistrate Zhao go and kowtow to him to confess our guilt?”

“Fuck your mother! It was him who went to the Lord of the Underworld to sue this official, causing this official to come to this point. Even if I die, I will definitely take him with me!” Wang Xiangcai truly lived up to his reputation as the living King of hell.

He roared as his eyes were about to crack, “Someone come here, pass on my order to take Zhao Youshu out immediately and dismember his body into pieces! I want him to taste the feeling of having his head and limbs severed!”

Several petty officials turned pale with fear, their legs and feet becoming weak. They knelt down in the hall, crying and begging, but they couldn’t change Wang Xiangcai’s mind. In the end, several government officials had no choice but to take the punishment tickets and go to the prison to follow the orders.

Inside the prison, You Shu stared expressionlessly at the skylight above his head, waiting for Wang Xiangcai and others to react. He believed in Lord Yama, and since the other party said he would be safe and sound after returning, there would never be an accident. Although he is afraid of the other party, he still deeply trusts him, which feels very contradictory.

Not long after, someone walked in with heavy steps. When he looked up, he saw a sturdy jailer holding a food box in his hand.

“Magistrate Xiao Zhao, it’s time for breakfast.”

“Didn’t Wang Xiangcai say that no one is allowed to deliver food to me?”

“This little one want to deliver it myself, and it has nothing to do with that Wang beast.” The jailer opened the food box, which contained a bowl of white rice and a few small side dishes inside. Although there was no meat or fish, it looked crispy and delicious. Nowadays, because of the severe disaster situation, there is a shortage of rice. It is already great to have such a meal.

You Shu looked over with puzzled eyes and didn’t move for a long time.

The jailer took out another key from his arms and said slowly, “Your Excellency, that dog official Wang Xiangcai wants to kill you, but I am just a small guard to do anything except to let you go secretly. You don’t know, but this small one is originally from Longquan County, leaving my entire family to work as servants in the state capital to ensure that they had enough to eat and wear warm clothes.” 

He continued, “But the Longquan county Magistrate did not treat them as human beings, levying heavy taxes every year, even coveting the silver that was sent to repair the dams. As soon as the flood arrived, my mother and father were gone, my wife and two children managed to get to the state capital, but they were all blocked outside the city gate by that dog official Wang Xiangcai. There was no porridge, water, medicine, or clothes offered to them, he only treated them as livestock, ants, and dust.”

Speaking up to this point, the jailer choked with sobs, he awkwardly wiped away his tears and snot before continuing, “This little one wanted to ask the guards guarding the city to let them in secretly, but the guards asked me for two hundred taels of silver. Two hundred taels of silver, where can I find this much money? Do I have to watch them starve to death? Just when I was in despair, my wife took the children to Suichang without telling me. Guess what?”

He said, “Before they even reached the city gate, there were official servants leading the victims along the road. They had shacks to live in, rice porridge to fill their bellies, medical decoctions to treat their illnesses, and clothes to cover their bodies. They have survived, lived well, and gained hope. They look forward to reuniting with me, but this little one here has to watch their saviour being killed by that dog official Wang Xiangcai. This little one is not a beast, the little one can’t do this!”

He quickly opened the copper lock and kowtowed, “Your Excellency, please leave quickly! This little one can’t repay you for your great kindness, and I will work as a cow or a horse for you in the next life!”

You Shu was shocked by his actions and couldn’t speak for a long time. After being stunned for a long time, he slowly knelt down and cautiously kowtowed back, “What should you do if I run away? Everyone’s life is equally precious, and should not be exchanged, let alone given up lightly.”

The few cells next to them were all filled with wronged and unjustly accused civilians. Upon hearing this, they all burst into tears and showed even greater respect and love for the County Magistrate Xiao Zhao, as well as greater hatred towards Wang Xiangcai and others.

The jailer’s persuasion was fruitless, so he went to carry Magistrate Xiao Zhao with force, but saw him clinging to the prison door, refusing to compromise. Because his buttocks were covered in blood, it was evident that he was severely injured. The jailer dared not forcefully pull and tug, feeling helpless for a moment. 

Just as he was hesitating, another jailer hurried in and said, “Hurry up! I heard from the people in the government that Dog official Wang Xiangcai wants to dismember County Magistrate Xiao Zhao into pieces!”

The jailer then made up his mind to forcefully take Magistrate Xiao Zhao. He went to grab the other party’s hands, while another jailer lifted the legs.

How could You Shu fall into the trap of these two people? Seeing that these two forcefully wanted to take him away, he immediately started to struggle violently. 

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, followed by messy footsteps. The two guards were afraid of being discovered and had to carry the person back to the cell, lock the door, and run outside to check.

At some point, many disaster victims had gathered outside, holding sticks, hoes, firewood knives, and other objects. They surrounded the prison cells tightly, while others carried logs and crashed into the gate, seemingly wanting to rush in. 

After a brief inquiry, the two prison guards realized that this group of disaster victims had arrived from Suichang, and had already broken through the city gate, with the aim of rescuing County Magistrate Xiao Zhao. The several government officials who came with the punishment tickets had already been suppressed and beaten by them.

If County Magistrate Xiao Zhao hadn’t repeatedly warned them not to use lynching, not to harm people’s lives, and to go to him to deal with any injustices, they would’ve beaten these government officials to death.

“Alright, alright, we’ve already tied up the people, that’s enough. If County Magistrate Xiao Zhao knew we had killed someone, he would definitely be unhappy! Hit the gate, continue to hit the gate, we must rescue County Magistrate Xiao Zhao today. Even if the Emperor comes, we can’t stop!” The leader shouted, and everyone agreed.

Across the wall, You Shu was listening attentively to the sound outside, tears streaming down his face unconsciously. The reason why he avenged the people’s grievances and helped them was just to save his own life. His starting point was not noble, it can even be said to be selfish, but everyone is repaying him with wholehearted love and care. How can he be so virtuous and capable?

The heaviness and preciousness of life is far more profound than he realised. Previously, he always lived for himself, but now he understands what responsibility is. Recalling the past, he realised why his master always liked to stand on the towering city in the rustling winds, overlooking the seas, clear rivers, and peaceful times, telling himself that this is the boundless love and the invincible benevolence.

A king’s mind should be like this. His master is like this, and so is Lord Yama, but he himself is far worse.

Just when You Shu didn’t know how to cross through the wall and drive away all the victims, telling them not to put themselves in danger, there was another sound of horses neighing outside, and someone shouted loudly, “Everyone, stop this now! I won’t pursue all your crimes of breaking through the city gate this time. You all should disperse so that this official can let Lord Zhao go.”

“What kind of official are you?” Someone asked.

“I am the Minister of Justice of the current dynasty, and I have been ordered to review the case of Lord Zhao’s embezzlement of disaster silver. The available evidence shows that Lord Zhao was wrongly accused, and the emperor has issued an imperial edict, ordering the Prefect of Lishui to release him immediately.” After saying this, he took out an imperial edict from his sleeves and read it aloud.

The disaster victims showed ecstatic expressions and quickly retreated to both sides of the gate. But You Shu frowned and thought: Didn’t this Minister arrive too quickly? It’s like just when the imperial envoy left the capital, this person also set off with the imperial edict. Could it be that Lord Yama entrusted this task to the new emperor in a dream?

Having come to this conclusion, You Shu’s favourable impression of Lord Yama suddenly skyrocketed.

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