Chapter 110: The Jail

Zhou Qing looked at Zhou Huaishan. Zhou Huaishan was kneeling on the ground, barely moving.

But the Education Commissioner cast a disgusted glance at Zhou Huaishan and patted Chen Guang on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry. As the Provincial Education Commissioner, I will stand up for you."

Chen Guang was full of gratitude and gave a deep bow.

Gao He added, "But what if they get desperate and resort to some dirty tricks…"

"As long as I’m here, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you!"

"Thank you, sir, for your protection!"

Chen Guang and the others all bowed in unison to express their thanks.

After receiving the salute, the Education Commissioner turned to the magistrate and said, "Since there is a case to investigate, then detain the suspect."

The county magistrate didn’t dare to disobey. At his order, Zhou Huaishan was taken away.

As he was being led off, Zhou Huaishan quickly cast a look in Zhou Qing’s direction from within the crowd.

Zhou Qing understood and didn’t follow him.

Thus, the first trial of the case came to an end.

Once Zhou Huaishan was taken away, Zhou Qing turned and left the crowd.

She originally planned to head straight to Yunhai Bookstore to find Xu Feng, but as soon as she stepped out of the crowd, someone called her name.

"Little niece! Little niece!"

Following the voice, Zhou Qing saw Zhao Dacheng waving at her not far away.

"Uncle Zhao."

"Don’t say anything, I already know. Let’s go to your house first."

"I want to go to the jail to see my father. I don’t know if Manager Xu can…"

Before Zhou Qing could finish, Zhao Dacheng lowered his voice and said, "My brother is at your house. Let’s go back and talk there."

Hearing this, Zhou Qing looked at Zhao Dacheng with surprise and doubt.

Xu Feng is at my house?

Zhao Dacheng nodded.

As they spoke, the townsfolk who had come to watch the trial began to disperse.

Their discussions rose and fell, noisy and chaotic. Some said there must be more to the case, others said Zhou Huaishan was a terrible person.

Passing through the waves of judgment and gossip, Zhou Qing and Zhao Dacheng hurried home.

When they returned, Xu Feng was talking to Zhou Huailin. Upon seeing them enter, Xu Feng gave Zhou Qing a nod.

"What exactly is going on?" Zhou Qing couldn’t wait to ask.

Zhou Huailin said, "This morning, Chen Guang and the others beat the drum in front of the county office and submitted a petition against Second Brother. Just half an hour ago, the magistrate came personally to arrest him."

Xu Feng added, "Although the magistrate did arrest him, he doesn’t actually believe Brother Huaishan is capable of doing such a thing.

So don’t worry, Miss Zhou. The magistrate will surely clear his name.

I stayed here on purpose to tell you that, so you wouldn’t worry."

Zhou Huailin’s face darkened. "This has to be Zhou Huaihai’s doing. He didn’t manage to burn us alive last time, now he’s playing another dirty trick!"

Besides Zhou Huaihai, Zhou Huailin couldn’t think of anyone else who’d be crazy enough to harm them like this.

Xu Feng nodded. "That’s also what the magistrate suspects."

Hearing what Xu Feng and Zhou Huailin said, Zhou Qing paused for a moment. "So… the magistrate also knew the Education Commissioner was coming?"

Xu Feng was stunned. "The Education Commissioner?"

Zhou Qing then recounted what had just happened at the county office.

After hearing it, Xu Feng’s expression instantly changed.

"The Provincial Education Commissioner… wasn’t it supposed to be Lord Hu Weiyue?

Back then, Lord Hu was appointed both Prefect and Education Commissioner, which technically broke the rules, but that was what the imperial decree said.

How did a new Education Commissioner suddenly show up?"

Zhou Qing didn’t know much about the role of the Education Commissioner.

"Is the position really that high up?"

Xu Feng shook his head. "It doesn’t have a fixed rank, but it holds the same status as a Governor. He reports directly to the Emperor. Anyone who becomes an Education Commissioner must come from the Hanlin Academy and oversees all provincial exams."

"Such a high-ranking official!" Zhou Huailin’s face turned green. "And he just happened to show up? What if he’s involved in the case?"

Xu Feng frowned. "Hard to say. Usually, Education Commissioners don’t get replaced so casually."

As he spoke, he stood up. "Alright, I’ll head to the county office to see what’s really going on. You should also head to the prefectural capital and seek out Lord Hu, just in case."

Before Xu Feng could finish, Zhou Huailin was already on his feet, hurrying toward the door.

"Qing, let’s go now."

"Uncle, you go to the prefectural office and explain the situation to Lord Hu. I’ll head to the county office first and visit my father."

Zhou Huailin thought about it and realized she was right. It didn’t matter whether one or two people went—he had just panicked.

"Alright, I’m off."

With that, Zhou Huailin dashed out the door toward the mule cart.

Once he left, Zhou Qing turned to Zhou Ping. "Pingzi, go to the Ink Studio and find Uncle Zhong. Tell him about what happened at home."

Zhou Ping replied, "As soon as the incident happened, Li Yi already went there. He hasn’t come back yet."

"Miss Zhou is going to the county office? Let’s go together then. With me there, it’ll be easier for you to visit the jail," Xu Feng said.

"Thank you, Manager Xu."

Sincerely expressing her thanks, Zhou Qing set off with Xu Feng.

Zhao Dacheng, who had no specific task, stood silent for a moment, then turned and left as well.

---

County Jail

Thanks to Xu Feng’s personal relationship with the magistrate, the jailer didn’t make things difficult and allowed Zhou Qing inside.

When she entered, Zhou Huaishan was sitting on a pile of straw.

He was holding a few stalks of dry grass, weaving something.

Beside him were four or five already woven cricket cages.

Zhou Qing

As soon as she saw those cricket cages, Zhou Qing nearly dropped to her knees in disbelief.

"Father?"

Zhou Huaishan, whether because he was too focused on weaving or for some other reason, didn’t even notice she had come in. He only looked up when he heard her voice.

"Daughter!"

He set down the half-finished cage and rushed to the cell door. Looking at Zhou Qing through the wooden bars, he had a pitiful expression.

"Daughter, I swear I didn’t do anything beastly like that. Someone like that, I couldn’t lay a hand on her!"

Zhou Qing

"Of course not. Even if it were someone else, I couldn’t either. That’s not my taste! By the way, did you bring me any pepper-fried chicken?"

As he spoke, Zhou Huaishan looked at Zhou Qing’s empty hands and immediately wore a face of utter disappointment. He wailed in despair, "Ah! You didn’t bring it? Didn’t you see me giving you the signal?"

Zhou Qing

She had imagined countless scenarios of what it would be like seeing her father in jail but not this one.

"You gave me a signal to bring pepper-fried chicken?"

"Of course! What else? Didn’t you see me mimicking a chicken and twitching my mouth to show spicy flavor?"

Zhou Qing: What the hell kind of signal is that?!

You were being hauled off to jail! How was I supposed to interpret that as you asking for spicy chicken?

With a helpless sigh, Zhou Qing leaned against the cell door. "Father, I thought you were telling me to hurry to the jail and visit you."

Zhou Huaishan looked at her soulfully.

"You didn’t bring the chicken, why even come?"

That look clearly said: You unfilial child!

Zhou Qing

"Father… you do know you’re in jail, right?"

Zhou Huaishan rolled his eyes. "No kidding! You think I’m an idiot?"

Zhou Qing

She waved her hand as if swatting flies and muttered to herself, Forget it, focus on what matters…



Thanks for the support from darling aerischan!