Yang Pu and others walked out of the detention room to the side hall, saw Lin Xie's face sinking like water standing in the corridor, following his gaze to look over, Zhou Pu's back was just at the corner of the corridor, turning around and disappearing behind the corner.

  Yang Pu remembered that when he came to the Procuratorate earlier, Lin Xie let Zhou Pu and others send Liu Yue'er back to Bianjiao Alley. He didn't expect Zhou Pu to come back so quickly, and he didn't know why Zhou Pu came and went in such a hurry.

  "It's going quickly, what's the outcome of the interrogation?" Lin Mou's expression was calm and his tone was peaceful as he asked Yang Pu. He glanced at Gu Siyuan behind Yang Pu, whose face was pale and silent.

  "They didn't need torture, they all spilled the beans. This is a written confession, and we were just about to come find you and Lord Gu..." Yang Pu waved a stack of papers in his hand.

  "There are only a few who are not afraid of death." Lin Mou smiled and followed Yang Pu to the side hall to see Gu Wu, and could only deal with things here before leaving.

  These street rascals broke his arms and legs on the street, if he could endure a round of torture in the Procuratorate, it would be considered a heroic act. Unfortunately, no one can withstand the torture to confess again. It's no wonder that Gu Siyuan's face is very bad, since he grew up in a greenhouse from childhood and was surrounded by people every day, where did he see the cruel and bloody scene?

  Gu Wudu was quietly sitting in the side hall, handling other official duties, when he saw Lin Fu and Yang Pu walk in. He put down the case files and asked: "What did you find out?"

  "There are four people with suspicious identities, one is the nephew of Dongcheng Wei Chen Zhi, one is the son of Jiangning Prefecture's Hu Cao Ling Shi Zhou Tai, one is the son of Jiangning Prefecture's private secretary Zhao Qinmin, and one is the son of Guangtai Pawnshop's financial backer Zhao Qigui. The others are all just commoners," Yang Pu said, "They also want to confess to other things, but I think it's better to report back to Your Excellency first before making any decisions..."

  Yang Pu was of course clear in his mind that he didn't have the qualifications to confront Wang Xueshan, the prefect of Jiangning, at present. Even if these people were to bring out Wang Cha, the son of Wang Xueshan, it would be superfluous.

  Gu Wudu handed the pen over to him, roughly flipping through it, his eyes fixed on his incompetent only son, and said in a cold voice: "You beast, do you have anything else to say?"

  Gu Siyuan's face turned iron-green, his cheek still stinging from the slap, he stood with his head down, not daring to utter a word.

  "Others will be flogged thirty times, released on the spot and spared their lives," Gu Wu Chen handed the pen back to Yang Pu, saying, "There's no need to ask these four people for their confessions again. Send them all to the city prison, let each of their families go to the city prison tomorrow to pick up their people..."

  Lin Xie let out a soft sigh in his heart, and Gu Wu Chen had also been imprisoned for ten years, with many experiences on the official scene. If he thought that his heart was as gentle and elegant as it looked, he would be greatly mistaken: being flogged thirty times in public and then released would still leave him with a way to survive, but in the great prison of the city, there were methods that could make people die from illness and anger. This side would send four live people in, and the next day, the families of these four people could only lament their fate as they took back four corpses from the great prison of the city.

  Yang Pu and Ma Chao took their leave, leaving only Gu Suiyuan and Lin Xie standing in front of Gu Wudang's desk. Gu Wudang let out a long sigh and said slowly: "In this autumn of many events, in this place of many events, under the clear wind and bright moon, there is hidden bloodshed. The situation is more severe than imagined."

  In this chaotic autumn, the royal court is declining day by day, and the central government's control over local areas is gradually weakening. This is the main manifestation of the situation. The Chu Party may find it easy to take control of the central government, but if they want to control the local areas, it will be extremely easy to trigger a fierce backlash from local forces. Gu Wudu has been through ups and downs in officialdom for decades, experiencing countless dangers, so he naturally understands these principles clearly. But how can Gu Siyuan, who is just a young master, see the danger in this? Perhaps letting him experience more bloody events will make him understand these things.

  The Chu Party's entry into the central government has a major move, whether it is to reorganize the northern defense zone or to quell the civil unrest in the northwest, cannot be done without relying on the financial resources of the southeast. For this reason, even the Xie family was granted land and titles. Gu Wu Chen's appointment as Vice Censor-in-Chief in Jiangdong was a crucial move for the Chu Party after entering the central government, but Gu Siyuan was too young and naive to see through it, thinking that he had come to Jiangning to enjoy the glory and wealth. Gu Wu Chen also intentionally let his son go to numb the vigilance of the people in Jiangning, showing a united and harmonious front, but this does not mean that the local forces in Jiangning really did not see through it.

  Gu Wudu will have to bow his head and compromise with local forces; otherwise, the future struggle may be even more intense and bloody.

  "Gu's new tea will be on the market in a few days, and Ji Yun Society wants to send someone to Shiliang County. I'd like to have Gu Tianqiao return to Hutang for a trip, and also recruit some young men from Dongyang to come over. First, they'll be incorporated into the prison guards' battalion under Yang Shi's command. After three months, there should be some results." Lin Fu said.

  "Alright, let's do it," Gu Wu Chen nodded his head. He didn't have anyone he completely trusted yet, and the conflict wasn't intense enough to be considered severe. "I heard from Ma Chao that the four guards you brought into the city this time were selected from ordinary soldiers, but today they were able to beat those street thugs until they fled with their tails between their legs. You really know how to train your troops..."

  "It's all about guts, without guts, one is timid like a mouse, with guts, one is like a wolf or tiger," Lin said, "it's easy to deal with a mob, but I'm afraid others may also recruit experienced and ruthless thugs; however, the four or five people by my side are barely usable."

  "Alright, hand the person over to Yang Pu. This beast doesn't understand things, and in the future, we can't let others use him to threaten our family..." Gu Wu Chen said. He still didn't trust the servants sent by the Surveillance Commissioner's Office to the Gu residence. The Gu family had declined for ten years, and there weren't many people who were reliable. To be honest, he also had misgivings about the Tang family and didn't want to seek their help.

  Although Lin Xie initially wanted to personally train the guards into Wu Zu's backbone, when Gu Wu asked for people, he couldn't refuse. At most, he would spend more effort and time training useful personnel later on.

  Gu Su-Yuan stood by with a face alternating between pale and red, ultimately not daring to interrupt.

  Lin Xie also knew that Gu Siyuan was uncomfortable in his heart, but he couldn't help him say anything, and could only seriously respond to Gu Wudu's instructions: "The four people I brought this time are all waiting outside the courtyard. Later, Yang Pu will lead them to recognize the door of the mansion. To prevent accidents, I will find a way to move their families to the Hekou Zhuangzi."

  Nowadays, the management of military households is increasingly chaotic, with countless bankruptcies and escapes. The four armed guards he brought into the city this time were all from Jiangning military households. If he moves his family to live in the river mouth, he can be more at ease in commanding them.

  "By the way, what was the name of that girl from Baiyuan that you and Wang Xueshan's son both had your eyes on earlier?" Gu Wudu no longer addressed his son with a single "brute".

  "She was a maid of Su Mei, who had been in the brothel since she was a child and hadn't grown up yet. We went through some things together in Baisha County, so we can be considered old acquaintances," Lin said calmly, and then lightly added, "I once said I would help that girl redeem herself, but unexpectedly Wang Xueshan's son also took a liking to her... just an unimportant person..."

  "Ah..." Gu Wu Chen naturally knew what Lin had gone through in Baisha County, responded with a sound, and didn't ask more questions. Looking at the deepening dusk, he said, "Come back with me to have some wine, this beast has gotten us all worked up..."

  "Alright." Lin Xie responded, seemingly not worried about Xiao Man's situation at all.

  ************

  Mrs. Gu and others had returned to the Gu residence early on to avoid being seen by the townspeople and causing unnecessary gossip.

  Under the escort of Yang Pu, Ma Chao and others, Lin Xie and Gu Wu Chen, Gu Siyuan sat in a horse-drawn carriage and drove out of the Procuratorate's gate. At this time, the thirteen city rascals were thrown out of the gate by the bailiffs after being flogged thirty times, and their families had been waiting outside the door for some time, and they rushed over to identify them. These city rascals were all crippled on the streets, and the East City Patrol was unable to intercept them, and their families knew that entering the Procuratorate would not have a good outcome, and even invited doctors from the medical office to wait at the gate of the Procuratorate. The executioner loudly proclaimed in front of the gate: "Rascals and ruffians, street urchins, caught on the spot, punished with thirty lashes, let this be a warning to the streets and alleys, each family take back their living relatives, from now on, life and death have nothing to do with the Procuratorate..."

  The yamen has never been a place to reason, and now it's even less likely that anyone would dare to come forward to reason with the Procuratorate. Everyone just hopes to be treated in time to save their lives. A group of people gathered around to identify the victims, who were all covered in blood and flesh, making it difficult to recognize them clearly. The key is that 17 people were arrested, and now 13 have been released, but four are still missing.

  After a flurry of activity, the people who didn't get to their homes realized that they were in big trouble. Although these released people were battered and bruised, with broken hands and feet, they had at least managed to save their lives. The four people who had been released earlier might not be so lucky. Seeing Gu Wu Chen's carriage still hadn't gone far, they rushed over to beg for mercy. Gu Wu Chen naturally wouldn't show his face, and Yang Pu ordered the guards to beat these people who were blocking the way with sticks. That was just how things were done in this world - even if someone was shouting injustice while blocking the way, they would still be beaten first before being questioned. As for these people who dared to intrude on his family's property, Gu Wu Chen had a heart as hard as iron and stone, and wouldn't listen to their pleas.

  Lin tied up the carriage curtain and looked at these people outside the car frame. The masters did not dare to come out, they were all servants or women who came to pick them up. Even the soldiers of the East City Wei did not dare to stay in the Procuratorate's yamen. The crime of leading the charge against the Procuratorate's yamen was not something that ordinary people could bear, but it was unknown whether Wang Xueshan would come forward for him.

  The families of the four people who were not released on the spot in Jiangning Prefecture all had some connections, and when they saw that it was not going well, they scattered. When they saw that begging Gu Wu Chen was useless, they also knew that even if Gu Wu Chen had a big heart, he would not dare to order someone to be killed in the Procuratorate's yamen. They turned back to find people and asked the officials and guards at the Procuratorate, only to learn that the four men had long been sent to the City Prison through a side door, and they could only pick them up the next day. Everyone knew what the City Prison was like, and since these four men were under Gu Wu Chen's special care, it was clear what would happen if they waited until tomorrow to pick them up. Among the families, there were women who had panicked and were crying on the ground, while others were more awake and realized that they should hurry back to report to their masters and ask for help. Some people ran to the City Prison first, only to find that it was guarded by many more mounted patrols than usual, and one of Gu Wu Chen's trusted men was personally guarding the prison tonight. It was impossible to pass on a message, and all the roads were blocked. They could only gather at Wang Xueshan's mansion to seek help. At this time, there were not many people in Jiangning City who could still rescue someone from the City Prison.

  ***********

  PS: Seeking red envelope, seeking red envelope.