# 27. Bring him away
Minister Sun coldly glanced to the side.
Petty Minister Huang, feeling as if he was in an ice cellar, walked over in a panic with his head bowing down.
"Milord, the incident was sudden, and this small official didn't have the time to obtain the documents for arrest. The main reason is that the suspect is a martial artist and the nephew of the Imperial Guard Xu Pingzhi. He's very much able to abscond in fear of crime." Huang thought, *Even if Minister Sun’s mouth is just six feet away, I could still fling the pot on someone else in 0.01 seconds.*[^1]
"Young Master Zhou sent his subordinate to submit a lawsuit saying that a thief beat him on the street, and said that he would let blood splatter five steps...
"Due to it being an emergency, This small official decided to arrest the suspect first, so that he wouldn't abscond in fear of crime."
With the Sitianjian white cloaks and Cloud Deer Academy Great Scholars present, He didn't dare to lie and didn't have any need to lie.
Fighting in the street was a crime that resulted in the leader of both sides of the fight being paddled using big boards at least fifty times.
Except for not acquiring the documents for arrest, everything else was done according to the rules. In the Ministry of Law, there were many examples of getting the documents for arrest after the fact.
Sitianjian's white cloaks frowned.
Li Mubai and Zhang Shen looked at each other, after which the former took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "The sage said: *A gentleman should be honest and sincere.*"
"Bump-bump", "Bump-bump", "Bump-bump"
Petty Minister Huang felt his heart beating violently, and blood rushed into his face. He felt ashamed of himself for lying.
He hated his behaviour of lying, and his spirit violently protested his despicable behaviour.
His mouth moved out of his control, and he spoke uncontrollably, "Young Master Zhou wants to kill Xu Qi'an and have him die in the prison of the Ministry of Law to vent his hatred. I, I... want to sell Young Master Zhou a favour."
*Comfortable..* Petty Minister Huang sat down on the ground, with sweat dripping off his forehead.
There was an uproar, and more than a dozen officials of the Ministry of Law were looking at Huang, some with disdain, some with contempt, some gloating at him and some shaking their heads and sighing at him.
"Despicable and shameless, I'll write a report to impeach you tomorrow!" The Ministry of Law's Censor was roused to anger.
Fifth-rank... Minister Sun remained calm and glanced at Petty Minister Huang, who was pale and dull-eyed, and ordered the officials under him, "Pass on my word, Let the suspect go!"
...
Amidst the clattering of shackles, Xu Qi'an was brought to the torture room. Young Master Zhou changed into an indigo robe, which was thick but not bad-looking.
He sat there loose and carefree, with a foot on the chair. The ear that was crushed by Xu Qi'an was wrapped in white muslin.
The thin old man in a blue coat with golden patterns in his collar and cuffs stood beside him, staring at Xu Qi'an sharply, without hiding his murderous intent.
In addition, two guards were beside a pile of torture instruments, gloating at Xu Qi'an.
The Young Master in brocade clothes waved his hand, and a jailor took a piece of paper from his arms and threw it in front of Xu Qi'an.
"You have two choices." young master Zhou said disdainfully, "Plead guilty and be put in prison; or try all the torture instruments here, then plead guilty, and be put in prison."
Xu Qi'an glanced at it, and its content was roughly this: *Xu Qi'an, the fast bailiff of the Changle county office had an argument with Zhou Li on the street, which led to him being murderous and then resorting to martial force, which led to Zhou Li being seriously injured. Later, Bailiffs arrived quickly and fast bailiff Xu Qi'an was arrested...*
*Violence in the middle of the street, The second party was the son of the Deputy of the Ministry of Households. If I put my signature on the paper, The lightest punishment for me would be being exiled. If the one surnamed Zhou tries, I could be executed in the vegetable market... He didn't leave me a way out.*
Xu Qi'an withdrew his gaze and looked at the Young Master in Embroidered Clothes, "Will I be harmed if I sign this paper?"
The corner of Young Master Zhou’s mouth raised as if he was toying with insects, and he said mockingly, "No, the choice I give you is: Be imprisoned first and then be punished or Be punished first and then imprisoned."
The jailers burst into laughter.
Xu Qi'an's face became gloomy.
The more he was like this, the happier Young Master Zhou became. He liked the expression people made when they had hatred against him but were helpless to put it into action.
"Tsk, tsk, Scary, Really scary." Zhou Li said with a smile "Uncle Chen, are the shackles firm? In case the thief suddenly tries to attack, What should be done?"
The thin old man smiled and said, "Don't worry, Young Master. He's just an ant, and this slave can kill such ants with a single slap."
"I'm relieved." Zhou Li got up, walked to the pile of torture instruments, and started talking, "There are twenty-four types of torture instruments here, Each of them can make people feel extreme pain without danger to their lives. They are important devices used to extract confessions through torture."
"I won't kill you. Wouldn't killing you be too convenient?"
“I heard that in the jail of the Nightwatchers, there are 108 different types of torture instruments. Those imprisoned there never come out alive.”
"It's a pity that you aren't blessed enough to enjoy them. tsk, tsk, What a pity."
Xu Qi'an inevitably looked at the instruments of torture. There were chairs covered with iron nails, rusty steel needles, and dark red saws that were stained with blood all year long... There were so many types of torture instruments, all showing their cruelty and bloodiness.
Xu Qi'an's throat rolled, and his face turned pale.
*According to the time, Miss Caiwei from Sitianjian should have received the notification from Constable Wang... Why hasn't she arrived yet... Is she unwilling to save me?*
*No, the contents of the book I’d written are really attractive to any alchemist, any of them would be experiencing discomfort like scratching their heart, waiting to read the rest.*
*If you don't come to save me now, Even if I survive the torture, I'll be disabled if the entire set of torture instruments is used on me...* Xu Qi'an's forehead was covered in sweat.
He was a normal human being; he also could get scared.
Young Master Zhou was observing his face when talking, and he was very satisfied at this sight.
This game, similar to a cat playing with its prey, made him immerse himself into it, enjoying it very much. He continued, "I heard that you were raised by your second uncle Xu Pingzhi since you were young. You should have a good relationship with him."
"Well, I suspect this matter was planned by you and your second uncle together."
*He investigated me...* Xu Qi'an's forehead veins bulged.
"This... Young Master Zhou, it's not written in the confession." A jailor said.
"Idiot, just write a new version." Another jailer cursed.
"What are you waiting for? Just write it here in front of him." Young Master Zhou laughed wildly.
While laughter was erupting in the torture room, Suddenly, the door of the prison was opened and a jailer led an azure-robed official in.
The azure-robed official glanced around and saw that Xu Qi'an was unscathed without any blood, and was relieved.
"Bring him away."
*Finally, finally, someone came...* Xu Qi'an was relieved.
Several jailers in the torture room subconsciously looked at Young Master Zhou.
"Milord, We are interrogating a prisoner." Young Master Zhou looked away from the azure robe, that symbolized fifth-ranked officials, and stared at the official's face with a displeased expression.
With a strange smile, the azure-robed official said, "This is the Ministry of Law, not the Ministry of Households. Young Master Zhou could go back to the Ministry of Households to interrogate people — if the Ministry of Households also has authority over prisons."
After he finished, he shouted, "Bastards, Didn't you listen to me? Bring him away."
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[^1]: Fling the pot (chinese idiom): push blame to someone else. Similarly, carrying the pot: taking the blame.