Chapter Sixty-Six: I Truly Didn't Mean That

Without delay, Qin Shu received the command and immediately led his loyal attendant, Yue An, to cell number twenty-three in Block C, just as Jiang Lan had specified. As expected, the place was an utter mess—filthy, chaotic, and foul. Cockroaches and rats scurried everywhere, and even the straw strewn across the floor was damp and musty from years of neglect.

“Aren’t these cells supposed to be regularly cleaned? How could it be this bad?” Even Qin Shu couldn’t help but cover his nose; the stench was unbearable.

Yue An glanced at the sweating, trembling jailer nearby and sighed, stepping forward to shield him halfway. “My lord, the budget and manpower are limited. It’s quite difficult for the staff to manage.”

The jailer nodded vigorously and cast a grateful look at Yue An. “Sir, it was my oversight. I’ll send someone to clean it up right away and ensure there’s better supervision in the future.”

Qin Shu’s expression softened. “It’s all right. Just be more careful next time.”

“Thank you for your understanding, my lord.”

The prefect of Jingzhao gazed at the squalor of cell twenty-three, feeling as if his heart were bleeding. “Assign some men to scrub this place clean. Move the well-behaved, reliable inmates to nearby cells, and those who are quarrelsome or vicious—move them as far away from here as possible.”

The jailer took note of every instruction, eager to please. “Does my lord wish to refurbish cell twenty-three to match the specifications currently used by the young master?”

Qin Shu paused to consider. He’d glimpsed the furnishings earlier—not many, but the porcelain’s luster alone revealed their extraordinary quality. There was even a set of warm jade chess pieces said to have belonged to Emperor Taizong, exuding a timeless, weighty elegance—yet now used by two children to amuse themselves in the cell, a testament to imperial indulgence.

Qin Shu rubbed his aching head, sore from several days’ strain. “Yue An, go fetch my private stash—and bring it all out,” he said, clutching his chest in exaggerated pain.

“Ah?”

“Go to the Wooden Edge Shop on Kangzhuang Street and buy a refined set of furnishings. Then to the Brocade Pavilion for a bed and bedding—make sure they’re expensive and of the finest quality. If you can’t tell, just say they’re for someone of great status. That should total around four or five hundred taels.”

Yue An was stunned. What kind of household was this, spending four or five hundred taels just on a table and bedding? That was robbery! He’d served his master for years and, after much effort, had just managed a raise to two taels a month.

Now, it seemed, he wasn’t even worth a quilt.

Speechless, Yue An realized he wouldn’t be able to accompany his master to the Spring Garden for music for many months to come.

“Fetch pastries from the Honey Fragrance Parlor every morning—send someone clever, buy a variety, and if the young master seems to like any, buy more next time. And as for banquets, have Taibai Pavilion provide three meals a day—no, book all the famous restaurants in the capital, rotating with fresh menus for the young master. And another thing—”

Yue An’s jaw dropped. Taibai Pavilion was one of the three most prestigious restaurants in the capital, frequented by the wealthy—a single table could cost forty or fifty taels. How did his master have so much private money?

No, however much there was, it couldn’t be squandered like this. He had to save his master’s coffers.

“My lord, the county princess delivers food daily for the young master. Perhaps we could—”

He was cut off by Qin Shu. “You don’t understand. The young master might not eat, but we must still deliver the meals. The county princess is truly good—beautiful and kind—she visits the young master every day and brings food, probably to save us from embarrassment. The young master is difficult to please, but not unreasonable. The county princess is truly considerate. How can people in the capital judge by appearances alone! Ah—”

Yue An inwardly cried out, “Master, calm down! Don’t be beguiled by her beauty. True, the county princess is stunning—each glance feels like desecrating a goddess—but as for kindness and consideration, that’s a stretch! Besides, she’s not here for us, but for her own brother.”

The food in the prison was so dreadful—surely his master knew? The county princess likely worried less about poor care, and more about the risk of poisoning. Even if they sent food, neither the young master nor the county princess would let him eat it.

Yue An wanted to save his master some silver, but seeing his determined expression, he surrendered. He realized trustworthy people would have to be assigned for the food, and with his master’s reverent attitude today, if anything happened to the young master, not even razing the entire yamen would suffice as compensation.

Indeed, it was good to shelter beneath a great tree. If he had an imperial aunt as empress dowager, he would happily sit in prison—or even set the place ablaze himself.

Sighing, Yue An accepted his fate, took the silver notes, and hurried out to shop.

Qin Shu didn’t idle either. He gathered a group of constables and yamen runners, first relocating all regular prisoners from cell twenty-three to other cells, then setting the jailer and a team of officers to scrub every inch—down to the last ant nest.

They set repellent, burned incense...

Two hours later, cell twenty-three had been utterly transformed. The stone floor gleamed, with not a trace of foulness or blood. Fresh, dry straw replaced the old, the bedding was entirely new—though wrapped in coarse cloth, the scent of soapwort was infinitely preferable to the previous moldy rags.

After overseeing these tasks, Qin Shu moved on to a new round of prisoner screening. One by one, they were brought out, their files reviewed in detail.

He dared not be careless. The young master’s “neighbors” should, if not handsome, at least look clean and not have any scars from torture—otherwise, what if the county princess, visiting her brother, was frightened? And, of course, their looks shouldn’t be too striking either.

Resolved, Qin Shu rubbed his hands together, eager for the work.

“You are Sun Fugui?”

Qin Shu squinted at the man below—a sharp-faced, monkey-like fellow in chains. Though unmarked by wounds, his appearance was almost comically unfortunate, like a walking monkey.

“Next, next,” said Qin Shu, moving on to the next file—Shen Duo, a general’s son, arrested for fighting. Though from a newly ennobled family, he was still an official’s son. After rejecting forty or fifty candidates, Qin Shu’s hopes rose again.

The newcomer was over eight feet tall, face chiseled and stern, radiating an intimidating coldness. Through his thin shirt, one caught a glimpse of bronzed, powerful muscles...

Qin Shu reluctantly added him to the shortlist. There were still several other noble sons behind him—no need to worry.

Meanwhile, Jiang Si, hearing the commotion in the distance, frowned in curiosity. Unable to resist, she found a pretext to question her brother, who had been fiddling with a chess piece for ages. “Brother, why the sudden desire to switch cells?”

Jiang Lan smiled and tossed his black piece, sending it spinning straight into the chess box. Resting his chin in his hand, he studied his sister.

No matter how cold and reserved she acted before others, in front of him she could never hide her true nature—curiosity, boundless curiosity! Just like the time she overheard someone mention the popular pastries from Honey Fragrance Parlor—she didn’t even like sweets, but her curiosity had been piqued.

She had once investigated her maidservants out of suspicion, only to discover this unassailable truth.

“If you forfeit this wager, I’ll tell you the reason,” he teased.

Jiang Si’s eyes sparkled. She had only wagered to pass the time, and though she was fond of her brother’s rare Xue Tao paper, the answer to her question was far more precious.

“Never mind, I’ll win it back from you another day.”

Jiang Lan could see her curiosity had won out. He purposely hesitated, then leaned forward and whispered, “...There really is something unclean here.”

Thanks to her upbringing, Jiang Si restrained herself from rolling her eyes. She retorted, “Brother, do you really like that Xue Tao paper so much you’d make up ghost stories? If Master hears you talking such nonsense, he’ll scold you for spreading superstitions.”

Jiang Lan pouted and glanced at the young servant eyeing the pastries to Jiang Si’s right, shaking his head helplessly.

“In four days it’s Grandmother Xue’s birthday. You’ll be released then. After that, it’ll be time for lessons at the Imperial Academy—Aunt specifically sent a nanny to remind me.”

“To remind you of what?”

“She’s worried you’ll idle away your days and get into trouble, so she asked me to keep an eye on your studies.”

Jiang Lan felt a headache coming; he’d forgotten all about the Imperial Academy. Perhaps staying here was preferable.

Seeing his troubled expression, Jiang Si’s lips curled into a rare smile.

“Studying is secondary. You don’t care for titles—just a bit of reputation is enough. Don’t exhaust yourself.”

Jiang Lan was about to thank his considerate sister when she added, “But stop talking nonsense about ghosts and monsters.”

He touched his nose ruefully. At the start of his illness, his third uncle had summoned countless monks and priests—how different his own cousin was!

“How curious—what is Lord Qin doing over there, with all that commotion?”

No matter how much Jiang Si tried to hide it, Jiang Lan could see her curiosity was barely contained.

“Shall we send someone to find out?”

Jiang Si demurred, but when Jiang Lan admitted his own curiosity, she immediately dispatched a trusted servant.

When the results came back, both siblings were astonished. Was Qin Shu lucky or unlucky? In the process of cleaning a cell, he’d uncovered over a dozen death row inmates passing themselves off as others!

Noting his sister’s probing look, Jiang Lan quickly waved his hands. “I know what you’re thinking, but this really isn’t my doing! I had nothing to do with it!”

When she looked unconvinced, he slapped his thigh. “Truly, it wasn’t me!”