Shen Hui tapped his fingertips lightly on his knees, saying indifferently.
"The carriage that just passed was from the Duan Mansion, carrying only Duan Zhenzhu and Wei Mingze."
Su Jinghan immediately understood Shen Hui's meaning, narrowing his eyes, and said unhappily.
"Are you saying that old fellow Duan Gehong went into the palace to find a way? That old fellow won't also try to work on the Imperial Guards, to make them go heavy-handed with the planks before the Emperor, right?"
Shen Hui looked at the unhappy Su Jinghan and said nothing.
This was tantamount to an admission.
Su Jinghan heavily slapped his knee, ferocity surging in his eyes: "That old fellow is quite bold. The Imperial Guards before the Emperor reach the heavens directly; he dares to tamper with them."
"Don't worry, this Prince will personally go find the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Zhou Chang, to go easy."
Su Jinghan's action was somewhat like allowing officials to set fires but forbidding commoners to light lamps.
Shen Hui only cared that his objective was achieved, so he closed his eyes and offered no opinion.
Su Jinghan lifted the carriage curtain, about to set off to find the Commander of the Imperial Guard. He had only half-completed the action when he realized something was amiss.
He held the curtain and turned back: "It's not for Young Master Shen, it's just about a little farm girl, and you're asking this Prince to personally handle it. Who are you protecting her for, investigating the case, or do you have improper thoughts about her!"
Shen Hui calmly uttered two words: "Repaying Kindness."
"Hey, repaying kindness, repaying kindness. If you don't repay, how can you return the favor. Young Master Shen, that's what you mean, right!" Su Jinghan said with a sly grin.
Shen Hui seemed annoyed, suddenly opened his eyes, got up, snatched the carriage curtain from Su Jinghan's hand, and yanked it down. He then directly pushed the dignified Prince out of the carriage.
Su Jinghan stood on the ground in embarrassment, watching the carriage depart. He tidied his disheveled robe, not angry, but a deep contemplation began to brew in his eyes.
Young Master Shen, who was always indifferent to everything, never laughed loudly, and never got angry, had just gotten angry at him.
Abnormal behavior indicates something unusual; either he guessed correctly, or...
Forget it, he couldn't think of anything else.
As Su Jinghan approached from afar, Duan Gehong was quietly slipping a brocade box into the arms of the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Zhou Chang.
Zhou Chang opened it a crack and was almost blinded by the dazzling gold ingots inside.
Zhou Chang's expression changed, and he quickly pushed the brocade box back to Duan Gehong: "Lord Duan, I cannot accept rewards without merit."
In the officialdom, everyone was a shrewd operator, especially those who reached the position of Commander of the Imperial Guard.
The Minister's Estate was bullying others, and the victim had already beaten the Dengwen Drum, which had been registered by the Emperor. This was not something he dared to interfere with.
Duan Gehong knew what Zhou Chang was thinking. His eyes darkened, and his smile became even more brilliant. He unhurriedly pushed the brocade box back again.
"Commander Zhou, you're being too formal. It's just a little tea money. People have ranks, and fingers have lengths. All you need to do is find someone with heavy hands and 'accidentally' be a bit rough during the execution."
"Sixty planks were already unbearable for ordinary people. Even if the Emperor asks about it later, it will just be said that the punishment was too severe. Who would investigate the death of a mere country village woman on the execution ground?"
He said this while patting Zhou Chang's shoulder, applying invisible pressure: "Commander Zhou, have you forgotten who pulled you out of a tight spot during the bandit suppression in Hong County?"
This hit Zhou Chang's soft spot.
Back then, when he went to suppress bandits with Duan Gehong, he was almost struck down by the bandit leader's saber. It was Duan Gehong who had intervened at the critical moment.
Duan Gehong had, in a sense, saved his life.
A trace of hesitation faded from Zhou Chang's face. He gritted his teeth and tucked the brocade box into his embrace: "...Your subordinate understands, Lord Duan, rest assured."
Duan Gehong nodded with satisfaction: "Then thank you, Commander Zhou. There will be a generous reward afterward."
Duan Gehong's hunched back straightened; he was no longer worried about the matter at all.
A lowly country woman could never withstand sixty planks. Now, with his special attention, she would be even less likely to survive.
If she wants to sue the Emperor, she can do it in hell.
Duan Gehong's steps returned to their previous unhurried pace.
As he walked down the steps, he met Su Jinghan coming towards him. He quickly stepped aside to bow.
As Su Jinghan passed, he glanced at Duan Gehong and said with a gentle smile: "Lord Duan, you're still in the palace at this hour?"
"Thank you, First Prince, for your concern. This subordinate will leave the palace now." Duan Gehong quickly bowed.
Su Jinghan leaned closer, feigning sympathy for Duan Gehong: "Lord Duan, you work so hard for the court, yet you are still wrongly accused. Even this Prince feels heartache seeing it."
Duan Gehong's heart skipped a beat. He quickly looked up at Su Jinghan; the concern in Su Jinghan's eyes had not changed.
The First Prince was trying to win him over.
It made sense; the First Prince held the position of the eldest son of the Empress, but his Imperial Concubine mother was not as favored as the Second Prince's. It was normal for him to try and win him over.
Believing he had Su Jinghan's support, Duan Gehong became even more self-assured. He did not show it on his face, continuing to bow and express his gratitude.
Su Jinghan said no more and turned to walk away. His peripheral vision swept over Duan Gehong's receding back, the gentle smile on his lips vanished, replaced by a mischievous glint.
"Old man, you really think you'll get away with it. I'll let you be happy for a few hours first."
Zhou Chang put the brocade box into a hidden compartment. Although he felt that agreeing to Duan Gehong's request was somewhat improper, he didn't dwell on it.
Tampering with the execution and using a bit more force was indeed not difficult.
He merely sighed that the little village woman was overestimating herself.
Zhou Chang sighed, and suddenly a report came from outside the door: "His Highness the First Prince has arrived!"
Zhou Chang frowned, not understanding why Su Jinghan would come at this time.
He straightened his official uniform and went out to greet him, not connecting Su Jinghan's arrival with Su Xiuer at all.
Su Jinghan had already entered the office. He glanced at Zhou Chang and got straight to the point: "Duan Gehong came to see you!"
Zhou Chang's heart tightened. Before he could speak, Su Jinghan walked into the hall and sat down, his gaze sweeping over him: "No matter what Duan Gehong asked you to do, this Prince has only one request: halve the force of the execution before the Emperor!"
Sweat beaded on Zhou Chang's forehead. Su Jinghan had already stood up: "How you do it, Commander Zhou, is up to you to decide."
Dengwen Drum Academy.
At this moment, Su Xiuer had just finished receiving thirty planks and was being helped up by a bailiff, staggering.
The bailiff whispered: "Miss, are you in too much pain to walk?"
Su Xiuer thought to herself that she could still pick up a butcher knife and kill two pigs right now.
However, thinking of the many onlookers, she rolled her eyes, clutched her waist, and moaned as she dramatically collapsed to the ground: "Oh, my dear mother... it hurts..."
This act was so good that the bailiff almost gave Su Xiuer a thumbs up.
He cooperatively shouted loudly: "She's in too much pain to walk! Get two people to carry her inside."
People from the Duan Mansion had been guarding there all along. Seeing Su Xiuer's state, they didn't suspect anything.
They thought, "They said that butcher Su, who slaughters pigs, has tough skin and flesh. Humph, she's already falling apart after just thirty planks. If she receives another thirty planks before the Emperor, her bones will be shattered."
"Aunt Dong Mei, wasn't it supposed to be halved? Why is Sister Xiuer still in so much pain? What about the next thirty planks before the Emperor?"
Dong Song clearly saw the bailiff use a clever trick, yet he was still somewhat deceived by Su Xiuer's acting and asked Dong Mei worriedly.
Dong Mei, with her strong martial arts skills and keen eyesight, looked at Su Xiuer's appearance and was also a little unsure.
She cautiously said: "Thirty planks before the Emperor, so it will be halved again on top of the halving. However, what happens next is not something we can handle. Sister Chun Tao should have received the news by now and is preparing to enter the palace. You go and send a message to your Aunt Chun Tao, telling her that Miss Su is very weak."
"Yes." Dong Song hurried off.
By this time, Su Xiuer had already been carried into the Dengwen Courtyard.
Seeing that there were no outsiders, she secretly tugged at the bailiff's sleeve.
"Brother, can you give me a hint? Which noble person is secretly helping me?"
She couldn't pretend to be ignorant when receiving such a favor. How could she not notice such obvious leniency?
This was the Dengwen Courtyard, which reached the Emperor directly. She knew very well that this bailiff was just a low-level executor. If no one had given the order, he wouldn't have been so lenient with her.
✦✦✦