Besides, the Prefect had been his benefactor in his heart at that time, so he was very grateful. In fact, what he said was right, a dead person cannot be brought back to life, and since his brother could not come back, then he would accept his current position as the head of the prison. At the very least, this way he could ensure that he would live the rest of his life in peace.
However, ever since he had become a jailer, he had been able to come into contact with the government officials. Thus, he had seen many cases of favouritism and selfishness, where he had to go through the back door to release the prisoners and so on.
At first, he was surprised, but later he wanted to stop it. In the end, he became completely silent. Now, he just drifted along with the flow, because with such drive, it seemed like it wasn't right for him to not become like them.
Because everyone around him was like this, he had no choice but to do so.
He had initially felt sympathy and discomfort when he saw good people being beheaded and bad people replaced, but now he felt that this was the way it was going to be. So, when one day he accidentally discovered his younger brother's wife meeting with the Prefect, and mentioned his dead brother in his words, he actually ignored it, because he felt that dead people were really dead. It was a pity that such a beautiful girl was alive, but since the Prefect liked it, then he would just let them be. It was because of this that he was able to live until now.
However, when Ruo Ruo fell to the ground, he suddenly felt that death was so close to him. Just now, he suddenly remembered that his brother had said that when a person could see that he was about to die, they would realize what they cared about the most.
"Brother, I know I was wrong. I cannot be greedy for small advantages. There are some things that I can't force myself to do! "
"Brother, if something were to happen to me, please remember to live well. Don't think too much, don't ask too many questions. Just live your life well!" This was something his younger brother had said before. He had always remembered it, so most of the time, he was not really numb to it. It was because he always remembered to live well, that he allowed things to worsen, and that was why he pretended to be blind, deaf, and untouchable.
Because that was the only hope his brother had for him, he had to stay alive and well.
At this point, the head of the prison started to sob. It was only now that he realized how stupid he was. His younger brother was no longer around and the people around him were all blindfolded. Why did he persist for so long after living such a painful life for himself?
"When I was young, my wish was to become a soldier protecting the country when I grew up. However, when I became a jailer, I completely forgot my original intentions. This is my mistake."
"I have let down the common people, have let down my father, and even more so have let down my brother. It's all because I'm too weak, so I let this person go unpunished!" Chen Huai's mood suddenly became agitated. With one hand, he tightly gripped the Prefect's collar, and with the other, he wanted to fiercely smash the Prefect's body.
"What you need to do now is testify against him, not kill him and die with him!" The silk in Liru's hand suddenly came out of its sheath and wrapped around Chen Huai's hand, pulling him away.
"Chen Huai, I owe you a favor, but you actually repay it like this?" The Prefect was let go and took a few miserable steps back. His body was smashed against the chain behind him. He could only grit his teeth in pain as he gasped for breath and bent his body to scold Chen Huai.
"General, Madam, please don't believe this person's words. Everyone knows that Chen Huai was ill-intentioned. He must have wanted to drag you down with him because he couldn't escape from a bad deed!"
"Don't forget your identity!" "Xuanyuan Mo suddenly spoke up." "You are now a prisoner. Even if you have not yet been convicted, you can no longer afford to bear the burden of using the term 'this official'!"
"…" The Prefect was surprised and didn't know what to say.
"Whether what he said is true or not, this general and his wife will definitely find out. On the other hand, you still dare to be so impudent in front of this general. Are you really looking down on the imperial court system?"
"General!" The Prefect was startled, he did not understand why Xuanyuan Mo would suddenly give him such a crime. One must know, if this crime was established, then the one who would be directly executed would be Xuanyuan, and if he replied now, then it would be a crime against the emperor. There was no need to prove anything else.
"Also, since everyone knows that Chen Huai's thoughts are wrong, why did you still choose him as your jailer? Isn't this clearly a mistake?"
"..." I, oh, no, I just feel that his little brother is very honest. Perhaps he is not bad either. All these years, although I found out that he did a lot of bad things, due to his little brother's matter, I pretended that I didn't know.
"
Xuanyuan Mo's brows twitched slightly. In the end, he had been a Prefect for so many years, and he knew how to avoid serious matters without doing anything in return. In this way, even if he were to be found guilty, he would at most only have inadequate supervision, and if it was because of his benevolence, he would blame everything on Chen Huai. When the time came, in accordance to the voices of the people, he would have nothing at all.
He's really a smart guy.
At that moment, Cheng Ziheng and Susu finally returned.
The scarlet blood dripped onto the white porcelain bowl, and quickly blended into the bloodstains she had brought with it. Without needing to explain, the Prefect's face had already turned pale, and he knew what he was doing better than anyone else, because he did not believe that this child was his, and he had already done it once before.
"What else do you have to say for yourself!"
If Li Ruo raised an eyebrow, things would go more smoothly than he had expected.
"That's right. That's my child! "
Helpless, the Prefect could only nod his head. Hearing this, Ruo Ruo seemed to be happy, thinking that the Prefect was going to tell them the truth, but Li Ruo knew that it was impossible for him to admit it so easily.
The reason why he admitted that the child was his was because it was a fact that could not be argued against, and he also clearly knew that if he did not admit it, he would most likely not forgive them. If she guessed right, the Prefect was currently using a strategy of retreating to prevent them from investigating further.
"I don't know how you found out that this child was mine, but what I want to say is, from the time of his marriage to the time of his death, Miss and Chen Nian never left a single thought in her mind."
I saw that he was honest and pitiful, so I ordered her to marry Chen Nian. But I didn't expect that after all, the lives of good people weren't long, and after they had been married for less than half a year, Chen Nian died, so many times when the First Miss wanted to follow him, she was saved by me, and due to the guilt towards her, we were together again.
However, I believe that no one will be able to tell that our child is only five years old, so we can't be considered to have betrayed Chen Nian. After all, the young miss has already been mourning for him for two years, which is already very benevolent! "
"Since you two love each other, why not just marry her?"
"She is a sensible girl. She said that after all, she is carrying the name of a widow on her shoulders. Then we can only agree to it! "
"Heh, if your love is really so indestructible, then how could you have let her marry someone else!" Li Ruo sneered, suddenly realizing that everyone in this ancient era was good at making up stories.
"Then forget it. You were kind and soft-hearted, but since you still love her so much, and even your child is so old now, you still refuse to give him justice. What kind of class is that? "
"Don't treat everyone like a fool. You'd better tell the truth."
"Did Chen Nian discover your secret at that time?"
"Is that why you're willing to hand over the woman you like and even find a job for him?"
"What did your younger cousin know? Did he know that he died with grievance after being viciously assaulted?"
"Also, that kindest butler, do you really not have any guilt at all? Didn't you dream of them telling you to pay with your life one by one? "
"Speak." Seeing that the Prefect's eyes were gradually becoming more frightening, Liruo's voice started to tremble. She suddenly opened the cell door and entered, staring at the Prefect with her eyes as she spoke.
"This servant doesn't understand Madam's meaning!" The Prefect avoided looking at him with averted eyes and did not intend to admit it.
"Chen Huai, you mentioned earlier that you inadvertently heard the conversation between the young miss and the Prefect …"
"Yes, but at that time, they only said that my younger brother's death was not worth lamenting about. If it wasn't for my younger brother, they wouldn't have separated like this!"
"Madam, did you hear that? Even Chen Huai couldn't explain himself. Besides, this little one has already said that the two of us are mutual lovers, and we were separated to fulfill our wishes. Back then, we had only met once for a long time, so saying such words is understandable, no?"
The Prefect's face lit up. He hadn't thought that Chen Huai would help him at such a crucial moment. Then, he might as well go with the flow.
"That's right, it's understandable!" Li Ruo nodded, while Susu's eyes widened. 'Madam, are you planning to let the Prefect go? How can this be?'
The corner of her mouth twitched. She wanted to say something to stop him, but then she heard Liru continue, "What you told me before was that it was because Chen Nian was kind. You cherish your talents, so you endured the pain of parting with the young miss.
"It's this little one who said it!" The Prefect nodded. These words didn't sound wrong, but he had a nagging feeling that something was off. He even had a vague feeling that he had been surrounded and unable to find a reason to refute.
"You just said, they said, that if it wasn't for your brother, they wouldn't have been forced to separate, right?" Liru turned his head to look at the head of the prison.
"Yes, ma'am!" The head of the prison became very sad, and his speech was also weak. Indeed, at this moment, all he wanted to do was to help Li Rui solve this case, and he would go and accept his punishment.