The crowds in front of Shuntian Prefecture's street changed one after another.
When Fang Yuchun returned, he saw from afar that the street in front of the prefecture office was chaotic, as if something had broken out.
After painstakingly parting the crowd to get to the front, he discovered that Old Master Hao had fainted.
The Prefect was already having people carry the old master into the prefecture office for treatment.
Half an hour earlier, Old Madam Hao had fainted first, and was also carried to the prefecture office to be treated by a physician.
The Prefect had asked the doctor to stay in case of any emergencies.
"How is the old lady? Is she alright?"
Fang Yuchun took off his official hat and threw it to his attendant. He ignored the Hao family members still sitting outside and walked into the prefecture office with the Prefect, talking as they went.
The old couple of the Hao family were not in serious condition. It was just that they were old, had been stimulated, and had been waiting in the scorching sun on an empty stomach, making it inevitable for the younger ones to feel dizzy.
Fang Yuchun chatted with Old Master Hao for about the time it took to drink two cups of tea before emerging from a temporarily designated休息室.
Just as the Prefect was about to ask something, he saw Hao Ming supporting Old Master Hao, also coming out of the休息室.
The Prefect swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue, quietly observed the expressions of the grandfather and grandson. Old Master Hao, at his age, was already unfazed and impenetrable, but Hao Ming's expression was somewhat gloomy and unpleasant.
The Prefect had a rough guess.
As expected, after leaving the prefecture office, Old Master Hao withdrew with dozens of people from the Hao family.
Compared to the crowd at noon, which had significantly thinned, they watched the Hao family members supporting each other as they left amidst much discussion.
The Prefect was also a little curious, "Did Your Excellency see His Majesty today?"
Fang Yuchun shook his head, he couldn't remember the last time he had an audience with His Majesty. "I did go to Shangyi Pavilion for a cup of tea."
The two entered the office and sat down. The Prefect said, "Did Prince Yi say anything?"
Fang Yuchun picked up his teacup and blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface. "Prince Yi only said one thing, that the envoy from Lanyong will arrive in the capital in two days."
The Prefect nodded after a moment of thought.
Prince Yi had long intended to build a navy, and the Xie family of Lanyong were descendants of the Marquis of Jinghai.
Prince Yi also had close ties to Xie Jiang, so one could imagine his attitude towards the Xie family's allegiance.
If the Hao family still didn't know how to restrain themselves, after the Lanyong envoy arrived in the capital, what good outcome could the Hao family expect?
The Prefect said, "Even if the Lanyong envoy doesn't arrive in the capital so quickly, the Hao family can't continue to linger outside the prefecture office."
Fang Yuchun recalled the glance he cast at the cheering officials before entering the prefecture office. Besides the twenty to thirty brought by Hao Ming, there seemed to be a dozen more in official attire.
"There are many who sympathize with the Hao family, but none of them carry any weight."
"The Hao family was in the wrong from the start. In this situation today, no matter how unwilling they are, they have to accept it."
If Xie Jiang had made the first move, the situation would have been different.
Fang Yuchun slowly drank half a cup of tea and sighed comfortably.
The Prefect said, "Since the Lanyong envoy will arrive in the capital in two days, will the Marquis of Nanhai continue to be imprisoned?"
Fang Yuchun said, "Prince Yi's intention is to keep him imprisoned for a while."
The Prefect nodded, "That makes sense."
Even if the Hao family was at fault first, the Marquis of Nanhai had gone too far; they couldn't completely let him off the hook.
Even if His Majesty attached great importance to the Xie family's allegiance, they did not have to bow and scrape to the Xie family.
Fang Yuchun still instructed, "Just don't let the Marquis of Nanhai suffer too much."
Although Prince Yi didn't say much, his few words showed much protection towards Xie Jiang.
The Prefect understood that with ancestors like Xie Jiang, of course, they had to be honored.
Fang Yuchun suddenly remembered something, "By the way, have those young idlers been picked up by their respective families?"
The Prefect said, "No."
Fang Yuchun was very surprised, "These few families don't know their children are in Shuntian Prefecture?"
Speaking of this, the Prefect had a headache. "All six families sent people, but those young idlers insisted on staying in prison and refused to leave."
Fang Yuchun: "What's the reason?"
The Prefect: "They said that the Shuntian Prefecture prison has a good atmosphere and they want to stay for two days."
Fang Yuchun: "..."
Recalling the scene of the parents of the young idlers coming to the prefecture, the Prefect shook his head as he spoke, feeling very speechless. "We put people in prison, and the people sent by these six families were originally unhappy. They even inquired about the list of officials who were beaten, wanting to go and seek justice."
It was only with such unreasonable parents that such a group of unruly children could be raised.
They were even justified in beating people.
Fang Yuchun had seen too much of this kind of thing and was already unfazed. "Then let them be. Have the jailers keep a closer eye on them and don't cause any trouble for me."
The entire Shuntian Prefecture was in a great commotion today, and they finished their work half an hour later than usual.
Just as Fang Yuchun was preparing to return to his residence, someone came to report, "Prince Yi sent someone, saying they are here to deliver food to the Marquis of Nanhai."
Fang Yuchun asked, "Does Prince Yi have any instructions?"
The servant thought for a moment and said, "He seemed to have asked if Young Marquis Ruan and the other five were still in prison."
Fang Yuchun waved his hand, indicating he knew and to take the people to the prison to deliver the food.
Why was Prince Yi asking about those young idlers?
Fang Yuchun thought about it and decided not to go home immediately.
With his hands behind his back, he paced around the office for a while, then decided to personally go to the prison.
Xie Jiang had been in Dayu for more than half a year. Whether in the capital or in the countryside of Ninghe, when had she ever been quiet?
He was worried that the Shuntian Prefecture prison would be overturned even with Xie Jiang alone.
And then there were those young idlers.
Fang Yuchun and Wen Feng arrived at the prison almost at the same time.
Shuntian Prefecture prison had never been so lively.
After walking in for a short distance, he could hear bursts of laughter and noise.
Many imprisoned criminals were leaning in front of their cells, stretching their necks, trying to peek through the gaps in the iron-clad bars.
They all looked uniformly in one direction.
Without a doubt, that direction was the cell where Xie Jiang was held.
Fang Yuchun glanced at the jailer. Why did he hear people shouting about winning and losing? Was this a prison or a gambling den?
The jailer was confused by this glance. Didn't they say to satisfy the Marquis of Nanhai's requests as much as possible?
The young idlers were currently gathered in Xie Jiang's cell. A table had been placed in Xie Jiang's single room, with dice, cards, and everything commonly played in gambling dens.
The young idlers were shouting as they played, with all sorts of messy paper stuck to their faces. The one with the most had his entire face covered.
Even Xie Jiang had two pieces of paper stuck to her face.
Wen Feng stood at the cell door, thinking that it was fortunate his master hadn't come, otherwise, seeing the scene inside, wouldn't he have been furious?
Miss Xie seemed to be having quite a good time playing with these young idlers.
The jailer opened the iron lock.
Xie Jiang looked up when she heard the movement. Seeing Wen Feng, her eyes lit up. She threw down the cards in her hand and stood up, walking to the cell door and looking behind Wen Feng.
Wen Feng said, "Master did not come."
Miss Xie still had her master in her heart.
Xie Jiang withdrew her gaze, looked at the food box in Wen Feng's hand, and asked, "He asked you to bring me food? Why didn't he come himself?"
Wen Feng whispered, "Perhaps, to avoid suspicion."
Actually, the master was a little angry.
Wen Feng didn't quite understand why. He always felt that the master was angry that Miss Xie had gotten herself thrown into prison. It was a bit inconvenient to have a rendezvous in prison.
If it weren't for hearing later that Ruan Ziji and his group refused to leave the Shuntian Prefecture prison, they wouldn't have sent him on this trip.