The sight of the constant comings and goings of constables, and the shifty glances of his subordinates, suddenly made Huang Qianshan's vision blur, and he fainted dead away.
But what difference did it make if he fainted, given the gravity of what he had done?
"Send someone to check on him and see what's going on. Don't let him die here!"
Seeing Huang Qianshan collapse, Yang Chengchou frowned in displeasure.
"Yes!"
...
Three days later, by the time the prisoner cart arrived in Bianliang City, Huang Qianshan was no more than half alive.
For three full days, the people escorting him had deliberately chosen the roughest roads.
He wore a heavy cangue around his neck, shackles on his wrists, and thirty-pound fetters on his ankles. The constant jolting inside the prisoner cart was no different from torture for him.
Furthermore, to reach Bianliang City as quickly as possible, they spent more than eight hours on the road each day.
Chained and shackled, confined to a small prison cart, he wasn't even given a chance to stretch out at night.
As for food, there was even less to expect!
Apart from a fixed half-bowl of thin porridge every morning, he only managed to get some water at noon.
In just three days, Huang Qianshan felt his sanity on the verge of collapse.
"This guy is Huang Qianshan?"
When Du Chong saw Huang Qianshan, he could barely recognize him.
"Reporting to you, sir, this fellow was restless all the way, so we had no choice but to put him in shackles. We were in a hurry on the way back, so he ended up like this!"
Yang Chengchou bowed to Du Chong as he spoke.
Although he was just a minor judge, he had Cai Jing behind him, and thus felt no fear even in the face of Du Chong.
Moreover, from the evidence they had gathered so far.
Even if Huang Qianshan survived this, his political career was utterly ruined.
If Du Chong had any sense, he wouldn't make trouble for him over such a good-for-nothing.
"You've worked hard on the journey. Hand over your duties, and you can go back and rest. Someone, bring him in!"
Du Chong frowned, but did not pursue the matter further.
Although it was always said that Huang Qianshan was Wang Fu's man, Wang Fu had not even sent anyone to speak on his behalf until now. He was happy to play ignorant.
"Thank you for your understanding, sir!"
Hearing Du Chong's words, Yang Chengchou immediately bowed to Du Chong again and turned towards his office.
Seeing him leave, the remaining constables, all excited, began to hand over their duties.
"Boss, what about delivering the letter?"
After handing over the matters in the yamen, several constables looked towards Wang Tiezhuan beside them.
"Don't worry, you know my character. We'll share the money together. Wait here for a moment, I'll go get the reward money, and then we can have a good drink later!"
"Then we won't be polite!"
Hearing his words, the remaining constables cheered up.
"When have you ever been polite?"
After glaring at them humorlessly, Wang Tiezhuan strode towards the Grand Princess's mansion.
"Tiezhu!"
However, not long after Wang Tiezhuan left, he suddenly heard someone calling his name from the roadside.
"Who is calling me?"
After looking around, Wang Tiezhuan still couldn't find who was calling him.
Although many people knew his name, he was in charge of over a dozen brothers. If it were an ordinary person daring to call his name, wouldn't that be asking for a beating?
"What? Have you forgotten me just a few days after I left?"
As he looked around, someone suddenly reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Lord Zhang, how could it be you? Why are you here?"
Upon seeing the man's face clearly, Wang Tiezhuan's anger vanished in an instant. It was replaced by a fawning expression.
But it was not his fault. The man standing in front of him was none other than the former Kaifeng Prefecture Judge, Zhang Shaoyou!
"What? Can I not come here?"
Zhang Shaoyou smiled and asked casually.
"I deserve to die, I deserve to die. Of course you can come here. Where in Bianliang City can you not go? Your status is different now!"
They all knew about Zhang Shaoyou's promotion.
He was now a minister in the Ministry of Revenue, and if luck was good, he might even become a Vice Minister of one of the six ministries in a few years!
"Alright, enough of the nonsense. I'm just passing by today. It's boring to drink alone here. From your appearance, you don't seem to have anything else to do, do you? If you're not busy, how about accompanying me for a couple of drinks?"
"What could I possibly be busy with? You've already invited me, I'd be delighted!"
Zhang Shaoyou personally invited him for a drink, and Wang Tiezhuan was somewhat flattered.
Although he had interacted with Zhang Shaoyou before, their relationship was not particularly good or bad; it was just a normal superior-subordinate relationship.
After all, they were just low-level constables, while Zhang Shaoyou was a bona fide imperial official.
It was already good enough to be recognized by him, let alone to sit at the same table and drink with him.
"Waiter, bring another set of bowls and chopsticks!"
As Zhang Shaoyou spoke, he pulled Wang Tiezhuan and sat him down at a small wine shop nearby.
Although the place was not much, the food tasted quite good.
A pot of stewed fatty sheep meat was fragrant. Just smelling it made Wang Tiezhuan's mouth water.
Bianliang was expensive, and even constables like them hadn't seen meat for a long time.
"Alright, pick up your chopsticks. Don't be shy! I've been attending banquets with Vice Minister Fan every day recently, and I'm already getting a bit nauseous at the smell of mutton. If it weren't for the difficulty of getting beef, a pot of stewed beef would be truly supreme deliciousness!"
Zhang Shaoyou poured himself a cup of wine as he spoke.
Hearing him say this, Wang Tiezhuan's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
This was blatant showing off!
People all over the streets were worried about having enough to eat, yet this guy was getting nauseous at the smell of mutton...
"Of course, you are a minister in the Ministry of Revenue, and a favorite of Vice Minister Fan. If the Vice Minister gets promoted to Minister someday, won't you be the next Vice Minister?"
As the saying goes, speak appropriately to the person you are speaking to. For Wang Tiezhuan, this was as easy as breathing.