On the day Regent Zhao Zheng arrived at the Divine Prison, the entire Divine Prison Bureau was on high alert.
With the position of Grand Commander vacant, the two Deputy Commanders led the guards from each level to line up and greet him.
Zhao Zheng didn't stand on ceremony. He only brought a few trusted guards with him and walked from the first floor to the eighth floor, his gaze sweeping over every cell and every array pattern.
He walked slowly and asked very detailed questions. He asked which prisoners were brought in when, which prisoners were executed at what time, and which prisoners' files had discrepancies.
The people from the Divine Prison Bureau answered each question flawlessly. But Zhao Zheng's premonition grew stronger and stronger.
He felt that something was hidden in this Divine Prison.
It was something I couldn't quite put my finger on, like walking into a seemingly empty room, but deep inside, a pair of eyes were watching me from the shadows.
He did not continue walking.
He told everyone to wait outside the secret room, and then went in alone.
The secret room was small, containing a stone table, two stone chairs, and meditation array patterns carved on the four walls.
He sat on the stone chair, closed his eyes, and went through all the clues he had found in the past few days in his mind.
Tens of thousands of prisoners were released without a trace of corruption.
The person who released the people did not seek wealth or power; he simply released those who had cried out for justice.
Who was it? How long had they been lurking in the Divine Prison? Why hadn't they been discovered yet? He couldn't understand.
"No need to check anymore."
A hoarse, aged voice came from behind him. Zhao Zheng suddenly opened his eyes and stood up abruptly. In the shadows of the corner of the secret room, there was someone else who had appeared at some point.
The man was old and frail, with a hunched back, gray hair, deep wrinkles, and wore a faded old robe with a bunch of brass keys hanging from his waist.
An old prison guard!
Zhao Zheng recognized the face.
When he entered the Divine Prison, he saw this old jailer in the crowd; he was standing at the very back of the line, head down, completely inconspicuous.
The old jailer stood before him, his cloudy old eyes showing no fear.
He spoke, his voice flat. "Those prisoners, I was the one who let them escape."
Zhao Zheng's pupils contracted sharply. He opened his mouth, wanting to question, wanting to draw his sword, wanting to call in the guards outside.
But before he could do anything, the old jailer made his move.
Or rather, the old jailer didn't move.
He simply straightened his back, the wrinkles on his face receded like the tide, his gray hair turned black inch by inch from root to tip, his hunched back straightened, and his thin limbs stretched out.
In the blink of an eye, an old jailer transformed into a handsome young man with fair skin.
Zhao Zheng stood frozen in place, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
Then, the oppressive force descended.
It was a sense of oppression he had never experienced before.
The aura of the Eleventh Realm Martial Law Master Realm was released in just a trace, yet it froze the air in the entire secret room.
Zhao Zheng's knees buckled involuntarily, his entire body pressed down by that force, kneeling heavily on the cold stone ground. He looked up at the handsome young man in front of him, his heart pounding, his mind blank.
The Eleventh Realm Eleventh Realm! The mysterious Eleventh Realm expert he had been searching for all over the world was now standing right in front of him.
He had been disguising himself as an old prison guard, hiding in the lowest level of this Divine Prison, sweeping the floor for decades.
Zhao Zheng knelt on the ground, trembling all over.
He suddenly remembered the files submitted by the secret agents, and the prisoners who had been released—all of them were innocent.
He had initially thought the person who released the man was a corrupt official, but the man before him was actually at the Eleventh Realm.
An unparalleled expert at the Eleventh Realm released tens of thousands of prisoners who had cried out for justice.
What was he after? He wasn't after anything. He just did what he wanted to do.
Chen Du looked down at the Regent kneeling on the ground, his expression calm.
He spoke, his voice no longer aged. "You're right. I did it, but are you going to arrest me?"
Zhao Zheng opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Grasp?
What can he use to catch it?
An Eleventh Realm.
He knelt on the ground, his back soaked with cold sweat.
Inside the secret room, the candlelight flickered.
Regent Zhao Zheng knelt on the ground, looking up at the handsome young man before him.
He opened his mouth, finally finding his voice, and asked hoarsely, "Why... why did you let those people go?"
Chen Du looked down at him. "Do you know why I let those people go?"
Zhao Zheng paused for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "I know those people are innocent, but having a righteous heart doesn't necessarily mean doing the right thing. They might even do things worse than the bad guys. For the sake of the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty, I must bring them all back to the Divine Prison!"
His voice trembled as he said this, but there was an unyielding stubbornness in his tone.
He knew what he was talking about.
He knew that the person in front of him was letting go of innocent people.
But he did not regret his decision. The rules of the Divine Prison could not be broken, and the laws of the Celestial Empire could not be violated.
He is the regent; he needs to stabilize the realm.
Chen Du frowned; he could tell that Zhao Zheng was telling the truth.
This person knows what they are doing, and also knows that what they are doing will be criticized as heartless.
But he didn't care; all he wanted was for the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty to remain standing.
Chen Du was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Your current situation is extremely dangerous."
Zhao Zheng was taken aback.
Chen Du continued, "If you don't usurp the throne, your fate will be quite tragic. The young emperor has grown up now. He has sat on the dragon throne for so many years, watching you sit above him for so many years. Do you think he will treat you after he takes power?"
How could a grown emperor tolerate a regent uncle continuing to oppress him?
Zhao Zheng's expression changed.
He lowered his head, remained silent for a long while, then raised his head, his gaze resolute, and said, word by word, "My heart is entirely devoted to the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty, and I have no other intentions. If the Emperor does not tolerate me, I will also disappear from the world."
Chen Du stared at him for a long time.
Then he nodded and said softly, "Very good."
Zhao Zheng was stunned. He had originally thought that this senior at the Eleventh Realm would continue to persuade him or mock his blind loyalty.
But the other party only said two words... "Very good."
He suddenly realized that the young man in front of him was far more unfathomable than he had imagined.
Chen Du said no more.
He turned around and walked towards the door of the secret room, but after taking two steps, he stopped.
"When your entire family is executed in the future, your direct descendants may come to the Divine Prison to find me."
Zhao Zheng was startled. He suddenly raised his head, his lips trembling, as if he wanted to say something, but Chen Du had already pushed the door open and left.
The room fell silent again, with only the soft crackling of the candlelight.
Zhao Zheng knelt on the ground and it took him a while to come to his senses.
He suddenly smiled; it was the smile of someone who had survived a catastrophe, the smile of someone who had been saved from a desperate situation.
He kowtowed deeply, his forehead striking the stone ground, and he kowtowed three times. When he raised his head, blood was already seeping from his temple.
But he was completely oblivious; he just kept repeating, "Thank you, senior. Thank you, senior."
An Eleventh Realm. A living, breathing Eleventh Realm, personally told him that if his family were ever wiped out, his direct descendants could come to the Divine Prison to find him.
This statement carries more weight than any get-out-of-jail-free card.
Although Zhao Zheng compared himself to the Duke of Zhou and was devoted to the country, he was not stupid.
He knew his current situation better than anyone else. The young emperor was growing up day by day, and the old officials in the court who had been suppressed by him were secretly accumulating power every day.
Today he is the regent, but what about tomorrow? And the day after?
Once the young emperor assumes power, the first person he'll eliminate is his "uncle."
At that point, executing the entire family would be the least of their worries.
But if he could preserve a trace of his bloodline and send it to this Divine Prison, to be protected by this senior of the Eleventh Realm... Zhao Zheng dared not think any further.
He kowtowed deeply again, his forehead striking the stone ground with a dull thud.
Chen Du looked at him but didn't say anything more.
He hunched over again, his gray hair turning white inch by inch from the ends, and his handsome face was once again covered with wrinkles.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed back into that old, decrepit, and unremarkable jailer.
He turned and walked towards the door of the secret chamber, took two steps, then stopped and said without turning back, "Get up. Don't let anyone see you kneeling."
Then he pushed open the door and went out, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
Zhao Zheng remained kneeling on the spot for quite some time before finally managing to stand up by supporting himself on the stone table.
His knees were still trembling, and the cold sweat on his back hadn't dried completely.
He took several deep breaths before he could finally calm himself down.
He straightened his robes, wiped the sweat from his brow, and pushed open the door to leave the secret room.
Outside the door, the guards and members of the Divine Prison Bureau were still waiting. Seeing him emerge, the guards approached. "Your Highness, have you discovered anything?"
Zhao Zheng paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No, let's go back."
The guards exchanged bewildered glances, not daring to ask any further questions, and could only obey the order.
The day Zhao Zheng left the Divine Prison, the sky was overcast. He sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and glanced back at the silent prison.
The Divine Prison still stands in the same place, its gray-black stone walls and heavy stone gates resembling an ancient, unchanging behemoth.
But he knew that an Eleventh Realm was hidden inside.
An Eleventh Realm disguised as an old prison guard, an Eleventh Realm that released tens of thousands of wrongfully convicted prisoners.
He lowered the carriage curtain, leaned against the carriage wall, and closed his eyes.
His original purpose for this trip was to root out the "bad apples" within the group.
But now, there's nothing he can do.
He was immobilized, being at the Eleventh Realm.
Those people from the Divine Prison Bureau are even less likely to be touched.
He could only pretend he knew nothing, pretend the case had stalled.
But he knew in his heart that he remembered what that senior in the Divine Prison had said.
If the entire family is wiped out in the future, the direct descendants may come to the Divine Prison.
He didn't know if that day would ever come for him.
But with those words, he at least had a way out.
The carriage rumbled away into the distance, and the outline of the Divine Prison gradually blurred in the twilight.
In that secluded stone house on the first level of the Divine Prison,
Chen Du sat in a rattan chair, holding the pipe left by Old Zhou in his hand, with his eyes closed.
He just made a promise to the Regent, and it wasn't just a casual remark.
He spent over a hundred years in this Divine Prison, witnessing countless loyal and virtuous people suffering injustice while treacherous officials went unpunished.
Although Regent Zhao Zheng was ruthless, everything he did was indeed for the sake of the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty.
But the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty could not tolerate him.
Before long, the young emperor will assume personal rule, and at that time, Zhao Zheng's fate will not be much better than Wei Changgeng's.
He had prepared a way out for Zhao Zheng in advance.
For no other reason than the same resentment and fear in that man's eyes when he knelt on the ground that he had shown to the wronged prisoners he had released.
He slowly exhaled and put the pipe back in the corner.
The sky outside is still changing.