Seeking Refuge in the Heavenly Prison

The common people are blind and foolish.

They will cheer when the rebels are beheaded, only wanting to see blood spurt several feet, wondering if they can dip steamed buns in it to eat.

Yet, the common people are also wise.

Thousands upon thousands of people simultaneously look towards the imperial palace, a silent, wordless, grand will that constantly pushes history forward.

Only now did Zhou Yi understand what it meant to be condemned by a thousand, dying without illness.

He wiped his mouth and called out.

"Boss lady, check, please."

"Yi-ge, today's meal is on the house."

The boss lady recovered from the tolling of the bell, pinching her face hard to keep from laughing.

"Alright."

Zhou Yi didn't bother with a show of refusing money, martial arts body tempering was a bottomless pit.

The martial arts school charged tuition, ten taels of silver wasn't expensive. After teaching the techniques, they would tell you that body tempering required nourishing medicinal soups, otherwise, you would ruin your body or even die.

The soup recipe was a secret of the martial arts school, only the master knew it, and he would sell you the brewed medicine.

"This routine, it looks just like a free online game; don't even think about getting stronger without continuous top-ups!"

Zhou Yi clicked his tongue in wonder, whether in the past or the future, the merchants' routines never changed.

From tempering the skin and membranes to polishing the tendons and bones, he had already spent five or six hundred taels of silver. Later, there would be the even more difficult refining of the internal organs and marrow washing, and the nourishing medicinal soups would become even more precious, estimated to cost several thousand taels of silver.

Ordinary martial artists reach the second-rate realm and begin to venture into the martial world.

Amidst the flashing swords and shadows, there isn't so much soaring ambition; most of it is for earning silver.

Zhou Yi didn't need to take that risk. The Heavenly Prison was full of corrupt officials and bureaucrats, and skimming off a little bit was enough for martial arts body tempering.

He walked along the street.

The common people seemed to be under a silence spell, their eyes constantly glancing towards the imperial palace, looking like they wanted to speak, but not daring to discuss it.

They communicated with each other through eye contact, basically cursing the dog emperor for finally dying and such.

Heavenly Prison.

Lei Siyue had already changed into mourning clothes and was directing the prison guards to set up a white banner.

When the emperor dies, the whole country mourns.

After the eighteen-foot white banner was set up, Lei Siyue summoned all the prison guards.

"The palace has issued an order that, from now on, the Heavenly Prison is closed inside and out, and no one is allowed to enter or leave. That includes me! We'll eat and drink in the prison!"

Lei Siyue looked at Zhou Yi: "Little Yi, go check the kitchen's rice and flour. If there's not enough, go buy some quickly."

During the emperor's funeral period, banquets and drinking are prohibited, so they can only eat rice and white flour.

Although Lei Siyue was old, his memory was getting better and better. Clearly, he planned to stay in this position until he died. Rumor has it that someone offered him a seventh-rank official position in the Ministry of Justice, but he refused to trade.

Zhou Yi accepted the order: "Yes, sir!"

Zhang Zhou reminded him: "Remember to prepare a few more jars of cooking wine. If you put less in the stir-fry, it won't taste good."

Haha!

The prison guards burst into laughter. Other people put cooking wine in their stir-fry, but Zhang Zhou drank cooking wine with his meals.

"I understand."

Zhou Yi had been working in the Heavenly Prison for ten years and was already familiar with everyone. He often went to brothels to listen to music with them, and he was no longer reserved when speaking and doing things.

There were few formal officials in the Heavenly Prison, and many of the prison guards were of low status, with their jobs passed down for generations.

No one needed to look down on anyone else, and because the benefits were so abundant, it was difficult to have bad relationships with colleagues.

Kitchen.

Chef Liu was already in the kitchen, directing his son and apprentice to make a big pot of rice.

Zhou Yi asked in surprise: "Why are you here? Hurry up and leave, or the Heavenly Prison will be locked down."

"I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving. I'll stay in the Heavenly Prison for a while."

Chef Liu wiped the sweat from his face and said in a low voice: "Our boss said that Shenjing is going to be in trouble, so he closed Dǐngxiāng Restaurant. The manager and the waiters wanted to leave the city gate, but they were stopped."

"I was thinking, where could be safer than the Heavenly Prison, so I brought Shunzi here to take refuge!"

"Brilliant!"

Zhou Yi gave him a thumbs up. He checked the rice jars, flour jars, and wine jars, which were enough for everyone in the Heavenly Prison to eat for a month. He chatted with Chef Liu for a while and then carried a bucket to deliver food.

He wouldn't trade this food delivery job for a dispatch position.

Dispatchers often escorted prisoners into exile, traveling thousands of miles back and forth. The outside world was in turmoil, so staying in the Heavenly Prison was much safer.

Of course, escorting prisoners was a good job, and the prison guards were all scrambling to do it.

The round trip for carriages, horses, and inns, with good wine and good food, would easily net him hundreds of taels of silver!

Cell B-3.

Zhou Yi ladled out thin porridge, ready to leave.

An old prisoner gripped the bars, his hair disheveled, his face grimy, and his body emaciated. He pleaded, "Young sir, I think I heard the bell. How many tolls was it?"

"Nine."

Zhou Yi replied expressionlessly. This prisoner was a chief clerk from the Ministry of Works, who had embezzled funds for repairing riverbanks.

The dam's surface was plastered with stones and sand, while the interior was filled with straw and reeds.

During a heavy rain last summer, before the water level even approached the warning line, the dam collapsed, ultimately causing the deaths and disappearances of tens of thousands of people.

"Your Majesty!"

The prisoner was stunned for a moment, then wailed and wept, kowtowing towards the imperial palace.

Zhou Yi shrugged and continued delivering meals. The prisoners in Cell B were all skilled actors, making it difficult to discern whether their cries were of heartbreaking grief or joyous excitement.

According to custom, the new emperor of Fengyang Kingdom would ascend the throne and grant a general amnesty to show his benevolence.

The prisoners in Cell A were much more straightforward, laughing and cheering, practically shouting that the emperor's death was a good thing.

"Young sir, when will the new emperor ascend the throne?"

"Now that we're about to get out, can't we have a decent meal?"

"Hahaha, old Zhao here only has three months until his execution! Long live the Emperor!"

Zhou Yi ignored the prisoners' shouts, having developed a habit of not listening or looking during his ten years of delivering meals.

The ladle circled lightly in the bucket, the few grains of rice and vegetable leaves inside completely under Zhou Yi's control.

Practice makes perfect!

For certain prisoners he disliked, he would give them only three to five grains of rice per meal, starving them into skin and bones after a period of time.

Night fell.

The Heavenly Prison was brightly lit, with the sounds of dice games constantly echoing.

The outer gate was guarded by thousands of imperial guards, while the inner gate was tightly closed and locked, like a small, isolated world.

The national mourning period prohibited alcohol, but that meant nothing to the jailers.

Initially, Niu Xiaowei tried to dissuade them, telling them not to be too outrageous, but after losing three consecutive hands, he threw the national laws to the back of his mind.

"Don't need a nine! Don't need a nine..."

The warden, Chang Ning, puffed out his cheeks and slowly revealed his dominoes, then burst into laughter, gathering all the money on the table and gulping down a bowl of wine.

The jailers at the table cursed and grumbled, while the onlookers praised Chang Ning's skill and luck.

"Uncle Chang is having good fortune!"

Zhou Yi praised, subtly adding, "We have so many prisoners locked up here, and Cell A has quite a few dangerous ones. During this time of dynastic change, we need to be careful."

Chang Ning was completely focused on the game and said carelessly, "Three thousand imperial guards have surrounded the Heavenly Prison, making it impenetrable. Even the top experts couldn't break in."

Niu Xiaowei, who was losing, frowned slightly and said, "Little Yi has a point. We can't be careless about this. If something really goes wrong, it'll be a capital offense!"

Zhou Yi seized the opportunity and said, "Don't we have a watchtower? I'll go up and keep watch, so we can be notified if anyone comes."

"Go, go, go. The tower key is in the cabinet. Go get it yourself."

Niu Xiaowei didn't suspect anything, and while picking up his dominoes, he said with concern, "It's freezing cold. The wind is strong up on the watchtower. Remember to take a few extra blankets!"