Wu Zhen moved his slightly numb hands and feet, then looked at Huang Shaojie in astonishment and asked:
"Battalion Commander Huang, this is..."
Huang Shaojie stepped forward and flicked his finger to release the acupoints restraining Wu Zhen. With a faint smile, he said, "Wu Zhen, you have been acquitted and released."
"Acquitted and released?"
Wu Zhen's mouth fell open. He thought he had misheard, and stared at Huang Shaojie with disbelief written all over his face.
A Banner Officer beside them said, "Wu Zhen, why haven't you thanked Battalion Commander Huang? If Battalion Commander Huang hadn't uncovered Cao Renqi's collusion with the Japanese pirates and cleared your name, even ten heads wouldn't have been enough for the chopping block."
Huang Shaojie's investigation into Cao Renqi's collusion with the Japanese pirates was something everyone in the Imperial Guard office knew about.
Naturally, this Banner Officer also wanted to curry favor with Huang Shaojie, a Battalion Commander with a boundless future. A little flattery would not hurt.
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhen grabbed Huang Shaojie's arm, his eyes wide. "That bastard Cao colluded with the Japanese pirates? Battalion Commander Huang, is that true?"
Wu Zhen had hated Cao Renqi deeply, but he had never imagined that Cao Renqi had actually colluded with the Japanese pirates. Hearing the Banner Officer say it now, he was both shocked and furious!
Huang Shaojie nodded. "That's right. In order to uncover the truth behind the injustice you suffered back then, I secretly followed Cao Renqi. I never expected to discover that he had been secretly associating with the Japanese pirates. I reported it to the Thousand-Household Commander, and he has already been arrested and thrown into the Imperial Prison."
"I begged the Thousand-Household Commander to show you leniency. He said that since you were wrongly