Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world

#31 - We want to live

Upon hearing this, Zhang You's eyes immediately widened:

"What?!"

The thing he had been constantly trying to prevent had finally happened.

Hearing the approaching shouts of battle, Qiu Zhuo also panicked instantly.

He hurriedly yelled:

"Check the rooftops!"

The yamen runner hurriedly brought a ladder.

Qiu Zhuo and Zhang You climbed onto the roof using the ladder.

Looking out, they saw a dense crowd of people outside the county yamen.

Countless people were gathering towards the county yamen from all directions.

The streets should have been under curfew enforced by the city defense army.

But at this moment, those patrolling city defense soldiers were already surrounded by the common people, like a lone boat in the vast ocean, ready to sink at any moment.

Qiu Zhuo took one look and turned ashen with fright:

"How can there be so many people?"

Zhang You helplessly replied:

"They are the people from the county's villages and towns, all flocking to the city."

"Even many people from other counties have entered the city."

Hearing this, Qiu Zhuo's face was filled with anger:

"Why didn't you seal the city gates earlier?"

"Letting so many people into the city, what were you doing?"

Zhang You really had untold suffering.

Taiyang City had been sealed for so long, opening the city gates was necessary to avoid trouble.

Originally, opening the city gates was meant to appease the people, and it started off smoothly.

The cries of those people were earth-shattering:

"We want to live!!!"

…

Such sounds shook the mind and soul, as if even the tiles on the roof were trembling.

Outside the yamen, the people had already begun to charge the city defense army's line.

The usually imposing city defense soldiers were also panicking at this moment.

Their line of defense did not look strong; on the contrary, it was shaky and about to be destroyed at any moment.

The entire yamen was already surrounded by the people, leaving no way to escape.

Seeing this scene, Qiu Zhuo's mind was thrown into chaos, and he accidentally stepped into empty air and fell from the roof.

"Lord!"

Zhang You hurriedly tried to pull him back but grabbed only air.

Fortunately, the yamen runners guarding below acted quickly and caught Qiu Zhuo in time.

When Zhang You came down from the roof to Qiu Zhuo's side, he saw that Qiu Zhuo's lips were trembling:

"It's over…"

"Inciting a popular uprising, I'm finished…"

With so many people participating, it was clear that this matter could not be easily suppressed.

Tonight, blood would probably flow like a river.

Qiu Zhuo knew that if this matter was not handled well, losing his official position was a small matter; losing his life would be a big deal.

His life was now at risk, either in the hands of the people or in the hands of the imperial court.

Zhang You hurriedly advised:

"Your Honor, we still have one last option!"

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of the prison.

Qiu Zhuo instantly woke up as if from a dream and shouted at Zhang You:

"Yes, yes, yes! We can't wait until tomorrow!"

"We'll go to the prison now to see that evil man!"

Immediately, Qiu Zhuo led the crowd and quickly walked towards the prison.

The prison.

The lighting in the yamen prison was already dim.

Especially after nightfall, relying only on braziers for illumination, it seemed dark and unclear everywhere.

When Qiu Zhuo and the others arrived, they saw a scene that greatly shocked them.

The jailers were all kneeling in front of a prison cell, listening to the person inside lecturing on scriptures.

Even many prisoners in the other cells were also kneeling piously and listening.

As Qiu Zhuo and his party approached, the jailers were startled and stood up one after another:

"Your Honor…"

The jailers looked terrified, fearing punishment from Qiu Zhuo.

Qiu Zhuo quickly walked forward and came to the front of the prison cell where the jailers were kneeling.

He saw that the prison cell had been cleaned up by the jailers to be exceptionally clean, and the jailers had even added a lot of furniture to the prison cell.

Not only were there tables and chairs, but there was also a comfortable bed.

As for daily necessities, nothing was lacking, and there was no shortage of fish, meat, good tea, and good wine.

This could not help but make people wonder whether the prisoner living in this prison cell was here to serve his sentence or to enjoy himself.

The jailers lowered their heads even further, not daring to breathe loudly.

But Qiu Zhuo was obviously temporarily unable to care about these things.

His gaze quickly turned to the prisoner in the prison cell.

He saw a young man sitting cross-legged on a futon, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was taking a nap.

Behind the young man, a mighty man stood tall, like a Dharma Protector.

Qiu Zhuo could easily guess that these two people were the Great Virtuous Teacher and the martial artist Miao Yuanzheng.

Just as Qiu Zhuo was about to speak.

Liang Jin in the prison cell suddenly opened his eyes:

"Prefect, you've come."

Qiu Zhuo was slightly stunned.

From the so-called "evil man" in front of him, he saw a strong sense of self-confidence.

It was as if from the beginning, this evil man had expected that he would take the initiative to come to him.

Even… this evil man seemed to have already anticipated the current situation in Taiyang County.

Qiu Zhuo calmed himself and took a deep breath:

"Everyone, get out. This official wants to talk to the Great Virtuous Teacher alone."

These words stunned everyone.

For the dignified prefect to have a private conversation with a prisoner, there was no way to guarantee safety.

Zhang You hurriedly opened his mouth:

"Your Honor—"

But Qiu Zhuo had already raised his hand, stopping Zhang You's words.

Zhang You could only wave his hand, ordering all the jailers and yamen runners to leave.

Liang Jin also instructed Miao Yuanzheng beside him:

"You go out too."

Miao Yuanzheng nodded and then came to the door of the prison cell.

He grabbed the iron chains that fastened the prison cell fence with both hands and then exerted force.

Along with a burst of harsh sound.

The sturdy iron chains were actually pulled out of shape by him, and in the end, they even snapped directly!

This scene made everyone on Qiu Zhuo's side gasp.

They then realized that this Miao Yuanzheng was probably not only the eighth-rank martial artist they had expected; his strength might be even higher!

At the same time, they also understood that this evil man came to sit in prison not because he was coerced by the yamen but because he came willingly.

If he wanted to leave, he could leave at any time.

But he had been staying here all along, just for this moment.

Miao Yuanzheng's move also suppressed the momentum of the yamen and others.

Zhang You could not help but secretly worry that this would lead the prefect to be at a disadvantage in the following negotiations.

But as things stood, Zhang You could only follow the others and leave together.

Even the prisoners in the other prison cells were all escorted away.

The conversation here next was destined not to be known to outsiders.

The entire prison cell quickly quieted down, leaving only Liang Jin and Qiu Zhuo.

Liang Jin reached out his hand and pointed to the futon in front of him:

"Prefect, please."

Qiu Zhuo stepped forward and sat down on the futon.

But when he looked up, he realized that he had now entered the prison cell as well.