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Will update once a week

Chapter 1: Prison Disaster. 




Dafeng Jingzhao Mansion, Prison.


Xu Qi'an slowly woke up and was suddenly greeted by a rancid smell permeated in the damp air. This immediately caused him some discomfort and to almost gag.


'What is this pungent stench?' Did Erha sh*t on the bed? Judging by how strong the smell is, it shouldn't be above my head, is it? I hope not.'


Xu Qi'an had a dog, a Husky named Erha.

 

For the past ten years, he spent his life in solitude. He was lonely. Naturally, being lonely for a long time, he wanted company, hence he raised a dog for comfort and entertainment... Of course, not that kind of comfort.

 

When he fully opened eyes and surveyed his surroundings, Xu Qi'an was immediately stunned. 

  

On the stone wall were three large square windows, he was currently lying on a cold tattered straw mat. The sunlight shone on his chest through the square windows, and dust particles were floating in the beam of the light.


'Where am I?' 


For a moment, Xu Qi'an was perplexed while contemplating some doubts, then he started to doubt life. 

 

'I crossed...' 


Memories suddenly came surging in his mind, giving him no chance to react at all. All the new and foreign information forcefully inserted themselves into his brain and flowing rapidly.


Xu Qi'an was in the body of Ningyan who was a constable of Changle County under the Jingzhao Mansion of Dafeng Dynasty. His monthly salary was 2 taels of silver and 1 bag of rice measured by 1 Stone.


(TL: Stone is a unit of measurement in ancient times, one stone = 120 jin or 60kg) 


His father was a veteran who died in the 'Shanhai Battle' 19 years ago. Later, his mother also died of illness... Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an was somewhat a little relieved.


Afterall, as everyone knew, people whose parents were both deceased, were strong and independent. 


"Who would've thought that even after crossing worlds, I still can't escape the fate of being a policeman." Xu Qi'an sighed.


He graduated from a police academy in his previous life, successfully entered society, and landed a secure and lucrative job.

 

However, despite the pay, Xu Qi'an only took this path because his parents chose it for him. His heart was not exactly in line with this profession.


He liked to be unfettered and free, just like a quote from one of Ji Xianlin's works.


(Tl: Ji Xianlin is a Chinese Linguistic, more below [1]) 


Hence, he resigned and ventured in the business world. 


"But why am I in jail?"


He struggled to process the memory and information he had just gotten, and soon understood his current situation.


Xu Qi'an was raised by his second uncle ever since he was a child. But because he was practicing martial arts, he had a yearly expense of more than 100 taels of silver, and his aunt was not pleased by it.


But after reaching the peak of the Refinement Stage at the age of 18, he stagnated. And under pressure from his aunt, he moved out and lived alone.


Through his uncle's connections, he managed to find a government position working as a constable. But who would have thought that...


Three days ago, Xu Pingzhi with the imperial sword guards escorted a batch of tax money to the Ministry of Revenue. But an accident happened on the way and the tax money was lost.

 

A total of 150,000 taels of silver was lost.


The government and the public were shocked, and the emperor was furious. He personally ordered for Xu Pingzhi to be beheaded five days later and his relatives to be captured. The men of the family were to be sent to the border, while the women were to be sent to the Department of Jiaofang.


As Xu Pingzhi's nephew, Xu Qi'an was dismissed from his constable post and sent to Jingzhao Mansion Prison.


Two days!


In another two days, he would be exiled to the desolate border and spend the rest of his life in the toil.


"The start is set to Hell Mode..." Xu Qi'an's back was dripping with sweat, and his heart was cold.


The world was under the rule of a feudal dynasty, human rights were non-existent. 'And where is this border?' 


From the rumours, it was said to be desolated and the climate was harsh. Most of the prisoners assigned to the border couldn’t survive more than ten years. And many more people died on the way before they could even reach the border, because of various accidents and diseases.


Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an's scalp tingled.


"System?"


Nobody replied and the prison was still silent.


"Dad... daddy system, please come out." Xu Qi'an was anxious.


Silence.


'There's no system, no system!' 


This meant that there was little he could do to change things. And two days later, he would be shackled and chained, and be sent to the border. With his physique, he should not die on the way.


But this was also not a good thing. He would just be used as a tool and be forced to do labor. He would be squeezed out of every drop of his worth before finally dying...


'This is terrible!!' 


Xu Qi'an's beautiful fantasy about crossing world's suddenly shattered like a bubble. Currently he was only filled with anxiety and fear.


"I have to find a way to save myself, I can't live as someone's dog for the rest of my life."


Xu Qi'an paced around in the small prison, like an ant on a hot pot, like a beast falling into a trap, thinking hard about countermeasures to deal with the situation.


'I am at the peak of the Refinement Stage, and I have a strong physique... However, in this world, I'll easily be taken care of with silver (hiring someone), and it is impossible to escape from prison…' 


'Rely on his clan and friends?' 


The Xu family was not a big clan, the clansmen were also scattered all over the place. Moreover, a full 150,000 taels of tax money had been lost. Who dared to intercede at this point?


According to the law of Dafeng, if a person performed a good deed to make up for their mistakes, they can be exempted from capital punishment!


So as long as the silver was recovered...


Xu Qi'an's eyes lit up. He was like someone on the verge of drowning that suddenly grabbed a rope to the surface.


He was a graduate of the Police Academy. He was equipped with a lot of theoretical knowledge, clear logic, strong reasoning ability, and had read countless cases.


So maybe, he could try to solve the case, recover the money, and make a meritorious deed to make up for the mistake.


But soon, the light in his eyes dimmed.


To solve a case, he must first look at the file and understand the details of the case. Afterwards, he would need to investigate and solve the case.


But now he was currently in prison, it would be pointless to cry to heaven and earth. It seemed that he was really going to be sent to the border two days later!


'There's no solution at all!' 


Xu Qi'an sat on the ground absent-mindedly.


Just yesterday, he was drunk at the bar but now, he suddenly woke up in prison, with the reasoning that he might have died from alcohol poisoning before crossing.


God rewarded him with the opportunity to cross worlds, and start again, but to think that he would die again so soon. 


In ancient times, being exiled was a severe sentence second only to the death penalty.


Although he was worn down by society in his previous life, at least he lived in a peaceful and prosperous time.


At this time, the sound of chains was heard at the end of the dark corridor, it should be the door opening.


Then came the sound of footsteps.


A jailer led a handsome scholar to stop in front of Xu Qi'an's cell.


The jailer glanced at the scholar, "Half a stick of incense time [2]." 


The scholar bowed to the jailer, and after watching the jailer leave, he turned and faced Xu Qi'an.


The scholar was dressed in a white robe, and his long black hair was held together by a jade hairpin. He was very handsome, with sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes and thin lips.


Relevant memories of this person soon surfaced in Xu Qi'an's mind.


Xu Xinnian. 


This was his second uncle's biological son, and Xu Qi'an's cousin. He passed the civil service exam in the autumn of this year.


Xu Xinnian calmly looked directly at him. "The soldiers who will be escorting you to the border took three hundred taels from me. This is the only money left in our family. So you can go with peace of mind. There will be no accidents on the way."


"But what about you?" Xu Qi'an asked. He remembered that the relationship between the original owner of this body and this cousin of his was not good.


On account of his bad relationship with his aunt, except for his second uncle, the rest of the Xu family didn't particularly like Xu Qi'an. At least this cousin shouldn't be too close to him.


In addition, in the memory of the original owner, this cousin was a king at bullsh*tting.


Xu Xinnian said, "I may have been removed from my official position, but I am still protected by the teachers of the Academy. I don't need the money. Just take care of yourself at the border."


Xu Xinnian studied at the prestigious Bailu Academy in the capital and was highly regarded. Therefore, after his second uncle's accident, Xu Xinnian was not sent to prison, just that he was not allowed to leave the capital, but nonetheless free.


Xu Qi'an was silent. He, however, also didn’t think that Xu Xinnian would be better than himself either. Perhaps, not only was his scholarly honor stripped, but also be entered in the book of the untouchables. His children and grandchildren would not be allowed to take the imperial examination, and would not be able to turn their fortune around. 


Furthermore, two days later, the Xu family's female family members would be sent to the Jiaofang and be humiliated.


Xu Xinnian was a scholar, so how could he still have the face to live in the Capital? Perhaps being sent to the border was actually the better choice.


Xu Qi'an was moved in his heart and leaped forward, clasping the iron bars with both hands, "Do you want to kill yourself?!"


Uncontrollable sadness surged in his heart... He didn't even know this guy.


Xu Xinnian said blankly, "What does it have to do with you."


But then after a pause, his gaze shifted slightly, down a few inches, instead of looking at his cousin, and his expression turned soft, "Live."


After that, he decisively left!


"Wait!" Xu Qi'an reached out the bars and grabbed his sleeve.


Xu Xinnian paused and looked at him silently.


"Can you get the file? The file of the lost money."


… 


TL Notes

[1] Here's a link to those interested, https://archive.org/stream/mingzhumingyi3/%5B%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E6%96%87%E5%AD%A6%E5%90%8D%E8%91%97%E4%B8%9B%E4%B9%A6%5D%20002.%20%E4%BA%94%E5%8D%B7%E4%B9%A6%5B%E5%8D%B0%E5%BA%A6%5D%E5%AD%A3%E7%BE%A1%E6%9E%97_djvu.txt

[2] Half a stick of incense is about 15 minutes back then



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