They leaned closer to Lin Xuan Qi by his side.

Clank.

One of the prisoners banged on the bars of his cell and shouted, "Let me out! I'm innocent! Get me out of here!"

The constable who was leading them to the cell of Liu Ju Zheng turned around, used the end of his saber's sheath and knocked it into the man's abdomen.

"Argh." The man fell to the ground, rolled from side to side and groaned in pain.

The brutal treatment of the prisoners by the constable made Yue Jie and Yue Xin worried for their father.

They held onto Lin Xuan Qi's arms on both sides, trying to seek comfort from him.

Yue Jie and Yue Xin didn't imagine that it would be so bad.

As young mistresses of an imperial official, they had seen the good side of the imperial court since young. Being showered with riches and love from their parents.

It was only when their father was banished to prison that they'd seen the dark side to it.

And now, they were right in the belly of the beast.

"Don't worry. Your father will be fine." Lin Xuan Qi tried to console Yue Jie and Yue Xin.

They nodded their heads and leaned closer to him.

Soon, they arrived at the cell where Liu Ju Zheng was held.

"Father!" Yue Jie and Yue Xin burst out in tears and ran towards their father.

However, they could only get as far as the bars of the prison cell.

"Why... are you... here?" Their father, Liu Ju Zheng, was sitting on the damp and cold ground.

He slowly moved his body towards them.

When he got close enough to the bars of the prison cell, light from the burning flame torch on the wall illuminated him.

Yue Jie and Yue Xin couldn't bear it when they saw how he was now.

Their always smiling father was now thin and frail.

His sunken cheeks and soulless eyes broke their hearts.

"Don't cry. You are Liu Ju Zheng's daughters." Liu Ju Zheng held his hands up trying to pat on their shoulders to console them.

They nodded their heads and tried to stop their tears.

But when they saw how thin his hands were, with only his skin covering the bones, they couldn't help it but burst out crying again.

Lin Xuan Qi stood where he was and kept silent.

It was a side of Yue Jie and Yue Xin he had never seen before.

And he felt bad for them going through all the misfortune.

He wasn't privy to the details of their father's case, it would be unwise for him to get involved unnecessarily.

The best thing he could do for now was to take care of them well.

With them in an intimate moment with their father, he decided not to intrude and glanced at the prison cell next to their father's.

Inside the cell, about ten men were cramped inside it.

What was odd to him was that these men looked calm and were sitting in lotus position with their eyes closed.

He noticed that they were burly and were tough men with scars all over their body.

"Who are these men?" Lin Xuan Qi asked the constable that led them to the cell.

The constable smirked at him and kept quiet.

Lin Xuan Qi shook his head, took out some copper coins, and passed the copper coins to the constable.

The constable's smirk turned into a smile, and he kept the copper coins into his sleeve pocket.

"These fellows are some of the robbers that were terrorizing the areas surrounding Hong Feng City.

"Heh. Too bad they were no match to us.

"I still recall the welcome parade we had when we brought them into the city chained like animals."

The constable rattled off about who they were and what had happened.

"Thanks." Lin Xuan Qi said and went into deep thoughts.

These robbers seemed to be at peace with them being caught?

It was a doubt that he couldn't shake off.

There might be something behind this.

But it wasn't any of his business, and at most he would inform Sima Ye about it.

"Master Lin." Yue Jie called out to him, taking him out of his thoughts.

He glanced over at her and saw that Liu Ju Zheng was glancing at him.

Lin Xuan Qi walked over to where Yue Jie and Yue Xin were.

"Pleased to meet you, Master Lin.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughters.

"My old friend here had told me much about it." Liu Ju Zheng said and bowed at him as deep as he could.

Lee He Song sighed and handed his wine gourd to Liu Ju Zheng.

"Let me give you a toast for treating them so well." He said and took a mouthful of wine from the wine gourd.

Lin Xuan Qi waved his hand and said, "I treat everyone fairly as long as they work hard.

"And so far, they've been exemplary."

"I'm glad that you think so." Liu Ju Zheng put down the wine gourd, wiped remnants of the wine from his mouth and gave out a satisfying sigh.

After that, his expression suddenly changed.

He glanced at Lin Xuan Qi with a solemn look, held onto Lin Xuan Qi's shoulder and said, "If you don't mind, take one of them as your wife."

"Father?!" Yue Jie and Yue Xin exclaimed with surprise.

They didn't expect their father to mention this out of nowhere.

Lin Xuan Qi was also surprised by it.

Things escalated quickly, indeed.

"I'm more focused on building up the Clan right now." He replied.

Liu Ju Zheng didn't relent and said, "As a man working hard on business, you need someone to take good care of you.

"Servant girls can't take care of you like a wife does.

"And think about your bloodline.

"What is a Clan without your own bloodline being extended?"

Lin Xuan Qi was stumped as he knew that Liu Ju Zheng made sense.

He could only give so much trust to his servants.

It would not be the same with his wife and kids.

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