"I don't know," Mu Anxiao said.
The female jailer let out a weak "oh" and said, "If it's true, there's nothing I can do."
"I knew you'd say that," Mu Anxiao stated calmly.
"I thought you wouldn't talk to me after I treated you like that earlier," the female jailer said in a low voice.
"Actually, I really didn't want to talk to you, but you asked me a very valuable question, so I thought I'd answer it, and also," Mu Anxiao's lips curved into a smile as she spread her hands, "earn a little."
"Eh?" The female jailer chuckled dryly, lowering her head and staring at Mu Anxiao's palm, asking, "What do you mean by that? I'm too dull to quite understand?"
"You asked me two questions," Mu Anxiao held up two fingers.
"Two?" The female jailer stared at Mu Anxiao's fingers and chuckled dryly, "It all adds up to one, though."
"Two. The first, the yellow talisman, and the second, where that woman stole the yellow talisman from," Mu Anxiao said indifferently.
"How can you be like this?" the female jailer pouted.
"This is how I am," Mu Anxiao said, reaching out and grabbing the female jailer's arm, "No payment, no leaving."
"You..."
As the female jailer uttered just one word, Mu Anxiao deliberately called out, "Friend."
Upon hearing this, the female jailer quickly grinned, "I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you, but I don't have money on me. Can I go home and get it for you later?"
"One question, two liang; two questions, four liang in total," Mu Anxiao stated.
The female jailer glanced around cautiously and resigned herself, "Fine, I understand."
"Do you really have it?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"Of course," the female jailer replied with a wry smile.
Mu Anxiao couldn't help but smile, "Good. Next, I'll ask you questions. As long as you answer them properly, I won't take this four liang of silver."
"Please speak," the female jailer's eyes lit up.
"You work in the prison, do you really earn silver like this?" Mu Anxiao inquired.
"Not exactly. It's just that sometimes daughters from wealthy and influential families are brought in, and their families give us some money to take good care of them. So, over time, we all save up," the female jailer answered truthfully.
"Is that so? Then why were those young ladies arrested?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"Actually, it's not really being arrested. It's just that for a period of time, three bullies in that village died. The higher-ups wanted to find the woman who killed the bullies, so they deliberately arrested those young ladies to lure that woman out," the female jailer said.
"The bullies died, isn't that a good thing?" Mu Anxiao frowned. "Why would they arrest her?"
"Those three bullies were wicked and did all sorts of evil. Everyone here was terrified of them, even the constables were scared. They were never caught until recently, when that woman killed all three of them at once, so..."
"So, you wanted to arrest her," Mu Anxiao interrupted.
"The higher-ups wanted to recruit her, but she never showed up. So, they had no choice but to use... the method of arresting her to draw her out. But it didn't work. One day, our female warden came up with an idea, saying they could use the method of arresting female criminals to draw that woman out. So, they arrested those young ladies, and in the end," the female jailer smiled, "it really worked."
"She was drawn out?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"Yes, but we never saw her. Then all those young ladies were sent back, and the matter was resolved quietly," the female jailer said calmly.
"Resolved? Nothing happened?" Mu Anxiao felt quite disappointed after hearing this.
"Well, nothing happened, but the female warden did profit a lot from it. It's said that the woman even gave the female warden a large sum of silver," the female jailer said.
"What village was that?" Mu Anxiao asked.
The female jailer thought for a moment and said, "A very remote village. The people there are very barbaric, and they are very close to the people from the cultivation sects."
"Close to the people from the cultivation sects." Mu Anxiao muttered, lowering her eyes, "Then they're truly not good people."
The female jailer hadn't heard Mu Anxiao clearly and asked, "Can I go now?"
"Go ahead," Mu Anxiao waved her hand.
The female jailer puffed out her cheeks, stood up, and turned to leave the prison cell.
Mu Anxiao sighed and leaned against the wall, saying, "Three bullies, the suppressed news, and the woman..." As she spoke, she suddenly remembered what Tian Jiang had said not long ago, "Let me put it this way, those three people also had murder cases on their hands. I was merely eliminating harm for the people, and the constables had already let me off. Isn't it a bit ridiculous for you to come here and convict me without reason, Mu Anxiao?"
Thinking of Tian Jiang's words and combining them with what the female jailer had just said, she exclaimed in surprise, "That woman, could it be Tian Jiang?"
At the same time, the female warden arrived outside the cell door.
Mu Anxiao looked up at the female warden and said, "You heard."
The female warden opened the cell door and walked up to Mu Anxiao, saying, "I knew that proprietress looked so familiar. So it was her all along."
"You've seen her?" Mu Anxiao stood up and met the female warden's eyes.
The female warden nodded, "I saw her once, and then she gave me hush money." She paused, then continued, "No wonder I felt that inn was so familiar. So that's where it was."
Mu Anxiao didn't want to say too much about it, so she asked, "Why did you come?"
"What did that girl tell you?" the female warden asked.
"She didn't say anything. Did you come just to ask me that?" Mu Anxiao retorted.
"Not really. I just wanted to ask what you'd like to eat tonight. I'll have my people make it for you," the female warden said with a good attitude.
"Whatever. I'd like some porridge."
"Alright. How about some pickles with it?"
"It's best if there's steamed bun, but I'll only eat one," Mu Anxiao said.
"Alright, I understand," the female warden agreed and turned to leave the cell.
Half an hour later, the female warden entered the cell with a food container and came to Mu Anxiao's side, saying, "Wake up."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao opened her eyes and asked, "The meal is here so soon?" As she said this, she sat up.
The female warden smiled, bent down, and placed the food container, saying, "Try it and see if it suits your taste. If not, there's nothing I can do." As she spoke, she opened the lid.
Mu Anxiao looked down at the food in the container and smiled, "Not bad, it suits my taste quite well."
"That's good," the female warden smiled.
Then, Mu Anxiao's expression suddenly turned cold and she said, "Alright, give me a silver needle."
"What for?" the female warden asked, confused.
"What else could it be for? To test for poison. What if you've drugged me?" Mu Anxiao extended her hand.
"I don't have a silver needle," the female warden shook her head.
"Quickly, I know you have one," Mu Anxiao insisted.
"I really don't," the female warden said with a playful grin.