35 The One Without A Voice

The District Court stood in the center of the city. It was a small building, guarded by only two officers out front. Chinua was surprised by the courthouse's small size, but despite being modest, the building seemed well cared for.

Chinua, Khenbish, Zhi, the badly beaten man, and the three others were brought into the court through the front door and led directly to small cells at the back. Chinua was surprised by the cells' simple construction. Each cell was a basic structure with three walls and a roof, open at the front and enclosed by metal poles rising from the ground. They looked more like stables than actual cells.

There were three cell blocks. The first two seemed more comfortable, providing straw mattresses and light blankets. The last block was divided into two cells: left and right. The right cell already held ten prisoners. The left cell was empty, so the eight newly arrested individuals—Chinua, Khenbish, Zhi, the badly beaten man, and the three others—were placed there.

Looking at the newly arrested criminals, Dolgoon said, "Just wait until your family comes to pay the fine." He sighed. "If you want to live peacefully here, don't cause trouble."

From behind the metal poles, Chinua looked at Dolgoon. "Where are our straw mattresses and blankets?" she asked.

Dolgoon said, "The straw mats and blankets are only for Magoli."

"The straw mattresses and blankets are only for Magoli," Dolgoon replied flatly.

"How can you claim to uphold justice when you treat people unequally?" Chinua demanded.

"As I said," Dolgoon responded, "the rules weren't made by me, but by the Sumyaa."

"You and the Sumyaa are very brave," Chinua said, her voice sharp with anger. "You're failing to obey the highest laws of Hmagol. Are you not afraid to face the consequences?"

Dolgoon sighed. "I think I explained this before I brought you here," he said. He looked at Chinua, a smile playing on his lips. "I admire your determination and bravery. Let me tell you, I've met many brave men like you. They believed that if they raised their voices and let the people's voices be heard, governments would change their ways. But I regret to tell you, those brave men never succeeded. They were all made a public example through execution. So why invite trouble when you can simply follow the rules set for you?"

"Don't underestimate the combined power of the people," Chinua countered. "It's the people that make a country strong. If you force them too much, they will rise up and knock you down."

Dolgoon's smile widened, but his eyes were cold as he looked at Chinua. "Young man," he said, "your ideas are too naive. In the southern land, the people have no voice, because the penalty for speaking is death." He then looked at the other prisoners in the cell. "Listen to me, be good, and wait until your family comes to bail you out." He turned and walked away.

One prisoner lightly patted Chinua on the shoulder. "Brother," he said, his voice weary, "he's right. In the southern land, we have no voice. Even if we scream loudly, our voices mean nothing. So we just wait for our families to bail us out." He sighed. "Fortunately, it was Dolgoon who came to arrest us. Otherwise, we would have been beaten even more than this."

"Tell me about this Dolgoon," Chinua requested.

The prisoner explained, "Dolgoon is a distant relative of Mayor Orgil. His father was Magoli, and his mother Tanggolian. After his father died, the Sumyaa disowned both his mother and him. Being of mixed race, neither the Magoli nor the Tanggolian side truly claimed him. But Mayor Orgil lacked a chief officer, so he appointed Dolgoon to the position, specifically to arrest those who caused trouble."

"Does he arrest people often?" Chinua asked.

"He does," one prisoner replied, "but he never hits anyone unless they hit him first."

"He was right about one thing..." another prisoner added, his voice somber. "I've seen people publicly executed for gathering against the government as a warning to others who thought similarly."

Four prison guards approached their cell. "Which of you are Yue, Lut, and Gerelt?" a guard shouted.

Three prisoners, slightly injured, quickly walked to the door. One turned back to face the others. "Brothers," he said, "good luck to you. Our family has come to save us. Do as Dolgoon says, and you won't be mistreated."

After the three prisoners left, Chinua turned and found the fourth still lying on the ground, his body covered in bruises. She walked up to the man. "You dare to scold Orgil," she said, her voice soft but filled with respect. "How audacious you are." She helped him sit up, leaning him against the wall. "Brother," she asked, "what's your name?"

The man looked at Chinua. Though he could only see her face with his right eye, he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Xin Yize," he replied.

Chinua was stunned. "Your surname is Xin?" she questioned.

Yize chuckled, a pained sound. "Yeah," he said. "What's wrong with my last name? You thought I was a member of the great Tanggolian royal family, right?" He chuckled again.

"Are you?" Chinua pressed.

Yize chuckled, then coughed, spitting blood onto the ground. "It's none of your business whether I am or not," he said. "Besides, have you ever seen a royal Xin get beaten like me?" He rolled his eyes towards Zhi. "If you really want to know who I am, you can ask him."

Zhi looked down at the young man, his nose and face bruised from the beating. "I don't remember you," Zhi stated.

Yize chuckled again. "Yeah," he agreed. "How could you remember me?" His voice grew softer. "But I have never forgotten the smell of the baked cookies your wife made for your first child's birthday."

Zhi stared at the young man. "The illegitimate son of Xin Jianping and his maid," he said, his voice heavy with recognition. "And the only child I shared cookies with on Siqi's first birthday."

"So, he's Xin Jianping's son," Khenbish murmured, understanding dawning.

Zhi continued to stare at Yize, wondering if this was truly the boy he had helped escape from the Xin Mansion years ago. When he saw the bracelet on Yize's left hand, he knew it was him.

Zhi pointed to the bracelet. "He turned the hairpin I gave him to pick the lock into a bracelet," Zhi explained. "The first and last time I saw him, he was about nine or ten years old. I had just started working with Xin Zhiyuan then. I knew Xin Jianping had an illegitimate child, but I had never seen the boy. Until one day, Xin Zhiyuan's concubine lost her ring and asked us to find it."

Zhi paused, his gaze distant. "I happened to meet a nine or ten-year-old child sitting on the steps outside a small shed at the very back of the Mansion. When I looked carefully, I saw he had a shackle on one ankle. I felt sorry for him. So, I gave him the hairpins I'd brought for my wife, which he used to pick the lock, and the baked cookies my wife made."

"So, you let him go?" Chinua asked softly.

Zhi said, "I told him how to unlock the shackle and pointed him to the direction of a dog hole to escape on his own."

Khenbish asked, "Do you know who he was then?"

"I told him how to unlock the shackle," Zhi clarified. "And pointed him towards a dog hole so he could escape on his own."

"No wonder you don't recognize him," Chinua murmured.

Khenbish looked at Chinua and the others. "So, what's he doing in Hmagol?" he asked. "Scouting and collecting intelligence for Jianping?"

Zhi looked sadly at Yize. "I don't think so," he said softly. "His reasons for being in Hmagol are probably the same as mine."

"Let's ask him when he's better," Chinua said. "I believe Khunbish and the caravan members might have arrived by now."

"Chinua," Zhi asked, "why did Khunbish suddenly take the others away?"

"I sent Khunbish and the caravan members to message Enkhjin," Chinua explained. "Other fleeing villagers couldn't enter the city or get help from Orgil. So, I ordered Khunbish to have Enkhjin set up temporary shelters in Naju Village. Besides, if we were all arrested upon entering the city, who would save us?"

A faint, cold light filtered into the cell as early morning arrived. The air was thick with the smell of damp stone and stale bodies. Distant sounds began to stir—the clank of a heavy gate somewhere deeper in the court, the muffled shuffle of footsteps, a cough from a nearby cell. Suddenly, a loud guard's voice echoed from down the corridor, sharp against the quiet, jolting everyone awake.

Chinua stirred, finding herself curled against Khenbish, her head resting in his lap. She sat up slowly, feeling the stiffness ache in her neck, and gently rolled her head from side to side to loosen the muscles. The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, closer, rhythmic on the stone floor. Just then, the guards stopped directly in front of their cell.

A prison guard looked at Chinua, Khenbish, Zhi, Yize, and the three other unnamed men in the cell. "Yi, Er, San, and Yize," he called out. "Your family is here to bail you out."

Yize was stunned. He'd expected a year's imprisonment, knowing his grandmother couldn't afford the twenty silver coin fine. Feeling sore all over, he slowly stood and walked up to the guard. "Are you sure my grandmother is here to bail me out?" he asked.

The guard glared at Yize as if the young man owed him a fortune. "Go out and see if that old lady is your grandmother or not!" he snapped, pushing Yize aside before unlocking the cell.

Chinua frowned. "Why is he here so early?" she murmured, likely referring to Hye.

"Quickly, get out!" the guard bellowed.

Chinua, Khenbish, Zhi, and the remaining four prisoners walked out. The guard who had opened the cell quickly locked it behind them. Chinua looked at the two grumpy guards by the entrance before following the third guard and the others toward the front of the building.

"I want to see what they have for breakfast," Chinua remarked.

One of the two guards walking behind Chinua, Khenbish, and Zhi smiled. "Breakfast?" he scoffed. "We don't give breakfast to prisoners. Prisoners only eat once a day."

The guards led Chinua, Khenbish, Zhi, Yize, and the remaining three prisoners out of the back of the courthouse and towards the front. As they approached, Chinua saw Hye, Khunbish, and Yize's grandmother waiting outside the courthouse doors.

The moment Yize saw his grandmother, he rushed over and hugged her. "Grandmother, I'm sorry," he sobbed apologetically. "How did you ever get the money to bail me out?"

His grandmother gently stroked his hair. "I didn't," she said softly. "This kind gentleman bailed you out."

Yize turned to Hye. "Thank you, sir," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I'll pay you back. Maybe not today, but I will definitely pay you back one day."

"Don't worry," Hye said with a smile, staring at Chinua. "It's not my money anyway." He added, "I originally wanted to keep you in jail for a few more days, but Khunbish refused."

Chinua turned to Khunbish. "How is it?" she asked.

"Everything is ready," Khunbish replied. "We're just waiting for your order."

Chinua smiled. "I won't be too cruel," she said. "Let's wait for the kind mayor to have breakfast first, since breakfast isn't provided in prison."