Chapter 1044 Despair and Hope!
Just as Xu Zhaojie was thinking hard about how to kill himself and give himself a decent ending, suddenly a dark and short-skinned yamen runner Dong Zhixuan came over and saw that Xu Zhaojie had not eaten yet. He pointed at Xu Zhaojie and angrily shouted:
“Xu Zhaojie, you bastard, why aren’t you eating yet…”

"Do you still think you are some kind of shitty marquis? I'm telling you, this is a prison, there are no delicacies for you to eat!"

"You bastard, you only deserve to eat this! Hurry up and eat this stuff for me. Don't be so shameless and be shameless. You have to behave yourself while you are here!"

Xu Zhaojie didn't say a word to the yamen runners' ruthless humiliation, and didn't take it seriously. Seeing that Xu Zhaojie ignored him, Dong Zhixuan immediately became angry and pointed at Xu Zhaojie and cursed:
"Xu, I'm telling you that you are now the first prisoner. Just give me your meal and nothing will happen to us. If you still don't eat, I'll let you see how we, the men, can do this!"

Hearing this, Xu Zhaojie still didn't even look at Dong Zhixuan. He was still staring at the stone wall in front of him, but a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth!
This smile seemed to be mocking Dong Zhixuan’s incompetent barking. Seeing this, Dong Zhixuan immediately became furious. He immediately looked for the key to open Xu Zhaojie’s cell and give Xu Zhaojie a good beating...

For Dong Zhixuan, his greatest hobby is to humiliate those fallen dignitaries in this prison. Through this way, he can get some spiritual satisfaction!
But of course he doesn't dare to humiliate everyone. As for those who have a good background and relatives and friends outside, he not only does not dare to humiliate them, but he also rushes to flatter them, hoping that they will remember his kindness and support him after they are released. But unfortunately, so far no one still remembers him after they are released!
This also increased his resentment towards these powerful people, making him feel that none of them were good people. This also made him even more intensified in humiliating those powerful people who seemed to never be able to turn things around and fell into trouble!
And it was obvious that in this person's eyes, Xu Zhaojie was a typical example. As the enemy of the legendary high-ranking Marshal Ye, Xu Zhaojie, who was defeated and captured, would not only never be able to turn over, but even his family and relatives would not be able to survive in this world!

Therefore, this also allowed Dong Zhixuan to humiliate Xu Zhaojie without worrying about any possible retaliation!

Regardless of whether Xu Zhaojie was the commander of the Zhennan Army, the governor-general of Huainan, or the Marquis of Zhenyuan, he was undoubtedly the most powerful person Dong Zhixuan had ever met!

Whenever the thought of being able to yell at and humiliate such an honorable person made the yamen runner Dong Zhixuan extremely excited······························

Therefore, after knowing that Xu Zhaojie was imprisoned in the prison, Dong Zhixuan was already prepared to have a good meeting with Xu Zhaojie. Unfortunately, because Xu Zhaojie was imprisoned there, the First Division also increased the security of the cell, so Dong Zhixuan was not able to take charge of guarding Xu Zhaojie in prison until today!

As soon as he entered the prison, Dong Zhixuan couldn't wait to come to Xu Zhaojie, wanting to show off his power in front of the former Marquis of Zhenyuan of the Great Zhou!
Originally Dong Zhixuan was expecting that in the face of his threats and intimidation, Xu Zhaojie would be submissive and servile to him like those dignitaries who had fallen on hard times before, but unfortunately he had miscalculated this time!
After counting the keys in his hand several times, Dong Zhixuan still couldn't find the key to Xu Zhaojie's cell. Then he remembered that in order to prevent them, the yamen runners, from opening the cell door for Xu Zhaojie, Xu Zhaojie's keys had been taken away by the soldiers of the First Division. This meant that he couldn't open Xu Zhaojie's cell at all!

At this time, Xu Zhaojie seemed to have seen through Dong Zhixuan's cowardice. The next second, he slowly stood up with his heavy shackles, and then walked slowly to the bowl step by step!

Seeing this, Dong Zhixuan, who thought Xu Zhaojie was going to give in to him, said happily:
"That's right! Come here quickly and have a good meal!"

“You have to kneel down and lie here like a dog and eat this bowl of rice thoroughly, hahahaha······················"

After saying that, Dong Zhixuan excitedly spat into the rice bowl. Just as he was about to watch with excitement, the big shot Xu Zhaojie drank the bowl of slop with the stuff he had added to it like a dog!
However, under his gaze, Xu Zhaojie kicked the bowl to the ground. The smile on Dong Zhixuan's face froze in an instant. However, before he could react, Xu Zhaojie spat directly on his face!
Dong Zhixuan was completely enraged when he felt the smelly sputum on his face. He grabbed Xu Zhaojie's messy hair through the wooden bars of the cell, and then punched Xu Zhaojie's head again and again!
Feeling the pain in his head, Xu Zhaojie's face did not show any pain, on the contrary, there was a look of relief!
To Xu Zhaojie, he is now a walking corpse. Every day he lives in this world is an unparalleled torture for him. That is why he deliberately angered the yamen runner in order to use him to send him on his final journey!
However, just when Xu Zhaojie's plan was about to succeed, suddenly another yamen runner came out of the cell. Seeing Xu Zhaojie being ruthlessly beaten by Dong Zhixuan, he immediately walked over quickly!

At this moment, Dong Zhixuan had only one thought in his mind, which was to let Xu Zhaojie have a good taste of his power. He had no time to care about other things. In addition, he felt that the only people who could move freely in this cell were his colleagues...

So he simply ignored the other yamen runner who was coming over, and continued to beat Xu Zhaojie's head. Soon Xu Zhaojie's head was bleeding!
At this critical moment, Dong Zhixuan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. Before he could react, a hand covered his mouth. The next second, someone stabbed him several times in the back!

Poor Dong Zhixuan didn't even see who killed him before he fell in a pool of blood!
Looking at Xu Zhaojie, whose head was broken and bleeding, Ma Xiang, who had sneaked into the prison wearing the uniform of a yamen runner, anxiously asked Xu Zhaojie:
"My Lord, are you okay?"

Hearing the title of Marquis and the other party's familiar tone, Xu Zhaojie, whose head was already bleeding, seemed to realize something and raised his head with difficulty to look over.

After taking a closer look at the person coming, Xu Zhaojie asked in surprise:

"Ma Xiang, why is it you? Have you been arrested as well?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiang said in a deep voice:

"My Lord, I'm here to save you!"

After saying that, he took out a small wire from his body and tried to open the lock of the cell. After hearing Ma Xiang's words, Xu Zhaojie, who had been in despair, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope for life!
Although he was very excited and wanted to ask Ma Xiang if his family was okay, in order not to disturb Ma Xiang unlocking the door, Xu Zhaojie could only shut his mouth obediently, hold his breath and watch Ma Xiang unlock the door calmly·······················

This short period of time seemed as long as a year to Xu Zhaojie. He knew that this was his last chance in his life!
I have to say that Ma Xiang is quite capable. He didn't make Xu Zhaojie wait too long. Ma Xiang used a small iron wire to open the door of the cell!

After opening the cell door, Ma Xiang immediately began to untie the shackles and anklets on Xu Zhaojie, and soon Xu Zhaojie regained his freedom!
At this moment, Xu Zhaojie was filled with joy as if he had fallen into the abyss and saw the light again. He immediately asked, "Ma Xiang, are my family members okay?"

Facing Xu Zhaojie's question, Ma Xiang shook his head and said:
"After the news of your capture was passed back to Shouchun, someone opened the city gates and surrendered the city. When the Fengwu Army entered the city, several ladies and young masters died for their loyalty, but I brought Young Master Kang out!"

Although he knew very well that his family would not have a good ending after his defeat, Xu Zhaojie was still extremely sad when he heard the news. However, when he thought that his most beloved and intelligent Xu Kang was still alive in this world, Xu Zhaojie felt a little better!
Before Xu Zhaojie could adjust his mood, Ma Xiang started to speak:
“My lord, quickly change into this bailiff’s clothes. We need to sneak out as soon as possible. I have already made arrangements outside. I will be able to send you out tonight…”

Listening to Ma Xiang's words, Xu Zhaojie was also very moved. He patted Ma Xiang's shoulder heavily and said:

"Good boy! I really saw you right!"

Ma Xiang also spoke with true emotion when he heard this:
"You saved me, my Lord. Ma Xiang's life belongs to you, my Lord. Ma Xiang is willing to go through fire and water for you, even if it means death!"

After expressing his loyalty, Ma Xiang took Xu Zhaojie, who had changed his clothes, and prepared to slip away. However, at this time, Xu Zhaojie had some minor health problems!

Xu Zhaojie, who had been seeking death, had not eaten at all in the past few days. The last time he ate was yesterday when someone forced him to eat something, but he didn't eat much.

Xu Zhaojie, who was thinking about death in the cell just now, didn't realize how hungry he was. But now that he walked out of the cell and new hope rose in his heart, Xu Zhaojie felt very hungry, even so hungry that he could hardly walk!
Thinking of this, Xu Zhaojie felt a little regretful. If he had known that Ma Xiang would come to rescue him, he would have to eat something to prepare himself for the escape!
Swill is just swill, it's still edible anyway, it's okay to suffer a little to survive!

Unfortunately, time can never be reversed, so Xu Zhaojie can only grit his teeth and follow Ma Xiang step by step...
Soon Ma Xiang and Xu Zhaojie arrived at the gate of the prison. Seeing Ma Xiang, who had just entered alone, the soldiers of the First Division, who had brought someone out to be in charge of guarding, became alert and stopped the two men.

The guard pointed at Xu Zhaojie, who was following Ma Xiang with his head down, and said in a deep voice:
"Lift your head up!"

Seeing this, although Ma Xiang was a little nervous, he also said with a smile:

"This general is my companion. He just entered from here. Don't you remember him?"

As he spoke, he secretly took out a piece of silver from his pocket and quietly handed it to the soldier of the First Division who was blocking the road, hoping to bribe him!
However, what disappointed Ma Xiang was that this Fengwu Army soldier was still very principled. After sensing Ma Xiang's little move, his face changed and he knocked over the silver that Ma Xiang had sent over. Then he angrily shouted at Ma Xiang with great vigilance:
"what do you mean?"

Seeing that the other party was ungrateful, Ma Xiang sighed in his heart, then suddenly pulled out the dagger from his waist and stabbed the Fengwu Army soldier. The Fengwu Army soldier had never expected Ma Xiang to suddenly attack him, and was caught off guard and stabbed directly in the neck by Ma Xiang's dagger. Immediately, blood gushed out and he fell down limply!

Although the Fengwu Army soldier was killed immediately by Ma Xiang, his death still attracted the attention of his companions. However, at this moment, Ma Xiang suddenly shouted

"Do it!"

With this loud shout, the tranquility in front of the prison was suddenly broken. Immediately afterwards, Ma Xiang’s assassins who were ambushing at the prison gate rushed over to meet the call. The carriage that had been prepared long ago also drove over...

At the same time, the Fengwu Army soldiers who reacted also shouted "Enemy attack" and the surrounding area suddenly became lively. However, the assassins led by Commander Ma Xiang were well prepared after all, and for a while they still had the upper hand. At this time, Ma Xiang hurriedly called Xu Zhaojie and said:

"My Lord, get in the carriage!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhaojie got on the carriage without any hesitation. After Xu Zhaojie got on the carriage, Ma Xiang planned to drive the carriage away and send Xu Zhaojie out of the city as planned!
According to Ma Xiang's plan, he was not going to fight with the Fengwu Army at this time. He wanted to sneak out with Xu Zhaojie!
After all, if he could sneak out, then by the time the Fengwu Army discovered that Xu Zhaojie had slipped away, he might have already left Hanyang City with the Marquis!

And if he were to take action against the Fengwu Army now, the Fengwu Army would certainly be alarmed, and the time he had to escape would be greatly shortened!
But unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. Or maybe Xu Zhaojie had done so many evil things that God didn't want to see him escape safely. In short, Ma Xiang's wish was ultimately unfulfilled!

Just when Ma Xiang was thinking about how to quickly send Xu Zhaojie out of the city under such circumstances, suddenly a cold arrow struck and directly reflected in Ma Xiang’s pupils·······························

(End of this chapter)