Chapter 152: The Truth Surfaces, From The Future 【 Seeking Monthly Tickets 】
Imperial Prison, Interrogation Room.
The stench of blood and despair was almost palpable.
Fu Youwen, Ru Chang, Zheng Ci, and Zhai Shan had been tortured beyond recognition, but their core defenses were surprisingly resilient.
Jiang Huan’s expression was terrifyingly grim.
All manner of torture had been employed. These four confessed readily to corruption, forming factions, self-serving practices, and even the resale of some military equipment. The list of lower and middle-ranking officials they implicated stretched to dozens, involving the Six Ministries and local administrations, with colossal sums involved, a truly shocking scale.
However, as soon as the core of the ‘Shaanxi old case’ was touched upon, especially any part that might be related to the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao.
The four either fell silent, enduring the torture, or adamantly claimed it was all ordinary official business, with no disloyal actions whatsoever directed at the Crown Prince.
“Commander… Commander Jiang… spare me…”
Fu Youwen rasped, his breath shallow, “Corruption involving river repair funds… forming factions… these crimes… we admit to them… but plotting to harm the Crown Prince… that’s a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of a family… we wouldn’t dare even if given ten thousand chances… and we know nothing about it…”
“When His Highness the Crown Prince toured Shaanxi, we only strove to perform our duties with utmost diligence, fearing we might fail to provide adequate service, how could we possibly show any negligence?”
Ru Chang also rasped in agreement: “As for His Highness the Crown Prince’s illness… that was Heaven’s Will… it was the Imperial Physician’s responsibility… what does it have to do with us…”
A cold glint flashed in Jiang Huan’s eyes.
He knew that the charges of corruption and forming factions alone, while sufficient to have them beheaded, were far from enough to quell the Emperor’s wrath, nor could they touch the deepest layers of suspicion.
What the Emperor wanted were not just a few plump vermin, but the vipers hidden behind them, possibly gnawing at the imperial lineage.
He changed his strategy, no longer pressing directly. Instead, he coldly threw copies of files from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and local administrations before them.
“In the spring of the 25th year of Hongwu, before the Crown Prince’s tour of Shaanxi, His Highness Prince Qin memorialized by express courier for the repair of the temporary palace in Xi’an…”
“The timber and stone used were specially approved by you, Minister Ru of the Ministry of Works, and taken from the depths of the Qinling Mountains. However, the funds for this batch of materials were processed under the accounts of ‘Shaanxi water conservancy reinforcement’ by you, Vice Minister Fu.”
“At the same time, His Highness Prince Jin memorialized to replenish the military equipment losses of the Datong border army, with quantities far exceeding the norm.”
“Minister Ru of the Ministry of War, your approval was astonishingly swift, and the ‘losses’ of this batch of military equipment occurred precisely after His Highness the Crown Prince left Shaanxi.”
Jiang Huan’s voice was matter-of-fact, yet it was like a cold file, scraping away at their pretense, bit by bit.
“During His Highness the Crown Prince’s stay in Shaanxi, all his food and daily life were managed by an old eunuch from the Eastern Palace named Wang Fu.”
“It was found that this person had a younger brother, also a eunuch, who had served in Prince Qin’s Mansion for over ten years. The two had secretly met in Shaanxi.”
“Furthermore, three months before the Crown Prince’s death, Wang Fu ‘accidentally’ fell into a well and died. After his death, a thousand taels of gold were discovered in the cellar of his home in his hometown.”
“And his hometown happens to be in the same county as the maternal family of one of Prince Jin’s favorite consorts.”
He did not directly accuse Prince Qin or Prince Jin of murdering the Crown Prince.
He simply mimicked Zhang Biao’s ‘mind map’ approach, coolly laying out these seemingly coincidental, yet tightly linked events in chronological order.
The faces of Fu Youwen and the other three changed completely, a look of fear deeper than facing torture.
They could grit their teeth and deny what they hadn’t done, but they couldn’t explain these layered, seemingly unrelated yet intricately connected ‘coincidences’!
And these ‘coincidences’ pointed towards a terrifying deduction:
【 Some Prince had exploited their channels of corruption and networks of factionalism…
【 Possibly by controlling personnel within the Eastern Palace, they had made extremely covert manipulations regarding medicinal materials and expenditures.
【 Ultimately, they had subtly undermined the Crown Prince’s health, leading to his untreatable death!
They might not have been the masterminds, perhaps not even knowing the specifics.
But the convenience they provided and the loopholes they created had become the ‘breeding ground’ for the Crown Prince’s demise.
“No… I don’t know… we truly don’t know about Wang Fu…”
Zheng Ci cried out hysterically, “Prince Qin’s repair of the temporary palace, Prince Jin’s replenishment of military equipment… these were all normal official duties… we merely facilitated them… took some benefits… with no other intentions!”
“It was Prince Qin! It must have been Prince Qin and Prince Jin!”
Zhai Shan, in extreme fear, began to speak without restraint, “They used our greed! We deserve to die a thousand times! But we truly didn’t know about the plot to harm the Crown Prince! It was the Princes… it was the Princes…”
“We are wronged! We are wronged!”
Fu Youwen also yelled, “We truly know nothing!”
“It must have been Prince Jin! Prince Jin hoarding military equipment, he must have had treasonous intentions!”
Ru Chang, having given up all hope, said hysterically, “During the Crown Prince’s tour, he discovered evidence of Prince Jin’s crimes! Prince Jin feared the Emperor’s punishment and wanted to silence him! It must have been him!”
Hearing these near-mad accusations, Jiang Huan looked at them coldly until they were mentally broken, accusing and blaming each other, and mentioning the names of the Princes.
And this was precisely the effect he desired.
Because this matter had escalated to this point, it no longer required irrefutable evidence.
It was enough to present these doubts, the connections, and the names of the Princes implicated by the collapsing culprits, untouched, to the Emperor.
“Record it! Have them affix their seals!”
Jiang Huan ordered in a cold voice.
The Imperial Guard officers immediately meticulously recorded the confessions of Fu Youwen and the other three, and held their trembling hands to press their fingerprints onto the documents.
Holding this scorching confession, capable of causing an imperial earthquake, Jiang Huan glanced at Fu Youwen, who had completely lost his mental faculties and was like a puddle of mud, without a shred of pity in his eyes.
“Watch them closely, don’t let them die. The Emperor might wish to interrogate them himself.”
With that, Jiang Huan turned and strode out of the interrogation room, heading directly for Huagai Hall.
Just then, an Imperial Guard Battalion Commander hurried over to report:
“Chief, the Five City Patrols seem to have gotten a lead on the whereabouts of Li Mo and Wu Nai Da. Should we go there?”
“Heh!”
Jiang Huan couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh, mockingly saying, “Since when has their investigative ability become so sharp?”
“Yes, I also find this matter suspicious. What do you think, could it be…”
“Never mind them! Have our men keep an eye on them, and prevent anyone from silencing them. Also,”
He paused here, glancing back at the interrogation room, and narrowed his eyes, “Keep this place under surveillance too, don’t let anyone approach Fu Youwen and the other three, or conduct any unauthorized interrogations. Those who disobey will be killed without mercy!”
“Understood!”
The Battalion Commander acknowledged, and then also reported on the matter of Zhu Gaochi. Jiang Huan’s brow furrowed, but he said nothing further.
Soon, holding the confession in his hand, he went straight to Huagai Hall.
…
Meanwhile.
In the western part of Yingtian Prefecture, a low, damp slum area.
Deep within the sewage-strewn alleyways, in the cellar of a nearly abandoned earth temple, Li Mo and Wu Nai Da huddled in a corner, illuminated by the faint daylight filtering through a ventilation shaft, speechless.
This was their third hiding place.
But the faint sounds of pursuit and footsteps from outside kept their nerves on edge.
“The wind seems to be closing in.”
Wu Nai Da lowered his voice, pressing his ear to the crack in the cellar ceiling, his face grim, “Damn it, Fu Youwen’s lackeys have sharp noses!”
Li Mo’s face was even paler and more haggard than a few days ago, but his eyes were exceptionally calm, even with a kind of numb determination:
“The moment the Drum of Hearing Petitions sounded, we knew this day would come. We just didn’t expect it to arrive so quickly, and so fiercely.”
They had prepared for the worst when they spread rumors.
Suddenly!
The disguised wooden board at the cellar entrance was violently kicked open!
Blinding torchlight flooded in, illuminating their startled faces.
“Here! We found them!”
A sharp shout rang out.
Immediately, over a dozen Five City Patrol soldiers, like wolves and tigers, swarmed in, instantly overcrowding the small cellar.
The commanding Officer of the Banner displayed the excitement and a sneer of someone who had ‘accidentally’ discovered a major clue.
“Li Mo! Wu Nai Da!”
The Officer of the Banner waved his hand, “You’ve committed crimes! You’ll have to come with us!”
Wu Nai Da instinctively grabbed a broken dagger, intending to resist, but Li Mo pressed his arm down.
Li Mo slowly stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, his face showing no surprise, but rather a sense of relief, as if thinking, ‘It’s finally here.’
He glanced at Wu Nai Da and shook his head slightly.
Resistance was meaningless; it would only lead to a quicker, uglier death.
Wu Nai Da understood his meaning, gritted his teeth, spat, but also gave up resisting, and said hatefully:
“Damn it! You’re lucky! I don’t have a proper weapon!”
With that, he threw the broken dagger on the ground.
Seeing this, the soldiers immediately rushed forward, roughly tying both of them securely.
They were escorted out of the cellar and through the filthy alleyways.
Along the way, the poor residents recoiled in fear, whispering amongst themselves.
“Aren’t those the officials who were ‘demanding salary’? Why are they being arrested?”
“Yes, I remember they even audited the Six Ministries’ offices. Are they being held accountable now?”
“Alas! What a pity! They were good people. Sister Wu’s husband died three years ago and she still hadn’t received his pension. It was they who ‘offset debt with assets’ that saved her and her orphaned children.”
Gradually, the topic shifted.
“What do you know! What they did was against the law! This is called getting what they deserve!”
“Exactly! They even dared to audit the Duke and Marquis’s households, they were courting death.”
“Hush! I heard that what they did was more than just that. The culprit, Zhang Biao, is to be executed by the Emperor this autumn.”
Hearing these hushed whispers, Li Mo and Wu Nai Da were pushed along, their faces showing little emotion, only a sense of resignation and deep weariness.
They did all they did, not for everyone to understand, but for their own conscience and for justice.
The rest, they would leave to fate.
And just as they were being escorted, about to turn out of this slum area and head towards the Ministry of Justice Prison—
Li Mo’s gaze inadvertently swept across a dilapidated stall selling steamed buns at the street corner.
He saw a familiar figure squatting there, holding a steamed bun and eating it unhurriedly.
The person was wearing ragged prison attire, with injuries on his face, but it couldn’t conceal his cynical, even somewhat mad demeanor.
It was Zhao Fengman!
Wu Nai Da also spotted him.
He wasn’t hiding?!
He dared to appear here so brazenly?!
Li Mo and Wu Nai Da were stunned, almost thinking they were hallucinating.
Zhao Fengman also saw them.
His chewing of the steamed bun paused for a moment, then, to everyone’s surprise—
He grinned.
The smile was exceptionally bright, even carrying a hint of happiness and relief, as if seeing a long-lost friend, rather than a companion heading towards certain doom.
Under the confused and vigilant gazes of the escorting soldiers.
Zhao Fengman stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth in three bites, patted the crumbs off his hands, then stood up and, unhurriedly, even swaggeringly, walked towards the escorting team.
The escorting soldiers immediately became tense, shouting harshly, “Stop! What are you doing?! Get away!”
Zhao Fengman seemed not to hear. His gaze remained fixed on Li Mo and Wu Nai Da, his smile growing brighter, filled with an indescribable madness and exhilaration.
About a dozen paces away from the team.
He suddenly stopped, took a deep breath, and then, with all his might, let out a thunderous shout towards the sky, towards the entire street, filled with deep mockery and defiance:
“I, Zhao Fengman! Admit my guilt and submit to the law—! Come and get me—!”
The shout was like thunder, exploding into the silent street, stunning all the soldiers, and even shocking the roadside populace!
Li Mo and Wu Nai Da’s eyes widened instantly, their eyes suddenly moistening!
【This lunatic!
【This fool!
This wasn’t him walking into a trap!
This was his way of telling them, in such a resolute manner:
【Don’t be afraid, brothers are here to accompany you! Our mission is complete! We won’t be alone on the road to the underworld!
The commanding Officer of the Banner was stunned for a moment, then ecstatic. This was truly a reward falling from the sky!
He immediately roared, “Quick! Seize him! Don’t let him escape!”
Zhao Fengman not only didn’t run but instead actively walked towards the soldiers, his face still wearing that dazzlingly bright smile, even winking at Li Mo and Wu Nai Da.
The soldiers swarmed him, roughly tying him up as well.
The three were pushed together.
No extra words, not even a single spoken exchange.
But in the instant their eyes met, everything was understood.
A complex moisture flickered in Li Mo’s eyes, finally turning into a very light sigh and a sense of relief.
Wu Nai Da, his eyes red, cursed under his breath, “Damn it! You madman!”
But the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch upwards.
Zhao Fengman continued to smile carefree, as if he wasn’t going to his death, but to a grand feast.
Three young men, once passionate, once struggling, once trying to carve a path in this dark world, now walked side by side on the road to death.
Their backs, elongated by the setting sun, carried a tragic grandeur, but also a peculiar peace and understanding that belonged to them.
Today’s events, today’s people, were finally reaching their end together.
【Brother Biao, we did it. If we’re going crazy, we’ll go crazy together. If we’re going to die, we’ll die together.
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Writing up to this point marks the end of this volume. Starting tomorrow, we will enter high-energy plot. I will adjust. Tomorrow, I will write the first explosive satisfying point.
