The Deputy Commissioner of the Dali Temple, Lu Huai, had already lost patience. He had always despised wastrels like Shen Que, so he coldly said, “Do you think there’s no way to convict you just because you refuse to confess? According to the Great Zhou law, if three or more people testify with clear evidence, a crime can be established. In your case, besides Yang Heng, there are also Zhao Liu, Lu Yi, and others who participated in the plot to harm Sheng Yunting. They have all confessed. Now we have more than three witnesses, plus material evidence like the bloodstained clothes. Even without your confession, the Three Judicial Offices can still convict you.”

Shen Que merely laughed coldly, “No matter how many witnesses or evidence you have, I simply refuse to confess.”

His tone didn’t sound like the desperate struggle of a man fighting for his life, but rather the bitter resentment of someone who had given up completely.

Lu Huai finally lost his patience. “Apply torture!”

The Chief Censor from the Imperial Censorate, Han Wenmo, intervened, “Deputy Commissioner Lu, Shen Que is still His Majesty’s cousin. Let’s leave him some dignity.”

Lu Huai replied, “Did he think about preserving His Majesty’s dignity when he was murdering and raping?”

Han Wenmo was rendered speechless, but Shen Que showed no fear. Instead, he looked at Lu Huai and laughed loudly, “Deputy Commissioner Lu, I, Shen Que, am indeed not a good person. But beneath the facade of you righteous gentlemen, many are filthier than I am.”

His provocative attitude toward the presiding judge made Lu Huai so furious that veins bulged on his forehead. He shouted at the guards below, “What are you standing there for? Apply torture!”

“Wait.”

It was Cui Xun who spoke. He stopped them, saying, “Wait before applying torture.”

Lu Huai turned to look at him. Since returning from Lingnan, Cui Xun seemed to have suffered a serious illness. His face was as pale as paper, which gave Lu Huai quite a shock. Although Cui Xun had always appeared sickly, he had never looked as gaunt and emaciated as he did now. Earlier, when he and Han Wenmo were presiding over the case, Cui Xun hadn’t said a word, as if he lacked even the strength to speak. Lu Huai couldn’t help but wonder if Cui Xun had known his body couldn’t handle the journey before going to Lingnan. If he had known, why had he still gone?

However, since he and Cui Xun had always been bitter enemies, he kept his doubts to himself, unwilling to lower his pride by asking. But this time, he blurted out, “Why not apply torture?”

It was well known that Cui Xun and Shen Que were at odds with each other. Why would he prevent Shen Que from being tortured?

Cui Xun didn’t answer. He merely looked at Shen Que and said calmly, “Shen Que, you’re at death’s door. Why are you still being stubborn?”

Shen Que sneered, “What? You want to trick me into confessing, too? Who do you think you are?”

Despite being in prisoners’ clothes and a wretched state, his expression remained extremely arrogant. “I am a hereditary Duke of the Great Zhou. How dare you, a mere imperial favorite, interrogate me?”

Being insulted like this, Cui Xun didn’t show any anger at all. His snow-white face merely revealed a trace of mockery. “Oh? Then who is qualified to interrogate you?”

Shen Que didn’t answer. Instead, he looked around the hall. “Where is the plaintiff today? Where is Sheng Ah’man?”

“I’m afraid it’s not convenient for her to come.”

Shen Que asked, “Why not?”

Cui Xun suppressed the urge to cough that rose in his chest. He slowly said, “Sheng Ah’man filed a complaint above her station by striking the grievance drum. According to the law, she should be given eighty lashes. However, since she was pregnant before, His Majesty granted her mercy, allowing her to deliver the child before receiving her punishment. But this child was your flesh and blood. Her hatred for you runs deep, and she was unwilling to accept even the slightest favor from you. So she terminated the pregnancy and has already received her eighty lashes. She cannot attend the hearing today.”

Shen Que was stunned. His eyes widened. “What did you say?”

“I said, Sheng Ah’man took a bowl of safflower tea and terminated the pregnancy.”

The great hall fell into a deathly silence. Then, suddenly, Shen Que flew into a rage. It took several guards to forcibly restrain him from rushing at Cui Xun. “You’re lying!”

Cui Xun gave a light snort. He glanced at Lu Huai. “Deputy Commissioner Lu, am I lying?”

Lu Huai was startled, not expecting Cui Xun to ask him. Instinctively, he cooperated and answered, “No, you’re not lying.”

Lu Huai was known for his straightforwardness and never spoke falsehoods. Shen Que knew this well. With Lu Huai’s confirmation, Shen Que’s heart instantly turned ice-cold, as if the last bit of interest in this world had vanished. He had lived for twenty-nine years, constantly trapped in the hatred for the murder of his birth mother and older sister. Because of this hatred, he had spent his entire life seeking ways to kill the Empress Dowager for revenge. But after the Cat Ghost case, the Empress Dowager told him that his birth mother’s death was an accident, and his sister’s death was deserved punishment. He had been seeking revenge against the wrong person, hating the wrong person—how could he accept this? It was as if he had lost his purpose in life. His energy was completely depleted, and every day that followed, he was merely walking through life like a corpse.

Until he was exiled to Lingnan. In such dire circumstances, Ah’man still showed him great tenderness and took care of him in every way, gradually bringing his dead heart back to life. He had once asked Ah’man if she resented him for defiling her. Ah’man had simply replied that the past was the past; she only wanted to live well with him now and didn’t think about anything else.

He was both moved and filled with guilt. After his wife had passed away, he thought about making Ah’man his formal wife. Although he had wronged her in the past, he would now give her the status of a proper wife, the position of a Duchess. He would reform himself and treat her well. But who would have thought that her tenderness was fake, her forgiveness was fake—she was just deceiving him. Once she had obtained the truth she sought, she turned into the sharpest knife and stabbed him where he was most vulnerable.

Now, even the unborn child, the only bond between them, she had heartlessly decided not to keep.

She truly hated him and truly wanted him dead.

Suddenly, Shen Que burst into laughter—a desolate, forlorn laugh. Censor Han Wenmo was terrified, thinking the prisoner might have gone mad. Lu Huai was completely puzzled, not understanding why Shen Que would react this way upon hearing about Ah’man’s abortion. The one who had defiled Ah’man was him, yet he was also the one going mad over her terminating the pregnancy. It made no sense at all.

Only Cui Xun understood everything. Ever since the Cat Ghost case, Shen Que had been a walking dead man. It was Ah’man who had saved him, giving him hope to live. Now that this hope was shattered, how could he not go insane?

The motivation of hatred was gone, the motivation of love was gone—what interest did he have left in living in this world?

Shen Que stopped laughing and raised his eyes, coldly glancing at the Three Judicial Offices presiding over his case. “Don’t you all just want me to confess? Fine, I killed Sheng Yunting!”

His sudden confession surprised both Lu Huai and Han Wenmo. Cui Xun wasn’t surprised, but his previous questioning had drained his strength. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed twice, then glanced at Lu Huai, as if indicating that he should take over the questioning from here.

Lu Huai thought to himself, How did this man get so sickly? If he didn’t have the strength to continue the interrogation, Lu Huai certainly did. He rested his arm on the table, leaned forward, and aggressively questioned Shen Que, “So you admit it?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you kill Sheng Yunting?”

“I disliked him.”

Lu Huai continued, “You’re a Lieutenant General and a Duke. Sheng Yunting was just a Captain. How did he offend you?”

“He didn’t offend me. I just disliked everyone in the Tianwei Army,” Shen Que said. “Guo Qinwei, a man from a humble background, dared to look down on me. I disliked him, and by extension, I disliked everyone in the Tianwei Army. Is that not allowed?”

Lu Huai frowned slightly. It was true that Shen Que had always been at odds with Guo Qinwei. The origin of their conflict was that Shen Que, relying on his royal connections, was arrogant, while Guo Qinwei was not one to flatter or fawn. When they met in Chang’an during Guo’s official visit, it was inevitable that he would offend Shen Que. Shen Que’s hatred for Guo Qinwei extended to Sheng Yunting made some sense.

However, there were still many suspicious points in this case. For instance, why had Wang Shi, the wife of Pei Guanyue, also participated in killing Sheng Yunting? How did Shen Que know that Sheng Yunting would appear at Changle Post Station? Did Shen Que know that Sheng Yunting was returning to Chang’an to seek help? These various aspects couldn’t be explained simply by Shen Que disliking Sheng Yunting.

So Lu Huai put forward all his questions, but Shen Que refused to answer any more. He said wearily, “I’ve already confessed. I killed Sheng Yunting. As for Wang Ranxi, why she was involved, go ask her in the underworld! How would I know why she participated?”

Lu Huai was furious. “Insolent!”

Shen Que simply said, “I’ve said all I’m going to say. Kill me or punish me as you see fit.”

With that, he refused to say another word, with the appearance of someone who only wished for a quick death.

Lu Huai was about to order torture again, but was once more stopped by Cui Xun. Cui Xun coughed twice and said, “The prisoner has already confessed. Let’s report this to His Majesty and await his decision.”

Shen Que was escorted back to the prison of the Imperial Censorate. Cui Xun, Lu Huai, and Han Wenmo were to go to the Daming Palace together to report to the Emperor. As they left the Imperial Censorate, Cui Xun’s illness was severe. His excessive pride made him dislike being supported by others, so he forced his weakened body to move, walking particularly slowly. Han Wenmo couldn’t wait and disappeared, but Lu Huai specifically waited outside the Imperial Censorate. He asked Cui Xun, “Why did you keep preventing Shen Que from being tortured today? Don’t you hate him?”

With the case already concluded, Cui Xun was too tired to bother with Lu Huai anymore. But considering that if not for Lu Huai’s support in court that day, Yunting’s case wouldn’t have been accepted so smoothly—Lu Huai was, after all, a benefactor to the Tianwei Army—so his cold expression softened a little, and his tone wasn’t so icy anymore. He said, “Shen Que is the type of person who won’t confess, no matter how much you torture him when he doesn’t want to. Only by hitting his weak spot will he lose hope and confess readily.”

Lu Huai pondered, “So you deliberately mentioned Sheng Ah’man’s abortion to him earlier? How did you know this was his weak spot?”

This question involved the secrets surrounding the death of Duchess Shen, and Cui Xun had no intention of answering. His silence didn’t bother Lu Huai, who examined Cui Xun’s pale face. This was the first time he had calmly stood with Cui Xun, speaking to him amiably. Lu Huai said, “You seem to know many things that I don’t.”

Cui Xun didn’t respond, but instead coughed violently several times. His snow-white face flushed with a sickly redness. He said, “Lu Huai, you served as the Director of the Imperial Academy for five years with outstanding achievements. Scholars across the realm respect and admire you. But the Dali Temple is not the Imperial Academy. Some things are better left unknown to you.”

Lu Huai was indignant. “Why shouldn’t I know?”

Cui Xun merely smiled lightly. “What good would it do if you knew? You can’t even deal with the mastermind behind He Shisan and his group. Who else could you possibly deal with?”

Lu Huai was momentarily stunned.

Cui Xun didn’t pay him any further attention. He wearily left the Imperial Censorate, got into a four-horse carriage, and headed toward the Daming Palace.

By the time Lu Huai had finally composed himself and also entered the Daming Palace, the three of them had presented Shen Que’s testimony to the Emperor Longxing. The Emperor merely glanced at it briefly before saying, “The case of Shen Que has caused much discussion among the people. They all expect me to be an enlightened ruler who puts justice above family ties. Since Shen Que has confessed, and there are both witnesses and physical evidence, let him be beheaded in public three days from now to appease public anger.”

Three days? So soon? Lu Huai and Han Wenmo looked at each other in surprise. Lu Huai said, “Your Majesty, there are still some unclear points in this case.”

“How much longer would it take you to clarify these points?”

Lu Huai was taken aback. Given Shen Que’s attitude, it wouldn’t be easy to get more out of him. “I cannot estimate, Your Majesty.”

“Every day we keep him alive, the people will think I am showing favoritism.” The Emperor Longxing shook his head. “Kill him, quickly.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Huai and Han Wenmo felt there was some reason to it, so they knelt and accepted the order. Cui Xun pressed his lips together, his eyes as calm as still water. He also knelt and said, “I accept your command, Your Majesty.”

When Li Ying heard the news, she was astonished. “Three days from now?”

Cui Xun nodded. “Yes, three days.”

Li Ying pondered for a moment, but her attention was quickly drawn to the medicinal soup that had been prepared. Since Cui Xun’s return to Chang’an, she had immediately thrown away all his harsh medicines. However, Cui Xun had been taking these medicines for over a month and had become dependent on them. Abruptly stopping them had made his body even weaker than before he started, and his complexion had grown increasingly paper-like. Li Ying wished she could confine him to bed for all twelve hours of the day to recover, but Cui Xun had too many matters to attend to. He still had Shen Que’s case to handle and couldn’t possibly stay in bed for twelve hours a day. Li Ying could only compromise—when he returned to the residence, she wouldn’t allow him to leave the bed, and she would personally feed him his medicine.

She ladled a bowl of black medicinal soup that looked unpalatable at first glance. Li Ying used a white jade spoon to scoop some, blew on it gently, and fed it to Cui Xun. Cui Xun lowered his eyes as he drank, then immediately furrowed his brow, his expression changing. He sighed and smiled bitterly. “Mingyue Zhu, are you upset with me?”

Li Ying pretended not to understand. “Hmm?”

Cui Xun shook his head helplessly. He complained softly, “How could you… Not even add a bit of sugar frost for me?”