Marquis Dingyuan said nothing. Lu Ran, usually so slippery, restrained his voice and pondered for a while. With his hands clasped behind his back, he suddenly sighed: “The integrity of scholars, I suppose… Scholars remonstrate unto death, warriors fight unto death. He couldn’t succeed in his remonstrations…” After speaking for a moment, he paused: “He’s also found what he sought. Wasn’t it said before that he constantly urged Prince Gong not to listen to your father’s instigation? He probably lost heart long ago. But… he was still willing to help us. This person… is decent.”

Of course, they had originally spent a long time deliberating how to frame Chief Clerk Ling seamlessly and without leaving traces. But with Chief Clerk Ling personally cooperating, it became even more a mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion. With his personal confession, what was there left for Prince Gong and others to doubt? Chief Clerk Ling’s recent behavior had indeed been abnormal.

Everyone fell silent in tacit understanding, all feeling somewhat oppressed. Marquis Dingyuan was the first to recover: “Han Zhengqing brought the Tartars through the pass—this one point alone destined the literati and upright officials to view him as a scourge and eternal sinner. He himself thinks he can push the blame onto Cui Shaoting and His Majesty, but he forgets that regardless of the reason, he abandoned the city…”

Who would dare trust him again in the future? Who wouldn’t fear that in a fit of temper he would once again abandon the common people and flee? From the moment he led his troops to withdraw from Datong, he had already lost the people’s hearts. No matter how he tries to whitewash things in the future, this cannot be erased.

So for scholars like Chief Clerk Ling to hate him was self-evident.

After finishing this statement, he continued: “That letter mentioned Wu Feng. Although it only spoke of persuading me to win him over, it must have planted a seed of suspicion in Prince Gong’s heart. Chief Clerk Ling probably weighs about as much as Wu Feng in his heart. If Chief Clerk Ling could betray him, why couldn’t Wu Feng? With the first one, he’ll worry about a second. This matter with the Weihai Guard—if I haven’t miscalculated, it should be settled.”

As soon as Marquis Dingyuan finished speaking, the procurer below bellowed from downstairs: “Master Han! Someone’s looking for you!”

Marquis Dingyuan and Lu Ran swiftly hid behind the screen, going directly through the small door behind the screen to the adjacent room. The singing girls and dancing women who had been in the adjacent room emerged again from behind the screen, leaning against Han Yang with a thousand charms.

Han Yang lazily had just said “enter” when a soldier rushed in: “Young Master Han, the Prince has been looking everywhere for you—you were hard to find!”

Prince Gong sought Han Yang to have him go to Jingzhou to find Han Zhengqing: “Pack up and set out. Take a message to your father—tell him I failed in the capital and ask him what to do.”

Han Yang was stunned by Prince Gong’s words. He stood rooted to the spot for a long while before jumping back several steps: “Your Highness, I won’t go! I still have to work for you!”

Prince Gong glared at him and waved his hand irritably: “What help can you be?! Any help you give is counterproductive. If you go find your father and deliver my message, that would truly help me!”

Han Yang had thought Prince Gong called him to assign him the task of winning over White Stork’s guards. He never expected Prince Gong wanted him to return to Jingzhou. Sending him back to Jingzhou—wasn’t that his death sentence? He shamelessly clung to Prince Gong and refused to leave: “With war and chaos everywhere, how can I find my father… The army has plenty of good scouts. Why don’t you send them? I’ll continue working for you…”

Prince Gong ignored him. He was already irritated: “What use are you?!”

After thinking for a moment, someone came in to report, and halfway through listening, his temper flared. He suddenly pointed at Han Yang: “If you won’t go find your father, then you go pry open Chief Clerk Ling’s mouth for me and extract Marquis Dingyuan’s whereabouts. If you can get it out of him, I’ll give you whatever you want!”

He had long heard that Han Zhengqing was extremely accomplished in torture, no less skilled than those like Lai Junchen. His son, raised in the military since childhood, even if he couldn’t learn the essence, should at least have learned some basics, right?

Han Yang opened his mouth and exclaimed: “So it was Chief Clerk Ling who leaked the tactics…?”

Prince Gong glared at him. He immediately turned and fled like a wisp of smoke.

When he arrived, Wu Feng was having someone take a hemp sack to put over Chief Clerk Ling’s body. Chief Clerk Ling’s single arm was hanging from a rack, his head drooping powerlessly to one side. His clothes had been stripped to just a single inner garment, making him look thin and frail. His graying hair was stained with spots of blood, and he made not the slightest sound.

Han Yang stopped in his tracks, actually not daring to move for a moment. He pointed at Chief Clerk Ling and asked Wu Feng: “Is he dead?”

These beasts! His teeth clenched tightly, afraid he would curse out something unpleasant. Fortunately, his surface skills had long been cultivated to perfection. He was intimately familiar with how to say one thing while thinking another, so his face showed not the slightest abnormality.

Wu Feng raised his eyebrows: “No.” Then he ordered someone to lower Chief Clerk Ling’s hand.

Han Yang darted over in a few steps and stood beside him, looking at Chief Clerk Ling and asking: “Then what are you doing? I thought you were collecting a corpse.”

“Applying torture.” Wu Feng glanced at him and pointed with his finger at a cage of rats beside them: “Put him together with these rats, and he’ll know what’s what.”

Han Yang’s face twitched, and he shook his head violently: “No way!”

He surveyed the entire dungeon, then looked at Chief Clerk Ling before him, barely clinging to life. Seeing Wu Feng staring at him with great interest, he furiously shoved him: “Are you damn well trying to beat him to death? If this man dies, how am I supposed to interrogate him?!”

Wu Feng was pushed back several steps by him, nearly kicking over the charcoal brazier. After steadying himself, he paid no attention to his provocation and ordered his men to proceed.

This time Han Yang was truly anxious. He reached out and slapped the back of the soldier holding the sack: “I said no! The Prince said this person is for me to interrogate.”

Then pointing at Wu Feng, he sneered coldly: “So this is how you interrogate—no wonder you can’t get half a word out of him. Useless!”

Han Yang seemed increasingly arrogant lately. Wu Feng looked at him thoughtfully and imperceptibly, then shifted his gaze back to Chief Clerk Ling, shaking his head at the soldier and saying to Han Yang: “In that case, you interrogate him.”

Han Yang cynically clasped his hands behind his back and walked a circle around Chief Clerk Ling: “Fine! If I interrogate, then I interrogate! It was supposed to be me anyway. Hurry up and get lost. My first order of business is to have him stay in this cell alone for a day or two.”

Wu Feng sat in a chair beside them: “You’re going to stay here with him for a day or two?”

Before Han Yang could answer, someone from outside had already come to report: “Commander Wu, Young Master Han, someone has come with news from Datong. The Prince is calling you both over!”

The two simultaneously raised their heads, exchanged a glance, and both strode quickly outside.

Han Yang circled around Chief Clerk Ling, swiftly reached out and patted him once, and left.