“Three thousand seven hundred and eighty people died?” Yun Ye was also somewhat shocked. How could so many people have died in three years?

Yun Shou’s eyes reddened as he said, “They were merely falsely accused. When people entered the Court of Judicial Review, they first had to pass through five procedures: cleansing, tanning, bone-feeling, tendon-loosening, and warming. Each procedure was utterly inhumane. Few could endure until the warming procedure. Father, do you know how they warmed people? They put people in large urns with firewood burning underneath. Even in the lightest cases, after coming out of the urn, both feet would have turned to charcoal.”

After a long silence, Yun Ye asked again, “Have Zhou Xing and Suo Yuanli confessed?”

Yun Shou shook his head. “Not yet. As soon as the interrogation begins, he immediately says this was His Majesty’s decree. Although this is true, your son doesn’t need such a confession. Your son needs them to take all responsibility upon themselves.”

Speaking to this point, Yun Shou smiled bitterly and said, “You know this—the Emperor cannot be guilty. Only ministers can be guilty. Li Yifu and Han Du don’t care about anything at all. They sit in the great hall like clay bodhisattvas without saying a word.”

Yun Ye said with a smile, “They don’t dare to steal your credit! What else can they do but be clay bodhisattvas?”

Yun Shou laughed awkwardly and said, “Father, your formidable authority protects me. Your son still benefits from your influence.”

Yun Ye laughed heartily. “In such matters, if the Yun family doesn’t do it, who dares? Handle this matter well and solidly. Make the case an ironclad one. Get Di Renjie to help you. As Assistant Director of the Court of Judicial Review, he’s been far too low-key these years.”

Xin Yue watched Yun Shou leave, her heart full of pride. Sitting across from Yun Ye, she said with a smile, “Your concubine inspected the Yun family’s businesses today. All along the way, many people bowed to your concubine’s carriage, praising Shou’er for bringing down the evil bandits. The streets are full of people saying good things about Shou’er. Your concubine listened all the way and never got tired of it.”

“What’s there to be happy about? Zhou Xing and Suo Yuanli are just two overripe rotten fruits that will fall at the slightest breeze. Even if our family didn’t act, the Emperor would have dealt with Zhou Xing and Suo Yuanli soon anyway. These two are useless now—why keep them around? Last year when Qing Que wanted their heads, didn’t he also fail to succeed?”

Xin Yue twisted her body, very dissatisfied with her husband’s statement. Clearly their plump son had righteously exposed the treacherous ministers in court, fearlessly lancing the empire’s festering sore. How did it become just following the general trend in her husband’s mouth? Was this how a father should act? Not supporting his child at all.

Yun Shou didn’t know his mother was quarreling with his father over his affairs. He and Di Renjie walked through the Court of Judicial Review, filled with emotion. Di Renjie knocked on the rust-covered torture instruments and said to Yun Shou, “I also received a document from the Court of Judicial Review asking me to come in for a chat. As a result, that document was rejected by Master. Master wrote two words on it—’Seeking death’—and had me deliver it. Zhou Xing then politely sent me out without saying anything. If I had gone in, faced with these torture instruments, it would have been difficult to say nothing.”

“Look, the cleansing procedure alone would be hard to endure. Brushes made of bamboo dipped in chili water scrubbing the body—that would be deadly. At that point, one truly couldn’t live if they wanted to, couldn’t die if they wished.”

Yun Shou said dismissively, “Senior Brother, who are you? Zhou Xing would have to be blind to target you. Father kept wanting to lead troops to flatten the Court of Judicial Review. If you had really gone in, the Court of Judicial Review would have been gone long ago.”

Di Renjie chuckled. “With our elders protecting us, we naturally have nothing to fear. Just look at the fate of these people to know how terrifying this place is. This iron hoop for the head—who knows how many heads it has burst. They say when tightened to the limit, a person’s skull cap will fly off, and their brain matter will boil like water—I wonder if that’s true.”

Yun Shou smiled. “You’ll know soon enough. Since these people developed torture instruments to the extreme, if they don’t personally try them, how can they be worthy of their efforts? I want to see if Zhou Xing, when put in a large urn and roasted with fire, can still speak with ironclad certainty. He’s spent his lifetime taking what he wanted from others. I also want to try. I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother with the Ministry of Justice documents. Junior Brother doesn’t like paperwork at all.”

Di Renjie laughed heartily and went directly to the great hall to begin crafting documents. This was too simple for him. As for what Yun Shou would extract through interrogation, Di Renjie didn’t care. Everyone under heaven knew what was going on. What the Emperor needed was merely a veil to cover his shame. Zhou Xing and Suo Yuanli apparently didn’t understand the principle that when the cunning hares are killed, the hunting dogs are cooked.

Yun Shou entered the prison. The military guards who once strutted about arrogantly were now all imprisoned here. Seemingly knowing they couldn’t escape this calamity, they all hung their heads, appearing very resigned to their fate. But some were not resigned, such as Zhou Xing. The crimson robe on his body was still worn meticulously. His impoverished youth had made him very mindful of his official position. Although in prison, Yun Shou noticed this fellow’s official robe didn’t have a single wrinkle, unlike Suo Yuanli, whose hair was a mess like a bird’s nest and whose robe was filthy and disheveled.

This was a sign that his psychological defenses hadn’t yet collapsed. Seeing Yun Shou approach, Suo Yuanli, who was across from Zhou Xing, crawled and rolled to the bars, begging, “Please report to His Majesty, this humble official has been wronged! This humble official has been wronged! All the evil deeds here were Zhou Xing’s doing. This lowly official had little influence and couldn’t help but comply!”

Yun Shou’s gaze was ice-cold, but his face maintained a smile. He crouched down and said to Suo Yuanli, “You must try the torture instruments you invented, every single one. Do you know how many people outside are now waiting to eat your flesh, sleep on your skin, kill you to calm the people’s anger? Actually, this is His Majesty’s meaning. Previously you had His Majesty’s protection and committed evil deeds to the extreme. Now His Majesty no longer protects you—what good end do you think you’ll have?”

“I’ve been wronged! I’ve always followed His Majesty’s orders in everything, never overstepping!”

Zhou Xing, unable to bear Suo Yuanli’s disgraceful behavior, shouted loudly, “Shut your mouth! When a great man dies, he dies—that’s all! Loyally serving the Son of Heaven is our duty. What need is there for more words!”

Yun Shou smiled and clapped his hands. Immediately two burly men entered. Pointing at Suo Yuanli, he said to them, “Start from the beginning. Don’t skip a single punishment.”

The two military strongmen clasped their fists in salute, then opened the prison door and dragged Suo Yuanli, who was soiling himself, toward the torture chamber. Hearing Suo Yuanli’s miserable howling, Zhou Xing painfully closed his eyes.

“I didn’t know before what the allusion about inviting someone into an urn meant, but my father often mentioned it. Now I understand. Your current state is called inviting someone into an urn. Zhou Xing, I’m curious about one thing. You’re a talented scholar who came out of the Institute of Literary Erudition. Couldn’t you foresee today’s outcome? People my father and Prince Wei want to kill are basically dead for certain. Knowing you must die, why did you still so madly persecute your colleagues?”

Zhou Xing opened his eyes and said, “Ever since Duke Chu hung me on the gate wanting to cut me in two but I was saved by General Cheng, I understood I was already dead—I just didn’t know when. Since His Majesty wanted to consolidate power, he naturally couldn’t act personally and needed some pretexts for cover. Since I am His Majesty’s hunting dog, naturally I should resolve the Son of Heaven’s worries. This is a minister’s duty.”

“Now that His Majesty has basically achieved his purpose, naturally it’s time for the cunning hares to be killed and the hunting dogs cooked. I understand all this. The school of thought I focused on at the Institute of Literary Erudition was Legalism. From Han Fei to Shang Yang, I carefully made comparisons and finally discovered that people can indeed be controlled—they just need some external stimulation.”

“Facts prove I was right. Whether military tough guys or chaste virtuous women, after entering the Court of Judicial Review, tough guys can become sniveling worms, virtuous women can become prostitutes. Children’s characters can also be molded. After some intense stimulation, they can do things beyond their capabilities, such as killing a strong man or surviving a hundred days relying on a rotting corpse.”

“These people, in my eyes, are merely tools. They just happen to look somewhat like humans. His Majesty used me to eliminate dissidents, but didn’t I also use the authority His Majesty gave me to conduct my own research?”

“Human nature is a great field of study, divided into good and evil. Unfortunately, I only completed the evil side. I didn’t have time to research the good side. To pull those children from the abyss of sin, one can only rely on goodness. I didn’t have time to do this. You can give my research results to the stern gentleman at the Academy and have him finish it. This is a very remarkable field of study.”

Yun Shou was stunned. He had thought Zhou Xing would have various excuses or various pleas, or would even curse him, the Emperor, and this empire. He never expected this fellow was actually doing scholarship, conducting research.

Zhou Xing smiled. “I know far more than you. Having tortured so many people, there are always some secrets about the Yun family or the Academy. For instance, I know there’s a mysterious place in the Qinling Mountains storing terrifying things that could destroy this world. For instance, I know where Duke Chu first leaped into the human world. For instance, I also know that Daoist Sun Simiao once personally tested a new medicine with his medicine slaves. For instance, I also know about Zhangsun Chong’s northern fleet—their true mission is to find a paradise where the Zhangsun family can settle. For instance, I also know Dugu Mou was born disabled, missing a man’s organ, and his children are actually his cousin’s. I even know Princess Lanling has a secret lover and bore this lover a child…”

“Hehehe, how could someone who knows so many secrets possibly live? I should have died long ago. Actually, you should ask your father—he’s truly not an ordinary person. Bai Yujing may truly exist. Don’t you want to inherit that city of immortals? Yuan Shoucheng’s immortal land is a joke. More than one or two people know that the grandson acts as grandfather.”

“Yun Shou, the only reason I’m telling you all this is to ask you not to bury my research. Those poor children—with your father’s character, he definitely won’t stand by and do nothing. As for me, I shouldn’t be spared any punishment I deserve! Just after I die from torture, please help me dress in my official robes. Zhou Xing would be deeply grateful.”

Having finished speaking, Zhou Xing pulled out a large bundle of book-like items from the corner of the cell and handed them to Yun Shou with hopeful eyes. The light flashing in his eyes was no longer vicious—it seemed, it seemed full of wisdom…