The prolonged silence made Feng Shijin feel tremendous pressure. From the moment the Bai Qi Si token appeared before him until now when blades were drawn, only a mere hour had passed. There had been no pause in between, no interrogation techniques employed—just laying out the evidence so nakedly and brutally, forcing him to confess.

Feng Shijin felt unbearably hot. Sweat soaked through his clothes. Three months of worry and fear had now transformed into balls of flame continuously scorching his heart.

Licking his dry lips, Feng Shijin said through gritted teeth, “That’s right, I said those words. As a subordinate official of the Crown Prince, being loyal to my lord is the virtue of a subject.” Having said this, Feng Shijin felt his entire body relax considerably.

He was certainly doomed. He only hoped to preserve his elderly mother, wife, and children. One momentary lapse in judgment had led to this dead end. The mood that had just relaxed was replaced again by bitterness.

Yun Ye hadn’t expected that Feng Shijin would take full responsibility for words spoken by all four people, shouldering everything himself. He had been waiting for him to continue and expose Li Anyan, Zhao Jie, and Du He, but this fellow had actually fallen silent. However, seeing his pained expression, it was clear he had begun worrying about his family.

“What a righteous and honorable Feng Shijin! You’ve taken all the responsibility upon yourself—aren’t you worried about your elderly mother, wife, and children? Treason and intent to commit treason are the same in my eyes. For those who harbor resentment and disloyal thoughts, the only outcome is execution. You’re not unaware of such precedents, are you? Tell me, who is the ringleader?”

Feng Shijin was shocked. Hou Junji, Gao Shilian, Ji Ganxiaoji, Du Zhenglun, Zhao Jie, Du He, Li Anyan, plus himself—this was already the core group. Why ask who the ringleader was?

Could it be that these people’s target was actually the Crown Prince himself? This voice sounded very young, but to be sent to interrogate him, he must be someone’s trusted confidant. Who had harbored thoughts of seizing the succession?

“Who are you?” Feng Shijin widened his eyes, trying to see clearly the person sitting in the darkness. As a result, his neck received a heavy lash of the whip, burning with pain.

“Feng Shijin, until now I’ve been speaking nicely with you and haven’t used torture. Don’t say foolish things like you can withstand it. I’ve seen plenty of tough men—under the three wooden boards, don’t they all eventually yield to whatever is demanded? Tell me, who is the ringleader? Only by confessing readily can you have a quick end. Perhaps in consideration of your cooperation, I’ll spare your wife, children, and elderly mother.”

Feng Shijin could almost imagine what would happen if he falsely accused the Crown Prince. If the Eastern Palace was damaged, it wouldn’t just be his own family that would suffer—tens of thousands would surely die before it ended.

He too had read extensively in the histories. How could he not know how the witchcraft case during Emperor Wu of Han’s reign had driven a crown prince to his death? How could he not know how many people died after the failed attempt by the Hidden Crown Prince and Prince Xi? The repercussions of that incident had not faded even to this day.

They couldn’t survive, couldn’t survive—his whole family couldn’t survive. Feng Shijin shouted this madly in his heart, shaking violently and making the chains clatter loudly. His expression was fierce but his mouth remained tightly shut.

Next door, Li Chengqian paced back and forth. Three or four times he wanted to come over, walking to the door but involuntarily stopping. Yun Ye’s method of attacking the heart was wrong—who could endure such torment?

Two more lashes fell, whipping the frenzied Feng Shijin into quietness. He weakly rested his head against the wooden frame and said, “I spoke carelessly and said treasonous words, naturally deserving ten thousand deaths. We could all be considered colleagues. What fault do my wife, children, and elderly mother have? Whatever punishment Feng Shijin receives, I have no complaints or regrets. Please spare my wife and children—even as a ghost I would be grateful.”

“Feng Shijin, why make yourself suffer so? As long as you tell me who the ringleader is, this official guarantees to leave Dengzhou immediately and absolutely won’t knock on your family’s door. I also guarantee not a single word about your family will appear in the case files. How about it?”

“If you don’t do these things, someone else will. Zhao Jie, Li Anyan, Ji Ganxiaoji, Du He—someone among them will talk. Two confessions are already in this official’s hands. To make this case ironclad, your confession is also very important. Speak! This is your last chance. Otherwise, I’ll put you and your whole family in a prison cart and take you back to Chang’an. When that time comes, you’ll still talk.”

The burly man retrieved two confessions from the darkness and placed them before Feng Shijin for him to see. The bright red fingerprints were clearly visible. A conspicuous line of large characters entered Feng Shijin’s eyes, causing his liver and gall to split: “Our western palace wall is only twenty-some steps from the inner palace. This is extremely close—sending troops into the western palace would be the work of an instant.”

“This is fake! This is fake! Those words were said by Ji Ganxiaoji, not by His Highness. When he said those things, Left Gentleman-Attendant Zhang Xuansu was present. The old gentleman flew into a rage and threw an inkstone at Ji Ganxiaoji, who dodged it. You cannot frame the Crown Prince! The Crown Prince never supported us doing this. It was we who wanted wealth and glory—it has nothing to do with the Crown Prince.”

Yun Ye sighed and emerged from the darkness. Feng Shijin’s eyeballs nearly fell out—he never would have imagined that the person so intent on harming the Crown Prince was actually the Crown Prince’s close friend, Yun Ye.

“You didn’t expect it, did you, Feng Shijin? The one handling this matter is actually me. There’s no help for it—my relationship with the Crown Prince is too close. This time you plotted rebellion and I stayed far away, but that won’t work. No matter how far I stay, if the Crown Prince has trouble, I’ll be implicated too. Now, to extricate myself, I have no choice but to wrong the Crown Prince.”

At this point, Yun Ye suddenly smiled and said softly to Feng Shijin, “Actually, the more one feels sorry for the Crown Prince, the more one hopes the Crown Prince will fall quickly. That’s how I feel right now. Seeing that even I have appeared, you should understand that the Crown Prince’s situation is hopeless. How about it? As long as you confirm that those words were said by the Crown Prince, I can guarantee you won’t die. Prince Wei will certainly be very pleased.”

“So you’re Prince Wei’s man! No wonder when you went to Lingnan, Prince Wei followed—this was a scheme you plotted long ago, wasn’t it? Leaving an empty heartland so we would develop thoughts we shouldn’t have had. Isn’t that right? Yun Ye, you beast with a human face and bestial heart! The Crown Prince treated you as his closest friend, yet you turn around and scheme against him. How can a person be so venomous? Ptui!”

Feng Shijin’s neck was strangled by the iron chains. A mouthful of bloody phlegm didn’t fly far, hanging red at the corner of his mouth, quite disgusting. Yun Ye took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, then tossed the handkerchief into the furnace. He patted Feng Shijin’s face and said, “A person lives one lifetime, grass grows one season. The problem is that we grass and trees always have many other things attached to us—old mothers, wives, children, and so on—always preventing us from living freely. Since you refuse to appreciate favors, I have no choice but to use torture. I hope you can keep up your tough guy act to the end.”

The bare-chested burly man carried over a brazier. A branding iron was placed in the fire to heat. Ten five-inch bamboo splinters were laid out before Feng Shijin, along naturally with a bowl of red chili water.

“Feng Shijin, look—a person’s fingers are most flexible, so the pain sensation is also most intense. These ten bamboo splinters inserted under the fingernails are unbearably painful. I wonder how many you can endure. I once used this on a notorious bandit—he lasted three splinters before confessing even scandals from eighteen generations of ancestors.”

Setting down the bamboo splinters, he picked up the bowl of chili water and said, “I know branding iron on flesh is child’s play for you. But do you like chili peppers? Even if you do, it won’t help—this isn’t for you to drink with your mouth. It’s to be poured in through your nose. Last time when I got drunk with the Crown Prince, the food was rather spicy. When I vomited, some of the spicy liquid accidentally went up my nose. At that moment, I desperately wanted to die. Believe me, I’m absolutely not exaggerating.”

Feng Shijin roared, trying to break free from the chains. Seeing he had no way out, he cursed Yun Ye’s eighteen generations of ancestors in his mouth and violently banged his head against the wooden frame, specifically aiming for the corners. After just a few blows, his head was bleeding profusely. The enraged and humiliated Yun Ye grabbed a wooden club and viciously struck Feng Shijin on the head…

When Feng Shijin awoke from unconsciousness, he sat up abruptly, roaring “Evil thief!” and tried to lunge forward, only to see his wife, elderly mother, and children surrounding his bed. Could it be that he had already arrived in the netherworld?

His heart aching as if cut by knives, Feng Shijin stretched out his arms with tear-blurred eyes, wanting to embrace his wife, but was pushed away by his shy wife. While he was in a daze, his elderly mother chuckled and led the children out of the room.

“Husband, it’s over—everything is over. His Highness the Crown Prince came and gave the family many rewards. He told mother that you are a rare subject, and that he knows of your loyalty toward him.” His wife Liu Shi happily took out a huge pearl to show Feng Shijin—it was indeed a rare treasure.

“Did His Highness say ‘loyalty’ and not ‘devotion’?” Feng Shijin’s eyes brightened instantly as he asked.

“Yes. Marquis Yun was standing beside him saying what a bargain you got—pearls he plundered from the South Seas were being bestowed by His Highness on insignificant people. He hadn’t even plundered many such large pearls himself. Husband, did you offend Marquis Yun?” Liu Shi set down the pearl in her hand and asked Feng Shijin with some concern.

Having figured out what had actually happened, Feng Shijin laughed heartily and said, “That’s right—I cursed his eighteen generations of ancestors!” Seeing his wife still looked confused, he didn’t explain. He yanked off the hemp cloth wrapped around his head and said to his wife, “Summon all our household servants back. Our family will feast for three days. Don’t invite uncle’s family!”

When Yun Ye rode away from Dengzhou on horseback, every time Li Chengqian glanced at him, he would look up and laugh heartily. Another glance, another hearty laugh. Yun Ye kept a dark face and said nothing. He had really taken a fall this time, playing the villain in vain, causing eighteen generations of ancestors to suffer disgrace. He couldn’t even seek revenge for this grievance—he had brought it all on himself. It was comparable to the injustice Yan Song suffered.

He had still underestimated the integrity of the ancients. In the end, knowing he couldn’t endure the torture, Feng Shijin had tried to end his own life. Such people were generally called martyrs. He had always thought it was just a legend—he hadn’t expected to see one with his own eyes. No matter what, this trip wasn’t in vain. It was just that this shameful incident of his would be laughed at by Li Chengqian for a lifetime, which made him very uncomfortable.