No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 600: The Empress's return to the Empress, the Yuan Lord's return to the Yuan Lord [7k words two-in-one, monthly vote requested! ]

The innermost cell in the old state prison.

"Thorn--!"

As a rusty iron door was screaming and pushed open by two ladies from the outside, Ouyang Rong followed Rong Zhen and walked into the door.

He looked slightly surprised.

This cell was not filled with all kinds of torture instruments as Ouyang Rong had imagined.

Only water.

Kettles, buckets, jars, puddles, and drops of water.

Tick ​​tock...tick tock...tick tock...

Heavy drops of water slowly dripped from the dark and damp ceiling, hitting the calm water surface.

There is water all around.

The uppers of his boots were already wet when he stepped into the cell.

If Ouyang Rong had not just walked all the way here from the entrance of the state prison on the edge of the cliff, he would have thought that this was some kind of underground river or a damp cave at the bottom of a lake.

The atmosphere of this dark and damp cell made Ouyang Rong feel somewhat familiar.

The two female historians who followed Rong Zhen walked to both sides and lit torches.

“This is water from Xingzi Lake.

"Old Yang said that lake water is clear, damp, cold and calm, unlike river water which is turbid and moving and too dynamic. It is not suitable for the confined environment of a water prison and would make water torture less effective.

“Especially the water-drop torture, which is about the dual psychological and physical torture in a confined environment.

"Lake water is the best, the deeper the better. Within a hundred miles of Xunyang City, the only lake that meets these conditions is Xingzi Lake..."

The cold girl in palace dress stood aside with her sleeves rolled up, explaining softly, but her expression could not be seen clearly.

Ouyang Rong sighed softly: "No wonder this water smells so familiar."

At this time, a one-eyed old man appeared at the door of the cell behind the two of them.

Different from the blue-clad jailers and white-clad female officials who were dressed in uniform in the prison, this old man who was blind in one eye was dressed in navy blue linen, had sparse white hair and a face like a dead tree.

The old man walked into the door calmly, holding a sheepskin water bag in his hand.

Rong Zhen raised his foot without looking back and took the initiative to make way.

Ouyang Rong stepped aside with her.

The one-eyed old man quietly walked past the two of them and headed straight towards the dark depths of the dungeon in front of him.

Ouyang Rong saw what seemed to be a black shadow standing up in the depths.

It seemed that the wall-mounted lamp was out of oil, so the two female officials who were preparing to light the lamp turned around and went out to get the oil.

The cell was temporarily dark.

Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen stopped beside the iron gate and did not enter the depths of the cell for the time being.

The one-eyed old man seemed to be very familiar with the terrain of the prison, and the dark environment did not hinder his familiar steps.

Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen stood side by side, watching the one-eyed old man walk into the depths.

Ouyang Rong was familiar with this peculiar one-eyed old man. He was the one who personally handled the interrogation of the spy in the cell next door.

At that time, Ouyang Rong came to observe when the interrogation was halfway through. The one-eyed old man was immersed in torturing the prisoner, and the two had no communication or contact.

However, Ouyang Rong was deeply impressed by the one-eyed old man's skillful and frightening eighteen tortures of forced confession.

However, unlike him who had a calm face, Yuan Huaimin, who had come to watch today with the intention of slacking off, vomited two or three times during the interrogation. His stomach was full of two meals.

Later, Yuan Huaimin couldn't stand it anymore, so he found an excuse and ran away in a hurry. Therefore, he didn't have the chance to come to the second water dungeon with Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen to see the world.

Anyway, before leaving, Yuan Huaimin looked at his two companions Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen as if they were monsters.

"His surname is Yang, and his given name has not been mentioned for a long time. People who know him in the Imperial Observatory and the Luodu Dali Temple all call him Old Yang or Old Yangtou."

Rong Zhen broke the silence and spoke softly.

"Old Yang was once a cruel official. He was not the most famous one back then, but he was not bad either. He had worked with two of the most famous cruel officials. It is possible that he had advised on some of the most notorious tortures known to the world.

"Even when dealing with Qi Refiners, he has a lot of ideas."

"A cruel official? Did he join the Imperial Prison Department before?"

Ouyang Rong suddenly asked.

Rong Zhen nodded gently:

"Well, the old criminal officials in the Imperial Prison Department. Later, the Luoyang Imperial Prison Department was disbanded. It wasn't really disbanded, it was downsized, and it was in name only. Most of the cruel criminal officials in the original Imperial Prison Department didn't have a good end. Those who were able to retire intact, some went to the Dali Temple, some were taken in by the Imperial Observatory, and some left the Luojing government and the public...

"Old Yang was specially invited from Jinling after our Supervisory Council issued a wanted notice. He has been serving in the Jinling State Prison for many years, so he can be considered semi-retired... This time we invited him here to interrogate the rebels. In fact, there are many such experts in the court, and sometimes we have to make good use of them."

Ouyang Rong could hear a hint of respect in Rong Zhen's usually cold tone.

"Half-retire? It's because I offended too many people in the past, so I have to keep a low profile." While he was speaking, he glanced at the hunched back of the one-eyed old man in front of him.

The Imperial Prison and cruel officials are old news from the time when the current sage just changed the dynasty and established the Great Zhou.

At that time, this saint had just come to power. In order to take over and consolidate the imperial power, and especially to purge the so-called "rebels" within the country, he opened the imperial prison and appointed cruel officials on a large scale.

The so-called imperial prison mainly refers to cases where high-ranking officials of the court and royal family members are guilty and can only be imprisoned after the emperor issues an imperial edict.

That is, a prison directly managed by the emperor, and the criminals in this prison were convicted by the emperor himself.

The Imperial Prison Division was responsible for the imperial prison, and many notorious cruel officials came out of it.

They specifically targeted the Li clan and high-ranking officials who rebelled, and many people were massacred.

The saint of the time used this as an excuse to make arbitrary decisions.

However, at that time, Prince Xunyang Lixian and his family had already been demoted to Jiangzhou and became commoners, so they managed to escape this huge political storm.

Otherwise, if he fell into the hands of the cruel officials in the Imperial Prison, he would probably be framed for treason and unjustly died in the Imperial Prison like other members of the Li clan.

Later, the imperial power of the Great Zhou Dynasty gradually stabilized, and the current emperor gave up the rule of cruel officials.

First, he accepted advice from many people and gradually weakened the Imperial Prison Department. Then, he opened the imperial court and dealt with most of the notorious cruel officials. Then, he suddenly realized his mistake and upheld justice, turning around and redressing some well-known unjust cases, which earned him a lot of reputation.

Remember that the court gazette a few days ago said that someone presented a memorial praising the current saint as a benevolent and merciful ruler? The Tianshu and four-sided Buddha statues of the Great Zhou Songde, which commend his saintliness, wisdom and kindness, are also being built. Everything is thriving. How could he still have the bad reputation of being the "lord of lewd punishments"? Don't slander him.

Anyway, Ouyang Rong's evaluation of those cruel officials in the Imperial Prison who once disturbed the court situation was very simple: a useful sharp knife.

But after a careful comparison, Ouyang Rong was lucky enough to come at the right time.

In the first year of Jiu Shi, the original body made a suggestion at the Xingyuan Banquet in Shendu, disturbing the mood of the empress;
Later, because of Princess Changle's incident, he directly rebuked the empress and dared to speak out, which indirectly showed that she was not good at educating her daughter and was spoiling her;
There was also Ouyang Rong’s “dying to obey the imperial edict” not long ago.

This saint didn't actually chop him down directly, but gave him a set of Nine Clans Elimination Game.

Of course, times are different now. The saint sitting in the court in Luoyang now is an 80-year-old lady who eats vegetarian food, chants Buddhist scriptures, and is a loving mother and filial son.

It is no longer the time when enemies are everywhere, imperial power is unstable, and one step could lead to the abyss.

It can be said that she is just protecting her reputation now, but at least she is still cautious and restrained.

In addition, this change in the current saint does not mean that Ouyang Rong was deliberately pretending to be honest and taking the opportunity to seek fame.

It was because of Ouyang Lianghan's incident of directly admonishing and contradicting the empress in court that the wise people in the court and the country keenly realized that the wind had changed, and the elderly empress began to be more merciful and kind.

Before this, no one was actually sure.

Ouyang Lianghan was the first one to take the risk personally. He had prepared a coffin in advance and was ready to go vertically and come back horizontally before he went to the palace alone to give direct advice.

Therefore, Ouyang Lianghan's reputation as a gentleman is well-known all over the world, without any falsehood. Everyone is convinced and knows that this "gentleman" can get along well and really take action when there is something to worry about...

"Oh, right, Master Di was framed by a cruel official and demoted from Kyoto to the remote Longcheng County. It was Old Yang and his men who supervised and escorted him along the way."

Rong Zhen suddenly spoke.

Ouyang Rong turned and looked at her.

At this time, the lights in the water dungeon were lit, and the female official brought the lamp oil.

Ouyang Rong squinted his eyes at first, adjusting to the sudden brightness of the dark room.

Then he saw clearly the situation inside the cell.

There was a puddle in front of him. The black shadow that Ouyang Rong had seen not long ago was restrained by torture instruments and forced to stand in the puddle. The water level just reached his chest. Above his head, water drops were falling, dripping continuously on his head.

Ouyang Rong's attention was focused on the water drop.

He knew about the water drop torture, which was a double torture of psychological and physical torture.

In the already dark water dungeon environment, by continuously allowing water drops to fall on the prisoner's head or sensitive parts of the body, long-term repeated stimulation will cause the prisoner to have a mental breakdown.

tick tock...tick tock...

The torch lit at the door had become very dim by the time its light fell on the dark shadow in the dungeon.

Ouyang Rong took this opportunity to see the black shadow clearly.

This is a slightly plump middle-aged man with an honest look. His face is white and plump, and you can tell he was wealthy before going to prison.

At the moment, his head was full of wet black hair, his body was swollen from staying in the water for a long time, and his lips were pale and swollen like two frozen sausages in the cold winter.

"It's only been half a day and you're done with it? Old Yang's water skills are really amazing, and his reputation is well-deserved."

Ouyang Rong heard Rong Zhen's voice beside him and couldn't help but look back at her.

"Li Yu is from Jiangzhou. His family has lived in Xunyang City for three generations. They run a medicinal materials business and have quite a fortune. He is the only son of the Li family, so the people in Xingzifang all call him Mr. Li."

Rong Zhen had an excellent memory. She opened her red lips and slowly said:
"Mr. Li has a wife, Ms. Sun, and the couple is well-known for their love. Since Mr. Li married Ms. Sun, he has never taken a concubine, even though he lost his wife three years ago. His wife left behind a daughter, nicknamed Li Shu, who has now been taken away by Yunmeng's second daughter, Junyu Nianyuan, and her whereabouts are unknown.

"The Li family of Xingzifang is an informant of Yunmeng Jianze in Jiangzhou. The information we have found so far is that it was led by Li Yuanwai's late wife, Sun. Sun has a close relationship with Yunmeng Jianze, but we haven't found out her past experience yet.

"During the construction of the Xingzi Lake Buddha, the Yunmeng Yue women infiltrated the city. The Li family's house and herbal medicine shop in Xingzifang became the stationed halls of the Yue women. The known first and second female monarchs were among them.

"Among them, the second daughter, Yu Nianyuan, sneaked into the Li residence near Xingzi Lake as a private school teacher, taught Li's youngest daughter, Li Shu, how to write, and waited for an opportunity to ambush the Buddha head convoy that entered the Xingzifang construction site...

"These are the known information that has been discovered before."

Ouyang Rong stroked his chin, which was covered with stubble.

"What about Yue Chuzi? Since she came to the city, she must have been to Li's house or Li's pharmacy."

Rong Zhen's cold eyes fell on the wet Li Yu in the puddle in front of him:
"Yes, about Yue's virginity. Someone didn't tell the truth. He deliberately omitted it when he confessed before." "Um... um... um..."

At this time, everyone saw Li Yu's lips moving in the puddle and his words were unclear.

The one-eyed old man called Lao Yangtou walked up to Li Yu, lowered his head and squatted, pulled out the sheepskin water bag and stuffed it into the latter's mouth.

The Li fish was like a dead fish on the cracked riverbed in a drought year that encountered sweet dew, and it used all its strength to suck up the clean water in the water bag.

Li Yu had just swallowed a mouthful of water when Old Yang suddenly pulled back the sheepskin water bag.

"Has Yue Chuzi come to Xunyang City?"

The voice of the one-eyed old cruel official was hoarse and dark, as if he had swallowed a piece of hot coal. One had to listen carefully to be able to discern it.

This is definitely not a natural hoarse voice, it is acquired, Ouyang Rong can hear it.

"Water...water...please give me water."

Li Yu stared at the sheepskin water bag hanging in the air with his dead fish eyes, but reached out his hand and grabbed nothing.

Old Yang held up the sheepskin water bag, his hand motionless, and looked down at him.

There was water all around, but Li Yu was craving for water.

At this time, a cold voice came from the direction of the door:

"Mr. Li, today I am not here to visit or chat like I usually do. Instead, I want to trouble you with a favor. Please draw a picture of Yue Chuzi."

Ouyang Rong turned his head and glanced at Rong Zhen who was talking with her eyes lowered. He vaguely felt that she was in a strange mood today.

"Virgin...what virgin?"

Li Yu raised his head, his eyes filled with confusion.

Rong Zhen said nothing and just looked at him quietly.

Old Yang tilted his head back and took a sip of water.

Li Yu raised his head and stared at the sheepskin water bag in his hand with wide eyes, licking his lips frequently.

Ouyang Rong stood aside and watched coldly.

The dungeon fell into a strange silence, with only the sound of dripping water.

"Madam, I really don't know what you are talking about. I think I have heard of the term virgin before. My late wife once mentioned it, but I have never seen one.

“I allowed the guests of Yunmengze to stay overnight in order to repay the favor owed by my late wife. I never expected that something so extraordinary would happen later, affecting the Lady Historian and the affairs of the court… I deserve to die.

“But I have written down everything I have seen and heard these days, and I have also drawn the general facial features of the eldest and second female monarchs in my memory. I have said everything I know, and I don’t know anything else.

"I really don't know who the owner of Butterfly Love Flower is or who the virgin is. I don't have any impression of them. Maybe they have appeared in front of me before, but I don't know them..."

Li Yu stood in the water, which covered his chest. As he opened his mouth, his body swayed and he was dying.

Rong Zhen stepped forward and said in a surprisingly calm tone:
"We already know the appearance of Xue Zhongzhu and Yu Nianyuan without you, so what you said are all useless clues.

“Besides, since the Yunmeng Yue women chose your Li family as the base of their Xunyang City, it is impossible for them not to know everything about your Li family. It is not reasonable to just repay the kindness of a deceased wife.

"You must be someone who knows them inside out, and you must be fully aware of what they do. In this case, if Virgin Yue comes to Xunyang City, and you say you haven't seen her, do you think I will believe you?"

Without waiting for Li Yu to explain, Rong Zhen continued:

"I have always been afraid of killing someone by mistake, and I have thought about your Li family. I have always thought that your Li family would not be so foolish as to use the lives of nearly a hundred people in the family as a price to foolishly help the Yunmeng female cultivators in their rebellious actions.

"If you were really deeply involved in this, you should have made preparations to transfer your family members long ago, instead of doing it like this. The eldest and second daughters of Yunmeng abandoned your Li family and fled, taking only a little legitimate daughter with them..."

"But I just suddenly realized something, which overturned the previous theory that the Li family is innocent. Mr. Li, do you know what it is?"

Li Yu opened his mouth silently, but could not utter a word. Rong Zhen said softly:
"Most people did not expect the Donglin Buddha's head convoy to suddenly enter the city. The Yunmeng Lady and the Second Lady were also caught off guard. The fact that the Yunmeng Lady was not present at the time is proof of this.

"Under this situation, even if your Li family had any backup plans, it was too late to use them, so after the Yunmeng Yue women hastily retreated, they became abandoned pawns.

"Look at it this way...it makes sense."

Li Yu looked at Rong Zhen blankly.

Rong Zhen turned sideways and pointed at Ouyang Rong who was standing at the door not far away, expressionless:

"Sima Ouyang is here today. When I was chatting with him a few days ago, I heard you mention that you respect Sima Ouyang very much and think he is someone who can really do practical things for Xunyang City. You have always said that Sima Ouyang changed Xunyang City when he was the Chief Secretary. You also said that there are still good officials with conscience in the Great Zhou Dynasty who need to be discovered by the wise monarch. You also said that if Sima Ouyang was still the Chief Secretary at that time, the Xingzi Lake Buddha and the Wang family tragedy caused by it would not have happened..."

Li Yu looked at the handsome young man sitting motionless behind him and stammered, "Sima Ouyang..."

Without waiting for him to finish, Rong Zhen said calmly:
"But look now, what have you brought to Xunyang City? Li Yu, when I saw your family being confiscated that day, I felt sympathy for them, but now, I have done my best."

She glanced at Old Yang, then turned and returned to Ouyang Rong.

Under Li Yu's painful look, Old Yang raised the sheepskin water bag and sprinkled the clean water casually on the ground in front of Li Yu.

Old Yang walked over and dragged over a large tilted wooden board. He fixed Li Yu upside down on the board, then slowly lowered the tilted board with the help of a rope, allowing the cold lake water to soak his upside-down face.

As if he slowly felt the cold and suffocating feeling brought by the lake water, Li Yu began to tremble all over, his mouth was full of wailing and begging for mercy, and his intense panic was visible to the naked eye.

But Old Yang had a steady hand. Without any hesitation, he pulled a rope and slowly lowered the wooden board. He watched the lake water soaking through Li Yu's mouth and nose, and he kept pulling up his palms a little, causing the latter to repeatedly linger on the edge of suffocation... This was the horror of water torture, making the prisoners experience multiple near-drowning experiences in order to cause extreme fear and pain.

Ouyang Rong sat at the edge of the door, on a wooden stool brought by the female official.

He crossed his hands, supported his chin, and turned his back to the torches on the wall. His expression was dim and unclear, as if he was silently watching the scenes in front of him.

Hearing the crying and begging for mercy, Rong Zhen closed her eyes. Her voice was very soft, but it was loud in the lonely water dungeon where the only sound was the gurgling and choking water.

Resounding in Li Yu's ears:

"Mr. Li, I will give you one last chance to draw the appearance of Yue Chuzi.

“Do you know that you are really stupid for pretending to be stupid all the time? Do you know that your fellow rebels in Tiannan Jianghu have already abandoned you?

"Do you know that today's incident was betrayed to the Supervisory Council by your traitor companions? I know that Yue Chuzi is in the city, Yunmeng Jianze is sending people to find her, and he has also sent people to inquire about your Li family's affairs...

"You still say that your Li family is not deeply tied to Yunmeng Sword Lake? Then where do the precious herbs collected from the depths of Yunmeng Lake that your Li family's pharmacy sells every year come from? I really don't know what you are still insisting on. Do you think you can continue to gain sympathy and deceive me?"

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a female official went out tacitly. After a while, she returned, followed by two jailers. They carried a strong man who was unconscious like mud and threw him on the wet floor in front of Li Yu.

Rong Zhen didn't open his eyes, and asked calmly: "Do you want me to read you his confession?"

The air seemed silent for a moment.

Li Yu, who had been begging for mercy, suddenly became as silent as a dead fish. Apart from the violent coughing caused by suffocation, he no longer made any sound of begging for mercy.

Ouyang Rong even saw that this timid and honest-looking plump man tilted his neck upward and immersed his mouth and nose in the water, as if seeking relief.

Old Yang paused, lowered his head and frowned.

Rong Zhen, who had been sitting back down, suddenly rushed forward, grabbed the wooden board, and threw Li Yu, who was almost suffocating in the water, along with the board, to the ground nearby.

"Cough cough cough cough cough -!"

Li Yu coughed violently, supported himself on the ground with his hands, and kept vomiting lake water onto the ground. His stomach was about to burst.

"why?"

Ouyang Rong and Old Yang both looked sideways when they heard this.

Rong Zhen's chest was heaving. He squatted down in front of the dying Li Yu, stared into his eyes, and asked word by word:
"Why don't you live a good life and be a good citizen of the Great Zhou, but instead protect these rebels in Yunmeng Jianze, and even refuse to reveal any trace of Yue Chuzi. It's just a painting of their appearance. What did they give you to make you work so hard? Have you ever thought about your family? Do you really want to make such a decision to resist the court on their behalf?
"You, the Li family, have been citizens of Daqian and Dazhou for three generations. You were born in a prosperous era and have enjoyed the grace of the saints. Regardless of how good Dazhou is, at least it allows you, the diligent taxpayers, to live and work in peace and contentment. At least the court can elect officials like Ouyang Lianghan who are dedicated to their duties and speak for the people to govern the area.

"You are the people of the Great Zhou. Why are you working for Yunmeng Jianze? You are protecting them and even abandoning your family?"

Mr. Li's swollen face turned red. He seemed to raise his head and tried hard to look at the angry Rong Zhen, the silent Ouyang Rong and Old Yang.

The dungeon fell silent, and no one knew how long it had been silent.
His hoarse voice sounded in the dungeon:

"It's true that I am a citizen of the Great Zhou, but I am also a son of Wu Yue. Ever since I killed all the evil dragons in Wu Yue a thousand years ago, Yuan Jun has been the master of the thousands of islands and lakes in the 900-li Yunmeng Lake. He has also been the patron saint of Wu Yue and the protector of the children of Wu Yue for thousands of years."

After a pause, he said something with a dazed look on his face that silenced the entire audience.

"Just like my late wife once said... the Empress belongs to the Empress, and Yuan Jun belongs to Yuan Jun."

After these words were spoken, Rong Zhen narrowed his eyes and fell silent.

Old Yang turned his head and looked at her, as if asking for instructions.

Rong Zhen suddenly chuckled:
"What a patron saint of Wuyue, Li Yu, you mean that you are in Da Zhou but your heart is in Yunmeng, right? Well, you are very honest and finally told the truth.

"This traitor from Yunmeng Jianze is really bewitching people. There must be many people in the old land of Wuyue who fall for this. No wonder Yunmeng Yue women are so difficult to catch. It turns out there are many fools like you."

Li Yukong looked ahead, his dazed face slowly showing a hint of determination and loneliness. Rong Zhen smiled, she turned around and waved her hand.

Old Yang received the signal, wiped his hands, and walked towards Li Yu.

"and many more."

Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke.

Rong Zhen and Old Yangtou paused and looked at him, who had been silent all the time, as if they were surprised.

Ouyang Rong walked forward, took out a sheepskin water bag, handed it to Li Yu's mouth, and turned back and said:

"Since Lord Rong doesn't want to try him, then let me try him. Miss Rong has given up anyway."

Rong Zhen frowned, "As for today's matter, you see, I have been embarrassed for so long, and you are still not satisfied? Let's go, even Old Yang's water torture is useless, so don't waste your time."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand, smiling a little embarrassedly:
"Ms. Rong, you also said that he is a citizen of Xunyang under my rule. He made a mistake. It was my fault for not leading him well. It violated my mission of shepherding the people on behalf of the emperor. I also have to fulfill my duty of persuasion. I hope that Ms. Rong will give him a chance."

Old Yang looked at him for a while, then looked at Rong Zhen's expression. He saw that she was looking at Ouyang Rong with a frown in silence, which was considered as her tacit consent.

Ouyang Rong walked forward and passed by Rong Zhen. Old Yang silently made way for him. At some point, the one-eyed and hoarse old man turned his head and looked at Ouyang Rong's tall and handsome back, not knowing what he was thinking.

Ouyang Rong came to Li Yu and squatted down. The latter's dead eyes moved slightly... Li Yu looked up in a daze and saw the handsome young man who helped him up with a bright smile on his face, showing his big white teeth.

"What a nice way to say Empress to Empress and Yuan Jun to Yuan Jun. By the way, I'd like to ask if Mr. Li knows how to take the postgraduate entrance examination. It doesn't matter if he doesn't know. Anyway, it's enough for you to know that I have a mutual respect for you."

His tone was sincere.

Li Yu: ...

Rong Zhen, Old Yangtou:? ?
……

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(PS: This chapter has 7k words, and I have added one more update. I currently owe 18 more.

Good brothers, please give me another wave of monthly tickets! or2)

(End of this chapter)