Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

While Yun Jianye was reporting to Chu Ning, Jia Yu came to the dungeon to interrogate the seven assassins.

The dungeon's corridor was like the cut open abdomen of a giant python. Torches on both sides crackled in the humid air, stretching human figures into twisted ghosts.

Jia Yu walked slowly down the stone steps. The sole of his black leather boots crushed a woodlice that had crawled out of a crack in the wall. The sticky juice left a dark green trail on the moss.

"Sir, the seven survivors are locked in the torture room." The jailer hunched over and handed over a sweat towel.

"According to the rules, I took the medicine and couldn't bite my tongue."

Jia Yu did not take the handkerchief, but just flicked the iron skewers with his suede-gloved fingertips.

The tip of the skewer glowed blue in the firelight - that was the color obtained from years of immersion in poison.

On the iron chair in the center of the torture room, the first assassin's body was covered with purple spots from being strangled by the cowhide rope.

Jia Yu raised his hand to signal, and the two guards immediately turned over the backs of the chairs.

With a "gulp", the assassin fell into the stone trough filled with sewage along with his chair.

Foam mixed with blood rose up on the surface of the water, and the man's ankles spasmed into a strange arch shape in the knot.

"Say your name." Jia Yu squatted beside the trough and counted the bubbles.

What responded to him was a sudden explosion of water - the assassin had slammed the back of his head into the stone trough, leaving a white skull fracture at the corner of his forehead.

When the guards hurriedly dragged the man out, Jia Yu noticed a hint of sneer in his dilated pupils.

The second prisoner was suspended by chains over the brazier.

When the red-hot iron was pressed against his back, the flesh crackled and a burning smell mixed with the smell of sulfur filled the cell.

Jia Yu suddenly pressed the executioner's wrist and said, "Switch to butterfly branding."

A special branding iron was pressed against the center of the collarbone, and burn marks like those of a swallowtail butterfly immediately appeared on the skin - this was the mark of a dead soldier.

The assassin finally groaned, but squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "The master... will skin you alive..."

"continue."

Jia Yu used a silver hairpin to pry open the man's sweat-stained eyelids: "Let him see clearly how his meat is cooked."

The third person was a handsome young man. Jia Yu personally picked up the three-inch long bone-penetrating needle and slowly pushed it along the nail gap.

With a "crack", the needle tip broke the finger bone, the boy's Adam's apple rolled, and cold sweat soaked his hair into black snakes.

"At your age."

Jia Yu suddenly leaned close to his ear and said: "You should be copying calligraphy and painting in the academy."

Before he finished speaking, the young man suddenly spat out bloody phlegm, which splashed on Jia Yu's crow's feet.

The strongest assassin was hung upside down from the beam.

The iron hook pierced the tendon of the foot, and blood dripped down the chin into the copper basin, making a regular "ding dong" sound.

Jia Yu scooped up a ladle of salt water and poured it on the wound: "Listen to this sound, it's so wonderful, doesn't it sound like the clapper your mother used to call you to eat?"

The man suddenly laughed wildly, his laughter shaking the iron chain and making a rustling sound: "You dog official! The calluses on the soles of my feet are thicker than your face!"

In the shadow of the corner, the last three assassins were wrapped in caltrops like cocoons.

Jia Yu deliberately asked the guards to bring in a basket of fruits, and nibbled on them while they were dripping with juice: "These are freshly picked fruits. I'm afraid your wives and children at home won't be able to taste them."

The oldest assassin suddenly opened his eyes - the first time he had reacted all night.

Jia Yu immediately caught this detail and threw the peach pit accurately into his collar: "So you have a family too!

But in the end, the three of them remained silent.

When the sky in the east turned crab-shell green, Jia Yu finally walked out of the dungeon.

He took off his gloves and threw them into the charcoal brazier, watching the suede curl up into ashes in the flames.

Behind me came the cautious request of the Jinyiwei Qianhu: "Do you want to wear a head hoop..."

"No need."

Jia Yu looked at the palace walls dim in the morning mist and said: "Cut off the left ear of the seventh person, put it in an ice box and send it to the four city gates to show people."

A sneer appeared on his lips: "Someone will be unable to sit still."

In the dark and damp dungeon, the smell of blood and rusty chains mixed together, making people feel sick.

The light and shadow of the torches swayed on the mottled stone walls, reflecting the dried blood on the torture instruments.

Jia Yu stood with his hands behind his back, his fingertips gently stroking a thin silver needle, which still had a hint of dark red on the tip.

At this time, Yun Jianye strode into the cell, his brows furrowed. The night dew on his official robe had not yet dried, and it was obvious that he had rushed all the way here.

He glanced at the assassins dying on the rack and asked in a deep voice:

"Master Jia, is there any progress?"

Jia Yu shook his head, with a faint smile on his face:

"These assassins are really tough. We've tried branding irons, bone-piercing needles, and water torture, but not a single one of them opened their mouths."

Upon hearing this, Yun Jianye's expression became even more solemn, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the jade pendant on his waist, making a crisp sound.

He whispered, "Time waits for no one. September is approaching and the autumn harvest is just around the corner. If the person behind the scenes cannot be found out as soon as possible, there will be unrest in the Jin State."

"Your Highness is extremely concerned about this matter. The siege of the Three Kingdoms is imminent. We cannot be sidetracked by internal troubles any longer."

Jia Yu made a light "tsk" sound, and the silver needle on his fingertips shone coldly in the firelight.

He walked slowly to Yun Jianye's side, and said in a low and calm voice: "Don't worry, Lord Yun, I have a plan."

Yun Jianye glanced at him: "Oh? What do you think, Lord Jia?"

Jia Yu smiled slightly, with a sly look in his eyes: "Since they are unwilling to speak, then we will speak for them."

"what for?"

"Just spread the word that an assassin has confessed and revealed the mastermind behind the incident."

Jia Yu said slowly, "At the same time, let General Zhao Yu mobilize the White Horse Cavalry to create the illusion that we are about to take action."

"If the other party feels guilty, they will lose their composure and even take risks and take the initiative to attack."

Yun Jianye's eyes flashed, he pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands and smiled:

"What a great plan to lure the snake out of its hole! Lord Jia is worthy of the title of 'poisonous scholar'. This plan is brilliant!"

Jia Yu nodded slightly, and said calmly: "However, this matter needs to be made realistic, the news must be spread quickly, and the action must be ruthless, so that the other party will think that we really have evidence."

Yun Jianye nodded: "I will make arrangements immediately. I will go to General Zhao Yu in person and ask him to cooperate with the operation."

Jia Yu hummed softly, his eyes fell back on the assassin on the rack, and whispered:

"As for these few people... since we can't get anything out of them, why not let them play their final role?"

Yun Jianye understood and sneered, "Master Jia wants to..."

"Someone has to commit suicide out of fear of crime to make the play more realistic."

Jia Yu spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if he was talking about today's weather.

Yun Jianye looked at him deeply, then laughed loudly and said, "Okay! Let's follow Lord Jia's plan!"

The two looked at each other and saw calculation and murderous intent in each other's eyes.

The fire in the dungeon flickered, illuminating their stern profiles, as if a silent game had begun.

This plan must not fail, otherwise the State of Jin will be difficult to govern in the future.

Only by getting rid of all these people with evil intentions can we solve the problem once and for all.