I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

He glanced back at the gloomy gates of the imperial prison, recalling Yan Maoqing's disheveled appearance, and couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate.

Luckily, I was quick-witted and didn't get involved with that idiot.

People say that true wisdom appears as foolishness, but Yan Maoqing is the complete fool and mentally challenged.

You deserve this calamity!

"Uh!!!"

Yan Maoqing stared wide-eyed at Zheng Bichang's retreating figure in disbelief.

Zheng Bichang, who used to call him brother, now pretended to be a complete stranger.

Yan Maoqing opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

He only woke up when he was roughly dragged to the rack and chains were wrapped around his wrists.

"What are you going to do?"

Yan Maoqing struggled desperately, shouting defiantly but inwardly weakly.

"I am His Highness Prince Yu's man. Do you know the consequences of offending Prince Yu?"

He swallowed hard and forced himself to remain calm as he continued, “My connections in the court are beyond your imagination. Minister Qi Min of the Ministry of Justice is my close friend, and Minister He Jingzhong of the Ministry of Personnel is like a brother to me.”

"If they find out you dared to use vigilante justice on me..."

Before the words were finished, heavy footsteps came from outside the door.

Cao Zhichun strolled into the torture chamber with his hands behind his back and slowly said, "Lord Yan, what a grand display of power you have!"

“Eunuch Cao, I have extensive connections, I know…”

Before Yan Maoqing could finish speaking, Cao Zhichun interrupted him.

"Stop talking about connections all the time. No matter how great your connections are, what do they have to do with you?"

Cao Zhichun smiled, picked up a long whip with barbs, and walked up to Yan Maoqing.

Oh, I forgot to tell you.

"I'm in the same unit as the Emperor, what the hell is that good for me!"

"None of the ladies have taken a liking to me!"

"right!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Maoqing's pupils dilated sharply, and he froze, completely dumbfounded.

He never expected that even after he invoked the names of so many important figures, such as Prince Yu, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Personnel, Cao Zhichun wouldn't even lift an eyelid.

Showing absolutely no mercy.

The next second, his face turned deathly pale.

Cao Zhichun sneered, too lazy to waste any more words with him, and directly raised his long whip.

Snapped!

The barbed whip lashed down, striking Yan Maoqing hard.

The sounds of flesh being torn apart, accompanied by his piercing screams, echoed through the torture chamber.

"Ahhhh!!!"

"Say or not?"

"Say or not?"

"Say or not?"

...

With each question Cao Zhichun asked, the whip would lash out, giving Yan Maoqing no chance to catch his breath.

"Ah! Ah! Go ahead and ask!"

Yan Maoqing was in so much pain that his whole body convulsed, and he finally broke down and screamed.

"Didn't I ask?"

Cao Zhichun looked at the whip in his hand with a puzzled expression, and then lashed it out hard again.

Snapped!

Yan Maoqing screamed in agony, his face covered in tears and snot.

"I wanted to hit you before I even asked you anything, which means you really deserve it."

Cao Zhichun said slowly.

Then, he turned to the jailer beside him and ordered, "Come on, take turns beating him, for a full half hour."

"No, I'll tell you everything."

"I'm guilty! I confess! Please, please stop hitting me!"

In an instant, Yan Maoqing completely broke down, crying and begging for mercy, his voice filled with despair and fear.

Cao Zhichun then asked, "Where are the things?"

"what?"

"Looks like my hints weren't clear enough. Where's the gold?"

Chapter 108 Unexpected Benefits

"Gold?"

Yan Maoqing was completely dumbfounded when he heard this.

His two big eyes widened in disbelief, and he cursed under his breath.

Why is this old eunuch asking for money right away?!

This bastard doesn't know that I, Yan Maoqing, am a miser. Even if I had the money, I would never let you, you dog eunuch, have it for free.

Immediately, he put on a pitiful expression and wailed, "Eunuch Cao, please understand! My family is destitute and we can barely afford to eat. Where would I get any gold to offer you as a tribute?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhichun smiled sinisterly, his eyes revealing a ruthless glint.

He had already promised the Emperor that he would get two million taels of silver, even if it meant having Yan Maoqing skinned alive.

If we get him to implicate a few more "accomplices," the job will be perfectly solved.

"It seems Lord Yan won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin!"

"Since ancient times, people have always borrowed money standing up and collected debts on their knees. Today, we'll see if we can collect the debt while standing up."

After saying that, he suddenly waved his hand and shouted sharply, "Attack!"

Yan Maoqing was instantly terrified.

“Don’t, don’t…”

"Don't fucking stop, just hit him!"

clap clap clap! ! !

"Ouch, ouch..."

The whip in the guard's hand lashed down hard, and Yan Maoqing convulsed in pain, his screams echoing throughout the torture chamber.

Before long, Yan Maoqing had already pressed his fingerprint on the confession while crying.

Cao Zhichun patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Lord Yan, it would have been better if you had just been this quick. You would have saved yourself from suffering these lashes."

"Eunuch Cao's lesson is indeed correct..."

Yan Maoqing felt both regret and resentment, cursing himself for being too weak-willed and unable to hold on for even half a quarter of an hour.

"You, who are clearly terrified of pain, were pretending to be all righteous and awe-inspiring just now?"

Cao Zhichun said sarcastically, his eyes full of mockery.

Upon hearing this, Yan Maoqing spoke in a serious and righteous tone.

"How can the affairs of a scholar be called pretense!"

Cao Zhichun ignored him, looked down at the confession in his hand, and became more and more satisfied with it. His face wrinkled into a smile like a chrysanthemum.

"Somebody come!"

He shouted, "According to the list in the confession, arrest them all, without missing a single one!"

"Yes!"

The agents of the Eastern Depot responded in unison and charged out with murderous intent.

At this moment, Cao Zhichun picked up another confession.

Unexpectedly, this man surnamed Yan even revealed that he had given false testimony for He Jingzhong's son.

The Eastern Depot had been paying close attention to the Yang Liuxin murder case, and he was aware of the details of the case.

Moreover, he knew even better that this matter had reached the ears of the emperor.

"Prepare the sedan chair, I must see His Majesty!"

The vermilion palace gates slowly opened, and the still-wet ink of the confession was quickly presented before the emperor.

Zhu Houcong leaned back on the soft couch, glanced at it casually, and then tossed the confession behind him, landing it in front of Cao Zhichun.

"Isn't this bullying honest people?"

Zhu Houcong had his back to Cao Zhichun, and his voice, neither loud nor soft, caused the temperature in the hall to drop sharply.

"Give the confession to Qi Min and tell him that he is in charge of the Ministry of Justice, not me. Don't push all the blame onto me."

Cao Zhichun immediately kowtowed.

"This servant will take care of it immediately."

After the wooden door of the study was gently closed, Zhu Houcong slowly got up and walked to the window.

I underestimated Qi Min.

He even knew to find a scapegoat to take the blame.

such a pity!

He's a useless piece of trash who couldn't even last the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Since Yan Maoqing is so useless, then so be it, let He Wenxin go to the Ministry of Justice prison again.

He wanted to see if, after Prince Yu learned that the matter had reached the Emperor's ears, he would, like in the drama, find a scapegoat to replace He Wenxin.

If they dare to defy the law and commit crimes, then when they are caught red-handed, He Jingzhong will be in trouble with his position as Minister of Personnel.

The next second, Xiaomeng appeared silently behind Zhu Houcong.

"His Majesty,"

She spoke softly, asking with a puzzled expression, "Now that we've obtained Yan Maoqing's confession, why not severely punish He Jingzhong?"

Zhu Houcong chuckled softly upon hearing this and said with his hands behind his back.

"To catch a thief red-handed, to catch an adulterer in the act, one must be caught red-handed. With just a confession, a seasoned official like He Jingzhong, who has been navigating the bureaucracy for fifty or sixty years, has a thousand ways to evade responsibility."

Xiaomeng nodded thoughtfully.

"So what does Your Majesty plan to do next? Are you just going to let these people disregard the laws of the court?"

"Let the bullets fly for a while, let's wait and see."

Zhu Houcong continued speaking to himself.

Then, he suddenly changed the subject and turned to look at Xiaomeng.

"Don't worry about this matter. I have another task for you."

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty."

"Take Consort Xi to the Ningguo Marquis's residence and have her reveal all those shameful things from back then in front of Xie Yu..."