On Sin

During her time in Donghai County, Ah Jiao quickly mastered the coinage business. Gongsun Lin's copper mine had already been developed and was already circulating locally; his earlier comments were simply a lack of trust in her. He had spent a few days with her and discovered she was surprisingly well-versed in mining and coinage, and her calculations were impeccable. He couldn't help but wonder, having thought his cousin so aloof, he'd actually been secretly practicing the same tactics in his own fiefdom.

The two of them were already on the same boat, and Huo Changqing would be a man with military merits when he returned, so this boat would not capsize. He returned to Chang'an with peace of mind.

Unexpectedly, not long after, what awaited him was the emperor's order to throw him into prison.

"Sir, I know nothing. I want to see His Majesty. I am wronged!"

"Your Majesty is too busy to see you, Gongsun Lin. You've been mining and minting copper coins in your fiefdom, amassing wealth. Is this to make up for the military pay you embezzled?"

"What military pay? What nonsense are you talking about? I really don't know. I only know that woman Cheng Jiao said someone was hunting her and asked me to take her back to the East China Sea to hide for a while. What about mining and minting coins? Mining is indeed done, but that was only for casting bronze Buddha statues. How did it become minting coins? I'm in Chang'an. I know nothing about what's going on in the East China Sea!"

The interrogator sneered, "Without your permission, who could do such a thing in the East China Sea? Those documents sent down and the money used for the mining were all paid out of your mansion, and they even have your personal seal on them."

Gongsun Lin seemed a little bewildered, then suddenly realized, "It was her! It was Cheng Jiao. She stole my seal and wanted to make a fortune in the East China Sea! She tricked me into casting a bronze statue for the Queen, but she was actually planning to mint coins. My Gongsun family has always been cautious in what they say and do, but she was the first to lure us onto her bandwagon. By the time I realized it, it was too late, and I had no choice but to share these things with her."

He was a little excited. "That's her! You should go catch her. What's the point of asking me here?"

"Stop talking nonsense. The Mrs. Huo you're talking about is right next door to you."

At that moment, a woman's scream rang out from the Tianzi No. 1 cell, and the sound of clubs beating made Gongsun Lin's heart tremble. The interrogator's whip suddenly landed in front of him, and he instantly lost all his soul.

"What did she say?"

"She said you were behind all this. You embezzled military funds and minted coins to fill the deficit. You forced her to steal General Huo's seal and become your accomplice."

"She's talking nonsense! That bitch, she was the one who told me that Your Majesty..." He stopped abruptly. No, if he said that, he would be silenced. "She said she was short of money..."

"They said someone was chasing her and wanted me to take her back to the East China Sea to hide for a while."

The interrogator's face was gloomy. "You said earlier that she said someone was chasing her, and you took her back to the East China Sea out of kindness. Now you say she told you she needed money... Which of your words is true?"

"I'm telling you, His Majesty already knows everything. If you tell the truth, we can spare your life. Otherwise, please don't force us to use torture."

"I..." Gongsun Lin struggled for a moment. He couldn't panic. It was obvious that Huo Changqing had his personal seal. She was just an outsider. He could remarry after he died. He had put all the blame on her. Even if Changqing blamed him, it wouldn't kill him. His father and mother must be trying to find a way to get him out by now. He couldn't panic.

Yes, he had to stay calm. Gongsun Lin swallowed his saliva and said seriously, "She lied to me. I know nothing."

Ahhhhh——Mom and Dad, save me——

The screams from the cell startled the crows that were resting on the roof. As soon as they landed, the tabby cat that had been lurking by the palace wall with its tail wagging stretched out its sharp claws and pounced on the crow. After the crow flapped its wings twice, it bit the bird's wings and walked leisurely into the dog hole with cat steps.

She was captured by Jiang Chong and his group. She had no idea what they fed her, but she was completely powerless, her bones and muscles were loose, and a thin layer of sweat oozed out of her back.

Headache--

She got off the couch and tried to open the window, but found that she couldn't push it open. It seemed that the window was sealed from the outside.

She frowned, and the window on the other side was also sealed...

"Want some fresh air? The hibiscus in the garden is in full bloom. I'd like to take a walk with you."

A man's voice suddenly came from outside. Liu Che put down his pen, lifted the curtain and walked in.

Gillian showed a look of disgust, leaning against the window, looking up at him, "You drugged me, how am I going to leave?"

He seemed oblivious to her disdain and approached her with a smile, "I'll carry you on my back, just like before."

"How long ago was that?" Ah Jiao sneered, "Before Queen Wei entered the palace?"

His eyes lit up and he hugged her excitedly, "You admit it, right? You are Gillian, I knew it, it's you, you are back!"

"Your Majesty." She pushed him away abruptly. "I'm not her. I just find Empress Chen ridiculous. People say Your Majesty is deeply in love with her. If he was deeply in love, why would he marry again? Why would he have so many concubines? Why would he let her die young? The dead cannot be resurrected. Your Majesty only realized the depth of his love after she was buried in the yellow earth. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"What happened back then was not what you thought. I never meant to kill you, nor did I ever think of deposing you."

"Your Majesty, there is no point in saying this to me. I don't want to hear it."

She turned her head away, but Liu Che embraced her from behind, his hands tightly clasped around her waist. He seemed to have not heard her words, and continued to talk to himself, "Back then, you slept on the same bed with that man, and said such hurtful words to me. I lost my mind, and out of anger, I locked you up in Changmen Palace. I just wanted you to speak softly to me, but you went to Changmen Palace and stayed inside out of anger. I wanted to fight you, but I just ignored you. Who knew that when Changmen caught fire, you..."

He raised his hand and said seriously, "God, my father and grandmother are watching us. No matter how cruel I am, I will never kill my own wife! Ah Jiao, I really didn't start the fire!"

She sneered, stepped hard on the person behind her, and while he was crying out in pain, she lifted the curtain and walked out of the inner room.

She didn't believe him, so he dropped the subject and followed her. He saw her standing in front of the desk where he had just sat, looking down at the circled memorial.

"You led my men to Donghai County just to tell me that Gongsun Lin was privately minting copper coins and embezzling military funds, right?"

"What are you going to do with him?"

"Deprive him of his official title, cane him sixty times, and send him into exile. Let him know the difficulties faced by ordinary soldiers."

She laughed mockingly, "Your Majesty's nephew, why would he be so cruel to his own family? If Your Majesty doesn't feel sorry for him, then the Queen will."

"I was truly drunk back then. Later, the Wei brothers made numerous military achievements, expanding my territory and suppressing the Xiongnu rebellion, so I made her queen. After some time, I will return the position to you."

She looked up at him, "How long?"

"After we win this battle and Wei Qing dies, I will make you my queen."

He looked at Wei Qing's body and realized he couldn't last much longer. He also had considerable prestige among the Xiongnu. If he won this battle, he should be able to maintain stability for a year or two. A year or two would be enough time for him to find a new general.

"Why wait so long? Why not just kill her with a glass of poisoned wine?"

Her tone was gentle. As Liu Che took her hand and sat down at the table, she began to play with it, her fingertips gently circling his palm and then stroking along the palm to the back of his hand. His lower body was a little stiff, and he tugged at his waist to straighten his robe.

"Wei Qing won't live long, at most a year."

She suddenly threw his hand away and sneered, "I knew you couldn't bear to kill her. Your Majesty is so fair, why did you spare me alone? I'm the one who's in charge of the mining and coinage, and I split the profits 30% and 70% with Gongsun Lin. Why don't you have someone capture and kill me too!"

“Ah Jiao…”

Liu Che was somewhat helpless. "The Wei family has extensive connections. The Gongsun family, the Huo family, the Liu family, and the Li family are all connected to each other. If we rashly eliminate them, it will be difficult to find people who can serve me, and the court will not be able to function. This matter needs to be planned slowly."

"I know you hate me and the Wei family." He thought for a moment and then said flatteringly, "Then change the sentence to one hundred strokes of the cane. After one hundred strokes, he will be no different from a cripple."

Gillian shook off his hand again, and the person behind her kept coming up like a sticky candy, "If you're still not satisfied, you can disguise yourself and carry out the execution yourself. I'm just afraid that the prison is dirty and it will scare you."

——

——

When Gongsun He saw the blood letter sent from the prison and the bloodstained corner of his robe cut off by his son, he was shocked. He felt a black screen in front of his eyes and almost fainted.

But he couldn't. His son was already in this state, and they couldn't afford to lose their composure. The fact that the jailer was willing to send the letter meant that there was still room for maneuver.

He thought for a moment, then immediately ordered a box to be brought and slipped into the jailer's sleeve. "Sir, please help me. My child has been weak since childhood and cannot withstand such severe punishment. I hope you will show mercy."

The jailer knew from the weight that there were several pieces of gold inside. He smiled and said, "No problem. As long as your son honestly admits his guilt, we won't torture him to extract a confession. This is a small matter. The key is the one hundred strokes of the cane..."

He whispered, "In all these years, I've never seen anyone who could withstand eighty strokes of the cane. A hundred strokes... I'm afraid your son wouldn't be able to survive. I'm powerless and can't intervene. Would you mind thinking of other options?"

Gongsun He thought for a moment, "Who is the censor in charge of this case?"

"Master Zhang." As if afraid that he didn't know, he added, "It's Master Zhang Yannian from the west of the city."

At dusk, Gongsun He walked out of the back door of Zhang's house in a rough suit. He waited there for a while, and then saw a carriage coming out of the palace gate and driving towards him.

He got in the car and looked at his wife expectantly, "How is it? What does the Queen say?"

Wei Junru shook her head, looking dejected. "I did pass on the message, but the Changxin Palace is locked up and the Queen won't see anyone. I cried and begged, but she refused to see me no matter what. I guess His Majesty warned my sister not to ask for mercy."

"This ungrateful son!" Gongsun He beat his chest in anger. "How dare he do such a daring thing? I was wondering why he was so kind as to help me mine and mint coins, even bothering his father. Turns out he was just trying to fill his ten million hole! He should have done it, but he's so foolish as to ask others to help him. Doesn't he know that the more people involved, the more trouble he'll have."

Speaking of this, Wei Junru suddenly said, "He did it together with Changqing's wife. Changqing was also involved in this. Why was only Lin'er punished?"

"Changqing followed his uncle to the battlefield, and he must have made great achievements when he returned. Your Majesty will not touch him. Instead, he put all the blame on that woman."

"How is she?"

"She couldn't stand the torture in prison. You know Zhang Yannian's methods. She hanged herself and her body was taken to the Huo family."

Wei Junru felt a chill in his heart, and said in shock, "It's over. This is a capital crime. One has already died, how can Lin'er escape responsibility? Your Majesty wants Lin'er's life."

"Have you given away the money you brought? Zhang Yannian was born a minor official, his family is so poor, and he still hasn't married. Let's spend a little more money and ask him to be gentler when he hits him. Sixty strokes of the cane will be enough. And as for exile, don't send him to that wild place, but to somewhere near us..."

"He's poor, but he's not stupid," Gongsun Lin sighed. "Your Majesty has long since issued orders prohibiting the private minting of copper coins. Mining and quarrying are prohibited without the court's express permission. He's long wanted to seize the power of minting. Now he's just lightly exposing it. Isn't that clearly irritating Your Majesty?"

"What should we do then?"

"He did remind me of something."

Wei Junru frowned, "Hurry up and tell me!"

"Huo Changqing can atone for his sins by doing good deeds, picking up high and putting down gently. We can also atone for our sins by doing good deeds."

Wei Junru said, "This is a serious crime. Redemption with copper is not feasible."

"It's not the ransom copper," Gongsun He said. "Do you still remember the man Lin'er hid in the East China Sea, who was inflicted with the black ink? Although we only met once, I recognize him. He's Baili Xi, the man who once joined the Prince of Huainan's school and then sneaked into the palace at night to steal secrets."

"He's Baili Xi?" Wei Junru exclaimed in shock. "Why didn't you capture him earlier instead of letting him roam freely in our East China Sea?"

"Before, I thought of turning a blind eye and pretending to be ignorant, letting Lin'er befriend him and doing the King of Huainan a favor. Now... for Lin'er's sake, I have no choice but to offer him to His Majesty."

——

——

The dungeon was gloomy and dark in the summer. Gongsun Lin leaned against the wall and let out a sigh. Thanks to the letter, his mother had sent someone to bring him clean clothes, food, and a mat. He hadn't been beaten again in the past few days since he confessed his guilt.

As he thought about this, he took two more bites of the pancake in the lunch box. He had to hold on and wait a few more days. His parents would definitely rescue him.

Suddenly, a dark shadow struck his foot, slowly approaching and enveloping his entire body. He looked up, his heart sinking. Two or three people in black robes and masks approached him. One of them, a shorter man, stepped forward and handed him a glass of water.

"Who...who are you?"

He didn't hold the cup firmly and it fell out of his hand, spilling the wine on the corner of the man's robe. He heard him make an impatient click of the tongue.

Suddenly a long whip came swung.

Ahhhhhhhh——

Ah—help—help—

I confess, I confess everything, I beg you to stop hitting me——

Blood soaked the thick whip. Gongsun Lin huddled in a corner, holding his head. The skin on his arm peeled back, revealing a skeletal bone. Three or four lashes later, the skin and flesh were torn apart.

Jiang Chong stood back, watching with trepidation. This scene seemed to have happened many years ago, when she and the eldest princess heard that Empress Wei had gained His Majesty's favor. Several palace servants rushed to the palace, dragged her by her hair, and slapped her a dozen times. Not satisfied, they personally whipped her, leaving such a delicate beauty bloody and bruised. It wasn't until His Majesty and General Wei arrived and took two lashes from her that they finally stopped.

Now Empress Chen seemed even more courageous than before. Without blinking, she beat the man until he cried out in pain. Like a madman, the hatred in her heart grew stronger with each beating.

He thought to himself and felt a little scared. Could it be that it was really a transformed evil spirit?

His Majesty asked them to watch and not to cause any casualties. He took a deep breath, mustered his courage, stepped forward and said, "Sir, please be careful not to hurt yourself. Let's go back..."

A whip suddenly came towards him from behind, the wind from the whip was so sharp that Jiang Chong widened his eyes in horror and forgot to dodge.

The pain didn't reach him. Zhang Yannian seemed to have just arrived from another torture chamber, dressed in a black robe of varying shades, yet the strong scent of blood lingered. The tail of the whip raked across his cheek, leaving a tiny streak of blood. He blocked her whip with his arm and then grasped the handle.

There was still anger in her eyes, and she grabbed the whip and was about to attack, but he held her tightly and she could not move.

"Let go."

"Zhang Yannian..." She warned him, stepping forward and glaring at him, "You dare to stop me..."

Jiang Chong thought he didn't know the details and was afraid that this piece of wood would anger the ancestor, so he hurried forward and took out the token to show him, "Master Zhang, this is..."

The figure before him wore a black robe trimmed with silver satin and shoes embroidered with Shu brocade, crafted in the palace. A pair of bewitching eyes shone through a mask of pure gold. Glancing at the two men standing respectfully beside her, he sneered inwardly, a dark glint in his eyes as he said in a deep voice, "This is the Censorate. No matter who you are or whose servant you are, you should not resort to lynching here."