2. Caning

◎Just a simple little widow◎

Chapter 2

The Ministry of Justice Prison was too dark, with a musty smell in the air, which was completely out of place with the handsome and immortal-like man standing in front of Jiang Qiuye.

The name of Prince Qi is known to everyone.

Ji Ci, courtesy name Jian Xi, had brothers who either died or were demoted to remote fiefdoms and became idle princes since the emperor ascended the throne. The only exception was Prince Qi.

While the royal family lacks family affection, the emperor relies solely on Prince Qi for everything. He is a masterful commander of troops and a scholar capable of instituting reforms at court. For this reason, Prince Qi is a major concern for the other kingdoms.

The word "jianxi" comes from the Book of Songs: "Jianxi, Jianxi, Fang will make all the people dance." The sun is at its zenith, in the front and above.

This is exactly what it means when drums beat to calm the heavens, like the sun in the sky. Ji Ci's contributions to the Jin Dynasty are worthy of the name Jian Xi.

Ji Ci stood in the middle of the cell, holding a pair of tongs in his hand, fiddling with the red-hot charcoal fire, but Jiang Qiuye felt an unusual chill.

After a moment of silence, Ji Ci sneered: "Zhang Liang is a fierce general of the Great Jin Dynasty, but I never thought that he would die in such a despicable way instead of fighting to the death."

Jiang Qiuye was sitting on the torture chair but was not tied up. After hearing this, she froze, as if trembling with fear, and her tears had dried up and could no longer flow.

Zhang Liang was her old husband, forty-three years old, more than two generations older than her. If she said she had feelings for him, she probably wouldn't even believe it herself.

Jiang Qiuye rubbed her fingers and looked up at Ji Ci's profile. "I was originally the unfavored daughter of the Duke of Anguo. This marriage was entirely a weighing of the pros and cons by my father. It would be worthy of the position of General of the Cavalry, but I wouldn't have to sacrifice my second sister. If it was for the benefit of the family, why would I poison my husband? Now I am a widow and an outcast of the family. What good would this do me?"

Ji Ci stopped what he was doing and put down the red-hot tongs. The air seemed to be a little hot and dry, so he took off his cloak and handed it to Tian, ​​his personal guard beside him.

At the same time, Tian Qu handed over a file. Ji Ci took it and opened it quickly, scanning it. As he read, he said, "You are indeed an unfavored legitimate daughter. You were sent to a remote place in Wuzhou by the Duke of Anguo since you were young. The reason I brought you back this time is to form a marriage alliance with the Zhang family. Since you have not been in the Duke's Mansion for many years, I don't think you care about its interests."

"Besides, as soon as your mother died, your father took that concubine in. If your old lady hadn't disapproved, the concubine would have been made his legal wife long ago. Don't you have any resentment in your heart?"

Jiang Qiuye clenched her hands, slightly avoiding Kai Jici's all-seeing gaze like a black panther, and remained silent for a while.

Ji Ci continued, "Killing Zhang Liang would ruin this marriage, and I wouldn't have to marry a man who is twenty-six years older than me and has a multitude of concubines. It's not entirely without benefits."

Jiang Qiuye was horrified after hearing those words. On the surface, she was the victim in this case, but in essence, the benefits outweighed the disadvantages.

Since the Jin Dynasty's reforms, physical evidence has been more important than personal evidence, and the theory of evidence correlation has been advocated, thus reducing many false and wrongful convictions. However, now there is sufficient evidence to prove that those poisonous weeds did come from her.

And she...did think about using these poisonous weeds.

It was useless to pretend to be sympathetic now, and neither was beauty. Ji Ci was a stubborn person, and he could not arouse the slightest sympathy for the girl who looked so weak and harmless.

Although she was not tied up, if Ji Ci wanted to torture her, he would not care whether she was a woman or not.

It’s really troublesome…

"Your Highness, this is just your speculation. As a woman adrift in this world, all I want is to protect myself. For me, it's enough to no longer worry about whether I can have enough food and clothing like those in Wuzhou do every day."

Ji Ci quietly looked at Jiang Qiuye, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, and turned around.

"Follow me."

Jiang Qiuye was confused and glanced at the jailer standing nearby, staring at her like a piece of wood. She curled up her toes and stood up to follow Ji Ci.

Walking through a completely dark and damp corridor, I could only see a little light coming in from the exhaust vents. It seemed that it was already noon.

Has it been so long?

Ji Ci finally stopped, glanced at Jiang Qiuye, and motioned her to come closer.

"look."

Jiang Qiuye swallowed and walked forward to look into the room. The scene in the inner room made her squint her eyes.

I saw a half-naked man tied to a torture rack. There was not a single piece of intact skin on his body. He was whipped, burned, his teeth were all broken, and his face was covered in blood.

Is Ji Ci sick?

Jiang Qiuye frowned, pretended to feel a little nauseous, and looked away, looking at the wet ground beside him.

"What does your Highness mean?"

"Do you know who he is?"

“…”

Jiang Qiuye couldn't help cursing in his heart, then shook his head.

Someone nearby slowly said, "This man is a spy from the Li Kingdom. He's been lurking in Shengjing for nearly ten years. He was captured a while ago. Before he could commit suicide by taking pills, his jaw was broken."

Jiang Qiuye's heart skipped a beat, as if a huge rock was hanging in the air, and he looked back at the unrecognizable face.

Seeing that she didn't reply, Ji Ci continued, "The Ministry of Justice has twenty-one punishments. When he endured the thirteenth punishment, he confessed a group of secret agents lurking in Shengjing."

Seeing Jiang Qiuye's pale face and trembling fingers, he chuckled, "But the Ministry of Justice also has highly skilled doctors who can ensure the lives of those being punished."

Jiang Qiuye involuntarily took two steps back, her voice unsteady: "I... I'm just a simple little widow."

A simple... little widow...

Ji Ci was slightly stunned, then chuckled softly, his words becoming increasingly pointed. "Zhang Liang was the Imperial Cavalry General. Three years ago, the Jin and Li kingdoms fought a great war, and a new war was about to break out. At this critical moment, he was suddenly poisoned and his entire family was wiped out. This case concerns the military prestige of our dynasty. Do you understand?"

"What is your motive? Who is the mastermind behind this?"

Jiang Qiuye felt a chill down his spine and felt a little overwhelmed.

She is just a simple little widow. Yes, she believes that she is just a simple little widow.

She was always easily immersed in the role. After a period of self-brainwashing, the grievances suddenly surged in her heart, and the tears that had long dried up flowed again. She knelt directly on her knees, grabbed Ji Ci's clothes with both hands, and cried: "I am really wronged, Prince, I can swear, if I say even a little bit of falsehood, then... then..."

Jiang Qiuye had never sworn anything or cursed anything since he was a child, so he was a little confused about the answer. After thinking hard for a while, he said, "Just starve to death! Die of hardship! Die of poverty!"

Ji Ci's heart skipped a beat and he raised his eyebrows slightly, seemingly indifferent to her tears.

What a simple and plain oath. Upon closer inspection, this young widow is quite pretty.

But, as the sages say, beautiful women...

Always charming and captivating.

"Take him back to the torture chamber and give him twenty strokes of the cane first."

Ji Ci didn't say much nonsense, he just quickly pulled the hem of his clothes out of Jiang Qiuye's hand and strode forward.

Seeing this, the two jailers stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Qiuye, taking two steps at a time, walking and dragging him along. After a while, they were back to the room they had been in.

At this time, the room no longer had the heat from the charcoal fire, and was now filled with a biting cold.

Ji Ci stood in front with an expressionless face, watching the two men tie Jiang Qiuye, who was crying her heart out, to the torture bench.

Jiang Qiuye was shivering with cold and yelled, "Your Highness, this is...this is a confession forced upon you!"

Seeing Ji Ci's indifferent eyes, he ignored her words, sat down on a chair not far away, and looked at her sharply.

Seeing the two jailers take out the big board from the side, Jiang Qiuye became even more anxious and panicked. Although she could withstand those few blows, who wants to be beaten?

"Since the implementation of the new policies by His Majesty and His Majesty, the Jin Dynasty has prospered, and there have been fewer unjust, false, and wrongful convictions. The theory of physical evidence correlation advocated by the reforms..."

A blow of the board landed directly on Jiang Qiuye's back, and she was suddenly speechless due to the pain. She gritted her teeth, looked up at Ji Ci, tears streaming down her face, and spoke rapidly, "The theory of physical evidence correlation doesn't hold true for me. Those poisonous weeds were mine, but there's no evidence to prove my husband died from them! If Your Highness uses such harsh torture to extract a confession, then what's the point of your new policy?"

When the second board was about to fall, Ji Ci suddenly raised his hand to stop the two yamen runners.

"Go on."

Seeing this, Jiang Qiuye felt a little relieved and continued, "The coroner hasn't yet found out what poison my husband died of, but it definitely wasn't the Aconitum and Gelsemium elegans found in my bedroom."

"Why?"

"The effect of aconite is paralysis. After aconite poisoning, the victim usually dies from respiratory failure caused by paralysis. Taking Gelsemium elegans will cause mild abdominal pain, but in severe cases, the only symptom is foaming at the mouth."

Jiang Qiuye calmed down and answered logically. She tried to move her arms and legs, but they were tied so tightly that the friction caused her voice to tremble.

Seeing this, Ji Ci gave the jailer a look, and then the two of them stepped forward to untie Jiang Qiuye.

She sat up slowly, the beating she had just received still irritating her nerves.

Although there was no bleeding, it was definitely blue.

She rubbed her red and swollen wrist and continued softly, "Your Highness, do you still remember the scene of my husband's death?"

Ji Ci lowered his eyes and recalled, but did not answer.

Jiang Qiuye thought the man had a bad memory, so she looked at him cautiously and then reminded him, "When my husband died, he first had abdominal pain and then vomited black blood. If he had been poisoned by Aconitum and Gelsemium elegans, he wouldn't have vomited so much black blood."

"Furthermore, although these two poisonous herbs can be used as deadly poisons, they can also be used as medicine. My husband has been involved in many battles and suffers from rheumatism. I studied medicinal cuisine in Wuzhou since I was a child, and I originally planned to use Aconitum and Gelsemium elegans as medicine to relieve rheumatism."

"If...if His Majesty suspects me of being a spy, I am the daughter of the Duke of Anguo, a title inherited for a hundred years. Could it be that he is so foolish as to not even know who his own daughter is? Wuzhou may be remote, but it is within the Jin Kingdom. Your Majesty can verify that I have never left the Jin Kingdom and have always behaved myself in Wuzhou."

Seeing Ji Ci's expression relaxed, Jiang Qiuye breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, although I have some prejudices against this marriage, I will accept it now. I am only a weak woman. As I said before, I am only concerned with self-preservation. Since the marriage is already a foregone conclusion, why should I bother myself with unhappiness? I should rather think about how to please my husband, so that my future life will be a little easier."

Ji Ci slowly stood up and walked over to Jiang Qiuye, bowing his head. She was a head shorter than him, and she looked up at him, her face tear-stained and her eyes red. She had just shouted herself hoarse in anxiety.

This young widow is quite good at sweet talk.

"According to you, all this is my fault."