Inside the Ministry of Justice prison.
Shen Qingzhi was put into solitary confinement.
He was dressed in a gray-white prison uniform, sitting on a straw bed. His face was relatively clean, but his lips were dry and pale.
At first glance, he would only appear to be a gentle and refined scholar, and his extremely upright appearance makes it hard to believe that he could accomplish such a thing.
The cell door opened and closed again. Wen Yichu walked slowly to Shen Qingzhi and calmly asked, "Shen Qingzhi, do you have something to say?"
"The disaster relief funds were indeed stolen by the guilty official and transported back to his residence. Your Highness may punish the guilty official according to the law at any time, and the guilty official will have no complaints."
When Shen Qingzhi looked up and saw the Crown Prince in front of him, he immediately stood up, bowed, and spoke word by word. However, his eyes, which were lowered, were already red, and his hand raised in the air was trembling.
He had let down the crown prince before him, and even more so, he had let down his teacher's guidance.
But he had no choice.
"Don't you have anything else you want to say to me?" Upon hearing this, Wen Yichu was not in a hurry to convict Shen Qingzhi.
Shen Qingzhi lowered his head even further. "Your Highness, I have said all I had to say."
“Is that so? But you haven’t revealed who the mastermind is yet,” Wen Yichu said, looking at Shen Qingzhi’s bent back. “Is it Prime Minister Yan?”
"But he instructed you?"
Shen Qingzhi suddenly raised his head: "No!"
"Your Highness, I have already stated that this matter was committed by me alone and has nothing to do with Prime Minister Yan." Shen Qingzhi said urgently, trying his best to clear Yan Baihui of any suspicion.
Wen Yichu chuckled softly at this moment, "Shen Qingzhi, do you think it's enough for you to take all this on yourself?"
"Throughout the court, who doesn't know that you are Prime Minister Yan's protégé? Now that you have embezzled public funds, who would believe you if you say it has nothing to do with Prime Minister Yan?"
"Would you dare take this risk if no one was backing you up?"
Shen Qingzhi could no longer stand and knelt on the ground, his hands clasped on the ground. "Your Highness, everything I have said is true and there is no deception. It was my own selfishness that led me to be greedy. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
He was unwilling and unable to drag his teacher down with him, but reality often doesn't go as planned.
Now that he has done wrong and even implicated his teacher, he has no face to meet his ancestors in the afterlife.
"What a convenient excuse, 'It has nothing to do with others'!"
"Do you think that if you don't admit it, those people won't suspect Prime Minister Yan?"
Wen Yichu looked at Shen Qingzhi, who was kneeling on the ground with an extremely sincere attitude, and paused for a moment before asking, "Or do you think that as long as you don't reveal who's behind this, your mother will remain safe and sound?"
"After you are eliminated, there will be another victim. Anyone who cannot be used by him will become his tool, his pawn. Is this what you, as an official, want to see?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingzhi felt as if struck by lightning. He immediately went limp and collapsed to the ground, grabbing Wen Yichu's clothes.
Realizing his reaction was somewhat excessive, he opened his mouth again, trying to explain, "Your Highness, my mother has long since..."
"Shen Qingzhi!" Wen Yichu sneered, "Now that things have come to this, do you think you can still keep it a secret?"
After saying that, Shen Qingzhi couldn't finish her sentence, and the hand that was holding Wen Yichu's clothes slowly slipped down.
"Your Highness, this sinner deserves to die." Shen Qingzhi dared not take any risks and could only beg for death in exchange for his mother's life. "I beg Your Highness to grant my request."
He wasn't that great or that important. If a vice minister died, he could be replaced at any time, but his mother only had him left.
As for the other innocent people, he had no time to care.
But Wen Yichu could easily see that Shen Qingzhi was simply worried that if he turned against his side, His Majesty would not punish the person behind it after he found out the truth.
However, once he opened his mouth, he completely offended that person.
If that person insists on fighting to the death, his mother's life will be in danger.
"You don't believe me?"
Shen Qingzhi smiled bitterly, then buried his head in the ground again, his voice hoarse, his former ambition long gone.
"Your Highness, this humble subject naturally believes you, but even though you are the Crown Prince, you should know that there are things in this world that cannot be had for everyone."
“Shen Qingzhi, the path to having the best of both worlds is never easy, but it’s not impossible.”
Wen Yichu never believed in the idea of being unable to have both. He only knew that if he compromised this time, there would be countless things in the future that he could turn a blind eye to.
However, on the other hand:
"But if Minister Shen insists on doing so and wants to atone with his life, I cannot force him to live. Think carefully about how to write a confession, and then commit suicide after you have finished writing it."
As she spoke, Wen Yichu drew the dagger from her waist, its blade gleaming coldly, and with a whoosh, it was pinned to the wooden table that was about to fall apart.
"Don't worry, my dagger can cut through iron like mud. If Minister Shen wants to commit suicide out of fear of punishment, he will not feel the slightest pain, and he will not suspect that you said something you shouldn't have to me."
"I also believe that once the person behind you knows your loyalty, he will treat your mother well. Minister Shen, you can rest assured."
He wasn't some great philanthropist. Since he had said all that, and Shen Qingzhi still wanted to take a dead end, he would only grant his wish and fulfill his filial duty.
Wen Yichu's move was unexpected by Shen Qingzhi. He was stunned, his eyes slowly turning to the knife stuck in the table. He got up and slowly crawled over to it.
"Minister Shen, don't forget to write a confession first. Otherwise, it's fine if you commit suicide, but don't let it turn into murder to cover it up."
Shen Qingzhi stiffened, her eyes dimming slightly. She looked up at Wen Yichu, her voice tinged with pleading:
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