The emperor said so much, but didn't ask a single question about the case.
It seemed that no matter what Wei Qinglou did, he was always at ease.
After leaving the palace, he did not return to the Duke's mansion. Instead, he had his servants send the golden crown back, and then went to the Dali Temple.
After changing out of his court robes, he went to the imperial prison as usual.
The imperial prison remained as dark as ever, just as it had been for decades. At the end of the passageway, King Hu still hung suspended in mid-air, his body torn and bleeding, not a single wound unscathed. Old scars had barely scabbed over when new ones appeared; old bloodstains dried only to be covered by new ones. Layer upon layer of blood.
The executioner's face remained as indifferent as ever, and Hu Yanwang's eyes were as cold as ever.
He had previously stubbornly refused to speak, perhaps because he had ulterior motives. However, even now, despite being tormented day and night, he still refuses to open his mouth, because he wants to compete with Wei Qinglou.
He wanted to see whether Wei Qinglou would lose his temper and give him a quick death, or whether he would eventually be unable to bear it and reveal the truth.
Wei Qinglou understood that he was being tormented by the guards like a cat every day, with only one type of torture inflicted each day. If he was seriously injured, the imperial physicians would be called to treat him and prescribe medicine to keep him alive.
Upon seeing Wei Qinglou arrive, Hu Yanwang spat, his voice hoarse like the mournful cry of a crow: "Wei Qinglou, you are cruel and heartless..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, the guard lashed out with his whip, which struck him, leaving another bloody welt in an instant.
This was also Wei Qinglou's order. When he first entered the imperial prison, he was very talkative. As soon as he had rested enough, he would start cursing and swearing. At first, Wei Qinglou ignored him, but later he got annoyed by his noise and ordered the guards to soak the leather whip in cold salt water. Every time he said a word, they would lash him with the whip.
Over time, apart from howling loudly when being tortured, Hu Yanwang stopped talking much.
But whenever he saw Wei Qinglou, he couldn't help himself.
If Wei Qinglou is truly a husband, why not let him die a quick and painless death?
He glared at Wei Qinglou, wanting to see what he was up to this time.
Wei Qinglou didn't even glance at him, and asked the guard, "Was he tortured today?"
"Yes, sir," the guard replied respectfully.
Wei Qinglou nodded: "It's alright. Since we've already done it, let's do it again. Go find some cotton wool, wet it and put it on his body, then whip him with a whip with long barbs."
After the guards left to carry out their orders, Wei Qinglou looked at Hu Yanwang and said, "You haven't experienced this yet, have you? The whip has barbs that have grown inside your body. To pull it out, you'll have to tear off your flesh. At that point, you won't have a single piece of good flesh left on your body, and it will be covered in cotton wool. Once your wounds have scabbed over, your flesh and blood will have grown together with the cotton wool. To tear the cotton wool off your body, you'll have to tear off another layer of flesh."
"Don't worry, it's the same old routine. This time I've also invited Imperial Physician Fang to wait at the yamen. I won't let you die like this."
Before he arrived, Hu Yanwang had been pierced by 108 red-hot iron needles by the guards. Now, hearing Wei Qinglou's words, he finally couldn't help but shake the shackles with chains on them and shouted in pain, "Kill me! Wei Qinglou, kill me!"
At this moment, some of the more naive prisoners in the jail exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Wei! I'm willing to confess!"
"Lord Wei! I beg you to be lenient with me. I am willing to tell the truth! I would never dare to deceive or lie!"
"Lord Wei! Lord Wei! I'll confess! Please don't torture me!"
Thanks to King Hu, and with him as an example, those who were originally stubbornly refusing to confess in the imperial prison have left one after another. They all fear that if they don't confess, the severe punishment that fell on King Hu will one day fall on them as well.
Wei Qinglou turned his head, his cold gaze sweeping over them. He raised his index finger to his lips in a "shush" gesture before speaking gently, "Your affairs can be discussed later. Right now, the only person I need to interrogate is Hu Wangzu."
After he finished speaking, he looked at King Yama again: "I said that since you refuse to tell the truth, I will make you live in this prison, neither human nor ghost, unable to live nor able to die."
The guards quickly brought a whip and cotton wool. Following Wei Qinglou's instructions, they applied the cotton wool to Hu Yanwang's body and then tied it tightly with rope to prevent it from falling off. Only then did they swing the iron whip and strike him hard.
When the barbed iron whip was pulled out, it indeed hooked into the flesh beneath the skin.
With just the first blow, King Hu nearly screamed himself hoarse from the pain.
"I...I confess..." he said, and then he fainted.
Wei Qinglou raised his hand, signaling the guards to stop the torture, and then asked him to invite Imperial Physician Fang to give Hu Yanwang acupuncture and prescribe medicine.
"You almost beat him to death, so why rush to have me revive him! What's the use of reviving him? You'll just beat him to death again next time! In my opinion, sooner or later, I'll end up like this prisoner, killed by you!"
When Imperial Physician Fang was summoned by the guards, he was furious when he saw Wei Qinglou in his dark blue robe!
This Wei Qinglou really doesn't appreciate the fruits of his labor at all!
Do you really think saving people is so easy?
Wei Qinglou smiled and apologized to him: "This is the last time, Uncle Fang. I have already sent someone to snatch the 'Compendium of Materia Medica' you wanted back from the Wei family. Just for all the hard work I've put in, please help me save this person one more time."
Physician Fang raised an eyebrow: "He's willing to confess?"
Wei Qinglou nodded: "It seems they can't hold on any longer."
"Even if he can endure it, my old body can't!" Physician Fang sneered as he began to insert needles into Hu Yanwang's body, saying, "Since he's willing to confess, then this life is of no use to him, right? I'll give him acupuncture first to wake him up, and you can ask him whatever you want to ask."
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