Chapter 27: Does He Have a Brain Now?
In a secluded courtyard of the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence, the sounds of whipping and screams could be heard intermittently from a dimly lit room.
The screams were intermittent, sometimes shrill and sometimes low and hoarse, sending chills down one's spine, as if the whips and sticks were striking one's own body, and one more blow would kill one's life.
After another series of shrill screams, the whipping stopped. Steward Liu, who had been sitting in the corner of the room, got up and walked to the maid who was covered in blood.
"Cui Ling, are you still not going to confess? Do you have to endure all the torture instruments before you'll tell the truth?"
Bound to the wooden frame, Cui Ling's head hung low, her hair disheveled and stained with blood on her cheeks, making her face unrecognizable.
She let out a low moan of pain, but remained silent in response to Steward Liu's questions.
Manager Liu's face showed impatience as he said, "The Marquis and his wife are kind-hearted and have always treated people gently, which is why they didn't use those cruel tortures on you right away."
"But if you think that they are made of clay and can get away with it as long as they stick to their previous lies, then you are sorely mistaken."
“You’ve harmed not only Miss Shen this time, but also His Highness Prince Jin. This matter cannot be left like this.”
"If you don't speak now... then don't blame the manor for being ruthless."
As he spoke, he gave a wink to the servant in charge of administering the torture. The servant understood and immediately brought over a set of torture instruments.
These instruments of torture are old and worn, clearly unused for many years, but the mottled, dark bloodstains on them still send chills down one's spine.
Steward Liu glanced at it and then looked away, saying, "Lin Ping, who served Prince Jin, was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison. He couldn't withstand the torture and has already passed away. It is said that before he died, half of his skin was peeled off while he was still alive, and he was not even human when he was thrown into the mass grave."
"Although our Marquis's manor doesn't have such excellent skills, it's still enough to make you wish you were dead."
The servants administering the torture took down an object covered in spikes from the shelf at the opportune moment, tapped it in their hands, and it made a clanging sound.
Cui Ling's gaze instinctively followed the sound, and her pupils contracted slightly when she saw what it was. Her body trembled noticeably, but her dry, chapped lips only twitched a few times, and she remained silent.
Seeing that she was stubborn and unyielding, Steward Liu no longer showed her any mercy. He immediately waved his hand to signal his servants to carry out the torture, and then withdrew from the room.
Before long, Cui Ling's screams rang out again from inside the room.
This time, the screams were even sharper than before, but they didn't last long, because Cuiling fainted shortly after the torture began.
Manager Liu didn't have time to spend the whole day here. He instructed his servants to report back to him once they had extracted any useful information, and then left, asking as he walked, "How's it going in Fengyang? How long will it take for news to come back?"
The servant beside him replied, "Fengyang is a half-month journey from the capital. Even at the fastest speed, it would take more than half a month to make a round trip. How could news be sent back so quickly? I guess we'll have to wait."
Upon hearing this, Manager Liu sighed, becoming even more agitated.
Cui Ling was a servant born into the Marquis's household, but her parents died early, leaving her with only a younger sister to depend on.
A few years ago, when the old lady celebrated her birthday, she released a group of elderly servants from the mansion, giving each of them a considerable sum of money for their retirement, so that they could return to their ancestral home.
Cui Ling's younger sister had been in poor health since childhood, so they asked the old lady for permission to let her sister return to her hometown of Fengyang to recuperate.
The kind-hearted old lady agreed and also gave her sister a sum of money.
From then on, Cui Ling's younger sister was fostered by her second uncle's family, and judging by her age, she should be engaged by now.
After the incident a few days ago, the Marquis ordered them to interrogate Cuiling urgently, and at the same time, they carefully inquired about Cuiling's background and past. At that time, they noticed her younger sister.
If Cui Ling wasn't bribed, then the most likely explanation is that someone has her sister under their control and is using her to blackmail her.
To verify this and see if any useful clues could be found, the Marquis ordered someone to go to Fengyang to see if his sister was still there.
If she is there, bring her to the capital immediately. If she is not there, find out whether she has been married or taken away by someone; in short, we must find out the truth.
Unfortunately, Fengyang is not close to the capital, and a round trip takes at least half a month. If things don't go smoothly, it might take a month to get back.
Manager Liu had previously assured Marquis Cheng'an that there was no need to wait for Fengyang's people to return; he would be able to get the truth out of Cuiling within three days.
It's been three days now, and he still hasn't been able to get Cui Ling to talk. He can't help but hope that Feng Yang will have some good news.
After Manager Liu left, Cui Ling's screams began to echo intermittently in the courtyard again, only stopping when the kitchen staff came to deliver lunch at noon.
Cui Ling was still tied up in the room, her vision blurred, and she could faintly hear voices outside.
What did the kitchen make today?
"Oh, there's even a plate of cherry omelets!"
"The other day when we entertained guests, we bought a lot of cherries, but we didn't finish them. These things don't keep very long, so the kitchen asked the madam, and she said to make some food for everyone to share."
"Please thank you on our behalf, Madam."
After a period of noise, everyone dispersed to eat, and the courtyard quieted down for a while. However, the words "cherry pancake" still echoed in Cuiling's ears.
A gaunt hand appeared before her eyes, its knuckles distinct and its paleness frightening. Between its pale fingers, a bright red cherry was held, making the fruit appear even more vibrant and juicy.
“Cherries are in season right now, and your sister loves them, especially cherry omelets. She eats a small dish of them every day.”
The woman spoke in the most ordinary way, with the silver hairpin she had given her younger sister when she left the mansion beside her, showing that she had the lives of the two sisters at her fingertips.
Tears welled up in Cui Ling's eyes, mingling with the blood on her face and rolling down, leaving a bloody mark.
That afternoon, Steward Liu hurriedly came to Marquis Cheng'an and knelt down with a thud.
"My lord, this old servant is incompetent! Cuiling... Cuiling is dead."
The moment Cheng'an Hou knelt down, he knew things were probably bad. Upon hearing that Cui Ling was dead, his anger flared up.
"How could she die so suddenly? Didn't we tell you to go easy on her when you tortured her, to leave her a breath of life?"
"No... he didn't die during torture."
Manager Liu said.
"After the meal, Cuiling said she needed to relieve herself, so the old woman watching over her temporarily untied her from the shelf, but just in case, her hands were still tied with ropes."
"Who knew...who knew that when the old woman led her to the toilet, she suddenly rammed her head against the wall and killed herself."
The impact was extremely forceful, blood splattered, and half of his head was dented, showing that he was determined to die and had left himself no way out.
Marquis Cheng'an also knew that a person would not easily kill themselves by running into a wall unless they were determined to die.
But Cui Ling wasn't like this the past two days, so why did she suddenly decide to die today?
"What happened today? Has anyone else been in contact with Cuiling? Did the people guarding her say anything unusual?"
Marquis Cheng'an asked.
"This old servant has already inquired, and everything is the same as before."
"Knowing that Cuiling was an extremely important witness, the same group of people have been guarding and interrogating her ever since she was imprisoned. Apart from the old servant, these people have never left the courtyard. People outside the courtyard are not allowed to enter. Even when the kitchen comes to deliver food, they can only deliver it to the door."
"Everything was normal today. No one else entered or left that courtyard. There were at least two people interrogating Cuiling. They can all testify to each other that no one said anything inappropriate to Cuiling."
"No one has entered or left, and no one has said anything to Cuiling, so why would she suddenly try to kill herself?"
Marquis Cheng'an said angrily.
Steward Liu bowed and kowtowed: "This old servant has failed in his duties and is guilty."
Marquis Cheng'an was furious, but the man was already dead. What could he do? He could only say, "If you're guilty, go and receive your punishment. Get out!"
"yes."
Manager Liu responded and dared not say anything more. He hurriedly withdrew, regretting that he had impulsively taken on this task. He never expected that Cui Ling would be so tight-lipped and so fierce, and that she would die so suddenly.
What bad luck!
He spat and went to accept his punishment with a sullen face.
……………………
In a courtyard with pomegranate trees in the southwest corner of the capital, the middle-aged man who was originally sitting in the main seat was now kneeling on the ground, trembling.
Sitting in the chair in front of him was a handsome man with a fair complexion and no beard. It was hard to tell his age; he could be thirty, forty, or even in his twenties.
The man sipped his tea slowly and deliberately, and after a long while, he gently put down the teacup, wiped his lips with a handkerchief, and said leisurely, "Lin Si, you're really getting better and better at handling things."
His voice was not as rough and deep as that of an ordinary man; it was very clear and bright, like a clear spring in summer, which was very pleasant to hear. But at this moment, it only made the middle-aged man feel that it was sharp and grating.
His slightly overweight body trembled, and he raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.
"Your subordinate is incompetent and has failed your master's trust."
"Your subordinate is incompetent and has failed your master's trust."
He slapped himself several times until his face was swollen, but the man didn't stop. Seeing his lip crack and bleed, he finally couldn't take it anymore and hesitated before stopping. He stammered, "Originally... originally it was foolproof, but who would have thought... who would have thought that Prince Jin would take the blame himself?"
"But please rest assured, Master, even if the Shen family agrees to marry their daughter to Prince Jin, I have a way to deal with it!"
"Two days, at most two more days, I will definitely get things done and make it impossible for the Prince of Jin to recover!"
"Don't worry," the man chuckled. "The master is quite at ease."
“Prince Jin is currently enjoying himself at Yafeng Garden with Miss Shen, and the imperial decree for their marriage is about to be issued. Even if the entire Shen family were killed now, it wouldn't have much of an impact on Prince Jin. Even if Your Highness wanted to be worried, you couldn't help it.”
Lin Si was startled, and his expression changed drastically.
He was unaware that the Prince of Jin had taken Shen Yan on his trip. He thought that at worst, he could kill Shen Yan, fake it as suicide, and then claim that Shen Mingshan had sold his daughter for personal gain in order to agree to the marriage.
No sooner had the Shen family agreed to the marriage than Miss Shen went on a trip with Prince Jin.
They were complete strangers before, and such an unpleasant incident had occurred between them! Even if they believed it wasn't Prince Jin who did it, he was the one who implicated them. How could they treat him with such indifference?
Lin Si clenched his fist, gritting his teeth and cursing inwardly: No wonder she's Shen Mingshan's daughter, like father, like daughter!
He was furious and speechless for a moment. After a long while, he finally spoke again: "I...I will definitely find another way. Tell Master not to worry about this matter..."
"My master told me to tell you not to make any further moves recently."
The man in the seat suddenly spoke.
Lin Si was taken aback and looked up in confusion.
Didn't they previously intend to kill the Prince of Jin? Why have they given up now?
The man said, "This attack was intended to be swift and decisive, catching Prince Jin off guard."
"Now he has turned the tables on us, turning a disaster into a joke, and no amount of fussing will change anything."
Jokes at most become topics of conversation during leisure time, and after a laugh, nothing remains. For someone like Prince Jin, who is known for his thick skin, they are insignificant. In fact, his unreasonable and absurd behavior has inexplicably earned him some good reputation, and the people have changed their opinion of him.
At this point, any further action would be of little effect and there's no point in trying.
Most importantly...
"His Majesty already knows that Prince Jin was framed and is working hard to find the person behind it. If you rush forward at this time and get yourself involved, that's fine, but if you drag the master down with you... then your whole family will be buried with him."
Upon hearing this, Lin Si repeatedly agreed and dared not say another word.
The handsome man stood up, gave him one last look, and said, "Considering you're still useful, the master is magnanimous and won't hold it against you this time. But if there's a next time... you'd better think it over."
After saying that, he stepped outside and got into the carriage he had come from.
Lin Si responded with a "Yes," and hurriedly got up to see him off. Only after the carriage had gone far away did he wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and return to the courtyard. On the way back, the more he thought about it, the more puzzled and angry he became. He muttered, "Why do I feel that this Prince Jin... is not quite the same as before?"
Not only can it resolve the traps they've set, but it can also cut off their path forward, leaving them with nowhere to go, which is quite different from before.
Was he mistaken before, or did the Prince of Jin suddenly become enlightened?
The servants around him, puzzled, asked, "What's different?"
Lin Si couldn't quite put his finger on it, and after a long pause, he finally managed to stammer, "It seems... I've developed a brain."
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A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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