Chapter 91: Death to Show One’s Will

Chu Ran felt as if he had inadvertently fallen into the other party's language trap, but when the other party mentioned Li Fu, Chu Ran immediately retorted: "What does this have to do with the prince? Why are you bringing him up? What do you want to say?"

"When I asked the eunuch just now, he was not so excited. Now I just asked him about the prince, and he became so excited. Could it be that this matter really has something to do with the prince?"

"I've already told you! This has nothing to do with him! Don't bring him up!"

Chu Ran's voice became dry and hoarse. He felt tired not only physically but also mentally. His whole body felt heavy, as if he was being pulled down by something.

Chu Ran could no longer hear what the other party was saying. He just repeated, "I told you, don't talk about him! It has nothing to do with him!"

The other party changed the subject and asked, "Since it has nothing to do with the prince, then it means that this matter is indeed related to the father-in-law?"

Chu Ran licked his dry lips and said weakly, "I've already said that this matter has nothing to do with me. How many times do you want to ask me, sir?"

It was unknown how long Lord Yu had been interrogating Chu Ran. He asked many questions over and over again. Although Chu Ran was not smart, he was not stupid. He knew that the other party had been setting traps for him in his words, either to make him confess his guilt, or to bring in unrelated people in an attempt to drag Li Fu into the water.

After Chu Ran discovered this, he stopped talking.

Seeing this, the other party stopped asking questions, but also did not allow Chu Ran to rest. Chu Ran was really tired and sleepy, but as soon as he closed his eyes and wanted to rest, the other party always found a way to wake Chu Ran up.

Chu Ran was interrogated continuously for a whole day and night. He was extremely nervous. When the other party asked him again, Chu Ran had already started talking nonsense.

"So the father-in-law admitted that it was indeed the father-in-law who secretly instructed the craftsmen to cut corners when building the pagoda, and the reason why the father-in-law did this was just to seek personal gain for himself, is that so?"

"Yes, you are right, I did all this...

"Did anyone instruct you?"

"No one instructed me to do this. I did it all by myself..."

"No way? Didn't the father-in-law say before that he alone would not have the courage to do such a thing? Was it the prince who ordered it?"

"It has nothing to do with him. It was all me. I did it all by myself..."

"How about you think about it again, father-in-law?"

"I said, I did it, I did it alone, it's nobody else's business."

"It seems that you still haven't thought it through. If that's the case, you might as well calm down and think about it carefully."

"I thought it through very clearly. I did it all by myself..." Chu Ran muttered to himself. His nerves were on the verge of collapse. Just a little more and it would break completely like a guitar string.

"No, you haven't thought it through. You should think about it carefully again."

"What on earth do you want!" Chu Ran's eyes were bloodshot, and he finally exploded completely. He glared at the other person, as fiercely as if he wanted to tear the other person apart. "Who are you? What is your intention? Do you have to make me admit that it was the prince who ordered it, and then you will let me rest?! Then I tell you, this has nothing to do with him! It doesn't matter if you ask again! I did this alone! I did it alone! It has nothing to do with anyone! I did it myself, and I will take the responsibility alone!"

After yelling at the other party, Chu Ran jumped up from the chair like a madman and rushed directly towards the pillar next to him.

There was a dull "bang" sound, and Chu Ran was hit so hard that stars appeared in his eyes and blood flowed from his forehead. At the moment he passed out, Chu Ran smiled crazily and with relief.

Finally I can close my eyes and rest...

But this time, maybe because the force was not strong enough or what happened, Chu Ran just felt dizzy but not completely unconscious. He could still hear the sound of someone coming in and the conversation afterwards.

"I have met Prime Minister Shen before. How did Prime Minister Shen come here?"

Shen Minghan glanced sideways at Chu Ran, who was sitting paralyzed with his eyes closed and bleeding from his head. He frowned tightly.

"Why, can't you come in your true form?"

"That's not what I meant."

Shen Minghan sneered and said, "Chu Qinglin is a eunuch in the palace. According to the laws of our dynasty, even if he has committed a crime, he should be handed over to the East Factory for punishment. Do I really need to teach you about this?"

Yu Min said: "This matter involves the previous dynasty, and the Ministry of Justice also has jurisdiction."

"Master Yu, do you mean you want to go before the Emperor with me to discuss who is right?"

Yu Min said: "I dare not."

Shen Minghan glanced at Yu Min coldly, "In that case, send him to the East Factory for interrogation."

After that, Shen Minghan left.

Yu Min respectfully saw Shen Minghan off, then turned around and glanced at Chu Ran, who seemed to be still unconscious with his eyes closed. He frowned and said, "After he wakes up, send him to the East Factory."

Two days later, Dongchang was imprisoned.

"Hey, General."

Chu Ran sat cross-legged on the bed with a thick bandage wrapped around his head. In the middle of the bed was a low table with a clear boundary between Chu He and Han marked on it. He raised his arm and struggled to reach his back, scratching the itchy back. With his other hand, he reached for a cleanly washed date on the plate beside him and took a bite out of it.

"It's no use looking anymore. I'd have almost lost if I hadn't seen it." Chu Ran said proudly.

Xiao Yingzi sat opposite him, his hand on the "handsome" chess piece, but he didn't make any moves. After a while, he moved the chess piece horizontally one square, "What do you mean we lost? It's still a long way to go."

"I'll do it again."

Chu Ran thought about it, and moved the "cannon" next to him, forming a pincer attack with the chess piece just now, "So, I lost this time."

Xiao Yingzi stared at the situation on the chessboard closely, but she didn't want to give up so easily and was still looking for a possible opportunity to turn defeat into victory.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the cell, so Chu Ran and Xiao Yingzi both looked outside.

Chu Ran was still chewing his dates seriously. When people walked to the cell door, Chu Ran blinked subconsciously.

Xiao Yingzi quickly got out of bed and saluted the person at the door in a panic.

"The servant Xiao Yingzi meets the prince."

The lock of the cell was just loosely placed on it and was not really locked. The Dongchang guard who was following beside him opened the door lightly and it opened.

Li Fu walked in from outside, but after he came in, he didn't speak immediately. Instead, he looked at Chu Ran solemnly with a pair of deep and dark eyes.

Xiao Yingzi, who was standing beside the bed with her head lowered, raised her head cautiously, glanced at Li Fu, then turned back to look at Chu Ran who was still sitting on the bed without moving. After hesitating for a while, she carefully walked around Li Fu and tiptoed out of the cell.

At some point, the cell door was quietly closed, and the people outside had quietly left, leaving only Chu Ran and Li Fu inside.