Chapter 213: Catch the Big Fish with the King of the Sword
Tang Ning stood outside the prison door for a long time, looking at Prince Cheng, who was huddled in a corner, trembling like a man mad with fear. However, she felt less relieved than she had expected. No matter how much torture this man endured, it would not be worth the twenty years her aunt had been deceived. She looked away and whispered, "Will he die?"
"Not yet." Xiao Yan lowered his head: "I still need to keep King Cheng to catch the big fish."
Tang Ning vaguely guessed what he wanted to do and asked, "What happens next?"
"It's up to Your Majesty to reward or punish him from now on," Xiao Yan said. "He colluded with the Ministry of War and is suspected of treason. Logically, he shouldn't be spared. However, since the rebellion wasn't carried out and his property was discovered and confiscated beforehand, and he's been crippled after being tortured, it's possible Your Majesty will show some mercy."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Tang Ning and said, "Why, you don't want him to die?"
Tang Ning hummed softly, "Letting him die like this would be too easy for him."
"He deceived my aunt for years, causing my uncle to be wronged. He even kept my grandfather in the dark until his death. How can a man like him deserve to die so easily? I want him to live the second half of his life in misery, to watch his hopes for so many years dashed in an instant, to watch those he never cherished rise to prominence while he remains as worthless as dust."
Xie Tianyu did not love his aunt, and he would not regret losing her for the rest of his life. But if he were to live and see his years of planning ruined, and see his lifelong "love" treating him as nothing more than a pawn, and never thinking of saving him when he fell into the abyss of hell, even his self-righteous affection and dedication over the years would be a joke.
Then his life would be more painful than death.
Tang Ning whispered, "I'd like to ask my brother to have someone take good care of his life, to let him live for a long time, and to let him see his own retribution with his own eyes."
Xiao Yan nodded: "Okay."
Tang Ning looked back at the dim cell and saw King Cheng huddled in a corner, trembling. She glanced at the things on the ground and whispered, "Brother, have someone bring the child back."
Xiao Yan said, "Why take it back? I see that Prince Cheng likes him very much, so let them enjoy the happiness of family life in prison."
Seeing her stunned, he whispered:
"Come with me."
Tang Ning didn't know what Xiao Yan wanted to do, and followed him out of the prison with some confusion.
When she arrived at the outer room, she saw Jinyun coming over with a box. She recognized the mahogany brocade box at a glance. It was the one she had taken back from Doctor Sun.
"Brother, he..." Tang Ning opened his eyes wide.
Xiao Yan glanced at the box and said, "He is your aunt's child after all. Even if his biological father is hateful, this blood relationship cannot be severed. Your aunt may not care about him. If she knew what you did with this child, although she wouldn't be resentful, she would inevitably blame you for acting on your own and create a rift between you."
"But the one inside just now?"
She clearly saw that the box contained...
"It's a little thing my men made, mixed with some pig and sheep blood, just enough to scare people."
That thing simply cannot withstand close scrutiny, especially for someone who has seen human life on their hands. They can tell the real thing from the fake just by smelling the blood. Moreover, how could a four-month-old dead fetus have such a clear face, with its eyes, ears, mouth and nose still intact?
It was a pity that King Cheng had already been tortured to the point of being unconscious, and there was almost no light in the death cell. When he first saw the "fetus" in the box, he was so frightened that he lost his mind and had no time to tell whether it was real or fake.
Seeing the little girl's stunned expression, Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh. "Well, King Cheng wouldn't dare touch that thing in his current state. Let them enjoy the bliss of the world. As for this..."
He pointed at the box and said, "Wait a moment. I'll go talk to them about what's going on. I'll go with you to find a place to bury him."
Xiao Yan habitually reached out and rubbed Tang Ning's hair: "You never hurt him, and you should give him a good burial. He will be reborn into a good family in the next life, so there is no need to feel guilty."
Tang Ning covered his forehead in a daze, watching Xiao Yan turn around and go to the other side.
When talking to Canglang and the others, the man who had been speaking softly just now seemed to have restrained all his gentleness. His dark blue robe outlined his slender figure and his profile was stern.
As he spoke in a low voice, Tang Ning looked up at his back, and her lowered hand couldn't help but tightly grasp the sachet in her sleeve.
She should stay away...
Just like with the Fu family, if you have no interest in them, you should just reject them decisively and let your brother give up the idea sooner. You can even do it like with Fu Laiqing, find a way to reject his fantasies, and slowly distance yourself from this inappropriate relationship.
But……
Tang Ning couldn't help but look at Xiao Yan standing at the intersection of light and shadow, picking at the crabapple flower pattern on the sachet with his fingertips and biting his lips lightly.
My brother is different from Fu Laiqing. Fu Laiqing is the legitimate son of the Fu family and the beloved nephew of Cao Gong. He comes from a noble family and has an excellent background. Even if he is rejected by her, he can find a good marriage again. He can adjust quickly even if he is embarrassed for a while.
But Xiao Yan was different. He was disabled and had been despised over the years. Everyone called him a treacherous eunuch and was unwilling to associate with him. Everyone regarded him as a scourge and wanted to isolate him on the top of a mountain.
He had never expressed his feelings to her, nor had he offended her, and he even quickly swallowed back the words that had just come out of his mouth.
He was wary of her.
If she were to be hasty and distant and cold to him, what would her brother think? He would think that she despised his disability and that she hated his status.
By then, his embarrassment will be hundreds or thousands of times worse than Fu Laiqing's.
Tang Ning couldn't bear it, nor was he willing to do it.
…
Xiao Yan could feel that someone behind him seemed to be looking at him. He turned around and looked at Xiao Haitang who was standing quietly in the yard waiting for him. His eyebrows could not help but curve gently.
When he turned to Canglang, there was still a hint of resentment in the corners of his eyes.
"Have someone watch over Prince Cheng and don't let him commit suicide. When we interrogate Hou Rui and Gong Jinghao later, there's no need to torture them. Just give them a general overview."
He paused before saying, "Remember to reveal to them what King Cheng confessed, and do it as subtly as possible."
Canglang was stunned for a moment: "But didn't the governor deceive Prince Cheng? If Hou Rui and the others colluded with Prince Cheng, wouldn't it be confirmed that it was other members of the Lu family who were in cahoots with Prince Cheng..."
What about Queen Lu?
Isn't their target the Queen?
Xiao Yan's expression was indifferent: "We need to make them confirm this matter and then send their confession to His Majesty and the Queen."
Previously, he sent people to test Queen Lu, but she didn't move at all. She seemed not to care about Prince Cheng's life or death, and was not even afraid that he would reveal anything. After interrogating Prince Cheng today, seeing that he still avoided the Lu family even under severe punishment, Xiao Yan knew that he might really have some concerns in the hands of the Queen.
He could certainly torture Prince Cheng to force him to speak, but regardless of whether what Prince Cheng said under torture was true or false, even if what he said was true, once the confession was delivered to Emperor An in the future, the Queen and the Prince would certainly not admit to the affair, and Emperor An would personally conduct the trial in a rage, and then the truth would not be hidden from the royal family.
Prince Cheng is not a fool, but a vicious and treacherous man. If he goes back on his words in front of the emperor, and uses the injuries left by torture to accuse the emperor of forcing the emperor to frame the empress, and thus frame the Lu family, it will not only help the Lu family escape punishment, but will also put him in an irretrievable situation.
Instead of taking such a risk, it would be better to use the King of Cheng to catch a big fish.
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