Chapter 77 Ling Jing
"Um?"
Cheng Yaojin's pupils contracted, and his face grew even more gloomy: "Who exactly are you?"
"You are not worthy to know my name!" the old man said arrogantly.
"Did you attack the princess?" Cheng Yaojin continued to ask.
"That's right."
As he spoke, the old man glanced at Wei Shuyu.
He never imagined that he, with his extraordinary wisdom and cunning, would be defeated by a mere child!
"Why did you attack the princess?" Cheng Yaojin continued to ask.
"What do you think?" The old man laughed heartily, "Of course, it's about plotting to overthrow the Li Tang dynasty... hahaha..."
Cheng Yaojin's face grew increasingly gloomy.
These kinds of madmen are the most difficult to deal with.
"Shuyu, you watch over him for now, I'll go report to His Majesty!"
After saying that, Cheng Yaojin left.
The old man was extremely bored, and looked at Wei Shuyu...
"Boy, I didn't have a chance to ask this morning, how did you manage to capture this old man?"
Wei Shuyu replied casually, "Is it difficult?"
The old man was taken aback and subconsciously replied, "It's very simple?"
“If I send someone to track down the person who attacked the princess, we’ll find Wang Chang,” Wei Shuyu said.
“Wang Chang is unaware of my existence,” the old man said solemnly.
“He’s a real man.” Wei Shuyu nodded. “He stabbed him several times and cut off both of his ears, but he didn’t say a word…”
"you……"
The old man was a little shocked; how could someone so young be so ruthless?
"However, people who are stubborn usually have a common problem: they are loyal to their friends."
“He refused to confess, so I chopped off one hand from each of his men right in front of him.”
"I didn't expect him to refuse to confess."
"Later, some of the old hands under my command arrested the families of several of his brothers..."
"He was only able to confess Yu Wan after being threatened with this."
Wei Shuyu said it casually.
"You win!"
The old man's expression finally changed: "But Yu Wan doesn't know of my existence either."
“Yu Wan is simple.” Wei Shuyu smiled. “He has family in Chang’an. I just threatened him a little and he confessed about Pan Yun.”
"Pan Yun will not betray me," the old man said confidently.
"Hmm." Wei Shuyu nodded: "I used every means at my disposal, even torturing him to death by a thousand cuts, but he still didn't confess to you."
"court death!"
The old man shouted sharply, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.
Wang Chang and Yu Wan are dead, that's all.
Pan Yun, however, was one of his trusted confidants.
"What do you mean 'die'? You old codger, I'll give you a two-handed advantage!"
Wei Shuyu raised his hand... uh, but couldn't reach it.
"He didn't confess, so how did you find me?" the old man continued to ask.
"There's also an element of luck involved."
Hearing this, Wei Shuyu smiled and said, "I arrested all his neighbors and then interrogated them about his daily routine over the past few days..."
"You know what, we actually found out some useful information."
“He would buy a bunch of tangerines every few days.”
"Then when I asked, his neighbors all said he didn't like eating citrus fruits and always took them out to give away..."
"I inquired further about where he took the tangerines and finally pinpointed Niujia Village."
As Wei Shuyu finished speaking, the old man was dumbfounded.
He never imagined that he would ultimately be defeated by his own gluttony.
“We never let the villagers see us meet. There are dozens of households in Niujia Village. How did you determine who I am?” the old man asked again.
“That makes it even simpler. You’re the mastermind behind this, right? You like to act all high and mighty, supporting a whole bunch of people. You can’t possibly be farming all day, can you? I just need to ask who’s the most educated person in the village, and I can easily narrow it down to three people.”
"A village chief, when he saw the soldiers coming, didn't dare to utter a sound."
“A schoolteacher, full of arrogance, looked down on me.”
"You, who make a living by carving inscriptions on monuments!"
"Of course, they can't rule out suspicion either..."
"But the moment I saw you, I knew you were the mastermind."
Why?
"Professional knowledge is complicated to explain..."
"..."
"However, considering you're quite old and won't live much longer, I'll tell you."
Wei Shuyu smiled and said, "Actually, you've hidden it very well. I have no way of proving that you're the mastermind."
"But I just feel like something's wrong with you!"
“So…” Wei Shuyu revealed a set of bright white teeth: “I arrested you, the scholar, and the village chief, but none of you know that you have been arrested.”
"And then we were attacked, weren't we?"
"Actually, that attack was something I orchestrated myself!"
"Based on your performance at the time, I immediately made up my mind about you."
"The village chief and the scholar were almost scared to death."
"Only a mastermind like you wouldn't show weakness in front of your subordinates."
The old man was truly dumbfounded.
He was cunning and had many burrows. He disguised himself and fled into the countryside. He thought he had been extremely secretive, but he was still caught.
When he was arrested, he still thought he had been betrayed.
"I just didn't expect that the real attack would come so soon after the fake attack was completed..."
After chatting for a while, Cheng Yaojin rushed back and said that His Majesty wanted to personally interrogate the old man.
The old man was immediately taken to the stands.
Seeing the old man standing proudly, Cheng Yaojin kicked him in the shin.
The old man, in pain, knelt down on the ground.
"Who are you? Why did you attack my princess!"
Li Shimin sat upright in the highest position, asking questions with a dignified expression.
The old man knelt on the ground, his disheveled hair covering his face: "Li Shimin, you are a foolish and tyrannical wretch, you..."
*Smack*
Without needing to be told, Cheng Yaojin immediately slapped him several times across the face.
"I will ask you one more time, who are you?"
Li Shimin questioned him sternly, his eyes already brimming with barely suppressed murderous intent.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet the old man grew increasingly arrogant, his cloudy eyes fixed on Li Shimin, revealing his true face...
"Li Shimin, I predict that your Tang Dynasty will not last more than twenty years!"
The old man chuckled, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.
"Someone come here!"
Li Shimin was still trying to remember where he had seen the old man when he heard this, and he was immediately enraged.
"Drag him away and torture him severely until he gets everything he needs to know!"
Splash...
As soon as he finished speaking, a squad of soldiers immediately came forward.
"etc……"
Just then, Wei Zheng suddenly stepped forward.
He walked up to the old man and stared at him for a long while: "You are..."
Wei Zheng spoke in a trembling voice; his usually calm and collected demeanor was now trembling.
"Haha... Wei Siban, I didn't expect you to still remember this old man!"
The old man's mouth was full of blood as he laughed wildly!
Then, he turned his gaze to the others: "Yu Shinan, Ouyang Xun..."
"You ungrateful, cowardly bunch!"
"King Xia treated you well back then, but as soon as he died, you turned around and pledged allegiance to Li Shimin..."
"Where are your faces? How are you any different from dogs?!"
Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan trembled.
He slowly walked up to the old man, carefully examined him, and then spoke...
"You are... Ling Jing?"
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