Chapter 74 The Marinated Prison
The prison in Yangdu County was even more stifling than I had imagined.
As soon as I stepped inside, a strong odor, a mixture of musty, rancid, and even some indescribable smells, assaulted my nostrils.
A mouse darted past his feet, startling Xie Ji, who instinctively hid behind Xiao Yunzhan.
"Tsk, this place is so filthy." Xie Ji pulled at his collar and fanned himself, trying to mask the smell of the cell with the lingering incense from his clothes.
"I should have had the bailiffs take him to the main hall for interrogation. Staying here any longer will make him smell like a rotten plant."
Xiao Yunzhan didn't reply, his gaze falling on the innermost cell.
Hearing footsteps, Liu Yang clung to the railing and looked outside.
Upon recognizing Xiao Yunzhan and his two companions, they instantly perked up, pressing their faces against the railing and waving their hands vigorously in an attempt to attract their attention.
"Your Highness! Lady Pei! You've finally arrived! Can I leave now?"
Xiao Yunzhan glanced at him sideways, "Do you think the government office is just bored and detaining people for no reason?"
Liu Yang choked on his words, then said with a stern face, "Your Highness is mistaken!"
I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to do except keep an eye on Wu Ming for Chen Gong!
Chen Gong asked me to do it, how could I dare disobey?
Besides, nothing happened to Wu Ming. You can't keep me locked up for this, can you?
"Standing upright and acting justly?" Xie Ji chuckled, patted the railing twice, and looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Liu Yang, you really dare to say that. Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue in the wind?"
"Have you told so many lies that you've started to believe them yourself?"
Liu Yang's face turned bright red as he hurriedly defended himself: "I didn't lie!"
Go ask that little beggar! He can testify!
I only told him to remember where Wu Ming went and who he met, and I didn't even let him get close!
"If I really wanted to harm Wu Ming, would I have chosen such a young child?"
Xiao Yunzhan waited slowly for Liu Yang to finish speaking, his tone casual as if he were chatting about everyday things: "So, you're still a law-abiding citizen after all."
Just as Liu Yang was about to nod, Xiao Yunzhan changed the subject: "Oh, by the way, do you know Hanyan Niangzi from Yihong Courtyard?"
"No... I don't know him!" Liu Yang's voice changed instantly. He pulled his hand back from the railing and took a half step back. His chest heaved faster and faster, and his eyes began to wander. He didn't dare to meet Xiao Yunzhan's gaze.
Xiao Yunzhan raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise: "Oh? You don't recognize me? But Lady Hanyan seems quite familiar with you, she's told me a lot about you."
"What...what could she possibly say?" Liu Yang's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice trembling.
"She's just a lowly songstress who deals with men all day long. What truth could she possibly have to say? Don't believe her!"
"Oh." Xie Ji leaned closer, smiling with his eyes narrowed.
"Didn't you say you didn't know her? How do you know she's a songstress?"
Liu Yang then realized he had given himself away and quickly tried to cover it up: "I...I also frequent the brothel!"
Of course, I know that there's a girl named Hanyan in the Grand View Garden. She can sing well, but she's a bit scheming.
I don't like listening to music, and I've never contacted her. That can't be considered a lie, can it?
"I see." Xiao Yunzhan drawled, but the smile in his eyes turned cold.
"But Lady Hanyan is concerned about you. She said she was afraid that if you went out from here, you would lose your life the moment you stepped out the door."
"What do you mean?" Liu Yang suddenly looked up, his eyes wide open, and took two steps forward before being stopped by the railing.
"Who wants to kill me? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I'm his relative..."
The words caught in his throat. He abruptly shut his mouth, staring warily at Xiao Yunzhan, his lips trembling: "You...you're bluffing me! Hanyan didn't say any of that!"
Pei Zhiwei stood to the side and saw that Liu Yang was about to reach his breaking point; it was time to add fuel to the fire.
She seemed to have had enough of their roundabout way of doing things, so she stepped forward and said with a hint of impatience, "Why bother with all this effort?"
Han Yan confessed to everything. Xu Ren murdered his father, and you were his accomplice.
She turned to look at Xiao Yunzhan, a hint of a smile in her eyes: "He just thought Chen Gong was dead a few days ago, so he was fearless and didn't take you, a prince, seriously."
"Is it really necessary for you to be so angry now?"
Xiao Yunzhan snorted and laughed, "When I asked him before, he was very stubborn and refused to say anything."
Things are different now. We've investigated Han Yan's confession, the traces of the abandoned kiln outside the city, and the matter of him presenting the painting to Xu Fengyan—we've found out everything."
He paused, deliberately slowing his speech: "If he had told the truth back then, and revealed everything about Xu Ren and the other secrets he knew, I might have been in a better mood and made him suffer less."
But now that Han Yan has confessed everything, there's no need for him to say anything.
"I just wanted to see if he could still be so defiant before he was about to be executed."
As Liu Yang listened to their conversation, his legs suddenly went weak, and he slid down the wall and collapsed to the ground.
He stared at the ground, muttering to himself, "Impossible... We did such a discreet job, how could we have been exposed?"
The kiln was so remote, nobody would go there...and nobody saw me donating the painting..."
Pei Zhiwei squatted down to look him in the eye. "Didn't I tell you? Han Yan has already confessed."
Xu Ren erected a colorful frame outside the city that looked exactly like the Jade Pot Spring. You tried it many times there, calculating the exact time when the rope would break and the distance at which you would be crushed to death by the collapsing frame.
That day, you took that 'perspective and perspective painting' and deliberately lured Xu Fengyan and Chen Gong to stand under the colorful frame.
These all make sense. If she hadn't confessed, how would we know these details?
Liu Yang was startled and suddenly crawled over on all fours, grabbed Xiao Yunzhan's clothes, and kept kowtowing.
"Your Highness! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"
This was all forced upon me by that beast Xu Ren!
I just donated the painting; I didn't do anything else!
Xiao Yunzhan coldly kicked Liu Yang's hand away, "What's the use of saying all this now?"
The case has been thoroughly investigated; you are an accomplice, guilty of the same crime as Xu Ren in the patricide.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yang was stunned for a long time before suddenly bursting into tears, his voice echoing throughout the prison.
Pei Zhiwei picked at her ear. "Stop crying, it's too noisy."
However, if you're willing to tell me something I'm curious about, perhaps I can plead with His Highness to spare your life.
Liu Yang's crying abruptly stopped, as if he had been choked. He raised his head, tears still streaming down his face, his eyes filled with doubt, yet also with a hint of hope: "You...you're serious? You can get Prince Rui to spare my life?"
Pei Zhiwei couldn't help but laugh, turning to look at Xiao Yunzhan with a playful hint of probing in her eyes: "If I were in a good mood, I could let you spare his life, could you do that?"
Looking into the light in her eyes, Xiao Yunzhan felt for a moment that the smell in the prison wasn't so unbearable anymore.
"As long as you're happy, let alone a third-rate merchant, even Zhang Xuren's life or death is just a matter of a word from me."
"Cough cough!" Xie Ji coughed suddenly from the side. He quickly turned around and faced away from Liu Yang.
Good heavens! Are Pei Zhiwei and Xiao Yunzhan going crazy?
Zhang Xuren was, after all, the Prefect of Yangdu, a proper official of the third rank.
To please his young mistress, the dignified Prince Rui decided Zhang Xuren's fate with a single sentence.
They really are a perfect pair – one dared to start singing, and the other dared to follow up with a performance!
He stared wide-eyed at the mold on the wall, as if he had seen some monster, not daring to even breathe.
Pei Zhiwei ignored Xie Ji's reaction, and simply raised her chin at Liu Yang with an arrogant expression.
"See, I didn't lie to you. As long as what you say is useful enough, saving your life isn't difficult."
Liu Yang stared at her for a long time, as if trying to determine if she was lying. Finally, he gritted his teeth and wiped away his tears.
"What does my wife want to know? Ask away, and I'll tell you everything!"
"As long as I can live, I'll tell my wife everything!"
Pei Zhiwei: "What I'm curious about is that the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children has existed since ancient times, and it's not unique to the Xu family."
Xu Ren had never seemed to hate Xu Fengyan much before, so how come he suddenly hated him to the point of wanting to kill his father at this age?
Liu Yang didn't expect her to ask this suddenly. After reviewing Xu Ren's changes in his mind, he said, "Actually... Xu Ren didn't think anything of it before."
He knew that Xu Fengyan favored Xu Li, but Xu Fengyan hadn't mistreated him either; he provided him with plenty of food, clothing, and other necessities, but he hadn't given him any real power.
What truly fueled his resentment were the events of the past two years.
He paused, lowering his voice slightly: "Wang Shi is Xu Fengyan's second wife. She once advised Xu Fengyan not to be too biased, after all, Xu Ren is also his own son."
But later, for some reason, the servants in the house started to treat Xu Ren less and less seriously.
When Xu Ren asked them to do something, they started making excuses or just going through the motions.
Once when I went to the Xu residence, a servant actually cursed in front of me, "Master Liu, are you here to freeload again?"
Erlang is merely an illegitimate son, yet you dare to treat the Xu residence as your own home? You truly have no shame!
Liu Yang's face turned bright red, as if he was recalling the embarrassment of that time: "Xu Ren was right next to me then. His face turned blue, and he was trembling with anger."
Fortunately, the deputy steward Wang Heng happened to pass by and scolded the servant, saying, "How dare you disrespect Erlang? Believe me or not, I'll report to the master and have you thrown out."
At the time, I thought Wang Heng was a good person.
But I later heard that the servant was only reprimanded by Xu Fengyan and that was the end of it.
I also felt that Xu Fengyan was letting his servants give me attitude.
Who knew that one night I lingered at the Xu residence and didn't leave, and when I went to the outhouse, I overheard Wang Heng giving money to that servant, saying, "You've been doing well lately, keep up the good work."
Pei Zhiwei raised an eyebrow: "Do you think Wang Heng is stirring things up? Maybe he gave you the money for something else?"
Liu Yang sneered, his eyes full of disdain, "I've been on my guard ever since, and I've been staying at the Xu residence whenever I have nothing to do."
He deliberately loitered around the mansion.
During that time, the servants in the Xu family became increasingly presumptuous towards Xu Ren, even going so far as to say that Xu Ren would be nothing more than Xu Li's dog in the future.
As for those servants who dared to give Xu Ren a hard time, I saw them drinking with Wang Heng several times, and Wang Heng even gave them silver.
He leaned forward and lowered his voice: "I only realized later that Wang Heng is a member of the Wang family, and all these things he did were at the behest of the Wang family!"
Wang wanted to incite a conflict between Xu Ren and Xu Li, hoping they would both suffer heavy losses so that Wang could reap the benefits and seize control of the Xu family's assets!
Pei Zhiwei frowned: "Wang has been married into the family for over twenty years. Why didn't she stir things up earlier? Why did she only take action now?"
Xu Ren and Xu Li are both grown up now; they're not so easily fooled anymore.
A sinister smile curled at the corner of Liu Yang's mouth, his eyes filled with smugness, as if he knew some great secret.
"That's because... Xu Ren stumbled upon Wang's shameful affair!"
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