Chapter 600 The Empress's Belongs to the Empress, the Primordial Sovereign's Belongs to the Primordial Sovereign [7k words combined into one chapter, please vote!]
The innermost cell in the old state prison.
"Sizzle—!"
As a rusty iron door roared open from the outside, Ouyang Rong followed Rong Zhen through the door.
His expression showed slight surprise.
The cell did not contain the eighteen kinds of torture instruments that Ouyang Rong had imagined.
Only water.
Kettle, bucket, vat, puddle, and water droplets.
Tick-tock... tick-tock... tick-tock...
Heavy drops of water slowly dripped from the dark, damp ceiling, splashing onto the calm surface of the water.
It was surrounded by water.
His boots, which he wore as he entered the cell, were already soaked.
If Ouyang Rong hadn't just walked all the way from the gate of the state prison on the edge of the cliff to this place, he would have thought this was some kind of underground river or a damp cave at the bottom of a lake.
The atmosphere of this dark and damp cell felt somewhat familiar to Ouyang Rong.
The two female attendants who followed Rongzhen went to the sides and lit torches.
"This water is taken from Xingzi Lake."
"Old Yang said that the lake water is clear, damp and cold, and has a calm atmosphere, unlike the muddy and flowing water of rivers, which has too much movement and is not suitable for the confined environment of the water dungeon, which would make the water torture less effective."
"In particular, the water-drop torture is designed to inflict both psychological and physical torment in a confined environment."
"The lake water is the best, the deeper the better. Within a hundred miles of Xunyang City, none meets these criteria other than Xingzi Lake..."
A girl in cold, palace-style attire stood to one side, her sleeves tucked behind her ear, explaining softly, her expression unreadable.
Ouyang Rong sighed softly, "No wonder this water smells so familiar."
At that moment, the figure of an elderly man with one eye appeared at the cell door behind the two.
Unlike the uniformly dressed prison guards in blue robes and female officials in white robes, this one-eyed old man wore a dark blue coarse linen robe, had sparse white hair, and a withered face.
The old man calmly walked through the door, carrying a sheepskin water bag in his hand.
Rong Zhen raised her foot without turning her head and voluntarily moved aside.
Ouyang Rong and she stepped aside together.
The one-eyed old man quietly passed by the two of them and walked straight towards the pitch-black depths of the water prison directly in front of him.
Ouyang Rong saw what appeared to be a dark shadow rising up in the depths.
It seemed that the wall lamps were out of oil, so the two female officials who were preparing to light the lamps turned around and went out to get some oil.
The cell was temporarily plunged into darkness.
Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen stopped beside the iron gate, not yet venturing into the depths of the prison.
The one-eyed old man seemed very familiar with the prison's layout, and the darkness did not hinder his easy steps.
Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen stood side by side, watching the one-eyed old man walk into the depths.
Ouyang Rong was somewhat familiar with this rather peculiar one-eyed old man; he was the one who had orchestrated the interrogation of the burly spy in the cell next door.
Ouyang Rong arrived to observe halfway through the interrogation. The one-eyed old man was engrossed in torturing the prisoner, and the two did not communicate or interact.
However, the one-eyed old man's exquisite and skillful use of the eighteen kinds of torture to extract confessions left a deep impression on Ouyang Rong.
However, unlike him who remained calm, Yuan Huaimin, who had come along to observe with the intention of slacking off, vomited two or three times during the interrogation, his stomach feeling like it had missed two meals.
Later, Yuan Huaimin couldn't bear it any longer and made an excuse to run away in a hurry. So he didn't have the chance to come to this second water dungeon with Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen to see the world.
Before leaving, Yuan Huaimin looked at his two companions, Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen, as if they were monsters.
"His surname is Yang, but his given name has not been mentioned for a long time. People in the Imperial Observatory and the Dali Temple in Luoyang who know him call him Old Yang or Old Yang."
Rong Zhen broke the silence and spoke softly.
"Old Yang was once a cruel official. He wasn't one of the most famous ones back then, but he was still quite good. He had served under two of the most notorious cruel officials, and he may have even advised on some of the most infamous and well-known torture methods."
"He has a lot of ideas even when dealing with Qi cultivators."
"A cruel official? Was he previously a member of the Imperial Prison Administration?"
Ouyang Rong suddenly asked.
Rongzhen nodded slightly:
"Yes, he was an old criminal officer in the Imperial Prison. Later, the Imperial Prison in Luoyang was disbanded, or rather, downsized. It was practically defunct. Most of the cruel officials and criminal officers in the original Imperial Prison did not have a good end. Those who were able to retire unscathed went to the Court of Judicial Review, some were taken in by the Imperial Observatory, and some left the Luoyang court and the country..."
"Old Yang was specially invited from Jinling after our Supervisory Bureau issued the wanted notice. He has been working in the Jinling Prefecture Prison for many years, so he is considered semi-retired... We invited him here specifically to interrogate the rebels. In fact, there are quite a few experts like him in the court, and sometimes we have to make good use of them."
Ouyang Rong could detect a hint of respect in Rong Zhen's usually cold tone.
"Half-retired? Perhaps you've offended too many people in the past and need to keep a low profile." As he spoke, he glanced at the hunched back of the one-eyed old man in front of him.
The Imperial Prison Administration and cruel officials are relics of the past, dating back to when the current sage established the Great Zhou Dynasty.
When this emperor first assumed power, in order to take over and consolidate his imperial authority, and especially to purge so-called "rebels" from within the country, he activated the imperial prison and appointed cruel officials on a large scale.
The so-called imperial prison mainly refers to cases in which high-ranking officials or members of the imperial family were imprisoned only after the emperor issued an edict.
This refers to prisons directly controlled by the emperor, where criminals were convicted by imperial decree.
The Imperial Prison Administration was responsible for the imperial prisons, and many notorious cruel officials emerged from its ranks.
They specifically targeted the Li clan and high-ranking officials who rebelled, resulting in the massacre and execution of many.
The current emperor used this as a basis for his arbitrary decision.
However, the Xunyang Prince Li Xian's family had already been demoted to Jiangzhou and became commoners, thus managing to escape this huge political storm in a daze.
Otherwise, if he had fallen into the hands of the cruel officials of the Imperial Prison, he would probably have been framed for treason and unjustly killed in prison, just like the other members of the Li clan.
Later, the imperial power of the Great Zhou gradually stabilized, and the current emperor abandoned the rule of cruel officials.
First, he listened to advice widely and gradually weakened the Imperial Prison Administration. Then, he opened his ears to advice and dealt with most of the notorious cruel officials. Finally, he suddenly realized his mistake and upheld justice, turning around and redressing some well-known wrongful convictions, which instantly restored much of his imperial reputation.
Didn't the imperial gazette from a few days ago say that someone presented a memorial praising the current sage as a benevolent and compassionate ruler? The Great Zhou Dynasty's Songde Tianshu and the Four Directions Buddha statues are under construction, and everything is thriving. Where is the infamous reputation of "a tyrannical ruler"? Stop making baseless accusations.
In any case, Ouyang Rong's assessment of those cruel officials of the Imperial Prison who once stirred up the court was simple: a good, sharp knife.
However, upon closer comparison, Ouyang Rong was fortunate to have caught a good time.
In the first year of the Jiushi era, the original owner of this body disturbed the Empress's interest by offering advice at the Xingyuan Banquet in the Divine Capital.
Later, she also spoke frankly and dared to criticize the Empress regarding Princess Chang Le, which indirectly showed that the Empress had failed to properly educate her daughter and spoiled her.
There was also Ouyang Rong's "refusal to obey the imperial edict even at the cost of his life" not long ago.
This saint didn't just kill him directly, but instead included a "Nine Clans Elimination" combo.
Of course, times have changed. The sage sitting in the imperial court in Luoyang is now an octogenarian woman who practices vegetarianism, chants Buddhist scriptures, and is known for her loving mother and filial son.
It is no longer the time when there were many dissidents, the imperial power was unstable, and one step could lead to the abyss.
You could say she's just trying to protect her reputation, but at least she still has some restraint and is being careful.
Furthermore, this change in the current sage does not necessarily mean that Ouyang Rong deliberately feigned honesty to gain fame.
It was precisely because of Ouyang Lianghan's outspoken remonstrance and defiance of the Empress that the wise people in the court and the public keenly sensed the shift in the political climate, and that the aging Empress had begun to show a reputation for benevolence.
Before this, no one was really sure.
Ouyang Lianghan was the first to personally test this by offering his own head. He had prepared a coffin beforehand, ready to go upright and return horizontally, before going to the palace alone to offer his honest advice.
Therefore, Ouyang Lianghan's renowned reputation as a virtuous gentleman was entirely genuine, and everyone respected him, knowing that this "gentleman" was reliable and truly capable when needed...
"By the way, back then, when Master Di was falsely accused by a cruel official and demoted, he was sent all the way from the capital to the remote Longcheng County. Old Yang and his men supervised and escorted him along the way."
Rongzhen suddenly spoke.
Ouyang Rong turned to look at her.
At this moment, the lights in the water dungeon came on; it was the female official who had brought lamp oil.
Ouyang Rong squinted to adjust to the sudden brightness in the dark room.
Then they got a clear look at the situation inside the cell.
Ahead lay a puddle of water. The dark figure Ouyang Rong had seen not long ago was restrained by shackles and forced to stand in the puddle. The water level was just up to his chest, and water droplets were falling continuously from above his head.
Ouyang Rong's attention was drawn to the water droplet.
He knew about this water-dripping torture, a form of punishment that inflicts both psychological and physical torment.
In the already dimly lit environment of a water dungeon, the continuous dripping of water onto the victim's head or sensitive body parts, through prolonged and repeated stimulation, can lead to the victim's mental breakdown.
Tick-tock... tick-tock...
The torches lit at the entrance cast a faint glow when they landed on the dark figure inside the water dungeon.
Ouyang Rong, however, used this opportunity to get a clear look at the shadowy figure.
This is a slightly overweight middle-aged man with an honest and unassuming appearance. His face is fair and plump, showing the affluence he developed before going to prison.
Right now, his head was covered in wet black hair, and his body was swollen from being in the water for a long time. His lips were pale and swollen, like two frozen sausages in the dead of winter.
"He's already done after only half a day? Old Yang's skills in playing in the water are truly remarkable, living up to his reputation."
Hearing Rong Zhen's voice beside him, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but turn around and glance at her.
"Li Yu, a native of Jiangzhou, has lived in Xunyang City for three generations. He runs a medicinal herb business and has accumulated considerable wealth. He is the only son in his generation, and the residents of Xingzifang all call him Master Li."
Rongzhen had an excellent memory. She parted her red lips slightly and slowly recited:
“Master Li has a wife named Sun. The couple is known for their loving relationship. Since marrying Sun, Master Li has never taken a concubine. Even though his wife died three years ago, she left behind a daughter named Li Shu. She has now been taken away by Yunmeng's second daughter, Junyu Nianyuan, and her whereabouts are unknown.”
"The Li family of Xingzifang is considered an informant of Yunmeng Jianze in Jiangzhou. The information we have found so far is that it was led by Li Yuanwai's deceased wife, Sun. Sun has many connections with Yunmeng Jianze, but we haven't found out about her past experiences yet."
"During the construction of the Xingzi Lake Buddha, the Yue women of Yunmeng infiltrated the city. The Li family's residence and herbal medicine shop in Xingzifang became the Yue women's base, where the eldest and second Yue women were known to be stationed.
"Among them, the second daughter, Jun Yu Nianyuan, infiltrated the Li residence near Xingzi Lake under the guise of a private tutor, teaching Li's youngest daughter, Li Shu, to write, and then ambushed the Buddha head convoy at the Xingzifang construction site..."
"These are the previously known pieces of information."
Ouyang Rong touched his chin, which had grown some stubble:
"Since Yue Chuzi has come to the city, she must have visited the Li residence or the Li family pharmacy."
Rong Zhen's cold gaze fell on Li Yu, who was soaking wet in the puddle ahead:
"Yes, regarding the virgin, someone didn't tell the truth; they deliberately omitted it during their confession."
"Mmm...mmm...mmm..."
At this moment, everyone saw Li Yu's lips moving in the puddle, his words indistinct.
The one-eyed old man, known as Old Yang, walked to Li Yu's side, squatted down, opened the sheepskin water bag, and stuffed it into the latter's mouth.
Like a dead fish on a parched riverbed encountering sweet dew, Li Yu exerted all his strength to suck up the clear water from his water sac.
Just as Li Yu swallowed a mouthful of water, Old Yang suddenly pulled back the sheepskin water bag.
"Has Yue Chuzi arrived in Xunyang City?"
The one-eyed old ruthless official's voice was hoarse and deep, as if he had swallowed a hot coal; one had to listen carefully to understand it.
This is definitely not a naturally hoarse voice; it's something that's been caused by external factors. Ouyang Rong could tell that.
"Water...water...please give me water."
Li Yu stared wide-eyed at the sheepskin water sac suspended in mid-air above, but when he reached out, he grabbed nothing.
Old Yang held the sheepskin water bag high, his hand motionless, looking down at him.
Surrounded by water, Li Yu desperately craved it.
Just then, a cold voice came from the direction of the door:
“Master Li, I’m not here today for a casual chat as usual. I have a favor to ask you: please draw a picture of Miss Yue.”
Ouyang Rong turned his head and glanced at Rong Zhen, who was speaking with her eyes downcast. He had a vague feeling that her mood was a little strange today.
"Virgin...what virgin?"
Li Yu raised her head, her eyes filled with confusion.
Rongzhen remained silent, simply watching him.
Old Yang tilted his head back and took a sip of water.
Li Yu looked up, her eyes wide, at the sheepskin water pouch in his hand, licking her lips frequently.
Ouyang Rong stood aside, observing coldly.
The water prison fell into an eerie silence, broken only by the dripping of water.
"Your Excellency, I really don't know what you're talking about. I think I've heard of virgins before. My late wife mentioned them once, but I've never seen one."
"I offered lodging to the guests of Yunmengze to repay the debt owed by my deceased wife. I never expected such an extraordinary event to occur later, affecting Lady Historian and important matters of the court... I deserve to die a thousand deaths."
“But I have written down everything I have seen and heard these days, and I have also drawn the general facial features of the First and Second Queens in my memory. I have told you everything I know, and I know nothing else.”
"This humble subject truly has no idea about the 'Butterfly Loves Flower Master' or the 'virgin,' I have no recollection of them. They may have appeared before me, but I don't recognize them..."
Li Yu stood in the water, which was up to his chest. As he spoke, his body swayed and he appeared to be on the verge of death.
Rong Zhen stepped forward and said in an unusually calm tone:
"We know the physical characteristics of Xue Zhongzhu and Yu Nianyuan without you even knowing them. What you've said are all useless clues."
"Furthermore, since the women of Yunmeng Yue have chosen your Li family as their stronghold in Xunyang City, it is impossible that they do not know your Li family well. It would be unreasonable to repay the debt of a deceased wife alone."
"You must know them inside and out, and be very aware of what they've been doing. Under these circumstances, if Yue Chuzi comes to Xunyang City, and you say you've never seen her, do you think I'll believe you?"
Before Li Yu could explain, Rong Zhen continued:
"I have always been afraid of accidentally killing people. I have thought about your Li family. I always thought that your Li family would not be so stupid as to risk the lives of nearly a hundred people to help the female cultivators of Yunmeng commit such a rebellious act."
"If you were truly deeply involved, you should have prepared to relocate your families much earlier, instead of doing what you're doing now. The First and Second Queens of Yunmeng abandoned your Li family and fled, taking only one young legitimate daughter with them..."
"But I just suddenly realized something that overturned the previous argument that the Li family is innocent. Do you know what it is, Master Li?"
Li Yu opened his mouth wide in silence, but couldn't utter a single word. Rong Zhen said softly:
"The sudden entry of the Donglin Buddha's head convoy into the city was unexpected by most people. The eldest and second queens of Yunmeng were also caught off guard. The fact that the eldest queen was not present at the time is proof of this."
"In this situation, even if your Li family had any backup plans, there was no time to use them. So, after the Yunmeng Yue women hurriedly retreated, they became abandoned pawns."
"Looking at it this way... it makes sense."
Li Yu looked at Rong Zhen with a blank expression.
Rong Zhen turned to the side, gesturing towards Ouyang Rong's figure at the door not far away, her face expressionless:
"Sir Ouyang is here today as well. I heard you mention him during our casual conversation the other day. You greatly respect him, believing him to be a truly capable person who can do real work for Xunyang City. You kept saying how much Sir Ouyang changed Xunyang City when he was the Chief Secretary, and that there are still good officials with a conscience in the Great Zhou Dynasty who need a wise ruler to discover them. You also said that if Sir Ouyang had still been in office as Chief Secretary, the Xingzi Lake Buddha and the Wang family tragedy it caused would not have happened..."
Li Yu looked at the handsome young man sitting motionless behind him and stammered, "Sima Ouyang..."
Before he could finish speaking, Rong Zhen calmly said:
"But look at yourself now, what have you brought to Xunyang City? Li Yu, I felt compassion when I saw your whole family being ransacked that day, but now, I have done all I could."
She glanced at Old Yang, then turned back to Ouyang Rong's side.
Under Li Yu's pained gaze, Old Yang raised the sheepskin water bag and casually sprinkled water on the ground in front of Li Yu.
Old Yang dragged over a large, tilted wooden plank, secured Li Yu upside down to it, and then slowly lowered the plank with a rope, letting the icy lake water soak over his upside-down face.
As if slowly sensing the icy, suffocating feeling from the lake water, Li Yu trembled all over, her mouth filled with wailing and pleading words, her intense panic clearly visible to the naked eye.
But Old Yang's hands were steady, and without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed a rope and slowly lowered the wooden board. He watched as the lake water washed over Li Yu's mouth and nose, and his hand would occasionally pull it up a little, causing the latter to hover on the edge of suffocation... This is the horror of water torture, which makes prisoners experience near-drowning multiple times, thus creating extreme fear and pain.
Ouyang Rong sat on a wooden stool brought by a female official at the very edge of the doorway.
He crossed his arms, rested his chin on them, and faced away from the torches on the wall. His expression was dim and inscrutable, as if he were silently watching the scene unfolding before him.
Hearing the cries for mercy from her parents, Rongzhen closed her eyes. Her voice was very soft, but it was very loud in the desolate water prison where only the gurgling sound of choking water could be heard.
The sound echoed in Li Yu's ears:
"Master Li, I'll give you one last chance. Draw a portrait of Yue Chuzi."
"Do you know how stupid you've been pretending to be? Do you know that your fellow rebels in the Jianghu have long since abandoned you?"
"Do you even know that today's events were betrayed to the Censorate by your traitorous comrades? I know that Yue Chuzi is in the city, and Yunmeng Jianze is sending people to find her, and also to inquire about your Li family's affairs..."
"You still say that your Li family isn't deeply connected to Yunmeng Sword Marsh? Then may I ask where those rare herbs from the depths of Yunmeng Marsh that your Li family's pharmacy sells every year come from? I really don't know what you're still insisting on, thinking you can continue to gain sympathy and deceive me?"
As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a female official went out without her noticing. She returned a moment later, followed by two jailers. They carried a burly man who was unconscious and limp as mud, and threw him onto the damp floor in front of Li Yu.
Rong Zhen didn't open her eyes, and calmly asked, "Do you want me to read his confession to you?"
There seemed to be a moment of silence in the air.
Li Yu, who had been begging for mercy, suddenly fell silent like a dead fish. Apart from the violent coughing caused by suffocation, he no longer made any pleas for mercy.
Ouyang Rong even saw that this seemingly timid and honest, slightly overweight rich man deliberately tilted his head back and immersed his mouth and nose in the water, as if seeking relief.
Old Yang paused, looked down and frowned slightly.
Rong Zhen, who had been sitting back down, suddenly rushed forward, grabbed the plank, and threw Li Yu, who was almost suffocating in the water, onto the ground next to him, along with the plank.
"Cough cough cough cough—!"
Li Yu coughed violently, supporting himself on his hands and vomiting lake water onto the ground repeatedly, almost throwing up his stomach.
"Why?"
Ouyang Rong and Old Yang both turned their heads upon hearing this.
Rong Zhen's chest heaved violently as she knelt before the dying Li Yu, staring into his eyes, and asked, word by word:
"Why don't you live a good life and be a good citizen of the Great Zhou? Why do you protect these rebels from Yunmeng Jianze? You won't even reveal a trace of Yue Chuzi. They only drew her image. What did they give you to make you work so hard? Have you ever thought about your family? Do you really want to make this decision to resist the court on their behalf?"
“Your Li family has been subjects of the Great Gan and Great Zhou for three generations. You were born in a prosperous era and were blessed by the emperor. Regardless of how great Great Zhou is, at least it allows you hardworking taxpayers to live and work in peace and contentment. At least the court can select officials like Ouyang Lianghan who are dedicated to their duties and speak up for the people to govern the region.”
"You are subjects of the Great Zhou Dynasty! Why are you risking your lives for Yunmeng Jianze? Protecting them, you're even abandoning your own families?"
Li Yuanwai's swollen face flushed red as he seemed to raise his head, trying to make out the furious Rong Zhen, the silent Ouyang Rong, and Old Yang.
The water dungeon fell silent, and it was unclear how long the silence had lasted.
His hoarse voice echoed in the water dungeon:
"I am indeed a citizen of the Great Zhou, but I am also a son of Wu and Yue. Ever since I slew the evil dragon of Wu and Yue a thousand years ago, Yuanjun has been the master of the thousands of islands and lakes of the nine hundred miles of Yunmeng Marsh, and the guardian deity of the Wu and Yue land for thousands of years, and the protector of the Wu and Yue people."
After a pause, he uttered a sentence that silenced the entire room, his face blank.
"Just as my late wife once said... What belongs to the Empress belongs to the Empress, and what belongs to the Yuanjun belongs to the Yuanjun."
Upon hearing this, Rong Zhen narrowed her eyes and fell silent.
Old Yang turned his head and looked at her, as if asking for instructions.
Rong Zhen suddenly chuckled softly:
"What a guardian deity of the Wu and Yue lands! Li Yu, do you mean that you are physically in the Great Zhou, but your heart is in Yunmeng? Well, you are very honest and have finally told the truth."
"These rebels from Yunmeng Sword Marsh are truly bewitching. There must be quite a few people in the old Wu-Yue region who fall for this. No wonder the Yunmeng Yue women are so hard to capture; it turns out there are many fools like you."
Li Yukong stared ahead, a hint of determination and desolation slowly spreading across his blank face. Rong Zhen smiled, turned around, and waved her hand.
Old Yang received the signal, wiped his hands, and walked towards Li Yu.
"etc."
Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke.
Rongzhen and Old Yangtou paused, looking at him, who had been silent all along, seemingly puzzled.
Ouyang Rong stepped forward, took a sheepskin water pouch, and held it to Li Yu's mouth, while turning back to say:
"Since Lord Rong doesn't want to conduct the trial, then I will handle it myself. Lady Rong has already given up on this matter anyway."
Rong Zhen frowned. "You've watched me lose face for so long today, aren't you satisfied yet? Let's go. Old Yang's water torture is useless, so don't waste your time."
Ouyang Rong waved his hand, his smile a little embarrassed:
“As you said, Lady Rong, he is a citizen of Xunyang under my jurisdiction. He has made a mistake, and it is my fault for failing to take good care of him and violating my mission as the emperor to govern the people. I should also fulfill my duty to persuade him. I hope Lady Rong will give me a chance.”
Old Yang glanced at him again, and after a while, looked at Rong Zhen's expression. He saw that she was frowning and looking at Ouyang Rong silently, which could be considered as tacit approval.
Ouyang Rong stepped forward and passed by Rong Zhen. Old Yang silently stepped aside. At a moment, the one-eyed, hoarse old man turned his head and looked at Ouyang Rong's tall and elegant back, seemingly lost in thought.
Ouyang Rong came to Li Yu's side and squatted down. The latter's lifeless eyes moved slightly... Li Yu looked up blankly and saw the handsome young man who helped him up with a bright smile, revealing his white teeth.
"What a nice way to say 'Empress' and 'Prince'. It's quite catchy. By the way, if I may ask, does Master Li know about postgraduate entrance exams? Never mind, it doesn't matter if he doesn't know. All I need to know is that I have a mutual respect for you."
His tone was very sincere.
Li Yu: ……
Rongzhen and Old Yang: ?
...
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(PS: This chapter is a small update of 7,000 words, which is a bonus chapter. I currently owe 18 chapters.)
My brothers, I'm begging for another round of monthly votes! (or 2)
(End of this chapter)
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