Chapter 2939: Torture
Suddenly, Nan Yan saw his face darken.
What's written on it?
Nan Yan wanted to ask, but didn't dare to. After all, the emperor was discussing with the ministers. Even if she was present, she didn't have the power to speak casually. She could only suppress her curiosity and just look at Zhu Feng's expression.
He had a sullen face, and although he was angry, he didn't seem to be furious. However, what was written on the document was obviously not what he wanted to see.
Or rather, it was beyond his expectations.
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Zhu Feng said in a deep voice, "Is this his questionnaire?"
Ruan Hengzhou lowered his head and said softly, "Yes."
Zhu Feng looked up at him and said, "What's going on?"
Ruan Hengzhou knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head. He spoke cautiously, "Since Lord Heyi entered the Dali Temple, he has remained silent. No matter how I and my colleagues asked him questions, he remained silent."
Nan Yan was listening at the side and was shocked.
No words?
Could it be that there is not a single word on this document?
After hearing what Ruan Hengzhou said, Zhu Feng was silent for a moment and said, "No torture?"
Ruan Hengzhou's face turned pale, and he said softly, "Didn't the Emperor's order simply order that Lord Heyi be brought to the Dali Temple for questioning? There was no order for torture."
“…”
Zhu Feng narrowed his eyes slightly and said nothing.
Ruan Hengzhou continued, "Furthermore, up to now, there has been no victim, no plaintiff, and no evidence of any guilt on Lord Heyi's part... Therefore, we, the humble servants, cannot use torture lightly."
That’s true.
Even though he gave Nan Yanye Zheng the antidote needed for poisoning in advance, he was saving people, not harming them; and although the incident of rescuing Wu Yingqiu at the Great Altar matched the facts, there was no solid evidence, and two years had passed, so there was no way to convict him.
The Dali Temple could not punish an official at will.
Even if the arrest was ordered by the emperor.
Ruan Hengzhou finally lowered his head and said softly, "Dali Temple, you can't torture officials without reason."
“…”
Zhu Feng was silent for a long time, then he let out a long sigh.
"Um."
After saying that, he picked up the document in his hand, shook it gently, and said, "So, it's just a normal interrogation, and he won't say anything?"
Nan Yan was standing by and saw that when he shook, it seemed that the document was not empty.
It seems like there is a line of text.
"yes."
Ruan Hengzhou lowered his head and said, "After Lord Heyi entered the Dali Temple, he remained silent throughout my humble questioning. Finally, when I said I would report this to the Emperor, he only said this."
“…”
"He said—whatever the emperor thinks, that's what he does."
Nan Yan's brows suddenly furrowed.
Only then did she see clearly that this sentence was indeed written on the document in Zhu Feng's hand.
From the time He Yi was arrested to the time he was interrogated in the Dali Temple, until now, he has only said this one sentence - whatever the emperor thinks, he does.
So, he was admitting that he had indeed, truly, done all the things that Zhu Feng and he had suspected him to have done?!
Nan Yan's heart sank.
Zhu Feng frowned and looked at Ruan Hengzhou who was kneeling in front of him. He then lowered his head to look at the words written on the document in his hand. His face was as gloomy as the sky outside at the moment.
For a moment, no one dared to speak.
At this moment, even Nan Yan was speechless.
Although He Yi had been an official for so many years, logically speaking, the word "official" has two mouths, so people in official circles like him can say anything nonsense. Moreover, He Yi is very eloquent. Even if he has not seen it, just think about how he was able to enter the Prince of Yan's Mansion alone and persuade Zhu Feng to launch the Jingnan Campaign, and he can imagine it.
But this time, he did not use any words to clear himself of the charges.
On the contrary, this sentence is an admission of guilt even though he cannot be convicted of any crime at all!
Why?
Why did he do that?
Could it be that he really did all those things? Could it be that all those unbelievable things they did were true?
Nan Yan felt a tightness in her chest, as if a huge rock was pressing down on her heart, making it difficult to even breathe. She subconsciously reached out to cover her chest, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Zhu Feng also reaching out to cover his chest.
There were still old wounds on his chest.
Even I was shocked by these words, let alone him?
Nan Yan whispered, "Your Majesty...?"
But as soon as she said this, Zhu Feng immediately raised his hand, as if to stop her from continuing. Then he took a deep breath and said to Ruan Hengzhou, "Where is he now?"
Ruan Hengzhou lowered his head and said, "Originally, I was going to bring him to the Dali Temple for questioning. If there were no other matters, I would have sent Master Heyi back home after questioning him. Of course, I had to have someone watch him. However, after he said this, I didn't dare let him leave."
“…”
"He himself hasn't left yet and is still in the Dali Temple."
"good……"
Zhu Feng nodded slightly, although there was no expression of "good" on his face when he said this word.
But he didn't get angry either.
He was silent for a moment and looked at the sentence written in the document in his hand.
Then he said, "There's no need to send him back. Just take him directly to jail."
After saying that, he paused.
Then he said, "Use torture."
“……?!”
“……?!”
Nan Yan and Ruan Hengzhou were both shocked.
Although Ruan Hengzhou usually did everything the emperor asked him to do without complaint, even like today, when he had to go to the Prince's Mansion to arrest the Prime Minister for no reason, he hesitated about this matter.
He said softly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please think twice..."
“…”
"Lord Heyi is a close minister of the Emperor, and he has no plaintiffs or victims. Simply detaining him and bringing him to the Dali Temple for questioning is reasonable, but imprisonment and torture is unreasonable and illegal!"
Zhu Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Usually this is the time when the emperor is about to get angry.
However, his eyes didn't betray excessive anger. He simply re-evaluated Ruan Hengzhou. Nan Yan, beside him, also broke into a cold sweat. Ruan Hengzhou's position as Supreme Court Justice was a temporary one, granted after the Crown Prince had beaten Ge Yunli to death. Normally, in order to maintain their position, they would have obeyed their superiors' orders.
But he actually advised the emperor on this important matter...
Zhu Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "Why, you don't listen to me?"
Ruan Hengzhou said, "I dare not. However, the Dali Temple is in charge of criminal justice, so we must be extremely cautious. Otherwise, if the legal system is disrupted, the world will be in chaos."
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