Fourth Master spent the entire day at the Censorate, but still couldn't get the mastermind behind Gao Tan and Old Man Shan out of them.
"Your Highness, I didn't expect these two to be so stubborn. I've used quite a few tortures on them, but they still won't say a word." The servants of the Imperial Prison had tried everything, including branding and whipping, but the two still hadn't revealed anything substantial.
"You may all leave now. I will ask them," the Fourth Prince said, frowning.
"Yes, this servant will go and tidy it up first, otherwise it will offend your eyes!" the executioner said.
"No need, what haven't I seen!" Fourth Prince waved his hand and said.
When Fourth Master saw Gao Tan and Old Man Shan, he was still shocked by their miserable state!
Old Shan was covered in blood from being whipped, and was tied up there, barely alive. Gao Tan was in even worse shape; there wasn't a single unscathed spot on his body. His chest was covered in burnt marks from being branded with a hot iron. Fourth Master could even smell the acrid odor of burning flesh.
"What, are you really willing to risk your lives for your master?" Fourth Master coldly glanced at the two men.
"We...we've already confessed! It was Prince Heshuo who ordered us to use witchcraft to murder the Crown Prince! What else do you want us to confess to? Or, Fourth Prince, just tell us who to confess to, and we'll confess to whoever you want!" Old Shan said, barely managing to stay awake.
"You're quite the smooth talker!" The Fourth Prince walked up to him and said, "The Prince of Heshuo did do it, but I've already looked into it. He said he was deliberately lured into this trap! Am I right?"
Old Man Shan coughed a few times and said, "That was just Prince Heshuo arguing. He just wanted to drag someone down with him."
Fourth Master looked coldly at Old Man Shan, and then said, "Old sir, you seem to be a wise man. You must have read many books! You must know about the punishment that Empress Lü of the Han Dynasty used on Consort Qi!"
The old man's previously composed face instantly turned deathly pale! He knew perfectly well how Empress Lü dealt with her former rival! There was no more cruel punishment than slow slicing!
"Fourth Prince, you're using torture to force a confession!" Old Man Shan struggled and said.
“You plotted to murder the Crown Prince; even death by a thousand cuts would not be too much!” the Fourth Prince said.
Upon hearing Fourth Master mention the punishment of slow slicing, Gao Tan was on the verge of collapse, crying out, "Master, I can't take it anymore! I'll confess! At least I'll die a quick and painless death!"
"You! If you speak now, you'll die immediately!" Elder Shan said hastily. If he hadn't taken this disciple in the first place, perhaps he wouldn't have gotten involved in the struggle for the princes' throne!
"If you tell me, I can plead for you. The worst that can happen is that you'll be exiled to the northern deserts to do hard labor!" Fourth Prince said, seizing their bottom line.
“I said! What do you care!” Gao Tan said.
"Alright, speak now! It's too late. If I find out, I won't plead for you anymore!" said the Fourth Prince.
"What if you go back on your word!" Gao Tan said. He was fed up with these princes manipulating people. They had promised to come to the rescue, but instead, he had suffered this ordeal!
"You must trust me. I absolutely keep my word!" the Fourth Prince said.
For some reason, Gao Tan felt a deep fear of this cold-faced Fourth Prince. He believed that whatever he said he could do, he could do it! He said he could plead for him, and he could do it!
"Alright, we've come this far anyway. Master, don't insist anymore. Even if we, master and disciple, are sliced into fish fillets right here, no one will care!" Gao Tan said.
Old Man Shan seemed to be shocked by Fourth Master's words, and all his willpower was completely drained!
“Fourth Prince, we were indeed instructed to deliberately go to Prince Heshuo to make him believe our words!” Gao Tan said.
"How can you convince Prince Heshuo to believe you?" the Fourth Prince asked, frowning.
"We kept watch for a long time beforehand and discovered that Prince Heshuo liked to have fortune tellers! So we played to his tastes, pretending to be fortune tellers and deliberately talking about the Crown Prince. Prince Heshuo didn't suspect a thing and fell for it so easily!" Gao Tan said.
"Who told you to do this?" Fourth Master asked.
"Actually, we don't know either. It was a young man around twenty years old who instructed us to do this! He said that as long as we could lure Prince Heshuo into the scheme, he would give us 50,000 taels of silver, plus a courtyard full of beautiful women! Moreover, he warned us to keep doing it, otherwise his master behind him was not to be offended, and even if we fled to the ends of the earth, he would still be able to find us!" Gao Tan said.
"You mean, you don't even know who ordered you to do this?" Fourth Master frowned.
“Yes, all I know is that the man’s surname is Shi!” Gao Tan said. “I only found out because I was careful. He wouldn’t tell me! I followed him to his carriage and saw it on the sedan chair bearers; their surname should be Shi!”
The Fourth Prince's pupils contracted, and the thought suddenly popped into his mind, "The Crown Princess is surnamed Shi!" Although there are many people with the surname Shi in the country, who would dare to plot such a large scheme!
"Can you draw a portrait of that person?" Fourth Master asked.
"Yes, my painting skills are not bad either; I can certainly paint a portrait of a person!" Gao Tan said.
Fourth Master nodded, then turned to Old Man Shan and said, "Your disciple has already confessed. Aren't you going to confess? Don't blame me for pleading for him alone!"
"Hasn't he already said it? What else does the Fourth Prince want me to confess?" Old Shan said with a resigned expression.
"What do you know? There must be some things your apprentice doesn't know, right?" Fourth Master stared at him with piercing eyes.
Old Shan wanted to avoid Fourth Master's gaze, but he couldn't!
"You don't have to say, but if I find out, what crime should you be punished for?" the Fourth Prince said.
The old man's lips trembled as he said, "I merely provided Prince Heshuo with a wine jug that could be used to switch the wine!"
"What wine pot?" Fourth Prince had been wondering how Prince Heshuo had managed to implant the Gu worm into the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was indeed infected with the Gu worm. If that Shi Guo was truly the Crown Princess's person, then how could the Crown Prince's infection be explained?
"I gave Prince Heshuo a special wine pot with a mechanism. The wine pot has two layers of inner and outer pots. The wine containing the Gu worms is hidden in the outer layer! As long as the prince turns the mechanism on top, the wine that is poured out will be the wine with Gu worms!" said the old man.
The Fourth Prince recalled the banquet held at the Prince Heshuo's residence to celebrate Lady Jueluo's pregnancy. Indeed, it was Yinti who personally held a wine pot and toasted everyone!
"Is it a jade-green wine pot with a chicken head shaped at the top?" Fourth Master asked.
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