"My lord, spare my life! I am truly innocent! It was those wicked people who tried to frame me; they will be punished! Please stop hitting me! I beg you, please stop hitting me!" Guan Bin cried out incoherently as he was being beaten.
However, this did not make him want to betray Hongshi and the Eighth Prince. Instead, it made him even more determined not to say anything, otherwise he would lose his usefulness and the Emperor would be even less likely to keep him.
Guan Bin, who had always been pampered, could not take two lashes and could only groan. When the clerk saw this, he said to Li Wan, "Sir, you can't hit him anymore, or he will die."
Li Wan ordered a halt and asked Guan Bin, "Guan Bin, are you still not willing to talk? If you confess honestly, I may let you go."
Guan Bin replied in a weak, barely audible voice, "Your Excellency, I am innocent! The Second Prince and I were simply performing our duties and obeying the law; we absolutely did not deceive the Emperor! As for the order to have soldiers guard the village entrance and prevent anyone from leaving, or the suspension of grain distribution, I truly knew nothing of it! You can ask the Second Prince; he will surely speak up for me. Someone must be framing me! It must be those unruly people who are dissatisfied with the court and want to use this to achieve some goal, so they are stirring up trouble. Please, Your Excellency, investigate thoroughly!" With that, Guan Bin's eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
When Li Wan saw that he had fainted, he quickly ordered someone to summon a doctor. They still needed Guan Bin's testimony. If something happened to him, the Emperor would definitely blame him.
Li Wan only breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor said Guan Bin was alright.
Li Wan took the transcript made by the clerk, glanced at it, and thought that Guan Bin was a difficult person to deal with, neither soft nor hard, and that this could not go on. If things got out of hand, it would cause serious trouble. Li Wan decided to go to the palace immediately to report to the emperor.
Rather than letting the emperor be dissatisfied with his efficiency later, it's better to let the emperor know the situation now and ask him what the next step is.
Over here, Ruan Dafeng, seeing that he hadn't been interrogated after so many days, figured it was probably due to officials protecting each other. He thought he would kill him after the storm had passed. He excitedly roared, "Heavens, open your eyes!"
The jailer yelled, "What are you shouting for!"
Although his cry went unnoticed by God, it was heard by Tiezhu, who was also imprisoned.
Tie Zhu shouted, "Da Feng, is that you?"
Upon hearing Tie Zhu's words, Ruan Dafeng asked, "Who is it? Who is calling me?"
Tie Zhu said, "Da Feng, I am Tie Zhu."
"Tiezhu, what are you doing here? Did they capture you too?"
Tie Zhu said, "The Emperor sent someone to Geshan Village to have me come here to testify. Are you alright? We thought you were dead."
Upon hearing Tie Zhu's words, Ruan Dafeng was so moved that she shed tears. Finally, her long-awaited peace had been restored. Those corrupt officials would finally get their comeuppance, and her father could rest in peace in Jiuquan.
He wiped away his tears and said, "Tiezhu, is my mother alright at home?"
"Don't worry, she's fine. She's still at home waiting for you to come back!" Tie Zhu didn't want Ruan Dafeng to worry, so he didn't want to tell him that his mother was being chased.
The Fourth Prince had been keeping a close eye on the affairs of Geshan Village, and ordered Li Wan, the Prefect of the Capital, to report to him immediately if anything happened.
Therefore, although the Prefect of the Capital did not get anything out of Guan Bin, he still submitted the clerk's record to the palace. The Emperor frowned. Guan Bin was so stubborn that he would not confess without some means. So he said to Li Wan, "Tomorrow, I will personally interrogate him."
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